Sheblog.net

Pardon Our Dust..

Dear Readers..We have been working with our programmer/designer on our new site. We are under construction. The new site should be up within the next two weeks. We will still have our same positive outlook and take on things, but our site will be easier to navigate for you. We have been looking for worthwhile contributing authors who will share their insights and information with you.Our same great authors will still be part of Sheblog, so stay tuned. So please keep stopping by, we want to know you! 

Bree and Lerena

Shine a Spotlight on Hate..

Thomas, please keep writing, and reminding us of things that matter...Lerena

POLITICAL BRIEFING By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN: I wasn't surprised to read that British police officers in white protective suits and blue gloves were combing through the Iqra Learning Center bookstore in Leeds for clues to the 7/7 London bombings. Some of the 7/7 bombers hung out at the bookstore. And I won't be surprised if today's bombers also sampled the literature there.

Check out this site....Lerena

http://www.ChildrenNow.org

Digital Television Children Now led the Children's Media Policy Coalition to ensure that digital broadcasters fulfill their public interest obligations to children. In September 2004, by a unanimous vote, the FCC established new rules that will help to ensure children have access to educational television programs and parents have information to help them identify these shows. Our report, Digital Television: Sharpening the Focus on Children, highlights Children Now's conference and the ensuing FCC ruling that constitutes one of the most critical victories for children's media.

Free Press, The Fight Ain't Over Yet...Bree Walker

If mainstream media headlines are as far as you read on the issue of public broadcasting, you might be tempted to believe that PBS has won the battle to remain the voice of the people. Not so.  It's true the house voted 284 to 140 to restore 100 million dollars to the budget for public broadcasting. US representatives heard the public outcry, the phones, emails, telegrams, you fought hard. But trust me,the fight has only just begun.

The legislation now moves to the Senate where allies of the free press movement hope to restore another 100 million for children's programing and digital upgrades like satellites; money stripped away by partisan operatives on the House Appropriations Committee.

Meanwhile, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting brought former Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Patricia Harrison to be CPB's next president. Guess who did it? The new CPB Chairman, neocon Ken Tomlison who's working fast and furious to transform public broadcasting into another mainstream media outlet, a mouth piece for the White House.

If you are like me you are mad as hell and you are not going to take it anymore. Keep writing, keep fighting, go to www.freepress.net/action/unsub.php

'Death By Chocolate"....Steve Smith

This from our funny contributing writer and fellow Chocoholic, Steve Smith.....

'Death By Chocolate' Is Never Going to Happen...

by Steve Smith

I know, I know. SheBlog. net is a serious (yet playful) site for women (and enlightened men). But, sometimes you have to take a deep breath from the cacophony of  world events and say "can chocolate play a meaningful role in my adult life?"  I know this subject is near and dear to one of the founders of this site but her name will remain unwritten (OK, you twisted my arm...it's Lerena.) And, Bree, we need to have a serious discussion about your stand on chocolate ASAP.

Lerena and I have spent a lot of time debating the merits of chocolate...oh, excuse me: Dark Chocolate. She constantly teases me (in a good way) whenever we encounter chocolate in our excursions that it has many health benefits. We will be sitting down and she will scoop up a piece of chocolate pretend like it is heading my way and then it always make a sharp detour to her waiting palate. After a few seconds of near bliss, Lerena will raise her arms like she just scored the winning touchdown at the Super Bowl.  The last time I saw her, I brought her a banana instead of chocolate since we are always on a health kick. Lerena looked at me and looked at the banana and then back at me and said something like: "You have got to be kidding,  You need the banana more than me. What's for dessert?"

But I digress. Since the challenge was thrown out (in my mind), I decided to research the merits Dark Chocolate (DC) knowing that I was finally going to win one against Lerena.

I came across a great article on chocolate from the Health & Healing newsletter which is put out by the Whitaker Wellness Institute in Newport Beach, California.

Conscious Pregnancy and Conscious Conception, Dr. S. Barrie

Conscious Pregnancy and Conscious Conception

Over the past 5 years many of us have become aware of the growing 
body of scientific evidence that supports the intuitive concept of 
how important parents' attitudes and the external fetal environment 
are in the development of the fetus. Awake or asleep, the studies 
show that unborn children are constantly tuned in to their mother's 
every action, thought and feeling. From the moment of conception, the 
experience in the womb shapes the brain and lays the foundation for 
personality, emotional temperament and the power of higher thought.
Some people may feel that this information is a burden - oh my gosh, 
look what I could be responsible for. I believe just the opposite - 
this is tremendously empowering. As parents we can use this 
information to help create the ideal environment for the fetus/baby - 
enhance their future intelligence, social skills and behavior - this 
is truly conscious parenting, starting very early.
If you thought that conscious parenting begins after conception - 
think again! New research reveals that both parents act as genetic 
engineers for their children in the months before conception. In the 
final stages of egg and sperm maturation, a process called genomic 
imprinting adjusts the activity of specific groups of genes that will 
shape the character of the child YET to be conceived. Apparently what 
is going on in the lives of the parents during the process of genomic 
imprinting has a profound influence on the mind and body of a future 
fetus/child. This could be a scary thought given how unprepared most 
of us are to have a baby. What a great opportunity this presents to 
be even more active in the formation of a healthy child.
I will follow this up shortly with more details about how parental 
life experiences can shape their children's genetic character and the 
expression of the genes signals.

Introducing one of our new contributing authors.....

Thank you Stephen for joining us...we look forward to blogging with you. Lerena and Bree
Dr. Stephen Barrie is an agent of change. He founded the Great 
Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory to advance natural medicine and the 
scientific research of integrative medicine around the world. As an 
international lecturer and thought leader Dr. Barrie was instrumental 
in establishing integrative medicine as a valuable part of modern 
Western healthcare. He has published numerous scientific articles 
appearing in major medical journals (The Lancet,Agents and Actions, 
Medical Hypothesis among others) on subjects ranging from the health 
benefits of garlic in lowering cholesterol to methodologies for new 
clinical laboratory testing methods.
Dr. Barrie co-authored the 7-Day Detox Miracle, which was welcomed on 
the LA Times best seller list as a safe and effective way to help 
people increase energy. He currently lives in Malibu, California, 
where he is using the medium of film to further inform, motivate and 
change how people view their world and their health.

