Woman arrested for marring anti-jihad NY subway ad

Woman arrested for marring anti-jihad NY subway ad — An Egyptian-born U.S. columnist was arrested Tuesday for spray-painting an advertisement equating Muslim radicals with savages at a New York City subway station.

Mona Eltahawy, 45, of New York, was arrested on charges including criminal mischief and making graffiti, police said. Her arrest was captured on video by a New York Post camera crew and posted online.

Eltahawy is a women's rights defender and lecturer on the role of social media in the Arab world. She calls herself a liberal Muslim who's spoken publicly against violent Islamic groups. She's seen in the video spraying pink paint on the ad while another woman tries to block her.

"This is non-violent protest, see this America" Eltahawy said in the video as police officers were arresting her. "I'm an Egyptian-American and I refuse hate."

Eltahawy hasn't returned a phone message seeking comment on her arrest.

The ads — reading, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad." — went up in 10 stations across Manhattan after a court victory by a conservative commentator who once headed a campaign against an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York initially refused to run blogger Pamela Geller's ad, saying it was "demeaning." But a federal judge ruled in July that it is protected speech under the First Amendment.

Geller, executive director of the American Freedom Defense Initiative and publisher of a blog called Atlas Shrugs, has said she's not concerned that her ad could spark protests like the ones against the depiction of Muslims in the video "Innocence of Muslims." Violence linked to the movie has left dozens in seven countries dead, including the American ambassador to Libya.

The ad was plastered on San Francisco city buses in recent weeks, prompting some people to deface the ads and remove some of the words, including "Jihad," or holy war.

Geller said the subway ads cost about $6,000. The MTA said they will be up for a month ( Associated Press )

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Woman Gives Birth Hours After Running Marathon

Woman Gives Birth Hours After Running Marathon - When a 27-year old woman gave birth just hours after completing the Chicago marathon on Sunday, her labor and delivery made national news.

Some of the coverage simply reported the birth of a healthy, 7 pound 9 ounce girl to the mother Amber Miller, who was almost 39 weeks pregnant when she ran her eighth marathon over the weekend. Many of the stories marveled at her athleticism and perseverance.

"The race was definitely easier than labor," she said in a news conference the next day.

But the accomplishment also led many people to ask: Is that safe?

Just a decade ago, vigorous exercise during pregnancy was seen as dangerous to the baby. Pregnant women were told to keep their heart rates below 140 beats per minute. With no evidence to support them, those guidelines have been dropped, and doctor's groups are increasingly pushing pregnant women to get moving.

Runners at the Chicago Marathon, Credit: Getty Images

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises at least 30 minutes of exercise on most, if not all, days of the week. Among other benefits, physical activity can reduce backaches and constipation, improve mood, energy and sleep, and help women endure and recover better from labor.

After suggesting activities like swimming, cycling and aerobics, ACOG’s official guidelines address running with this advice: "If you were a runner before you became pregnant, you often can keep running during pregnancy, although you may have to modify your routine."

So, how far is too far? It's all relative, suggests a package on pregnancy and running that ran last fall in Runner’s World magazine.

The magazine featured an interview with elite runners Paula Radcliffe and Kara Goucher, who both continued to train throughout their pregnancies.

Goucher said she was still running up to 80 miles a week in her fifth month of pregnancy, was working out twice a day and could still maintain a 4:55 mile pace on some of her runs. Radcliffe had cut back to about 50 percent of her normal training.

Both women were running less distance and with less intensely than they normally do, but they were still doing far more than most amateur runners ever do. And both runners went on, not just to have healthy babies, but also to win or come close to winning marathons within a year after giving birth.

While not a professional runner, Miller held way back for her recent marathon. She finished it in six and a half hours instead of her usual three and a half. And she walked about half of it.

Whether women plan to run during pregnancy or not, expecting moms should avoid exercising to exhaustion, recommends the Mayo Clinic. Pregnant exercisers should also make sure to drink enough water, eat enough calories to cover their extra activity, avoid overheating, and stop if they feel any concerning symptoms.

Many experts advise a level of exertion that still allows conversation. And when there's a baby on board, women should always talk to their doctors before starting anything new – like a marathon-training program. ( discovery.com )

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The Problem That Has No Title

Misogyny Goes to College: The Problem That Has No Title - The Title IX inquiry at Yale has been touted, by some , as a long overdue victory for women. But I’m increasingly convinced that the complaint that’s been filed with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights will work against the very women it is trying to protect. Title IX is meant to address hostile environments, but in this case, its invocation is likely to make the environment at Yale even more hostile.

This is not to dispute the substance or intent of the complaint, which alleges that Yale’s failure to respond to instances of sexual misconduct has contributed to a "hostile sexual environment," thereby denying women equal educational access. But high-profile complaints like this tend to polarize a campus. The protestors become alienated from their peers as their arguments get boiled down to finger-pointing and bullet points. Meanwhile, the rest of the student body, sensing a witch hunt, rallies around the accused, who tend to grow emboldened by the attacks. We’ve seen this drama enacted time and again on Ivy League campuses, such as when people have called for the end of Harvard’s final clubs , or the Yale Women’s Center has threatened to sue a frat over an offensive sign, or lawsuits have been filed against Princeton’s eating clubs. This atmosphere of accusation and ridicule is hardly the climate in which to work toward the goal of equality.

There’s already a backlash brewing at Yale: This week, 10 of 16 students interviewed by the Yale Daily News said that they didn't think the complaint was warranted. One of those 10, a female undergraduate, said, "I hope Yale is not allowing the actions of a few disgusting individuals to dictate how the campus feels [about the sexual climate]." It seems that many women on campus feel their situation has been over-exaggerated (a friend of mine used the word "hijacked") by a small group of litigious feminists. *

I recently had the chance to speak with women undergraduates and alumnae for articles on female social life and leadership at the Ivy League. One of the recurring themes I encountered was that, despite almost yearly incidents of careless misogyny at these schools-Harvard’s snow penis , frat boys chanting "No means Yes, Yes means Anal! ", racy emails that get made public -women felt that to complain would mark them as annoying, humorless, or worse, irrelevant. This is the real problem for college students, at the Ivies and elsewhere-this feeling that protest is futile, and perhaps social suicide-and it’s one that Title IX probably cannot address. Though well intended, the Yale complainants’ approach is likely to distract from this essential problem of entrenched culture. Ultimately, using Title IX as a weapon in this case will make college kids think that ensuring female equality comes down to legal enforcement, rather than the much messier business of changing a community’s most stubbornly ingrained habits.

