Friday, December 17, 2010

Parents’ Influence on Adolescents’ Sexual Behavior



1. Parent-adolescent communication. Adolescents whose mothers discussed the social and moral consequences of being sexually active are less likely to engage in sexual intercourse. 
The more mothers communicated with their adolescent children about the social and moral consequences of sexual activity, the less likely adolescents were to engage in sexual intercourse.


2. Parental monitoring. Children whose parents monitor them more closely are less likely to be sexually active when they are in their teens. 
Adolescents whose parents report stricter monitoring of their children’s behaviors during preadolescence are 30% less likely to be sexually active when compared to adolescents whose parents reported less strict monitoring of their children’s behaviors during preadolescence.


3. Birth out of wedlock. Teenage girls are less likely to be sexually active if their parents were married at the time of their birth.
Adolescent females ages 15-19 whose parents were married at the time of the adolescent's birth were 42% less likely to report having engaged in sexual activity when compared to similar adolescents whose parents were cohabiting at the time of the adolescent's birth and 26% less likely to report having engaged in sexual activity when compared to similar adolescents whose parents were not living together at the time of the adolescent's birth.


4. Single-parent socializing. Teenage boys whose mothers date more often and more quickly after a divorce are more likely to be sexually active.
Among a sample of recently divorced mothers and their adolescent children, mothers’ dating behaviors (i.e. number of dating partners, frequency of dates, length of time began dating after divorce) were directly related to their son’s sexual activity. Sons whose divorced mothers dated often, had multiple dating partners, and dated soon after divorce were more likely to report having been involved in heavy petting or sexual intercourse.




5. Parents’ attitudes. Teenagers who feel their parents strongly disapprove of their being sexually active are less likely to contract a sexually transmitted infection. 
Adolescents who felt that their parents strongly disapproved of their having sex were less likely to have a sexually transmitted infection (STI) than peers who did not perceive their parents' strong disapproval.


6. Transitions in family structure. The likelihood that teenaged girls will become pregnant increases with each change in family structure that they experience. 
Among sexually active adolescent females, after accounting for current family structure and family structure at birth, each transition in family structure (e.g. parental marriage, divorce, remarriage, etc.) experienced by adolescent females increased their risk of pregnancy by 11%.


7. Intact family. Adolescents in single-parent households are more likely to be sexually active than peers in two-parent families.
Compared to adolescents from two-parent families, adolescents from single-parent families were significantly more likely to report having ever had sexual intercourse.


8. Family stability. On average, adolescents whose mothers divorced tend to have more sexual partners than peers who did not experience parental divorce.
Adolescents whose mothers had a premarital pregnancy, adolescents whose mothers had divorced, adolescents whose mothers were married at a young age, and adolescents whose mothers expressed more accepting attitudes about teen sexual activity tended to report having had sex with more partners than their peers.


9. Parental involvement. Teens whose parents watch television with them more frequently and limit their TV viewing are less likely to be sexually active.
The more often parents watched television with their teens and the more they limited television viewing, the less likely adolescents were to have sex.


10. Parental guidance. Adolescents whose parents talk with them about standards of sexual behavior are more likely to be abstinent.
Youths whose parents talked to them about what is right and wrong in sexual behavior were significantly more 
likely to be abstinent than peers whose parents did not.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Trustworthiness





Trustworthiness is a moral value considered to be a virtue. A trustworthy person is someone in whom you can place your trust and rest assured that the trust will not be betrayed. A person can prove their trustworthiness by fulfilling an assigned responsibility - and as an extension of that, not to let down expectations. The responsibility can be either material, such as delivering a mail package on time, or it can be non-material such as keeping an important secret to themselves. A trustworthy person is someone that you can tell your worries and secrets to and know they won't repeat them without your permission. In general, in order for trust to be earned, worth and integrity must be proven over time.




ARE GIRLS TRUSTWORTHY ?

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Strange feeling before someone DIES


A near-death experience (NDE), refers to a broad range of personal experiences associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations including detachment from the body; feelings of levitation; extreme fear; total serenity, security, or warmth; the experience of absolute dissolution; and the presence of a light, which some people interpret as a deity.

These phenomena are usually reported after an individual has been pronounced clinically dead or otherwise very close to death, hence the term near-death experience. Many NDE reports, however, originate from events that are not life-threatening. With recent developments in cardiac resuscitation techniques, the number of reported NDEs has increased. Many in the scientific community regard such experiences as hallucinatory,while paranormal specialists and some mainstream scientists claim them to be evidence of an afterlife.
 

Popular interest in near-death experiences was initially sparked by Raymond Moody's 1975 book Life After Life and the founding of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) in 1981.According to a Gallup poll, approximately eight million Americans claim to have had a near-death experience.Some commentators, such as Simpson claim that the number of near-death experiencers may be underestimated, mainly because some such individuals are presumably afraid or otherwise reluctant to talk about their experiences.

