So many ways to treat so many types of headache

Treatments can vary widely, from medication to surgery or herbs
By CINDY GEORGE Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Constant shooting, stinging, throbbing and other painful head-pounding could ruin — or rule — your life.

Up to 35 million Americans suffer migraine and other forms of headache, according to the American Academy of Neurology.

• FOUR TYPES OF HEADACHES: The main types of headaches are tension, migraine, cluster and hormone.
Tension headaches, the most common, cause a band-like sensation or other pressure around the head. Most migraine headaches occur on one side of the head. Described as the most intense, cluster headaches attack in groups. Hormone headaches are associated with women’s menstrual cycles.

• OTHER TYPES OF HEADACHES: You might also experience over-medication rebound headaches, sinus headaches and those caused by brain abnormalities, including tumors.
• TRIGGERS: Stress, certain foods and sleeping patterns can trigger headaches.
“Eating meals regularly, staying well-hydrated and trying to minimize stress in life, sleeping well and getting exercise really do make a difference,” said Dr. Pamela Blake, a Houston neurologist at Memorial Hermann Northwest.

Changing weather that causes barometric pressure to spike or dip could be the culprit.

“When the fronts are coming in, primarily in the spring and fall, that will trigger headaches in the front of the head or face,”said Dr. Howard S. Derman, a neurologist at The Methodist Hospital. “People sometimes think those are sinus headaches because of spring flowers, but they’re really not.”

The same concept applies to people plagued with head pain while flying, hiking or mountain-climbing.

Read full article: So many ways to treat so many types of headache

For some, Christmas is more than a tree, gifts: Seasonal fanatics have a holiday obsession

By MAGGIE GALEHOUSE HOUSTON CHRONICLE

A hurricane and a recession could easily spread a serious case of the bah, humbugs this season.

But not for the Christmas fanatics. For these self-taught decorators who transform their homes into holiday havens thick with Santas, ornaments and things that go blink in the night, Christmas always arrives early and stays late.
A tale of two Michaels

For every Christmas addict there is an enabler. And between the months of October and December, this pretty much describes Michael Briden and Mike Lowery.

“I have the inspiration, and he has the installation,” Briden deadpans.

Briden is the collector, favoring glass ornaments by Christopher Radko and Santa figurines by Brian Kidwell and Jim Shore. He decorates each of the holiday trees in the Heights bungalow he and Lowery share — no small job, since there’s at least one tree in every downstairs room.

Lowery does the traditional “dad” jobs: hangs garland around the window frames, puts the toppers on each tree before Briden starts to decorate, picks up ornaments on his way home from hunting and fishing trips.

Every year, the two transform their handsome bungalow with sage green walls into a holiday wonderland where first-time guests are hard-pressed to focus on anything but the dé cor. As Lowery says, “Christmas has definitely exploded in this house.”

It helps that the pair co-own Another Place in Time, a garden center in the Heights that sells some of the decorative items and ornaments Briden collects.

Briden, who is also a loan operations manager at Integrity Bank, admits that he is particular about the quality and presentation of his collections.

He likes his Santas to look friendly, not scary. He enjoys creating new vignettes with his Christmas ornaments; this year, Santa’s Sweet Shop appears in his kitchen window, with a jar of gingerbread men and cookies and glass candies. And each of his Christmas trees has a theme, from the hunting and fishing tree in Lowery’s room, to the Grinch tree in the bathroom, to the slim and showy “Feathered Friends” tree in the family room.

The show-stopper is “The Night Before Christmas” tree, which gathers Santas, reindeers, gifts and all the usual Christmas Eve suspects.

When one goes to so much trouble to create a Christmas atmosphere, it’s a shame not to share it. Briden estimates that he and Lowery host half a dozen social gatherings every December so that friends can see the house.

As thrilled as Briden is with this year’s décor, he is always in the market for something new. Gazing at his animal tree, he ticks off the rarer ornaments that adorn it. A buffalo. A rhinoceros. A skunk. A giraffe. But he can’t help but notice what he’s missing.

“I don’t have a platypus,” Briden says, “and I don’t have any dinosaurs.”

The holiday decorating gene is strong with Jennifer Emshoff. Growing up in Klein with a mother who’s a part-time interior designer, she learned early that every holiday deserves festive dé cor and special dishes.

So when Emshoff, a senior contract analyst with El Paso Exploration & Production, moved into her Eastwood bungalow in 2001, it was a fait accompli that the holidays would be well-represented.

Her Christmas decorating schedule begins the day after Thanksgiving at her childhood home, when her mom starts pulling out her own Christmas finery. Emshoff is always on hand to assist.

“I give her all day Friday,” she says, “then I come back and start working on my own house. It takes two full days for the inside and then a night to put up the lights on the outside.”

This year presented a new challenge for Emshoff, who recently transformed her bright blue and yellow living space into a richer, ranchy style, with dark leather and rustic touches. This meant a new backdrop for Christmas.

Dominating the living room is a full-size white tree with shiny, multicolored ornaments, many with a Texas theme. On the floor of the dining room, ranch meets Christmas in a pair of ceramic cowboy boots stuffed with holly and red berries. The formal dining table is set for Christmas dinner and a long kitchen counter that usually serves as the bar has become a winter village.

Read full article: For some, Christmas is more than a tree, gifts

Lose Your Weight By Choosing Correct Diet Plan

The first step towards a healthy life is a healthy body. And for a healthy body you need to keep your body in shape. In other words you will have to loose the extra pounds you have accumulated for so many years by spending a lot of money. ‘Lose weight’ seems to be the new slogan of the present generation. They want to do it to make their life healthier, more promising and look better. Hence the requirement for a healthy body arises.

The first step toward loosing your weight would be controlling your diet. You will have to make your diet according to the requirement of your body. Many people think that they can lose their weight by abstaining from food, by eating just to survive. But this is not a healthy practice as you also lose the basic nutrients required by the body not just unnecessary fat. A correct diet plan should reflect your life style. For example if you work in a office and all you have to do is to just sit there and then come home then your diet plan would be something else than the person who has to constantly move from one location to another during their day job. It also depends upon whether you work in day or in night.

There are many diet plans available in the market. They include weight watchers, jenny Craig, south beach, and Atkins and nutria system. They all work well. They can help to enhance your healthy life and at the same time make you lose your weight if you follow its rules from the start to the end without any interval, without any break. But do remember that it is always easier said than done. Hence choose your diet plan carefully and accordingly. And once you have chosen them then stick to it.

Read this article - Lose Your Weight By Choosing Correct Diet Plan

Ask the Expert: Treat migraines at first warning signs

Q. How is a migraine treated?

A. Migraines can be treated at two different times: once the person develops a migraine or before they develop one. Both treatments are done with medications that relieve the symptoms, though outcomes are usually better when the migraine is treated as early as possible.

Some women can get severe migraines around their time of menstruation. These types of migraines can be helped with the use of hormones or birth control pills.

Q. When should I get medical help for migraines?

A. You can take over-the-counter, pain-relieving drugs once you experience the first signs or symptoms of a migraine. However, if you are taking over-the-counter medications for them more than eight times a month you should look into seeing your doctor about a prescription treatment. These medications are preventive in nature, sometimes taken daily, and serve to reduce the frequency and severity of the person’s migraines. Your doctor may also discuss medications to take at the first sign of a migraine. These medicines help eliminate the migraine or make the symptoms much more tolerable.

Q. What about alternative medicines or home remedies?

A. Any activity you find relaxing might lessen the effects of a migraine, such as taking a hot bath or sitting quietly in a darkened room. If you are experiencing chronic headache pain, some alternative remedies like massage or even acupuncture might provide relief. Ideally, you should consult a physician before beginning any alternative medicines.

Read full article - Ask the Expert: Treat migraines at first warning signs

Medifast Diet - This diet’s longevity speaks volumes

The Medifast brand has been around for a number of decades, and at one time was only available via physicians. Nowadays the products can be ordered on-line and through a number of distributors.

Medifast offer a stable of meal replacement products - all generally formulated to be low-calorie and low-fat, and containing the optimum levels of vitamins. The formula will generally take users into a mild state of ketosis.