Music, Activism, blogging, all in one, July 2, 2005

Live8: Experience history in the making -- right from your Treo smartphone. One day. Seven countries. More than 125 bands. On July 2, 2005 music, activism, and blogging collide at Live8. This global music event will be attended -- and documented -- by bloggers around the world, and with your Treo smartphone in hand, you can stay right on top of all the action, thanks to a special Treo smartphone-optimized website, created in partnership with Technorati. Whether you're a music lover, blog enthusiast, socially conscious or all three, you won't want to miss this event. Learn more thanks S. Barrie

News From the Future, Today,

Stephen Barrie found sent this to us....

Korean robotocist Kim Jong-Hwan has developed "artificial 
chromosomes" he says will allow robots to feel lusty, and could 
eventually lead them to reproduce. One's imagination gets dizzy 
thinking about this "advance".
At the University of Bath (UK) a tiny sensor drone powers itself by 
feeding on dead flies (wait till PETA hears about this).
A University of Wisconsin team has constructed synthetic DNA that 
could be used to direct the assembly of computer circuits.
Alaskan researches have created an artificial aurora borealis they 
say may be useful in writing advertising messages on the night sky 
(this could be better than the banners being dragged behind planes 
over the LA beaches).
A Chicago chef prints out flavored paper sushi (the ultimate diet food).

Just wait till tomorrow.

S

X-Rays, Snails, Sand Flies, And An Angel on Earth, by Lerena

Health: Some of what is in store for us....

We are entering an era of medical technology that is bringing us things like Interventional Radiology ( IR). IR offers an alternative to some brain surgeries for treatment of aneurysm. The procedure can be done with live X-Ray pictures and entering from a tiny incision instead of having to slice into a patients skull. And the cost is about half of what the major surgery would cost, plus the patient returns to active life within a day or two.

We are finding help in some unexpected places. For instance, The Core Snail, delivers a lethal venom to it's prey, but that same venom happens to be a potent pain killer for humans. It blocks pain signals in the spinal cord. This is part of a new category of pain killers called N-Type Channel Blockers.

Some Pharmaceutical companies have several anti-cancer agents derived from nature in the works. Natures bounty may very well provide a large and diverse preventative and curative medicine chest.

But we will always need the angels that walk among us on earth to help us out. Take for instance..Victoria Hale.

There is a deadly disease that is concentrated in the poorest of rural areas of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sudan and Brazil. It is called

Kala Azar. This is a neglected disease that strikes half-million people yearly. This is a parasitic infection that is spread by tiny, biting, sand flies. It is fatal if left untreated. There was a medication for it, but that medication no longer works.

Enter Victoria Hale, American Scientist.... Victoria was on a personal mission to set up a pharmaceutical company that would measure success in lives saved as opposed to dollars earned.

After a visit to India where she saw first hand the destrucion wrought by Kala Azar, she was moved to tears as well as action. She found out that the only drug that could cure the people was soon to be depleted, and would no longer manufactured.The drug is called. Paromoycin. With the help of her husband, Dr. Ahvie Herskowitz and Dr. Philippe Desjeux, Victoria formed a new company called OneWorldHeath. http://www.oneworldhealth.org/   They have found a way to produce the much needed Paromoycin. If all goes as planned, paromomycin will soon be an available cure for just $10, one twentieth of what it now costs.It looks like success will be measured by lives saved! THANK YOU VICTORIA, a walking angel, especially to those that have been afflicted.

Lerena

http://www.oneworldhealth.org/

photo is of Victoria Hale, by Jonathan Torgovnik for Newsweek

ANOTHER FASCIST MOVE INTO THE BURBS, Bree Walker

Bree Walker: Another Fascist Move Into The Burbs

Being from farm country (Austin, Minnesota, where Hormel meat processing is the ONLY industry), I watched in horror as my small town of about thirty thousand people (smaller now, ever since Hormel Meats won that long, ugly battle against the employee labor union back in the 80's and most of my friends lost their jobs) yielded to corporate takeover. This time, there is no National Guard necessary to ensure big business tramples the little guy: the SCABS are finally running the entire country.

The friends I have left in Austin are taking a deep breath, knowing our little town is one of those cities in desperate need of revenue. This vulnerability means Austin likely will change into a city I'll no longer recognize, as the Supreme Court supports developers rushing in with badly needed dollars, builders who can and will buy out "mom and pop businesses", farms, even urban homes (like the one in which I grew up, about 800 square feet for a family of six in an older part of town) simply because they are less profitable than big shopping centers and mini malls. I have to question who will have the money to buy the gas to get to those malls to spend more money, but I guess the developers must have solutions for that conundrum. Maybe they will begin digging and find...oil? Oops,wrong Austin.

Even considering both my parents are buried in The Grandview Memorial Gardens just thirty five miles east of Rochester (Austin's closest 'big city') I expect I will never want to go back home again. I just can't watch what's likely to happen next. I don't think my old buddies have it in them to fight any more. My old hippie friends from the Seventies were beaten to a bloody pulp in the "Spam slam" two decades ago. Some of them are still not speaking to other family members from Austin's uncivil war. The ones that survived at "The Plant" have learned to just shut up. Guess that makes 'em a lot like my more recent compadres, whom, as unhappy as they are in mainstream media jobs where they can no longer speak the truth if they want a paycheck, simply plug away like corporate drones pushing the Fascist agenda up the hill. Capitol Hill.

It's probably just a matter of time before we bloggers get our gag orders first from the D.C gang and then ultimately, from China, once the Administration finds a way to sell us all out. Another sad day in America. But hey, at least those Chinese know how to run a government, even if it's the opposite of Fascism. Who knows? Maybe American Communism is the court of last resort for our droned out, dumbed down, tuned out, Hippie Capitalist population. I know I'm damned tired of watching the alternative loom larger everyday.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/bree-walker/another-fascist-move-into_3189.html

PERSONAL HEALTH KEY,

Dear Readers: I was looking on line and found this new item. It is a key that will actually carry your personal medical history. The technology now available will store your records from chilhood vaccinations to current test results. You can order them online at the site I have listed here. Please send us feedback if you buy one and use it. Thanks Lerena

http://www.capmed.com/

This Blog is 100% Solar, Amir Ascaravaa

This is something we found in wired, written by Amir Asaraca, June 9.....take a look this is interesting......