NDEs are among the phenomena studied in the fields of parapsychology, psychology,psychiatry,and hospital medicine.



Near-death experiences can have a major impact on the people who have them, and they may produce a variety of after-effects. NDE subjects have increased activity in the left temporal lobe. NDEs are also associated with changes in personality and outlook on life. Kenneth Ring has identified a consistent set of value and belief changes associated with people who have had a near-death experience. Among these changes one finds a greater appreciation for life, higher self-esteem, greater compassion for others, a heightened sense of purpose and self-understanding, desire to learn, elevated spirituality, greater ecological sensitivity and planetary concern, and a feeling of being more intuitive. Changes may also include increased physical sensitivity; diminished tolerance to light, alcohol, and drugs; a feeling that the brain has been "altered" to encompass more; and a feeling that one is now using the "whole brain" rather than just a small part.However, not all after-effects are beneficial and Greyson describes circumstances where changes in attitudes and behavior can lead to psychosocial and psychospiritual problems. Often the problems have to do with the adjustment to ordinary life in the wake of the NDE.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Health Benefits of Liquor and Moderate Alcohol Consumption



For some time, moderate consumption of wine has been acknowledged as beneficial. Red wine particularly is widely associated with reducing the chance of heart attack along with other positive effects. However, several studies have concluded that the health benefits of liquor are much the same.
Studies into the health benefits of red wine regularly center on the phenols that act as antioxidants, which promote cardiovascular health. Nonetheless, as is becoming apparent, alcohol alone is responsible for a great deal of the good to be had from moderate drinking.

One British investigation looked at the habits of twelve thousand doctors aged 48 to 78. It concluded that overall mortality rate was substantially less amongst those who consumed between sixteen and twenty-four grams of alcohol per day. Not surprisingly, as with most things, quantity is the key. Teetotalers had higher mortality rates than those who had a couple of drinks every day. Those who drank in excess had higher death rates than either group.

The benefits ran across multiple groups. Men and women both in a variety of cultural settings and geographic locations all experienced the same positive results. That is especially true in studies of coronary heart disease. Overall risk of CHD was reduced from 30-50% in groups that drank reasonable quantities of alcohol. Some of the possible reasons behind these findings were identified by those studies.
Moderate alcohol consumption increases HDL cholesterol (the good type) while it decreases thrombosis, otherwise called blood clotting, which can lead to increased risks of heart attack or stroke. It also reduces artery spasms attributable to bringing down stress. Modest drinking correlates strongly with a decrease in atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries.
Additional studies presented other health benefits. According to the large-scale Nurses' Health Study, gallstones were less likely to occur in moderate drinkers than abstainers. The incidence of Type 2 diabetes was often found to be less in the drinkers versus the teetotalers. Almost forty percent of moderate drinkers had a lower risk of coronary heart disease.


The term moderate is used a good deal throughout these studies but exactly how much is moderate.
In the majority of reports, a 'drink' is specified in a different way for various beverages, including wine, liquor and beer. In the case of liquor and spirits, one drink is generally 1.5 ounces. Consequently two to three drinks per day is somewhere between 3 to 4.5 ounces. Given that liquor has a higher alcohol concentration, several of the benefits are realized at lower consumption, equating to approximately one or two drinks per day for men and one for women. One drink corresponds to around twelve to fourteen grams of alcohol.
The relationship between health practices as a whole and drinking has been examined extensively, as well. In more than one hundred studies reviewed by the Harvard School of Public Health all pointed to similar conclusions. The studies took account of the probability that those folks who only drank in moderation were those that also practised better health habits. Even after accounting for differing levels of diet and exercise, together with numerous other potential 'confounders', as they are called, the beneficial effects of alcohol remained.


Selection of Studies and References
The Nurses' Health Study involved 85,709 female nurses aged 34-59 for twelve years. They saw a 40% reduction in risk of coronary heart disease. Results published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 1988.
An American Cancer Society cohort reviewed 489,626 men and women aged 30-104 over a nine-year period. They enjoyed a 30-40% reduced risk of cardiovascular death. Results published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 1997.
The Physicians' Health Study followed 22,071 male physicians aged 40-84 for eleven years. They saw a 30-35% reduced risk of angina and myocardial infarction, 20-30% reduced risk of cardiovascular death. Published in the Archive of Internal Medicine, 1997.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Atharvaveda



The Atharvaveda (Sanskrit: अथर्ववेदः, atharvaveda, a tatpurusha compound of atharvan, an ancient Rishi, and veda (meaning "knowledge") is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda". According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Atharvanas and the Angirasa, hence its oldest name is Ātharvāṅgirasa. In the Late Vedic Gopatha Brahmana, it is attributed to the Bhrigu and Angirasa. Additionally, tradition ascribes parts to other rishis, such as Kauśika, Vasiṣṭha and Kaśyapa. There are two surviving recensions (śākhās), known as Śaunakīya (AVS) and Paippalāda (AVP).


