December 15, 2006
Two ninety-year-old men, Moe and Sam, have been friends all their lives.
It seems that Sam is dying, and Moe comes to visit him every day.
"Sam," says Moe, "You know how we have both loved baseball all our lives, and how we played minor league ball together for so many years.
Sam, you have to do me one favor. When you get to Heaven, and I know you will go to Heaven, somehow you've got to let me know if there's baseball in Heaven."
Sam looks up at Moe from his deathbed, and says, "Moe, you've been my best friend many years. This favor, if it is at all possible, I'll do it for you." And shortly after that, Sam passes on.
It is midnight a couple of nights later. Moe is sound asleep when he is awakened by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calls out to him, Moe.... Moe...."
"Who is it?" says Moe sitting up suddenly. "Who is it?"
"Moe, it's me, Sam."
"Come on. You're not Sam. Sam just died."
"I'm telling you," insists the voice. "It's me, Sam!"
"Sam? Is that you? Where are you?"
"I'm in heaven," says Sam, "and I've got to tell you, I've got really good news and a little bad news." "So, tell me the good news first," says Moe.
"The good news," says Sam "is that there is baseball in heaven. Better yet, all our old buddies who've gone before us are there. Better yet, we're all young men again. Better yet, it's always spring time and it never rains or snows. And best of all, we can play baseball all we want, and we never get tired!"
"Really?" says Moe, "That is fantastic, wonderful beyond my wildest dreams! But, what's the bad news?"
"You're pitching next Tuesday."
Man in Germany stops Brazil robbery via Internet
Dec 13, 2006 -A Brazilian businessman traveling in Germany watched by live video as a burglar robbed his house on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil…
…The businessman, Joao Pedro Wettlauser, was in Cologne this weekend when he received an alert on his cell phone from the security system in his beach house in Guaruja in Sao Paulo state, police said on Tuesday. (I wonder why the security system didn’t notify the police?}
He logged on to his laptop and via the Internet saw live images of the burglar at work. He then phoned his wife, who was not at the house but called the local police.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2006-12-13T143755Z_01_N12295770_RTRUKOC_0_US-BRAZIL-ODD-CAMERA.xml&src=rss&rpc=22
Cathedral puts out the flames of Christingle
12/13/2006 -For the first time in more than 250 years, children will not be allowed to carry candles at a cathedral service in case their hair catches fire.
There is no record of a child going up in flames since the Christingle service began at Chelmsford Cathedral in 1747. However, children this year will carry fluorescent glow sticks rather than the traditional candles set in oranges.
Eric Pickles, the MP for nearby Brentwood and Ongar, criticised the move yesterday, saying Christmas was becoming homogenised, dull and full of earnestness.
"Eventually, they will work out a way to take all the fun out of Christmas," he said.
...The Christmas Eve service is centred on each child's Christingle - an orange with four spikes in it holding sweets and, usually, a lighted candle in the top, symbolising Christ's light and love.
Richard Spilsbury, one of the organisers, said some parents had raised concerns about their children's hair catching fire... ...So the fluorescent tubes were proposed, though it has not been decided yet when the children will shake them to activate the light...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/13/nxmas13.xml
Teacher in Crack Over Butt Art
December 12, 2006 RICHMOND, Va. ...Outside of class and under an alter ego, the self-proclaimed "butt-printing artist" creates floral and abstract art by plastering his posterior and genitals with paint and pressing them against canvas. His cheeky creations sell for hundreds of dollars.
This has not gone over well with Chesterfield County school officials, who placed Murmer on administrative leave from his job at Monacan High School.
Murmer contacted the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia after he was suspended on Friday, ACLU legal director Rebecca Glenberg said...
...Chesterfield County schools spokeswoman Debra Marlow [said] "In the school system, personnel regulations state that teachers are expected to set an example for students through their personal conduct. Additionally, the Supreme Court has stated that schools must teach by example and that teachers, like parents, are role models."
"As a public employee, he has constitutional rights, and he certainly has the right to engage in private legal activities protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution," Willis said.
(I didn't realize painting with your pecker was protected by the constitution!! See first paragraph. He can still be a painter if he wants to be, no one is stopping him. However, being shocking or deviant doesn’t constitute art in my book. He’s less interested in art than he is about “making a statement.” And what is that statement? That’s what the school officials are rightly concerned about.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201305_pf.html
School Caves over ONE Parent Complaint: Quits publishing Honor Roll
December 12, 2006 Needham High School has abandoned its long-standing practice of publishing the names of students who make the honor roll in the local newspaper.
Principal Paul Richards said a key reason for stopping the practice is its contribution to students' stress level in "this high-expectations-high-achievement culture." (what do you think will happen if expectations are lowered and incentives removed?)
