Well, that's my question in response to this new recommendation.

A major medical group is recommending for the first time that women at greatest risk of breast cancer undergo MRI exams every year to try to catch more tumors at their earliest, most treatable stages.

The American Cancer Society is issuing new guidelines today that urge annual MRIs for women at high risk because of a strong family history of the disease, a genetic predisposition or other reasons. As many as 1.6 million women in the United States fall into this high-risk category.

For these women, the recommendation adds the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) exam to the standard tools that doctors should use routinely to detect breast cancer, marking the most significant change in the society's influential screening guidelines since doctors started recommending annual mammograms. The more sensitive MRI exams can pick up small tumors that mammograms frequently miss.

"The goal here is to do a better job of finding breast cancer early, when they are much more likely to be treated successfully," said Robert A. Smith, the society's director of screening.

The guidelines stop short of recommending annual MRI breast screening for all women, saying that there is insufficient evidence to support wider use of the relatively costly exams. But they say that women at a lesser, but still elevated, risk because, for example, they are breast cancer survivors or have a family history of the disease, should consult with their doctors about undergoing regular MRIs as well.

The guidelines stress that the exams should be done in addition to annual mammograms and regular physical exams in the hope of driving down the death toll from the common, widely feared malignancy.

Some question whether or not there is sufficient MRI capacity in the country to meet this call -- but I have no doubt that the machines can be manufactured and the operators trained in relatively short order. After all, look at the number of private imaging centers springing up around the country.

The issue is cash. Will insurance companies and government programs be prepared to regularly make the sort of payments this will require, as millions of new MRIs are done each year for cancer screening. After all, MRIs are around $500 a pop. This is out of reach of many patients without insurance help or other programs.

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It strikes me that there may be a more productive way of showing your desire to help children than taking a bunch of them hostage.

A day-care center owner hijacked a busload of his students and teachers and drove them to Manila's city hall Wednesday to demand better housing and education for the children.

Jun Ducat and at least one other hostage-taker scribbled in large letters on a sheet of paper, taped to the bus' windshield, that they were holding 32 children and two teachers and were armed with two grenades, an assault rifle and a pistol, officer Mark Andal said.

One child with a fever was released after four hours, and then was driven away in an ambulance.

They said they were demanding improved housing and education for 145 children in a day-care center in Manila's poor Tondo district where the incident, televised live around the world, appeared to have begun. The driver was released soon afterward.

"I love these kids; that's why I am here," Ducat, identified by police and parents as the day-care center owner, told DZMM radio by cell phone. "We have a field trip. I invited the children for a field trip.

"You can be assured that I cannot hurt the children. In case I need to shed blood, I will not be the first to fire. I am telling the policemen, have pity on these children."

If he really loved these kids, would he be holding them with guns and grenades?

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After Scooter Libby was convicted over discrepancies that are reasonably explained as faulty memory, why would anyone ever voluntarily give any information to any government investigation? Monica Goodling has nothing to hide -- merely the sense to recognize that the fix is in and any evidence that contradicts the scenario preferred by the Democrats will result in prosecution.

Monica Goodling, a Justice Department official involved in the firings of federal prosecutors, will refuse to answer questions at upcoming Senate hearings, citing Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, her lawyer said Monday.

"The potential for legal jeopardy for Ms. Goodling from even her most truthful and accurate testimony under these circumstances is very real," said the lawyer, John Dowd.

He said that members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees seem already to have made up their minds that wrongdoing has occurred in the firings.

When witch-hunters determine set out to confirm there are witches they have already said they are certain exist, why would anyone choose to subject themselves to examination?

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Prayers for a good and decent man.

White House press secretary Tony Snow, who has become the face of the Bush presidency over the last year, has cancer again.

Snow's deputy, Dana M. Perino, broke into tears at an off-camera briefing this morning as she announced that the cancer has spread to his liver. Doctors discovered it when they operated on Snow on Monday to remove a small growth that had developed in his lower abdomen.

Snow, 51, who underwent surgery and months of chemotherapy for colon cancer two years ago, plans once again to "go after it as aggressively" as he can, Perino said, but it was unclear when or whether he would be able to return to work.

"Of course, we're pulling for Tony," Perino said. "We certainly gain strength from his optimism. We know he's going to beat it again."

I'm curious what the reaction will be over on DU, Kos, and HuffPo to this news. Do we even need to look to know?

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Sometimes you just need to borrow money.

Let's face it -- cars and houses alone are investments that most of us need a few (or more than a few) years to pay off. After all, do you have a spare 100K sitting around to pay cash for a new home -- or even 15-25K for a car? Heck, if you are like most folks of the middle class, there just isn't that sort of spare change available, even if you break open the kids' piggy banks.

And it is times like that when you find yourself seeking loans.

Maybe you need a Secured Loans for a particularly valuable purchase. Maybe you are looking at car loans, trying to find the right deal for you. Perhaps you are just considering the options available in Personal Loans.

Regardless, you may want to consider MoneyWize.co.uk when next you need a loan.

Paid Endorsement.

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Looks like the Senate GOP may leave it to the President to kill this deadline plan.