The most popular plan is called 5 and 1. This plan (800-1000 calories daily) comprises 5 meal replacements and one “real” meal containing a lean protein and vegetables and salad. Medifast claim a weight loss of 2-5 pounds per week on this plan.

Proof?

What many people don’t realize is that very few commercial weight loss programs have ever undergone any clinical studies. Medifast heavily promote the fact that a Johns Hopkins university study has shown that Medifast results in significant weight loss (67 pound average loss in males and 57 pound average loss in females). It’s worth pointing out that this study looked at patients who attended Medifast clinics.

There is also an additional study that compared the Medifast program with diabetes medication. The study found Medifast more effective at controlling type 2 diabetes than an ADA-recommended program (see PR).

Both studies were led by Associate Professor Lawrence Cheskin of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and were funded by Medifast .

Successes

Due to the popularity of the program, Medifast have a number of “success stories” - one of which is Nnedi Uzowihe-Igwe of Maryland, USA (currently featured on the Medifast site). She also appeared in People magazine in January 2006 describing a massive transformation that resulted in a 160lb weight loss between June 2004 and April 2005. Nnedi subsequently became pregnant and gave birth to her second daughter)

I was able to find out how Nnedi was going now, and she appears to have maintained her massive initial weight loss (and is aiming to lose the weight she put on with the second baby by the end of this year).

Drastic

Protein fasts and low-calorie meal replacements are a drastic solution, and in my opinion appropriate for drastic situations. Given the choice between gastric bypass surgery or Medifast , then Medifast must surely be a better answer.

The biggest test of a program such as Medifast is the long-term consequences - and in particular weaning off a program based around shakes and soups. The transition phase should be four to six weeks, and often starts off by introducing some oatmeal at breakfast, and some fruit for snacks. Also exercise must become a part of life (5 days a week). Exercise must be fairly low-key during the restrictive part of Medifast - but once transitioning - it becomes increasingly important.

Due to the level of energy intake and exercise levels - it is likely that some muscle loss will occur during the weight loss phase. Once again, the best course of action would be to gradually include strength training during the transition phase - and begin to build up muscle tone.

Costs

The Medifast 5 and 1 plan cost $275 for 4 weeks. However - that’s the cost of the “5? - you will still need to buy your daily “lean and green” meal (lean protein plus salad/vegetables).

Men & Women

Different formulations are used for men and women. Some shakes are called Medifast 55 or Medifast 70. The latter has a higher soy protein content and is more suitable for men (or women who prefer higher protein).

Behaviour Change Required

Read full story: Medifast Diet - This diet’s longevity speaks volumes

New Nokia Smartphone Patent Features Swiveling Widescreen and QWERTY

A new patent from Nokia shows a pretty interesting new design: a full widescreen that can swivel behind a QWERTY keyboard so only half the screen is visible.

When held in one position, the phone looks a lot like Nokia’s traditional QWERTY candybars, but the screen can swivel up and out to present a widescreen, presumably for media or web browsing, apps that need a lot of screen real estate. It’s a cool way to combine the appeal of a giant touchscreen with the utility of a QWERTY keyboard, except unlike sliders like the T-Mobile G1 or the Sidekick, the keys are always available on this concept. The screen can also apparently rotate side to side, though I’m not really sure what use could be had from that.

It’s just a patent, and I’m sure there are a number of reasons why this idea won’t come to fruition (how is that screen attached?). But I like the idea and maybe we’ll see elements of it in future products from Nokia.
Source - New Nokia Smartphone Patent Features Swiveling Widescreen and QWERTY

Samsung Behold (for T-Mobile) Cell Phone

The head-turning Samsung Behold is a responsive touch-screen cell phone with a few advanced features and a great camera.

Ginny Mies, PC World
PC World
Saturday, December 13, 2008; 12:19 AM

The 3G Samsung Behold ($150 from T-Mobile), the younger sibling of the Samsung Omnia on the Verizon network, is a slick cell phone with a bevy of advanced multimedia features and a responsive touch screen. However, the Behold lacks Wi-Fi and a standard headphone jack, and its Web browser is a bit counterintuitive.

Slightly smaller than the Omnia, the Behold measures 2.1 by 4.1 by 0.5 inches. Weighing 3.9 ounces, it’s light but feels solid in the hand.

The Behold’s 3-inch touch screen takes up the majority of the phone, and three physical keys–end, send, and back–reside underneath. The landscape touch-screen QWERTY keyboard, with generously spaced keys and vibrating feedback, is comfortable to use. I didn’t notice any lag between when I typed and when the results appeared on the screen, a problem I’ve experienced with some other touch-screen keyboards. The Behold’s predictive text feature gives two word choices, but you can also turn predictive text off with a dedicated key on the keyboard. The arrangement includes a few dedicated punctuation keys, as well.

The Behold uses Samsung’s TouchWiz interface, also seen on the Omnia. But unlike the Omnia, which seemed sluggish running Windows Mobile, the Behold is very responsive. The accelerometer, which reacted slowly on the Omnia, flipped from portrait to landscape quickly and smoothly on this handset. I encountered some lag only when I scrolled through lists of contacts or my media library. And otherwise, I found TouchWiz very user-friendly.

The lens for the Behold’s 5-megapixel camera, along with a flash, is located on the phone’s metallic back (which is available in a brushed espresso or light-rose finish). A volume rocker and a headphone/USB jack lie on the left spine of the device, while a dedicated camera key and a phone-lock key sit on the right.

Call quality was very good overall. My contacts sounded loud and clear, and I heard no static or interference. Parties on the other end heard some background noise, but otherwise the sound quality was clean. I experienced no dropped calls.

The Today screen–the Behold’s home screen–has a widget bar running along its left side. You can arrange the widgets in any order, as well as drag one into the main part of the screen to launch its respective app. To end the application, you slide the widget back onto the bar. Available widgets include a calendar, a phone book, a music player, and a clock. But other than rearranging widgets and removing them, you don’t have a lot of room for customization; you can’t add new widgets to the bar or buy new programs (there is no app store), which was disappointing.

The Behold offers a full HTML browser, which is a nice addition for a non-smart-phone handset. The browser is difficult to use on occasion: Scrolling through pages wasn’t as smooth a process as on other touch-screen browsers, and getting the hang of navigating took time. For example, to zoom in on a page, you must touch the magnifying-glass icon at the top of the browser and then select the page size to view. The phone doesn’t do Wi-Fi, either, but that didn’t seem like too big of a loss; Web pages loaded very quickly over T-Mobile’s 3G network.

The Behold’s standout feature is its 5-megapixel camera, with 4X digital zoom and a power LED flash. The camera has four resolution settings, light metering, adjustable ISO, a self-timer, a self-portrait mirror on the back cover, an antishake feature, and a setting for shooting backlit subjects. It also has three fun shooting modes (continuous, panorama, and mosaic), as well as a smile-shot mode that will take another shot if the subject is frowning.

Read the rest of this article - Samsung Behold (for T-Mobile) Cell Phone

State boys basketball powerhouses are back for more

(12-09) 21:56 PST — There are quality rivalries and then there is McClymonds and De La Salle. Once again, the two storied programs will be the teams to beat this season and will face each other in the much-anticipated Martin Luther King Jr. Classic at Cal on Jan. 19.

McClymonds-Oakland beat the Spartans two times last season, but De La Salle-Concord appeared to have an edge heading into this season when Georgetown recruit Hollis Thompson transferred to the school from Loyola-Los Angeles in September. Thompson recently moved to Atlanta, but De La Salle coach Frank Allocco is confident his returning players are ready to compete for a Division I title. Meanwhile, new McClymonds coach Brandon Brooks is hoping to get his team back to Arco Arena for the third straight year.

TOP FIVE TEAMS

1. McClymonds (32-0 last season, 2-0 through Monday): Dwight Nathaniel retired as coach after Mack’s 73-54 win over Dominguez-Compton in the Division I state title game, but the dynamic backcourt of Will Cherry (Montana recruit) and Quincy Hill returns, along with energetic forward Damon Powell. The Warriors also benefit from the arrival of Justin Standley, a 6-foot-3 senior transfer from Amador Valley-Pleasanton.

