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HKofsesshoumaru

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  1. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from Sledgstone in im back!   
    Hi MYK JL:yes I remember u. Oh the fun I had here. Hi strider how r u? Hey sledgestone. Life is good! Im working and now living in the san diego area. California love. My kids r 9 and 5. Married 6 years. Not a perfect marriage we have our issues but we will see what happens with that. I dont want to whine like I used to. Oh wow was I crazy girl. I was 23 or 24 when I started here. Now im 32. What i would give to be 23 again!
  2. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from Sledgstone in Ignore Expiration dates?   
    Ignore Expiration Dates"Best by," "Sell by," and all those other labels mean very little.
    By Nadia ArumugamUpdated Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, at 10:18 AM ET
    Expiration dates mean very littleThere's a filet mignon in my fridge that expired four days ago, but it seems OK to me. I take a hesitant whiff and detect no putrid odor of rotting flesh, no oozing, fetid cow juice—just the full-bodied aroma of well-aged meat. A feast for one; I retrieve my frying pan. This is not an isolated experiment or a sad symptom of my radical frugality. With a spirit of teenage rebellion, I disavow any regard for expiration dates.
    The fact is that expiration dates mean very little. Food starts to deteriorate from the moment it's harvested, butchered, or processed, but the rate at which it spoils depends less on time than on the conditions under which it's stored. Moisture and warmth are especially detrimental. A package of ground meat, say, will stay fresher longer if placed near the coldest part of a refrigerator (below 40 degrees Fahrenheit), than next to the heat-emitting light bulb. Besides, as University of Minnesota food scientist Ted Labuza explained to me, expiration dates address quality—optimum freshness—rather than safety and are extremely conservative. To account for all manner of consumer, manufacturers imagine how the laziest people with the most undesirable kitchens might store and handle their food, then test their products based on these criteria.

    [/url]

    With perishables like milk and meat, most responsible consumers (those who refrigerate their groceries as soon as they get home, for instance) have a three–to-seven-day grace period after the "Sell by" date has elapsed. As for pre-packaged greens, studies show that nutrient loss in vegetables is linked to a decline in appearance. When your broccoli florets yellow or your green beans shrivel, this signals a depletion of vitamins. But if they haven't lost their looks, ignore the printed date. Pasta and rice will taste fine for a year. Unopened packs of cookies are edible for months before the fat oxidizes and they turn rancid. Pancake and cake mixes have at least six months. Canned items are potentially the safest foods around and will keep five years or more if stored in a cold pantry. Labuza recalls a seven-year-old can of chicken chunks he ate recently. "It tasted just like chicken," he said.
    Not only are expiration dates misleading, but there's no uniformity in their inaccuracy. Some manufacturers prefer the elusive "Best if used by," others opt for the imperative "Use by," and then there are those who litter their goods with the most unhelpful "Sell by" stamps. (I'm happy my bodega owner is clear on when to dump, but what about me?) Such disparities are a consequence of the fact that, with the exception of infant formula and some baby foods, package dates are unregulated by the federal government. And while some states do exercise oversight, there's no standardization. A handful of states, including Massachusetts and West Virginia, and Washington, D.C., require dating of some form for perishable foods. Twenty states insist on dating for milk products, but each has distinct regulations. Milk heading for consumers in Connecticut must bear a "Sell by" date not more than 12 days from the day of pasteurization. Dairies serving Pennsylvania must conform to 14 days.
    That dates feature so prolifically is almost entirely due to industry practices voluntarily adopted by manufacturers and grocery stores. As America urbanized in the early 20th century, town and city dwellers resorted more and more to processed food. In the 1930s, the magazine Consumer Reports argued that Americans increasingly looked to expiration dates as an indication of freshness and quality. Supermarkets responded and in the 1970s some chains implemented their own dating systems. Despite the fact that in the '70s and '80s consumer groups and processors held hearings to establish a federally regulated system, nothing came of them.
    These dates have no real legal meaning, either. Only last year, 7th Circuit Judge Richard Posner reversed the conviction of a wily entrepreneur who'd relabeled 1.6 million bottles of Henri's salad dressing with a new "Best when purchased by" date. Posner decided that the prosecutor had unjustly condemned the dressing as rancid, rotten, and harmful, when in fact there was no evidence to suggest that the mature product posed a safety threat.
    Expiration dates are intended to inspire confidence, but they only invest us with a false sense of security. The reality is that the onus lies with consumers to judge and maintain the freshness and edibility of their food—by checking for offensive slime, rank smells, and off colors. Perhaps, then, we should do away with dates altogether and have packages equipped with more instructive guidance on properly storing foods, and on detecting spoilage. Better yet, we should focus our efforts on what really matters to our health—not spoilage bacteria, which are fairly docile, but their malevolent counterparts: disease-causing pathogens like salmonella and Listeria, which infect the food we eat not because it's old but as a result of unsanitary conditions at factories or elsewhere along the supply chain. A new system that could somehow prevent the next E. coli outbreak would be far more useful to consumers than a fairly arbitrary set of labels that merely (try to) guarantee taste.
  3. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from Kite in Wow freak out   
    I would love to set up a camera in the house when I cancel my husband"s WOW account. Lmao.
    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-WzSgQ3Tec]YouTube- Biggest freak out ever[/ame]
  4. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from CabbitGirl in Wow freak out   
    I would love to set up a camera in the house when I cancel my husband"s WOW account. Lmao.
    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-WzSgQ3Tec]YouTube- Biggest freak out ever[/ame]
  5. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from Sledgstone in Wow freak out   
    I would love to set up a camera in the house when I cancel my husband"s WOW account. Lmao.
    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-WzSgQ3Tec]YouTube- Biggest freak out ever[/ame]
  6. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru reacted to Ladywriter in Leap   
    DKtbWv9q9O0