Unwilling to do the White House's heavy lifting on Iraq, Senate Republicans are prepared to step aside to allow language requiring troop withdrawals to reach President Bush, forcing him to face down Democratic adversaries with his veto pen.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) announced the shift in strategy yesterday, as the chamber took up a $122 billion war spending package that includes a target date of March 31, 2008, for ending most U.S. combat operations in Iraq. The provision, along with a similar House effort, represents the Democrats' boldest challenge on the war, setting the stage for a dramatic showdown with Bush over an otherwise popular bill to keep vital military funds flowing.

Republicans will still attempt to remove the deadline in a Senate vote expected as soon as today, and GOP leaders were reasonably confident they would muster a majority. But the margin is expected to be thin, requiring the presence of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who had skipped several previous Iraq votes to attend presidential campaign events. McCain canceled a series of fundraisers and meetings in Florida to return to Washington, telling a conservative radio program that he wanted to "beat back this recipe for defeat that the Democrats are trying to foist off on the American people."

No matter the outcome of the Senate vote, McConnell is looking ahead, assuming House Democrats will insist that withdrawal conditions be included when a final bill is sent to Bush. If so, McConnell said, Republicans would forgo the parliamentary tactics they used to block antiwar legislation that had forced Democrats to amass an insurmountable 60 votes to prevail.

"We need to get the bill on down to the president and get the veto out of the way," McConnell said.

Regardless, there will be no deadline enacted into law by Congress. Not even this absurd notion.

In one of the more unusual proposals to emerge in the Senate debate on Iraq withdrawal, Sen. Mark Pryor wants to keep any plans for bringing troops home a secret.

The Arkansas Democrat is a key holdout on his party's proposal to approve $122 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while setting a goal of March 31, 2008, for winding up military operations in Iraq. Unlike the plan's Republican opponents, Pryor wants a withdrawal deadline of some kind. He just doesn't want anyone outside the White House, Congress and the Iraqi government to know what it is.

"My strong preference would be to have a classified plan and a classified timetable that should be shared with Congress," Pryor said yesterday. A public deadline would tip off the enemy, "who might just bide their time and wait for us to leave," he said. "Then you'd have chaos and mayhem and instability."

Pryor said a classified plan would be provided by the president, shepherded by Senate committees and ultimately shared with Congress and Iraqi leaders. He is confident that the plan would remain secret, because Congress is entrusted with secrets "all the time."

And Congress leaks secrets all the time -- I imagine it would take about 20 minutes for some enterprising Democrat staffer to be dubbed "an anonymous Capitol Hill source" by the television networks, the NY Times and Washington Post. After all, when has the mere fact that something is classified -- and its disclosure harmful to national security -- ever stopped them from supplying information to the enemy? And since there is never any prosecution of leakers of classified info, what would be the reason to think it would not be let out to the public quickly?

Posted by: Greg at 03:24 AM | Comments (180) | Add Comment
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Derek Bok once said, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."

Education used to be the way to ensure that you were on the path to making good money. It often still is -- but now it is also the way to making yourself indebted. But you don't have to deal with your debt in ignorant way -- a Student Loan Consolidation Program is an option for many individuals. SecureLoanConsolidation.com offers a variety of options for you -- for example, those in California should visit their California Student Loan Debt Consolidation to examine the available programs in their state. Similarly, there are pages related to other states, such as Florida student loan consolidation programs.

If you need to consolidate your student loan debt, visit SecureLoanConsolidation.com. You'd be ignorant not to.

Paid Endorsement.

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Not a place where one expects to find dishonesty and corruption.

Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small, the banker who took over the world's largest museum complex seven years ago, has resigned under pressure following revelations regarding his housing allowance and office and travel expenditures.

Museum officials announced Small's departure yesterday and named Cristián Samper, a biologist who heads the National Museum of Natural History, as acting secretary.

In recent weeks questions about Small's leadership and his personal expenditures had created a crisis at the Smithsonian. Small, 65, had been sharply criticized by members of Congress and his pay and expense accounts have been subjected to scrutiny by the Smithsonian inspector general. Last week, two separate committees were appointed by the regents to look into management operations at the Smithsonian, which includes 18 museums and research facilities as well as the National Zoo.

It is all rather sordid -- and seems based upon the attempt by a businessman to operate a museum/not-for-profit entity like the business he had left.

Posted by: Greg at 03:16 AM | Comments (26) | Add Comment
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I don't know about you, but I like going out to a local club and hearing a little band or a local singer who brings a little something extra to their music. And while my preference is for country music, that doesn't mean that I won't listen to something good in another genre.

But the problem is that you can't take that undiscovered artist home with you, can you. Maybe they have their own CD, but often times they don't.

That is where unsigned.com comes in. They've got music from some of those country artists and Bluegrass Bands that play right in your backyard -- or maybe in your cousin's backyard, six states away. Or maybe you are into grunge, and want to hear the latest from that local band from Pittsburgh that guy on your buddy list was telling you about last week. Guess what -- you might just find them available for download. It is certainly a lot cheaper than a trip to Pittsburgh, isn't it? Plus you don't have to go to Pittsburgh.

Paid Endorsement.

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I don't know what happened, but a number of comments have disappeared from my site after a recent rebuild.

I apologize for any inconvenience, and will attempt to restore them if possible. Please feel free to repost.

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It seems to be working in parts of Thailand.

THERE will be no children on the playground at Yaha primary school today, even though school should run for another week. The Government halted classes in southern Thailand two weeks ago to shield teachers from a brutal campaign.

