" Looking Back My Horny Family"

....The old camper truck..
When I seen this picture it brought back a lot of memories. I think I've told you what a large family I have...and yes they all is just as horny as I am, I do believe as they get older, they gets more horny are talk about it more, not for sure, but one thing I'm sure of is every get together, you will see husband and wife sneaking out.
My daddy always drove a truck with a camper . Do I have to tell you why? Well I will, , he started this horny batch of kids, I am the last of the nine kids, so you see I had a lot of teachers, which they didn't know it then, boy it was fun.
This is about my third sister..she's the fifth born, and married to a preacher no less.[giggles] Well lets get to the good stuff. It was fall and the weather was nice, my co-conspirator in crime and I was bored out of our skulls. Then it happen, Nan shouted Nee come quickly, aunt Em just went out the door , shit out the door we went...uh huh..I am getting ahead of myself again, I forgot to mention he wasn't yet a preacher. Em and Dan sneaked into the back of the truck and we knew it was going to be on, the truck started moving and we sneaked to the little window, They were both naked as jay-birds and at that time Dan was as skinny as a rail, but boy did he have a pole hung on him. Dan got up and looked at Em's choochie and Em got on top and boy the fun begain.Em started jumping and bucking like she was riding a horse, Dan was groaning and moaning like he was in pain, Em was saying oh yes, oh yes...I asked Nan what was the matter with them , Nan was wiser because she was a year older...Nan told me we better go get someone because Dan had got his nuts hung up in Em like old Spot do in the female dogs and they won't come out till his dangle go down. I told Nan I was going to get daddy, she said no, get Chris, he will know what to do...so off we go, told Chris Dan was hurting Em , he told daddy, boy daddy got his shoot-gun and said nobody was going to hurt his girls. Daddy banged on the truck and said bring your ass out with your hands-up.[giggles] Em/Dan crawled out buck ass naked, daddy said what the hell is going on...Dan said nothing Mr. Touisaint, Em and I was just playing some strip-poker, they had forgot about us, until I said Dan you sure have a big long poker, you made my sister cry.
Daddy must have scared shit out of Dan and put the fear of God into him, because he started preaching shortly afterwards.
My take on this: Be careful where you fuck , little people have big ears and eyes. My Pic says the more I write the better I will get, so plase bear with me, I have a lot more horny stories to tell, some are even about me and my man. Stay tuned: more to come.Oh yes I think we all have did the nasty in one of daddy's camper trunks at one time.
CUPCAKE

Nice Breasts

One day an at home wife is alone and the doorbell rings. She opens the door to a good looking guy, her husband's friend Chris, "Hi, is Tony home?"

The wife replies, "No, he went to the store, but you can wait here if you want."

So they sit down and after a few moments of silence the friend says "You know Sara, you have the greatest breasts I have ever seen. I'd give you a hundred buck just to see one."

Sara thinks about it for a second and figures, what the hell - a hundred bucks! She opens her robe and shows one to him for a few seconds. He promptly thanks her and throws a hundred bucks on the table.

They sit there a while longer and the guy says "That was so amazing I've got to see both of them. I'll give you another 100 dollars if I could just see the both of them together."

Sara amazed by the offer sits and ponders a bit about it and thinks, heck, why not? So she opens her robe and gives Chris a chance to cop a nice long look. He slaps another hundred on the table.

A while later Tony arrives back home from the store.

The wife goes up to him, "You know, your friend Chris came over."

Tony looks at her for a second and says, "Well did he drop off the 200 bucks he owes me?"

Roman Has Stopped Roamin

After more than 30 years of waiting, we have captured Roman Polanski; he did the crime; and eventually, one way or another, he'll do the time. And at the Zurich Film Festival, of all places. After all, artists have always felt that his crime was less important than his stunning examinations of such things as pirates, fearless vampire killers and Devil babies; to say nothing of his uncredited, tour de force performance in Rush Hour 3 , in 2007. Polanski admits to having had sex with a 13-year-old girl in Jack Nicholson's hot tub, and pleaded guilty at the time to having sex with a minor; in exchange, five other criminal charges, including rape and sodomy and giving drugs to a minor, were dropped.

Although he bitterly acknowledges he is widely regarded as an “evil profligate dwarf,” in the appalling documentary, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired , the unrepentant Humbert Humbert (76 years old) blithely declares that all men like younger women. Younger than 14 ? The simple fact is a thirteen year old child, even drunk and drugged does not want to get it on with an ugly little pervert.

His victim Samantha Geimer has been vocal a long time now, never denying what transpired in that filthy water, but asserting that Polanski has served his sentence by means of his long exile. Sorry, Geimer, it's not up to you, thank goodness. Are you trying to curry his favour?

Thirty years of living as a millionaire in Europe with a succession of teenage girlfriends is not exactly doing hard time. Michael Jackson was hounded to his death by unfounded accusations of child molestation involving boys the same age as Geimer. So, how evil is he ? does he deserve to be put in prison after all this time ? I believe so. Time doesn't dilute the severity of the crime against the child. Will he do time ? I somehow doubt that very much. There's that celebrity privilege once again. They are people who live on a different plane of existence than we ordinary mortals, and so have different laws.

One would expect him to stand up, like a man, after all these years, and take responsibility for what he has done; stealing the innocence of a child and of course..... Rush Hour 3.

Mackenzie Phillips Says,"I Slept With My Own Father"

Actress Mackenzie Phillips has revealed she had a long-term incestuous relationship with her famous father, in a tell-all memoir (High on Arrival). She went public on the Oprah Winfrey show to promote her book.

Phillips, the 49-year-old former child star and daughter of the Mamas and the Papas founder John Phillips, says in the first stages of the relationship it was rape. After a time it became consensual. Father and daughter were both drug addicts and got high together. John would often shoot heroin into his teen aged daughter's veins himself. The incestuous relationship lasted ten years, all through her teen years. She ended it when she became pregnant and feared the child was her father's, although she was, at that time, also sleeping with a boyfriend. Her father paid for the abortion and according to Mackenzie, she never let him touch her again.

She had sex with her father the night before she was to marry Jeff Sessler, a member of the Rolling Stones entourage, in 1979, according to People.com.
"On the eve of my wedding, my father showed up, determined to stop it," writes Phillips, who was 19 at the time and a heavy drug user, according to People.com. "I had tons of pills, and Dad had tons of everything too. Eventually I passed out on Dad's bed."

She claims that when she woke up she was having sex with her father.

Phillips, best known as Julie Cooper on the sitcom "One Day at a Time," says the sexual relationship became consensual as her life began to spiral out of control.
During her time on the hit CBS comedy, which ran from 1975 to 1984, she battled drug addiction and underwent drug rehabilitation. She later was fired from the show in 1980 because of her drug abuse.