The proposal to stop publishing the honor roll came from a parent... (one complaint stopped it!!)
...Richards said one parent with three children attending Needham High told him publishing the honor roll is a constant cause of stress in her family. According to that parent, one of the three students routinely made the honor roll while the other two did not.
...Richards said publishing of the honor roll represented "an unhealthy focus on grades." (What an understanding principal)
http://www.theindychannel.com/education/10515520/detail.html
Kids wouldn't be so stressed if we just allowed them to fail
By Margery Eagan Boston Herald Columnist: …It's been ridiculed since Monday. Even Jay Leno weighed in with a joke about his PC home state, Massachusetts, where Needham High, in case you missed it, will stop printing the honor roll in the paper lest, as Leno put it, "it might make the kids flunking out feel bad."
...But you can't learn how to get up if no one lets you fall...
Interesting commentary: http://news.bostonherald.com/columnists/view.bg?articleid=171996&format=text
Well, this just proves there is too much emphasis on grades...
Class president at Cooper City High charged with changing grades of 19 students
December 13 2006 Cooper City High School's senior class president was arrested Tuesday and charged in a grade-tampering scandal that has rocked the campus.
Ryan C. Shrouder, 18, of Cooper City, was taken to jail from school and charged with two counts of computer crime with intent to defraud, a second-degree felony, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office report. He was released from jail on bail, has been suspended from school and will be recommended for expulsion, said Joe Melita, head of the Broward County School District's investigative unit...
..."To charge a kid with a computer crime is absurd," said Fort Lauderdale attorney Fred Haddad. "There's plenty of ways to handle this besides charging a felony."
(Ummm...he's 18, he's not a kid)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-sgrades13dec13,0,5928437.story?coll=sfla-news-broward
Looks like Adult stem cells win again...
Hair Follicle Cells Offer Embryonic Stem Cell Research Alternative
Scientists at the Medical College of Wisconsin have found what may be another alternative to embryonic stem cells. They have found that adult stem cells from hair follicles, which don't involve the destruction of human life to obtain, are different from other types of skin cells...
...The college says the study resolves conflicting scientific opinions by showing that these cells are distinctly different from other types of skin-resident stem cells...
The MCW research team has reported their findings in a recent issue of Stem Cells: The International Journal of Cell Differentiation and Proliferation.
Epidermal neural crest stem cells are found in the bulge of hair follicles and have characteristics that combine some advantages of embryonic and adult stem cells, according to lead researcher, Maya Sieber-Blum, Ph.D.
Similar to embryonic stem cells, they have a high degree of plasticity, can be isolated at high levels of purity, and can be expanded in culture.
Sieber-Blum says the hair cells are similar to other types of adult stem cells, as they are readily accessible through a minimally invasive procedure and could lead to using a patient's own hair as a source for therapy without the controversy or transplant problems associated with embryonic stem cells.
"We see the potential for cell replacement therapy in which patients can be their own donors, which would avoid ethical issues and reduce the possibility of tissue incompatibility," says Dr. Sieber-Blum.
The Medical College team in collaboration with Prof. Martin Schwab, director of the Brain Research Institute of the University of Zьrich, recently injected these cells in mice with spinal cord injuries...when grafted into the spine, the cells not only survived, but also demonstrated several desirable characteristics that could lead to local nerve replacement and re-myelination (restoration of nerve pathways and sheaths)...
"We grafted the cells into mice that have spinal cord injuries and were encouraged by the results. The cells survived and integrated into the spinal cord, remaining at the site of transplantation and not forming tumors," Dr. Sieber-Blum says.
The transplant of embryonic stem cells have caused problems in animal research because they have formed tumors that would cause severe problems in humans...
...Sieber-Blum points out that the hair follicle cells may also be useful to treat Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, Hirschsprung's disease, stroke, peripheral neuropathies and ALS. Certain defects of the heart, and bone defects could also be treated through neural crest stem cell replacement therapy.
more at http://www.lifenews.com/bio1909.html
Medical Expert Debunks JAMA Article Claiming Fetuses Feel No Pain
December 13, 2006-
(AgapePress) - …Last week, a discredited 2005 article published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA, was cited by House Democrats who voted against the passage of the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act. The JAMA article claimed that, since an unborn baby's brain is not fully developed until 29 weeks, the child will not feel pain during an abortion.
But Dr. Sanjay Gupta, director of the Atlantic Pain and Wellness Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, says evidence from neonatal studies shows brain circuits start developing before 29 weeks of age…
...Gupta points out that the JAMA article in question was not based on research but was simply an opinion from pro-abortion activists, including one involved with an abortion clinic…
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/12/132006f.asp
David Bennett <>< http://www.freewill-predestination.com
http://www.knology.net/~lonesomedove
It seems that Sam is dying, and Moe comes to visit him every day.