Since the Muslim insurgency reignited in January 2004, 67 teachers have been murdered: shot in front of their class, beaten to death or set alight in a savage protest against the Thai education system. Another 80 have been injured.

The situation has deteriorated to such a level that the military provides escorts for teachers to and from school in hundreds of towns across the three southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.

Islam may, at one time, have placed great value on learning – but its most forceful proponents today seem intent on promoting ignorance instead.

Posted by: Greg at 11:02 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It seems to be working in parts of Thailand.

THERE will be no children on the playground at Yaha primary school today, even though school should run for another week. The Government halted classes in southern Thailand two weeks ago to shield teachers from a brutal campaign.

Since the Muslim insurgency reignited in January 2004, 67 teachers have been murdered: shot in front of their class, beaten to death or set alight in a savage protest against the Thai education system. Another 80 have been injured.

The situation has deteriorated to such a level that the military provides escorts for teachers to and from school in hundreds of towns across the three southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.

Islam may, at one time, have placed great value on learning – but its most forceful proponents today seem intent on promoting ignorance instead.

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It canÂ’t even pay its debts.

A private developer shuttered Texas Southern University's two newly constructed parking garages and shuttle service today after the financially troubled school stopped paying its bills.

The move left thousands of students, faculty and staff members scrambling at the commuter campus, while the roughly $35 million project is at risk of default.
The Integrity Group made the decision less than three years into a 30-year lease with the university, which hired the Cleveland, Ohio-based company to construct and manage the parking garages and six-shuttle service.

The two garages, totaling 2,000 parking spaces, opened last year. But the university did not collect adequate fees or occupancy rates to pay the debt service on the project, and students recently voted down a proposed fee to pay for the shuttle service.

Campus leaders have asked the state Legislature for an emergency appropriation of $1.7 million to cover the shortfall. But lawmakers have balked because the expense is not directly related to education.

Time to merge the scandal-plagued, failing, third-rate educational institution with the University of Houston – only a few blocks away – and put an end to this embarrassing remnant of the Jim Crow era.

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Well, “Slick Nick” Lampson is back in the hospital, only days after selling-out the troops and misrepresenting his district by voting in favor of the pork-laden cut-and-run appropriations bill.

U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Stafford, underwent a quadruple coronary artery bypass at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston Sunday morning.

The procedure was recommended after a checkup at the National Naval Medical Center in Washington Friday detected irregularities, his office said.

"The physicians have indicated that the surgery proceeded well and that Congressman Lampson will make a full recovery,'' Lampson spokesman Bobby Zafarnia said in a press release. "Though this was a serious procedure, Congressman Lampson has his family with him, his spirits are high, and he looks forward to returning to his office and serving his constituents as quickly as possible.''

Zafarnia said Lampson will remain under observation in the hospital for the next several days and should be released within the week. His recovery period will keep him in Houston for 3 to 4 weeks.

Heart bypass surgery involves surgeons creating a new channel when an artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body is blocked. In a quadruple bypass, four arteries are bypassed in the procedure.

Lampson, who replaced former Majority Leader Tom DeLay in the House, was hospitalized briefly in December, soon after he won that election. He underwent an angioplasty procedure at the time to open up a partially-blocked vessel.

I wish the Congressman a speedy and complete recovery -- because I want to be a part of the campaign that removes him from office in 2008.

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Who knows – maybe he beat Tiger Woods to be the first Cablinasian.

Ward Churchill's claims of Indian ancestry were questioned in an extensive genealogy by the Rocky Mountain News in 2005, which identified 142 direct forebears of Churchill and found no evidence that any of them were American Indians. Now the controversial University of Colorado ethnic studies professor says he has black ancestry as well.

Churchill made that claim while answering questions at the Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair in San Francisco on March 17. In a video clip available at tinyurl.com/yvlr9b, Churchill criticized as racist the vote this month by the Cherokee Nation to oust freedmen - descendants of slaves once owned by Cherokees - from tribal rolls. After repeating the debunked claims of his Indian ancestry and membership in an established Indian tribe, Churchill said: "Actually, I do have black ancestry."

Contacted by the Rocky, Churchill declined to elaborate on his claim.

Ward Churchill – the truth is not in him.

Posted by: Greg at 10:56 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Who knows – maybe he beat Tiger Woods to be the first Cablinasian.

Ward Churchill's claims of Indian ancestry were questioned in an extensive genealogy by the Rocky Mountain News in 2005, which identified 142 direct forebears of Churchill and found no evidence that any of them were American Indians. Now the controversial University of Colorado ethnic studies professor says he has black ancestry as well.

Churchill made that claim while answering questions at the Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair in San Francisco on March 17. In a video clip available at tinyurl.com/yvlr9b, Churchill criticized as racist the vote this month by the Cherokee Nation to oust freedmen - descendants of slaves once owned by Cherokees - from tribal rolls. After repeating the debunked claims of his Indian ancestry and membership in an established Indian tribe, Churchill said: "Actually, I do have black ancestry."

Contacted by the Rocky, Churchill declined to elaborate on his claim.

Ward Churchill – the truth is not in him.

Posted by: Greg at 10:56 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Education, jihadi-style meets anti-terrorism, Pakistani-style.

Police challenged a group of suspected militants Monday at a high school in northwestern Pakistan after hearing that they wanted to "motivate" students for holy war, sparking a gunbattle that left six people dead, police said.