Eventually, she and her father went to rehab together and she later toured with him in a band called the New Mamas and the Papas, according to People.com.
"I was a fragment of a person, and my secret isolated me," she writes, "One night Dad said, 'We could just run away to a country where no one would look down on us. There are countries where this is an accepted practice. Maybe Fiji.' "

Phillips has led a troubled life that has included substance abuse and a 2008 arrest at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of cocaine and heroin possession. She later pleaded guilty to one count of cocaine possession and was ordered to a drug rehab program.
The interview features Phillips discussing the time she spent hiding in her home, compulsively purchasing items from a television shopping channel as well as the events surrounding her arrest.

John Phillips, who died in 2001, had a well-documented drug problem and was convicted of drug trafficking in 1981. He told many stories of his drug abuse in his memoir, "Papa John."
Mackenzie Phillips also tells Winfrey about an encounter she purportedly had with rock 'n' roll legend Mick Jagger.
Phillips' career as an actress took off when, as a teen, she performed the role of Carol Morrison in the 1973 film "American Graffiti." In the late 1990s, her career experienced a revival when she began co-starring on "So Weird," a Disney Channel program.

Valerie Bertinelli also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show to lend her friend moral support and show she believed in her. I also believe she is telling the truth. This is not the kind of thing one does to cash in on a father's death. It all adds up. It makes sense and explains the roller coaster which was her life. He ruined her life. He stole her childhood and young womanhood and suffered no remorse. And, he has left her to live with the consequences for the rest of her life.

Was it Murder ??

I recently read an article in the National Enquirer about a book that offers a different version of Natalie Wood's death. I would have passed it off as the usual NE fare but the co-authors of the book have spent years researching and putting it together. One of them is Dennis Davern the captain of the yacht who was with them the night her death occurred and was a witness to all the events that led up to it. The other is a well known author and journalist who believed in the project and the man. I was intrigued and did a bit of research to get the gist of their story.

Natalie Wood was a Hollywood icon, beloved by millions for her performances in such classics as Miracle on 34th Street, West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause. Married for the second time to actor Robert Wagner and the mother of young children, Natalie had everything to live for. Her bizarre death on or near the yacht Splendour on a chilly November evening in 1981 has been shrouded in mystery.

In his recent best-selling memoir Pieces of My Heart, Robert Wagner told his version of what happened on the yacht on the night his wife died. But is Wagner’s version accurate? Who knows the truth? Has the truth been buried with Natalie Wood all these years? Why was everyone else allowed to come forth with their stories but the man who may have had the truth right in his hands has been stifled for almost three decades?

The night in question is Nov 29, 1981....the height of Robert Wagner's popularity and the eve of Natalie Wood's latest film "Brainstorm" which was about to wrap up shooting. They're on a cruise destined for Catalina Island for a "pleasurable weekend". In attendance is Christopher Walken, Natalie's "Brainstorm" co-star and friend and Dennis Davern, family friend and captain of Splendour, the Wagners 60 foot yacht. Those are about the only facts the authorities or the public ever got of the night that Natalie died. Everything said or written about it from that point forward seems to have confounded, confused and contradicted itself.

Until now, Wagner has said that Natalie slipped into the water from a slippery swim step, wearing wool socks, trying to secure a banging dingy. Personally I didn't need the author to offer up an explanation as to why inflatable rubber dingys don't bang...they can't, they're rubber and inflated like a balloon. Wagner and Noguchi, the L.A. Coroner, claimed that Natalie's twenty five or so bruises along with some facial scratches were caused by trying fervently to board the dingy from the water, here again common sense has taken a backseat to speculation, while at the same time being literally ignored by the investigating officer. This is starting to look a lot like a botched investigation fueled by celebrity privilege and incompetent investigative tactics. Rubber dingys don't bang, nor do they bruise. And why would she try to board the dingy when the swim platform was easier to climb? In fact why would she go down there in the black of night to tie up a dingy when it was a well known fact she was terrified of the water and a poor swimmer?

Dennis Davern, the tight lipped skipper on that fateful night, offers little to investigators at this point, he's been drinking and buzzed most of that weekend and is now under the influence of his manipulative employer...he's been told what to say by a man for whom he has great admiration . We don't tell on friends...at least not right away. Davern's story had to be coaxed out of him.

Marti Rulli, a longtime friend saw for herself that the once carefree and happy go lucky Dennis she had met years ago had changed. What followed that 2:30 a.m. call that Marti received from Dennis nearly two years after Natalie died would set into motion a series of events that would ultimately result in this book. In it, Rulli goes to great pains to illustrate for the reader why and how so many things that were published previously and attested to over the years had nearly nothing to do with the truth. Wagner, Walken, Noguchi, and Davern have all changed their stories several times. What sets Davern apart is that he has finally and formally revealed the truth according to his recollection. We learn why wool socks don't stay on kicking feet that are submerged, although Natalie's body was found wearing them. We learn why down jackets don't become waterlogged and drag people under. We learn how swim steps don't get slippery when wet because they are coated with anti-slip paint.

The most important thing we learn is that Davern overheard Natalie getting into a drunken argument with her husband about their guest Christopher Walken. Wagner was jealous and believed Walken wanted to sleep with his wife and Natalie didn't try to convince him otherwise. By evening they got into a screaming match that turned into a punch throwing fight in their stateroom. Natalie died shortly after that fight. Her death was ruled accidental.

Davern says he identified her body and he saw bruises all over her arms and legs which he believed came from a beating administered by her husband during their fight. He also believes that Wagner was with his wife when she hit the water. Davern claims he has passed polygraph tests and told the same story under hypnosis.

The captain says following Natalie's death he felt threatened by Wagner, who tried to control where he went and to whom he spoke. Overwhelmed with guilt Davern became an alcoholic. He has since overcome his addiction and now owns and operates a marina. He hopes that going public with his story will get the case reopened.

Do the powerful and wealthy in Hollywood live by a different set of laws and code of behavior than the rest of us? We have seen some pretty good examples of this. It didn't start with OJ. They have been getting away with murder for years. Maybe there will be an epilogue to this story.

It seems to me if the captain had wanted to make a lot of money writing a book based on fiction or lies, he wouldn't have waited twenty eight years until public interest had long waned and died. (the book is 'Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour')

Latest Snippets of News About Jaycee

Older picture computer generated

One day after police from several local departments ended their search at the house where her daughter was held captive for over 18 years, Terry Probyn, the mother of South Lake Tahoe kidnapping victim Jaycee Lee Dugard, has released a statement through the family's new attorney McGregor Scott. Probyn says in the statement that, "All of us are doing very well under the circumstances...We hope that our story focuses attention on all of the children still missing, and on their need to be found...As Jaycee knows, miracles can happen." In addition, Probyn says that "Jaycee, her daughters, and I are grateful for everyone's generosity, kindness, and good wishes these past few weeks. Thank you."
Since her release from captivity, Dugard has been with Probyn, her daughters, and other family members in an undisclosed location in El Dorado County, California.