This all gestures toward a sensitive question, one that splits women into a thousand camps: When does it make sense to address questions of culture and attitude in the legal arena? In a societal sense, Yale’s responsibility goes further than Title IX suggests, and will demand more than new policies. It is the job of educators to reinforce basic standards of courtesy and civility, so that students don’t have to turn to the legal system for recourse. Civil society is not predicated on an endlessly specific list of dos and don’ts, but rather, on reinforced understanding and empathy.

I was an undergraduate not too long ago, and I wish I could say that I had pushed back against the subtle, toxic undercurrent of misogyny I encountered at Harvard (which, in hindsight, had more to do with final clubs than with Larry Summers ). So I get it: Trying to change a culture feels like boxing with a ghost, and it seems easier when our diffuse cultural problems can be manifested as a discrete battle. But it’s important that we not kid ourselves and pretend that a Title IX complaint and a handful of deans will change undergraduate culture. That’s the students’ job, and it’s not an easy one. ( slate.com )

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Same-sex military couples celebrate end of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’

Same-sex military couples celebrate end of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ - Tania Dunbar celebrated a first in her 13-year Army career Sunday: She donned her uniform and proudly introduced Deborah Graham as her wife, not the “cousin” who had previously joined her around Fort Stewart in Georgia.

The formal end Tuesday of the military’s 18-year “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on service members revealing their homosexuality has allowed the couple to share the news that they married in the District in May.

No more living 50 miles from the Army base to avoid Dunbar’s colleagues. No more homecomings like the one last year when Dunbar, a missile systems technician, returned from Iraq: Graham said she stayed away from the families’ welcome-home ceremony, worried that an emotional reunion would spark too many questions.

“My partner was out there fighting,” Graham said, “but she came home and couldn’t acknowledge me.”

The couple joined 60 other people, including founding members of the nascent Military Partners and Families Coalition, on Sunday at Arlington National Cemetery to honor the spouses, partners, girlfriends and boyfriends who endured years of secrecy and isolation. Many said they worked hard to remain hidden, even guarding their relationships from their colleagues and friends lest they “slip up” and jeopardize their partners’ military careers.

Several said they never found other partners of gay and lesbian service members for support until recently because — in the eyes of the Pentagon — none were allowed to exist publicly.

Ariana Bostian-Kentes, of Ann Arbor, Mich., said she helped form the coalition last fall, after she met other partners of gay and lesbian service members at a Pentagon meeting about the end of the ban. While the group has 15 military families, she said, they represent “hundreds” more who are only now emerging.

“We were not open to the gay community because we were military families,” said Bostian-Kentes, whose partner of four years is in the Army and stationed in Afghanistan. “We weren’t open to the military community because we were gay families.”

Bostian-Kentes said gay military partners experienced the same stresses of other military families but lacked the official support groups that prepare most families for a deployment or help them relocate after a transfer. The lifting of “don’t ask, don’t tell” did not allow same-sex military partners to receive health insurance or housing benefits.

Meg Rapelye, a graduate student in Chester, Va., said she’s relieved knowing that her partner, Katrina Goguen, can no longer be fired from her 19-year Coast Guard career because of their five-year relationship. Rapelye said she has yet to formally adopt their 10-month-old daughter, Elly Goguen, because doing so before last week would have raised too many red flags.

“I was basically [known as] the roommate-slash-live-in-nanny” among many of Goguen’s Coast Guard colleagues, Rapelye said.While bouncing Elly on one hip, she said, “I had to deny I was her mother if we didn’t know that someone was safe to tell.”

Ivan Amir of Northeast said he’s happy he will no longer have to attend military functions as the pretend date of one of his partner’s female colleagues. His partner of two years, Joey Keyes, is an Air Force reservist and a Pentagon civilian employee.

“Now I’m actually recognized in a supporting role,” Amir said. “I never felt appreciated like that.”

Several couples said they’re still getting used to life after the ban. As Dunbar said with a laugh, “It’s not like we all stood up on Sept. 20 and said ‘I’m gay!’ ”

She said she will probably tell colleagues gradually that the “boyfriend” she sometimes mentioned in conversation is really her wife.

“When the Army Ball comes up and I have a date,” she said, smiling at Graham, “it’ll come up, I’m sure.” ( washingtonpost.com )

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The Return of Back-Alley Abortions

The Return of Back-Alley Abortions - In states across the country, women are being arrested for the crime of ending their own pregnancies—though they have a constitutional right to do so in a doctor’s office. Michelle Goldberg on a worrisome new trend.

Underground abortions have returned to the United States, just as pro-choice activists have warned for years. And women have started going to jail for the crime of ending their own pregnancies, or trying to.

This week Jennie L. McCormack, a 32-year-old mother of three from eastern Idaho, was arrested for self-inducing an abortion. According to the Associated Press, McCormack couldn’t afford a legal procedure, and so took pills that her sister had ordered online. For some reason, she kept the fetus, which police found after they were called by a disapproving acquaintance. She now faces up to five years in prison, as well as a $5,000 fine.

Idaho recently banned abortions after 20 weeks, and McCormack’s fetus was reportedly between five and six months old. But according to Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, a staff attorney for the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, under Idaho law, McCormack could have been arrested even if she’d been in her first trimester because self-induced abortion is illegal in all circumstances. “It doesn’t matter if it’s an 8- or 10- or 12-week abortion,” says Kolbi-Molinas. “If you do what you could get lawfully in a doctor’s office—what you have a constitutional right to access in a doctor’s office—they can throw you in jail and make you a convicted felon.”

