Danger: Sugar More Toxic Than Thought

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Sugar is toxic according to an
incendiary article that sparked
concern and debate from experts
to the average home.

It's a glucose-fructose combination
that add extra calories to our diet,
Gary Taubes in the New York Times
Magazine article "Is Sugar Toxic?"
but its consumption is an independent
risk factor for heart disease, high
blood pressure and many common cancers.

The liver, as Taubes explained, is
where sugar's damage begins. "In
animals, or at least in laboratory
rats and mice, it's clear that if the
fructose hits the liver in sufficient
quantity and with sufficient speed, the
liver will convert much of it to fat.
This apparently induces a condition
known as insulin resistance, which is
now considered the fundamental problem in
obesity, and the underlying defect in
heart disease and in the type of diabetes,
type 2, that is common to obese and
overweight individuals. It might also be
the underlying defect in many cancers."

The recommended daily allowance of sugar
is about six-to-nine teaspoons of sugar a
day, for an average person, CBS News Medical
Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton. It's
estimated that the average American is
consuming about 90 pounds of sugar a year.

The high fructose corn syrup, sucrose,
fructose, in theory, does the same amount
of damage to body cells.

Sugar stimulates our pancreas to release
insulin which stimulates the liver. If
it's not used as fuel for the body, it
turns into fat. Years of consuming sugar
can lead to the pancreas being worn out
and diabetes.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110420074609writ.nb/topstory.html

Good Writers

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Good Writers Are Reader Friendly

A good writer, in my opinion, is
reader friendly, not trying to
prove how many technical words
he/she knows and grammatically
correct.

A good writer's work is reader
friendly, and the title not only
pulls attention but holds it.
Good writers unveil one point at
a time to readers. Points are
messy when other ideas and thoughts
are sprinkled in.

Good writers inspire readers to
react. Like:

"Aww."

"It put me asleep."

"I'd like to give that writer a
piece of my mind."

Responses to good writing varies.
The writer's goal is to get a
reaction/action.

Writers, from time to time, research
subjects. During the course of research,
writers come across technical words.
It's nice to learn new words, and
interesting as a new topic is appreciated.
However, the process of discovering
technical words is more stimulating
for researchers than readers.

Most people would prefer to skip the
look-up every other word as they read
step. A good writer speaks to the
reader, or the reader comes-away with
"that" feeling.

A good writer isn't trying to prove
anything. Simply, he/she is providing
information to readers that's
grammatically correct.

A good writer will make grammatical
errors, because few get every word
perfect in a writing project. The
editing process is done more than
once to handle them.

Readers will move on to the next
writer if his/her reading pleasure
is interrupted by grammatical
errors, every third or fourth word.

It's very important to slice-away
grammatical errors. Grammatical
errors, too, mark writers as amateurs.

A good writer's work is inviting,
isn't shouting, "I'm smart" and
without grammatical errors.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Good-Writer

Last Hour Budget Discussions

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Last hour budget discussions
avoided a partial government
shut-down and President Barack
Obama will lay out his plan for
long-term deficit reduction
demanded by conservatives this week.

White House Senior Adviser David
Plouffe was on Sunday talk shows
to reveal Obama's intentions and
deliver the administration's message
that more deals like the one reached
last Friday night with House Speaker
John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada,
will be necessary as Congress and the
administration face more major budget
decisions in the coming months.

Obama's plan would address rising costs
of Medicare, Medicaid, cut defense
spending and raise revenue by ending
tax breaks for the wealthy, Plouffe.

"He does believe that to grow economically,
to be a strong country, we can't sustain
this fiscal situation," Plouffe explained
on CNN. Acknowledging some dissent among
the president's liberal base, Plouffe
continued, "there are some that don't
agree with that, but he believes strongly
that we do have to engage in serious
deficit reduction."

Last week, Obama and congressional leaders
reached an agreement to cut $38.5 billion
in non-military discretionary spending for
the rest of the current fiscal year, ends
on September 30.

The deal came about an hour before funding
authorization for the government was scheduled
to expire, and would have partially shut down
government operations.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110412045658writ.nb/topstory.html

The Thrown Around Word

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Don't Let The "C" Word Be Pushed
On You

C

O

M

P

R

O

M

I

S

E

In life, you'll be asked to
compromise, no matter if right
or wrong. The word is thrown
around when people tire of
talking, looking for
solutions or doing what is
right.

Often, people pull-out the word,
compromise, when they feel
talking will not help toward
their goal. Look at some of
the excuses used for not talking
it out.

"You can't talk to her.

"I don't have time for this."

"He won't listen."

Webster's Dictionary defines
compromise as a settlement, each
side makes concessions.

In reality, one side usually
compromises more than the other.
One side receives more.

Don't allow yourself to be pushed
into a compromise unnecessarily.
Be on the look-out for those who
make it a practice compromising
when talking is just as effective.
These are people who after doing
wrong still can't get their way,
and pull-out the "C" word.

Every possible solution should be
exhausted before compromising. It's
an exercise in human communication.
A giving and exchanging of
information is healthy, mentally
stimulating.

The solving of a problem takes effort,
adult behavior. The universe is
stuffed full of answers. It's simply
a matter of finding the right one.
If you're passionate about the
problem, you'll find an answer.

People who are wrong and want to
appear right will urge you to
compromise. If you're right, why
compromise?

Finally, really listen when people
are rushing you to compromise.
Determine if it's right for you.

Source:
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Thrown-Around-Word

Writing Voted Down

Writing Voted Down

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Malcolm X Killers Were Never Served Justice

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Malcolm X was gunned down in New
York 46 years ago, but mystery
surrounded the details of his
death. "And his killers were
never served justice," Zaheer
Ali, Marable's chief researcher.

"Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention,"
the new book by Columbia University
professor Manning Marable, explains
why the investigation should be
reopened.

On Feb. 21, 1965, Malcolm X was
speaking to several hundred people
at the Audubon Ballroom in upper
Manhattan when three men stood up
in the front rows and opened fire.

"As Marable's quite powerful book
details, four of the actual assassins
never were pursued and at least one
of them still lives openly in the
metro New York area," David Garrow,
historian and author.

The book asserts that the New York
Police Department knew Malcolm X's
life was in danger but looked away.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110406090428writ.nb/topstory.html

The Pandora Probe

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Internet radio service Pandora
announced Monday that it has
been served a subpoena as part
of a federal grand jury
investigation into the information
being gathered/shared by popular
iPhone and Android smartphone
applications.

"We were informed that we are
not a specific target of the
investigation, and we believe
that similar subpoenas were
issued on an industry wide
basis to the publishers of
numerous other smartphone
applications," Pandora.

The probe surfaces as
regulators/policymakers
consider stepping-down on
security and data privacy.

Accidents and breaches have
pulled more attention to the
issue.

Pandora, in its revised filing
to the Securities and Exchange
Commission, expressed concern
that suggested privacy controls
like the proposed "do not track"
or "opt-in" mechanisms could
impair its ability to collect
data on its listeners, purpose
of its ad-supported business
model.

"Restrictions on our ability to
collect, access and harness
listener data- would in turn
limit our ability to stream
personalized music content to
our listeners and offer targeted
advertising opportunities to our
advertising customers, each of
which are critical to the success
of our business," Pandora
explained.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110405130059writ.nb/topstory.html

President Obama Starts His Re-Election Campaign

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

President Obama on Monday started
his re-election campaign with a
video posting. A short video on
BarackObama.com launched his bid
for re-election.

"It begins with us," the campaign
told supporters that it has started
and the race for contributions is
on.

Blue "O" over red and white stripes
is back again for 2012. The bottom
of the web site: the candidates'
names are clearly identified:
OBAMA-BIDEN.

Obama sent an e-mail to supporters
to alert them that he plans to file
papers Monday with the Federal
Election Commission.

"We've always known that lasting
change wouldn't come quickly or
easily. It never does. But as my
administration and folks across
the country fight to protect the
progress we've made, and make
more- we also need to begin
mobilizing for 2012, long before
the time comes for me to begin
campaigning in earnest," Obama's
e-mail message.

The president is making his campaign
official earlier than is usual for
an incumbent so he can begin
fundraising in a season that's
likely to shatter all records.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110404062114writ.nb/topstory.html

Hubs With Grammatical Errors

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Writers Make Grammatical Errors

It's a fact of that human beings
make errors, and it's no
different when it comes to
writing hubs. I like to be
told/given heads up on a
grammatical error. Few people,
if any, on try one write
grammatically perfect hubs.

Still, no one wants to hear,
"And you call yourself a
writer? Do you know any rules
of grammar?"

Or

"I doubt that you make-it as

a writer."

Or

"Don't give-up your day job."

Or

"They hirin' at the Fried
Everythin' Restaurant."

Or

"You're were a writer?"

The only way to get better
is to write, practice.

However, if you are asked to
critique or give an opinion,
be truthful. It really is how
you say it. Look at the
following ways to critique
or respond to hubs.

In paragraph one, I'd write it
this way, change the sentence,
for example.

Or

Look at it from the view-point of...

Or

The second page would come alive
with action verbs.

Or

Your subject is interesting, but
delete paragraph three. It's just
taking up space and not moving
the story forward.

Critique like you're a friend,
not someone looking down on a
writer's work.

Writing involves work, energy, too.
No one wants their hubs belittled.

A different method of reaching
someone with bad grammar is to
act it out. Sometimes, speaking
words out-loud allows better
hearing of grammatical errors.

Put yourself in the writer's
position. Would you like someone
who saw your error to attack?
It's the same with writers and
their hubs.

Writers shouldn't be attacked for
their hub choices or grammatical
errors.

One more technique to help with
grammatical errors is to take the
offending word, sentence, and
re-fit it into another sentence,
paragraph. My examples follow.

It was Friday, pay day. At the ATM,
lightening shoot through the
machine. Some people screamed...

See the error?

The re-fit.

The guard shot through the door.
The gun-man jumped when...

Re-fitting words, sentences, is
a way to see errors.

Give your advice/opinion only if
asked. Think of how you'd feel if
given un-asked for information.
Show respect for hub writers. G
rammatical errors are part of
the writing process.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Hub-With-Grammatical-Errors

Iodide Pills for Americans Living Near Nuclear Reactors

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Massachusetts congressman, Rep.
Ed Markey, asked the federal
government Tuesday to distribute
potassium iodide pills to
Americans living near nuclear
reactors. A preventive step one
expert warns might do more harm
than good.

The compound can be used to block
the thyroid gland's absorption
of radioactive iodine.

The idea is to give it to every
household within a 20-mile radius
of a United States nuclear power
plant "in recognition of the
probability that rapid evacuation
during a nuclear melt-down will
be difficult and time consuming."

Markey explained that the battle to
stop a suspected melt-down at a
Japanese plant should spur the
Obama administration to action.

"Despite more than 30 years of
clear and unequivocal evidence
that potassium iodide protects
people, especially young
children, who are most vulnerable,
from cancer causing releases of
radioactive iodine that would
happen if a nuclear disaster
occurred, the nuclear industry
has continued to fight its use,"
Markey at a press conference.

A 2002 law requires the United
States government to stock-pile
potassium iodide, and make it
available to state/local
governments in preparation for a
possible nuclear accident, but
the congressman explained the
provision has not been enforced.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110330101454writ.nb/topstory.html

President Obama Talks Up Values in Libya Speech

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

President Obama affirmed America's
responsibility as a world leader
to prevent atrocities Monday, as
he maintained why he authorized
intervention in Libya despite
critics' concerns with the cost of
military action and involvement
in another war.

