Wino

I can't believe the number of quakes, typhoons, floods and tsunamis. What is this world coming to? SYDNEY (Reuters) – Pacific nations braced for a fresh tsunami on Thursday after two huge subsea quakes struck the region, sending islanders fleeing for higher ground, only a week after a series of deadly tsunamis devastated the Samoa islands. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued the warning for 11 nations, including Papua New Guinea, an oil and gas supplier, and the popular resort islands of Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The Hawaii-based center also issued a tsunami watch for the wider western Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and the nations of American Samoa and Samoa, where about 150 people were killed by a series of tsunamis last week. Authorities in New Caledonia, a French territory, were evacuating people from the island's eastern shore and from the nearby Loyalty Islands to higher ground, local police said. A police spokesman in the capital, Noumea, said the nation was bracing for a tsunami to hit around 11:15 a.m. local time on Thursday (0015 GMT or 8:15p.m. EDT). The Hawaii-based tsunami warning center said it was still evaluating whether to raise a Pacific-wide warning after two subsea quakes struck between Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, one measuring 7.8 magnitude and the other 7.3. "An evaluation of the Pacific-wide tsunami threat is underway and there is a possibility that Hawaii could be elevated to a watch or warning status," the center said. A spokesman for New Zealand's Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Management said it was issuing a tsunami advisory for people not to be on beaches or boats near the coast. The ministry is awaiting further information before taking further steps, the spokesman said. A resident of Luganville on the southern coast of Vanuatu's Espiritu Santo island said the quake had shaken the town, but there were no reports of damage or change in sea level. "People were frightened and some ran out of the building onto the street because it was so strong," a Florence Cari, receptionist at the Hotel Santo told Reuters by telephone. "The sea has not changed but we don't know if something will happen." A reporter at the Daily Post newspaper in Port Vila said people on Vanuatu's Espiritu Santo island were running for higher ground. "We have had reports that the kids are running into the hills," she said. Moments before the Pacific quakes, a magnitude 6.7 tremor struck southeast of the Sulu archipelago of the Philippines, which is still mopping up from a typhoon that killed at least 22 people. From http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091007/wl_nm/us_quake_pacific_2

I like the WHO.

I see nothing wrong, if it was consensual. If Dave said, "let's roll in the hay or else you are fired," then that is a different story. As smoker said, perks of being rich and famous. Not only babes out of your league but also in your league.

It really isn't that bad, if you follow directions. I would do it again.

After the surgery, they are going to be the best looking ladyboys in prison.

Do Thai parents spank their kids? I read an article about how the 1979 Swedish law has been sucessful in it's non-violent approach. I can't find that article but here is another on by By Adrienne A. Haeuser, which is interesting. She writes, "Can you bring up children successfully without smacking and spanking? Sweden appears to be doing just this only a decade after passing a law which stipulates that a child may not be subjected to physical punishment or other humiliating treatment. Initially somewhat skeptical, Swedes now take the law for granted and Swedish children are thriving." Full story at, http://www.neverhitachild.org/haeuser.html

Babies and kids are going to put things in their mouth. Try and keep things clean but the toddlers will find something to chew on, especially when they are cutting new teeth. It is just the way things are. I don't know how some of the nation's poor kids survive, with dirt floors and dirt streets. It must be that strong immune system.

Oh, never mind. They are called the Sisters of Mercy. duhhhhh?