Over the past several years, these boutique firms have carved out a "green" niche in the crowded web-hosting market by running data centers powered entirely by solar panels.

The panels are not only good for the environment, they're also good for business. In addition to saving the companies thousands of dollars a month in electric bills, they're drawing in customers from all over the world who want to host their websites in a green data center.

"That was a big plus for us," said Phil Nail, technology manager at Southern California's Affordable Internet Services Online, or AISO, which converted its data center to solar power in 2002 as a cost-saving measure. "We've brought on probably a good couple-thousand customers since the panels were installed. The majority of those customers were searching for green hosting options and found us."

Customers who signed up with AISO long before the panels were installed are also pleased.

"It's a nice match with what we do," said Mike Lutz, director of distribution at MacGillivray Freeman Films, an Imax film production studio in Laguna Beach, California. "Over 30 years, we have focused on delivering films that feature science and conservation, and working with a company that is powered by solar power certainly fits that bill."

The positive response is not surprising to John Gethoefer, president of Portland, Oregon, company ecoSky. Gethoefer launched ecoSky in 2003 with the goal of serving companies that want to operate with the least impact on the environment.

"What it comes down to is that there's a lot of movement in this country and in this world by people trying to live more sustainably," he said. "A lot of business owners are responding to that."

We saw this on the LBN e-alert: So get your hand out of the bag and spit out the one in your mouth.....L and B

PUBLIC HEALTH ADVOCATES CITE LACK OF RISK NOTICE ON POTATO CHIP BAGS: Public health attorneys in California have potato chip makers in their sights for not listing a cancer-causing chemical present in many brands. That chemical is acrylamide. It is an industrial chemical used in plastics, pesticides and sewage treatment that also can occur when starchy foods, such as chips, are processed at high temperatures. The World Health Organization has said acrylamide may be responsible for up to one-third of all cancers caused by diet, as demonstrated by laboratory animal studies. Acrylamide is already on California's list of chemicals known to cause cancer, but some chipmakers haven't listed it on their product packaging as required by Proposition 65 statute.

This is from the LBN newsletter....We have been reading Thomas Friedman's books and following his commentary........Bree and I talk and think about our troops in Iraq and their families every day. Here is what Thomas has to say about the current situation.....he cuts to core, once again.

LBN-POLITICAL BRIEFING By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN: Ever since Iraq's remarkable election, the country has been descending deeper and deeper into violence. But no one in Washington wants to talk about it. Conservatives don't want to talk about it because, with a few exceptions, they think their job is just to applaud whatever the Bush team does. Liberals don't want to talk about Iraq because, with a few exceptions, they thought the war was wrong and deep down don't want the Bush team to succeed. As a result, Iraq is drifting sideways and the whole burden is being carried by our military. The rest of the country has gone shopping, which seems to suit Karl Rove just fine. Well, we need to talk about Iraq. This is no time to give up - this is still winnable - but it is time to ask: What is our strategy? This question is urgent because Iraq is inching toward a dangerous tipping point - the point where the key communities begin to invest more energy in preparing their own militias for a scramble for power - when everything falls apart, rather than investing their energies in making the hard compromises within and between their communities to build a unified, democratizing Iraq. Our core problem in Iraq remains Donald Rumsfeld's disastrous decision - endorsed by President Bush - to invade Iraq on the cheap. From the day the looting started, it has been obvious that we did not have enough troops there. We have never fully controlled the terrain. Almost every problem we face in Iraq today - the rise of ethnic militias, the weakness of the economy, the shortages of gas and electricity, the kidnappings, the flight of middle-class professionals - flows from not having gone into Iraq with the Powell Doctrine of overwhelming force.

Introducing one of our new contributing authors, Tami Walsh

Celebrating Your Inner Teenager:

Lessons For Women…From Women To Be

Part 1

Tami Walsh, M.A.

     What if everything you ever needed to know about life and living you could learn from a teenage girl? Sound unlikely? Then read on…

      We can all remember being a teen girl, right? (and for those of you who care not to, I can’t say I blame you!)  My teen years were characterized by hours of lip-synching to my favorite Donna Summer songs in the bathroom mirror, feelings of insecurity and self-obsession about my freckles and flat chest, feeble attempts at getting guys’ attention, and weekly detention for being unable to keep my mouth shut in classes I hated. I remember hanging with my girlfriends and laughing so hard ‘til soda came out of our noses, writing in my journal about “he/said, she/said” high school drama, and daydreaming of coming to Hollywood and becoming a bigger star than, yes, my pop idol, Heather Locklear...(she was still glam even in her TJ Hooker police get up)

     Sure, there are aspects of being a teen

    

Taboo, Taboo, Shame on You, look who considers these bad words..

This comes from lbn news alert ( Levine), L and B

'FREEDOM' A TABOO WORD ON CHINESE INTERNET; CHINESE CENSORS SCOLD INTERNET USERS WHO INPUT TABOO WORDS, LIKE 'FREEDOM' AND 'HUMAN RIGHTS': Chinese bloggers, even on foreign-sponsored sites, had better choose their words carefully -- the censors are watching. Users of the MSN Spaces section of Microsoft Corp.'s new China-based Web portal get a scolding message each time they input words deemed taboo by the communist authorities -- such as democracy, freedom and human rights.

Take a look at this blog site, some up to date info on stem cell stuff and more. One of our readers

http://anukets-crusade.blogspot.com

The promiscuous males turned into stay-at-home dads, Lerena

"Falling in love is the most irrational of human behaviors. New love can look like mental illness, a blend of mania, dementia and obsession that cuts people off from friends and family and prompts out-of character behavior."  And very possibly romantic love is a biological urge distinct from sexual arousal. This according to the analysis of brain scan images that appeared in The Journal of Neurophysiology. ( New York Times article, "Watching New Love As It Sears The Brain" Benedict Carey

Supposedly this type of neural profile is closer to hunger, thirst or drug craving than it is to the emotional states of excitement or affection.