"To brush aside America's
responsibility as a leader and,
more profoundly, our responsibilities
to our fellow human beings under
such circumstances would have been
a betrayal of who we are. Some
nations may be able to turn a blind
eye to atrocities in other countries.
The United States of America is
different. And as president, I refused
to wait for the images of slaughter
and mass graves before taking action,"
President Obama said at the National
Defense University in Washington, D.C.

Military action launched by the United
States that led the international
coalition was crucial and necessary
to stop Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi,
who is accused of using violence
against his own people, the President
said.

"Innocent people were targeted for
killing. Hospitals and ambulances
were attacked," the president continued.
"Journalists were arrested, sexually
assaulted, and killed. Supplies of
food and fuel were choked off."

Obama explained that America's security
was not threatened, but the country's
"interests and values" were at risk.

Critics have complained that the United
States should not use military
intervention or "police the world."

The American military cannot be deployed
"wherever repression occurs," President
Obama said.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110329062433writ.nb/topstory.html

A New Turn to Wisconsin's Collective Bargaining Rights

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

The fight in Wisconsin over
collective bargaining rights
has a new turn which is the
publishing of the law despite
a judge's order against it.

Lawmakers and observers
speculated Saturday if the
law had taken effect.

It started Friday afternoon
when the state's Legislative
Reference Bureau published the
controversial act that
restrains the collective
bargaining rights of most
employees.

The Legislature's web site
Saturday referenced the
publication of the law and
mentioned two points.

Dane County Circuit Court
Judge Maryann Sumi on March
18 stopped enactment of the
law and forbade Secretary of
State Douglas La Follette from
publishing it.

Wisconsin law requires the
Legislative Reference Bureau
to publish every act within
10 days of its passage.

The state's Department of Justice,
headed by Attorney General J.B.
Van Hollen, issued a statement
Friday, "no action by the
Secretary of State is required
by this section for the
legislative reference bureau to
publish an Act."

Monday, Van Hollen asked the state's
4th District Court of Appeals to
lift Sumi's temporary restraining
order stopping enforcement of the
act.

Sumi's injunction was in response
to a suit filed by a Democratic
district attorney alleging that
Republican legislators violated
the state's open meetings law by
calling a committee meeting to
amend GOP Gov. Scott Walker's
budget bill without providing
the public 24-hour advance notice.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110328071947writ.nb/topstory.html

Comfortable Writer

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Writer

Comfortable writing and I have
been on a first-name-feeling
since my early teen years. It
was comfortable, easy for me
to write paragraphs and create
word pictures.

My writing wasn't always
grammatically correct, but
I enjoyed the act of writing.
If a teacher gave an assignment
relating to writing, I
comfortably had it ready before
the due date.

I hadn't been published at the
time or planned on it.

The journey through school
continued. In high school, a
teacher praised an assignement.
She remarked on my word creativity.

"Thank you." I responded.

Years crawled by before I
appreciated my writing ability.
Still, the idea of writing as
a career didn't dawn. My mind
focused on academics.

Off to college, I went. I looked
forward to those years ending
and they did.

The degree and I found a job,
wanted to retire from it. Life
had other plans for me. I was
terminated from the job.

An array of emotions engulfed me.

I tired of the tears, decided to
find employment. The jobs ranged
from stuffing envelopes to
telemarketing. For one reason or
the other, the jobs and I departed.

My mind wondered to what happened
the months prior to being fired
from the job I wanted to retire
from.

I turned to writing a detailed
account through teary eyes. The
idea of writing a book came to
mind.

Doubts stirred. Can I write it?
Write well enough? Would I be
taken as a serious writer? Was
I comfortable enough with writing?
Publisher? I curbed those
writing-crushers to a corner of
my mind.

I found someone to edit it, but
her rates were too expensive.

"I'm cheap compared to others,"
she said.

"No funds." I smiled. "My elderly
mother shares her food with me."

"Good luck."

I trashed paragraphs, improved the
plot and peppered it with more
suspense. The editing process
went on for years.

I crossed paths with an agent,
sent him the manuscript. He
returned it with a note: 'Work
on it.'

I did. A telephone call or two
with him convinced me that he
didn't hold much hope for
publishing my manuscript.

It was up to me, the comfortable
writer.

I read books, honed my writing
skills. My goal was to make my
manuscript acceptable.

The writing, re-writing, of my
manuscript `lasted for years.

Finally, the publication of my
manuscript happened. Listen to
my interview.

Grave Street House Interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO1oed6AlM4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Comfortable-Writer

Google's Digital Library Rejected

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Google's idea of creating the
world's largest digital library
and bookstore has stumbled into
a 300-year-old copyright.

Google wanted to digitize every
book published and make them
accessible but was stopped on
Tuesday when a federal judge
in New York rejected a $125
million legal settlement the
company had worked out with
groups representing authors
and publishers.

The project is that of Larry
Page, the Google co-founder
who is to become its chief
executive next month. It has
lots of support inside the
company, whose corporate
mission is to organize all
of the world's information.

"It was very much consistent
with Larry's idealism that
all of the world's information
should be made available
freely," Ken Auletta, author
of "Googled- The End of the
World as We Know It."

Judge Denny Chin pointed-out
copyright, antitrust and
mentioned that the settlement
went too far. It would have
granted Google a "de facto
monopoly" and the right to
profit from books without
the permission of copyright
owners.

Judge Chin recognized that
"the creation of a universal
digital library would benefit
many," but explained that the
suggested agreement was "not
fair, adequate and reasonable."
He left open the possibility
that a substantially revised
agreement could pass legal
muster.

