truesee's Blog

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/6467319/The-worst-car-adverts-ever-made.html

Snoring could be cured with $3 injection

A $3 injection could cure snoring, a pioneering consultant claims.

Daily Telegraph 

7:00AM GMT 30 Oct 2009

Hadi Al-Jassim's team of consultants are the only ones in the country to offer an injection which they say is a genuine alternative to painful surgery.

The ear, nose and throat specialist - from Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust near Liverpool - has treated 400 patients at one of his hospitals and with excellent results.

''As everyone knows, snoring can cause major problems for patients and in particular their partners,'' said Mr Al-Jassim.

''In most cases it's the men who snore and their partners suffer sleep deprivation and at the end of the day you have to keep your partner happy - though women do snore as well.

''It causes all sorts of problems between partners and leads to marital, social and health problems.

''I am delighted with the treatment because, until this, there has been no effective treatment other than surgery.''

The treatment - called the snoreplasty - is quick and cheap.

It is a two-minute procedure done under local anaesthetic in which sodium tetradecyl is injected into the roof of the mouth.

The chemical, a sclerosing agent, is usually used in the treatment of varicose veins.

The injection combats snoring by stopping the soft tissue at the back of the mouth from vibrating.

Mr Al-Jassim, who is now giving lectures to other specialists across the country about the jab, added: ''Surgical treatment is very painful and takes weeks of recovery time so many patients decide not to do it because they can't get the time off work or their health's not strong enough for surgery.

''And in other cases surgery doesn't work.

''After the jab, patients can go home straight away and eat about an hour later.

''It will help around 70 per cent of sufferers and has made life easier for many patients and their partners.

''Even with those people it hasn't cured, they reported sleeping better and waking up feeling fresher.

''The jab can be given three times a year but some people find one injection lasts them a year.''

Public school nurses give swine flu vaccine to kids without parents' OK, sends child to hospital

Murray/NewsNikiyah Torres, with her mom Naomi Troy, who received a flu shot without parents permission was taken to a hospital.

School nurses mistakenly gave the swine flu vaccine to two students who didn't sign up for it - including a Brooklyn girl with epilepsy who wound up in the hospital.

"I was outraged," Naomi Troy, 26, told the Daily News after her 6-year-old daughter, Nikiyah Torres-Pierre, had a possible allergic reaction to the shot.

Officials at Public School 335 in Crown Heights called an ambulance to take Nikiyah to SUNY Downstate Medical Center when she fell ill following the arm jab.

"My stomach was hurting, and I was itching," Nikiyah said after she was released from the hospital.

The snafu and a similar mixup at a Staten Island school came in the first days of the city's in-school H1N1 vaccination program.

City officials have stressed the vaccine is safe and urged parents to sign up for it - though less than half have sent in permission slips.

Troy was waiting for advice from her family doctor on whether Nikiyah should get the shot since she takes medicine to control her epilepsy.

When the nurse called for a student Thursday morning, Nikiyah's teacher misunderstood and sent the wrong student, Troy said.

The error was compounded when the nurse didn't check Nikiyah's name before sticking her in the shoulder, the mother said.

"The school made a horrible mistake," she added. "They never asked for her name. They have no paperwork....How do you make a mistake like this?"

After the mistake was discovered, officials summoned Troy to the school, she said.

Troy said the nurse - a Department of Health employee - tried to get her to sign a consent form, after the fact.

"I was insulted. I was really angry. 'You just incriminated yourself even more,'" Troy recalled thinking.

"If they'd taken proper precautions in the school this never would have happened."

A student at PS 65 in Staten Island also received the vaccine without parental permission on Wednesday, but officials gave no further details.

Officials for the nurses union declined to comment. The Health Department said the incidents were under investigation.

"The Health Department does not expect any future adverse medical effects for these children, but we are working to determine how this misstep occurred," said spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti.

"We will develop additional safeguards to prevent similar instances in the future."

She added that the vaccine is safe for kids suffering from epilepsy.

Roughly 1,800 students have received the vaccine in the first phase of the school blitz.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/10/30/2009-10-30_sorry_bout_the_shot_public_school_nurses_give_swine_flu_vaccine_to_kids_without_.html#ixzz0VPbICQQc

Junk food is almost as addictive as heroin, scientists have found.

Daily Telegraph 

7:37AM GMT 28 Oct 2009

Eating junk food can be addictive Photo: GETTY

A diet of burgers, chips, sausages and cake will programme your brain into craving even more foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat, according to new research.