Five militants and one police officer were killed in the shooting at the privately run Oxford Public School in Tank, a town about 60 miles from the Afghan border, said Javed Khan, a local police officer. It was unclear whether any students were hurt.

Khan said the militants told the administrators of the boys' school to assemble the students so the militants could address them.

"They wanted to speak with the boys and motivate them for jihad," Khan said by telephone from Tank.

Looks like the Taliban want to turn every school into a terrorist-spawning madrassa.

Posted by: Greg at 10:55 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Explain this.

A joint operation by Greek and US secret service officers in March 2003 led to the seizure of a large cache of explosives from the basement of the Iraqi Embassy in Athens, Kathimerini has learned.

“Operation Net” was launched just before the American invasion of Iraq after US authorities claimed to have been tipped off about the presence of a weapons cache in the embassy in Neo Psychico, sources have revealed. The informer is believed to be an Iraqi with links to the embassy.

Sources said a raid on the embassy unearthed explosive materials, car bombs, detonators, several guns and dozens of rounds of ammunition. Much of the material was “ready to use” while some was too old to be of any value, according to sources who said all the material was destroyed within a few weeks of discovery.

US secret services could not determine why the weapons cache had been kept at the embassy, although the possibility that it had been destined for use in a terrorist attack during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games has been ruled out.

‘Nuff said.

Posted by: Greg at 10:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Explain this.

A joint operation by Greek and US secret service officers in March 2003 led to the seizure of a large cache of explosives from the basement of the Iraqi Embassy in Athens, Kathimerini has learned.

“Operation Net” was launched just before the American invasion of Iraq after US authorities claimed to have been tipped off about the presence of a weapons cache in the embassy in Neo Psychico, sources have revealed. The informer is believed to be an Iraqi with links to the embassy.

Sources said a raid on the embassy unearthed explosive materials, car bombs, detonators, several guns and dozens of rounds of ammunition. Much of the material was “ready to use” while some was too old to be of any value, according to sources who said all the material was destroyed within a few weeks of discovery.

US secret services could not determine why the weapons cache had been kept at the embassy, although the possibility that it had been destined for use in a terrorist attack during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games has been ruled out.

‘Nuff said.

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I’ll lay it on the line – I hate the University of North Carolina. I always have, to the degree that I would support the University of Teheran Jumpin’ Jihadis before cheering for the Tarheels. That said, my heart goes out to the UNC community and the family of their mascot, Jason Ray, who is in critical condition after being struck by a car.

More than two dozen family members and friends held a bedside vigil Sunday for Jason Ray, the North Carolina student who suits up as the school's mascot who was in extremely critical condition after being hit by a car.

The 21-year-old senior remained on life support Sunday, two days after he was struck near his hotel in Fort Lee. Ray, who portrays UNC's ram mascot, Rameses, was in New Jersey for the NCAA men's tournament game between the Tar Heels and Southern California at the Continental Airlines Arena.

Ray's father, Emmitt, who flew to New Jersey in a friend's private plane after getting word of his son's life-threatening head injuries, said doctors hold out little hope for his son's recovery "short of the intervention of the Lord."

Ray left his hotel to go to a nearby convenience store Friday afternoon, and was walking back along Route 4 when he was struck from behind by an SUV. The driver stopped immediately to call 911. No charges have been filed.

No one should have to deal with such a devastating situation.

If you are so inclined, offer a prayer for Jason, his family, and the rest of the UNC community. I know I have, because likes and dislikes in college sports are truly insignificant next to matters of life and death.

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He just has a whole different idea about the nature of property.

President Hugo Chavez announced Sunday that his government's sweeping reforms toward socialism will include the creation of "collective property."

Vowing to undermine capitalism's continued influence in Venezuela during his television and radio program "Hello President," Chavez said state-financed cooperatives would operate under a new concept in which workers would share profits.

"It's property that belongs to everyone and it's going to benefit everyone," said Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro whom opponents accuse of leading Venezuela toward Cuba-style communism.

Chavez — a leftist former paratrooper popularly known as "El Comandante" — said his government fully respects private property, but pledged to replace capitalist ideals with socialist principles on cooperatives such as cattle ranches and farms.

"It cannot be production to generate profits for one person or a small group of people that become rich exploiting peons who end up becoming slaves, living in poverty and misery their entire lives," he said.

And we all know how successful “collective farms” were in the Soviet Union, don’t we?

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He just has a whole different idea about the nature of property.

President Hugo Chavez announced Sunday that his government's sweeping reforms toward socialism will include the creation of "collective property."

Vowing to undermine capitalism's continued influence in Venezuela during his television and radio program "Hello President," Chavez said state-financed cooperatives would operate under a new concept in which workers would share profits.

"It's property that belongs to everyone and it's going to benefit everyone," said Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro whom opponents accuse of leading Venezuela toward Cuba-style communism.

Chavez — a leftist former paratrooper popularly known as "El Comandante" — said his government fully respects private property, but pledged to replace capitalist ideals with socialist principles on cooperatives such as cattle ranches and farms.

"It cannot be production to generate profits for one person or a small group of people that become rich exploiting peons who end up becoming slaves, living in poverty and misery their entire lives," he said.

And we all know how successful “collective farms” were in the Soviet Union, don’t we?

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Where I grew up, such folks would be known as “scum”. Using kids -- including mentally handicapped ones -- as decoys and bombs is below sub-human.