  7. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from DeathscytheX in Don't eat the peanut butter!!!!! FDA WARNING!!!!   
    Don't eat peanut butter, FDA official warns
    Nationwide salmonella outbreak has killed 6, sickened hundreds
    msnbc.com news services
    updated 10 minutes ago
    WASHINGTON - Federal health authorities on Saturday urged consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods that contain peanut butter until authorities can learn more about a deadly outbreak of salmonella contamination.
    "We urge consumers to postpone eating any products that may contain peanut butter until additional information becomes available," said Stephen Sundlof, head of the Food and Drug Administration's food safety center.
    But most peanut butter sold in jars at supermarkets appears to be safe, Sundlof said.
    Story continues below ↓
    "As of now, there is no indication that the major national name-brand jars of peanut butter sold in retails stores are linked to the recall," Sundlof told reporters in a conference call.
    Officials are focusing on peanut paste, as well as peanut butter, produced at a Blakely, Ga., facility owned by Peanut Corp. of America. Its peanut butter is not sold directly to consumers but distributed to institutions and food companies. But the peanut paste, made from roasted peanuts, is an ingredient in cookies, cakes and other products that people buy in the supermarket.
    “This is an excellent illustration of an ingredient-driven outbreak,” said Dr. Robert Tauxe, who oversees foodborne illness investigations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    So far, more than 470 people have gotten sick in 43 states, and at least 90 had to be hospitalized. At least six deaths are being blamed on the outbreak. Salmonella is a bacteria and the most common source of food poisoning in the U.S., causing diarrhea, cramping and fever.
    Officials said new illnesses are still being reported in the outbreak investigation.
    The Kellogg Co., which listed Peanut Corp. as one of its suppliers, has recalled 16 products. They include Austin and Keebler branded Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, and some snack-size packs of Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies. Health officials said consumers who have bought any of those products should throw them away.

    Elliott Minor / AP


    The Peanut Corp. of America plant is seen on Thursday in Blakely, Ga. The company voluntarily recalled peanut butter produced at the plant, pending the outcome of an investigation of a salmonella outbreak.
    Peanut Corp. has recalled all peanut butter produced at the Georgia plant since Aug. 8 and all peanut paste produced since Sept. 26. The plant passed its last state inspection this summer, but recent tests have found salmonella.
    Health officials are focusing on 30 companies out of a total of 85 that received peanut products from the Georgia plant. Sundlof said Peanut Corp. is a relatively small supplier on the national scene.
    The Midwest supermaket chain Hy-Vee Inc. of West Des Moines, Iowa, said Saturday it was voluntarily recalling products made in its bakery departments with peanut butter because they had the potential to be contaminated with salmonella. The recall covered seven states: Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota.
    The outbreak has triggered a congressional inquiry and renewed calls for reform of food safety laws. For example, the FDA lacks authority to order a recall, and instead must ask companies to voluntarily withdraw products.
    “Given the numerous food-borne illness outbreaks over the past several years, it is becoming painfully clear that the current regulatory structure is antiquated and ill-equipped to handle these extensive investigations,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who chairs a panel that oversees the FDA budget.
    Seattle-area lawyer William Marler, who specializes in food safety cases, said the government shouldn’t wait for the results of more tests to request recalls.
    “At least 30 companies purchased peanut butter or paste from a facility with a documented link to a nationwide salmonella outbreak,” said Marler. “The FDA has the authority actually, the mandate to request recalls if the public health is threatened. Instead, the FDA has asked the companies to test their products and consider voluntary recalls. It is just not enough.”
    Click for related content
    Test: Some peanut butter at Ga. plant tainted
    Kellogg pulls crackers over salmonella worries
    Salmonella outbreak: 1 in 5 victims in hospital
    WHO: More research on foodborne ills needed
    Health officials in Minnesota and Virginia have linked two deaths each to the outbreak and Idaho has reported one. Four of those five were elderly people, and all had salmonella when they died, although their exact causes of death have not been determined. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the salmonella may have contributed.
    An elderly North Carolina man died in November from the same strain of salmonella that’s causing the outbreak, officials in that state said Friday.
    The CDC said the bacteria behind the outbreak — typhimurium — is common and not an unusually dangerous strain but that the elderly or those with weakened immune systems are more at risk.
    Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
    :huh:Guess I'll skip those Nutter Butters cookies...
  8. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from Sledgstone in Don't eat the peanut butter!!!!! FDA WARNING!!!!   
    Don't eat peanut butter, FDA official warns
    Nationwide salmonella outbreak has killed 6, sickened hundreds
    msnbc.com news services
    updated 10 minutes ago
    WASHINGTON - Federal health authorities on Saturday urged consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods that contain peanut butter until authorities can learn more about a deadly outbreak of salmonella contamination.
    "We urge consumers to postpone eating any products that may contain peanut butter until additional information becomes available," said Stephen Sundlof, head of the Food and Drug Administration's food safety center.
    But most peanut butter sold in jars at supermarkets appears to be safe, Sundlof said.
    Story continues below ↓
    "As of now, there is no indication that the major national name-brand jars of peanut butter sold in retails stores are linked to the recall," Sundlof told reporters in a conference call.
    Officials are focusing on peanut paste, as well as peanut butter, produced at a Blakely, Ga., facility owned by Peanut Corp. of America. Its peanut butter is not sold directly to consumers but distributed to institutions and food companies. But the peanut paste, made from roasted peanuts, is an ingredient in cookies, cakes and other products that people buy in the supermarket.
    “This is an excellent illustration of an ingredient-driven outbreak,” said Dr. Robert Tauxe, who oversees foodborne illness investigations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    So far, more than 470 people have gotten sick in 43 states, and at least 90 had to be hospitalized. At least six deaths are being blamed on the outbreak. Salmonella is a bacteria and the most common source of food poisoning in the U.S., causing diarrhea, cramping and fever.
    Officials said new illnesses are still being reported in the outbreak investigation.
    The Kellogg Co., which listed Peanut Corp. as one of its suppliers, has recalled 16 products. They include Austin and Keebler branded Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, and some snack-size packs of Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies. Health officials said consumers who have bought any of those products should throw them away.