While horrific, McCormack’s case is not unique. In recent years, several women have been arrested on suspicion of causing their own abortions, or attempting to. Most have come from conservative rural states with few clinics and numerous restrictions on abortion. In America’s urban centers and liberal enclaves, the idea of women being prosecuted for taking desperate measures to end their pregnancies might seem inconceivable, a never-again remnant of the era before Roe v. Wade. In fact, it’s a slowly encroaching reality.

Even more, these cases demonstrate that criminalizing abortion means turning women who have abortions into criminals.

In 2005, Gabriela Flores, a 22-year-old Mexican migrant worker, was arrested in South Carolina. Like McCormack, she had three children and said she couldn’t afford a fourth, and so she turned to clandestinely acquired pills. (The drug she took, Misoprostol, is an ulcer medicine that also works as an abortifacient and is widely used in Latin American countries where abortion is illegal.) Initially facing two years in prison, she ended up being sentenced to 90 days.

In 2009, a 17-year-old Utah girl known in court filings as J.M.S. found herself pregnant by an older man who is now facing charges of using her in child pornography. J.M.S. lived in house without electricity or running water in a remote part of the state, several hours’ drive from the nearest clinic, which was in Salt Lake City. Getting there would have required not just a car—her area had no public transportation—but money for a hotel in order to comply with Utah’s 24-hour-waiting period, as well as for the cost of the abortion itself.

According to prosecutors, when J.M.S. was in her third trimester, she paid a man $150 to beat her in the hopes of inducing a miscarriage. The fetus survived, but she was charged with criminal solicitation to commit murder. When her case was thrown out on the grounds that her actions weren’t illegal under the state’s definition of abortion, legislators changed the law so they would be able to punish women like her in the future. Meanwhile, prosecutors have appealed J.M.S.’ case to the Supreme Court, and observers expect it to rule against her. She could still face a trial and prison time.

A woman doesn’t even have to be trying to abort to find herself under arrest. Last year, a pregnant 22-year-old in Iowa named Christine Taylor ended up in the hospital after falling down a flight of stairs. A mother of two, she told a nurse she’d tripped after an upsetting phone conversation with her estranged husband. Though she’d gone to the hospital to make sure her fetus was OK, she confessed that she’d been ambivalent about the pregnancy and unsure whether she was ready to become a single mother of three.

Suspecting Taylor had hurled herself down the stairs on purpose, the nurse called a doctor, and at some point the police were brought in. Taylor was arrested on charges of attempted feticide. She spent two days in jail before the charges were dropped because she was in her second trimester, and Iowa’s feticide laws don’t kick in until the third.

These cases are a harbinger of what’s to come as abortion laws become increasingly strict and abortion clinics harder to access in the more conservative parts of the country. They demonstrate the lengths to which women will go to end unwanted pregnancies. But even more, they demonstrate that criminalizing abortion means turning women who have abortions into criminals.

The antiabortion movement likes to see itself as pro-woman. Most of its spokespeople talk about protecting women from abortion, insisting they’re not interested in seeing them punished. “It’s tragic that this young woman felt that this was her only way out,” National Right to Life President Carol Tobias said in a statement in response to questions about the McCormack case. “The pro-life movement has never supported jail sentences for women who are victims of the abortion culture and abortion industry.”

Tobias said her group calls on Idaho officials “to engage in more publicity about the network of pregnancy resource centers and about the existence of Idaho’s safe haven law—either of which would have helped this young mother and saved her child.” But she didn’t call on them to release McCormack or to change the laws under which she’s being charged. If these sorts of prosecutions aren’t what the antiabortion movement had in mind when it pushed wave after wave of state-level legislation, now might be a good time to speak up. ( thedailybeast.com )

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Prince William: Remembering His Mother on His Wedding Day

Prince William: Remembering His Mother on His Wedding Day - Soon after Prince William told the world that he and Kate Middleton were engaged, we also learned that William had given Kate his mother's sapphire and diamond ring. Of the ring, William said he was just making sure his mother didn't miss out on the special occasion. "It's my mother's engagement ring," he explained, "so of course it's very special to me."

Getting married without your mom is hard. You're happy and excited, but you're also sad and mournful. The one person you'd want by your side isn't there to cheer you along. I know, because I got married without my mother, too.

Throughout the planning of my wedding, I longed for my mom. She died, though, just a few weeks after I got engaged, when I was 25. I wanted her help choosing a gown and picking the menu. I wanted her opinion on wedding locations and where my husband and I should go on our honeymoon. And I simply craved my mother's inexhaustible interest in my life. How many times could friends listen to me go on and on about floral arrangements and table decorations?

I realize my wedding story is different from Prince William's. I was the bride, after all, and clearly I had more nut-and-bolt planning to do than the Prince of Wales. But I also didn't lose my mother when I was 15 years old, and I didn't have to mourn her in front of the world.

I'd like to think William and Kate chose to get married in Westminster Abbey, where his mother's funeral took place, because it symbolizes that his life -- and his mother's -- are forever connected. It's also not a coincidence, I imagine, that after the ceremony, William and Kate rode to Buckingham Palace in the same carriage that carried Prince Charles and Diana after their nuptials in 1981. Both the Abbey and carriage are physical connections to his mother, and such tangible links can feel like a warm, maternal embrace. I chose to get married under a canopy of my mother's favorite bright and floral scarves.

Healing also comes from people, especially those who knew Princess Diana personally, and can share their own memories and stories. Kate never knew her would-be mother-in-law, and perhaps that's why the Royal guest list included those who knew Princess Diana best. Elton John attended the ceremony, and it was Elton John, Princess Diana's dear friend, who sang "Candle in the Wind" at her funeral.