Al Qaeda in Iraq is using kidnapped children to pick up weapons dropped in battle zones, get past checkpoints and die in car bombs, according to U.S. officials and Iraqis in Baghdad.

"Al Qaeda is using children to pick up weapons and ammunition knowing that U.S. troops will not shoot against children," said one U.S. military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

There has also been a reported incident in which children were used to drive safely past a checkpoint in order to detonate a car closer to a target.

"Men traveling with children in the back of their cars rarely get searched because they look like a family," said Hassan, a middle-aged Shi'ite living in one of the capital's older mixed neighborhoods.

"Then they leave the car and blow it up by remote control with the children in it," he said. Hassan, who did not want his full name used out of fear of retaliation, said at one point last year children with Down syndrome had been used to carry bombs.

And in the past theyÂ’ve used animals to deliver deadly cargo.

Insurgents in Iraq attached explosives to a dog and tried to blow up a military convoy near the northern oil centre of Kirkuk.

The canine bomb went off but the only casualty was the unfortunate animal, said police. The militants wrapped an explosive belt around the dog and detonated it as the convoy passed through Dakuk, 25 miles south of Kirkuk, said the town's police chief, Col Mohammed Barzaji.

"The dog was torn apart by the explosion which caused neither injury among the soldiers nor any damage."

I guess the terrorists donÂ’t have the courage to put themselves at risk, so they use kids and puppies instead. And yet they are the ones that Michael Moore, Sean Penn, and other moral midgets claim are freedom fighters and the equivalent of the Founding Fathers.

H/T Jawa Report

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Well, weÂ’ll see.

The leaders of Northern IrelandÂ’s dominant political and religious parties, Sinn FeinÂ’s Gerry Adams and the Protestant leader Rev. Ian Paisley, held face-to-face negotiations today and agreed to work towards a resumption of the provinceÂ’s power-sharing authority by May 8.

The agreement, announced by the two men sitting close together at a diamond-shaped table in the Stormont Parliament building, meant that the province will not meet a March 26 deadline set by Britain and Ireland to end a four-year suspension of the local government and assembly.

But it was welcomed in London as a “moment that we will remember,” a spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair said, speaking in return for customary anonymity.

“Let us be clear — if there’s a consensus about the way forward, the British government isn’t going to stand in the way of that consensus,” the spokesman said.

After reading statements in front of a live television camera, Mr. Adams and Mr. Paisley shuffled their papers but did not shake hands. Nonetheless, the notion of the two men, who have been bitter rivals and adversaries over the long period of Northern IrelandÂ’s sectarian strife, sitting almost side by side was seen by many analysts as historic.

Hey, if these two terrorist leaders can set aside their differences and negotiate a true peace and a modus viviendi for their peoples, then maybe there is hope for other regions of the world.

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One of my colleagues told the most outrageous story over lunch today. The frightening thing is that it was true.

It isnÂ’t unusual to have pregnant girls in class at our school. One girl in my colleagueÂ’s class is getting very close to giving birth, and so has begun reading up on how to care for her baby. Today she said the following to this colleague.

“Mr. C., I keep reading that breast milk is better for babies than regular milk, but I can’t find out where to get it or how much it costs.”

I understand that my colleague handled the question with much more tact than I would have been able to.

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Or is it a turn-off?

Scientists have created the world's first human-sheep chimera - which has the body of a sheep and half-human organs.

The sheep have 15 per cent human cells and 85 per cent animal cells - and their evolution brings the prospect of animal organs being transplanted into humans one step closer.

Professor Esmail Zanjani, of the University of Nevada, has spent seven years and £5million perfecting the technique, which involves injecting adult human cells into a sheep's foetus.

Researchers at Texas A&M have reportedly been trying different methods to create human/sheep hybrids -- methods said to involve flowers, chocolates, and slinky negligees.

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It certainly will if Rep. Lynn Westmoreland has her way about the matter.

When Valerie Plame Wilson testified recently before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, just two Republicans — out of 17 on the committee — bothered to show up. Ranking Republican Rep. Tom Davis asked few questions and seemed largely uninterested in the matter. The only other Republican to appear, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia, showed more interest but appeared not to have mastered the details of the case.

Now, however, Westmoreland wants to know more. In a letter to committee chairman Rep. Henry Waxman Friday, he submitted more questions for Mrs. Wilson and requested that Waxman ask the Senate Intelligence Committee for information that could shed light on issues left unresolved after her testimony.

As part of its investigation into pre-war intelligence, the Senate committee interviewed Mrs. Wilson, as well as some of her colleagues at the CIA. The committee also reviewed CIA documents about the Niger uranium affair. In his letter, Westmoreland asked Waxman to ask the Senate committee for the full text of Mrs. Wilson’s interview with Senate investigators. Westmoreland also asked for the “full text of Ms. Plame’s February 12, 2002 email/memo to her boss regarding sending her husband, Joseph Wilson, to Niger.”

Will Howard Waxman act on the information request? Will Plame respond to it? Or will they, by their inaction and silence, implicitly confirm that there is a cover-up going on, one orchestrated by the enemies of the Bush Administration for purely partisan purposes?

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Here's a great profile of Rep. Adm Putnam, who is the number three Republican in the House of Representatives.

Amid the sea of square jaws and swept-back gray hair in Congress, Representative Adam H. Putnam, a tousled redhead whose cherubic appearance still causes Capitol police to stop him occasionally, appears a bit out of place.