    Elliott Minor / AP


    The Peanut Corp. of America plant is seen on Thursday in Blakely, Ga. The company voluntarily recalled peanut butter produced at the plant, pending the outcome of an investigation of a salmonella outbreak.
    Peanut Corp. has recalled all peanut butter produced at the Georgia plant since Aug. 8 and all peanut paste produced since Sept. 26. The plant passed its last state inspection this summer, but recent tests have found salmonella.
    Health officials are focusing on 30 companies out of a total of 85 that received peanut products from the Georgia plant. Sundlof said Peanut Corp. is a relatively small supplier on the national scene.
    The Midwest supermaket chain Hy-Vee Inc. of West Des Moines, Iowa, said Saturday it was voluntarily recalling products made in its bakery departments with peanut butter because they had the potential to be contaminated with salmonella. The recall covered seven states: Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota.
    The outbreak has triggered a congressional inquiry and renewed calls for reform of food safety laws. For example, the FDA lacks authority to order a recall, and instead must ask companies to voluntarily withdraw products.
    “Given the numerous food-borne illness outbreaks over the past several years, it is becoming painfully clear that the current regulatory structure is antiquated and ill-equipped to handle these extensive investigations,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who chairs a panel that oversees the FDA budget.
    Seattle-area lawyer William Marler, who specializes in food safety cases, said the government shouldn’t wait for the results of more tests to request recalls.
    “At least 30 companies purchased peanut butter or paste from a facility with a documented link to a nationwide salmonella outbreak,” said Marler. “The FDA has the authority actually, the mandate to request recalls if the public health is threatened. Instead, the FDA has asked the companies to test their products and consider voluntary recalls. It is just not enough.”
    Click for related content
    Test: Some peanut butter at Ga. plant tainted
    Kellogg pulls crackers over salmonella worries
    Salmonella outbreak: 1 in 5 victims in hospital
    WHO: More research on foodborne ills needed
    Health officials in Minnesota and Virginia have linked two deaths each to the outbreak and Idaho has reported one. Four of those five were elderly people, and all had salmonella when they died, although their exact causes of death have not been determined. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the salmonella may have contributed.
    An elderly North Carolina man died in November from the same strain of salmonella that’s causing the outbreak, officials in that state said Friday.
    The CDC said the bacteria behind the outbreak — typhimurium — is common and not an unusually dangerous strain but that the elderly or those with weakened immune systems are more at risk.
    Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
    :huh:Guess I'll skip those Nutter Butters cookies...
  9. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from Sledgstone in Drug recall for several over the counter products. Please read!   
    I got an email about this today so I did a little research. Here is what I found. I figured I would post this anyway just in case some of you did not know about this.
    You may have heard this, or noticed that these products have been removed from the shelves.
    Discard these Medications
    subject: Phenylpropanolamine
    Stop taking anything containing this ingredient. It has been linked to increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in brain) among women ages 18-49 in the three days after starting use of medication. Problems were not found in men, but the FDA recommended that everyone (even children) seek alternative medicine. The following medications contain Phenylpropanolamine:
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Children's Cold Medicine Effervescent
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold medicine (cherry or orange)
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine Original
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough Medicine Effervescent
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Flu Medicine Effervescent
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Sinus Effervescent
    Alka Seltzer Plus Nighttime cold Medicine Effervescent
    BC Allergy Sinus Cold Powder
    BC Sinus Cold Powder
    Comtrex Deep Chest Cold & Congestion Relief
    Comtrex Flu Therapy & Fever Relief Day & Night
    Contac 12-Hour Cold Capsules
    Contac 12 Hour Caplets
    Coricidin D Cold, Flu & Sinus
    Dimetapp Cold & Allergy Chewable Tablets
    Dimetapp Cold & Cough Liqui-Gels
    Dimetapp DM cold & Cough Elixir
    Dimetapp Elixir
    Dimetapp 4 Hour Liqui Gels
    Dimetapp 4 Hour Tablets
    Dimetapp 12 Hour Extentabs Tablets
    Naldecon DX Pediatric Drops
    Permathene Mega-16
    Robitussin CF
    Tavist-D 12 Hour Relief of Sinus & Nasal Congestion
    Triaminic DM Cough Relief
    Triaminic Expectorant Chest & Head Congestion
    Triaminic Syrup Cold & Allergy
    Triaminic Triaminicol Cold & Cough
    Acutrim Diet Gum Appetite Suppressant Plus
    Dietary Supplements
    Acutrim Maximum Strength Appetite Control
    Dexatrim Caffeine Free
    Dexatrim Extended Duration
    Dexatrim Gelcaps
    Dexatrim Vitamin C/Caffeine Free
    Please discard any of these medications as soon as possible
    Update: Most if not all of the products listed above which formerly contained phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride have been reformulated to eliminate the ingredient. Consumer questions about phenylpropanolamine and its potential health hazards may be directed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at 1-888-INFO-FDA.
    Some manufacturers of over-the-counter medicines containing phenylpropanolamine have offered refunds to consumers who purchased the products before they were voluntarily recalled in late 2000. To inquire about the availability of such refunds, dial the 800-number for consumer questions listed on the product packaging.
    Comments by Carla Homan: This email has it mostly right. In November 2000, the FDA issued a public health advisory about phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride (PPA), the drug mentioned in the email. This drug is found in many over the counter (OTC) medicines, specifically in cold and flu remedies, as well as appetite suppressants. The drug will likely be banned, but because this process takes time, the FDA issued the health advisory in the meantime and manufacturers are voluntarily recalling and/or reformulating medicines containing PPA.
    The main problem with this drug is that it elevates your risk of having a hemorrhagic stroke, especially with (but not limited to) first time use among women. Because the uses of PPA are not serious enough to warrant taking even that small chance, the FDA recommends that you stop taking any medications containing the drug.
    Rather than looking at a limited list such as the one contained in the above email, you'd be better off checking the package of any cold, flu or appetite suppressant medication for the drug, which will appear in the list of active ingredients and may be listed as phenylpropanolamine, phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride, or phenylpropanolamine bitartrate. Many manufacturers offer several formulations of their cold and flu remedies, some of which do not contain PPA. Pseudoephedrine is an effective alternative to PPA for use in cold and flue preparations, but unfortunately, there is no approved alternative OTC drug for use in appetite suppressants. Therefore, if you are using any OTC medications to suppress your appetite for weight loss or other reasons, you should stop using the medicine and talk to your doctor about getting a prescription drug instead. Additionally, some prescription decongestants and cold and flu preparations contain PPA, so if you are using any prescription medicines for these purposes, talk to the prescribing doctor to see if you should continue using the medicine.
    One word of caution: Though the email states your risk is for "increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in brain) among women ages 18-49 in the three days after starting use of medication," don't think you are safe if you've used the drug for longer than three days. The three-day window was merely one of the guidelines used in the study that prompted the health advisory; for the study, they defined PPA exposure as having used PPA within three days prior to the stroke. Risk of stroke may be present after three days of use. For detailed information, see the final report of the Hemorrhagic Stroke Project, Web-published by the FDA.
    As always, your best resources for reliable information on medicines and medical conditions are your own physician and pharmacist.
  10. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from DeathscytheX in Drug recall for several over the counter products. Please read!   