The following is an interesting article about dopamine. Scientists are trying to understand the relationship between this substance and addictions. Who knows, maybe scientist can develop a pill to overcome smoking addiction, drug addiction, overeating and more. By Robert S. Boyd | McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON -- The good, the bad and the ugly: That's a quick summary of the effects of dopamine, a natural brain chemical that's linked to pleasure, addiction and disease. This little molecule -- it consists of only 22 atoms -- is essential to life but can be a curse sometimes. Too much or too little of it can lead to drug abuse, reckless thrill-seeking, obesity, the tremors of Parkinson's disease, even restless leg syndrome, an irresistible urge to move your legs. Although dopamine was identified almost a century ago, brain scientists are still trying to figure out how to manage its undesirable effects, such as cocaine or nicotine addiction. "There is no currently approved medication for treating cocaine addiction,'' Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said Monday as she announced the successful preliminary test of a possible future vaccine for the dangerous drug. "`We are looking at the potential for new medications that reduce the brain's sensitivity to these conditioned drug cues and would give patients a fighting chance to manage their urges,'' Anna Childress, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, told a conference of neuroscientists in Washington. "We have a brain hard-wired to appreciate rewards, and cocaine and other drugs of abuse latch onto this system.'' Dopamine is the key to that system. A "neurotransmitter" that helps brain cells, or neurons, communicate with one another, dopamine is released into the brain by pleasurable experiences such as eating, having sex or indulging in drugs. Its presence creates feelings of satisfaction, enjoyment or excitement, and so motivates people to repeat behavior, good or bad. Dr. Jay Giedd, a psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health in Rockville, Md., explained dopamine's effects in a radio interview earlier this year: "If we make good decisions, our dopamine goes up. It tells our brain, you know, good call, that was the right move, you know, do that again next time, and it literally changes the anatomy of the brain. It strengthens certain connections. It decreases others.'' The problem is that behavior that shouldn't be repeated also releases dopamine. Researchers are studying dopamine's role in conditions such as the following: ADDICTION Drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines and nicotine flood nerve circuits in the brain with dopamine. This produces the euphoric effects that smokers and drug users crave and motivates them to repeat the behavior. "Repeated exposures to cocaine result in excessive dopamine levels at nerve terminals,'' said Deirdre McCarthy, a neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Charlestown. Here's how excess dopamine leads to addiction: A brain cell sends dopamine molecules across a narrow gap to places called "receptors'' on the surface of another cell, generating an electric signal. Usually, "transporters'' then collect unused dopamine and ship it back to the sending cell. Cocaine blocks the transporters, however, leaving more of the drug in the spaces between cells. This dopamine overload gives users their cocaine "high.'' The potential vaccine for cocaine abusers that Volkow announced Monday blocks cocaine that's injected or inhaled into the bloodstream from crossing the "blood-brain barrier,'' which protects the brain from contamination by undesirable substances. In a related move, the National Institute on Drug Abuse granted $10 million last week to a small pharmaceutical firm in Rockville, Md., for an advanced trial of a vaccine for nicotine addiction. OBESITY Recent studies show a connection between obesity and low dopamine levels in the brain. Experiments with rats show that a weakened dopamine system reduced the pleasurable feeling associated with eating. The rats compensated by overeating and soon became obese, according to Emmanuel Pothos, a neuroscientist at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. Pothos said there was evidence that obese humans also had a shortage of dopamine. "These findings have important implications in our understanding of the obesity epidemic,'' he said. "We eat not only for nourishment but also for pleasure,'' wrote Gerald Weissmann, the editor in chief of The FASEB Journal, an experimental biology publication. "Now we know why so many people stay addicted to food: it fuels the midbrain pleasure machinery.'' GAMBLING Prescription medications that stimulate dopamine production can have a strange side effect, occasionally turning people into reckless gamblers. "Some ordinary people with regular lives taking this medication all at once started to gamble and engage in hazardous games of luck, a behavior that stopped after discontinuing the drug,'' Birgit Abler, a researcher at the University of Ulm, Germany, told the neuroscientists' conference. Dopamine also plays a role in other serious ailments. Scientists hope to discover ways to ease their effects. PARKINSON'S DISEASE Parkinson's disease is a slow-developing movement disorder caused by the gradual deaths of neurons that supply dopamine, according to James Surmeier, a Parkinson's expert at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Patients suffer uncontrollable trembling and stiffness of the limbs. Researchers are seeking drugs that slow down the loss of dopamine neurons, said Marina Picciotto, a neuroscientist at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. The herbal supplement L-Dopa, also known as Levodopa, may be taken to create more dopamine, thereby relieving the shortage that leads to Parkinson's. ADHD A brain imaging study at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., found low levels of dopamine in people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. "These deficits in the brain's reward system may help explain the clinical symptoms of ADHD, including inattention and reduced motivation, as well as the propensity for complications such as drug abuse and obesity among ADHD patients,'' Volkow reported in the Sept. 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. From http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/76635.html#

It is too bad the winters are long and cold because the people are very friendly. The countryside is beautiful, especially the fjords.

I think it was back around 1997 or 1998 when the dollar hit 51 baht. Too bad I didn't have the cash or brains to load up the wagons.