The royal wedding was great fun to watch, but maybe while the festivities continue to unfold, take just a few moments to think about this: Prince William is teaching all of us that even during our happiest times, it is possible to keep the memory of our loved ones alive. ( huffingtonpost.com)

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Royal Honeymoon Rumors and Related April Fools' Hoaxes for William, Kate

Royal Honeymoon Rumors and Related April Fools' Hoaxes for William, Kate - With all the secrecy surrounding the nuptials of Prince William and Kate, wedding information speculators and even bookmakers are grasping for straws. Who will design the royal wedding dress? More importantly, what is the locale where the prince's and former Kate Middleton's royal honeymoon will take place?

Possible Locales

• The Seychelles. They are a group of 115 islands situated in the Indian Ocean. Holidays Please claims unnamed insider sources revealed to a staff member what the business terms "one of the worst kept secrets." Apparently Desroches Island (of the Amirante Islands) and the very private North Island are high in the running for welcoming the royal couple after the nuptials.

• Kenya. Would you believe bookmakers are taking odds on the royal honeymoon? The New Zealand Herald claims that while New Zealand comes in at 25-1, Kenya is the favorite among the bet takers. Seeing that Prince William and Kate Middleton have some history of traveling there, it stands to reason that Kenya would be in the running.

• Australia. Was it more than just a PR move when Prince William exclaimed: "I will have to come back, maybe we'll have a honeymoon in Cairns?" The Telegraph seems to think so. Touring Cardwell near the storm-ravaged Cairns, he was working the crowds. Was he just joking or did he let some plans slip?

Known Spoofs (or are they?)

• Scotland. After William and Kate's wedding, they are scheduled to fly to Scotland, using the names Mr. and Mrs. Wales. So says Travelio, which cites easyJet as a premier source. Citing the importance that Scotland has for the relationship of Prince William and Kate Middleton -- and pointing out that Queen Elizabeth II flew easyJet just last year -- the airline is convinced that the April 30 flight of Mr. and Mrs. Wales can be none other than William and Kate. This tidbit of news turned out to be an April Fools' joke.

• Herm. It is a tiny island that is part of the Channel Islands. The Guernsey News proclaims that for Prince William and the former Kate Middleton, royal honeymooning begins with a weekend on the isle. Again, this news was revealed to be an April Fools' hoax.

• Nepal . One of the most elaborate April Fools' hoaxes involving the royal honeymoon (thus far) is the one put on by The Himalayan. The publication asserted that the "mystical and romantic charm" of the locale had done in the royal couple and that a contact named "Lowbrow Pinkelton" was making all the arrangements. ( news. yahoo.com )

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Indonesian tsunami kills 272; help finally arrives

Indonesian tsunami kills 272; help finally arrives – Planes and helicopters packed with rescue workers and supplies landed for the first time Wednesday on remote Indonesian islands that were pounded by a 10-foot (three-meter) tsunami, sweeping away villages and killing at least 272 people.

The first aerial surveys of the region revealed huge swaths of land underwater and the crumbled rubble of homes torn apart by the wave. One lay tilted, resting on the edge of its red roof, with tires and slabs of concrete piled up on the surrounding sand.

This aerial photo shows a damaged building in a village flattened by Monday's earthquake triggered tsunami …

Two days after a powerful earthquake triggered the wave, the casualty count was still rising as rescuers and disaster officials finally reached the Mentawai island chain, which was closest to the epicenter and the worst hit. Bad weather had kept them away.

On Wednesday evening, disaster official Ade Edward nearly doubled the estimated number of casualties to 272 dead with 412 missing.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, meanwhile, cut short a state visit to Vietnam to deal with two major disasters that struck Indonesia in less than 24 hours. The country's most volatile volcano, Mount Merapi, 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) to the east, erupted at dusk Tuesday, sending up searing ash clouds and killing more than two dozen people.

Both events fell along Indonesia's portion of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a series of fault lines that are prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

Disaster officials were still trying to reach more than a dozen villages on the Mentawais — a popular surfer's destination that is usually reachable only by a 12-hour boat ride.

The 7.7-magnitude quake that struck late Monday just 13 miles (20 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor was followed by at least 14 aftershocks, the largest measuring 6.2. ( Associated Press )

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Do the talk after sex!

Do the talk after sex!, Most couples - know what to say to their partners so as to persuade them for a sex romp.

But what couples often fail to realise is the importance of after sex conversations that can bind them together even after the act is over. It’s important for couples to relax after an exhaustive performance and nothing can be better than to converse with each other.

Dr. Amit Aggarwal, a Mumbai-based sexologist elucidates, “After sex, couples can lay down in front of each other and indulge in some canoodling. As for conversational topics, they can discuss how good they felt during sex, their most intimate feelings, their sexual desires and their displeasure towards certain gestures by their partners. Basically, the focus of the discussion should be on the things they love most about each other.”

Conversing about one's bedroom performance, sexual desires, sharing feedback or expressing love, here’s a lowdown on the topics that make great after sex discussions.


Discussing bedroom performance :

It’s indeed a wise move to tell your partner about what you liked and disliked about a particular sexual session. Exchanging feedback about your sexual performance will not only make you feel at ease, but will also help you work on the weaker areas where you may be lacking.

Expert tip : Dr. Devesh Roy, a sex expert suggests, “It’s a healthy practice to discuss your performance once you’re done with the act, but do not over analyse the sexual act too much. Also, if you felt your partner lacked somewhere, device a way out to tell them patiently, but never compare their performance with anyone else's or else it will do more harm than good to your relationship.”

Planning another sex quickie :

As the sexual mood continues to be in full swing, nothing can be better than planning out another intimate session. Talking about yet another round of a sex will not only ignite your passion, but will also bring you closer.

Expert tip : Dr. Aggarwal advices, “It’s a great idea to plan another round of sex and if you talk about it openly, it can guarantee you ultimate gratification. During such conversations, make it a point to highlight the things that you liked the most in the previous session. And also mention about the acts you didn’t enjoy, so that your partner knows what to avoid in the next round. Take advantage of this planning by looking out for innovative ways of intimacy that you can experiment with in round two.”

Expressing sexual fantasies :

After a steamy romp, almost all your sexual desires would have been fulfilled by your partner. So go ahead and utilise those intimate moments to express more about your sex fantasies. It’s very likely that your partner, who is still sailing in that sexual mood, would listen to your fancies attentively.