    I got an email about this today so I did a little research. Here is what I found. I figured I would post this anyway just in case some of you did not know about this.
    You may have heard this, or noticed that these products have been removed from the shelves.
    Discard these Medications
    subject: Phenylpropanolamine
    Stop taking anything containing this ingredient. It has been linked to increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in brain) among women ages 18-49 in the three days after starting use of medication. Problems were not found in men, but the FDA recommended that everyone (even children) seek alternative medicine. The following medications contain Phenylpropanolamine:
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Children's Cold Medicine Effervescent
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold medicine (cherry or orange)
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine Original
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough Medicine Effervescent
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Flu Medicine Effervescent
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Sinus Effervescent
    Alka Seltzer Plus Nighttime cold Medicine Effervescent
    BC Allergy Sinus Cold Powder
    BC Sinus Cold Powder
    Comtrex Deep Chest Cold & Congestion Relief
    Comtrex Flu Therapy & Fever Relief Day & Night
    Contac 12-Hour Cold Capsules
    Contac 12 Hour Caplets
    Coricidin D Cold, Flu & Sinus
    Dimetapp Cold & Allergy Chewable Tablets
    Dimetapp Cold & Cough Liqui-Gels
    Dimetapp DM cold & Cough Elixir
    Dimetapp Elixir
    Dimetapp 4 Hour Liqui Gels
    Dimetapp 4 Hour Tablets
    Dimetapp 12 Hour Extentabs Tablets
    Naldecon DX Pediatric Drops
    Permathene Mega-16
    Robitussin CF
    Tavist-D 12 Hour Relief of Sinus & Nasal Congestion
    Triaminic DM Cough Relief
    Triaminic Expectorant Chest & Head Congestion
    Triaminic Syrup Cold & Allergy
    Triaminic Triaminicol Cold & Cough
    Acutrim Diet Gum Appetite Suppressant Plus
    Dietary Supplements
    Acutrim Maximum Strength Appetite Control
    Dexatrim Caffeine Free
    Dexatrim Extended Duration
    Dexatrim Gelcaps
    Dexatrim Vitamin C/Caffeine Free
    Please discard any of these medications as soon as possible
    Update: Most if not all of the products listed above which formerly contained phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride have been reformulated to eliminate the ingredient. Consumer questions about phenylpropanolamine and its potential health hazards may be directed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at 1-888-INFO-FDA.
    Some manufacturers of over-the-counter medicines containing phenylpropanolamine have offered refunds to consumers who purchased the products before they were voluntarily recalled in late 2000. To inquire about the availability of such refunds, dial the 800-number for consumer questions listed on the product packaging.
    Comments by Carla Homan: This email has it mostly right. In November 2000, the FDA issued a public health advisory about phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride (PPA), the drug mentioned in the email. This drug is found in many over the counter (OTC) medicines, specifically in cold and flu remedies, as well as appetite suppressants. The drug will likely be banned, but because this process takes time, the FDA issued the health advisory in the meantime and manufacturers are voluntarily recalling and/or reformulating medicines containing PPA.
    The main problem with this drug is that it elevates your risk of having a hemorrhagic stroke, especially with (but not limited to) first time use among women. Because the uses of PPA are not serious enough to warrant taking even that small chance, the FDA recommends that you stop taking any medications containing the drug.
    Rather than looking at a limited list such as the one contained in the above email, you'd be better off checking the package of any cold, flu or appetite suppressant medication for the drug, which will appear in the list of active ingredients and may be listed as phenylpropanolamine, phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride, or phenylpropanolamine bitartrate. Many manufacturers offer several formulations of their cold and flu remedies, some of which do not contain PPA. Pseudoephedrine is an effective alternative to PPA for use in cold and flue preparations, but unfortunately, there is no approved alternative OTC drug for use in appetite suppressants. Therefore, if you are using any OTC medications to suppress your appetite for weight loss or other reasons, you should stop using the medicine and talk to your doctor about getting a prescription drug instead. Additionally, some prescription decongestants and cold and flu preparations contain PPA, so if you are using any prescription medicines for these purposes, talk to the prescribing doctor to see if you should continue using the medicine.
    One word of caution: Though the email states your risk is for "increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in brain) among women ages 18-49 in the three days after starting use of medication," don't think you are safe if you've used the drug for longer than three days. The three-day window was merely one of the guidelines used in the study that prompted the health advisory; for the study, they defined PPA exposure as having used PPA within three days prior to the stroke. Risk of stroke may be present after three days of use. For detailed information, see the final report of the Hemorrhagic Stroke Project, Web-published by the FDA.
    As always, your best resources for reliable information on medicines and medical conditions are your own physician and pharmacist.
  11. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from Ladywriter in Drug recall for several over the counter products. Please read!   
    I got an email about this today so I did a little research. Here is what I found. I figured I would post this anyway just in case some of you did not know about this.
    You may have heard this, or noticed that these products have been removed from the shelves.
    Discard these Medications
    subject: Phenylpropanolamine
    Stop taking anything containing this ingredient. It has been linked to increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in brain) among women ages 18-49 in the three days after starting use of medication. Problems were not found in men, but the FDA recommended that everyone (even children) seek alternative medicine. The following medications contain Phenylpropanolamine:
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Children's Cold Medicine Effervescent
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold medicine (cherry or orange)
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine Original
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough Medicine Effervescent
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Flu Medicine Effervescent
    Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Sinus Effervescent
    Alka Seltzer Plus Nighttime cold Medicine Effervescent
    BC Allergy Sinus Cold Powder
    BC Sinus Cold Powder
    Comtrex Deep Chest Cold & Congestion Relief
    Comtrex Flu Therapy & Fever Relief Day & Night
    Contac 12-Hour Cold Capsules
    Contac 12 Hour Caplets
    Coricidin D Cold, Flu & Sinus
    Dimetapp Cold & Allergy Chewable Tablets
    Dimetapp Cold & Cough Liqui-Gels
    Dimetapp DM cold & Cough Elixir
    Dimetapp Elixir
    Dimetapp 4 Hour Liqui Gels
    Dimetapp 4 Hour Tablets
    Dimetapp 12 Hour Extentabs Tablets
    Naldecon DX Pediatric Drops
    Permathene Mega-16
    Robitussin CF
    Tavist-D 12 Hour Relief of Sinus & Nasal Congestion
    Triaminic DM Cough Relief
    Triaminic Expectorant Chest & Head Congestion
    Triaminic Syrup Cold & Allergy
    Triaminic Triaminicol Cold & Cough
    Acutrim Diet Gum Appetite Suppressant Plus
    Dietary Supplements
    Acutrim Maximum Strength Appetite Control
    Dexatrim Caffeine Free
    Dexatrim Extended Duration
    Dexatrim Gelcaps
    Dexatrim Vitamin C/Caffeine Free
    Please discard any of these medications as soon as possible
    Update: Most if not all of the products listed above which formerly contained phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride have been reformulated to eliminate the ingredient. Consumer questions about phenylpropanolamine and its potential health hazards may be directed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at 1-888-INFO-FDA.
    Some manufacturers of over-the-counter medicines containing phenylpropanolamine have offered refunds to consumers who purchased the products before they were voluntarily recalled in late 2000. To inquire about the availability of such refunds, dial the 800-number for consumer questions listed on the product packaging.
    Comments by Carla Homan: This email has it mostly right. In November 2000, the FDA issued a public health advisory about phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride (PPA), the drug mentioned in the email. This drug is found in many over the counter (OTC) medicines, specifically in cold and flu remedies, as well as appetite suppressants. The drug will likely be banned, but because this process takes time, the FDA issued the health advisory in the meantime and manufacturers are voluntarily recalling and/or reformulating medicines containing PPA.