Judge Chin was recently elevated
to the United States Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit,
but handled the case as a
district court judge.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110323062847writ.nb/topstory.html

Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Sent Out The World's First Tweet 5 Years Ago

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey
sent out the world's first Tweet,
five years ago in 2006 on March
21st. It read: "just setting up
my twttr." Today, it's used to
archive lives, cultures and
breaking news in real-time.

Dorsey set-in-motion the idea
for Twitter while working with
Biz Stone and Evan Williams at
the podcasting company Odeo.

"As much fun as we were having,
there was always, I think, in
the back of our heads the idea
of the potential of something
important coming from it," Stone
shared feelings from the start-
up's early days.

It was laughed at by some as a
platform for telling the world
what one had for lunch or when
one cleaned house, but Twitter
has become respected as an one-stop
during disasters like the
earthquake in Japan.

Twitter was an invaluable for
information collection and
communication the moment cell-phone
service became available in Japan,
for example.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110322085716writ.nb/topstory.html

Understanding State Department Travel Alerts

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

The State Department's web site
explained that a travel alert
is issued for short-term events
like political demonstrations
or a health issue- the H1N1
outbreak.

The State Department issues
travel warnings "when we want
you to consider very carefully
whether you should go to a
country at all." A travel warning
might be issued for a country
in the middle of a civil war,
on-going violence or frequent
terrorist attacks. "Travel
warnings remain in place until
the situation changes," the
State Department. "Some have
been in effect for years."

Usually, travel companies, tour
companies and travel agencies
will follow the advise of a
travel alert or warning at
first. In the case of Egypt,
travel companies worked to
get their clients out of the
country.

Tour companies are starting
up trips to Egypt again while
the State Department's travel
warning is still in effect. In
an attempt to re-start tourism
business, tour operators will
collect their own intelligence
about whether it is safe to
return to a destination, give
clients that information and
let them decide.

"Our decision to head back to
both Egypt and Tunisia came
after extensive meetings with
our ground operators, community
leaders and tourism officials,"
Alan Lewis, chairman of Grand
Circle Corporation, which owns
the travel brands Grand Circle
Travel and Overseas Adventure
Travel.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110321072452writ.nb/topstory.html

Help With Comma Usage

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

How To Use Commas
Comma usage is misunderstood and
at times over-used.The correct
usage of commas will help you
write better hubs, blogs,
non-fiction, fiction and business
projects. This hub will supply
some answers to the right and
wrong ways of common usage.

Commas are used after introductory
words, clauses or phrases. Look-over
the examples.

1. The Center turned-down the program,
and staff members applauded.

2. Their parents insisted, they
washed the car clean on try three.

3. On July 4th, Mira was born.

Commas separate two sentences
connected by and, but, or, for,
yet, nor or so.

1. I lost Mike's cell number,
and no one else had it.

2. I would have gone to the party,
but I couldn't find the house.

3. Joe fell-out the window, or
was pushed.

Commas separate items in a list.

1. The cats laid around, curled-up,
one snored and they woke-up when
it was time to eat.

2. Being candles, paper cups,
plastic spoons and ginger-ale.

3. The game took them two blocks
north, three streets south, cross
a river and through the woods.

Commas set-off groups of words at
the beginning of a sentence.

1. Without money for rent, the
family was forced to move.

2. The month of January supplied
tons of snow, we made a snow-person
for the first time.

3. Because his gun had no bullets,
he couldn't fire.

Commas come into play after a
person's name.

1. Bill, take the dog for a walk.

2. Sally, who called.

3. Rose, you had several messages.

On using commas with quotation
marks. Use a comma after said as
a direct quotation is introduced.

1. Larry said, "I have to buy some
socks."

2. Brenda said, "Not this time."

3. "Listen, he said, "I'm not going
to repeat myself."

Let's look at when comma usage isn't
necessary.

Common Error: A comma used before the
conjunction at the end of a series
unless the meaning is confusing.

1. The United States provided shelter
to people from Britain, China and
varous other countries.

2. Terry, Judy and Valerie left for
the party.

3. Brian used blue, Sandy grabbed
green, and then Barb screamed for
the blue plus green.

Commas are used before quotation
marks.

1. "The gloves fell-out of my
pocket," Rala said.

2. "Maria ran through the red
light," Molly told the police.

3. "No way," he sneered.

The right usage of commas saves
time on writing projects.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Help-With-Comma-Usage

Man Sues for Being Detained At The Airport

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Aaron Tobey, 21-year-old, is
the Virginia man who wrote an
abbreviated version of the
Fourth Amendment on his body
and stripped to his shorts at
an airport security screening
area is demanding $250,000 in
damages for being detained on
a disorderly conduct charge.

Tobey's civil rights lawsuit
maintains that in December he
was handcuffed, held for about
90 minutes by the Transportation
Security Administration at the
Richmond International Airport
after he removed his clothing
to show on his chest a magic
marker protest of airport
security measures.

"Amendment 4: The right of
the people to be secure against
unreasonable searches and seizures
shall not be violated," Tobey's
chest and stomach read.

The University of Cincinnati
student didn't want to go
through the advanced imaging
technology X-ray machines that
are at airports nationwide.
Rather, when it was his turn
to be screened, he was going
to pick the pat down while
taking-off most of his clothing.

Per the suit, while under
interrogation on December 30,
the authorities wanted to know
"about his affiliation with, or
knowledge of, any terrorist
organizations, if he had been
asked to do what he did by any
third party, and what his
intentions and goals were."

Tobey was on his way to Wisconsin
for his grandmother's funeral.
He made the flight.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110315080908writ.nb/topstory.html

Crowley Suddenly Quits as State Department Spokesman

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

P.J. Crowley suddenly resigned
Sunday as State Department
spokesman over questionable
comments he made about the
Bradley Manning case.