Expert tip : Dr. Chitra Bakshi, a relationship counsellor says, “It’s really not an easy task to talk overtly about your sexual fantasies, not even with your partner. So couples often look out for chances, be it during the foreplay period or during sex. But the most appropriate time would be after sex, as your partner is likely to be in a sexually charged up state of mind to listen to you patiently. You can express those fancies that you would like them to try out, the next time you get intimate.”

Appreciating each other’s body :

Remember that your partner loves being appreciated, not only for their sexual moves, but for their physical appearance and body as well. The most cherished after-sex moments are an apt opportunity to compliment your mate’s body. Telling your mate about the heavenly feeling you get while touching their body and also passing naughty remarks on their curves will surely pamper them.

Expert tip : Dr. Roy opines, “Since sex is all about physical touch, try and utilise these after-sex minutes to say good things about each other’s body. This would create a better comfort zone, bring about a feeling of reassurance to your mate that you like their body and it will make the art of undressing an easier task, as your partner will be more confident about their physical self.”

Exchanging expressions of love :

You’d have said ‘I love you’ to your lover many a times but saying these words right after a sex quickie holds a special place. Verbal or physical gestures like hugging and cuddling, any expression of love can act as a catalyst if expressed at the right time. Once you’re done with a sexual session, whispering some sweet nothings into your partner’s ears can make them feel extra special.

Expert tip : Dr. Chitra confirms, “Exchanging expressions of love is a sure shot way to enjoy passionate moments with your partner. After enjoying sex, most partners fall asleep without even realising once that their mate might be longing for some loving gestures. So make the most of these special moments and indulge in a quick conversation and tell each other how much you love and care about them.” ( indiatimes.com )

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Solution to killer superbug found in Norway ( 3 )

Solution to killer superbug found in Norway ( 2 ). In 2001, the CDC approached a Veterans Affairs hospital in Pittsburgh about conducting a small test program. It started in one unit, and within four years, the entire hospital was screening everyone who came through the door for MRSA. The result: an 80 percent decrease in MRSA infections. The program has now been expanded to all 153 VA hospitals, resulting in a 50 percent drop in MRSA bloodstream infections, said Dr. Robert Muder, chief of infectious diseases at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

"It's kind of a no-brainer," he said. "You save people pain, you save people the work of taking care of them, you save money, you save lives and you can export what you learn to other hospital-acquired infections."

Pittsburgh's program has prompted all other major hospital-acquired infections to plummet as well, saving roughly $1 million a year.

"So, how do you pay for it?" Muder asked. "Well, we just don't pay for MRSA infections, that's all."

---

Beth Reimer of Batavia, Ill., became an advocate for MRSA precautions after her 5-week-old daughter Madeline caught a cold that took a fatal turn. One day her beautiful baby had the sniffles. The next?

"She wasn't breathing. She was limp," the mother recalled. "Something was terribly wrong."

MRSA had invaded her little lungs. The antibiotics were useless. Maddie struggled to breathe, swallow, survive, for two weeks.

"For me to sit and watch Madeline pass away from such an aggressive form of something, to watch her fight for her little life - it was too much," Reimer said.

Since Madeline's death, Reimer has become outspoken about the need for better precautions, pushing for methods successfully used in Norway. She's stunned, she said, that anyone disputes the need for change.

"Why are they fighting for this not to take place?" she said.

----

Martha Mendoza is an AP national writer who reported from Norway and England. Margie Mason is an AP medical writer based in Vietnam, who reported while on a fellowship from The Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. ( washingtonpost.com )

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Solution to killer superbug found in Norway ( 2 )

Solution to killer superbug found in Norway ( 2 ). Forty years ago, a new spectrum of antibiotics enchanted public health officials, quickly quelling one infection after another. In wealthier countries that could afford them, patients and providers came to depend on antibiotics. Trouble was, the more antibiotics are consumed, the more resistant bacteria develop.

Norway responded swiftly to initial MRSA outbreaks in the 1980s by cutting antibiotic use. Thus while they got ahead of the infection, the rest of the world fell behind.

In Norway, MRSA has accounted for less than 1 percent of staph infections for years. That compares to 80 percent in Japan, the world leader in MRSA; 44 percent in Israel; and 38 percent in Greece.

In the U.S., cases have soared and MRSA cost $6 billion last year. Rates have gone up from 2 percent in 1974 to 63 percent in 2004. And in the United Kingdom, they rose from about 2 percent in the early 1990s to about 45 percent, although an aggressive control program is now starting to work.

About 1 percent of people in developed countries carry MRSA on their skin. Usually harmless, the bacteria can be deadly when they enter a body, often through a scratch. MRSA spreads rapidly in hospitals where sick people are more vulnerable, but there have been outbreaks in prisons, gyms, even on beaches. When dormant, the bacteria are easily detected by a quick nasal swab and destroyed by antibiotics.

Dr. John Jernigan at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they incorporate some of Norway's solutions in varying degrees, and his agency "requires hospitals to move the needle, to show improvement, and if they don't show improvement they need to do more."

And if they don't?

"Nobody is accountable to our recommendations," he said, "but I assume hospitals and institutions are interested in doing the right thing."

Dr. Barry Farr, a retired epidemiologist who watched a successful MRSA control program launched 30 years ago at the University of Virginia's hospitals, blamed the CDC for clinging to past beliefs that hand washing is the best way to stop the spread of infections like MRSA. He says it's time to add screening and isolation methods to their controls.

The CDC needs to "eat a little crow and say, 'Yeah, it does work,'" he said. "There's example after example. We don't need another study. We need somebody to just do the right thing."

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But can Norway's program really work elsewhere?

The answer lies in the busy laboratory of an aging little public hospital about 100 miles outside of London. It's here that microbiologist Dr. Lynne Liebowitz got tired of seeing the stunningly low Nordic MRSA rates while facing her own burgeoning cases.

So she turned Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn into a petri dish, asking doctors to almost completely stop using two antibiotics known for provoking MRSA infections.

