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Today’s Good News
Have you noticed that we usually debate only the bad things in life.Well, for a change, I thought I’d introduce this thread where anyone can put down current news that they think is good (can be political but not nasty, please, e.g. not Mr Bush catching a cold please!). We can debate the Good News and then move on when someone else posts some more happiness!
So I’ll start with this gem, which will brings tears of joy to many, I am sure.
Chocolate is Good for you
Yes – it’s official
Dark chocolate may be healthier
It’s good for a cough and it’s good for your heart.
Good news.
Research has shown that a snooze, as short as a few minutes, improves short-term memory.
I read it today, in TIME, or Scientific American, or on the internet somewhere.
Originally posted by tt92:
Any one of the three is sufficient to stand as proof.I read it today, in TIME, or Scientific American, or on the internet somewhere.
But if naps helped, I'd never forget anything. As it is when I awake from a nap, I can't remember where I am.
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It ain't bullet proof, but anything that suggests help in retarding genocide must be good news.Germany, Congo, Darfur, Rwanda
A couple of newsflashes from Congo, Rwanda and Germany this past week cast light on some unusual developments among the three nations.
....
Stranger perhaps than fiction, there’s a strong thread that pulls these two stories together. The FDLR’s leadership resides in Germany. The Government of Rwanda asked that action be taken against it and genocide fugitives residing in Germany. Very promisingly, German authorities arrested a Rwandese indicted for complicity in the genocide at the close of the President Kagame’s visit.
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/germany-congo-darfur-rwanda/index.html?ref=opinion
Diet treatment call for epilepsy
A special high-fat diet helps to control fits in children with epilepsy, a UK trial suggests.
The number of seizures fell by a third in children on the "ketogenic" diet, where previously they had suffered fits every day despite medication.
The diet alters the body's metabolism by mimicking the effects of starvation, the researchers reported in the Lancet Neurology.
The researchers called for the diet to be more widely available on the NHS.
It is the first trial comparing the diet with routine care, even though it has been around since the 1920s.
Children are given a tailored diet very high in fat, low in carbohydrate and with controlled amounts of protein.
It is not exactly clear how it works but it seems that ketones, produced from the breakdown of fat, help to alleviate seizures.
A total of 145 children aged between two and 16 who had failed to respond to treatment with at least two anti-epileptic drugs took part in the study.
Half started the diet immediately and half waited for three months.
The number of seizures in the children on the diet fell to two-thirds of what they had been, but remained unchanged in those who had not yet started the diet, the researchers reported.
Five children in the diet group saw a seizure reduction of more than 90%.
However, there were some side-effects including constipation, vomiting, lack of energy and hunger.
Availability
Professor Helen Cross, study leader and consultant in neurology at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, said the diet had been around for a long time but had fallen out of favour because it was thought to be too difficult to stick to.
"The parents say the first two weeks are quite difficult, but then it becomes much easier because you can make foods in bulk and it especially helps if you can see the benefits from it," she said.
"We have to be sensible about it, in this study we had children who had complex epilepsy.
"If your epilepsy is easily controlled on one medication then I wouldn't advocate the diet, but if at least two drugs have failed then it should be considered."
She said national guidelines recommend the diet as a treatment option, but a shortage of dieticians meant it was often unavailable.
A spokesperson for Epilepsy Action said: "The results of this trial add valuable information to what is already known about the diet, presenting evidence that it works for some children with drug-resistant epilepsy.
"In addition to this, however, we also recognise that the ketogenic diet is not without its side-effects, and that the risks and benefits should be considered before prescribing, as with drug treatment."
She said the results would hopefully encourage wider inclusion of the diet in the management of children with drug-resistant epilepsy.
<b><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7385674.stm">Serbs to have easier travel in EU</a></b>
Serbs are to be offered free visas by 17 European countries, days before their country's parliamentary election. The announcement comes a week after the EU signed a deal that could pave the way for Serbian membership of the bloc.
Brussels is clearly hoping that the deal and the prospect of easier travel will give Serbia's pro-European camp the edge over the nationalists.
Type of body fat 'boosts health'
Great tits cope well with warming
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7390109.stm
Originally posted by string:
For reasons which will become apparent as soon as you click on the link, this is a far more interesting report on why fat can be good for you, in this case by reducing the risk of diabetes; certain types of fat that is. For guidance on where the fat should be, please look at: (All those of rigid sanctimony look away now.)