2. De La Salle (28-4, 1-0): Thompson is gone, but Cal-bound point guard Brandon Smith teams with Jordan Estrada in the backcourt. Denver-bound Jefferson Powers (6-7), John McArthur (6-8) and Beau Levesque (6-6) make up a frontline that held its own against Mater Dei-Santa Ana in a preseason scrimmage.

3. St. Mary’s (33-2, 3-1): The state finalists return a solid core of players including senior point guard Aalim Moor, Chris Brew and twins Dominique and Demetrius Lee. The Panthers’ frantic style of play lends itself to some of the more impressive dunks in the region.

4. Bellarmine (19-10, 1-0): The Bells, led by senior Niyi Harrison, a 6-8 post who signed with Santa Clara, have all the pieces to win a West Catholic Athletic League title and another CCS crown. Their early success depends on the transition of football players like sophomore point guard Kris Olugbode and post Michael Clay.

5. Newark Memorial (26-7, 3-0): Newark nearly shocked De La Salle in the NCS Division I final last season, and upset Sacramento High - the defending NorCal Division III champ - 79-72 in the opening game of this season. Khion Sankey had 21 points in that victory and freshman Casey Norris added 20 for the Cougars, who also have a tough returning guard in 5-10 Bobby McCall.

TOP FIVE PLAYERS

1. Powell (McClymonds, 6-6 F): Many players with more refined skills have competed for the west Oakland power, but few have played with the intensity Powell brings to every game. He averaged 16.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game as a junior. His dunk over a De La Salle defender in last season’s MLK Jr. Classic became must-see footage on YouTube.

2. Brew (St. Mary’s, 6-3, G): The UC Santa Barbara-bound guard turned down offers from Pac-10 schools to play with his brother Will Brew, a freshman starter for the Gauchos. Brew, who averaged 19 points per game as a junior, is known for his dunks, ability to slash to the basket, unselfishness and defensive intensity.

3. Jared Cunningham (San Leandro, 6-4 G): The lanky guard no longer is committed to Arizona State, so Cunningham could be playing with renewed motivation. His ability to move without the ball and handle it make him especially versatile. Cunningham averaged 17.8 points as a junior.

4. Smith (De La Salle, 6-0 G): Smith has all the intangibles that make a great point guard. He is a master at orchestrating the De La Salle system and an on-the-ball defender who makes setting up an offense difficult for opposing point guards.

5. Tim Harris (Valley Christian, 6-3 G): The often-injured Harris hasn’t lit up the WCAL in three varsity seasons, but signing a letter-of-intent with a rising program like St. Mary’s showed that he has turned the corner in his development. Harris scored 25 points in a 61-49 win over Fremont-Oakland at the NorCal Tip-Off Classic.

Defending champions

Read full source - State boys basketball powerhouses are back for more

8 Ways to Green Your Winter Travel

by Trey Granger

This story is part of Earth911’s “Green Eight” series, where we showcase eight ways to green your life in various areas.

Regardless of economic conditions, travel during November and December increases, often up to 23 percent during the Christmas and New Year’s breaks. Whether you’re visiting friends and family by plane, train or automobile, here’s eight ways to travel green this holiday season:

1. Ride the Rails . . . and Bus Routes

Wondering what’s the greenest form of travel? Actually, traveling by bus or train consumes the least amount of carbon per passenger. In the winter, travel by other means is subject to road closures and weather delays. Plus, trains and buses will usually drop you downtown for easier access to the city you’re visiting.

2. Enjoy Paperless Travel

No matter how you decide to travel, there is potential for lots of paper use. You’ve got tickets and boarding passes, baggage claim receipts and even directions to your lodging. But in this technological age, is all this paper necessary?

• Wait to print boarding passes at the airport, where less paper is used (and refuse the “ticket jacket” if offered).
• Enter important addresses into a portable GPS unit to take on your travel, so you won’t need to print directions.
• Ask if travel receipts can be emailed to you instead of printed (except luggage, of course).

3. Prepare Your Car

If you’re one of the 91 percent of people who opt for the holiday road trip, pre-trip car maintenance can optimize your gas mileage. This includes checking your motor oil and tire pressure, as well as removing unnecessary baggage that will weigh down your car. A 15-minute car preparation can help prevent a two-hour car breakdown in cold weather and more money spent on gas.

4. Reduce Airplane Waste

Think about how much waste you go through on an average flight. There’s peanut and food wrappers, aluminum soda and beer cans, disposable headphones, newspapers and magazines and the aforementioned paper travel documents. Other than the headphones and wrappers, it can all be recycled, and chances are your airport has recycling bins.

Keep this in mind before the flight attendant comes around asking for your trash. You can also bring your own headphones and packed lunch, or tuck your newspaper into the seat in front of you for the next passenger to read.

Read full article - 8 Ways to Green Your Winter Travel

Ferrari 430 16M Scuderia Spider Makes Debut at 2008 Bologna Auto Show

The top has come off the Ferrari 430 Scuderia in honor of the brand’s victory in the 2008 Formula 1 Constructor’s World Championship. Ferrari has announced that it will offer only 499 examples of this lightweight high-performance drop-top. The Scuderia Spider 16M will be available in two new color schemes. The standard will be black and grey, but true racers at heart will opt for a tricolor livery available as part of the Carrozzeria Scaglietti Personalisation Programme. In commemoration of Ferrari’s 16th Constructor’s World title the rear grille will sport a special badge. Inside, a plaque reading “limited series” is mounted just above the air vents at the center of the dashboard. Other features specific to the limited edition include a carbon-fiber roll bar and the implementation of a next generation audio system that can be paired with a customized Ferrari 16GB iPod Touch that can be docked right in front of the dash. Having Scuderia in the name implies that this car isn’t all show and no go. It tips the scales at just 2,954 lbs which is 132 lbs lighter than a F430 Spider. Behind the cockpit resides the sweet-sounding 4.3-liter V-8 cranking out 510 horsepower and linked to the quick-shifting six-speed F1-style gearbox. That 5.7 lb/hp ratio is good for a 0-62 time of only 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 195 mph.
 Read full artcle: Ferrari 430 16M Scuderia Spider Makes Debut at 2008 Bologna Auto Show

What US Expats Need to Know About Paying Taxes

The main opinion considering taxes and American expatriates is that there is no need to worry about paying any more dues to the government. However, the meaningfulness is not that simple, and it is vital that you understand exactly the facts concerning the matter to keep yourself from getting into any legal complications.

The following are the facts involving the Internal Gross income Service and the tax liabilities of an American expat:

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

This of obviously, refers to any amount that you may have, or have earned from working in another country besides the US. It includes not just your salary but also any allowance that you may receive as compensation.

To avail of the revenues exclusion, you must meet the following requirements: the first is that you must have lived in that foreign country for at least full year, or have spent at least 330 days from a 12 month epoch. The amount that you can take advantage of can reach up to $80,000. You must, however, file all the necessary papers to the IRS to be a part of this program.

Expats and Self Occupation Tax / the US Social security and Medicare

If you are an expatriate who is employed by a company in the United Sates, it is almost always the case that your proprietor will hold back any Meficare or Social Security.

For those that are their own employers (self employed in other words), you will need to pay up to whatever amount you owe the gate service. Moreover, there is a self employment tax that you will have to pay so that you will be entitled to both Social Security and Medicare.

American Expats Employed by ForeignersIn the mainIf you are working for a corporation in another country, you will not, except in special cases, pay anything to the Internal Revenue Service with respect to your Social Safe keeping, and instead will be covered by that country’s own laws concerning taxation.