The Atharva Veda, while undoubtedly belonging to the core Vedic corpus, in some ways represents an independent parallel tradition to that of the Rigveda and Yajurveda. It incorporates much of early traditions of healing and magic that are paralleled in other Indo-European literatures.


The Atharva Veda is less predominant than other Vedas as it is little used in solemn (Shrauta) ritual. The largely silent Brahmán priest observes the procedures of the ritual and 'heals' it with two mantras and pouring of ghee when a mistake occurs. Though an early text its status has been ambiguous due to its magical character.


Although it is stated that the Gayatri mantra used in Atharva Veda is different from other three Vedas. A special initiation of the Gayatri is required to learn the Atharva Veda. But so far many Vedic schools are teaching the Atharva Veda without the Upanayana. Few Vidwans in Atharva Veda state that they never came across such initiations before learning Atharva Veda. Moreover we cannot find any Gayatri Mantra in Atharva Veda (Shaunaka Shaka) but we find a Mantra at the end of the 19 Canto which praises Goddess Gayatri. The Atharvaveda Parishishtas Pariśiṣṭas (appendices) state that priests of the Mauda and Jalada schools of the Atharvaveda should be avoided, or strict discipline should be followed as per the rules and regulations set by the Atharva Veda. It is even stated that women associated with Atharvan may suffer from miscarriages if they remain while the chants for warfare are uttered..
It is clear that the core text of the Atharvaveda falls within the classical Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit at the end of 2nd millennium BCE - roughly contemporary with the Yajurveda mantras, the Rigvedic Khilani, and the Sāmaveda.


The Atharvaveda is also the first Indic text to mention Iron (as śyāma ayas, literally "black metal"), so that scholarly consensus dates the bulk of the Atharvaveda hymns to the early Indian Iron Age, corresponding to the 12th to 10th centuries BC or the early Kuru kingdom.
During its oral tradition, however, the text has been corrupted considerably more than some other Vedas, and it is only from comparative philology of the two surviving recensions that we may hope to arrive at an approximation of the original reading.
Tradition suggests that Paippalāda, one of the early collators, and Vaidharbhī, one of the late contributors associated with the Atharvanic text, lived during the reign of prince Hiranyanabha of the Ikshvāku dynasty.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Sincere Love





Turn a corner in your soul

A state of being total and authentic. The truest state of being under all the layers of fear. Expressed in the absence of fear or in the face of greatest struggle. A way of being in total connection to each other and to nature. Always present, always eternal. Always there. Available from all around us. Available to us. Available from us. An expression of giving and extending love, kindness, compassion. The deepest understanding of our deepest struggles. Nothing ever more important. Seemingly lost and buried, yet never more important. Shown to each other in the worst of tragedies. Shown to each other in the worst places of need and struggle. Felt by all, for all. Felt. Heartfelt. Absent of mind chatter, thought, worry, anxiety, judgment, prejudices. The space between all the wrongs that have been wronged. The emptiness full of indescribable love. An unconditional love. A true love. Non-selective. Ever present. A goal to reach for in every situation. The only thing real to reach for in our darkest time. The highest achievable wisdom. The greatest grace. The highest hope. Sincere love.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Extramarital affair


Extramarital affairs are relationships outside of marriage where an illicit romantic or sexual relationship or a romantic friendship or passionate attachment occurs.

An extramarital affair that continues in one form or another for years, even as one of the partners to that affair passes through marriage, divorce and remarriage, could be considered the primary relationship and the marriages secondary to it. This may be serial polygamy or other forms of nonmonogamy.


The ability to pursue serial and clandestine extramarital affairs whilst safeguarding the secrets and conflict of interest inherent in the practice, requires skill in deception and duplicitous negotiation. Even to hide one affair requires a degree of skill or malicious gaslighting. All these behaviours are more usually called lying.

Deception can be defined as the "covert manipulation of perception to alter thoughts, feeling, or beliefs". The presence of deception may indicate the degree to which the deceiver has breached fundamental conditions of fidelity, of reciprocal vulnerability and of transparency. Sometimes these are explicit or assumed pre-conditions of a committed intimate relationships.

Individuals having affairs with married men or women can be prosecuted for adultery in some jurisdictions and can be sued by the jilted spouses in others.As of 2009, eight U.S. states permitted such alienation of affections lawsuits.


How to Overcome Love Failure

 
 
 
Failure in love is a heartbreaking experience especially when a person has to go through it so many times in his life. Some people got so hurt that they dread falling in love again in order to avoid another traumatic experience. The following are some suggestions how to overcome love failure and become a better you:
 

Instructions

1.Surround yourself with people who love and care for you. You can get depressed after a love failure but it gets better when you reach out to others who will sympathize and lift you up. Their presence and support can help you heal faster.
2.Reprogram your mind. When you went through several relationships and all of them ended, chances are you had a big influence for their demise. Examine your beliefs about love and correct any wrong misconceptions. You attract what you believe and what you fear most. If your mind constantly thinks you will always be a failure in love, you will be. Change your thought patterns and expect happiness and rewarding experience when love knocks at your door again.