So this must be why some of us feel so out of control or irrational when we fall in love. All those songs we have heard and the love stories we have been reading were telling us the truth, love makes you nuts! In a separate experiment researchers will analyze the brain images of people who have been rejected. I bet that one will be a doozy!

As part of this study the scientist gave voles (OK, that is something like a rat) an injection with a single gene that turned them from promiscuous males to stay- at- home dads. I plan on contacting those scientists tomorrow and asking them to give me a vat of the stuff. Don't worry ladies, I will be happy to share!  Lerena

Great Teachers, Mad Ballroom and now Willimans College honors 4 high school teachers....Lerena

LBN-COMMENTARY By Thomas L. Friedman: You don't expect to learn much at a graduation ceremony - especially if you're the commencement speaker. But I learned about a truly important program at the Williams College graduation last Sunday. Every year, in addition to granting honorary degrees, Williams also honors four high school teachers. But not just any high school teachers. Williams asks the 500 or so members of its senior class to nominate the high school teachers who had a profound impact on their lives. Then each year a committee goes through the roughly 50 student nominations, does its own research with the high schools involved and chooses the four most inspiring teachers. Each of the four teachers is given $2,000, plus a $1,000 donation to his or her high school. The winners and their families are then flown to Williams, located in the lush Berkshires, and honored as part of the graduation weekend. On the day before last Sunday's graduation, all four of the high school teachers, and the students who nominated them, sat on stage at a campuswide event, and the dean of the college talked about how and why each high school teacher had influenced the Williams student, reading from the students' nominating letters. Later, the four teachers were introduced at a dinner along with the honorary degree recipients.
If you are a teacher or have a blog about a teacher you admire, please send it to us, we would like to pass it on.

Mad Hot Ballroom. LERENA

I just returned from watching a unique movie, Mad Hot Ballroom. ( www.paramountclassics.com/madhot)

This is an inspiring look at the lives of New York City school children (fifth graders) that enter the world of ballroom dancing and work toward a citywide competition. Every year the American Ballroom Theater's Dancing Classrooms is the nonprofit organization that provides the instruction for the various public schools. This film, by first time feature filmmaker, Marilyn Agrelo and Amy Sewell, takes you into the soul of this culturally diverse area. In the  six weeks before the competition we watch these urban kids experience new ideas about attitude, style and above all, commitment. I will admit I felt a few tears gather in the corner of my eyes more than once as I heard and saw the devoted teachers give of themselves. I was reminded of some of the great individuals that have served as mentors to many of us during childhood. The kids turned into "ladies and gentlemen" while they learned about themselves and each other. The camera showed us a candid look, and often some humorous perspectives. The things kids will say!  For the last 12 years I have worked, in one capacity or another, with teens trying to quit drugs or alcohol.I was left wondering tonight if some of them might have found themselves in some type of program like the one in the film....well, Perhaps, they would have discovered they did not need the drugs after all. Lerena

STEM CELLS SAVE BABIES, Lerena

I was reading Time Magazine, and came across another interesting article regarding stem cells, this one written by Jeffery Kluger, May 30,2005.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at Duke University report that infants born with a fatal nerve disorder, (Krabbe's disease) have been helped and perhaps saved with treatment from stem cells taken from the umbilical cords of healthy babies. Krabbe's Disease can lead to blindness, deafness, cognitive deterioration,and death.

There have been varying degrees of recovery in the study with 25 babies. Some remain disabled ( they were symptomatic at the start of the study,) but they are deteriorating more slowly with some improving quite a bit. The mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic babies did much better. The oldest survivor is now 6 and running, jumping and doing well in school.  We most likely will see more and more news like this coming our way. Lerena

THE THINGS MOTHERS TEACH THEIR DAUGHTERS

Researchers: Dolphins use sponges as tools

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A group of dolphins living off the coast of Australia apparently teach their offspring to protect their snouts with sponges while foraging for food in the sea floor.   Thanks to Stephen Barrie, he sent us this interesting article. Note: from time to time you may read articles about different species as some of our contributing writers work for various organizations such as the San Diego Zoo. We just might learn a thing or two from the animals!   Lerena

Researchers say it appears to be a cultural behavior passed on from mother to daughter, a first for animals of this type, although such learning has been seen in other species.

The dolphins, living in Shark Bay, Western Australia, use conically shaped whole sponges that they tear off the bottom, said Michael Kruetzen, lead author of a report on the dolphins in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

"Cultural evolution, including tool use, is not only found in humans and our closest relatives, the primates, but also in animals that are evolutionally quite distant from us. This convergent evolution is what is so fascinating," said Kruetzen.

Researchers suspect the sponges help the foraging dolphins avoid getting stung by stonefish and other critters that hide in the sandy sea bottom, just as a gardener might wear gloves to protect the hands.

Kruetzen and colleagues analyzed 13 "spongers" and 172 "non-spongers" and concluded that the practice seems to be passed along family lines, primarily from mothers to daughters.

"Teaching requires close observation by the pupil," Kruetzen said. "Offspring spend up to four years before they are weaned, so they would have ample time to observe their mum doing it -- if she is a sponger."

"This study provides convincing evidence that the behavior is transmitted via social learning," commented Laela Sayigh of the University of North Carolina Center for Marine Science.

"Such social learning appears to be widespread among the Shark Bay dolphins," said Sayigh, who was not part of Kruetzen's team.

Only one male was observed using a sponge. Kruetzen noted that, as adults, male and female dolphins have very different lifestyles.

Adult males form small groups of two or three individuals that chase females in reproductive condition, he explained. "I would think that they do not have time to engage in such a time-consuming foraging activity as adults, as they are busy herding females."

Currently at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, Kruetzen was at the University of New South Wales, Australia, when the research was conducted. The work was funded by the Australian Research Council, the National Geographic Society, the W.V. Scott Foundation and the Linnaean Society of New South Wales.