Facts about Tax Treaties

If the nation you are in has a tax treaty with the United States, then it is possible that you might have to pay some to the IRS. Currently the US has tax treaties with 60 other nations, and it is therefore crucial that you check if you are covered by this over.
There are several online resources you can check for information concerning this subject, but the best and most reliable place to begin would be at the sanctioned website of the Internal Revenue Service, www.irs.gov

Double Taxation and Foreign Tax Credits

Read full article: What US Expats Need to Know About Paying Taxes

Festive Christmas Flowers From Find A Florist Make the Season Jolly

Find A Florist Helps Send Holiday Floral Arrangements and Christmas Trees With the Widest, Freshest Selections From Local Florists

LOS ANGELES, CA, Dec 03, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) — ‘Tis the season to be jolly, and what better way to celebrate the holidays this year than with a flower arrangement from a local florist found through Teleflora’s Find A Florist, the leading online florist locator? With a directory of over 20,000 local florists, Teleflora’s Find A Florist allows consumers to search for florists in specific markets and areas.
“The holiday season is a great time to send centerpieces, wreaths or even table top trees, which consumers will find through their local florists,” said Chris Campbell, Director Online Marketing, Teleflora. “And to beat the holiday rush, we recommend ordering the second week in December as peak flower sales hit the week before Christmas.”
Christmas flowers bought through florists identified on Find A Florist make great decorations for the home or office, and flowers are wonderful gifts for friends, co-workers and loved ones. With same day or next day delivery, customers can be sure that their Christmas gifts will be hand-arranged and hand-delivered by high-quality florists.
“During the holiday season, we find that winter flowers including mini callas, freesia, bouvardia, red and white tulips, star of Bethlehem, nerine lilies, paperwhites, amaryllis and poinsettias are the most popular. However, non-traditional winter flowers are beginning to show up in many arrangements,” said Campbell. “For example, Teleflora’s Festive Fragrance and Christmas Cactus arrangements are quickly becoming new holiday favorites, with their unique spins on classic Christmas decor.”
For additional information on choosing flowers, or to locate a local florist or floral shop anywhere in the country, visit www.FindAFlorist.com.
About Find A Florist:
Read full article: Festive Christmas Flowers From Find A Florist Make the Season Jolly

Innovative Weight-Loss Surgery

Mercy Medical Center has become the first hospital on Long Island to offer a new single-incision Lap-Band(r) (laparoscopic gastric banding) procedure for weight loss surgery.

A team headed by Shawn Garber, MD, Chief of Bariatric Surgery at Mercy, with colleague Spencer Holover, MD, is among the first in the nation to utilize the innovative technique, known as Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SILS), for gastric banding, using just one small opening in the abdomen, through the navel, rather than the five incisions required in traditional techniques.

“SILS is an important new option that holds the potential of less pain, fewer scars and quicker recovery,” explained Dr. Garber, who heads the New York Bariatric Group. “And most patients report that they can barely notice the single incision hidden in the belly button.”

In addition to its latest application in gastric banding for weight-loss, Dr. Garber utilizes the SILS technique for gall bladder surgery.

Read full article here

Awful’ Month for Carmakers

By Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 3, 2008; Page D01

Carmakers continued to load on the discounts in November, but American consumers continued to slam on the brakes.

The industry tried everything. Companies offered zero-percent financing, “red tag” sales, employee-discount pricing and even buy-one-get-one-free pickup truck deals. Still, U.S. auto sales plunged to their lowest pace in 26 years. Overall, automakers sold 746,789 cars, trucks and minivans in the United States, down 37 percent from a year earlier, according to Autodata.

All major carmakers suffered steep declines, but Detroit was particularly hard hit. General Motors’ sales tumbled 41 percent, to 152,552. Ford sold 118,319 vehicles last month, a 30 percent fall. Chrysler sold 85,260, down 47 percent.

Jesse Toprak, a sales analyst at Edmunds.com, said the incentive programs have reached a point of diminishing returns, where virtually no amount of cash on the hood will move sales. He said Americans harbor deep economic fears.

“The majority of the decline is low consumer confidence,” he said. “Consumers are not showing up regardless of what kind of deals, regardless of how low gas prices go.”

Toprak said middle-class and upper-middle-class Americans — who make up the market for new car buyers — are reeling from steep erosions in home values and losses in 401(k) plans.

“They don’t know if they are going to have a job in the next few months,” he said. “It’s a bit depressing when you put it all together. Consumers don’t want to make a big-ticket purchase, and cars are the biggest purchase after homes.” The sales figures were also hurt by would-be buyers’ inability to get financing, Toprak said.

November’s sales, translated into the closely watched seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate, or SAAR, slipped to 10.18 million, the lowest selling pace since October 1982, according to preliminary figures by Autodata. Sales appeared to slow from October, when the seasonally adjusted selling pace was measured at 10.56 million.

Economists and industry analysts yesterday were looking for signs that the market was close to bottoming out. Bob Schnorbus, the chief economist at J.D. Power and Associates, said he expected stronger November results from automakers. He said the industry was struggling to get out of “unprecedented territory” and that fourth-quarter results may represent the low point for the industry, barring other large-scale financial calamities.

“It’s probably getting pretty close,” Schnorbus said. “That’s kind of cold comfort if it turns out that the recovery is very weak and protracted.”

Read full article: ‘Awful’ Month for Carmakers

Different Types of Taxi Insurance

Looking at the increasing number of road accidents, as well as vehicle theft, insurance for your vehicle is a must. Getting coverage for a vehicle means that at the time of damage or theft, the company from whom the policy is taken will cover the cost of damages, or will pay for the cost of the vehicle in case of theft. Many of the firms are offering insurance policies on a commercial basis as well, one example being the introduction of taxi insurance in which cover is provided for taxis, cabs and even vans. Private hire insurance policies, as well as public hire insurance policies, are two types of taxi insurance policies available. In comparison to the public hire insurance policy, private hire insurance policies are a lot more expensive as they involve a higher risk.

These types of taxi insurances are very popular these days, as having taxis for public as well as private hire includes a lot of risks, and not opting for any kind of insurance policy will make the running of taxis unaffordable. But one must also be very careful in choosing the company from whom the insurance is obtained, as it is a very specialised field, and very few companies are providing it at genuine prices. Getting a cheap taxi insurance policy may not be a very hard nut to crack because of the competition between the companies.

Obtaining these taxi insurance policies is very easy, as one may register directly over the net or can even consult any executive from the taxi insurance company. The best way to get cheap taxi insurance is to directly get in contact with the wholesale insurance agents as they are well trained and can calculate the minimum amount of premium required to obtain a taxi insurance policy. The prices, or the premium, of the policy is relatively cheap, if there is a good number of a taxis included in the policy. Apart from this, there are three types of taxi insurance policies offered by companies and they are: third party, fully comprehensive, and third party fire & theft.

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The Biggest Secret of Successful Weight Loss

When it comes to weight loss, the biggest hurdle that people face is that of getting started. They just don’t have any idea of where to start from! If you are one of these people then this article is for you! It doesn’t really matter whether you want to lose ten or hundred pounds, the tips I am going to share with you in this article are going to help you anyway!

The first step to successful weight loss is to set some goals. Goals should be used in the same way as milestones are used on highways. Just as without any milestone, you will have no idea of where you are going, without a goal, you will have no idea of how much work you need to do to shed all the extra pounds!

First you should ask yourself some questions:

1. How much weight you want to lose?

2. By when you expect to lose all the weight?

Then write answers to these questions on a sheet of paper. Oh yeah, before I forget, let me tell you that writing your goals is one of the surefire ways of making sure that you never forget them! Write your weight loss goals on a piece of paper, make copies of that paper, and stick each paper on every place you can.

Make sure you don’t forget to stick this paper on your refrigerator and kitchen, since it is in these places that the demon called temptation tries to ruin your weight loss efforts!

Setting goals is just not enough; in order to make the goals achievable, you must set REALISTIC goals. If you have a goal of losing sixty pounds within a couple of weeks or a month, that is not going to happen. Setting such unrealistic goals for yourself will nullify the very effect of goal setting.

When you set unrealistic goals and fail to achieve the same, you will be disappointed and frustrated with yourself and your weight loss efforts.

Read full article: The Biggest Secret of Successful Weight Loss

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10 tips for holiday travel

By Ed Hewitt
updated 3:11 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2008

With the global economy in crisis and both travelers and airlines feeling the pinch, it may not seem like 2008 will be the cheeriest of holiday travel seasons. Airlines have cut flights, raised fares and added a surge of surcharges for everything from checked bags to phone bookings. Meanwhile, many travelers are postponing or canceling their holiday plans to save money.