3.
Guard your heart. Most heartache is caused by impulsive decisions. A quote in the bible aptly instructs, "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires". Jumping from one romantic relationship to another is not only exhaustive. Every time you involve yourself in a love relationship, you give a part of yourself which you can never take back. So be wiser in your choices to save yourself from more disappointments.

4.Examine your inner need for love. Can you honestly say to yourself that you love yourself and receive love from others who care for you? You can draw strength from these sources to help you overcome the failure that is currently hurting you. Else, if your need is not met in this area, you have to work harder to heal from the inside before you can be truly healed from love failure.
5.Pray for the one who is truly meant for you and be prepared. Doing things your own without guidance often leads to regrets especially involvement in romantic relationships. Connect yourself with God and let Him guide and lead you to the right person. You may have to wait longer, but if your faith is strong, you will receive what you asked in time and when you have it, you will never fail in love again.
 

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Wi-fi


Wi-Fi (pronounced /ˈwaɪfaɪ/) is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. It is not a technical term. However, the Alliance has generally enforced its use to describe only a narrow range of connectivity technologies including wireless local area network (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11 standards, device to device connectivity [such as Wi-Fi Peer to Peer AKA Wi-Fi Direct], and a range of technologies that support PAN, LAN and even WAN connections. Derivative terms, such as Super Wi-Fi, coined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to describe proposed networking in the former UHF TV band in the US, may or may not be sanctioned by the Alliance. As of November 2010 this was very unclear.

The technical term "IEEE 802.11" has been used interchangeably with Wi-Fi, however Wi-Fi has become a superset of IEEE 802.11 over the past few years. Wi-Fi is used by over 700 million people, there are over 750,000 hotspots (places with Wi-Fi Internet connectivity) around the world, and about 800 million new Wi-Fi devices every year. Wi-Fi products that complete the Wi-Fi Alliance interoperability certification testing successfully can use the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED designation and trademark.
 

Not every Wi-Fi device is submitted for certification to the Wi-Fi Alliance. The lack of Wi-Fi certification does not necessarily imply a device is incompatible with Wi-Fi devices/protocols. If it is compliant or partly compatible the Wi-Fi Alliance may not object to its description as a Wi-Fi device though technically only the CERTIFIED designation carries their approval.

Wi-Fi certified and compliant devices are installed in many personal computers, video game consoles, MP3 players, smartphones, printers, digital cameras, and laptop computers.

This article focuses on the certification and approvals process and the general growth of wireless networking under the Wi-Fi Alliance certified protocols. For more on the technologies see the appropriate articles with IEEE, ANSI, IETF , W3 and ITU prefixes (acronyms for the accredited standards organizations that have created formal technology standards for the protocols by which devices communicate). Non-Wi-Fi-Alliance wireless technologies intended for fixed points such as Motorola Canopy are usually described as fixed wireless. Non-Wi-Fi-Alliance wireless technologies intended for mobile use are usually described as 3G, 4G or 5G reflecting their origins and promotion by telephone/cell companies.


LG AN-WF100 Wi-Fi USB Adaptor
Garmin nüvi 295W 3.5-Inch Widescreen Wi-Fi Portable GPS Navigator
Eye-Fi Connect X2 4 GB Class 6 SDHC Wireless Flash Memory Card EYE-FI-4CN

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA)


To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) is an American non-profit organization which aims to present hope for people struggling with addiction, depression, self injury, thoughts of suicide. Based in Cocoa, Florida, TWLOHA seeks to connect people to treatment centers, websites, books, support groups, and other resources. TWLOHA also encourages people to have honest conversations about these issues, to live in community, and to seek help for these treatable conditions, as well as encourage people to turn to God as made evident in their many appearances and presentations made at Christian events and from their references to Christ and God on their Vision page of their website.

A large portion of the work is dedicated to bridging the gap between traditional treatment (i.e. rehab, counseling, helplines) and the lives of people who need help. Examples of this include music festivals and tours, social networking sites, and schools and universities.Wanting to support existing professional help organizations rather than replace them, TWLOHA also sends a portion of donations directly to such causes as Hopeline, InTheRooms.com, S.A.F.E. Alternatives, Minding Your Mind, and (in Australia) Kids Help Line.
 


The group's main exposure comes from musicians and bands who wear the organization's distinctive T-shirts in photographs and performances, however it has recently gained more and more public exposure through merchandise and public community websites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and Tumblr. TWLOHA had a booth at every stop at Vans Warped Tour for the past four years.