According to new media reports, Jaycee has told investigators that her alleged kidnapper and rapist Phillip Garrido did not sexually molest her daughters while they were held in a backyard compound at his home in Antioch, California. Garrido fathered the daughters with Dugard, who are aged 15 and 11. In a column in The San Francisco Chronicle, writers Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross quoted an anonymous law enforcement source as saying that Garrido "didn't touch her kids." In addition, the writers also say that Dugard told officials that Garrido hasn't sexually approached her "in years."

Her stepfather, Carl Probyn, is speaking out on what has been happening to her now that she is away from Phillip and Nancy Garrido. Probyn says that Dugard's exposure to the outside world is still extremely limited, as officials do not want her memory to be tainted by the media. Therefore, she is not allowed to watch TV, read a newspaper, or listen to the radio. In addition, law enforcement authorities are debriefing her so she has the proper information. Probyn also says that Dugard and her daughters, Angel and Starlit, are "going a little stir crazy," but they will stay in hiding for as long as necessary so they can deal with their ordeal in the healthiest way possible.

Now, a man named Kenneth Slayton is asking Dugard to take a paternity test to confirm that he his her birth father. Slayton had a brief relationship with Dugard's mother, and says that the FBI has identified him as Dugard's father. Slayton says, "Now that she has been found, I want her to know that our hearts are open to her and we long to be the loving, supportive, and normal family to her and her children..." He also says that he has not heard from Dugard or anyone associated with her since she was released.

Meanwhile, Phillip and Nancy Garrido, have been charged with 29 felony counts including kidnapping and rape, and are in jail awaiting trial. The search at the Garrido home was conducted to search for clues in connection with the disappearances of two other girls abducted before Dugard--Michaela Garecht and Ilene Misheloff.

Another weird story has emerged from the past of Phillip Garrido. A friend and former business client of Garrido's, who spoke to CNN anonymously, says that Garrido "feels he can speak to you and me and everyone else using this box." The 'box' that his friend is alluding to is a black box with jacks on the outside of it that can be used to plug in headphones. He apparently speaks to God through the box. His friend added that Garrido "was a whack job, but he was a whack job who seemed like he had a really good heart."
Ironically, a few days before his arrest, Garrido delivered some documents to the FBI that bragged about his black box. He believed in the power of his black box so much that he wanted to have it patented. Garrido, and his wife Nancy are being held on $30 million bond.

Jaycee's attorney said today that she will testify at the trial of her alleged abductors. The attorney, McGregor Scott, said, "There's no question that she knows that terrible and wrong things were done to her and the people who did those things must be held accountable...she understands and she appreciates that she will testify."

David and Liza Come to an Understanding

(This news is a week old but I wanted to ask a couple of lawyers (partners who are,while not exactly my friends.....I hit them up for charity all the time....were so glad they didn't have to write a cheque, gave me more information than I needed) why a suit of this particular character would have been suddenly dropped.)

"Court records show David Caruso's ex-girlfriend has agreed to the dismissal of a lawsuit against the actor claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress. An attorney for Caruso filed for dismissal last week in Los Angeles. Liza Marquez sued the "CSI: Miami" star in April, claiming he was emotionally abusive during their relationship and had promised to pay her $1.2 million. The couple have two children together. Records show that Marquez and Caruso will each pay their own lawyers' costs and neither is receiving anything of value from the dismissal."

(quote from the Baltimore News)

The lawyers told me that typically, this kind of case is settled out of court, especially when a celebrity is involved and may be presented in a bad light. It might have hurt David's career (e.g. Michael Jackson) She wanted $1.2 million, which was not unreasonable for the years she spent with him. That is possibly somewhere near what she got. Maybe rounded off to a million as per his original agreement with her.

Now they don't have to deal with the mess and repercussions that would only add to David's interesting reputation. Be good and stay out of trouble Dave.....'Good luck with that'

Don't Worry

A couple of ladies asked me to do a post about female facial hair. I don't really know any secrets about permanent hair removal.

Gals, don't worry too much about a few facial hairs. Unless this feller is your dad, I don't think you have too much to worry about. But, I promise you I will research the subject and get back to you.

Obama Hails 'Tough Regulations' at G20

WHAT IS THE G20?
It was set up after the Asian financial crisis in 1999 as a forum for finance ministers and central bankers. The first G20 leaders summit in 2008 was convened to discuss response to economic crisis.
Members are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK, USA, joined by Spain, Netherlands, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation.

President Obama: ''We have agreed to a strong set of reforms''
The world's leading nations have agreed on"tough new regulations" to prevent another global financial crisis, US President Obama said. These relate to the amount of money banks have to hold in reserve and to excessive pay for bankers.

Speaking at the end of a two-day G20 summit,Mr Obama also outlined plans to give emerging economies a greater say in the global economy. The G20 will effectively replace the G8 group of developed economies. Global leaders also announced an agreement to shift the balance of voting in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) towards growing nations such as China at the summit in Pittsburgh.
"We have taken bold and concerted action to forge a new framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth," said President Obama.
"We have agreed on tough new financial regulations to ensure that the reckless few can no longer be allowed to put the global financial system at risk."

The president said further, that leading nations would now be allowed to assess each others' economic policies. Mr Obama added that the leaders had agreed on rules to ensure that executive pay would be linked to long term financial performance. Many have criticised excessive bonuses as encouraging the kind of short term risk-taking that contributed to the financial crisis.

Despite Mr Obama's declaration, the G20 fell short of agreeing on specific rules on the capital reserves that banks need to hold.

"We commit to developing by the end of 2010, internationally agreed rules to improve both the quantity and quality of bank capital and to discourage excessive [borrowing]," a statement from the G20 leaders said following the summit.

It added that the rules will be phased in once financial conditions improve and recovery is "assured". The leaders also fell short of agreeing on a cap on bonuses, agreeing instead that bonus payments should not be guaranteed for many years, should be deferred in part, and should not exceed a percentage of the bank's revenue.
"We designated the G20 to be the premier forum for our international economic co-operation," the statement said.

G20 Analysis :
The lesson of Pittsburgh is that the old world still can't bring itself to follow through on its rhetoric. It is endeavouring to patch up the failed framework of banking regulation rather than going for more fundamental and radical change.