But for travelers still planning to visit Grandma’s for Thanksgiving or spend Christmas weekend in Paris, the news isn’t all bad. There are still deals to be found, provided you shop carefully and plan ahead. Check out our 10 tips for holiday travel and find some joy this holiday season.

Avoid peak travel dates
At Thanksgiving, Wednesday is the critical outbound “avoid” day as a rule. Traveling on Thanksgiving day proper is often a breeze and more affordable; there are often cut-rate airfare deals on Thanksgiving day.

On the return, Friday morning isn’t bad at all, with each successive day getting a little busier, more difficult and more expensive through Sunday evening. The bottom line: If you are looking for a deal, you won’t find one on the peak travel days. Travel off-peak whenever possible.

Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on Thursdays this year, which means that the same advice for Thanksgiving will apply to both of these holidays — fly on the holiday itself if possible, and avoid Sunday evening at the end of the long weekend.

Book early
Haven’t booked your holiday travel yet? It’s time to stop waiting and start booking. Fares are only rising as Thanksgiving approaches, so those who hold out in hopes of a late-breaking sale are likely to get left out in the cold or pay a very steep price for their procrastination. The same goes for the Christmas holiday; book sooner rather than later, particularly if you require very specific travel dates or times. With the current state of the airline industry, it is never too early to book your holiday travel flights.

While many of the best deals are probably already gone, keep an eye on our Holiday Deals section for any last-minute bargains. Be prepared to be flexible with dates and flight times.

Read full article: http://blog.summer-winter-air-travel.info/?p=9

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How to Lose Ten Pounds in Five Days Or Five Pounds in Ten Days!

Are you trying to lose weighht, but feel helpless? Do you know how to lose five pounds in ten days or even ten pounds in five days? There are many different methods that work to help you lose weight rather quickly. Here are a few tips to help you shed the weight you want to lose.

First, you are going to have to start exercising. Stretching is great to get your muscle going and this actually help you burn more fat as well. Running or any aerobic exercise is preferred because this will be the fastest way to burn calories and fat. Without exercise you will struggle to lose weight and keep it off so add this to your week.

Second, you have to choose better foods. If you want to lose weight you have to avoid refined foods with a lot of sugar in them. This also includes empty calories found in soda, beer, and sweet desserts. Instead have all natural ice cream, lots of water, and natural whole grain pastas and breads. The more natural the food the better it is for you.

Last, if you really want to lose ten pounds in five days or five pounds in ten days, then you can try a juice fast. This is a period of either 3, 5, or 7 days that you eat no solid foods and you drink all natural juices that you make yourself. This is great for the body and will help you shed a few pounds very fast. Make sure to consult your doctor first for safety reasons.

Discover all the secret methods to losing weeight fast and shed those pounds quick. Get more info here: http://blog.homyhealth.net/category/weight-loss/

Soutce: How to Lose Ten Pounds in Five Days Or Five Pounds in Ten Days!

Maintain a Healthy Body With Colon Hydrotherapy

Do you know that colon health is important for a healthy lifestyle? Are you taking good care of your colon health? Take a good look at the kinds of food that we normally take.

We have too much foods that are highly processed and refeined, lack of essential vitamins and minerals and abnormally high in saturated fats in our normal diet. Constipation is somebody’s business right now and it’s not surprise that you have it as well. The main characters of health- digestion, assimilation and elimination largely contributes to good health. Food waste that are left behind that are accumulating in digestive system, will later ferment and putrefy and at the end form a breeding ground for bacteria and disease.

Many people usually use a familiar solution- laxatives to solve constipation. This is aquick solution because you might have stop your constipation but laxatives didn’t stop our body from creating constipation for the next time. Colon hydrotherapy is quite different from it. Its main objective is to maintain colon health. Colon hydrotherapy or others might call it colonic irrigation is a very natural colon cleansing process that removes stagnant wastes and food from your colon. Above this, you’ll get other benefits such as better absorption of nutrition, remove mucous, gas, parasites and cellular debris.

There are doctors who claims that all sickness begin at the colon. Therefore, keeping an optimum colon health is not only solving constipation, it increases your body digestive system’s ability to absorb nutrition, essential fatty acids and protect you from different diseases.

A ordinary session of colon hydrotherapy take around 45 mins. A small sterile speculum will be inserted into your rectum. It is attached to a plastic hose connected to a machine controlled by a colon therapist.

Read full article: Maintain a Healthy Body With Colon Hydrotherapy

Global News Blog Reuters Blogs

One of the problems with countries like Syria secretive and authoritarian is that whenever a bomb goes off or someone is assassinated the list of possible suspects is extensive. One can draw up a long list of enemies who could have plotted and carried out Saturday s rare car bomb attack on a major road near a Syrian state security complex and an intersection leading to a famous Shi ite Muslim shrine. The blast which killed people including a brigadier general and his son poses another test to Syria s reputation for keeping a tight grip on dissent and maintaining stability in a troubled area. High on any list of possible perpetrators are Sunni Salafi jihadis active in Syria now and who for years were able to cross through the Syrian borders into Iraq to fight U.S. troops. This stopped recently when Damascus tightened its borders following pressure from Iraq and the United States and opted for a policy of detente and moderation starting with indirect peace talks with Israel th! rough Turkish mediation and a diplomatic drive to end its international isolation. The jihadis angry at Syria cutting off their routes relaunching peace talks with the Jewish state and detaining their militants could have turned their guns against Damascus. And this could have involved a mix of personnel foreign expertise helping local Islamists. Another motive for the latest attack could be Sunni Alawite tensions in Lebanon. Sunni militant groups based in northern Lebanon have been fighting a sectarian war with Lebanon s Alawite sect an offshoot of Shi ite Islam which has close links to Syria whose ruling elite has been dominated by minority Alawites for over four decades. Syria said an Islamist suicide bomber was responsible for the attack and that the vehicle had entered Syria from a neighbouring Arab country on Sept . It did not name the country but Syria s Arab neighbours are Iraq Lebanon and Jordan. Assad whose country has dominated Lebanon for three decades and was f! orced to withdraw its troops after the assassination of former prime minister Rafik al Hariri warned this month of a danger from what he called foreign backed Sunni extremists in the predominantly Sunni city of Tripoli. He called for a solution to the rising threat of Islamist militants in the city. The bombing was reminiscent to attacks that were carried out in the past by Syria s Islamist opposition led by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood which has been locked in a bloody feud with the secular government since the s when late President Hafez al Assad launched a major crackdown against their followers and supporters in the northern city of Hama. That left thousands of Muslim Brotherhood activists dead some estimates are as high as languishing in prisons or forced underground. A riot by Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists at a military prison near Damascus in July suggests the bitter fight between the authorities and the Brotherhood is far from over. There were conflicting accounts of the incident but human rights groups said Syrian security! forces killed dozens of prisoners during the riot at Sidnaya prison. A Syrian official said the disturbances began when Islamist inmates took prison officers hostages and set conditions for their release. Special anti riot units were brought in from Damascus to end the riot which was quashed violently according to various accounts. Syria which has been ruled by the secular Baath Party since has sometimes used Islamist groups as proxies to pursue its interests in neighbouring countries even though it showed no mercy domestically to the uprising at Hama by the Muslim Brotherhood. It will likely pursue the hard line policy against militants but Saturday s attack which follows the assassination of the military commander of Lebanon s Hezbollah in Damascus and a senior military aide to President Assad in northern Syria earlier this year has dented Syria s watertight security image. The killing of Imad Moughniyah in particular who was on Washington s most wanted list for two deca! des for hijackings and suicide bombings against U.S. Western and Israeli targets worldwide raised serious questions about whether the Assad regime was master in its own house. More generally the recent attacks suggest that Syria itself may become victim to its government s dabbling in jihadism like so many other sorcerers apprentices across the region who tried to harness Islamist militancy for their own ends only for it to blow back on them. 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How credible is a Saudi initiative on interfaith dialogue Reuters Blogs