"Sam," says Moe, "You know how we have both loved baseball all our lives, and how we played minor league ball together for so many years.
Sam, you have to do me one favor. When you get to Heaven, and I know you will go to Heaven, somehow you've got to let me know if there's baseball in Heaven."
Sam looks up at Moe from his deathbed, and says, "Moe, you've been my best friend many years. This favor, if it is at all possible, I'll do it for you." And shortly after that, Sam passes on.
It is midnight a couple of nights later. Moe is sound asleep when he is awakened by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calls out to him, Moe.... Moe...."
"Who is it?" says Moe sitting up suddenly. "Who is it?"
"Moe, it's me, Sam."
"Come on. You're not Sam. Sam just died."
"I'm telling you," insists the voice. "It's me, Sam!"
"Sam? Is that you? Where are you?"
"I'm in heaven," says Sam, "and I've got to tell you, I've got really good news and a little bad news." "So, tell me the good news first," says Moe.
"The good news," says Sam "is that there is baseball in heaven. Better yet, all our old buddies who've gone before us are there. Better yet, we're all young men again. Better yet, it's always spring time and it never rains or snows. And best of all, we can play baseball all we want, and we never get tired!"
"Really?" says Moe, "That is fantastic, wonderful beyond my wildest dreams! But, what's the bad news?"
"You're pitching next Tuesday."
Man in Germany stops Brazil robbery via Internet
Dec 13, 2006 -A Brazilian businessman traveling in Germany watched by live video as a burglar robbed his house on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil…
…The businessman, Joao Pedro Wettlauser, was in Cologne this weekend when he received an alert on his cell phone from the security system in his beach house in Guaruja in Sao Paulo state, police said on Tuesday. (I wonder why the security system didn’t notify the police?}
He logged on to his laptop and via the Internet saw live images of the burglar at work. He then phoned his wife, who was not at the house but called the local police.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2006-12-13T143755Z_01_N12295770_RTRUKOC_0_US-BRAZIL-ODD-CAMERA.xml&src=rss&rpc=22
Cathedral puts out the flames of Christingle
12/13/2006 -For the first time in more than 250 years, children will not be allowed to carry candles at a cathedral service in case their hair catches fire.
There is no record of a child going up in flames since the Christingle service began at Chelmsford Cathedral in 1747. However, children this year will carry fluorescent glow sticks rather than the traditional candles set in oranges.
Eric Pickles, the MP for nearby Brentwood and Ongar, criticised the move yesterday, saying Christmas was becoming homogenised, dull and full of earnestness.
"Eventually, they will work out a way to take all the fun out of Christmas," he said.
...The Christmas Eve service is centred on each child's Christingle - an orange with four spikes in it holding sweets and, usually, a lighted candle in the top, symbolising Christ's light and love.
Richard Spilsbury, one of the organisers, said some parents had raised concerns about their children's hair catching fire... ...So the fluorescent tubes were proposed, though it has not been decided yet when the children will shake them to activate the light...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/13/nxmas13.xml
Teacher in Crack Over Butt Art
December 12, 2006 RICHMOND, Va. ...Outside of class and under an alter ego, the self-proclaimed "butt-printing artist" creates floral and abstract art by plastering his posterior and genitals with paint and pressing them against canvas. His cheeky creations sell for hundreds of dollars.
This has not gone over well with Chesterfield County school officials, who placed Murmer on administrative leave from his job at Monacan High School.
Murmer contacted the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia after he was suspended on Friday, ACLU legal director Rebecca Glenberg said...
...Chesterfield County schools spokeswoman Debra Marlow [said] "In the school system, personnel regulations state that teachers are expected to set an example for students through their personal conduct. Additionally, the Supreme Court has stated that schools must teach by example and that teachers, like parents, are role models."
"As a public employee, he has constitutional rights, and he certainly has the right to engage in private legal activities protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution," Willis said.
(I didn't realize painting with your pecker was protected by the constitution!! See first paragraph. He can still be a painter if he wants to be, no one is stopping him. However, being shocking or deviant doesn’t constitute art in my book. He’s less interested in art than he is about “making a statement.” And what is that statement? That’s what the school officials are rightly concerned about.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201305_pf.html
School Caves over ONE Parent Complaint: Quits publishing Honor Roll
December 12, 2006 Needham High School has abandoned its long-standing practice of publishing the names of students who make the honor roll in the local newspaper.
Principal Paul Richards said a key reason for stopping the practice is its contribution to students' stress level in "this high-expectations-high-achievement culture." (what do you think will happen if expectations are lowered and incentives removed?)
The proposal to stop publishing the honor roll came from a parent... (one complaint stopped it!!)