But Mr. Putnam, 32, a Florida Republican, has become the unlikely mouthpiece for the beleaguered minority in the House, taking over as chairman of the Republican Conference, the third-ranking post behind the minority leader and whip, as his party struggles to right itself.

Mr. Putnam, something of a political wunderkind who at 26 was one of the youngest members of Congress in decades when he was elected in 2000, has taken on the role of attack dog over the last three months.

Combining agility on the issues and controlled partisan outrage, he has helped lead Republicans in the debate over the war in Iraq, lambasted Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her use of a military jet to fly across country to her home district, and generally tried to eke out political points at every opportunity.

Putnam is a guy to keep an eye on -- he should be in the public eye for many years, and seems like he may, in time, be a likely contender for the White House.

Posted by: Greg at 10:22 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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VoIP services are the latest thing in communications for business, providing a less expensive and more efficient way to communicate. Voice-Internet Protocol phone systems provide clear lines and reliable service for businesses needing telecommunications for their business needs -- and that includes just about everyone.

Cisco is a major provider of VoIP services to businesses, and have plans available for managed services for any size business. Among the advantages of such services are that VoIP service:

* Speeds access and improves communication
* Integrates different device modes and communication applications
* Dramatically improve collaboration
* Allows organizations to streamline business processes, reach the right resource the first time, and enhance profitability.

Furthermore, since VoIP provides an integrated, flexible and mobile service for business, it is adaptable to all your business needs.

Paid Endorsement.

Posted by: Greg at 10:20 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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As I said the other day, I understand and respect the decision of John and Elizabeth Edwards to continue John's presidential campaign.

Or at least I did until last night.

Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of the presidential candidate John Edwards, elaborated on her cancer diagnosis in an interview broadcast last night, saying that the disease had spread to one of her hips.

Mrs. Edwards and her husband said they would continue campaigning.

The interview, on “60 Minutes” on CBS, appeared three days after Mr. Edwards announced that his wife’s cancer, first diagnosed late in his 2004 campaign for the White House, had come back in an incurable form that had spread to her ribs.

When asked if the cancer had spread to any other part of her body, Mrs. Edwards said, “There are a couple of hot spots, on the bone scan, in my right hip, for example.” She did not mention any other areas having been affected.

It sounds to me like the cancer may have spread much more aggressively than I had originally believed, which leads me to reassess my earlier position on his continuing the campaign.

Senator Edwards, with all due respect, I think you are wrong to continue with your campaign. Your wife is ill, sir, and her condition will likely be terminal in the next five years. This campaign, and the obligations of the presidency, will increasingly take you away from her side as Elizabeth's condition deteriorates. Where is it more important that you be during the time she has left -- on the campaign trail and in the Oval Office, or with her? When she is gone, which are you most likely to have regrets about -- time with Elizabeth, or time pursuing the presidency? Fully believing that the love you two display in public is real, I believe we all know the answer.

And besides, Senator, you are still a young man. In four years, or eight years, you will still be of an age to seek the Presidency -- especially if you have served in the Cabinet of a Democratic President.

The full 60 Minutes transcript can be found here.

Posted by: Greg at 10:18 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Do you get it? I sure do -- my students can tell with just one look when my back or neck is bothering me.

Especially the neck, and the associated headaches.

Now I've never visited a chiropractor, but this site from a NY Chiropractic office seems to have a great combination of physicians, neurologists, and chiropractors on staff to deal with the various needs of back patients.

I wish my insurance covered someplace like this here in Houston -- my darling wife could sure use it.

Paid Endorsement.

Posted by: Greg at 10:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Well, yeah, it does -- but not as much as other factors.

A much-anticipated report from the largest and longest-running study of American child care has found that keeping a preschooler in a day care center for a year or more increased the likelihood that the child would become disruptive in class — and that the effect persisted through the sixth grade.

The effect was slight, and well within the normal range for healthy children, the researchers found. And as expected, parentsÂ’ guidance and their genes had by far the strongest influence on how children behaved.

But the finding held up regardless of the childÂ’s sex or family income, and regardless of the quality of the day care center. With more than two million American preschoolers attending day care, the increased disruptiveness very likely contributes to the load on teachers who must manage large classrooms, the authors argue.

On the positive side, they also found that time spent in high-quality day care centers was correlated with higher vocabulary scores through elementary school.

Now there are already lots of folks out there trying to shoot down this study, to lay the effect off on high turn-over at day care centers or some other factor, but the reality is that the effect does exist. Indeed, it has a lot to do with the lack of clear, consistent supervision and discipline experienced by these young kids, in my opinion.

Posted by: Greg at 10:02 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Most folks don't know it, but I like to play backgammon . It started out as a hobby when I was a kid and my father brought back a beautiful leather backgammon set from one of his WestPac cruises.

Well, I've encountered another backgammon aficionado. His name is Jean-Claude, and he is the Number One player at Backgammon Masters. Oh, yeah, did I mention he is an animated tiger?

Jean-Claude will teach you about the game of backgammon, its ins, its outs, and do so in a humorous way. He's a street-smart hustler, though, so look for him to take you for all you've got if you let him have the chance -- he's a real tiger, once he starts playing.