Over the years these junk foods can become a substitute for happiness and will lead bingers to become addicted.

Dr Paul Kenny, a neuroscientist, carried out the research which shows how dangerous high fat and high sugar foods can be to our health .

“You lose control. It’s the hallmark of addiction,” he said.

The researchers believe it is one of the first studies to suggest brains may react in the same way to junk food as they do to drugs.

“This is the most complete evidence to date that suggests obesity and drug addiction have common neuro-biological foundations,” said Paul Johnson, Dr Kenny’s work colleague.

Dr Kenny, who began his research at Guy’s Hospital, London, but now works at Florida’s Scripps Research Institute, divided rats into three groups for his research, due to be published in teh US soon.

One got normal amounts of healthy food to eat. Another lot was given restricted amounts of junk food and the third group was given unlimited amounts of junk, including cheesecake, fatty meat products, and cheap sponge cakes and chocolate snacks.

There were no adverse effects on the first two groups, but the rats who ate as much junk food as they wanted quickly became very fat and started bingeing.

When researchers electronically stimulated the part of the brain that feels pleasure, they found that the rats on unlimited junk food needed more and more stimulation to register the same level of pleasure as the animals on healthier diets.

Police: Man Said God Told Him To Steal Car 

Kendra Steele

LEX-TV

Web Content Producer

Posted: Oct 28, 2009 6:13 AM
Updated: Oct 28, 2009 11:59 AM

Lexington, KY - A bizarre story at a Lexington car dealership.

Police said David A. Silva, 36, smashed a window at Freedom Dodge but before he could get inside, a security guard stopped him. Silva apparently told the guard God wanted him to steal a Dodge Charger for the Almighty.

The security guard held Silva until police arrived and when officers questioned him, Silva initially told police his name was "Seven."

We're told Silva did a bit of damage to the dealership and is facing several charges, including criminal mischief.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.lex18.com/player/?video_id=2431&zone_id=56&categories=56

                                       WARNING

                                    SOME MILD NUDITY

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/6459430/2010-calendars-nude-charity-and-bizarre-calendars-available-for-next-year.html

Did Schwarzenegger drop 4-letter bomb in veto?

Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross

SF Chronicle Columnists

(10-27) 19:19 PDT SACRAMENTO -- Did Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office use a coded veto message to send the f-bomb to Tom Ammiano, soon after the San Francisco assemblyman made news by telling the governor to "kiss my gay ass"? 

Schwarzenegger's people say no. But the X-rated evidence is hard to miss in a message that Schwarzenegger sent to explain why he was vetoing an Ammiano bill dealing with financing for the Port of San Francisco.

A straight reading of the guv's letter laments "the fact that major issues are overlooked while many unnecessary bills come to me for consideration," and concludes, "I believe it is unnecessary to sign this measure at this time."

But a vertical read of the far-left-hand letters in each of the missive's eight lines offers a more blunt explanation: "I f- you."

Schwarzenegger's press secretary, Aaron McLear, insisted Tuesday it was simply a "weird coincidence." He sent us veto messages the governor sent out in the past with linguistic lineups such as "soap" and "poet," which he said were also unintended.

"Something like this was bound to happen," McLear said.

Maybe. But the veto message came after Ammiano called the governor a liar and shouted from the audience to "kiss my gay ass" when Schwarzenegger unexpectedly showed up at a Democratic Party dinner in San Francisco on Oct. 7.

Ammiano later called Schwarzenegger's attendance at the event a "cheap publicity stunt" that wasn't at all amusing, in light of the governor's cuts in social services, ordered furloughs of state workers and failure to act on some gay-rights issues.

The governor's veto letter was in response to Ammiano's AB1176 - a rather mundane bill meant to help San Francisco's port with finance issues. The "coincidence" was first picked up on Tuesday by the Bay Guardian newspaper.

As for Ammiano, a professional comic in addition to being a liberal Democrat, he's playing it straight on this one: "They probably think they are even now," he said.

"I think it was very creative, and it's time to bury the hatchet," Ammiano added. "I'm not interested in prolonging it."

The hidden message - if that's what it was - "was certainly more subtle than 'kiss my gay ass,' " said Barbara O'Connor, political science professor at Sacramento State University. "But it shows the acrimony and bad feelings in Sacramento are pretty bad.

"I doubt if it was the governor himself," O'Connor said. "But maybe the staff was having a good time."