Currently, China wields 3.7% of IMF votes compared with France's 4.9%, although the Chinese economy is now 50% larger than that of France. The IMF has been criticised in the past as being a group of developed countries trying to lay down the law to struggling countries, which is why the decision to give growing nations more votes is important.
"If you talk to the Chinese or talk to anyone from emerging markets they say the IMF doesn't have legitimacy and... we don't trust the IMF to come and rescue us in a crisis," according to Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the IMF.
"They don't trust it because it's US and West Europe-dominated. That's not fair... and the IMF doesn't function properly as a result."

Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen welcomed the change in voting rights, but said that, "on their own, they won't be able to achieve much... It's not just a question of voting rights, but also a question of broadening the dialogue.

"MOTHERLY INSTINCTS"

Tragic Jaycee Dugard would still be a prisoner--forced to service the sick sexual demands of fierd Phillip Garrido--if it wasn't for hero cop Ally Jacobs, investigators reveal.
Jacobs says alarm bells went off when the accused kidnapper Garrido, a 58-year-old convicted rapist , arrived at the University of California Berkeley campus with his daughters by Jaycee seeking to arrange a religious event .
The girls, Starlite and Angel, spoke like robots and had this weird look in their eyes like brainwashed zombies, says Jacobs. They were very pale , with long hair,bright blue eyes and dressed likr characters from "Little Houuse On The Prairie." The girls said they were "home schooled" and Garrido explained he was teaching them to "interact with people" according to the cop.
Jacobs asked one girl about a large bump over her eye. She said , it's a birth defect. It's inoperable and I'll have it for the rest of my life, recalls Jacobs. The way she responded , was rehearsed. I really think my motherly instincts kicked in at that point.
The suspisious cop, who has two kids of her own, had no choice but to let them leave. But Jacobs was so worried about the girls, she checked and found Garrido was a sex offender, she contacted his probation officer and when I mentioned the daughters, he said, wait a minute, he dosen't have any daughters, says Jacobs. My stomach dropped.
Amazingly, despite visiting the Garrido home, cops say bungling probation officials were unaware he and his wife Nancy had imprisoned Jaycee and her daughters in a backyard labyrinth of tents and sheds. After Jacobs call, Garrido was ordered to report to his parole office and arrived with Jaycee, the girls and his wife Nancy. Lawmen say, thanks to Officer Jacobs the trio was finally free.
My take on this: A mother instinct is barely ever wrong, I know Jaycee's family heart-felt thanks go out to this wonderful and caring lady. I, like so many others wonder why it taken so long...is it because we don't care about our fellow man ..or because it's not happening to us directly, we don't want to get involved? Well let me tell you, however the ball bounce, it may bounce your way, then we will see how the shoe fits. But hey, that's just me.
http://rklinger news http://rklinger news tips@globefl.com

The Future is Holographic TV

3D television could be in homes within three years, according to a European research consortium. Levent Onural, co-ordinator of the multinational 3DTV network, said the technology was already in place for 3D TV and cinema to become commonplace. The consortium, funded by the European Commission, consists of about 200 researchers in seven countries, and is halfway through its four-year duration. However, Prof Onural said holographic television was at least 10 years away.
He said: "We do think holographic 3D TV is feasible, but the technology is not in place yet.
"If you ask my opinion, it will take another 10 years to get there."
However, he said that it would offer the "ultimate viewing experience".
"For example, take a football game. Viewers would be able to look at a TV that will be like a coffee table and see small-scale real football players made up from light running around on that table."

The research consortium is looking into all aspects of 3D technology, such as capturing 3D motion scenes, computerised representation, transmission and display.
Professor Onural, who is based at Bilkent University, Turkey, said: "Lower-end technologies, such as stereoscopic 3D (a method of displaying an image that gives the impression of depth) will be commonplace in homes and cinemas in about three years."
He said the technology had been present for many years, but recent advances would mean the motion sickness that has made 3D films an unpleasant viewing experience in the past could be reduced.
The research consortium has also developed and tested 3D stereoscopic displays where the viewer can look at 3D images without special glasses.
Professor Onural said: "With stereoscopic cinema, we think that there will be huge interest from the movie-goers, and we think it will be available in regular movie houses in three years.
"We think that some people might want to purchase 3D television sets for home viewing. "
However, he admitted that he did not "yet know how the consumers will behave and what the commercial success of that project will be".

Oh, I'll buy one professor, just to get used to the concept, so that I'll be ready for my holographic set. The idea of being able to walk completely around the images and see them from all sides is fascinating to me. I'll be first in line when the store opens.

Breakthrough in AIDS Treatment

BANGKOK, Thailand - For the first time, an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the AIDS virus, a watershed event in the deadly epidemic and a surprising result. Recent failures led many scientists to think such a vaccine might never be possible. The World Health Organization and the U.N. agency UNAIDS said the results "instilled new hope" in the field of HIV vaccine research.

The vaccine - a combination of two previously unsuccessful vaccines - cut the risk of becoming infected with HIV by more than 31 per cent in the world's largest AIDS vaccine trial of more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand, researchers announced Thursday in Bangkok.
Even though the benefit is modest, "it's the first evidence that we could have a safe and effective preventive vaccine," Col. Jerome Kim told The Associated Press. He helped lead the study for the U.S. Army, which sponsored it with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The institute's director, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned that this is "not the end of the road," but said he was surprised and very pleased by the outcome.

Even a marginally helpful vaccine could have a big impact. Every day, 7,500 people worldwide are newly infected with HIV; 2 million died of AIDS in 2007, UNAIDS estimates. The study tested the two-vaccine combination in a "prime-boost" approach, in which the first one primes the immune system to attack HIV and the second one strengthens the response. They are ALVAC, from Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis; and AIDSVAX, originally developed by VaxGen Inc.

ALVAC uses canarypox, a bird virus altered so it can't cause human disease, to ferry synthetic versions of three HIV genes into the body. AIDSVAX contains a genetically engineered version of a protein on HIV's surface. The vaccines are not made from whole virus - dead or alive - and cannot cause HIV. Neither vaccine in the study prevented HIV infection when tested individually in earlier trials, and dozens of scientists had called the new one futile when it began in 2003.
"I really didn't have high hopes at all that we would see a positive result," Fauci confessed.
The results proved the skeptics wrong.
"The combination is stronger than each of the individual members," said the army's Kim, a physician who manages the army's HIV vaccine program.

Wonderful news. It may not be the cure AIDS patients are praying for but it's a huge step down the right road.