TIPS FOR STALKING VICTIMS

Tips for Stalking Victims

Thanks Joe V. for finding this information for us.

These tips will help you guard your personal information and lessen the chance that it will get into the hands of a stalker or harasser. However, some of these tips are extreme and should only be used if you are indeed being stalked. Harassment can take many forms, so this information may not be appropriate in every situation and may not resolve serious stalking problems.
(See also the Supplement to this fact sheet, "Security Recommendations for Stalking Victims," provided by the Los Angeles Police Department's Threat Management Unit.)

1. Use a private post office box. Residential addresses of post office box holders are generally confidential. However, the U.S. Postal Service will release a residential address to any government agency, or to persons serving court papers. The Post Office only requires verification from an attorney that a case is pending. This information is easily counterfeited. Private companies, such as Mail Boxes Etc., are more strict and will require that the person making the request have an original copy of a subpoena. Use your private post office box address for all of your correspondence. Print it on your checks instead of your residential address. Instead of recording the address as "Box 123," use "Apartment 123."

HOW TO FARM STEM CELLS WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL

Please take a look at this article from Wired. Send us your comments or any other articles you think would be of interest. Stem cell research is vital.... There are several ways, and more being discoverd weekly, on how we can use this research to it's full potential, Lerena and Bree, P.S. Thank you Stephen Barri

How to Farm Stem Cells Without Losing Your Soul
A solution to the stem cell dilemma that even the Vatican can love.
By Clive Thompson

Feature:
How to Farm Stem Cells Without Losing Your Soul
Plus:
4 Ways to ‘Ethically’ Harvest Stem Cells

William Hurlbut clicks his laptop, and an x-ray pops up on the projection screen behind him. It's a picture of a tumor in a woman's ovary - a ghostly blob floating near the spine. In the middle are several strange, Chiclet-shaped nodules. "Those white opacities," Hurlbut says, "are actually fully formed teeth."

A few audience members blanch. Though we're in an ordinary conference room in Rome, it feels like church. The seats are filled with some of the Vatican's top thinkers, including a dozen men in clerical dress, a nun in a flowing brown habit, and a Dominican priest whose prayer beads quietly clatter. Hurlbut, a bioethicist from Stanford, has traveled here to tell them about a new way to create human embryonic stem cells.

As you might expect, the Vatican is vehemently opposed to embryonic stem cell science. President Bush is also wary, and two years ago he all but banned federal funding for it. But most medical scientists remain convinced that stem cells hold the key to a new kind of healing: regenerative medicine. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, meaning that they have the ability to develop into any type of human tissue. If that capacity could be harnessed and directed, injury and disease need no longer be crippling. For example, new neurons grown from stem cells might reverse the damage from Alzheimer's and repair severed spinal cords. But the research requires growing - and destroying - embryos in the lab. Hurlbut, however, claims he has a method for harvesting embryonic stem cells without killing human embryos.

Tom Is No Mom by Bree Walker

When Tom Cruise dissed Brooke Shields for her post partum depression on the Oprah show, it showed his testosterone filled hubris as much as his Scientologist schizophrenia.
The latest anti aging research has proven that it is neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine which control anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders. This is an area of pure science in which amateurs who've never even given birth themselves should simply shut up, at least until they do a little research. Maybe Tom needs some ADD meds before he goes on Oprah again, given his weird behavior on live TV.

My niece Kate Olson and her brother- in- law Mike Bull both work for renowned neuroscientist Dr. Gottfried Kellermann (http:/www.neuroscienceinc.com) in Osceola, Wisconsin, who specializes in these chemical messengers of the brain.  Tests for neurotransmitter malfunction are now simple and more accurate than ever before; saliva testing is now common in most longevity clinics and is one of the least expensive ways to discover whether your brain chemicals are messing up your life. Furthermore, cortisol levels, the measure of stress hormone in your blood is another scientifically proven way to determine whether your neurotransmitters are working efficiently. In new mothers, the wildly fluctuating hormones after birth  often cause  roller coaster reactions in all these factors.  Tom should have cruised past the urge to purge on new mom Brooke  Shields  if he really wanted to be a good Scientologist.

Bree Walker: Celebrity Acquittal Riddle

I spoke today to two former broadcast news co-workers, both still in mainstream media, one in television news and the other in network radio, both imprisoned in Santa Maria, California until there is a verdict in the all-important Michael Jackson trial.

I asked both the obvious-- how likely is it that Jackson is treated to the obligatory California celebrity acquittal?-- and both acknowledged that is what they expect. They also agreed with me the verdict is destined to reinforce the cynicism and apathy of "We The People", resigned as too many of us are to living in a country where the rich, the famous and the too-well-connected-to-get-hurt simply pay their legal fees and move on to bigger media exposures.

If there is any momentum building toward a legitimate revolt in the blogosphere, it must necesssarily include a seroius look at how we worship celebrity. Oprah as God, Paris Hilton as sex goddess, Michael Jackson as a martyr to persecution-- no wonder we have given new meaning around the world to the phrase "Ugly American". No wonder our teenagers have body issues and anxiety disorders like never before. They feel voiceless in the new order, the one in which mainstream media have been castrated by conservative ownership and relegated to sycophantic coverage of "celebrities", muzzled on serious issues by an administration which doesn't mind showing the world we really needn't concern ourselves with the health of our planet or the future of our children.

I write these words with a renewed sense of my own vulnerability as a very minor celebrity with a small but inescapable disability. I've always had a love/hate relationship with both these realities in my life. I sit here, trying to type with one digit, recovering too slowly from a bone infection in the only opposing thumb the universe saw fit to give me. It's given me new kinship with the voiceless, being one step closer to the animal kingdom as long as my left paw is all bandaged up.

I feel sorry for the voiceless creatures who are forced to emigrate or die by the global warming the administration says doesn't exist. I feel even sadder for our young people who have chosen not to care about politics because they take their cue from mainstream media, which direct their attention away from real issues and toward "events" like the Jackson trial. Shut out of the world of celebrity, big money, warmongering and political deceit, they burrow inside themselves and focus on the torture of their own narcissism. It's the only place they feel empowered.