TWLOHA was founded by Jamie Tworkowski in March 2006. Prior to that, the seeds of the group were sown by a story written by Tworkowski, about 19-year-old Renee Yohe, who struggled with addiction, depression, self-injury, and attempted suicide. Tworkowski's story, written in February 2006, chronicles Yohe's life five days before she entered treatment. Unable to get Yohe checked into a treatment centre in the meantime, friends offered moral support.

    We become her hospital and the possibility of healing fills our living room with life. It is unspoken and there are only a few of us, but we will be her church, the body of Christ coming alive to meet her needs, to write love on her arms.

On the FAQ for TWLOHA's official website, it stated that Renee has finished rehab and is currently going to school in Florida. It also states that she is healthy and sober, although she will have to fight her addiction for the rest of her life.

In addition to the story, T-shirts were printed and sold in Orlando to fund Yohe's drug treatment, and a MySpace page was created to serve as home base for the project. Bands such as Anberlin and Switchfoot showed their support and began wearing the TWLOHA T-shirts right away, and TWLOHA's MySpace and Facebook page began to receive messages and comments from young people struggling with the same issues that Yohe faced. What began as an attempt to help one person in Orlando quickly generated wide interest – to date, TWLOHA has heard from young people in all 50 states as well as many from Canada, Mexico, Australia and the United Kingdom, among others.[citation needed]

TWLOHA began operating as a non-profit organization in October 2006 under the umbrella of Fireproof Ministries. On April 30, 2007, TWLOHA left Fireproof and TWLOHA, Inc. was established in Florida as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. TWLOHA uses a team of part-time help and volunteers to respond to the growing volume of MySpace messages and emails. The group recently leased an office in Cocoa, Florida, which will allow them to expand. In August 2007, TWLOHA was awarded a MySpace Impact Award in the Community Building category.

TWLOHA cut all ties and funding to Mercy Ministries, and Teen Challenge in 2008 after discovering their alleged mistreatment of patients. TWLOHA also addresses this on their FAQ section. TWLOHA's support of the LGBT community is evident on their website. They participated in the "Wear Your Purple" Day and have promoted the It Gets Better Campaign.

September 10–17 has been called "TWLOHA Week" and many write "LOVE" on their arms during that week, sharing the story of hope with others.[citation needed] However, there are some regions that observe this day on November 13.

"Love is the Movement", "Rescue is Possible", "Hope is real, Help is real" and "Stop the Bleeding" are slogans often used by the organization. "Stop the Bleeding" is the slogan TWLOHA uses for live events, which combine music, art and speaking.




Community exposure

TWLOHA has risen to prominence through endorsements of celebrities such as the bands Skillet, Boys Like Girls, OneRepublic, the members of Paramore, Jon Foreman from Switchfoot, Sean from The Blackout, Derek Sanders from Mayday Parade, Deon Rexroat from Anberlin, Amy Lee from Evanescence, Bryce Avary from The Rocket Summer, Miley Cyrus, Casey Calvert from Hawthorne Heights, Kevin Skaff from A Day To Remember, Sam Boyd of samspeaks.net and Brendon Urie and Ryan Ross from Panic at the Disco and has a growing loyal fan base. Other supportive bands - even in other countries worldwide, such as Fresno, from Brazil - and musicians include A Skylit Drive, Between the Trees who wrote two song about Renee Yohe, "A Time For Yohe", as well as the song "The Way She Feels". The Rocket Summer, Fireflight, The Almost, Underoath, All Is Forgiven, Bayside, As We Collide, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Skillet with the song "The Last Night", Mat Kearney, and many more.

YouTube celebrity Kevin Wu of KevJumba and JumbaFund created interest in this organization when he created JumbaFund, a YouTube channel where all proceeds go to a charity voted on by its viewers. Other YouTube celebrities such SwiftKarateChop (Matthew Brian Brown) have also began supporting this organization.

In 2006, bands like Switchfoot have been on tour in support of this organization. The Up In Arms Tour has been across America spreading awareness of instances of depression and suicide amongst young people in attempt to be an agent of change to those suffering and those affected by these issues.

On September 12, 2008, To Write Love on Her Arms was featured on the NBC Nightly News segment "Making a Difference".

The TWLOHA Spring 2010 UChapters Tour, "Evenings of Lyrics and Conversation," features music by Damion Suomi, Andy Zipf, and Lauris Vidal.

To Write Love On Her Arms Movement Rubber Bracelet - White 
To Write Love On Her Arms Black Tote
To Write Love on Her Arms - Poster

Stand Up 2 Cancer (SU2C)


Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a charitable program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) established by media, entertainment and philanthropic leaders who have been affected by cancer. SU2C aims to raise significant funds for translational cancer research through online and televised efforts. Central to the program is a telethon that was televised by three major broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) in over 170 countries on September 5, 2008. SU2C made over $100 million after that evenings broadcast.