Planet in Danger as Siberia Melts

THE world's largest frozen peat bog is melting. An area stretching for a million square kilometres across the permafrost of western Siberia is turning into a mass of shallow lakes as the ground melts, according to Russian researchers just back from the region.The sudden melting of a bog the size of France and Germany combined could unleash billions of tonnes of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.

The news of the dramatic transformation of one of the world's least visited landscapes come from Sergei Kirpotin, a botanist at Tomsk State University, Russia, and Judith Marquand at the University of Oxford.Kirpotin describes an "ecological landslide that is probably irreversible and is undoubtedly connected to climatic warming". He says that the entire western Siberian sub-Arctic region has begun to melt, and this "has all happened in the last three or four years".
What was until recently a featureless expanse of frozen peat is turning into a watery landscape of lakes, some more than a kilometre across. Kirpotin suspects that some unknown critical threshold has been crossed, triggering the melting.

Western Siberia has warmed faster than almost anywhere else on the planet, with an increase in average temperatures of some 3 °C in the last 40 years. The warming is believed to be a combination of man-made climate change, a cyclical change in atmospheric circulation known as the Arctic oscillation, plus feedbacks caused by melting ice, which exposes bare ground and ocean. These absorb more solar heat than white ice and snow.Similar warming has also been taking place in Alaska: earlier this summer Jon Pelletier of the University of Arizona in Tucson reported a major expansion of lakes on the North Slope fringing the Arctic Ocean.

The findings from western Siberia follow a report two months ago that thousands of lakes in eastern Siberia have disappeared in the last 30 years, also because of climate change (New Scientist, 11 June, p 16). This apparent contradiction arises because the two events represent opposite end sof the same process, known as thermokarsk.In this process, rising air temperatures first creates "frost-heave", which turns the flat permafrost into a series of hollows and hummocks known as salsas. Then as the permafrost begins to melt, water collects in the hollows, forming ponds that are prevented from draining away by the frozen bog beneath. The ponds coalesce into ever larger lakes until, finally, the last permafrost melts and the lakes drain away underground.This is an ecological landslide that is probably irreversible and is undoubtedly connected to climatic warming.

Siberia's peat bogs formed around 11,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. Since then they have been generating methane, most of which has been trapped within the permafrost, and sometimes deeper in ice-like structures known as clathrates. Larry Smith of the University of California, Los Angeles, estimates that the west Siberian bog alone contains some 70 billion tonnes of methane, a quarter of all the methane stored on the land surface worldwide.

His colleague Karen Frey says if the bogs dry out as they warm, the methane will oxidize and escape into the air as carbon dioxide. But if the bogs remain wet, as is the case in western Siberia today, then the methane will be released straight into the atmosphere. Methane is 20 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide.
In May this year, Katey Walter of the University of Fairbanks Alaska, said that she had found methane hotspots in eastern Siberia, where the gas was bubbling from thawing permafrost so fast it was preventing the surface from freezing, even in the midst of winter.

This situation is terrifying.Global warming is occurring at twice the rate scientists predicted. We must be prepared for increasing extreme weather situations also.We have to slow down global warming until scientists can engineer a permanent solution. Contact the global warming sites we show on the blog periodically to find out what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint ( amount of dangerous gases you are responsible for emitting)

When there is precious little dry land left, with millions of people scrabbling for,even killing for a small space on it.You'll look back with regret that you did nothing to save your planet for your children. This could happen within your lifetime.

EPA Global Warming site: http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/

United Nations Environment Programme: http://www.unep.ch/

Georgia Flood

Huge Baby - Ouch!

JAKARTA (AFP) - An Indonesian woman has given birth to an 8.7-kilogramme (19.2-pound) baby boy, the heaviest newborn ever recorded in the country, a doctor said Wednesday.
The baby, who is still unnamed and is 62 centimetres (24.4 inches) long, was born by caesarean section Monday at a public hospital in North Sumatra province, a gynaecologist who took part in the operation told AFP.
"This heavy baby made the surgery really tough, especially the process of taking him out of his mum's womb. His legs were so big," Binsar Sitanggang said.
The boy is in a healthy condition despite having to initially be given oxygen to overcome breathing problems, the gynaecologist said.
"He's got a strong appetite, it's almost non-stop feeding," he said.
"This baby boy is extraordinary, the way he's crying is not like a usual baby. It's really loud."
The boy's massive size was likely the result of his mother, Ani, 41, having diabetes, Sitanggang said.
She had to be rushed to hospital due to complications with the pregnancy, which had reached nine months. The baby, her fourth, was the only child not delivered by a traditional midwife.
When a diabetic mother's glucose level is high during pregnancy, the baby can receive too much glucose and grow too large, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Indonesia's previous heaviest baby, weighing in at 6.9 kilos, was born in 2007 on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, according to the Indonesian Museum of Records website.

Acts of kindness Part 1 "Dr. Josefina Enriquez"

Dr.Josefina Enriquez has a health plan on which everybody can agree. It's called: Love your fellow man. The big hearted 69-year-old physician is the Robinhood of medicine-charging only those those patients who can afford it and treating the remainere for free.
What can you do? they don't have nay money. I promised to follow the Hippocratic Oath, and if anybody is ill, you help them, she said.
Dr.Enriquez has 5,000 patients in her practice in "Half Moon Bay, California, and 65% of them--more than 4,000 people--are so poor they can't pay her. Many are indigent farm workers and fishermen. If they say they don't have money, I say, "that's okay". Pay me when you have the money. Some of them is able to pay me little by little. Others pay me in food or help.
Dr. Enriquez often finds vegetables, eggs and chickens left on her doorstep by farmworkers, fishermen give her fish. I may not be rich, but I never go hungry, she chuckles. Other patients tend her yard, cutting her grass, and watering her plants. They find ways to repay me, she explains.
Dr. Enriquez , who is known to her patients as "Dr. Joy" often dips into her own pocket to help patients who has fallen on hard times. She's given $500 in cash to families to tide them over. She's also shelled out $2,500 to pay for food and shelter at a hotel for families who've lost their homes.
Dr. Enriquez, a widower with two sons, came to the U.S. when she was 25years-old. She was born in the Phillippines during World War II.
My Grandmother was a nurse, and I saw how she helped people. She tended the wounded and the sick. She didn't stop to ask if they could pay her. She just wanted to help, says Dr. Enriquez. I'm just trying to follow her example.
I believe if you try to do good by people, they will try to do good by you. My patients often don't have the money to pay me, but they have given me a wealth of riches in so many other ways.
My take on Dr. Enriquez: What a generous, wonderful and caring person, to give so much and ask so little in return. Maybe the big "Insurance" companies should take some advice from Dr.Enriquez and give a helping hand. Better still jump on the band-wagon with Mr. Obama and we all will have better health care. Stay tuned: More good deeds to come.
http://psmith@nationalenquirer.com

Worst Case Climate Scenarios Being Reallized

The Arctic sea-ice has seen a rapid decline in recent summers. The worst-case scenarios on climate change envisaged by the UN two years ago are already being realised, say scientists at an international meeting. In a statement in Copenhagen on their six key messages to political leaders, they say there is a increasing risk of abrupt or irreversible climate shifts. Even modest temperature rises will affect millions of people, particularly in the developing world, they warn. But, they say, most tools needed to cut carbon dioxide emissions already exist.