Ted Turner says he is ashamed of what CNN has become. Does anyone at CNN care about that? Or are they too busy waiting for the verdict?

letter from a reader with a newborn who has a similar deformity to Bree's

Lydia wrote to me when her baby was born with a genetic anomaly similar though less complicated and complete as ectrodactyly. We have been corresponding about her options after I talked to her about the experience my own children have been through in various surgical improvements to their hands and feet. Bree

"Little Lydia's Assessment" - Gail Warner

We took our 6 week old baby girl "Lydia"  to the Shriner's Hospital in St. Louis, MO today (Tuesday May 31st).  The surgeons there took x-rays of her hands and feet.  They diagnosed her condition officially as Syndactyly.  Little Lydia has only four fingers on each hand, the thumb and index fingers are fused together.  The thumbs and fingers that will be separated luckily are joined by only skin and not bone.  This will be much easier to correct.  One of her feet will be a major surgery as there are potential toe bones that did not form correctly and the bones are expanding the whole foot area and pushing the big toe crooked and very much in the way of fitting into any kind of shoe.  Lydia is set for surgery on one hand and one foot at a time, her first surgery will be on September 6th.  We will hope and pray for the best in the meantime. 

The doctors and nurses and the whole staff at Shriner's Hospital are WONDERFUL!  If you ever want to show your love for someone, make a donation to the Shriner's, they really deserve your time, effort and money.  The facility is nice and the people make it the most pleasurable visit one can have to a hospital.  The surgeons volunteer their time and talents and are some of the finest surgeons around.  Thanks to everyone who supports such causes, you never know when you may need their services personally...  Hats off to Lydia, she was a trooper, didn't much like the x-rays, but was a delight the whole day and everyone fell in love with her as we are.  The process has begun and Lydia is on her way to to getting the help she needs to be more functional in society.

Stem Cells Our Only Hope

Bree Walker: Stem Cells Our Only Hope

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/bree-walker/stem-cells-our-only-hope_1571.html

Somewhere in your family genetics lurks a horrifying truth: a hereditary disease or painful disability that could likely be wiped out by the use of stem cells. Watching my mother and father die long, painful deaths from cancer and diabetes convinced me that I needed to promote stem cell research here in the country where we had a leading edge. That is, until the Bush Administration and the religious (but not) right put a halt to all of it.

The two bills at stake at the federal level would provide at least a portion of the $138 billion left after the 2006 budget pays off mostly Medicaid obligations (and how reassuring to know some of that money went to purchase Viagra for convicted rapists and high risk sex offenders in New York last year) toward stem cell therapy and umbilical cord banks. The CDC, NIH, and FDA will likely need the lion's share of that money.

Even California, with the most ambitious voter-approved stem cell research initiative in the nation, is now facing a threat to tie the hands of genetic scientists. A new proposal requests more public oversight that, according to the new California stem cell agency, "stops progress dead in its tracks."

This, while South Korea has become the leader in an area of stem cell research that doesn't even require embryonic substance. That should have been and easily could have been an American dream. California was ready.

But back to the Feds; please, make one call today to:
202 619 0257, or 202 690 7000 or
Toll Free: 1-877-696-6775 before 5pm EST.
Or send a fax to: 202-690-7203
A symbolic gesture by the public to convince Health and Human Services Director Micheal Leavitt the passage of these two bills might make a difference in quality of life for millions is obligatory, if probably futile. Leavitt parrots the Bush line on stem cells. They have objections to the kind of research which could save future generations from pain and suffering and therefore significantly reduce health care costs overall.

In the wake of South Korea's big step forward, President Bush said he fears living in a world where cloning is possible. I fear living in a world where political leaders fight legitimate scientific advancement just to curry favor with nineteenth century thinkers.

© 2005 TheHuffingtonPost.com, LLC

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/bree-walker/stem-cells-our-only-hope_1571.html

Afternoon Sun and a Safety Net...Lerena

Walking the dog today I stopped to cross the street. There was a breeze blowing with a slight cool touch to it. As I waited for the light to change, I looked at a row of tall trees. I tried to think of the names of the trees. They were familiar, a familiarity that came from someplace in my childhood, yet their name escaped me. I think I used to call them the "Silver Dollar" trees. I must have missed at least two light changes as I stood memorized by the trembling of their leaves. The sway, the graceful bow and dip of the branches made me think of dancing. The blue, cloudless sky, the backdrop of the stage, the late afternoon spring sun, the lighting, the branches and leaves, the dancers.

As a child I used to climb trees. I would stay in them for an hour or more, just sitting in a branch. There were days, days when the weather was like it was here today, cool, yet sunny, a playful breeze, days that I loved, and did not want to end. I would wait until the last rays of sun were about to disappear before going into the house. Dinner, most likely, had been on the table for a while. I would be dirty from playing in the street, climbing trees, and hopping rooftops. Some days I just walked and day dreamed. I would listen to the noises around me. The wind, children playing ball, laughing, teasing, crying. Someones mother or big sister would call them in for dinner...once, twice, then louder and insistent the third time. I wondered about their home, their parents, their lives.I wondered if their homes held secrets. I had secrets, things I did not want them to know about my life, things I thought I should hide if I wanted to be liked, things that embarrassed me about my family. A step father who drank and hit my mother, the nauseating  reek of day old alcohol emanating from the bedroom where "he" slept it off while others were are work. One time I watched as my mother opened the door to the room, I stood in back of her in the long hallway. The stench from the room reached my nostrils and hangs there even today. She tried to open the door quietly, tip toe to the dresser where there was some left over change that he had emptied from his pockets in his stupor of the night before. We needed milk and there was no other money in the house. Like a great giant, he woke with a roar, yelled some obscenities and threw a pillow at her, then an ash tray, then.... One of many days like that, too many to count.

The things you remember as a child.

There are good things too. Good things like the trees, the love, the hugs. My dogs. My first friends, my best friends. I try to hold on to those things like I tried to hold the last light of day on a spring afternoon such as this one. I once read a story about a strong young fisherman who lived in a village where the sun would race across the sky so fast that crops would not grow, people frowned, and were sad. He set about making a large net and when it was finished he waited for the sun to start his race across the sky. As it did, this strong young man hurled his net in time to catch the sun, slowing it down. From then on there were full days and nights in the village. I sometimes catch myself looking for such a net.