Here's what his bosses at Backgammon Masters have to say about him.

http://www.BackgammonMasters.com is using a ground-breaking and original approach to promote and establish their skill game software in the online game market. Introducing the #1 Player at BackgammonMasters, Jean-Claude the animated tiger. BackgammonMasters creates a new dimension in online backgammon branding in their 5 part interactive animation series titled 'Life According to Jean-Claude'. Jean Claude - Backgammon Masters Animated Tiger Movie BackgammonMasters brought this character to in a well-designed and cleverly scripted effort to illustrate to a wide audience the appeal of backgammon as a skill game truly loved and played by all people, from all walks of life from around the world. Jean Claude is BackgammonMasters' pioneering mascot who is setting a new standard in online game entertainment. Viewers win prizes for trivia questions after viewing, and are offered rewards for suggestion any script ideas used. Clips can be easily forwarded to friends who will create the viral marketing buzz that only a character like Jean-Claude is capable of generating. "BackgammonMasters creates a new dimension in online backgammon branding in their 5 part interactive animation series titled 'Life According to Jean-Claude'." In the series we are exposed to a hilarious explanation and comparison by Jean-Claude of how to succeed at everything from playing backgammon to chopping onions, to fulfilling ones dreams and make important life choices. In the opening clip we, find Jean-Claude, a tiger, humoristic, mafia type, dressed in 70's clothes (bell-bottoms and cream-colored shoes, a button-up shirt with a dice print and a large dollar sign chain around his neck) sitting in his trailer in the used junk car lot he manages. No, he doesn't feel pathetic or sad amidst the junk, on the contrary. He is full of street smarts obtained during his many years in the University of Life. BackgammonMasters has maintained a high profile in the news lately not only because of Jean-Claude, they also recently launched a 3-in-1 game lobby offering games such as Backgammon, Poker and Perudo (Liar's Dice), all in one download. To get a sneak peak at the animations go to: http://www.backgammonmasters.com/jc.html To download the BackgammonMasters 3-in-1 free software go to: www.backgammonmasters.com Report by Gammonish.com - online backgammon resource for news and information. To learn more about the backgammon game and online backgammon rules visit http://www.gammonish.com.

So go play, folks -- backgammon is a great pass-time!

Paid Endorsement.

Posted by: Greg at 06:00 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And here I thought that money -- especially money from lobbyists -- was the source of all evil in politics.

he U.S. presidential candidates have friends in corporate America fanning out across the country raising millions of dollars for their 2008 bids, ranging from Washington lobbyists to Wall Street financiers.

Republican contender Sen. John McCain has set up an extensive fund-raising operation that includes friends and former employees who now are lobbyists at major companies like AT&T Inc. and Walt Disney Co.

* * *

McCain has friends and former staff at major communications companies helping him, including AT&T senior congressional lobbyist and longtime friend Tim McKone.

He also has support from chief executives at companies like Cisco Systems Inc. and former staff who now work for Verizon Communications and Disney.

Seems mighty hypocritical to me -- and certainly in violation of the spirit of campaign finance reform.

Posted by: Greg at 09:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Sounds like Mahmoud is suffering from delusions of grandeur -- or threatening to unleash the nuclear weapons he says he is not developing upon anyone who backs sanctions.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is rejecting new United Nations sanctions as illegal, according to IRNA, the state-run Iranian news agency.

Ahmadinejad, in an interview with France's Channel 2 TV network, warned nations "seeking to impose sanctions against Iran will suffer a greater damage themselves," IRNA reported.

The 15-member Security Council unanimously passed a resolution Saturday imposing new sanctions on Iran because of its refusal to suspend its uranium-enrichment program.

I t5hink the time has come for us to impose "greater damage" upon the Iranian president and his country.

Posted by: Greg at 09:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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After all, they are not the United States or Israel, so their actions pass with relatively little comment -- even though their actions do, in fact, violate Geneva, something that is not the case with the criticized actions of the US and Israel.

FIFTEEN British sailors and marines arrested by IranÂ’s Revolutionary Guards off the coast of Iraq may be charged with spying.

A website run by associates of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, reported last night that the Britons would be put before a court and indicted.

Referring to them as “insurgents”, the site concluded: “If it is proven that they deliberately entered Iranian territory, they will be charged with espionage. If that is proven, they can expect a very serious penalty since according to Iranian law, espionage is one of the most serious offences.”

The warning followed claims by Iranian officials that the British navy personnel had been taken to Tehran, the capital, to explain their “aggressive action” in entering Iranian waters. British officials insist the servicemen were in Iraqi waters when they were held.

However, as Captain Ed points out, this announcement is a clear statement of intent to violate international law as found in the Geneva Conventions.

The Iranians cannot try the men for espionage if they captured the sailors in uniform. Article 46 of the Geneva Convention states this clearly:

2. A member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict who, on behalf of that Party and in territory controlled by an adverse Party, gathers or attempts to gather information shall not be considered as engaging in espionage if, while so acting, he is in the uniform of his armed forces.

The indictment of British sailors in uniform as spies will violate the GC. Can we expect the same level of outrage over this explicit violation as the supposed violations of the US government?

Now since the status of those captured in uniform, as opposed to those captured out of uniform (like, for example, al-Qaeda jihadis), they cannot face criminal charges but must instead be treated as POWs. On the other hand, those captured out of uniform can be so tried, according to whatever for their captors see fit. If this situation does not make the matter clear to even the most dense of observers (including BDS-suffering American leftists), then nothing will.