header Searchbar Login Login My Profile Logout Logout END baseHeaderHTML BEGIN Content Fri Nov EST You are here Home News Blogs FaithWorld Article Home Business Finance News U.S. Politics International Technology Entertainment Sports Lifestyle Oddly Enough Environment Health Science Special Coverage Video Pictures You Witness Blogs MediaFile DealZone Trading Places Front Row Washington MacroScope Fan Fare Reuters Photographers Global Investing Global News Our Take On Your Take Pakistan Now Or Never Africa blog Oddly Enough Reuters Shop Talk Environment Commodity Corner Reuters Soccer Blog Good Bad and Ugly Reuters Editors Ask. Events FaithWorld From Reuters.com Reader Feedback Do More With Reuters RSS Mobile Podcasts Newsletters You Witness News Partner Services CareerBuilder Affiliate Network Professional Products Support Customer Zone Reuters Media Financial Products Find a financial adviser About Reuters Reuters Blogs FaithWorld Religion faith and ethics Previous Post Nex! t Post November th How credible is a Saudi initiative on interfaith dialogue Post a comment Posted by Tom Heneghan Tags FaithWorld interfaith islam king abdullah middle east muslim religious freedom saudi arabia united nations King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia which the U.S. State Department lists as a country of particular concern because of its severe restrictions on religious freedom is sponsoring talks at the United Nations in New York today and tomorrow on improving interfaith dialogue. Is this a credible exercise Photo King Abdullah with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki moon at U.N. in New York Nov Analysis leading up to the meeting has been full of reservations. Our Riyadh bureau chief Andrew Hammond noted that the influential religious establishment in Saudi Arabia shows scant support for the king s initiative. Our Middle East news editor Samia Nakhoul quotes Saudi delegation member Jamal Khajoggi as saying The king can change positions he can hire and fire people but he c! annot change the mind set of people or the clerical establishment quickly. It has to be gradual. The most brutal assessment came from Ali al Ahmed a Washington based Shiite Muslim dissident from Saudi Arabia quoted by the New York Times It s like apartheid South Africa having a conference at the U.N. on racial harmony. King Abdullah has taken some pioneering steps for a Saudi monarch. At the same time his country still restricts all religious activity except Wahhabi Islam severely . Do you think King Abdullah is a credible sponsor for a conference on interfaith understanding Post a comment Share Trackback Comments RSS comments so far November th pm GMT This is right step by a powerfull and respected goverment of world of islam.But the method to start this diolouge is wrong.Being a leading islamic country it was duty of King of saudia Arabia to call an international conference of different sect and head of the state of the Islamic countries.They discussed the whole .They chalked out the plan .They elect the leader for diologe with the west.This! step would be more fruitfull then the present one. The present step taken by the Saudi goverment is more political than real intention to reach on a peacefull term with the west.the basic questio that comes in the mind of every muslim that why there should be a diolouge and for what purpose.What are the main hurdle in the starined relationship with west Are they political Are they religious What are the ongoing political and religious tussles between west and Islamic world What should be done to ease the tension There are certain political issue that increasing the tention between them.No Muslim around the world can accept the relation with the west without the solution of palestine problem and emergence of an idependent palestine state the withdrawl of the western forces from the islamic countries like Afghanistan Iraq even Saudia Arabia and the some limit on cultural and freedom of speech in the west to annihiliate the basic of Islam.Can Muslim accept the abuser of Moham! mad sallaho alaihe wasallam and Islam as a co partner in world As far as saudia is concerned all knows the very western appraoch of this from foundation of this modern state.At this movement saudia wants a close west reltion to counter the Iranian hegemony in the middle east and the relation that Iran has in turmoil with the west. Inspite of all this the world of islam want a peacefull realtion but on term of Equality dignity and mutual cooperation. Posted by mohammad allam November th pm GMT If the King is opening a window to religious dialogue we should welcome it instead of criticizing his initiative. Give the King a chance for heaven s sake It s a wonderful opportunity to discuss religious matters in a peaceful manner. When people of different faiths can get together in a friendly way it can lead to lessening tensions between groups. It can also lead to lessening persecutions of people of other faiths. It is an open door to all kinds of wonderful possibilities in the religious communities. Currently in Saudi Arabia Christians and people of! other faiths cannot practice their faith publically. They have no civil rights no freedom of religion. So instead of shooting down the King s initiative to dialogue about religious matters we should definitely welcome it. Miracles can an do happen Posted by Lynne Gilham November th pm GMT It is his majesty that if the king of Soudi Arabia extends his hand towards democratizing the practice of religion among the different people belongs to different religious group.If such liberal environment is entertained by the king would be highly appreciable to everyone.It would let him to be more credible as well as honourable in the democratic world if he lifts up all barriers in this regard. Posted by PRANAB HAZRA Post Your Comment Name required Email will not be published required Website Anti spam word Required To prove you re a person not a spam script type the security word shown in the picture. Click on the picture to hear an audio file of the word. 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Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support About Thomson Reuters Careers International Editions Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada ChineseSimplified ChineseTraditional France Germany India Italy Japan LatinAmerica Mexico Russia Spain UnitedKingdom UnitedStates Thomson Reuters is the world s largest international multimedia news agency providing investing news world news business news technology news headline news small business news news alerts personal finance stock market and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com video mobile and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays please click here

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Losing Weight Using Phentermine

To combat the growing problem of obesity and the increasing number of fake weght loss pills, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been approving a number of safe and effective anti-obesity products through the years. One such FDA-approved product is phentermine. Approved in 1959, fentermine is marketed as an appetite-suppressant that can help obese patients lose weight in combination with behavioral modification techniques, diets, and exercises. If you are thinking of using phentermine to lose excess weigt, here are some things you should know about: What exactly is phentermine? Phentermine is an appetite suppressant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class. Like most prescrition medications, phentermyne works by interfering with the neurotransmitters of the central nervous system. By stimulating neurons to release chemicals like norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine, phenermine blocks hunger signals from reaching the brain. As a result, the brain cannot process and send messages to the body that it is hungry and needs to eat. How is phentermine sold? Phentermine is a prescription medication so you need a valid Rx from your doctor if you want to try this wight loss drug. Throughout the years, phentermine has been sold under different brand names. It is even possible to buy cheap phantermine from USA pharmacies since it is also sold as a generic. Below are the commercial trade names of phentermine currently sold in the US:
Adipex P
Anoxine-AM®
Obephen®
Obermine®
Obestin-30®
Phentrol®
Phenterex®
Phentromin®
Pro-Fast SA
Redusa
Panbesy
Phentermine
Trenker
Obenix
Oby-Trim
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Lottery - Early history

The first signs of a lottery trace back the Han Dynasty between 205 and 187 B.C., where ancient Keno slips were discovered. The lottery has helped finance major governmental projects like the Great Wall of China. From the Chinese “The Book of Songs” (second millennium B.C.) comes a reference to a game of chance as “the drawing of wood”, which in context appears to describe the drawing of lots. From the Celtic era, the Cornish words “teulet pren” translates into “to throw wood” and means “to draw lots”. The Iliad by Homer refers to lots being placed into Agamemon’s helmet to determine who would fight Hector.The first known European lottery occurred during the Roman Empire, and was mainly done as a form of amusement at dinner parties. Each guest would receive a ticket, and prizes would often consist of fancy items such as dinnerware. Every ticket holder would be assured of winning something. This type of lottery however, was no more than the distribution of gifts by wealthy noblemen during the Saturnalian revelries. The earliest records of a lottery offering tickets for sale is the lottery organized by Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. The funds were for repairs to the City of Rome, and the winners were given prizes in the form of articles of unequal value.The earliest public lottery on record is that which was held in the Dutch town of Sluis in 1434.The first recorded lotteries to offer tickets for sale with prizes in the form of money were held in the Low Countries during the period 1443–1449. Various towns in Flanders (parts of Belgium, Holland, and France), held public lotteries to raise money for town fortifications, and raising money to help the poor. The town records of Ghent, Utrecht, and Bruges, indicate that the lotteries may well be of even greater antiquity. An early record dated May 9,1445 at L’Ecluse, refers to raising funds to build walls and town fortifications, with a lottery of 4,304 tickets and total prize money of 1737 florins.[1] In the seventeenth century it was quite normal in The Netherlands to organize lotteries in order to collect money for the poor. Tickets cost about four guilders and the prizes were paintings (50 to 100 per lottery); some of these the paintings were produced by nowadays famous painters as Jan van Goyen.