    The main problem with this drug is that it elevates your risk of having a hemorrhagic stroke, especially with (but not limited to) first time use among women. Because the uses of PPA are not serious enough to warrant taking even that small chance, the FDA recommends that you stop taking any medications containing the drug.
    Rather than looking at a limited list such as the one contained in the above email, you'd be better off checking the package of any cold, flu or appetite suppressant medication for the drug, which will appear in the list of active ingredients and may be listed as phenylpropanolamine, phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride, or phenylpropanolamine bitartrate. Many manufacturers offer several formulations of their cold and flu remedies, some of which do not contain PPA. Pseudoephedrine is an effective alternative to PPA for use in cold and flue preparations, but unfortunately, there is no approved alternative OTC drug for use in appetite suppressants. Therefore, if you are using any OTC medications to suppress your appetite for weight loss or other reasons, you should stop using the medicine and talk to your doctor about getting a prescription drug instead. Additionally, some prescription decongestants and cold and flu preparations contain PPA, so if you are using any prescription medicines for these purposes, talk to the prescribing doctor to see if you should continue using the medicine.
    One word of caution: Though the email states your risk is for "increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in brain) among women ages 18-49 in the three days after starting use of medication," don't think you are safe if you've used the drug for longer than three days. The three-day window was merely one of the guidelines used in the study that prompted the health advisory; for the study, they defined PPA exposure as having used PPA within three days prior to the stroke. Risk of stroke may be present after three days of use. For detailed information, see the final report of the Hemorrhagic Stroke Project, Web-published by the FDA.
    As always, your best resources for reliable information on medicines and medical conditions are your own physician and pharmacist.
  12. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from Sledgstone in Candy Recall!!   
    Sherwood Brands Pirate's Gold Milk Chocolate Coins may be Contaminated with Melamine
    OTTAWA, October 8, 2008 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume, distribute, or sell the Sherwood Brands Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins described below. This product is being recalled due to positive test results for melamine conducted by the CFIA.
    The affected product, Sherwood Brands Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins, is sold in 840g containers containing 240 pieces per container bearing UPC 0 36077 11240 7 and lot code 1928S1.
    This product is sold nationally through Costco stores and may also have been sold in bulk packages or as individual pieces at various dollar and bulk stores across Canada.
    If the original product identity and UPC code is not evident, consumers are advised to check with their retailer to determine if they have the affected product.
    Retailers and distributors are advised to stop distributing Sherwood Brands Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins and to initiate a voluntary recall of this product. The CFIA will be working with the importers to remove the affected product from the marketplace.
    There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.
    Although the health risk associated with these products is considered to be low, the advisory is being issued as a result of the Government of Canada’s ongoing investigation into milk and milk-derived products sourced in/from China that may have been distributed in Canada.
    The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.
    Melamine is a chemical compound used in a number of commercial and industrial applications. Canada does not allow its use as a food ingredient.
    For more information consumers and industry can call the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).
    For information on receiving recalls by e-mail, or for other food safety facts, visit our web site at www.inspection.gc.ca.
    -30-
    Media Inquiries:
    Garfield Balsom
    Canadian Food Inspection Agency
    Office of Food Safety and Recall
    613-760-4232
    Jean-Louis Michaud
    Canadian Food Inspection Agency
    Operations Co-ordination – Quebec Area
    1-866-806-4115
    Right before Halloween too!!
  13. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from Ladywriter in Bottle Water: No better than tap   
    Bottled water has contaminants too, study finds
    By JEFF DONN, AP National Writer Posted Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:17pm PDT
    6 votes
    Buzz up!
    Sweden's second city Gothenburg has decided to stop buying bottled water due to environmental concerns and will only provide civil servants with tap water, a city councillor said Thursday.(AFP/File/Teh Eng Koon)
    - Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants often found in tap water, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group.
    The findings challenge the popular impression — and marketing pitch — that bottled water is purer than tap water, the researchers say.
    However, all the brands met federal health standards for drinking water. Two violated a California state standard, the study said.
    An industry group branded the findings "alarmist." Joe Doss, president of the International Bottled Water Association, said the study is based on the faulty premise that a contaminant is a health concern "even if it does not exceed the established regulatory limit or no standard has been set."
    The study's lab tests on 10 brands of bottled water detected 38 chemicals including bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making chemicals and the radioactive element strontium. Though some probably came from tap water that some companies use for their bottled water, other contaminants probably leached from plastic bottles, the researchers said.
    "In some cases, it appears bottled water is no less polluted than tap water and, at 1,900 times the cost, consumers should expect better," said Jane Houlihan, an environmental engineer who co-authored the study.
    The two-year study was done by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group, an organization founded by scientists that advocates stricter regulation. It found the contaminants in bottled water purchased in nine states and Washington, D.C.
    Researchers tested one batch for each of 10 brands. Eight did not have contaminants high enough to warrant further testing. But two brands did, so more tests were done and those revealed chlorine byproducts above California's standard, the group reported. The researchers identified those two brands as Sam's Choice sold by Wal-Mart and Acadia of Giant Food supermarkets.
    In the Wal-Mart and Giant Food bottled water, the highest concentration of chlorine byproducts, known as trihalomethanes, was over 35 parts per billion. California's limit is 10 parts per billion or less, and the industry's International Bottled Water Association makes 10 its voluntary guideline. The federal limit is 80.
    Wal-Mart said its own studies did not turn up illegal levels of contaminants. Giant Food officials released a statement asserting that Acadia meets all regulatory standards. Acadia is sold in the mid-Atlantic states, so it isn't held to California's standard. In most places, bottled water must meet roughly the same federal standards as tap water.
    The researchers also said the Wal-Mart brand was five times California's limit for one particular chlorine byproduct, bromodichloromethane. The environmental group wants Wal-Mart to label its bottles in California with a warning because the chlorine-based contaminants have been linked with cancer. It has filed a notice of intent to sue.
    Wal-Mart spokeswoman Shannon Frederick said the company was "puzzled" by the findings because testing by suppliers and another lab had detected no "reportable amounts" of such contaminants. She said Wal-Mart would investigate further but defended the quality of its bottled water.
    The researchers recommend that people worried about water contaminants drink tap water with a carbon filter.
    **why am I not surprised?
  14. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from gokuDX7 in Why men crave "real" bodies.   
    I found this article on MSN today and I thought it was kind of a good topic because so many women (and men too, believe or not) are obsessed with their appearence. I have to admit I had a HUGE body over haul plan with a laundry list of surgeries I wanted even though my husband is very much against it. It's fun to dream but after watching a few of how some of these surgeries are done, the scar tissue and possible side effects, I think I'm going to save myself the trouble. Not to mention the money.