Sources close to the situation
stated the resignation, first
reported by CNN, came under
fire from the White House,
where officials were not happy
about his suggestion that the
Obama administration is
mistreating Bradley Manning,
Army private who is being held
in solitary confinement in
Quantico, Virginia, under
suspicion that he leaked highly
classified State Department cables
to the web site WikiLeaks.

Crowley was asked by a small group
at MIT last week about allegations
that Manning is being tortured and
his answer was, what is being done
to Manning by Defense Department
officials "is ridiculous and
counter-productive and stupid,"
started a back-lash.

"The unauthorized disclosure of
classified information is a
serious crime under U.S. law,"
Crowley explained in a statement
Sunday. "My recent comments
regarding the conditions of the
pre-trial detention of Private
First Class Bradley Manning were
intended to highlight the broader,
even strategic impact of discreet
actions undertaken by national
security agencies every day and
their impact on our global standing
and leadership.

"The exercise of power in today's
challenging times and relentless
media environment must be prudent
and consistent with our laws and
values," Crowley continued. "Given
the impact of my remarks, for which
I take full responsibility, I have
submitted my resignation."

Crowley shared with friends that
he's concerned that mistreatment
of Manning could undermine the
legitimate prosecution. Crowley
clarified that he has the Obama
administration's best interests
at heart because he thinks any
mistreatment of Manning could be
damaging around the world to
President Obama, who has tried
to end the perception that the
United States tortures prisoners.

Manning recently had to sleep in
the nude because defense officials
thought there was a suicide threat
and decided to take away his boxer
shorts, Manning's lawyer.

He leaves with "great admiration and
affection" for his colleagues, Crowley.

Published: March 08, 2011

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Conservative legal watch-dog group,
Judicial Watch, filed a lawsuit
Monday against Florida Democratic
congressman Alcee Hastings, accused
him of sexually harassing a one
time female staffer during an
assignment to Vienna, Austria.

"My comments will be limited since
I have not seen the complaint filed
in U.S. District Court by Judicial
Watch. I have seen a draft complaint
prepared by my accuser that contains
numerous inaccuracies and untruths.

"I have never sexually harassed
anyone. In fact, I am insulted that
these ludicrous allegations are being
made against me. When all the facts
are known in this case, the prevailing
sentiment will be, 'How bizarre!'

"I will win this lawsuit. That is a
certainty. In a race with a lie, the
truth always wins. And when the truth
comes to light and the personal
agendas of my accusers are exposed,
I will be vindicated," Alcee Hastings.

Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch president,
during a news conference announced the
lawsuit, stated the alleged harassment
took place for more than two years, and
ended in early 2010 when she left a
staff job with a panel- the Helsinki
Commission, based in Vienna, Austria.

Hastings was chairman of that group at
the time, formally known as the United
States Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110308112342writ.nb/topstory.html

Egypt's New Government Expected To Be Tougher

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On Sunday, Egypt received its second
new government in less than six
weeks, including a new foreign
minister who is expected to be
tougher with Israel than the
government of the ousted
president Hosni Mubarak was.

Essam Sharaf, the newly
appointed prime minister,
disclosed his new cabinet
while tensions heightened
between pro-democracy
protesters and the army in
downtown Cairo.

Troops fired live ammunition
to scatter civilians armed
with knives/sticks, and
stopped demonstrators who
wanted to enter a key
security building.

Sharaf was named Thursday as
part of an effort by the Supreme
Council of the Armed Forces,
the military council now in
charge of Egypt, to satisfy the
country's impatient democracy
activists and their demands to
remove Mubarak era faces. The
previous cabinet was named by
Mubarak in late January in a
desperate attempt to curtail
the uprising calling for his
resignation.

"We need to give the new
government a chance," Mahmoud
Salem, blogger
and activist present at the
scene but left when the armed
civilians appeared. "Some people
are bitter and angry, and it could
lead to hostility later. Ordinary
people want things to move on."

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110307060135writ.nb/topstory.html

Learn To Use Dialogue

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Dialogue Is Learned By Listening
To Speech Patterns

Talk or dialogue surrounds us,
no matter where we go. Dialogue
lives in markets, train stops,
malls and family get-togethers.
Listening is an excellent way to
learn how to use dialogue in
writing.

At the market, two people engage
in conversation.

"Hey, Mack." A male greets.
"Whatcha doin' here?"

"Picking-up couple things for
the old lady."

"Cool. I'm gettin' stuff 'cause
my fridge is empty."

The two laugh.

Take note of how one male drops
the g on ing word endings.

Let's observe a situation at the
train station.

"Why did you push me?" A lady
shouted at the female standing
near her.

"I ain't touch you."

"You did."

"I don't know ya, wouldn't touch
ya."

The accusing lady curled her hand
into a fist...

One of the females used ya instead
of you, and ain't instead of didn't.

Start thinking. What character can
your imagination mix together based
on the above example?

Perhaps, you're at the mall scanning
for bargains. You over-heard a
conversation between two people on
the order of:

"Get the lady in aisle five, just
the earrings."

What could you create with that sentence?

Family get-togethers offer all kinds
of possibilities. People from different
generations, various accents and speech
patterns.

Save moments by texting yourself, leave
a voice mail on your phone or a tape
recorder works well too.

Don't be afraid to experiment with
observation in learning how to use
dialogue in writing.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Learn-To-Use-Dialogue

Newt Gingrich's Political Team Clarifies Former House Speaker's Goals

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Newt Gingrich's political team
rushed to clear-up the former
House Speaker's goals late
Tuesday after multiple news
organizations reported that
Gingrich planned to announce
the establishment of a
presidential exploratory
committee during a trip to
Georgia on Thursday.