One month later, the results were in: MRSA rates were tumbling. And they've continued to plummet. Five years ago, the hospital had 47 MRSA bloodstream infections. This year they've had one.

"I was shocked, shocked," says Liebowitz, bouncing onto her toes and grinning as colleagues nearby drip blood onto slides and peer through microscopes in the hospital laboratory.

When word spread of her success, Liebowitz's phone began to ring. So far she has replicated her experiment at four other hospitals, all with the same dramatic results.

"It's really very upsetting that some patients are dying from infections which could be prevented," she says. "It's wrong."

Around the world, various medical providers have also successfully adapted Norway's program with encouraging results. A medical center in Billings, Mont., cut MRSA infections by 89 percent by increasing screening, isolating patients and making all staff - not just doctors - responsible for increasing hygiene.

In Japan, with its cutting-edge technology and modern hospitals, about 17,000 people die from MRSA every year.

Dr. Satoshi Hori, chief infection control doctor at Juntendo University Hospital in Tokyo, says doctors overprescribe antibiotics because they are given financial incentives to push drugs on patients.

Hori now limits antibiotics only to patients who really need them and screens and isolates high-risk patients. So far his hospital has cut the number of MRSA cases by two-thirds. ( washingtonpost.com )

READ MORE - Solution to killer superbug found in Norway ( 2 )

Solution to killer superbug found in Norway ( 1 )

Solution to killer superbug found in Norway ( 1 ) -- Aker University Hospital is a dingy place to heal. The floors are streaked and scratched. A light layer of dust coats the blood pressure monitors. A faint stench of urine and bleach wafts from a pile of soiled bedsheets dropped in a corner.

Look closer, however, at a microscopic level, and this place is pristine. There is no sign of a dangerous and contagious staph infection that killed tens of thousands of patients in the most sophisticated hospitals of Europe, North America and Asia this year, soaring virtually unchecked.

The reason: Norwegians stopped taking so many drugs.

Twenty-five years ago, Norwegians were also losing their lives to this bacteria. But Norway's public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A key part of that program was cutting back severely on the use of antibiotics.

Now a spate of new studies from around the world prove that Norway's model can be replicated with extraordinary success, and public health experts are saying these deaths - 19,000 in the U.S. each year alone, more than from AIDS - are unnecessary.

"It's a very sad situation that in some places so many are dying from this, because we have shown here in Norway that Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can be controlled, and with not too much effort," said Jan Hendrik-Binder, Oslo's MRSA medical adviser. "But you have to take it seriously, you have to give it attention, and you must not give up."

The World Health Organization says antibiotic resistance is one of the leading public health threats on the planet. A six-month investigation by The Associated Press found overuse and misuse of medicines has led to mutations in once curable diseases like tuberculosis and malaria, making them harder and in some cases impossible to treat.

Now, in Norway's simple solution, there's a glimmer of hope.

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Dr. John Birger Haug shuffles down Aker's scuffed corridors, patting the pocket of his baggy white scrubs. "My bible," the infectious disease specialist says, pulling out a little red Antibiotic Guide that details this country's impressive MRSA solution.

It's what's missing from this book - an array of antibiotics - that makes it so remarkable.

"There are times I must show these golden rules to our doctors and tell them they cannot prescribe something, but our patients do not suffer more and our nation, as a result, is mostly infection free," he says.

Norway's model is surprisingly straightforward.

• Norwegian doctors prescribe fewer antibiotics than any other country, so people do not have a chance to develop resistance to them.
• Patients with MRSA are isolated and medical staff who test positive stay at home.
• Doctors track each case of MRSA by its individual strain, interviewing patients about where they've been and who they've been with, testing anyone who has been in contact with them.

Haug unlocks the dispensary, a small room lined with boxes of pills, bottles of syrups and tubes of ointment. What's here? Medicines considered obsolete in many developed countries. What's not? Some of the newest, most expensive antibiotics, which aren't even registered for use in Norway, "because if we have them here, doctors will use them," he says.

He points to an antibiotic. "If I treated someone with an infection in Spain with this penicillin I would probably be thrown in jail," he says, "and rightly so because it's useless there."

Norwegians are sanguine about their coughs and colds, toughing it out through low-grade infections.

"We don't throw antibiotics at every person with a fever. We tell them to hang on, wait and see, and we give them a Tylenol to feel better," says Haug.

Convenience stores in downtown Oslo are stocked with an amazing and colorful array - 42 different brands at one downtown 7-Eleven - of soothing, but non-medicated, lozenges, sprays and tablets. All workers are paid on days they, or their children, stay home sick. And drug makers aren't allowed to advertise, reducing patient demands for prescription drugs.

In fact, most marketing here sends the opposite message: "Penicillin is not a cough medicine," says the tissue packet on the desk of Norway's MRSA control director, Dr. Petter Elstrom.

He recognizes his country is "unique in the world and best in the world" when it comes to MRSA. Less than 1 percent of health care providers are positive carriers of MRSA staph.

But Elstrom worries about the bacteria slipping in through other countries. Last year almost every diagnosed case in Norway came from someone who had been abroad.

"So far we've managed to contain it, but if we lose this, it will be a huge problem," he said. "To be very depressing about it, we might in some years be in a situation where MRSA is so endemic that we have to stop doing advanced surgeries, things like organ transplants, if we can't prevent infections. In the worst case scenario we are back to 1913, before we had antibiotics." ( washingtonpost.com )

READ MORE - Solution to killer superbug found in Norway ( 1 )

President Wahid dies

Former Indonesian President Wahid dies . Former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has died aged 69, according to party officials.

Wahid, who was often referred to by his nickname Gus Dur, ruled the country between 1999 and 2001.

He was the first elected president after the fall of the 32-year Suharto regime in 1998.

Wahid had been suffering from a number of medical problems in recent years. He was a diabetic and was known to have had a series of strokes.

Abdurrahman Wahid had been frail for some time and was nearly blind

Short tenure

"Gus Dur just passed away," Lukman Edy from Wahid's National Awakening Party told reporters.