Here is a news article by Brett Michael Dykes about Letterman's women. I love the quote from his ex-writer Markoe. She said, "As you can imagine, this has been a very emotional moment for me because Dave promised me many times that I was the only woman he would ever cheat on." When he revealed on-air last week a stunning extortion plot borne of his relationships with female staffers, "Late Show" host David Letterman refused to name his lovers. The act earned him some praise and sympathy. But his plan to protect those women seems to have backfired. Many past and present female staffers have suddenly been put in an unwanted spotlight, harassed by tabloid phone calls and paparazzi. Letterman acknowledged this on his show Monday night, issuing an apology to his entire staff. He also apologized publicly to his wife Regina Lasko, herself a former Letterman staffer. Two former female employees have come forward. Another, whom sources say may have triggered the extortion plot, has remained quiet. Here's what we know about the three of them. The woman who appears to be at the center of the scandal is Letterman's former assistant, Stephanie Birkitt. Frequently a participant in on-air "Late Show" sketches over the years, Birkitt was the live-in girlfriend of alleged Letterman extortionist Robert "Joe" Halderman, a producer for CBS' "48 Hours."According to the New York Post, Birkitt recently moved out of Halderman's Norwalk, Connecticut home where she'd been living with him since 2004. When she moved out, Birkitt reportedly left behind her personal diary containing detailed notes about her relationship with Letterman. It was later discovered by Halderman, a fact confirmed by a law enforcement official who spoke with the AP. Birkitt's diary also allegedly revealed that she was still involved with Letterman after she began dating Halderman. That revelation may have set Halderman off as Birkitt had previously insisted that the relationship between she and Letterman was strictly "platonic," and that she was his "best friend." As of this writing, Birkitt has not commented publicly about the scandal, though her father did tell the press that she's going through a "rough time" right now. Former Letterman producer Merrill Markoe is perhaps the most well-known former Letterman flame to have worked on his show. Markoe won five Emmy awards as the head writer for "Late Night with David Letterman," the NBC talk show that followed the "Tonight Show" and subsequently made Letterman a star. Markoe has been credited with the creation of Letterman's vaunted "Stupid Pet Tricks" and "Stupid Human Tricks" segments, both of which remain hallmarks of his show. She is also the co-author of a book titled The Psycho Ex Game. Markoe posted a humorous statement about the scandal over the weekend to her web site in which she said, "Okay. Here it is. My big comment on Mr. Letterman... It is this: As you can imagine, this has been a very emotional moment for me because Dave promised me many times that I was the only woman he would ever cheat on." Last week Holly Hester came forward to tell TMZ that she had a relationship with Letterman while she was a "Late Show" intern and a student at NYU. Hester, who says that she was "madly in love" with the host, said the affair began when he called her one day in her dorm room while the show was on hiatus to ask if she'd like to go to the movies with him. From there, Hester says that the two of them had a series of secret dates, with both being careful to keep their relationship secret from other "Late Show" staffers. After a year, Hester said that Letterman ended the relationship, citing their age gap. More facts and revelations may be en route, but in the meantime Letterman is deep in damage control. As he said Monday, "I got my work cut out for me." From http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/the-women-of-the-david-letterman-scandal--666

Everyone needs there own space. Why do you think so many married guys spend a lot of time in the garage or workshop?

And is there any reason not to trust WHO? Certainly the government and the UN wouldn't lie to the people, would they?

I think it is important to give credit to the original text and then post your own comments. I see a lot of articles on yahoo and don't mind listing the link. I have found after a few weeks the link sometimes does not work. I don't know why.

If this story turns out to be true, it looks like the dollar will no longer reign supreme. Change your dollars to baht before it is too late. Here is the story: LONDON (AFP) – The price of gold struck an all-time high at 1,043.78 dollars an ounce here on Tuesday as the dollar fell on a reported plan by Gulf states to stop using the greenback for oil trading. Gold reached the level in late afternoon trade on the London Bullion Market, beating the previous record high of 1,032.70 dollars an ounce struck in March, 2008. "Gold prices hit an all-time high as the dollar weakens," said Barclays Capital precious metals analyst Suki Cooper. "The dollar weakness appears to be related to ... (reported) secret talks about oil being priced in a basket of currencies including gold rather than the dollar, which has added to concerns about the future role of the dollar in international financial markets." The dollar's future as the world's top currency was thrown into doubt on Tuesday as a report said Arab states had launched secret moves with China and Russia to stop using the greenback for oil trading. Arab states have launched steps with China, Russia, Japan and France to stop using the dollar for oil trades, British daily The Independent reported on Tuesday, but the report was denied by Kuwait and Qatar and reportedly by other nations. The United Nations meanwhile on Tuesday called for a new global reserve currency to end dollar supremacy, which has allowed the United States the "privilege" of building a huge trade deficit. The Independent's Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk wrote in his paper: "In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning -- along with China, Russia, Japan and France -- to end dollar dealings for oil." They would instead switch "to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar," added Fisk. Gold, viewed as a safe-haven investment, has won back favour in recent months as the global economy struggles out of its worst slump in decades. The run-up in gold has been largely driven by weakness in the dollar, which makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of stronger currencies, boosting demand. Gold also wins support from fears about higher inflation because the metal is widely regarded by investors as a safe store of value. Precious metals consultancy GFMS last month warned that the current upward trend in gold may not be sustainable should global stimulus packages fail to boost flagging demand in the battered world economy and inflation fall as a result. The Group of 20 leaders of emerging and developed nations recently agreed at a summit in Pittsburgh not to roll back massive stimulus measures that helped contain a severe global recession. From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091006/ts_afp/commoditiesgoldmetalsprice