Type of body fat 'boosts health'
Well-distributed fat
bigarse.jpg
Even better-distributed fat
bikini.jpg
In my case the kind of fat is butter and the location is on toast.The surprising thing was that it wasn't where the fat was located, it was the kind of fat that was the most important variable.
Professor Ronald Khan*
Harvard Medical Schoo
*Yet another Kahn of Wurms
"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility." - James Thurber
(iBook G4 - Panther) Opera 9.64 (5270), 10.10 (6795)
"I have heard it remarked that men are not to be reasoned out of an opinion they have not reasoned themselves into." Fisher Ames
Anyway, this was Good News for the lady concerned. She had been a model for a certain Mr Lucian Freud and had been given the painting by the Painter. The story is that Sue Tilley had at one stage in her life been really down on her luck and the bailiffs had called to ransack her house to sell valuable items. She had suggested they take the painting, not knowing its value, but they had refused, taking her kettle and other items instead. Now her bad luck has ended! Whether that story is totally correct I don't know, but it's a nice one.
Lucian Freud's Benefits Supervisor Sleeping sells for record $33m
I think I'll look round my attic again - saw something there by a geezer called Van something or other.
Originally posted by string:
It must be true...it pulled 48,100 hits on Google...now, that's true!Whether that story is totally correct I don't know, but it's a nice one.
MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters Life!) - Mexico's Manuel Uribe, once the world's most obese man, is now vying for a different record: the human who has lost the most weight.
Uribe, who weighed as much as a small truck at more than half a tonne, is dieting while confined to a reinforced bed that he has not left for the past six years because he is so heavy.
He has lost 518 pounds since March 2006 on a diet of grapefruits, egg-white only omelets, fish, chicken, vegetables and peanuts.
Now weighing 717 pounds -- the size of three hefty men -- Uribe is still unable to move his swollen legs but hopes to get out of the house next month for only the third time in six years to celebrate his 43rd birthday.
....
"I was impotent before, but now everything's working again. Ask my girlfriend," he said happily, his Guinness World Records certificate hanging on the wall.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1330327620080513
Actually, Uribe, we'd like to see your girlfriend!
Im cant think of anything only im alive my daughter is with me and my family and im happy ,im wish every one here happyness and hopefully one day we wil only have good news instead of badnews .Just happy to be breathing and im thank god for that IM ALIVE YOUR ALIVE .
sorry to have bored you but thats that Good news that is for me anyway .
- Samuel P. Huntington
I believe no church or corporation should have any voice in a democracy, by definition.
Only individuals should have any voice at all.
We have accepted a very unnatural thing here with corporate lobbying.
No difference with some churches.
do you?!Juice 'prevents clogged arteries'
Juices made from apples or purple grapes - and the fruit themselves - protect against developing clogged arteries, a study suggests.
Researchers fed hamsters the fruit and juice or water, plus a fatty diet.
The animals who were fed grape juice had the lowest risk of developing artery problems, Molecular Nutrition and Food Research reports.
The University of Montpellier team said the juice's benefits came from its high levels of phenols - an antioxidant.
Antioxidants in various foods have been regularly cited as being beneficial to heart health.
The French team looked at how juicing affected the phenol content of fruit - because most studies look at raw fruit.
Four glasses a day
They then looked at how being fed various kinds of fruit affected the hamsters' risk of atherosclerosis - the build-up of fatty plaque deposits in the arteries that can lead to heart attacks or strokes.
The amount of fruit the hamsters consumed was equivalent to three apples or three bunches of grapes daily for a human.
Hamsters given juice drank the equivalent of four glasses daily for a person weighing 70 kilograms (154 pounds).
The apples and grapes had about the same phenol content, while the purple grape juice had 2.5 times more phenols than apple juice.
Compared with animals given water, those given fruit or fruit juice had lower cholesterol levels, less oxidative stress, and less fat accumulation in their aorta, the main vessel supplying oxygenated blood to the body.
Purple grape juice had the strongest effect, followed by purple grapes, apple juice and apples.
The researchers say their findings suggest the amount of phenols contained in a food have a direct effect on its antioxidant properties.
Other antioxidant compounds in the fruits, such as vitamin C and carotenoids, could also contribute to their effects, they added.
The team, led by Kelly Decorde, said their findings "provide encouragement that fruit and fruit juices may have a significant clinical and public health relevance."
A British nutritionist said: "High levels of antioxidants are recognised as being good for you."
do you?!Juice 'prevents clogged arteries'
Juices made from apples or purple grapes - and the fruit themselves - protect against developing clogged arteries, a study suggests.