The SU2C leadership team includes news anchor Katie Couric; the Entertainment Industry Foundation, represented by Board of Directors Chairperson Sherry Lansing and CEO Lisa Paulsen; Laura Ziskin; the Noreen Fraser Foundation and its executives Noreen Fraser, Woody Fraser, Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren.


Just Stand Up!
Just Stand Up!
Stand Up 2 Cancer
Publications Established in 2008: Stand up to Cancer

Bermuda Traingle or Devil's Triangle


The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared mysteriously. Popular culture has attributed these disappearances to the paranormal or activity by extraterrestrial beings.Documented evidence indicates that a significant percentage of the incidents were inaccurately reported or embellished by later authors, and numerous official agencies have stated that the number and nature of disappearances in the region is similar to that in any other area of ocean.


The earliest allegation of unusual disappearances in the Bermuda area appeared in a September 16, 1950 Associated Press article by Edward Van Winkle Jones.Two years later, Fate magazine published "Sea Mystery At Our Back Door",a short article by George X. Sand covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers on a training mission. Sand's article was the first to lay out the now-familiar triangular area where the losses took place. Flight 19 alone would be covered in the April 1962 issue of American Legion Magazine.It was claimed that the flight leader had been heard saying "We are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white." It was also claimed that officials at the Navy board of inquiry stated that the planes "flew off to Mars." Sand's article was the first to suggest a supernatural element to the Flight 19 incident. In the February 1964 issue of Argosy, Vincent Gaddis's article "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" argued that Flight 19 and other disappearances were part of a pattern of strange events in the region.The next year, Gaddis expanded this article into a book, Invisible Horizons.

The boundaries of the triangle cover the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas and the entire Caribbean island area and the Atlantic east to the Azores. The more familiar triangular boundary in most written works has as its points somewhere on the Atlantic coast of Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda, with most of the accidents concentrated along the southern boundary around the Bahamas and the Florida Straits.

The area is one of the most heavily traveled shipping lanes in the world, with ships crossing through it daily for ports in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean Islands. Cruise ships are also plentiful, and pleasure craft regularly go back and forth between Florida and the islands. It is also a heavily flown route for commercial and private aircraft heading towards Florida, the Caribbean, and South America from points north.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Skoda Yeti In India


Skoda Auto India finally announced the launch of its SUV; Skoda Yeti in India on November 18th. The compact car is powered with 2.0 liter diesel engine.

Yeti is the foremost 4X4 model of the company that is which named under the SUV category of the country.
 



The major features supported by Yeti are-
Power – 140 BHP @ 4200 RPM, Torque – 32.63 KGM @ 1750 – 2500 RPM, Maximum Speed – 160 kmph, Transmission Type – 6 Speed Manual, Gears – 6, Fuel Type – Diesel Fuel Tank Capacity – 60 litre.
The car will include 6 airbags and corner function for fog lamps offering high safety.

Skoda Yeti will be priced around 15 lakhs.

Samsung Galaxy Tab



The story of the Galaxy Tab has been quite a saga, to say the least. In fact, it was actually back in May that we first heard rumblings of Samsung's plans to unleash a 7-inch Android tablet much like its Galaxy S phones, but it was only after months of painful teasing -- including a cruel look at just its packaging on the Engadget Show -- that Sammy finally unveiled the Galaxy Tab to the world at IFA. The Tab certainly packed the specs -- a 1GHz processor, full Flash support thanks to Android 2.2, dual cameras, support for up to 32GB of storage and WiFi / 3G connectivity -- to put other Android tablets to shame, and our initial hands-on with it only had us yearning for more. Without pricing and availability, however, the story was at a cliffhanger. Of course, those details trickled out over the next few months, and here in the US, Samsung finally announced that all four major US carriers would be getting Tabs to call their own. Verizon then finally took the lead in announcing pricing, and revealed that its Tab would hit contract-free for $600 -- Sprint followed with the same no-contract pricing along with a $400 two-year contract option. 

Samsung Galaxy Tab (T-Mobile) 



Saturday, November 27, 2010

Ghosts and other spiritual entities


A ghost is a manifestation of the spirit or soul of a person.Alternative theories expand on that idea and include belief in the ghosts of deceased animals. Sometimes the term "ghost" is used synonymously with any spirit or demon, however in popular usage the term typically refers to a deceased person's spirit.

The belief in ghosts as souls of the departed is closely tied to the concept of animism, an ancient belief which attributed souls to everything in nature. As the nineteenth-century anthropologist James Frazer explained in his classic work, The Golden Bough, souls were seen as the creature within that animated the body.Although the human soul was sometimes symbolically or literally depicted in ancient cultures as a bird or other animal, it was widely held that the soul was an exact reproduction of the body in every feature, even down to clothing the person wore. This is depicted in artwork from various ancient cultures, including such works as the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which shows deceased people in the afterlife appearing much as they did before death, including the style of dress.