Joe Gaylord, Gingrich's
political adviser, shared
with the Des Moines Register
that the establishment of an
exploratory committee is a
certainty.

"It is exactly that, an
exploratory committee,"
Gaylord explained to the
newspaper. "But you can't say
that this is tantamount to an
announcement of candidacy. It
is the announcement of an
exploratory committee that says,
'is it really feasible for me to
do this, and let me check this out
in the next six or seven weeks,
because I want to find out if it's
real before I do it."

Gingrich spokesman, Rick Tyler,
circulated a statement to reporters
Tuesday night contradicting Gaylord's
statement.

"Gingrich is not traveling to Georgia
to announce that he will form 'an
exploratory committee' as stated in
the Des Moines Register," Tyler refuted.
"To be clear, while Speaker Gingrich
is in Georgia on Thursday, he will not
announce the formation of an
exploratory committee."

It's not clear if Gingrich will
explore a presidential bid.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110302073742writ.nb/topstory.html

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Reveals His New State Budget

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In an effort to control the
collective bargaining rights of
most public workers, Wisconsin
Governor Scott Walker is scheduled
to reveal his new state budget
on Tuesday.

The spending plan is being displayed
as protesters enter a third week of
demonstrations at the state capitol,
and Democratic law-makers stay away.

The state's 14 Democratic senators
went to neighboring Illinois to stop
a quorum of 20 votes needed for a
budget repair bill that would require
public employees, with the exception
of police and firefighters, to cover
more of their retirement plans and
health care premiums.

The budget repair bill would apply to
the current spending plan, and limit
collective bargaining for wages. Any
pay increases beyond the rate of
inflation would be subject to voter
approval.

"There are plenty of states that do
not have collective bargaining,"
Republican Governor Scott Walker
stated Monday. "We have a right to do
this with the statutes and that's
what we're doing."

Union leaders agreed to pay more for
benefits, but resisted limiting
bargaining rights that the governor
argues is needed for meaningful
fiscal reforms.

The governor defended his budget
repair bill, said the measures are
needed to head off a $3.6 billion
budget gap by 2013 that could result
in thousands of layoffs.

The state faced a suggested Friday
deadline to balance the budget, but
the important date is March 16, per
officials.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110301054541writ.nb/topstory.html

Senate Democrats Respond To House Republicans' Offer

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One week before a possible government
shut-down, Senate Democrats respond
to an offer from House Republicans
that would keep the government
running for two more weeks while
cutting $4 billion.

"The plan the Republicans are
floating today sounds like a
modified version of what
Democrats were talking about,"
that was proposed to Republicans
Thursday, Jon Summers- spokesman
for Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid of Nevada.

The proposal Thursday was
different in that it related to
a longer term spending bill that
would last until October 1, the
beginning of the new fiscal year.

In the short term bill, House
Majority Leader Eric Cantor,
Republican-Virginia, explained to
reporters Friday the $4 billion in
spending cuts would come from
terminating eight programs that
President Obama included in his
proposed 2012 budget and the
elimination of earmarks, the
same two areas Senate Democrats
said Thursday they were considering.

The cuts offered are intended to
find common ground with Democrats,
per Republicans.

These are things that people have
agreed to already," House GOP Whip
Kevin McCarthy.

The Republican plan aims at
slicing-away $650 million in highway
funds, $200 million in housing funds
and $250 million for a reading program
at the Department of Education plus it
eliminates a literacy program at that
department which the administration
labeled "ineffective."

Democrats accused Republicans of
wanting indiscriminate budget cuts.

Gossip Is A Bully's Tool

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Bullies Are Powerless Without Gossip

Gossip, lies, speculation and rumor
are ego boosting tools for bullies.
Lies, speculation and rumor fall
under gossip. Gossip is anyone
repeating idle talk about the
private business of others.

A mention of someone/someone's
business arouses the bully.
He/she immediately takes charge,
and begins to plot ways of
spreading gossip but not before
recruiting others.

A bully takes pleasure in smearing
a person's name through gossip.
The bully's ego is hurt when the
bullied speaks the truth.

The truth is a victim's best weapon
against bullies. The truth spoken
in different words rolls-out to
true. Gossip, on the other hand,
falls apart when looked at closely.

Let's look at how a bully operates.

"Who? Let's teach him/her a lesson."

Or

"Help me play a joke." One bully said.

"I'm not sure, don't know him/her."
The bully's friend.

"You know me, and you are."

Or

"I don' like him/her." The bully.

"Why?" The bullied friend.

"Don't like way he/she talks."

"But..."

"I heard..."

Or

He/she needs to be taken down a
level or two."

A bully's friend, most likely, is
bullied too. Bullies don't allow
their friends to think for
themselves, because they will
uncover the truth.

Take away a bully's tool by not
gossiping.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Gossip-Is-A-Bullys-Tool

"I Hate This Damn Job"- Sarah Palin as Alaska's Governor

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One of Sarah Palin's closest aides
from her time as governor leaked
a manuscript that mentions Palin
broke state election law in her
2006 gubernatorial campaign, and
was destroyed by petty grievances
up until she resigned.

The unpublished book by Frank
Bailey was leaked to the media
and widely circulated on Friday.

The manuscript opens with an
account of Palin sending Bailey
a message: "I hate this damn job,"
shortly before she resigned as
Alaska's governor in July 2009,
less than three years into her
four-year term. The manuscript
continues for almost 500 pages,
with analysis, gossip and
allegation stirred-in. Copies of
the manuscript were passed around
Alaska political circles on Friday.
The Daily News received copies
from various sources.

The first from author Joe McGinniss,
who is working on his own Palin book.
McGinniss had no response to a message
asking where he obtained the manuscript
and the reason he circulated it.

Bailey, a political insider, joined
Palin's 2006 campaign for governor,
became part of her inner circle, and
has never before told his version of
the Palin story.