    ~HK
    Why Men Crave Real (Not Perfect) Bodies
    Actor Gabriel Olds has dated his fair share of surgically enhanced women. Now he tells us why most men prefer the real deal—“flaws” and all.
    I met Tessa* at a premiere party in Hollywood several summers ago. It was held in a decked-out airline hangar, and everything, from the stunning cocktail waitresses to the champagne fountain, was over-the-top. But even in the midst of all that glitz, Tessa was the main attraction. She was a slender, vibrant redhead in a bright orange dress—you couldn’t miss her. After a few minutes of sneaking nervous glances in her direction, I got up the guts to approach. "You’re wearing my favorite color," I said. "I like orange because it rhymes with—"
    More from Glamour

    <LI class=first> 16 Sneaky, Sexy Acts of Seduction
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    "Nothing," she finished. The spark was undeniable. Tessa was smart—an investment banker—and had a great laugh. Somehow, she was still single. When she casually slipped me her card at the end of the night, I was ecstatic.
    On our date the following week, things got even better. Tessa wore a clingy black dress, and over dinner she lit up with stories of four-million-a-minute losses in the futures market. Sexy. When she asked me back to her place after the check came, I couldn’t say yes fast enough. Soon, as we stood in her hallway, groping each other like teenagers, my hand fumbled to her chest, anticipating the plush, nurturing flesh of her…
    Wait a minute. Was her breast rippled? As I felt the telltale implant bag under her skin, I thought, Damn it—fake boobs. My mind overflowed with images of hospitals and scalpels. I froze up, and Tessa noticed.
    "You’re acting weird," she said.
    "I am not. I mean, maybe I am. It’s just, um, are these, uh," I stammered, still sheepishly groping at her chest.
    "Are you frisking me?" she asked.
    I stammered on.
    "Get out," she said.
    Before I knew what had hit me, I was back in my car, driving away from the first woman who’d sparked my interest in months. What just happened? Was I really going to let plastic surgery get in the way of my search for love—again?
    That’s right. Tessa wasn’t the first surgically enhanced woman I’d dated, and she wouldn’t be the last. Let me explain: I’m an actor in my thirties, and I live in Los Angeles, a town that seems overrun with silicone. Before I met Tessa I’d already dated women with nose jobs, huge breast enhancements and lips plumped to bee-stung proportions. With each of these women, I’d tell myself that what they did with their bodies was their choice, that it wasn’t my place to judge. But then questions would fill my head: Is this woman really who she seems to be? Am I dating the person or the persona? Inevitably my attraction to them floundered, and the relationship did too. I had, it seemed, a real issue with all the nipping and tucking going on in the dating world. And this wasn’t just an L.A. phenomenon either—I have college friends who’ve noticed the same trend in America’s heartland. In 2006, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there were nearly 11 million cosmetic procedures in the U.S.—that’s nearly a 50 percent increase from 2000.
    Certainly, men are partially responsible for this trend. We can be superficial creatures: abandoning faithful life partners for younger, prettier versions, TiVo-ing Skinemax movies and wondering why we, mere mortals, aren’t married to the likes of Jenna Jameson. But as much as we lust after images of hyper-real beauty in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue or even in the apartments or cubicles next door, we don’t quite know how to react when those unreal bodies actually belong to the woman in our lives.
    Was surgery something I could handle? Or was it time to start looking for a "natural" woman, "flaws" and all? It would take me three more relationships and a handful of blunders to figure that out—starting with Mia…
    Page 2
    met Mia soon after the Tessa "frisking" incident, and I was relieved that all of her looked and felt natural. She was pretty and feisty, cracking me up with stories about her two schnauzers with rhyming names. Within weeks of meeting, we were an item, taking weekend trips and storing toothbrushes at each other’s apartments. So imagine my surprise when, during a rainy day many months later, Mia decided to show me an old photo album—and I didn’t recognize anyone in the pictures. "Where are you?" I asked.
    Silence.
    Finally, she laughed nervously and said, "I’m right there, silly." I looked closer.
    Same hair, same smile, but when I finally focused between her eyes, I blurted, "You had a nose job?!"
    I was baffled, and more than a little hurt. We’d been dating for almost a year. She’d trusted me enough to tell me about losing her virginity and her secret dreams of moving to Spain, so why hadn’t she trusted me enough to tell me about her surgery? She made light of it, and insisted there was nothing to talk about, but I couldn’t let it go. It seemed dishonest. A lie by omission, surely—but also a lost opportunity for intimacy. Why had she gotten the nose job? How did it feel before and after? These were things I wanted to know. And once I realized she didn’t feel the need to share them with me, the trust between us was gone. Our relationship ended pretty quickly after that.
    Trying to see past the nips and tucks
    Not long after things went south with Mia, I met an ad executive who was elegant and quirky (one of my favorite combinations) and whose proportions seemed perfectly normal. I asked her to dinner, and we met a few weeks later at a Japanese restaurant. But something was different about her that night. As she nibbled at a bowl of edamame, I figured it out: Her lower lip seemed much fuller than it was the first time we’d met—it looked like the mouths of actresses I’d worked with who’d gotten collagen and talked about it openly. And since those actresses were so comfortable discussing it, I felt comfortable asking the ad exec, "When’d you get your work done?"
    "Work done?" she shot back. "Who do you think I am, a stripper?" I was beginning to get the picture: Women might chat about their surgery—or adventures at the dermatologist’s office—with near strangers, but the new guy they’re dating is probably the last person they feel like sharing with. If I wanted to know whether my date still had all her God-given parts, I needed to figure it out from visual cues alone. When it came to implants, if the boobs were pert with no bra: fake. If they were too rounded on top: fake. Needless to say, my obsession with all of this became a topic of great amusement for my coupled friends. "What was it this time, Gabe?" they’d ask when we gathered for dinner.
    Page 3
    Then I met Callie, who didn’t make me guess. She singled me out at a friend’s birthday party, regaling me with childhood stories, most of which involved some sort of brawl. "By the way," Callie suddenly said, "these fake boobs are so not me." This was a change: I’d hardly had time to notice her breasts—all my attempts to check her out discreetly had been foiled by her gaze, and she was already revealing that they weren’t real. Her forthrightness was a breath of fresh air, and I felt comfortable asking why she’d gotten fake boobs in the first place— if they weren’t "her"? It turned out a former boyfriend had woken her up one morning with a very romantic question: "Hey, you ever think about getting better boobs?" Callie loved this guy, and after a series of failed relationships, she wanted to please him, so she went out and bought big, D-cup implants a few months later. Unsurprisingly, they broke up soon after that, and Callie was left with a very strange relationship souvenir. Some girls have tattoos of old lovers’ names; Callie had an $8,000 pair of breasts.
    I’d started to really like Callie. And as we talked about the problems her implants caused for her—the way people took her less seriously at work, the unsettling way she no longer recognized herself in the mirror—I came to a realization about why I was so wary of women with plastic surgery. As far as I could tell, almost all the women I’d met who had changed their bodies through surgery had either done it to bandage some adolescent body issue or to make themselves more attractive to men. I didn’t like that—it didn’t seem like a celebration of beauty, but a scrambling attempt to fix something. What I wanted was to be with a woman who worshiped herself as much as I worshiped her. I mean, come on, this is the female form here, the most beautiful thing on earth. To me, surgery somehow implied a lack of confidence. It was as if something purchased to say, "Hey, check me out," actually said, "I don’t like myself very much." I knew that in some ways, this was a ridiculous generalization. Women get surgery for all kinds of reasons. Who was I to decide that every person with a chiseled nose also came with psychological baggage? But I couldn’t help it; that’s how I felt.
    When I explained this theory to Callie, she said she understood. In fact, she told me, she’d decided to get her implants removed. Great, I thought. Callie would get back her real body, and I would get a girlfriend with natural breasts. But part of her transformation, apparently, included cutting me out of her life. I’ll never know exactly why she disappeared without a word after her surgery, but I have a feeling she wanted to rethink her relationships with men—what they wanted from her, and what she was willing to do for them. I have to admit, I understand. And looking back now, I can appreciate what she taught me: that choosing to have surgery doesn’t make you a dishonest person.
    Understanding what I really needed