I think that a net is something we can all provide each other at times. A type of safety net.

Perhaps in some way our blog can be a net for some of you. Today I want to send out a net for those of you who are victims of domestic violence and or alcoholism.

Here are a few links for that may help. And as always, feel free to contact us for more help, comments, questions, etc.  Lerena

Child Protection in Families Experiencing Domestic Violence : Endnotes

http://www.qrd.org/qrd/family/1994/battered.women.and.lgb.bibliography-12.08.94

Alcoholism

Forgiveness 24/7 by Bree Walker

  I too, remember too many days where my father drank and my mother frowned, drowning in desperation. The Christmas where we had no food, no gifts, no celebration. I was five.  At sixteen, I moved out of my family home, to an apartment with three other high school juniors,  girlfriends and lost souls like me, working waitress jobs at night to pay rent while finishing eleventh grade.
  Thankfully, it was the last Christmas I had to suffer the indignity of my father's drinking. My moving out triggered his final, successful attempt to stay with Alcoholics Anonymous; he stayed sober (though impaired from the years of alcohol waste to his brain) for the rest of his life, dying finally from complications of diabetes at age 82.
  Still, the collateral damage is permanent. To this day, I have a hard time trusting men but can't seem to stop  'rescuing' them; classic adult children of alcoholic tendencies.  I  am left with sad, permanent images of my mother, tight lipped and resentful to the end of her days, about those long, tense years in our lives. There were no family vacations, no weekend outings during all the years he drank.
  My life's work is, in some very significant ways, about learning how to forgive. I will work on this the rest of my life but I have learned this much so far; simply "ACTING AS IF" is part of the way I am getting there. God knows it's a useful endeavor in every aspect of my life to simply try acting as if I have already forgiven big and small perceived hurts.
  True forgiveness is not something we humans come by naturally or easily, especially when it's so much simpler to play the victim.  I must exercise thoughts of compassion and humor about how flawed we all are and try to embrace the idea that in fact, these are the qualities that are often the most lovable parts of us.
   I have learned to love more of my own innumerable flaws by "working' forgiveness.    
   Lerena, you and I are not alone.  Blogging together might help others like us share these experiences and create more "forgiveness fitness forums" and that's worth doing.
  So blog on, SHEBLOG partner, my best friend. If this is growth, bring it on, baby.  Bring it on.

The Body Positive

Teaching young people to creatively transform the conditions in their lives that shape their body image and relationship to food. www.bodypositive.com

By a member of our writer's group

The Bronte Family:Passionate Literary Geniuses,  ( a young adult library)
by Karen Smith Kenyon
Lerner Publishing

Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte were extraordinary not only because they were successful female writers in Victorian England, but also because they were sisters. Growing up, all three sisters' writing was significantly influenced by their family members, but perhaps most importantly by their troubled brother, Branwell. This fascinating account of each sister's unconventional life, astounding talent, and tragic death draws readers into the minds of the gifted authors whose passionate tales have enthralled readers of English literature. With such classics as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Agnes Grey, their voices still resonate today.

-A Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year 2004

Check out SeeJane.org

Improving Portrayals of Girls and Women in Children's Media
Founded by Geena Davis

Gender equity has progressed in many ways, but male characters still dominate television, movies, and other media for young children.  Since women and girls make up half of the human race, the presence of a wide variety of female characters in our children’s earliest media is essential for both girls’ and boys’ development.
www.seejane.org

Bike Ride Or Red Alert? By Bree Walker

    You gotta love it.  President Bush wasn't told about the breach in airspace over the White House until after he returned from his bike ride.  "Mr. Excitement" himself probably ignores the security alert systems, now too, since Tom Ridge blew the lid off that one.    
     So how very reassuring; that not only can our airspace over the White House still be accidentally breached by any ordinary looking private plane (even if they do get surrounded by military jets the damage could be done instantly if the plane were loaded with nukes or bio-warfare chemicals), but we have a color coded warning system that we will surely never trust again.  If  our government tells us to worry at yellow level, I will now choose my wardrobe accordingly, but nothing else.
   Oh well, at least the hubby of the newest stand up comedienne and desperate housewife Laura Bush can feel better that George was out using the bicycle instead of the limo, seeing as how Venezuela is now trying to sell the twenty percent of oil it usually allocates to the U.S. to Cuba instead. Now that's reassuring: to whom do you think Cuba might want to sell it to for their little share of profits and revenge?  North Korea, Iran, Syria,? 
   Please, just keep biking, Mr. President, you'll do less harm to us all in the long run. After all, it's Karl Rove and Dick Cheney running the place anyway.  That's the ultimate reassurance, right?   Better wear glow in the dark yellow tonight, my friends. Be patriotic.

Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

NY Times

For so many years, America's economy was so dominant on the world stage, so out front in so many key areas, that we fell into the habit of thinking we were competing largely against ourselves. If we fell behind in one area or another - whether it was math and science skills, broadband capacity or wireless infrastructure - we took the view that: "Oh well, we'll fix that problem when we get to it. After all, we're just competing against ourselves."

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

...And we think we don't need to get focused and play together like a team, with Democrats and Republicans actually working together. Well, on the basketball court - and in a flat world, where everyone now has access to all the same coaching techniques, training methods and scouting reports - a more focused, motivated team always beats a collection of more talented but complacent individuals.

Therapies Cut Death Risk, Breast-Cancer Study Finds

By DENISE GRADY - NY Times

A large new study is providing good news about long-term survival for women with breast cancer.

Standard chemotherapy and hormone treatment work even better than researchers had expected, the study found. For middle-aged women with an early stage of the disease, combining the treatments can halve the risk of death from breast cancer for at least 15 years.