More than 2,500 researchers and economists attended this meeting designed to update the world on the state of climate research ahead of key political negotiations set for December this year. New data was presented in Copenhagen on sea level rise, which indicated that the best estimates made two years ago were woefully out of date. Scientists heard that waters could rise by over a metre across the world with huge impacts for hundreds of millions of people.
There was also new information on how the Amazon rainforest would cope with rising temperatures. A UK Meteorological Office study concluded there would be a 75% loss of tree cover if the world warmed by three degrees for a century. The scientists hope that their conclusions will remove any excuses from the political process.
"We've seen lots more data, we can see where we are, no new surprises, we have a problem: -Mass migrations"

The meeting was also addressed by Lord Stern, the economist. He now says the report underestimated the scale of the risks, and the speed at which the planet is warming.
He urged scientists to speak out and tell the politicians what the world would be like if effective measures against global warming were not taken. He said that if the world was to warm by 5C over the next century, there would be dramatic consequences for millions of people. Rising seas would make many areas uninhabitable leading to mass migrations and inevitably sparking violent conflict.
Lord Stern: 'The Economics of Climate Change' underestimated the risks
"You'd see hundreds of millions people, probably billions of people who would have to move and we know that would cause conflict, so we would see a very extended period of conflict around the world, decades or centuries as hundreds of millions of people move, " said Lord Stern.
"So I think it's very important that we understand the magnitude of the risk we are running."
He said that a new, effective global deal was desperately needed to avoid these dramatic scenarios - and the current global economic slowdown was in some ways a help.
" It's an opportunity, given that resources will be cheaper now than in the future, now is the time to get the unemployed of Europe working on energy efficiency."

China vows climate change action: - At UN Meeting

China will increase efforts to improve energy efficiency and curb the rise in CO2 emissions, President Hu Jintao has told a UN climate summit in New York. Mr Hu gave no details about the measures, which should mean emissions grow less quickly than the economy.
The US, the world's other major emitter, said China's proposals were helpful but figures were needed. About 100 leaders are attending the talks, ahead of the Copenhagen summit which is due to approve a new treaty.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said failure to agree a treaty in December would be "morally inexcusable". Negotiators for the Copenhagen summit are trying to agree on a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol to limit carbon emissions. Mr Ban called the meeting an attempt to inject momentum into the deadlocked climate talks.
"Your decisions will have momentous consequences," he told the assembled leaders.
"The fate of future generations, and the hopes and livelihoods of billions today, rest, literally, with you," he added.

The Chinese president said his country would curb its carbon emissions per unit of Gross Domestic Product, a measure also known as carbon intensity, by a "notable margin" by 2020 from the 2005 level. However, the proposal is unlikely to mean an overall reduction in emissions, as China's economy is expected to continue to grow rapidly. A US official said that China's proposals were helpful but Beijing needed to provide figures.
"It depends on what the number is," US President Barack Obama's climate change envoy Todd Stern said. But former US vice-president and environmental activist Al Gore praised China's "impressive leadership".
"We've had ... indications that in the event there is dramatic progress in this negotiation, that China will be prepared to do even more," he said.

Analysis: -
Change from Beijing is partly a reaction to international criticism as China becomes the world's biggest polluter. The country's rapid economic growth has created demand for more energy and fuel.There is a growing need for Beijing to provide clear answers on what is being done to deal with the problem.
Image-conscious Chinese officials want to be seen as co-operative internationally and accept that China must become part of the solution to major global issues such as the financial crisis and climate change.

China's climate policy shift
Much of the debate about tackling global warming revolves around the idea of absolute cuts in emissions of carbon dioxide - but developing countries like India and China feel that this emphasis is unfair. Richer countries, meanwhile, have had the benefits of centuries of fossil fuel use, and are now demanding that growing nations stop using them with no obvious alternatives in place, he says. Mr Hu also pledged to "vigorously develop" renewable and nuclear energy.
He restated China's position that developed nations needed to do more than developing nations to fight climate change because they were historically responsible for the problem.
"Developed countries should fulfill the task of emission reduction set in the Kyoto Protocol, continue to undertake emission reduction targets and support developing countries in countering climate change," he said.

In other speeches at the summit:
US President Obama acknowledged that the US had been slow to act, but promised a "new era" of promoting clean energy and reducing carbon pollution
The new Japanese Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, pledged to reduce emissions by 25% by 2020( compared to the 1990 level Obama set as the goal for the US).
French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on leaders to meet again in mid-November ahead of the crucial Copenhagen conference.

According to the BBC's UN correspondent, Barbara Plett, discussions have stalled because rich nations are not pledging to cut enough carbon to take the world out of danger, while poorer countries are refusing to commit to binding caps, saying this would prevent them from developing their economies.
China's role is crucial, because it is both an emerging economy and a big polluter, our correspondent says.
Despite all its advances in green technology, China still gets 70% of its energy from coal - and as its economy increases, this means yet more growth in greenhouse gases, our correspondent says.

There is also concern about the US: - The second greatest polluter in the world.
President Obama has recognised climate change as a pressing issue, unlike the previous administration, the UN correspondent says.
He has already announced a target of returning to 1990 levels of greenhouse emissions by 2020, but critics say Washington is moving too slowly on legislation which does not go far enough.

If Americans were better informed of the danger the world is in, I'm sure they would pull together to cut CO2 emissions.You just have to tell them what they need to do. It's a crisis now folks. If the planet dies, we die.

Contact: - http://www.earthday.ca/ Contact: - www.globalissues.org/.../climate-change-and-global-warming

I Was Black Before The Election

President Obama poked fun at suggestions that racism is behind opposition to his health care plans.
Speaking to TV host David Letterman on CBS' The Late Show, he deadpanned: "I think it's important to realise that I was actually black before the election."
As the audience whooped with laughter at the subversive remark, Letterman kept up the joke, asking the President: "How long have you been a black man?"
Returning to his point, Obama said it was an honour that the American people had chosen him as their leader.
"That, I think, tells you a lot about where the country is at", he said.
He suggested that the fierce objections to his health reform proposals came from a "certain segment of society" that had a tendency to get "riled up" whenever a President tried to make a significant change.
"One of the things that you sign up for in politics is that folks yell at you," he said.