    After that, determined to change my dating luck, I tried looking for women outside of my Hollywood circle—at the gym, at the grocery story, even at the library. That’s where I met Kara. Kara was a novelist from New York who looked lean and fit and, best of all, completely real, in jeans and a T-shirt. When I thought about getting my hands on her au naturel parts, my mind reeled. During our second make-out session, she stopped me as my hands slipped under her shirt. "Don’t get too excited," she joked. "They’re awful." Were they? Well, one was noticeably larger than the other, and they didn’t look like breasts I was used to seeing on lingerie billboards, but I loved that they were…hers. Kara turned out to be one of the great loves of my life. We dated long distance until the lack of regular contact drove us apart. Sometimes I think I’m still not over her.
    In fact Kara (and her gorgeously imperfect body) helped me figure out that dating women who’d been under the knife would probably never feel right to me. There are a thousand enhanced goddesses out there who will one day make other men very happy. I know those women are worth dating, and I’ve fallen in love with a handful of them myself. But I’m pretty sure that the woman for me will deal with her physical peccadilloes with humor and self-acceptance, not surgery.
    This is the part I think women don’t understand. When a guy falls in love, his lover’s body parts become bewitching. I’m not going to tell you that our heads don’t turn when we see a stacked blond walking down the street. But when we fall for you—really, really fall for you—you hijack our sense of beautiful. What’s sexy to us? You—in the "before" picture.
    *Names and identifying details have been changed.
    Gabriel Olds has appeared on CSI, Law & Order: SVU and Six Feet Under. He’s usually the bad guy (on TV). His most recent film is Life of the Party.
  15. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from DeathscytheX in Napolean Dynamite's Liger is real.   
    What do you get when a male lion mates with a female tiger? A Liger!
    Check out the video!
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/6992800#6992800
  16. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from DeathscytheX in $11.00a gallon Gas prices   
    Think gas prices are high? Try $11 in Turkey
    Cars drive to a petrol station advertising: "Low Prices", in Anglet, southwestern France, Wednesday, May, 28, 2008. Consumers, gas retailers and governments are wrestling with a new energy order, where rising oil prices play a larger role than ever in the daily lives of increasingly mobile world citizens. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
    View related photos
    Bob Edme / AP
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    By ANGELA CHARLTON
    updated 4:22 p.m. PT, Fri., May. 30, 2008
    PARIS - Americans are shell-shocked at $4-a-gallon gas. But consider France, where a gallon of petrol runs nearly $10. Or Turkey, where it's more than $11.
    Drivers around the world are being pummeled by the effects of record gas prices. And now some are hitting back, staging strikes and protests from Europe to Indonesia to demand that governments do more to ease the pain.
    It's a growing problem in a world that's increasingly mobile and more vulnerable than ever to the cost of crude oil, which is racing higher by the day and showing no signs of stopping.
    Story continues below ↓ advertisement
    "I don't know why it is, but ... it hurts," said Marie Penucci, a violinist who was filling up her Volkswagen to the tune of $9.66 a gallon at an Esso station on the bypass that rings Paris.
    As she pumped, she looked wistfully at a commuter climbing onto one of the city's cheap rental bicycles, an option not open to her since she travels long distances to perform.
    As oil soars, the effect on drivers can vary widely. Taxes and subsidies that differ from nation to nation are the main reasons, along with limits in oil refining capacity and hard-to-reach places that drive up shipping costs.
    In Europe and Japan, for example, high taxes have made drivers accustomed to staggering gas prices. As a result, plenty of European adults never even bother to learn to drive, preferring cheap mass transit to getting behind the wheel.
    Those who do drive are still testing new pain thresholds. And it would be worse in Europe if the strong euro weren't cushioning the blow.
    On the other hand, in emerging economies such as China and India, government subsidies shield consumers. But that still means governments themselves have to find a way to afford the soaring market prices for oil.
    Increasingly, people around the world are reaching the boiling point — and it's not just drivers.
    Fishermen in Spain and Portugal began nationwide strikes Friday, keeping their trawlers and commercial boats docked at ports. In Madrid, demonstrators handed out 20 tons of fish in a bid to win support from the public.
    In Spain, European Union's most important producer of fish, the fishing confederation estimates fuel prices have gone up 320 percent in the past five years — so high many fishermen can no longer afford to take their boats out.
    French fishermen and farmers, who need fuel for trawlers and tractors, say their livelihoods are threatened by soaring prices and have blocked oil terminals around France and shipping traffic on the English Channel to demand government help.
    British and Bulgarian truckers are staging fuel protests, too.
    Indonesians are staging their own protests against shrinking gasoline subsidies in a nation where nearly half the population of 235 million lives on less than $2 a day.
    The world is driving more than ever: There are 887 million vehicles in the world, up from 553 million just 15 years ago, according to London consultancy Global Insight. It estimates the figure will be 1 billion four years from now.
    In Europe, the high tax burden means crude prices make up a smaller part of the retail cost of gas.
    "The pain of a rise in prices is much less in Europe, because we may be paying a lot more here, but the rise in a percentage sense is a lot smaller," said Julius Walker, oil analyst at the Paris-based International Energy Agency.
    The United States, with its relatively low taxes, is considered to have retail prices closer to what energy data charts call the "real cost" of gasoline — closely linked to the price of oil.
    So as oil prices have soared, U.S. gas prices have soared along with them.
    Prices for regular unleaded gas have risen from $1.47 a gallon in May 2003 to more than $3.96 now, a jump of nearly 170 percent. In the same period, the most popular grade of gas in France rose by just over 90 percent — a relatively gentle climb.
    Americans are driving less — about 11 billion fewer miles in March 2008 than March 2007, a drop of about 4 percent, according to the Schork Report newsletter. It was the first drop in March driving in almost three decades.
    In the U.S., presidential candidates John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton have proposed suspending the federal gas tax for the summer to give drives some help, although it is not clear whether drivers would actually see much relief.
    French President Nicolas Sarkozy has urged the EU to cut its value-added tax on fuel.
    Nations that produce huge amounts of oil aren't necessarily in better shape.
    Russia is the world's second leading producer of oil, but gas there comes to about $3.68 a gallon — about the same as in the United States, where workers earn about six times as much money.
    Much of the Russian cost comes from taxes, which run between 60 and 70 percent. Limited refining capacity and the costs of transporting gasoline across the country's vast expanse also push up prices.
    Turkey faces similar problems. It costs $11.29 a gallon there, meaning filling up the tank of a midsize car can reach nearly $200 — enough to give up on driving and buy a domestic plane ticket.
    It's not that bad everywhere.
    In China, government-mandated low retail gas prices have helped farmers and China's urban poor but, in a country struggling with pollution, also have hurt conservation. The Chinese used about 5 percent more gas in the first four months of this year than last.
    And in Venezuela, long-held government subsidies and bountiful supplies have made the people think of cheap fuel as a birthright. It's a veritable wonderland for gas guzzlers — 12 cents a gallon. Consumers there are snapping up SUVs.
    For solutions to the oil crisis, policymakers in less oil-rich nations are looking to Brazil, where ethanol made from sugar cane is widely available to the nation's 190 million people.
    Eight out of every 10 new cars sold there are flex-fuel models that run on pure ethanol, gas or any combination of the two. Ethanol in Sao Paulo is running about half the price of gas, which is $5.67 per gallon.
    But those examples are definitely the exception.
    "It's been tough. I had to switch to regular gasoline from premium class," said Hiroyuki Kashiwabara, a Japanese worker whose monthly spending on gasoline has increased by nearly $100 over the last couple of months alone. "My salary doesn't change and I can't cut back on my spending on food or anything else."
    Jean-Marc Jancovici, a French engineer and co-author of a philosophical treatise called "Fill It Up, Please!" despairs over the developing world's rising thirst for shrinking oil resources.
    His answer? To rich consumers, at least, he says: Pick up your bike and "stop being petroleum slaves."
    ___
    Associated Press writers David Nowak in Moscow; Robin McDowell in Jakarta, Indonesia; Ian James in Caracas, Venezuela; Alan Clendenning in Brasilia, Brazil; Joe McDonald in Beijing; Mari Yamaguchi and Shino Yuasa in Tokyo; Ashok Sharma in New Delhi; and Franziska Scheven and A.J. Goldmann in Berlin contributed to this report.
    Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
  17. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru reacted to Wolflord in Come With Me   
    Come With Me