A widespread belief concerning ghosts is that they are composed of a misty, airy, or subtle material. Anthropologists speculate that this may also stem from early beliefs that ghosts were the person within the person, most noticeable in ancient cultures as a person's breath, which upon exhaling in colder climates appears visibly as a white mist.This belief may have also fostered the metaphorical meaning of "breath" in certain languages, such as the Latin spiritus and the Greek pneuma, which by analogy became extended to mean the soul. In the Bible, God is depicted as animating Adam with a breath.

Numerous theories have been proposed by scientists to provide normal explanations for ghost sightings.Although the evidence for ghosts is largely anecdotal, the belief in ghosts throughout history has remained widespread and persistent.


Ghost Adventures: Season One
Ghost Adventures Season 2
Ghost Adventures 

Poverty in India



Poverty is widespread in India, with the nation estimated to have a third of the world's poor. According to a 2005 World Bank estimate, 41% of India falls below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25 a day (PPP, in nominal terms Indian rupee 21.6 a day in urban areas and Indian rupee 14.3 in rural areas); having reduced from 60% in 1981.According to the criterion used by the Planning Commission of India 27.5% of the population was living below the poverty line in 2004–2005, down from 51.3% in 1977–1978, and 36% in 1993-1994.A study by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative using a Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) found that there were 421 million poor living under the MPI in eight north India states of Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. This number is higher than the 410 million poor living in the 26 poorest African nations.However, latest estimates by NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research), show that 48% of the Indian households earn more than Indian rupee90,000 (US$ 2,043) annually (or more than US$3 PPP per person). According to NCAER, in 2009, of the 222 million households in India, the absolutely poor households (annual incomes below Indian rupee 45,000) accounted for only 15.6 % of them or about 35 million (about 200 million Indians). Another 80 million households are in income levels of Indian rupee 45,000-90,000 per year.


Reduction in Poverty

Despite all the causes, India currently adds 40 million people to its middle class every year.[citation needed] Analysts such as the founder of "Forecasting International", Marvin J. Cetron writes that an estimated 300 million Indians now belong to the middle class; one-third of them have emerged from poverty in the last ten years. At the current rate of growth, a majority of Indians will be middle-class by 2025. Literacy rates have risen from 52 percent to 65 percent in the same period.


Poverty is one of the main issues, attracting the attention of sociologists and economists. It indicates a condition in which a person fails to maintain a living standard adequate for a comfortable lifestyle.

Though India boasts of a high economic growth, it is shameful that there is still large scale poverty in India. Poverty in India can be defined as a situation when a certain section of people are unable to fulfill their basic needs. India has the world's largest number of poor people living in a single country. Out of its total population of more than 1 billion, 350 to 400 million people are living below the poverty line. Nearly 75% of the poor people are in rural areas, most of them are daily wagers, landless laborers and self employed house holders. There are a number of reasons for poverty in India. Poverty in India can be classified into two categories namely rural poverty and urban poverty.





Reasons for Rural Poverty
Some of the basic reasons of rural poverty in India are:

    * Unequal distribution of income.
    * High population growth.
    * Illiteracy.
    * Large families.
    * Caste system.

Problems Of Rural Poverty

    * Presence of malnutrition, illiteracy, diseases and long term health problems.
    * Unhygienic living conditions, lack of proper housing, high infant mortality rate, injustice to women and social ill-treatment of certain sections of society.

Steps Taken by Government to Reduce Rural Poverty
The government of India has been trying its best to remove poverty. Some of the measures which the government has taken to remove rural poverty are:

    * Small farmer’s development Programme.
    * Drought area development Programme.
    * Minimum needs Programme.
    * National rural employment Programme.
    * Assurance on employment.
    * Causes for Urban Poverty.

Causes for Urban Poverty

The causes of urban poverty in India are:

    * Improper training
    * Slow job growth.
    * Failure of PDS system

Problems Of Urban Poverty

    * Restricted access to employment opportunities and income.
    * Lack of proper housing facilities
    * Unhygienic environments
    * No social security schemes
    * Lack of opportunity to quality health and educational services.

The steps taken by government to remove urban poverty are:

    * Nehru Rozgar Yojna.
    * Prime Minister Rozgar Yojna.
    * Urban Basic services for the poor Programme.
    * National social Assistance Programme.

But these processes can be helpful only if the policies go to those people for whom it is meant. The clash between the central government and the state government often results in the lack of implementation of these policies. So it is very important that the governments do not play power politics when it comes to a serious issue such as poverty.