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.wbaltv.com/video/21449480/

http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/27/top-earning-dead-celebrities-list-dead-celebs-09-business-entertainment-all_slide_2.html

Edward Ates Claims He's Too Fat To Have Killed His Son-In-Law

Wed Oct 28, 12:25 PM ET

Local Grandma Turns 105

By Rachel McNeill

Her granddaughter Amy Black shouted in her ear, "How does it feel to be 105?"

Juanita answered, "OK."

Other than being a little hard of hearing, Juanita's in excellent health. She only takes three medications and has never consumed alcohol, smoked or driven a day in her life.

Amy Black said, "She walked everywhere. That might be why she's so healthy."

She then asked Juanita, "What's your trick? Why are you 105?"

Juanita laughed, "Because I drink green tea."

Amy nodded, "That's right, people. Green tea."

Widowed at 30 when her husband died in a car accident, Juanita outlived her three children and lived alone well into her 90s, refusing to go into a nursing home.

Amy Black said, "They came to her front door and she went out the back, and she called me and said, 'Look, I've got 1,800 bucks. Can I come live with you?'"

Amy happily took her in.

She said, "(Juanita's) a joy. I think I'm keeping her young because she likes to go everywhere I go and she likes to do all the things young girls like to do. She doesn't go anywhere without her lipstick or earrings."

To celebrate the big 105, Juanita shook up an iconic Houston ladies club.

Amy told Local 2, "We took her because she'd like to see some men. We took her to La Bare, to the strip club and she had a good time."

Amy asked Juanita, "How'd you like the strip club?"

Juanita smiled, "I liked it!"

Nightclubs for the plus-size set are latest trend in fat acceptance movement

Andrews/APPatrons dance the night away at Club Bounce in Long Beach, Calif. The club is specifically aimed at attracting overweight individuals.

LONG BEACH, Calif.  —  Move over, it's Saturday night at Club Bounce and people are bouncing onto the dance floor in a big, big way.

These are big, big people, all dressed to the nines and many tipping the scales at 250, maybe 300 pounds.

That's because this expansive nightclub a couple blocks from the Pacific Ocean, with its flashing lights, friendly atmosphere and wall-rattling hip-hop sounds, caters specifically to fat people.

That's right, fat people. Not just any fat people, either, but fat people who are proud to call themselves fat people. People who joke that they are part of the new Fat is Phat movement.

"Self-conscious? No! Not at all," laughs Monique Lopez, a curvaceous woman of 23 as she arrives in a tight, black dress and heels. "I was like, 'I'm going to Club Bounce tonight. I'm going to wear my shortest skirt.'" (Which she did.)

The movement for equal rights for plus-sized people is nothing new of course. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, with chapters around the country, was founded 40 years ago. A nonprofit group, it advocates that everyone be treated equally regardless of size, arguing that we don't live in a one-size-fits-all world.

But what has been slower coming, fat advocates say, are places like Club Bounce, where people who might have some trouble getting past the velvet ropes at other night spots because of their size are made to feel like they fit right in.

"When you're not what they consider ideal, you know, and you're out there trying to get your dance on at those other places, you get the looks, the stares. But not here. Everything's accepted here," says Vanessa Gray of Long Beach, an attractive 30-something woman who acknowledges jovially that after giving birth to three children, "I've got a little more meat on my bones."

Such clubs are still a relatively new phenomenon, however, with a handful scattered across California, mainly in coastal cities from San Diego to San Francisco.

"The whole thing really started on the Internet, with clubhouse parties organized online," says Kathleen Divine, who runs another Southern California plus-size club, the Butterfly Lounge. "Now you see a lot more large people out in public, not hiding behind their keyboards anymore."

A Web site for "big beautiful women" (bbwnetwork.com) sponsors an annual "Vegas Bash," for example, and there are similar gatherings in cities like Atlanta and Seattle.

But veteran fat activist Lynn McAfe of the Council On Size and Weight Discrimination would like to see more clubs.

It's nice to have a place to go where you can do a little flirting and maybe bring your thin sister or somebody from work who isn't fat, and they'll be in your world for awhile," says McAfe, a pioneer of the fat advocacy movement. "That's an amazing experience for a lot of people who aren't fat, to spend a day or night in a world of fat people."

Not that every large person prefers to be called fat, especially by someone who isn't.

Lisa Marie Garbo, who opened Club Bounce five years ago, says she prefers plus-sized or larger-framed.

"But I don't think fat is a bad word anymore," she adds. "I think a lot of people embrace it now."