...Richards said one parent with three children attending Needham High told him publishing the honor roll is a constant cause of stress in her family. According to that parent, one of the three students routinely made the honor roll while the other two did not.
...Richards said publishing of the honor roll represented "an unhealthy focus on grades." (What an understanding principal)
http://www.theindychannel.com/education/10515520/detail.html
Kids wouldn't be so stressed if we just allowed them to fail
By Margery Eagan Boston Herald Columnist: …It's been ridiculed since Monday. Even Jay Leno weighed in with a joke about his PC home state, Massachusetts, where Needham High, in case you missed it, will stop printing the honor roll in the paper lest, as Leno put it, "it might make the kids flunking out feel bad."
...But you can't learn how to get up if no one lets you fall...
Interesting commentary: http://news.bostonherald.com/columnists/view.bg?articleid=171996&format=text
Well, this just proves there is too much emphasis on grades...
Class president at Cooper City High charged with changing grades of 19 students
December 13 2006 Cooper City High School's senior class president was arrested Tuesday and charged in a grade-tampering scandal that has rocked the campus.
Ryan C. Shrouder, 18, of Cooper City, was taken to jail from school and charged with two counts of computer crime with intent to defraud, a second-degree felony, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office report. He was released from jail on bail, has been suspended from school and will be recommended for expulsion, said Joe Melita, head of the Broward County School District's investigative unit...
..."To charge a kid with a computer crime is absurd," said Fort Lauderdale attorney Fred Haddad. "There's plenty of ways to handle this besides charging a felony."
(Ummm...he's 18, he's not a kid)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-sgrades13dec13,0,5928437.story?coll=sfla-news-broward
Looks like Adult stem cells win again...
Hair Follicle Cells Offer Embryonic Stem Cell Research Alternative
Scientists at the Medical College of Wisconsin have found what may be another alternative to embryonic stem cells. They have found that adult stem cells from hair follicles, which don't involve the destruction of human life to obtain, are different from other types of skin cells...
...The college says the study resolves conflicting scientific opinions by showing that these cells are distinctly different from other types of skin-resident stem cells...
The MCW research team has reported their findings in a recent issue of Stem Cells: The International Journal of Cell Differentiation and Proliferation.
Epidermal neural crest stem cells are found in the bulge of hair follicles and have characteristics that combine some advantages of embryonic and adult stem cells, according to lead researcher, Maya Sieber-Blum, Ph.D.
Similar to embryonic stem cells, they have a high degree of plasticity, can be isolated at high levels of purity, and can be expanded in culture.
Sieber-Blum says the hair cells are similar to other types of adult stem cells, as they are readily accessible through a minimally invasive procedure and could lead to using a patient's own hair as a source for therapy without the controversy or transplant problems associated with embryonic stem cells.
"We see the potential for cell replacement therapy in which patients can be their own donors, which would avoid ethical issues and reduce the possibility of tissue incompatibility," says Dr. Sieber-Blum.
The Medical College team in collaboration with Prof. Martin Schwab, director of the Brain Research Institute of the University of Zьrich, recently injected these cells in mice with spinal cord injuries...when grafted into the spine, the cells not only survived, but also demonstrated several desirable characteristics that could lead to local nerve replacement and re-myelination (restoration of nerve pathways and sheaths)...
"We grafted the cells into mice that have spinal cord injuries and were encouraged by the results. The cells survived and integrated into the spinal cord, remaining at the site of transplantation and not forming tumors," Dr. Sieber-Blum says.
The transplant of embryonic stem cells have caused problems in animal research because they have formed tumors that would cause severe problems in humans...
...Sieber-Blum points out that the hair follicle cells may also be useful to treat Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, Hirschsprung's disease, stroke, peripheral neuropathies and ALS. Certain defects of the heart, and bone defects could also be treated through neural crest stem cell replacement therapy.
more at http://www.lifenews.com/bio1909.html
Medical Expert Debunks JAMA Article Claiming Fetuses Feel No Pain
December 13, 2006-
(AgapePress) - …Last week, a discredited 2005 article published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA, was cited by House Democrats who voted against the passage of the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act. The JAMA article claimed that, since an unborn baby's brain is not fully developed until 29 weeks, the child will not feel pain during an abortion.
But Dr. Sanjay Gupta, director of the Atlantic Pain and Wellness Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, says evidence from neonatal studies shows brain circuits start developing before 29 weeks of age…
...Gupta points out that the JAMA article in question was not based on research but was simply an opinion from pro-abortion activists, including one involved with an abortion clinic…
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/12/132006f.asp
David Bennett <>< http://www.freewill-predestination.com
http://www.knology.net/~lonesomedove
posted by David Bennett | 5:26 AM
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