PARIS (AFP) – Norway takes the number one spot in the annual United Nations human development index released Monday but China has made the biggest strides in improving the well-being of its citizens. The index compiled by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) ranks 182 countries based on such criteria as life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Norway, Australia and Iceland took the first three spots while Niger ranks at the very bottom, just below Afghanistan. China moved up seven places on the list to rank as the 92nd most developed country due to improvements in education as well as income levels and life expectancy. Colombia and Peru rose five spaces to rank 77th and 78th while France -- which was not part of the top 10 last year -- returns to the upper echelons by moving up three places to number 8. The UNDP said the index highlights the grave disparities between rich and poor countries. A child born in Niger can expect to live to just over 50, which is 30 years less than a child born in Norway. For every dollar a person earns in Niger, 85 dollars are earned in Norway. This year's index was based on data from 2007 and does not take into account the impact of the global economic crisis. "Many countries have experienced setbacks over recent decades, in the face of economic downturns, conflict-related crises and the HIV and AIDS epidemic," said the UN development report's author Jeni Klugman. "And this was even before the impact of the current global financial crisis was felt." Afghanistan, which returns to the list for the first time since 1996, is the only Asian country among the bottom ten which also include Sierra Leone in the 180th spot, just below the Central African Republic. The top ten countries listed on the index are: Norway, Australia, Iceland, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Switzerland and Japan. The United States ranks 13th, down one spot from last year. From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091005/lf_afp/undevelopmentpoverty

Here is a story about WHO saying the flu vaccine is safe. WHO says that the vaccine is important in fighting the pandemic. I didn't know the swine flu was listed as a pandemic. Here is the story. GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) restated its confidence in the H1N1 flu vaccine on Tuesday, calling it the most important tool against the pandemic. Mild adverse side effects such as muscle cramps or headache are to be expected in some cases, but everyone who has access to the vaccine should be inoculated, it said. Mass vaccination campaigns against the swine flu virus are underway in China and Australia and will be starting soon in the United States and parts of Europe, WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said. Full story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091006/ts_nm/us_flu_who;_ylt=ArAW3zYjbJjS_wc9_WEoA5xX_aF4;_ylu=X3oDMTJkYzNoOGxsBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMDkxMDA2L3VzX2ZsdV93aG8EY3BvcwM2BHBvcwM2BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDd2hvc2F5c2gxbjF2

That is for sure. I wish I could by a Nano in Bangkok. It would be better than a motorbike. Too bad production is way behind demand.

OTOP can be seen on signs throughout Thailand. It is the Thai government way of promoting local handicrafts or products. I forget what OTOP stands for but it is something like one villiage, one product. I think it is a great idea and really helps the local people.

Two million babies and mothers die in childbirth. That boggles my mind. I had no idea that number would be so high. Here is the story, By CELEAN JACOBSON, Associated Press Writer Celean Jacobson, Associated Press Writer JOHANNESBURG – More than 2 million babies and mothers die worldwide each year from childbirth complications, outnumbering child deaths from malaria and HIV/AIDS, according to a study released Tuesday. The study, launched at the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics world congress being held in Cape Town, also showed that such deaths could be easily avoided. Full story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091006/ap_on_re_af/af_south_africa_baby_deaths;_ylt=AkvnpEZzqJiL55SFgrBo3DtvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTJzajBlNHJxBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDA2L2FmX3NvdXRoX2FmcmljYV9iYWJ5X2RlYXRocwRjcG9zAzIEcG9zAzUEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDcmVwb3J0Mm1pbGxp

Maybe Roman will be visiting the USA, again. See the following. By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER and BALZ BRUPPACHER, Associated Press Writers Bradley S. Klapper And Balz Bruppacher, Associated Press Writers – BERN, Switzerland – Roman Polanski lost the first round Tuesday in his battle to avoid extradition to the U.S. for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl. Already locked in a Zurich cell for the last dozen days, Polanski learned he will remain incarcerated for an extended period as the Swiss Justice Ministry rejected his plea to be released from custody. Full story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091006/ap_on_re_eu/eu_switzerland_polanski

I did not realize who laid the groundwork for our fast communication system today. Here is the story. By MATT MOORE and KARL RITTER, Associated Press Writers Matt Moore And Karl Ritter, Associated Press Writers STOCKHOLM – Three Americans whose 1960s research laid the foundation for today's world of computerized images and lightning-fast communication shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for their work developing fiber-optic cable and the sensor at the heart of digital cameras. Full story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091006/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nobel_physics

Have you seen many Thais in there buying anything?

I can't believe Bernie made off with your money. I don't think you were the only one.