Garbo, a vivacious, 40-year-old blonde partial to flamboyant outfits of tight-fitting pants and low-cut tops, said she opened the club for herself and others who were tired of being "the only fat girl at the local nightclub."

The club, with a capacity of 400, attracts relatively equal numbers of men and women, although Garbo says about three-quarters of the women tend to be heavy, while only about a quarter of the men are.

Some club-goers, like Chad Koyanagi, started out big, then slimmed down. Others, like Garbo herself, have seen their weight go up and down over the years. Still others say they're happy the way they are.

Like a lot of heavy people, Koyanagi says he started dropping by the club after a friend he met on a social networking site kept after him to get out of the house. Painfully shy at first, the 30-year-old eventually began to fit in and ended up shedding 50 pounds. Although he's no longer hefty enough to fit the club's BHM profile (Big Handsome Man), he says he's made too many friends to stop coming.

But while not all club-goers are overweight, the very nature of such venues has led some to question whether they are encouraging people to remain fat in a society where, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-third of adults are already obese.

"I'm not a gain-weight advocate or anything like that," says Garbo, who adds she has struggled with her own weight since doctors put her on steroids as a child to treat her asthma. "My message to people is live your life no matter what size you are."

Although obesity remains a serious problem, with links to diabetes, heart disease and other health issues, says sociologist Karen Sternheimer, creating a place where people can feel good about themselves can build self-esteem, which in turn can prompt people to do something about their weight.

"As the country gets heavier and ultimately unhealthier, in many instances the problem is people feeling bad about themselves, and feeling bad about themselves doesn't motivate people to lose weight," says Sternheimer, author of "Connecting Social Problems and Popular Culture."

What does motivate people, she said, is starting with a positive outlook of accepting who you are, then working from there to change your appearance in whatever way you want.

"Anything that helps people feel better about themselves," she said, "there's something positive to that."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/10/28/2009-10-28_nightclubs_for_the_plussize_set_are_latest_trend_in_fat_acceptance_movement.html?page=1#ixzz0VH2XovOQ

Oct 28, 2009 6:15 am US/Pacific

School Employee Accused Of Duct Taping Child

Palmer Elementary Officials Say Jennifer Carter Will Be Fired; Carter Also Arrested

DENVER (CBS)

Jennifer Carter is accused of duct taping a student's mouth shut and bound his wrists.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.cbs2.com/video/?id=63514@kcnc.dayport.com

Jennifer Carter is accused of duct taping a student's mouth shut and bound his wrists.

Denver Police Department

 

 

Denver school administrators say the district plans to fire a staffer accused of duct taping a student's mouth and wrists.

Jennifer Carter, 45, was arrested on Monday on charges of misdemeanor child abuse and false imprisonment.

Palmer Elementary first grader, Joshua Tenner, was allegedly duct taped by Carter on Wednesday after being sent to the principal's office, reports.

Joshua, 6, told CBS station KCNC-TV in Denver that he was sent to the principal's office on Wednesday when a substitute teacher said he was disrupting his first grade class.

"The secretary taped my mouth shut and taped my wrists together," he said, referring to the principal's secretary.

The principal, Elizabeth Trujillo, sent a letter home with all students on Thursday. It stated the Denver Public Schools and Denver police would "... investigate any allegation of misconduct," and that "... be assured the safety of students is a top priority."

Ashlye Tenner, Joshua's mother, said the principal is acting as a witness.

"She said she came back from lunch duty, saw the tape on his face and told the secretary to take it off and not to do it again. And she said she apologized to my son," said Tenner.

Late Monday evening, Denver Public Schools released this statement:

"Based on the evidence confirmed at this stage, the district is taking action to immediately terminate the employee. This is a deeply troubling incident, and this type of conduct is completely reprehensible and inexcusable."

Carter has spent two nights in jail despite the charges against her are misdemeanors. KCNC was told it is the discretion of the arresting officer as to whether she needed to be kept in jail and Denver police decided she should be based on what they called "the magnitude of the crime."

Joshua has not been back in school and his mom plans to enroll him in a new school.

Michael Jackson film 'This Is It' premieres for fans and stars around the world

Savulich, Andrew New York DailyJordan Neely (right) and Moses Harper rock with Michael Jackson-like energy in Times Square at Tuesday night's New York premiere of the King of Pop documentary 'This Is It.'

'This Is It' premieres in New York, Los Angeles and around the world.

It was off the wall!