President Obama also used his time on the Late show couch to acknowledge that Americans were weary of the war in Afghanistan, and said US troops were performing heroically there and in Iraq. But he kept things light-hearted as he turned to the subject of his young daughters Malia and Sasha.
The girls "basically just goofed off all summer" he said, adding that he wished he could have done the same.
Obama's appearance on Letterman's popular late-night show wrapped up a media blitz seemingly aimed at putting him in front of as many cameras as possible to sell his message to a sceptical public. He was a guest on five different talk shows on Sunday morning and had been on "everything but the Food Channel," a Republican senator remarked.
Yet the President also had a joke ready when Letterman questioned what he was doing on his show.
"The main reason I'm here? I want to see that heart-shaped potato," he quipped, referring to an audience member featured earlier in the programme who had turned up with the quirky vegetable.

Don't Stop Panda Extinction - Says Expert

TV wildlife expert Chris Packham has controversially called for giant pandas to be allowed to die out – with tigers next. Chris, host of BBC2’s Springwatch, believes the millions spent preserving pandas could be put to better use elsewhere.
He argued: “Here’s a species that of its own accord has gone down an evolutionary cul-de-sac. It’s not a strong species.
“Unfortunately it’s big and cute and it’s a symbol of the World Wildlife Fund – and we pour millions of pounds into panda conservation. I reckon we should pull the plug. Let them go with a degree of dignity.”

The cash should instead go on saving biodiversity hotspots, he argued. Chris, 48, claimed breeding threatened species in captivity then releasing them into the wild was “nonsense” – and said tigers would die out within two decades. He said, “Animals are invariably becoming extinct because there’s no secure habitat for them."
“Where are you going to release them? I don’t think tigers are going to last another 15 years. How can you conserve an animal that’s worth more dead than alive? You can’t.”

Giant pandas are found only in China. There are around 1,600 in the wild with around 180 more being reared in captivity. They are dying out because their natural habitat is being destroyed.
Fellow wildlife expert David Bellamy last night backed Chris and said: “I agree completely. When I was a WWF trustee I begged them to buy big chunks of the land in which these animals live, not just go on spending millions on rearing pandas in captivity."
“You can’t release them back into the wild if there is no wild left and we shouldn’t rear animals just to put them into cages. “Even the WWF admitted there is no longer enough land for them to live on.”

But the WWF’s Dr Mark Wright said at-risk species could thrive in the right conditions.
He said: “Chris is right – we need to keep secure habitat for endangered species. This is exactly what’s being achieved in the case of the giant panda.”
It is not the first time Chris has outraged conservationists by suggesting they give up on the iconic black and white bear. Last year he said: “I’d eat the last panda if I could have the money we’ve spent on panda conservation back on the table for me to do more sensible things with.”

On another occasion he said: “Let them go, wave goodbye, maybe have a party or a wake. Just stop wasting money trying to save them from extinction.”

Should we breed extinct animals in captivity, when there is no chance of releasing them back to the wild? Should we build large habitats for them?

Perhaps the money would be better spent saving the habitat of the polar bear while he still has a small chance of survival. HELP SLOW DOWN GLOBAL WARMING UNTIL WE FIND THE SOLUTION.Contact: www.naturecanada.ca/ Contact: http://www.earthday.ca/

" IS VIVICA A FOX OR A COUGAR ?"

Vivica A. fox is getting into character! Since hosting reality TV's "THE COUGAR", she's amped up her love life to focus on handsome younger guys. The 45-year-old "Kill Bill" star has been hooking up with much-younger guys at her favorite Los Angeles bar. Vivica is a regular at Casa Vega Mexican restaurant located in San Fernando Valley. She's there almost every Monday night, and each time with a different "MUCH" younger man, said an eye-witness.Unlike some Hollywood actresses, Vivica has learned to embrace her age and make her life experience a sexy new selling point, says her friends. She's put on a few pounds since her glory days,but she hasn't let it slow her down ,says the source.
The sexy actress has been romanically linked with younger men including 50 Cent,33, and R&B rap superstar Ne-Yo,29. But now she seems content with non showbiz guys, as long as they are young and handsome said another source. Vivica ,recently, was, an eyewitness says, at Casa Vega two weeks in a row--both times with a different guy. They were margarita-fueled dinners, and her dates could hardly keep their hands off her, said the insider. Vivica is honest abouty her cougar tendenices, recently telling a reporter : Younger guys happen to be attracted to me, so I might as well enjoy it while they're looking. I'm very young spirited.
My spin on this crap: A different guy each date, damn you can't keep them for at least two dates? With all the nips and tucks, it looks good with the clothes on, but when the clothes come off, now that's another story. Hon, you need someone to love and cuddle you, not a rodeo rider breaking a horse. But it seems the young men in Weirdwood have jumped on the band wagon to see how to make an easy buck off gullible old women with money. But hey, that's just me.

Post script: -If she is into younger men, then the rumor of a romance with David Caruso must have been pure BS. He's part of the 'over-the-hill-bunch'.
http://pkim@nationalenquirer%3ecom/

"NO MERCY for dying MANSON KILLER SUSAN"

Evil Susan Atkins showed no mercy to Sharon Tate as she butchered the actress and her unborn child in 1969--and now the pitiless Manson family disciple is suffering the same fate and has been doomed to die behind bars.
For the 13th and probably the last time, the killer. who has fatal brain cancer, was turned down in her bid to be freed so she can die at home.Weakened by treatment and wearing a knit cap,Atkins, 61, dozed on a hosiptal bed through most of her September 2 parole hearing at the central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla. As a result of her medical problems, one of Atkins legs has been amputated and the other is paralyzed. As sad as Atkins looks today, it pales against the crime sence photos, blasts L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Patrick Sequeira, who opposed the monster's release at the hearing.
Tate's sister Debra and Margaret DiMaria, whose brother Jay Sebring was killed with the actress, also opposed parole--and the board returned a unanimous 12-0 vote against turning the murderer loose. The question of no mercy has dogged the ruthless butcher for 40 years.
On August 8, 1969, an eight-and-a-half-months-pregnant Tate,26, begged knife-wielding Atkins to spare her life and that of her unborn baby, "I told her I didn't have mercy for her" the fiend admitted to parole officials in 1993.
After stabbing director Roman Polanski's wife to death, Atkins tasted her blood and used it to write "PIG" on the front door of the Benedict Canyon home where Manson's followers savagely murdered five people. Atkins was slapped with a life sentence for Tate's death and now it's very likely the only way she will leave is in a pine box.
My take on this: Show no mercy or pity, you will get none in return. Why should the parole board feel sorry for Susan Atkins? She taken two lives, one had just begun and the other hadn't began. The state of California should put all of Manson's followers to death, the state should have formed a line with Manson leading the pack. Everyone knew they was guilty as sin. We have a saying down here, you sleep with the devil, you wake up in "HELL". But hey, that's just me.
http://true%20crime@%20globe.com/

Smart Old Lady

A man decides to have a face-lift for his birthday. He spends $5,000 and feels really good about the results.