According to local television reports he died of heart failure, but this has not yet been confirmed.

Wahid - a partially blind Muslim cleric - came to power after defeating Megawati Sukarnoputri in a general election in October 1999.

Educated in Indonesia, Egypt, Iraq and Canada, he had a reputation for religious tolerance and moderate politics.

But he had not been in the job long before his opponents accused him of failing to tackle the economic crisis, and failing to resolve secessionist conflicts in several provinces of Indonesia.

In July 2001, less than two years into the job, he was sacked by the country's national assembly amid unproven allegations of corruption and incompetence.( bbc.co.uk )

READ MORE - President Wahid dies

20 proven benefits of exercise

20 proven benefits of exercise. A 30-minute walk every day can do more for your long-term health than all the efforts of a dozen doctors and their medication.

Not only does exercise improve your health, even if you have already been diagnosed with something, but it can go a long way to prevent the onset of several life-threatening conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

And exercise can make you look great – younger, fitter and thinner. Who needs any more convincing?

We have scrutinised the medical journals. Here's a summary of the proven health benefits of exercise:

1. It's good for your heart

"Even a moderate amount of exercise helps your heart," says Dr William Kraus, associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Centre, in an article published in The New England Journal of Medicine. "Some exercise is better than none and more is better than less."

Exercise reduces LDL cholesterol, the kind that clogs arteries. It also reduces your blood pressure, relieving stress on your heart; improves your insulin sensitivity; improves heart muscle function; and blood flow and diminishes the chances of developing blood clots. These findings have been corroborated by a host of studies over the years.

2. Exercise promotes weight loss

Research has shown that to manage weight, you should exercise energetically for at least 30 minutes a day. You can also do an hour of intensive exercise every second day if this fits into your schedule more easily. Be consistent and be regular. Do those one-hour exercise sessions three to four times every week, not just one week a month, and you will achieve the result you desire - to lose weight and keep it off, says Dr Ingrid van Heerden, registered dietician.

3. Exercise prevents osteoporosis

Exercise, together with a healthy calcium intake, builds strong bones. Weight-bearing exercises, like running, walking and weight-lifting, help lower your odds of getting osteoporosis as you grow older, according to experts.

Ideally, you should start when you're young, but it's never too late to pick up the habit. Even a brisk walk can help, say metabolic disease specialists.

4. Exercise lowers high blood pressure

Exercise is good for your blood pressure - no matter your age, weight, race or gender. And it really doesn't matter whether you get exercise from a brisk walk, a fast run or a few laps in the pool; the results are equally good.

The studies on which these findings were based used "aerobic" exercise - activities that increase heart rate and improve the body's ability to use oxygen. Most of the studies involved participating in one or more aerobic activity for 20 - 30 minutes per session, several times a week.

On average, exercise helped study participants reduce systolic (top number) pressure by nearly 4 mm Hg, and diastolic (bottom number) pressure by slightly more than 2.5 mm Hg. But experts caution that those with extremely high blood pressure should not rely on exercise alone to control hypertension.

5. Exercise is an excellent de-stressor

It's general knowledge: exercise counters stress and depression. But exactly how and why does this work?

Exercise acts as a temporary diversion to daily stresses and it improves self-esteem. Increased core temperature during exercise may lead to reduced muscle tension and favourable alterations in brain neurotransmitters. Mood improvements may also occur due to the increased secretion of endogenous (internal) opiates, e.g. endorphins. Psychological changes may occur because of changes in norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin, all hormones which can affect mood and anxiety levels.

6. Exercise prevents colds

One doesn't automatically associate regular exercise with a reduction in the number of colds people get. But researchers from the University of Carolina found that people who exercised regularly were 23% less likely to get colds than those who exercised less. And if those who exercised got colds, the symptoms disappeared more quickly than in the study participants who did little exercise.

Health experts believe that exercise spikes the immune system for a few hours each day, helping to ward off colds. Thirty minutes of brisk walking is enough to make you reap the benefits of exercise.

7. Exercise reduces the severity of asthma

Many people who suffer from exercise-induced asthma, understandably try to avoid exercise. But sports medicine specialists say it's possible for asthmatics to continue exercising if they use preventive medications wisely and avoid certain triggers that exacerbate attacks. Exercise-induced asthma can be made worse by cold, dry air or air containing high levels of pollen or pollutants. The extra effort made to stay fit pays off in fewer or milder asthma attacks overall and a need for less medication.

Experts recommend swimming as one of the best exercises for people with asthma.

8. Exercise reduces diabetic complications

Lifestyle factors have a huge impact on certain conditions – and diabetes is one of them. Exercise can help to reduce your insulin requirements, lower your cholesterol levels and high blood pressure, and in the long term can reduce the development of heart disease and stroke. This is important because diabetics have a higher risk of developing heart and circulatory problems. Exercise can also promote weight loss, improve circulation and reduce stress levels (raising your glucose level).

9. Exercise promotes a healthy pregnancy

Although exercise might be risky in some cases, the benefits of exercising during pregnancy generally far outweigh the risks and some women can even exercise up until the third trimester. Relaxation exercises, Kegel exercise that strengthen the pelvic muscles and back exercises are all important for pregnant women.

10. Exercise plays a role in preventing cancer

At least 35% of all cancer deaths may be related to overweight and lack of activity, the Seattle Cancer Research Centre has found. Exercise is believed to speed the passage of food through the colon, thereby reducing the amount of time that any toxins are in contact with the body. Overweight people also tend to have more insulin, which promotes the growth of tumours. For women, exercise reduces the level of oestrogen, a hormone linked to breast cancer.

11. Exercise has anti-ageing effects

Exercise enhances blood flow to the brain, possibly reducing risk of stroke. It also improves reasoning and memory.

Regular exercise arouses the brain and slows down degeneration of the central nervous system, which leads to slower reaction times and poorer coordination.

Exercise also increases strength and size of muscles and improves lung function. Regular exercise can reduce body fat and lower the risk of chronic lifestyle diseases in the elderly. Recent literature suggests that the greatest threat to health is not the aging process itself, but rather inactivity.