Dueling premieres on both coasts and sold-out theaters around the world marked Tuesday night's debut of Michael Jackson's super-hyped documentary "This Is It."

Fans of the King of Pop turned out in sequins, some doing impromptu moonwalks, as they clamored for theater seats to watch the late icon's swan song.

"He means everything to me," said Jordan Neely, 16, of Washington Heights, wearing a single sequined glove, matching jacket and fedora in honor of the music legend.

"When he died, it was one of the saddest days since 9/11. I just want to see him do it one more time," said Jordan, one of over a 3,000 fans attending the premiere at the Regal Cinema on 42nd St. and Eighth Ave. in Times Square.

Oprah Winfrey's sidekick, Gayle King, was among a roster of stars attending the New York premiere, including Ice-T, Spike Lee, Russell Simmons.

"The main thing you get out of the movie is that the dude was still very much alive," said Ice-T. "It was a cold shot, man. You gotta see it for yourself."

Sherri Sheppard of "The View" agreed.

"It was great. He looked so alive," she said, adding that it's a shame her 4-year-old son will never know who Michael Jackson is.

King said she was compelled to attend "because it's history."

"I loved Michael's music and I can't wait to see the genius that is Michael Jackson," King said.

In Los Angeles, celebrities including "American Idol" winner David Cook, Mickey Rooney, Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith and Paris Hilton strolled the red carpet in front of the Nokia Theatre.

"We've been Michael Jackson fans for a long time," said the 89-year-old Rooney, standing with his wife, Jan. "Everybody who came out tonight came out of respect."

The 111-minute film was culled from 120 hours of footage of Jackson preparing for his comeback shows at London's O2 Arena.

Sony Pictures paid $60 million for the right to distribute the movie, which is expected to gross over $250 million in its first week.

Jackson died at age 50 on June 25 from a prescription drug overdose, just days before his first concert.

"This movie is unguarded, it's real, it's raw and honest," insisted the film's director, Kenny Ortega. "You see Michael not always in perfect situations, going through the process of creating a show, and sometimes it's painful."

Famed lawyer Thomas Mesereau, who successfully defended Jackson in 2005 against child molestation charges, was on hand in L.A. to pay homage to "a true genius."

"I'm here to see one of the greatest performers of all time," Mesereau said.

Premieres were simultaneously held in 16 cities around the world, including London, Berlin and Seol, Korea.
Miko Brando, son of screen legend Marlon Brando and one of Jackson's closest friends, attended the London premiere and said the film showed a resurgent Jackson.

"This was just rehearsing," said Brando, who saw the movie at a special screening over the weekend with Elizabeth Taylor. "You can only imagine what it would've been like if he had performed like this on stage."

Asked how Taylor reacted, he said: "She didn't tell me anything - we just enjoyed the movie together. It's a great performance by my best friend." 

Taylor reportedly described "This Is It" as the single best piece of filmmaking she had ever seen, according to Larry King.

"Sure - I guess she took the words out of my mouth. I agree with her 100 percent," said Brando.

Chucky Klapow, 29, one of the dancers in "This is It," fondly recalled his last rehearsal with Jackson and lamented not being able to perform with him in front of a live audience.

"You can only imagine what the real show would have been," said Klapow outside the Nokia. "He was ready and strong."

LINK TO PHOTO GALLERY OF THIS IS IT FROM AROUNG THE WORLD:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/galleries/michael_jackson_film_this_is_it_premieres_around_the_world/michael_jackson_film_this_is_it_premieres_around_the_world.html

Fla. man says Home Depot fired him over God button

Tuesday, 10.27.09

In this undated photo from video, Trevor Keezer is shown in front of The Home Depot in Okeechobee, Fla. Keezer says he was fired from his job as a cashier at The Home Depot in the rural Florida town because he wore an American flag button that read, "One nation under God, indivisible." WPTV NewsChannel 5 / AP Photo

Police in Belgium say one-legged suspect caught after one shoe goes missing from store

Associated Press

9:24 PM EDT, October 26, 2009

BRUSSELS (AP) — Police said a one-legged suspect was caught after only one shoe went missing in a store in Belgium. An amputee was an immediate suspect when a store attendant found one shoe missing from a shop in the western Belgian town of Maldegem. Police spokesman Rik Decraemer said Monday authorities were alerted and quickly found the man who fit the description by shopkeepers. The shoe was also recovered.

The suspect, a Russian asylum seeker, faces possible charges and was handed over to judicial authorities.