Bailey has consistently refused requests
for interviews and did so again Friday.
The book was co-written with California
author Ken Morris and Jeanne Devon of
Anchorage, who publishes the popular
anti-Palin web site Mudflats.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110224050935writ.nb/topstory.html

How To Write For Business

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Better Business Writing

Better business writing is
providing reader friendly
writing. The writing must
tap into a reader's
interest. Supply readers
with what they want, need,
using fresh ideas. Stir-in
facts, quotes, figures or
color.

The actual writing is clear,
without confusion. No one
wants to waste time looking-up
words every other minute.

Better business writing mixes-in
everything that's needed. The
reader can do without lengthy,
useless words and phrases.

Better business writing requires
that it's correct ethically,
legally and factually.

First, organize. An e-book,
shorter article, research,
market projections or any
presentation must be
organized before the
meeting.

The order of display is
determined. What point is
shown first, second and so
on.

Next, the actual writing is
done. Write-out everything.
Share anything pertaining
to the presentation.

The editing process is last.
The procedure is a line by
line review. Keep editing
until your presentation is
perfect.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Write-For-Business

Pennsylvania Governor Fires Abortion Clinic Employees

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It was a state over-sight of an
abortion clinic, in west
Philadelphia, PA, where at least
one mother and seven viable babies
died "despicable," Pennsylvania
Governor Tom Corbett.

Corbett fired a half-dozen employees
and announced changes Tuesday in two
departments.

"This doesn't even rise to the level
of government run amok. It was
government not running at all. To call
this unacceptable doesn't say enough,"
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett.

The Department of Health and the
Department of State have the major
responsibility for such clinics.

Seven employees from the Department
of Health, Bureau of Professional
and Occupational Affairs, branch
of the Department of State are no
longer employed by the state, either
resigned or was terminated since the
situation came to light, per Corbett's
statement.

Four other former employees named in
the grand jury investigation had
already resigned.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 69, from the
west Philadelphia abortion clinic,
is being held without bail on eight
murder counts and other charges.
Arraignment is set for March 2.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110216075957writ.nb/topstory.html

'The German Fritzl' Goes on Trial for Charges of Incest

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Detlef S, 48, a.k.a. "the German
Fritzl" goes on trial Tuesday
accused of raping his stepdaughter
and fathering eight of her children.

Charges of incest with related
offences were committed between
1987 and 2010. Also, the repeated
rape of his step-daughter, known
by the pseudonym Natalie and now
is 28. He, too, is charged with
abusing his biological son and
daughter.

DNA tests revealed that the man
was the father of at least 7 of
Natalie's children. An eighth
child, whom he may have fathered,
is believed to have died according
to a spokesman for the court in
Koblenz.

Charges point to friends paying to
have sex with his two daughters per
the indictment. He denies all the
charges.

Prior to his arrest, Detlef S lived
with his 52-year-old wife; in a
village in western Germany, and up to
15 children. Four of the children
reportedly came from his wife's first
marriage, four belonged to them both
and seven were the result of incest.

The village priest, Joachim Triebel-Kulpe,
denied that Fluterschen turned a blind eye.
"There was speculation, of course, and
whispers in the village. I never would
have imagined that something like this
would happen in our community," he
explained.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110215075020writ.nb/topstory.html

Obsession Turns to Murder

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Maksim Gelman, 23, killed 4 people
during a day of stabbings,
car-jackings and hit-and-runs.

Gelman's obsession turned to
murder Friday when he stabbed
20-year-old Yelena Bulchenko
to death outside her Sheepshead
Bay home.

"That was all in his head,"
explained Yelena Bulchenko's
friend, Andrey Andriak. "They
were never a couple, barely
friends. He wanted to take it
to the next level and she
didn't."

Gelman had already fatally
stabbed his stepfather,
Bulchenko's mother and a
pedestrian in a 28 hour
killing spree- wounded 5
others.

People who knew Gelman said
he harassed Bulchenko for
months after she spurned
his advances.

"He became obsessed with her.
He would call and text her all
the time, but she would never
answer back," college friend,
Lauren Vasquez. "He didn't get
it. It was all in his head that
they were together or would be
together."

Neighbors described Gelman as a
low-life who was often on angel
dust. He had a string of arrests
for drug possession and other
charges, according to police.

"They had to die," Maksim Gelman
confessed after being forced down
by two transit cops and an off-duty
detective about 9 a.m. Sunday, per
sources.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110214063824writ.nb/topstory.html

How To Use Flashbacks In Fiction

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Tips On Using Flashbacks
Flashbacks will keep fiction
interesting, but it must be
mixed well. A flashback that's
too long bores the reader, and
he/she moves to the next
author/writer. It's the primary
concern when working with flashbacks.

Begin your fiction in a dramatic
scene. If the reader needs to know
how a character ended-up in the
situation, show them with a
flashback. The flashback takes the
reader back and uncovers relevant
information that leads to where
the story opened.

Sometimes, a sentence is all that's
needed. At other times, a paragraph
is required to handle a flashback.
In other words, flashbacks must
not slow-down the pace of a story.

Music, loud noise, a fall, gentle
shake or ringing telephone can set
a flashback into motion.

The following is the tell me method
to a flashback. It's necessary to
the excerpt. One paragraph explains
the background of grandmother and
gives insight into Tay's ancestry.

"Mother, tell me about how
grandmother migrated to find a better
life," Tay pleaded.

I explained how my mother worked as
a maid, saved her money until she was
able to move north. She, after many
years of hard work, became a business
owner.

A flashback is smooth, must have a
reason to be included.

Flashbacks are used in life too.
Newspaper headlines are excellent
examples. Newspaper headlines splash
the eye-catching part of a story, and
then explain what led up to the headline.
It's a flashback technique. Read over
the examples.