\On his way home, he stops at a newsstand and buys a paper. Before leaving, he says to the sales clerk, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but how old do you think I am?" "About 35," was the reply. "I'm actually 47," the man says, feeling really happy.

After that, he goes into McDonalds for lunch and asks the clerk the same question. The reply is, "Oh, you look about 29". "I am actually 47."

Later, while standing at a bus stop, he asks an old woman the same question.

She replies, "I am 85 years old, and my eyesight is going. But when I was young, there was a sure way of telling a man's age. If I put my hand down your pants and fondle you for 10 minutes, I will be able to tell you your exact age."

As there was no one around, the man thinks, 'what the hell' and lets her slip her hand down his pants.

Ten minutes later, the old lady says, "Okay, it's done. You are 47."

Stunned, the man says, "That was brilliant. How did you do that?"

The old lady replies, "I was behind you at McDonalds."

Dumb People

These are actual quotes from well known people. I mean they really said these things. If you ever feel a little bit stupid, just dig this up and read it again; you'll begin to think you're a genius.

****************************************

(On September 17, 1994, Alabama's Heather Whitestone was selected as Miss America 1995.)She had to answer a question to show her character, her philosophy and her intelligence.

Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?

Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever," --Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.

"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff." --Mariah Carey

"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life," -- Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign.

"I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body," --Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward.

"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country," --Mayor Marion Barry,WashingtonD.C.

"Half this game is ninety percent mental." --Philadelphia Phillies manager Danny Ozark.

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." --Al Gore, Vice President.

"I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix." -- Dan Quayle

"We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need ?" --Lee Lacocca

"The word "genius" isn't applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein." --Joe Theisman, NFL football quarterback & sports analyst.

"We don't necessarily discriminate. We simply exclude certain types of people-- Colonel Gerald Wellman, ROTC Instrutor.

"Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances." --Department of Social Services, Greenville, South Carolina

"Traditionally, most of Australia's imports come from overseas." --Keppel Enderbery

"If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they go to bed and it will monitor their heart throughout the night. And the next morning, when they wake up dead, there'll be a record." --Mark S. Fowler, FCC Chairman

Nessie May have a Cousin in Canada

VICTORIA, B.C. - Brigette Horvath knew she saw something strange in Cameron Lake on Vancouver Island two years ago and a team of researchers say she might be right.
Was it a fish, an eel or some kind of serpent-like creature? She says she didn't know. But Horvath grabbed her camera and managed to fire off one shot before the batteries failed.
The researchers who specialize in looking for so-called crytozoological creatures - in other words, monsters - spent Saturday on the lake probing the depths with a sonar-like fish finder.
At first, they picked up a couple of large contacts at the bottom of the lake, about 45 metres deep, then something more pronounced on a second pass.
"Something just went 'ping' on the alarm on the fish finder and we saw this absolutely massive object in the midst of various fish," said John Kirk, president of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club.
They made four more passes and the contact held stable, making it unlikely that it was a school of fish, which tend to scatter eventually, Kirk said.
"We were quite stunned that there was something that big in the lake and it was in about 60 feet of water, less than 30 yards from shore, it was quite amazing," he said.
Horvath, who lives in Nanaimo, said she was driving along Highway 4 on July 30, 2007, when she saw a strange semi-circle in the lake.
"You could see like a serpent shape," said Horvath, who isn't the only person to report something strange in Cameron Lake.
"It wasn't logs," she said. "It wasn't waves. There were no boats in the area. It was, like, right there. You could actually see a large fish, (an) object, no, not an object, something alive."

Because the weather will deteriorate in the fall and winter, another search will have to wait until next year, Kirk said. But the team has narrowed the possibilities.
"Maybe it's a sturgeon, maybe it's a giant sterile eel....it could be a massive type of salamander," Kirk said. "Or it could be something that we're completely unaware of at this point."
However, it's unlikely the small lake is the home of a mysterious sea monster, Kirk said.
"I'm not going to the extent to say there's anything exotic down there, there's just something big."
Kirk has searched for the Ogopogo in Okanagan Lake in the B.C. interior, looked in coastal B.C. for the Sasquatch, tried to find the sea creature Cadborosaurus off Vancouver Island and has hunted for giant salamanders in swamps. He's been to Scotland and the republics of Congo and Cameroon in search of strange dinosaur-like beasts. But it's British Columbia waters that provide a fertile hunting ground for animal tales, he said. Kirk said there are 41 different lakes in British Columbia where strange animal sightings have been reported.
"In B.C., we just seem to have a ton of these lakes where these things have been seen," he said.
Sawmill workers at Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island reported seeing a large lake creature during the 1960s and a local fisherman said he hooked something that pulled him and his boat around the lake for an hour.

He said the Cadborosaurus, which has been adopted as an unofficial tourism mascot in the Victoria area, is real because fishermen found one inside the belly of a sperm whale in 1937 and sent it to the Royal B.C. Museum for identification.
"We've had what you might say in scientific terms is the type-specimen of the Cadborosaurus," said Kirk. "Most people describe this thing as an elongated serpent-like creature. It has a camel-like head. That description comes up over and over."
A former clerk of the B.C. legislature, Henry William Langley and provincial archivist Fred Kemp, issued a joint statement in 1922 saying they'd seen a sea creature off Chatham Island near Victoria.
"These are not nut-case people. These are very serious people," said Kirk.
Kirk said Cadborosaurus' range is not confined to the Victoria area. Reports of a similar animal have come from the Gulf of Alaska to the Sea of Cortez in Mexico.
In Oregon, the animal goes by the name Colossal Claude.
But Kirk believes British Columbia is in a class by itself for what he calls crytozoological encounters. People have actually started to embrace the strange animals to the point where they are showing up in tourism brochures, he said.
"Like Moberly Lake up in the (northeast) area, the First Nations there got in touch with me and told me about the creature that they had been seeing with a horse's head swimming around in the lake, and now they've given it a name," Kirk said.
"They call it Moberly Dick."

British Columbia is the mother lode for dinosaur bones and fossils. So what do you think folks? Some prehistoric hold-over? A whole new species ? Or maybe Nessie is on holiday.