Even more than 50 years after independence from almost two centuries of British rule, large scale poverty remains the most shameful blot on the face of India.India still has the world’s largest number of poor people in a single country. Of its nearly 1 billion inhabitants, an estimated 350-400 million are below the poverty line, 75 per cent of them in the rural areas. More than 40 per cent of the population is illiterate, with women, tribal and scheduled castes particularly affected. It would be incorrect to say that all poverty reduction programmes have failed. The growth of the middle class (which was virtually non-existent when India became a free nation in August 1947) indicates that economic prosperity has indeed been very impressive in India, but the DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH has been very uneven. The main causes of poverty are illiteracy, a population growth rate by far exceeding the economic growth rate for the better part of the past 50 years, protectionist policies pursued since 1947 to 1991 which prevented large amounts of foreign investment in the country. Poverty alleviation is expected to make better progress in the next 50 years than in the past, as a trickle-down effect of the growing middle class. Increasing stress on education, reservation of seats in government jobs and the increasing empowerment of women and the economically weaker sections of society, are also expected to contribute to the alleviation of poverty.Eradication of poverty can only be a very long-term goal in India.
 




 

Kaavalan



Kaavalan is an upcoming Tamil romance film written and directed by Siddique. Starring Vijay and Asin Thottumkal in lead roles, the film is the remake of the director's previous Malayalam film Bodyguard. The film began its principal shoot in April 2010.Previously titled as Kaavalkaaran and Kaaval Kaadhal, the film will feature music composed by Vidyasagar. It was slated for release during 2010 Diwali on 5 November,but continued production led to a delay until late December and Kaavalan's audio launch is expected to be held in Chennai on 1 December 2010.


Cast

    * Vijay as Arjun
    * Asin Thottumkal as Meera
    * Rajkiran as Meera's father
    * Roja Selvamani as Meera's mother
    * Mithra Kurian as Meera's friend
    * Vadivelu as Ammavasai
    * Nizhalgal Ravi as Arjun's father
    * Yuvashree as Arjun's mother
    * M. S. Bhaskar as Mithra's father
    * Madhan Bob as Arjun's college principal
    * Guinnes Pakru
    * Rakesh Roshan as Dr.Cool (Guest Appearance)


Track listing

The audio will be releasing on 3rd December 2010.
 

No.    Song(s)
 

1     "Vinnai Kaapan Oruvan"      
2     "Sadasadavena Mazhai"      
3     "Step Step"                            
4     "Yaar Ithu"                            
5     "Un Kadhal Jillakal"             
6     "Chinna Ponnu"                      
7     "Kadhal Kacheri"                        

Monday, November 15, 2010

Burkett’s lymphoma





Burkett’s lymphoma (or "Burkett’s tumor", Burkett lymphoma or "malignant lymphoma, Burkett’s type") is a cancer of the lymphatic system (in particular, B lymphocytes). It is named after Denis Parsons Burkett, a surgeon who first described the disease in 1956 while working in equatorial Africa.




Currently Burkett’s lymphoma can be divided into three main clinical variants: the endemic, the sporadic and the immunodeficiency-associated variants, which are all associated with HIV and AIDS. Burkett’s lymphoma is usually associated with over 90% of AIDS cases. All facial features exhibited by Burkett’s lymphoma are associated to HIV/AIDS.

§     The endemic variant occurs in equatorial Africa. It is the most common malignancy of children in this area. Children affected with the disease often also had chronic malaria, which is believed to have reduced resistance to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), allowing it to take hold. The disease characteristically involves the jaw or other facial bone, distal ileum, cecum, ovaries, kidney or the breast.
§  
       The sporadic type of Burkitt lymphoma (also known as "non-African") is another form of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma found outside of Africa. The tumor cells have a similar appearance to the cancer cells of classical African or endemic Burkitt lymphoma. Again it is believed that impaired immunity provides an opening for development of the Epstein-Barr virus. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which includes Burkitt's, accounts for 30-50% of childhood lymphoma. The jaw is less commonly involved, compared to the endemic variant. The ileo-cecal region is the common site of involvement.

§      Immunodeficiency-associated Burkett lymphoma is usually associated with HIV infection or occurs in the setting of post-transplant patients who are taking immunosuppressive drugs. Burkett lymphoma can be one of the diseases associated with the initial manifestation of AIDS.
Handcrafted Artisan Lymphoma Awareness Heart Pendant & Sterling Silver Chain Necklace
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Awareness Ribbon Mouse Pad 



Sunday, November 14, 2010

Prostitution in India

In India prostitution is not legal and any activities related to such are illegal. There are about 2.8 million sex workers in India among the 35% consist of girls under the age 18, in the last two decades the number has got doubled.

Love For Sale: A World History of Prostitution

Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry

Paying for It: A Guide by Sex Workers for Their Clients 

Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry

Cigarette smoking


It was the German scientist who found in the late 1920s that tobacco smoking or cigarette smoking leads to lung cancer and made their first campaign against it. But the attempt failed and the things dissolved in the Second World War issue and became unpopular. Later in the 1950s the issue was again raised up and the relation between smoking and cancer became a topic but the consumption of smoking was still climbing in developed countries.

Now there are almost 1.22 billion smokers across the world among them the men dominates.

Cigarette Smoking Man (formerly Cancer Man) 12 Inch Figure from The X-Files
Thank You for Smoking (Widescreen Edition)