12. Exercise promotes brain health

If you thought exercising your brain meant only doing a few crossword puzzles or learning a language, you may be wrong – rather put on your walking shoes and get moving. This was the finding of researchers from the University of Illinois.

Their study found that the brain responses in active seniors were comparable to those of young adults.

It is thought that exercise increases the flow of blood to the brain, just as it improves circulation to the heart and the rest of the body. Activity also stimulates the growth of nerve cells in the part of the brain involved in memory.

13. Exercise is great for your sex life.

The medical research points towards it: the fitter you are, the better your sex life is.

The reason seems to be two-fold: psychologically you feel better about yourself and more inclined towards sex, and physically, being fit improves libido, blood circulation and sexual functioning.

It has been said before that the brain may be the most important sexual organ. This is because stressed, anxious and depressed people are usually unable to enjoy a healthy sex life. Additionally, people with a bad body image do not feel good about their bodies and often avoid sex or are unable to truly enjoy it.

According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), being physically active can be “a natural Viagra boost”. “Men and women who exercise regularly are going to have increased levels of desire. They’re going to have enhanced confidence, enhanced ability to achieve orgasm and greater sexual satisfaction,” says Cedric Bryant, the council’s chief exercise physiologist.

14. Exercise improves sleeping patterns

Relaxation exercises will help you to ease tension and relieve headaches, backaches and insomnia. Exercise releases the body's own painkillers, called endorphins, into your system. It also helps you to gain a sense of emotional wellbeing and a feeling of being more in control.

Exercise during the day promotes the onset and quality of sleep, according to the South African Memory Resource Centre. But you need to exercise at the right time: the ideal time for exercise is in the morning. Exercising late in the day can contribute to sleeplessness, because exercise causes an increase in your body's energy.

15. Exercise combats impotence

If you stop and think about it, it makes sense - increased circulation as a result of exercise should result in lower levels of impotence, as getting an erection is dependent on the efficiency of blood circulating to the penis.

"Losing weight, stopping smoking and doing more exercise are associated with better sexual health," says Dr Andrew McCullough, director of Male Sexual Health, Fertility and Microsurgery at New York University Medical Center in New York City. "We talk so much about treating, treating, treating. Here we're beginning to see an increasing body of evidence that we can modify the appearance of this by changing lifestyle."

16. Exercise helps prevent stroke

Need another reason to make good on that long overdue promise to get more exercise? It can dramatically cut your risk of stroke.

"Highly active" people had a 27 percent lower risk of having a stroke or dying if they had one, compared with sedentary folks. And people who were "moderately active" had a 20 percent lower risk.

These findings are based on a review of 23 international studies that appear in the October issue of the journal Stroke, the Associated Press reports.

Jogging 15 to 20 minutes a day most days would qualify as highly active. Brisk walks of 30 minutes a day on most days would qualify as moderate activity, the AP says.

17. Exercise is good for mind and soul.

In a synopsis on “Exercise, Fitness and Mental Health” (1990), sports psychologist D.R.Brown summarised the possible beneficial effects that exercise has on mental health. These include the following:

• Exercise may act as a temporary diversion to daily stresses.
• Exercise provides an opportunity for social interaction that may otherwise be lacking in an individual’s life.
• Exercise provides an opportunity for self-mastery. Increasing fitness or improving body composition and other health parameters may improve an individual’s self-esteem.
• Increased core temperature during exercise may lead to reduced muscle tension or alterations to brain neurotransmitters.
• Mood improvements may occur due to the increased secretion of endogenous (internal) opiates e.g. endorphins
• Psychological changes may occur due to alterations in norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin, all hormones which can affect mood and anxiety level.

18. Exercise improves oxygen and nutrient supply to all cells in your body.

An American study indicates that ‘80-plus-ers’ can dramatically improve their health by exercising a few times a week. If this is true for elderly people, it certainly is for the younger set as well.

Exercise improves the body's utilisation of oxygen, and lowers systolic blood pressure (high pressure is a dangerous condition common in elderly people).

Positive results were obtained from the 22 elderly people (80 years and older) who took part in the study at the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System in Michigan.

19. Exercise allows you to improve muscle strength, joint structure and joint function

Strengthening exercises increase not only muscle strength and mass, but also bone strength, and the body's metabolism.

A certain level of muscle strength is needed to function every day and do things such as walking and climbing stairs. Strengthening exercises increase this muscle strength by putting more strain on a muscle than it is normally accustomed to receiving. This increased load stimulates the growth of proteins inside each muscle cell that allow the muscle as a whole to contract.

Exercise can promote joint health for everyone, but particularly for people who suffer from arthritis. Arthritis is a general term for over 100 different conditions that cause pain, stiffness and often inflammation in one or more joints. Exercise can reduce some arthritis symptoms and improve joint mobility and strength.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. Normally, the two bones of a joint are cushioned with a strong flexible tissue called cartilage. In osteoarthritis, the cartilage deteriorates, causing pain and stiffness.

Cartilage doesn't have a blood supply; it relies on synovial fluid moving in and out of the joint to nourish it and take away waste products. Exercise helps this process.

20. Exercise helps to manage arthritis

Regular, intensive exercise for patients with rheumatoid arthritis builds muscle strength and aerobic capacity, improves the ability to do daily tasks and fosters a sense of well-being.

That's the conclusion of a study by Dutch researchers who tracked 300 people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for two years. About half the patients participated in a one-hour exercise regimen twice weekly; the rest received traditional treatment, including physical therapy, if prescribed by their physicians.

The findings, appearing in journal Arthritis & Rheumatism, suggest high-intensity exercise programmes can benefit many RA patients, says researcher Dr Thea Vlieland of Leiden University Medical Centre.

The positive effects on muscle strength and aerobic capacity could be translated into an improvement in the activities of daily living, and this is what really makes a difference in your life, Vlieland says. ( health24.com )

READ MORE - 20 proven benefits of exercise