Researchers fed hamsters the fruit and juice or water, plus a fatty diet.
The animals who were fed grape juice had the lowest risk of developing artery problems, Molecular Nutrition and Food Research reports.
The University of Montpellier team said the juice's benefits came from its high levels of phenols - an antioxidant.
Antioxidants in various foods have been regularly cited as being beneficial to heart health.
The French team looked at how juicing affected the phenol content of fruit - because most studies look at raw fruit.
Four glasses a day
They then looked at how being fed various kinds of fruit affected the hamsters' risk of atherosclerosis - the build-up of fatty plaque deposits in the arteries that can lead to heart attacks or strokes.
The amount of fruit the hamsters consumed was equivalent to three apples or three bunches of grapes daily for a human.
Hamsters given juice drank the equivalent of four glasses daily for a person weighing 70 kilograms (154 pounds).
The apples and grapes had about the same phenol content, while the purple grape juice had 2.5 times more phenols than apple juice.
Compared with animals given water, those given fruit or fruit juice had lower cholesterol levels, less oxidative stress, and less fat accumulation in their aorta, the main vessel supplying oxygenated blood to the body.
Purple grape juice had the strongest effect, followed by purple grapes, apple juice and apples.
The researchers say their findings suggest the amount of phenols contained in a food have a direct effect on its antioxidant properties.
Other antioxidant compounds in the fruits, such as vitamin C and carotenoids, could also contribute to their effects, they added.
The team, led by Kelly Decorde, said their findings "provide encouragement that fruit and fruit juices may have a significant clinical and public health relevance."
A British nutritionist said: "High levels of antioxidants are recognised as being good for you."
17. May 2008, 20:31:09 (edited)
Oddly, this isn't something new according to Arthur Lovejoy, who wrote "The Great Chain of Being," in which he discussed the notion of plenitude and actualization.Vatican scientist says belief in God and aliens is OK
By Philip Pullella
Posted 4:05 am EDT
VATICAN CITY, May 14, 2008 (Reuters) — The Vatican's chief astronomer says there is no conflict between believing in God and in the possibility of "extraterrestrial brothers" perhaps more evolved than humans.
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/l1463646-pope-extraterrestrials/
Essentially, if God could imagine something, he would actualize it because a thing actualized is more perfect than one unactualized, and since God is perfect he would do so.
The thesis consists of six separately published articles and a summary. All deal
in some form with occurrences in late Ancient and medieval Arabic
philosophy of what is known as the “principle of Plenitude”. Professor Arthur
O. Lovejoy, who coined the term in his 1936 study The Great Chain of Being,
gave to the principle the formulation that “no genuine potentiality of being
can remain unfulfilled”. While allusive, the formulation is rather vague. The
notion that all possibilities find actualisation can be employed in various
different ways in different conceptual contexts. In an argument, it can serve as
a presupposition or as a conclusion; it can be grounded in modal logic,
metaphysical concerns, or the theological precept that God is ultimately
liberal. Sometimes the possibility is raised only in order to be disputed. All of
these options were explored in the debates covered in these essays.
Taneli Kukkonen
http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/teo/syste/vk/kukkonen/studiesi.pdf
I was doubtful before the Vatican made it official.
Funes, who runs the observatory which is based south of Rome and in Arizona, held out the possibility that the human race might actually be the "lost sheep" of the universe.
We are the "lost sheep" of the universe and you consider this to be Good News
Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.
in the sky. But the increase in occurrence of the so called "super-bug" MRSA now makes everyone nervous of infection caught in hospitals. Some avoid hospitals if they can "like the plague".It seems from the news below that a counter measure against at least some strains of MSRH are in the pipeline. I draw your attention to the claim that "(MRSA) did not develop resistance to the compound despite being exposed to it 55 times." If confirmed this at least reassures one that there is a lower risk of a similar "bug" immunity developing as has been the case with overexposure to antibiotics.
New drug 'can kill MRSA superbug'
great warm up walking bunnies and walking horney woman "lol" some with false bums and me wif my tiara and well it was great midnight walk of 10miles ,maybe not seem long to u but for me it was but i kept in my pace and i fnished it with out stopping not even for the loo "god i needed a pee" but i fisnhed in 3hours im got sore feet and aching legs i had to crawl into the car and in the morning i got home about 6am we had a free breakfast as well i reached home i fell out of the car i think if anyone saw me i looked drunk ,but it was great had a wonderful time and the spirti was great a thousand woman walking through our city and having a great time all for the "CANCER FUND OF THE HOSPICE OF SUE RYDER CARE HOME " BRILLIANT all i want to say is a great THANKYOU for some certain members for the emails i got to my email account and THANKYOU for all who participated and support
now thats GOOD NEWS
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/features/Women-taking-strides-for-cancer.3848332.jp
- Samuel P. Huntington
I believe no church or corporation should have any voice in a democracy, by definition.