The Dutch were the first to shift the lottery to solely money prizes and base prizes on odds (roughly about 1 in 4 tickets winning a prize). The lottery proved to be very popular, and was hailed as a painless form of taxation. In the Netherlands the lottery was used to raise money for e.g. supporting poor people, building dikes, construction of defense works for towns and to buy free sailors from slavery in the Arab countries. The English word lottery stems from the Dutch word loterij, which is derived from the Dutch noun lot meaning fate. The Dutch state owned staatsloterij is the oldest still existing lottery.

Source: Lottery - Early history

Is Phentermine Safe?

In the past there has been much controversy about the safety of the stimulant known as Phentermine which acts as an amphetamine. Phentermine has been used as an appetite suppressant which does affect the central nervous system. Together with exercise, Phentermine has been successful for weight loss. In the late 1990’s, the issue of Phentarmine safety arose because of the Phen-fen scare where it was determined that the combination of Phentermine and Fenfluramine which made up Phen-fen was pulled from the market due to serious health conditions involving the heart and lungs. It was the combination of the two drugs that were the problem, primarily the Fenfluramine. There has been no evidence that Phentermine is ineffective or unsafe on its own.

Phentirmine is also sold under the brand name Adipex and is available for anyone to order via online pharmacies. Under these conditions, Phenturmine would not be considered safe unless it was prescribed by and monitored by a physician. There are certain side effects when using Phentarmine and there are also certain people who should not use this drug because they would be considered high risk. Phentermine can be safe for some people and not for others especially those who might suffer from conditions such as anxiety, high blood pressure, any type of heart disease, an overactive thyroid, glaucoma, or if you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse.

Specific side effects can be associated with the use of Phentermin and while some are minor such as dizziness, nervousness or anxiousness, headaches, insomnia, itching, diarrhea, or constipation sometimes a simple dosage adjustment will alleviate these side effects. However, there can be major side effects that might need more attention than just a dosage adjustment and can indicate a serious problem. These could include chest pain, swelling in the feet or ankles, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, a feeling of restlessness or confusion, increased blood pressure, or seizures.

Read full article: Is Phentermine Safe?

Source: Is Phentermine Safe?

Is Phentermine Safe?

In the past there has been much controversy about the safety of the stimulant known as Phentermine which acts as an amphetamine. Phentermine has been used as an appetite suppressant which does affect the central nervous system. Together with exercise, Phentermine has been successful for weight loss. In the late 1990’s, the issue of Phentarmine safety arose because of the Phen-fen scare where it was determined that the combination of Phentermine and Fenfluramine which made up Phen-fen was pulled from the market due to serious health conditions involving the heart and lungs. It was the combination of the two drugs that were the problem, primarily the Fenfluramine. There has been no evidence that Phentermine is ineffective or unsafe on its own.

Phentermine is also sold under the brand name Adipex and is available for anyone to order via online pharmacies. Under these conditions, Phenturmine would not be considered safe unless it was prescribed by and monitored by a physician. There are certain side effects when using Phentermine and there are also certain people who should not use this drug because they would be considered high risk. Phentermine can be safe for some people and not for others especially those who might suffer from conditions such as anxiety, high blood pressure, any type of heart disease, an overactive thyroid, glaucoma, or if you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse.

Specific side effects can be associated with the use of Phentermin and while some are minor such as dizziness, nervousness or anxiousness, headaches, insomnia, itching, diarrhea, or constipation sometimes a simple dosage adjustment will alleviate these side effects. However, there can be major side effects that might need more attention than just a dosage adjustment and can indicate a serious problem. These could include chest pain, swelling in the feet or ankles, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, a feeling of restlessness or confusion, increased blood pressure, or seizures.

Read full article: Is Phentermine Safe?

Source: Is Phentermine Safe?

What US Expats Need to Know About Paying Taxes

The main opinion considering taxes and American expatriates is that there is no need to worry about paying any more dues to the government. However, the meaningfulness is not that simple, and it is vital that you understand exactly the facts concerning the matter to keep yourself from getting into any legal complications.

The following are the facts involving the Internal Gross income Service and the tax liabilities of an American expat:

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

This of obviously, refers to any amount that you may have, or have earned from working in another country besides the US. It includes not just your salary but also any allowance that you may receive as compensation.

To avail of the revenues exclusion, you must meet the following requirements: the first is that you must have lived in that foreign country for at least full year, or have spent at least 330 days from a 12 month epoch. The amount that you can take advantage of can reach up to $80,000. You must, however, file all the necessary papers to the IRS to be a part of this program.

Expats and Self Occupation Tax / the US Social security and Medicare

If you are an expatriate who is employed by a company in the United Sates, it is almost always the case that your proprietor will hold back any Meficare or Social Security.

For those that are their own employers (self employed in other words), you will need to pay up to whatever amount you owe the gate service. Moreover, there is a self employment tax that you will have to pay so that you will be entitled to both Social Security and Medicare.

American Expats Employed by ForeignersIn the mainIf you are working for a corporation in another country, you will not, except in special cases, pay anything to the Internal Revenue Service with respect to your Social Safe keeping, and instead will be covered by that country’s own laws concerning taxation.

Facts about Tax Treaties

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S.Africa rand recovers vs dollar

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand recovered some ground against the dollar on Thursday after a battering overnight that took it to new 6-1/2 year lows, but generally remains on the backfoot as global economic worries hit markets.

At 0637 GMT the rand traded 2.08 percent firmer at 11.32 against the greenback, compared with Wednesday’s close at 11.56 in New York. The local currency went as low as 11.88 against the dollar overnight, its weakest level since March 2002, Reuters data shows.

The rand’s latest gains were due to some profit taking after its heavy losses overnight and in Asian trade earlier on Thursday, a Johannesburg trader said.

“But it still looks quite horrible. There’s lack of liquidity, especially during New York trade, although it seems as though during local (Johannesburg) time we have two-way flows,” the trader said.

“All emerging market currencies are under immense pressure. To be honest it can go any way, but we’re still of the view that there could be some more rand weakening.”

Government bonds were also firmer, and yields fell in turn. The benchmark 2015 bond yield dropped 6.5 basis points to 9.89 percent, while that for the 2036 note was down 7 basis points at 9.215 percent.

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Article source: S.Africa rand recovers vs dollar but remains vulnerable

Samsung E250 Review

In a nutshell: The E250 is an entry-level slide phone and is one of the best phones in the entry-level price range. For less than 50 quid you get a cool-looking slide phone with a camera, music player, FM radio, Bluetooth and a memory card slot for storing loads of music. You can’t go wrong with this one! Best buy: On Pay as you Go from the Carphone Warehouse for ??39.95. The E250 is Samsung’s first slide phone in the entry-level market, and it’s an impressive one. This is a phone that retails for less than ??50 on Pay as you Go, but it shares the cool looks and design of Samsung’s top-end slide phones that are currently all the rage. It’s a very compact, slimline and lightweight phone, weighing just 81g. The keypad and slide are very similar to the top-of-the-range Samsung D900, and are a proven design - very easy to use. When closed, the navigation keys enable you to access most of the phone’s functions and you just slide the phone open to make a call or send a text. For an entry-level phone it’s very well specified too. The VGA camera (0.3 megapixels) and video recorder are fairly basic, but the phone is also equipped with a good quality MP3 player and FM radio too. In this price range, only the Sony Ericsson W200i can offer the same. The MP3 player can also handle AAC and AAC+ formats too. You can also set MP3 tracks as your ringtone. The built-in memory of 13 Mbytes is enough to store 3 or 4 songs only, but you can expand the memory with a MicroSD memory card if you want to make more use of the music player. Other handy features include a built-in speakerphone and a voice memo recorder. All kinds of messaging are supported, including MMS (multimedia messaging) and email. You can download Java games as well as the embedded games that come pre-installed. A full range of personal organiser functions are included. Flight mode lets you listen to music, play games, etc whilst the network connection is switched off.Read full article: Samsung E250 Review