    Come with me, let's take a walk,



    We don't have to go far, we'll just talk.
    It won't be long, that you'll be gone.



    It will be a journey, just you and me.




    Come with me, let's take a ride,



    I'll show you my hidden side.
    It doesn't matter where we go,



    For wherever I am I'll know,



    That it's an adventure, just you and me.



    Come with me, let's run away.



    Fuck everything else, we don't have to deal with it today.



    We'll drink and eat and laugh and play,



    And I know everything will be okay.



    It will be a whole lifetime, just you and me.



    Imagine if there was nobody but us every single day.
    Let's do it, I don't know how but we'll find a way.



    We'll leave this place, with no direction we'll just roam.



    We'll keep on going until we find home.




    And we'll go places nobody else has ever been,



    And we'll tell our children all the things we've seen.



    And I know that when it's time to go I'll cheerfully say farewell,



    For as long as it's with you, it's been a life lived well.



    Because what is life without love?


  18. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru reacted to AMI in The Countdown begins!   
    OMG i know what ur saying! I live in NY and they will give any crack hore with 5 kids full assastants but if u honestly need the help u gota waite for ever! And as far as the illegals that really pisses me off too cause were i am from there is a military base and i am constantly seeing soliders in our DSS building applying for food stamps its fucked up! We are so busy taking care of everyone alse and trying to make tham free like us that we forget to take care pf the ppl who are accually doing all the work to keep us that way! Kinda Ironic huh?
  19. Downvote
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from AMI in The Countdown begins!   
    No no not yet. I'm not sure exactly how far along I am. I am guessing 6 weeks. Amazing how in Arizona a pregnant woman like me has to go through so many time consuming hoops to get insurance but a illegal can rack in the benefits the minute they boomerang themselves over our borders. I can't see a doctor until I can get approved which will hopefully be by the end of the month.
  20. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from CabbitGirl in Human Tetris   
    I liked this one it was cool.

  21. Like
    HKofsesshoumaru got a reaction from Pchan in Happy Halloween!   
    Here are some cute pics of me on Halloween!
    Me and My daughter. Caitlin was Cheerbear the Carebear and I was a bunny!


    Here is me and my fiance before the Monster Ball Oct 27th 2007. I was a beer wench/ Alpine snow girl and he was my scary goat devil.


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