Only individuals should have any voice at all.
We have accepted a very unnatural thing here with corporate lobbying.
No difference with some churches.
Originally posted by Cocoa_butter:
Congrats, and good for you!Well im got some good news even though im knakered very knakered ,i walked the midnight walk started last night thousand woman took part
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Think of it! Predatory mice. Sleep tight with that thought.Extinct gene resurrected
May 19, 2008
Courtesy Public Library of Science
and World Science staff
Scientists say they have extracted a gene from an extinct organism, the Tasmanian tiger, and made it work in a mouse.
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080519_extinct-genes
The article mentions creativity and "wisdom" as effects of brains functioning differently in the nigh elderly. What a concept!When older people can no longer remember names at a cocktail party, they tend to think that their brainpower is declining. But a growing number of studies suggest that this assumption is often wrong.
Instead, the research finds, the aging brain is simply taking in more data and trying to sift through a clutter of information, often to its long-term benefit.
The studies are analyzed in a new edition of a neurology book, “Progress in Brain Research.”
Some brains do deteriorate with age. Alzheimer’s disease, for example, strikes 13 percent of Americans 65 and older. But for most aging adults, the authors say, much of what occurs is a gradually widening focus of attention that makes it more difficult to latch onto just one fact, like a name or a telephone number. Although that can be frustrating, it is often useful.
(Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain)
"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility." - James Thurber
(iBook G4 - Panther) Opera 9.64 (5270), 10.10 (6795)
"I have heard it remarked that men are not to be reasoned out of an opinion they have not reasoned themselves into." Fisher Ames
Historic pictures sent from Mars
Landscape image captured by probe (Nasa)
The probe has sent back pictures of a flat landscape with few rocks
A Nasa spacecraft has sent back the first historic pictures of an unexplored region of Mars.
The Mars Phoenix lander touched down in the far north of the Red Planet, after a 680 million-km (423 million-mile) journey from Earth.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7411113.stm
Originally posted by Jaybro:
OMG! Is that a heel print? On Mars!
????
- Samuel P. Huntington
I believe no church or corporation should have any voice in a democracy, by definition.
Only individuals should have any voice at all.
We have accepted a very unnatural thing here with corporate lobbying.
No difference with some churches.
Originally posted by Jaybro:
And on my birthday, too!
Historic pictures sent from Mars
Landscape image captured by probe (Nasa)
The probe has sent back pictures of a flat landscape with few rocks
A Nasa spacecraft has sent back the first historic pictures of an unexplored region of Mars.
The Mars Phoenix lander touched down in the far north of the Red Planet, after a 680 million-km (423 million-mile) journey from Earth.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7411113.stm
when your birthday
- Samuel P. Huntington
I believe no church or corporation should have any voice in a democracy, by definition.
Only individuals should have any voice at all.
We have accepted a very unnatural thing here with corporate lobbying.
No difference with some churches.
Originally posted by Jaybro:
And on my birthday, too!
Happy birthdays! I assume you mean your Mars birthday?
31. May 2008, 17:28:13 (edited)
Meirelles, believes this group's numbers are increasing, and pointed out how strong and healthy the people seemed.
And now the really good news though I couldn't verify their authenticity:
- George W. Bush has already promised that the USA will bring democracy to the tribe.
Therefore an aircraft carrier (not yet named) of the US Navy will be sent on mission.
- As a modest German contribution Alice Schwarzer the most prominent contemporary German feminist will visit the tribe in order to liberate the females from the thousands of years lasting oppression due to their males.
- Jean-Claude Trichet and Ben Bernanke are already deliberating about the paper currency which will fit best the interests of the tribe and will be used as functional currency.
- The IMF has already granted a basic credit line. The only conditions are some structural accommodations which should be implemented by the tribe soon. Privatization and acceptance for free trade are just two of the main requirements. Needless to say that interest rates for the broad minded credits have to be payed back punctually by the tribe.
- Goldman Sachs and die Deutsche Bank are already working on concepts how profits of the future commodity derivative market belonging to the tribe can be maximized best.
- McDonald's is already planing to open some restaurants in order to supply the Indians with a balanced and healthy food.