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

TALK TO KIDS ABOUT ... MUSIC VIDEOS

This is a subject we are passionate about...I posted something about violence and video games a few weeks ago. We would love to see a real awareness from parents and kids on these issues. We are working with Seejane.org on a study, related initiatives etc. so look for more on this subject....LERENA

At www.Tolerance.org, Parenting columnist Dana Williams discusses how parents can talk to kids about sexism, misogyny and stereotypes in music videos. Go
  :: What do teens think about sexism in music? Go
  :: We're at work on a handbook about parenting and tolerance. Do you have ideas, stories or tips to share?
Send us your thoughts. Go

Also, another reminder to check out www.seejane.org

Trend Watch, Days of Disco are back...

I often stroll along Beverly and Third Avenue keeping an eye out for the latest trends.....here is one of them.....Lerena

The next days of disco
Shag carpet is back, true, but so is a more urbane aesthetic that also defined the '70s.
By David Keeps, Special to The Times

I have been absent...

I have been away from the blog for a while. Life with all its tumbles and leaps has been keeping me busy. And to be truthful, when I am worried, confused, overwhemlemed, it is hard to come here to write.  I sometimes feel guilty, like I have neglected those that have shown us the courtesy and confidence by stopping by, sending us comments and mail. Life can get so darn personal sometimes. So I crawled under the house in my mental way, tucked my tail in, and slinked around the corner hoping you might not notice that I left you for a while.

But things had to get done. We have been busy building the new blog, talking to groups about blogging, looking for contributors, and attending to our families. Bree and I have been pitching shows, coming up with new ideas, laughing and crying, going to costco and trying to remember to work out. My precious daughter has needed more of my help lately.She is my hero, I never met a person like her. My dear friend Nancy's father died. He treated me like one of his own.  When I went to his funeral I listened to all the wonderful things people said about him. They were all true. I know as I was there, I knew him for nearly 30 years.  I watched, I listened, I saw how he treated everyone especially those he loved. He had a wonderful life.

My mom has been "blue". My friend S has had a crate full of physical problems lately. I rescued a dog, ( how could I say no to those eyes and that wagging tail) He sheds more than any ten dogs and my eyes and throat itch.He has managed to chew up most of my favorite things. But he sleeps on the floor by my side of the bed and greets me with a sweet face each morning. He is sitting under the chair as I write this tonight. My doctors scare me about the use of HRT. I worry about having sex and what might be "out there". I have decided to skip the age part of all my next birthdays. My son wonders what on earth he will do when he grauduates college. And I wonder what will life be like when my last chick leaves the nest.

So as you can see, life has been marching on. So forgive me if I have been absent here. It is not that I do not care, life has just kept me busy.Lerena

SOMETHING FISHY!

This from our writer, Kathy Myers.....thanks Kathy for this "take home" value....

One fish, Two fish, Right fish, Wrong fish

In our efforts to become healthier in our eating habits, Americans are consuming more fish and other seafood. In the process, we are making a good go at emptying out the oceans. “Oh sure,” you are thinking, “How could it be possible to empty out the ocean of fish and other living things? I mean, the oceans are REALLY big.” The living things in the ocean need much of the same elements for survival as we living things need here on land – sunlight, oxygen, food. And a great portion of the ocean is inhospitable to most life, including the fish that we consider edible. A lot of people have the sense that the ocean is filled with fish from edge to edge. There is a lot of life near the shores, where most of us encounter the oceans, but there is a lot of vast open emptiness, too. And it’s not really the size of the ocean, but the number of fish in the sea that we need to understand in order to get a handle on this problem.

THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING

Our friend Joe sent this to us, we thought it was worth posting....B and L

The Power of Positive Energy

Nancy Burson

ositive, loving thoughts make us feel optimistic and upbeat. We radiate a positive "energy." Others pick up on this positive energy when we walk into a room, and they start to feel a bit more positive themselves. When we have negative thoughts, we give off a negative energy that not only brings us down but can bring down the mood of a whole group.

You can't hide your true energy -- human beings are very good at picking up on each other's emotions. Fortunately, you can take control of your energy and learn to focus it. Strategies...

IDENTIFY NEGATIVE ENERGY AROUND YOU

You wake up feeling great, but by the afternoon, you're in a terrible mood -- even though nothing bad has happened in the interim. What went wrong? Chances are, you got saddled with someone else's negative energy.

To restore your positive feelings, identify where the negative energy came from. This might not be easy if you didn't notice that your energy had changed until hours later. But if you can find some quiet time to reflect on your day, it's usually possible to pinpoint when and why your energy shifted. Perhaps you had a conversation with someone who was feeling depressed... or you stood in line at the post office with customers who were anxious to be elsewhere. Once you identify the negative energy as belonging to someone else, it's easy to let it go. Just say to yourself, "This isn't mine," and picture it drifting away.

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES

There comes a time when parents must have THE talk with their teens about sexually transmitted diseases. Here is just one of the many sites available that offer information on this topic. Many people are not aware of Human Papapillioma Virus or HPV, this is just one of the many diseases that can is transmitted sexually. Check out the list at http://sexually-transmitted-diseases.medical-information.org/

I find that many of my daughters girlfriends are unaware of the  various STD's as well as a basic knowledge of their own bodies. Best to include a talk about various infections that are not sexually transmitted. Our young girls need the information and training on how to take care of their bodies.  Lerena

A letter to editor of Time

Bree gets a chuckle from her friend Lori who did the chukking up for her -

Dear Editors of Time,

This is the point - you must get this - the right wing blowhards will always, always say you are leftist leaning "media". . .no matter how much you kiss up to their postergirl Ann Coulter.  And remember - though she screams on cable news as often as they will let her, she has been dismissed by all the publications who had once employed her as a columnist, even conservative publications (The National Review , The Weekly Standard).  The likes of Ann Coulter, Limbaugh, and their ilk have a full time job: To marginalize all main stream media so their audience will not pay attention to reports on the shady dealings of their faction's leaders. Many Republicans hate the fanatics who have taken over their party.Your downplaying her inaccuracies (lies) will not make the radical right ever give you credibility. And for most Americans who take the time to be aware of current events, you are losing credibility by not doing your job - journalism (please review the meaning of the word).

Lori Mitchell Barnett

Odd Girl Out

Odd Girl Out was an accurate illustration of the