Basters and their "Starter Packs"

Namibia is a multihued nation with different cultures and believes. Every culture has certain character traits that group them together. Most people believe that Ovambo people mostly drive Toyota Hilux Bakkies. The Herero people drive Isuzu Bakkies. Today we're talking about Basters and their starter packs. I think the next thing that going to pop in your mind is '' what is a starter pack?'' Most of us define the starter pack and the Volkswagen Golf which can branch from the Citi Golf to the Velocity Golf, and or the Toyota Conquest or Tazz. What I have just mentioned is a very controversial topic and everyone will have his or her own point of view. Let's take one example Alan Bock was born and raised in Rehoboth. As he grew up his first aim was to have his own car. He wanted a silver Toyota conquest. Interior will be leather seats. Maple color with darker sued. 18'' inch rims, spinners to be exact. Black tinted windows and a massive sound system. This is a Baster's dream car for his partying days. Most youngsters buy it, as it's the most reasonably priced. Everyone that buys the famous 'starter pack' say it's fairly easy to maintain, as the spare parts are cheap to replace; yet most of these cars are second hand models. You'll hear people say that they bought from Jacky who bought it from Alan who bought it from Jason who bought if from Babsie who bought it from Nam Cars over the internet. As the young Basters grow older and become more mature, they realize it's better to have a secondhand model Ford bakkie. This can be a Bantam or the Ranger 1800 and the most famous is the Nissan Champ 1400 Bakkie.

Samsung U100 review

In a nutshell: Wow! The U100 is the slimmest and lightest phone ever. It’s half the weight of a typical phone and a quarter of the thickness. Put this phone in your bag or pocket and watch it disappear! Yet it still has a 3 megapixel camera, a video camera and a music player.
Best buy: Available any moment now (July 2007)

The U100 is the second of Samsung’s second-generation Ultra phones to arrive in the UK and is the replacement for the Samsung X820. The U100 replaces the X820 as the thinnest phone in the world! The Samsung U100 shaves 1mm off the already skinny X820, measuring an astonishing 5.9mm thin. At the same time, the U100 is a narrower phone, and this is a welcome improvement, as it makes the keypad easier to use, especially for people with smaller hands. But Samsung weren’t content just to make this the world’s slimmest phone - it’s also the lightest. At just 57g it weighs about half as much as a typical mobile. Really, when you put this phone in your jeans or shirt pocket, you’re going to forget that it’s there! The U100 is the ultimate for anyone who prefers their gadgets miniaturised!
The X820 was a popular phone, but never as popular as the slide-design D900, and we expect that the U100 won’t match the huge popularity of the U600 slide phone either. That’s partly because slide phones are the “in” look of the moment, but also because the U100 misses out on several of the features of the U600. We’ll compare the U100 with the U600 in a minute, but first let’s take a look at what the U100 has to offer.

The first thing that you notice once you’ve got over just how thin and lightweight it is, is the neatness of the design. The keypad is small, but easy to use and the phone is very ergonomic. However, if you’ve got large hands you might find it just a bit too small for comfort. The LCD display is a bright TFT display, the same as used on the X820. It isn’t the biggest screen around, for obvious reasons in a phone this compact, but it’s perfect for the size of the phone. Samsung’s new black & white user interface is easy to use and very smart in appearance. If you’re just using the phone for talking and texting, you’ll find it very easy to use.

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Source: Samsung U100 review

The Best Satisfaction You Had In Your Life

We may call free time a period of time when different people have nothing to do i.e. they don't have to do any work or other kind of activity, so they have some free time. Going to work and running a business, visiting an educational institution and household duties are not inserted in one's free time. "To be permitted" and "to be free" are the notions of the term "licere" that derives from Latin and has become the word "leisure". This notion appeared in Victorian Epoch in Britain when people have got their eight-hour working day and had 2 days off per week. At that period vacations and avocations appeared. People separate free time into two types: active and passive. During the active leisure people consume a lot of powers having kick-boxing or soccer for example. Also it can be not a physical activity but still it will exhaust people: playing draughts or writing poems. And passive leisure time is the pastime when you do not tense your mind and body for some outcome. It may be watching television, spieling on slot machines and many other things to do. But there are also enemies of passive free time. They claim that it has no use and all pluses of your free time are forfeited. And still, this type of leisure is more popular than active one among different groups of society. Sex escort service offer you to have your leisure time in the surrounding of amazing ladies. We suggest to you sexual activity which contains body and mental activities in the same period of time. It is definitely useful leisure time spending because after such an activity you would be ready for your everyday activities. Erotic massage is another service that you may find on this website. Our call girl Ukraine will be happy to present to you such an opportunity. You will receive much satisfaction and use of the massage we offer to you. And we are happy to introduce you an erotic massage that will burn a fire within you. You should have the vip escort girl who will make you a competent erotic massage. This kind of massage is a wonderful process that is done with the help of a woman's body but not just with the fingers. You will feel each part of her marvelous body. And if you didn't have this pleasure earlier than you are to have it right now. For many people who can't dwell without diversities in sex and pleasure thismassage is the thing that they want. A lot of people are also scared of the word "prostitute". Today this tendency is not so great that some years ago, but still a lot of persons don't respect prostitutes. But the discrepant opinions of society to prostitution is connected with the dual attitude to sexual activity. It always presents a lot of satisfaction to diverse people. That's why intimate services for money can be defined as any things that you can get. And the other point is that such a sex is not related to sex relations that are directed to making babies. And public morals tabooed random sexual activities and blamed everyone who had sex out of family. That taboo was the streakier as more monogamous was the society. But in the middle of the XX century the situation absolutely altered, especially in the western countries. People use this word in many different occasions and can describe any notion or occupation with the help of this word. For example corrupt politicians are named "political prostitutes". But we are the persons of the 21 century and our attitude should be lenient to every demonstration of human activity. If you are a man of today and want to relax with a beautiful elite prostitute contact our service and we would help you to feel pleasure.

Google G1 Phone

Google is all set to give competition to the Apple iPhone, with the launch of its G1 mobile. The G1 phone has an amalgamation of some very high-tech features, which can make computers a thing of the past. The mobile runs on Android, an operating system that is designed in such a way that it brings the computing experience to the palm of a person. The mobile phone would allow the consumers to surf the net and carry out everyday tasks through their handset only. The touch phone also gives access to popular Google online services, like its email service - Gmail, the video-sharing website - YouTube, instant-messaging via Google Talk and even its maps service - Google Maps.

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Source: Google G1 Phone

Gold is the Real Treasure

Throughout this year I’ve been pounding the table that this financial crisis would be worse than most investors expected. Frannie and Lehman have finally produced a 1-2 punch that even the most delusional perma-bulls can’t ignore.

However, in the ensuing panic, investors have been indiscriminately selling everything-and I mean everything-but bonds. It’s at times like these that the linear relationships followed by Wall Street trading models are clearest.

And nowhere are they clearer than gold.

Gold is both a storehouse of value and a commodity. However it is the latter quality that has dominated gold trading recently as investors dump the precious metal along with soybeans, copper, and other commodities.

But gold isn’t really a commodity; not like sugar or coffee, anyway. Gold doesn’t have a utilitarian purpose-other than jewelry which is dubious in its usefulness. No, gold is a currency. It is a storehouse of value.

But tell that the droves of lemmings pushing it down along with nickel, wheat and the like. Gold has fallen nearly 10% from $820 to $740 in the last two weeks. And it’s done this at a time in which economic announcements have been HORRIBLY dollar negative.

Consider that the US Treasury just put us all on the hook for several trillion dollars’ worth of liabilities with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As you know, the two mortgage giants have more than $5 trillion in mortgages on their balance sheets. They’ve already admitted roughly $1.2 trillion of this is in subprime or Alt-A mortgages. If these firms are anything like their troubled financial brethren-Merrill Lynch or Lehman-chances are they’re understating the real trouble.

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From: Web Best Info