- A committee of experts belonging to the German Federal Ministry of Finance already developes concepts for a dedicated income tax system to prevent social injustice among the members of the tribe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel: "Germany will have a share in improvements of the tribe's living conditions"
Unfortunately the good news have their shady sides as well:
It's still unclear if the tribe could eventually pose a threat to liberal democratic norms of Western civilisation.
We should keep in mind that they had a quite hostile attitude against us and being armed with bows and arrows we can't totally exclude the possibility of a new terrorist peril.
Therefore for our safety wiretapping by the NSA and CIA will be initiated as soon as qualified interpreters will be found.
Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.
1. June 2008, 11:04:55 (edited)
Originally posted by jax:
Absolutely! That makes me 35 1/2 years old....that is, as of May 26. For all of my complaints about one thing or another, my life is a joy.Happy birthdays! I assume you mean your Mars birthday?
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But for some really Good News, see this demonstration against the looming Security Pact between the US and Iraq, and the thousands of Sadrist agonists. If the opposition can put a kink in the legitimacy of the occupation, there is a better chance of disentangling from this thicket of nettles, one that makes our presence in the country conditional on the will of Iraqis.
See the photos here.
Australian Combat Troops End Iraq Deployment
By Phil Mercer
Sydney
02 June 2008
Australian combat troops have begun leaving Iraq. Their departure fulfills an election promise by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who pledged to pull his country's out of Iraq by the middle of 2008.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-02-voa8.cfm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9mg4KHqRPw
If you listened to it, you'll probably wonder why I bothered, but this is an amazing piece of discordance, years ahead of street sounds in NYC. The original piece that I owned years ago was better done.
Now if I can only locate that Czech composer, post WWII, who did the symphonic piece with Stuka bombers woven into the discordant melody! Help anybody.
Cocoa is happy but resting plenty .
- Samuel P. Huntington
I believe no church or corporation should have any voice in a democracy, by definition.
Only individuals should have any voice at all.
We have accepted a very unnatural thing here with corporate lobbying.
No difference with some churches.
British hostages 'alive' in Iraq.
Tallahassee welcomes you back from the Island!
- Samuel P. Huntington
I believe no church or corporation should have any voice in a democracy, by definition.
Only individuals should have any voice at all.
We have accepted a very unnatural thing here with corporate lobbying.
No difference with some churches.
It's hardly surprising that it has been re-discovered that drinking water is good for you as well.. However, Science is wishy-washy on health benefits of water and other reports pour scorn on this and many advocate a bit of additives to the water as in Tea 'healthier' drink than water
.
But, given that
Drink up everybody!
well apparently;
Our planet is not at risk from the world’s most powerful particle physics experiment, a report has concluded.
They are going to do it underground.
Well that's all right then!
:rapidly converts to FSM: - Samuel P. Huntington
I believe no church or corporation should have any voice in a democracy, by definition.
Only individuals should have any voice at all.
We have accepted a very unnatural thing here with corporate lobbying.
No difference with some churches.
Originally posted by street_spirit:
Got my University results today, Second Division Upper Class (2.1), BSc (hons) so happy with dat!
Congratulations that's a very good degree. Nice to hear that after you were seeing so pessimistic a while back.
Now all you have to do is watch Yes Minister and your education will be complete!!
Originally posted by string:
Originally posted by street_spirit:
Got my University results today, Second Division Upper Class (2.1), BSc (hons) so happy with dat!
Congratulations that's a very good degree. Nice to hear that after you were seeing so pessimistic a while back.
Now all you have to do is watch Yes Minister and your education will be complete!!
Thanks, yeah I just worry to much about things, think I'm going to fail, doesn't achieve much but the way I am I guess...
I almost watched Yes Minister (actually I think yes prime minister) last night I noticed it was on in the early hours while flicking through the channels but was half way through.
Indeed, whether evidence is even evidence.Judges Cite Need for Reliable Evidence To Hold Detainees
..................
In reversing a military tribunal's determination that a Chinese detainee was an "enemy combatant," a federal appeals court criticized the government's evidence and compared its legal theories to a nonsensical 19th-century poem.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit wrote in a 39-page opinion released yesterday that tribunals and courts must be able to assess whether evidence is reliable before determining the fate of detainees.
..................
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/30/AR2008063000814.html?wpisrc=newsletter
US President George W Bush has signed a bill removing Nelson Mandela and South African leaders from the US terror watch list, officials say.
Mr Mandela and ANC party members will now be able to visit the US without a waiver from the secretary of state.
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