Oh, and by the way -- the Iranians attacked US and Iraqi forces INSIDE IRAQ recently. Sounds like an act of war to me. Too bad Congress won't let us respond appropriately.

Personally, I like the suggestion at the Jawa Report for dealing with this act of naked aggression by the Iranians. So what if we have to print maps that read "Sea of Glass" where "Iran" used to be.

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Posted by: Greg at 07:56 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Sorry, but over the years the content of AP classes has become watered-down as too many districts encouraged too-many students to enroll in AP classes -- and then gave in when parents demanded that the grades (and the failure rates) be the same as regular level classes.

Now the College Board is striking back.

While her students at Blake High School prepare for an Advanced Placement exam that measures whether they know college-level world history, Saroja Ringo is being asked to prove she knows how to teach it.

The College Board, publisher of college-preparatory exams, is auditing every Advanced Placement course in the nation, asking teachers of an estimated 130,000 AP courses to furnish written proof by June 1 that the courses they teach are worthy of the brand.

An explosion in AP study -- participation in the program has nearly doubled this decade -- has bred worry, particularly among college leaders, of a decline in the rigor for which the courses are known. Once the exclusive province of elite students at select high schools, AP study or its equivalent is now more or less expected of any student who aspires to attend even a marginally selective college.

In the haste to remain competitive in the AP arms race, schools sometimes award the designation to courses that barely resemble the college curriculum the program is meant to deliver, according to College Board officials and educators. Until now, there has been no large-scale effort to weed out such abuse.

"Anybody could just say, 'I'm teaching an AP course; I'm an AP teacher. There's no protocol,' " said Ringo, who teaches AP World History at the Silver Spring school and works as an official grader of the exams.

Beginning with the 2007-08 academic year, only teachers whose syllabuses have been approved by the College Board may call their courses AP. Each teacher must submit an audit form, along with a syllabus for the course he or she teaches. Depending on how well the teacher's syllabus -- assuming he or she has one -- reflects the rigor expected by the College Board, the process can be brief or time-consuming.

It is about time. And for all the grumbling that comes from the pseudo-AP teachers out there, let me suggest that they start to walk a mile in the shoes of regular education teachers who don't exclusively get "the best and the brightest" in our classes.

Posted by: Greg at 07:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The sooner the better, as far as this teacher is concerned.

The story has been the same for years in this small, poor, mostly black school district in northeast Houston: Financial problems, shoddy recordkeeping and low test scores prompt sanctions from the state.

Employees get indicted on criminal charges. The school board fires the superintendent. The district might improve some but then falls again.

In the past decade, enrollment in the North Forest Independent School District has dropped 35 percent to fewer than 9,000 students. Today, eight of its 11 schools are rated academically unacceptable, and its average SAT score — 748 out of 1600 — is nearly the worst in Texas.

History repeated itself three weeks ago when the school board voted 4-3 to oust the superintendent, James Simpson, and the Texas Education Agency again has sent in a conservator to oversee the district's finances.

While some in the North Forest community are rallying behind the state's largest predominantly black school system, others, including some Texas lawmakers, are beginning to ask: When is enough enough? Would students be better off if the district were abolished and annexed by neighboring systems?

State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, a longtime defender of North Forest, recently told the Houston Chronicle, "I'm at the breaking point."

Thompson, a Democrat, said the school board deserves time to search for a top-notch superintendent. But if the district doesn't shape up quickly — she's not certain on a timeline — she'd be ready to support shutting down North Forest ISD. Closure could happen only if the state education commissioner ordered it or if the school board chose it.

And the school board won't choose it, as its members have been operating the district as their own personal fiefdom for years, to the detriment of the students and the teachers in the district. The neighboring districts, Houston, Aldine, Sheldon and Humble, would end up absorbing the students -- though I know we would have a lot of the students attempt to enroll in my district as well, as I suspect some already do.

I think that the state superintendent of education, Dr. Shirley Neeley, really dodged the question of whether or not the district should be closed.

Neeley said she always asks herself the same question before abolishing a district: "Would I want my children or grandchildren attending that school or that school district?"

Asked whether she would send her children to the schools in North Forest, Neeley skirted the question.

"I'm partial to Galena Park," she said of the nearby district where she once served as superintendent.

Come on, Shirley, I know you better than that. For all your love of GPISD (where you not only were superintendent, but where you, your daughter, and your grandson all attended school and where you taught and worked as an administrator most of your career), you KNOW North Forest ISD was not measuring up. You knew that when kids from NFISD were playing residency games to enroll at GPISD schools. The time has come for you to ACT, not to avoid closing down a majority minority district in your own backyard. After all, you would not have let either your daughter or grandson go to NFISD schools -- why should you continue to force anyone else's child to do so?

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Posted by: Greg at 07:13 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment
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So, do you make international calls? If you do, there are lots of different rate plans out there if you are using calling cards. One of the better one's I've seen is offered by Pingo, which is a source for cheap prepaid calling cards online. With Pingo, you get some of the best rates anywhere -- including up to four free hours of international calls just for using their service.

Not only that, but Pingo has a system available for helping you make inexpensive international calls from you cellular phone. That’s right, no more top-tier rates when you call abroad – just make use of Pingo’s service and you can pay up to 90% less to keep in touch with friends and family abroad, even using your mobile service.

Paid Endorsement.

Posted by: Greg at 06:00 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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