1. Egyptian Defense Ministry: ‘It Is
Time To Go Back To Normal Life’

http://newsblaze.com/story/20110202080440writ.nb/topstory.html

2.Google to Launch Google Offers

http://newsblaze.com/story/20110125105107writ.nb/topstory.html

In closing, a flashback covers only what is needed.

Factory Worker Discovers Ming Vase

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A 79-year-old British retired worker
wanted the press to not publish his
name, but walked into an auction
house with an almost perfect Ming
vase in a card-board box.

The Dorchester auction house, Duke's,
were amazed by the "spectacular find."

"When my colleague initially showed me
what had arrived in a cardboard box I
could not believe my eyes," Guy
Schwinge of Duke's told the Guardian.
"The vase is in perfect condition,
and it is amazing to think that it
has survived unscathed for almost
six hundred years."

The BBC reported that the vase, which
stands 11.5 inches tall, is the largest
ever found of a rare group of early Ming
"moonflasks" whose production dates
somewhere between the years 1403 and
1424. It was manufactured during the
reign of an emperor named Yongle, and
its distinctive features such as the
small loop handles appear to be
influenced by Islamic design.

The auction is scheduled for May,
and the item is expected to bring
at least a million pounds, or
somewhere in the neighborhood of
$1.6 million United States dollars.

It's not sure how the man came into
possession of the vase.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110208074635writ.nb/topstory.html

A Priest's Confession of a Mistake

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

There was much debate, online and
off, about why Father Thomas
Euteneuer left the position
president of Human Life
International, 2010, in August.

The sudden exit led to official
apologies, explanations and
defenses of both Euteneuer's
past behavior as not only the
superstar of the international
pro-life movement, but an exorcist
for the Catholic Church.

A January 27th medical emergency
at HLI's Front Royal, Virginia
headquarters described by
emergency medical responders as a
"medical seizure," and some
witnesses depicted "demonic
possession" of a past female
associate of Euteneuer's.

There were speculations and
accusations against the priest,
attacks on both the priest's
critics and alleged victims.

Euteneuer sliced into the five
months of official silence with
an admission of one instance of
moral failing during his performance
of an exorcism.

"The circumstances that led to my
departure from HLI were related
exclusively to my own decisions
and conduct within the ministry
of exorcism that I carried out
independently from my responsibilities
at HLI," Euteneuer in a February 1st
post on the web site LifeSiteNews.
The "vast majority of my decisions
and conduct, both personally and in
this ministry, were morally sound and
consistent with all standards of
pastoral care of persons," Euteneuer
explained. "I must acknowledge, however,
that one particularly complex situation
clouded my judgment and led me to
imprudent decisions with harmful
consequences, the worst of which was
violating the boundaries of chastity
with an adult female who was under
my spiritual care."

Euteneuer accepted "full responsibility"
for his "weakness and sinful conduct," but
added a denial of some specific online
accusations, such as the presence in a
rental room in his parent's home of a
woman alleged to have been the subject
of repeated exorcisms by the priest.

"The good and safety of others, respect
for privacy, and the common good are
sufficient reasons for being silent
about what ought not be known or for
making use of a discreet language. The
duty to avoid scandal often commands
strict discretion. No one is bound to
reveal the truth to someone who does
not have the right to know it." (Catechism
of the Catholic Church, 2489. Emphasis in
the original.)," the HLI statement.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110207071627writ.nb/topstory.html

Egyptian Defense Ministry: 'It Is Time To Go Back To Normal Life'

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The Egyptian defense ministry asked
the youth to return home, saying,
"It is time to go back to normal
life," as protesters assembled for
a ninth day to push the departure
of President Hosni Mubarak forward.

The crowd had families with young
children in Cairo's Tahrir Square
on Wednesday. Some camped out at
Tahrir which means "freedom" or
"liberation" in Arabic for one week.

Mubarak, on Tuesday, said he wouldn't
run for office again in the elections
scheduled for September, but is firm
on remaining in the country to finish
his term.

"My first responsibility now is to
restore the stability and security of
the homeland, to achieve a peaceful
transition of power in an environment
that will protect Egypt and Egyptians
and which will allow for the responsibility
to be given to whoever the people elect in
the forth-coming elections," Mubarakin in a
televised address Tuesday night.

Thousands of protesters exploded in chants
of "Down with Mubarak!" and "The people want
the president to be judged!" following his
announcement.

Some waved shoes in the air, a deep insult
in the Arab world. They vowed to continue
their demonstrations until Mubarak quits now,
not when his term is over.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110202080440writ.nb/topstory.html

Cairo Crowds Prepare For A March

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Cairo crowds prepare for a march
aimed at bringing down the 30-year
regime of President Hosni Mubarak.
Organizers requested that a million
people flood the streets.

Egyptian authorities shut down the
Internet and cell-phone service
ahead of the protest to stop people
from showing-up.

The ruling National Democratic Party
announced a counter demonstration in
support of Mubarak.

Tuesday's new arrivals gave new energy
to protesters who spent another chilly
night in the plaza, and the crowd broke
into a full-bodied roar of "Down, Mubarak,
down!"

Protesters are demanding an end to what
they feel is a repressive, incompetent
and corrupt regime that didn't improve
the lives of ordinary people, but
restricted civil liberties and violated
human rights.

They don't have a leader, but have united
around Mohammed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace
Prize winner and former secretary general
of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The crowd in the square came from all walks
of life: secular middle-class professionals
and pious Muslims of modest means.

The religious element has become more
visible, and dawn brought a long audio
burst of Koranic verses. After being
caught off guard by the protests, the
Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest
opposition group and one of the cornerstones
of political Islam in the Middle East, has
thrown its support behind the movement and
endorsed ElBaradei as a transitional figure.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110201091445writ.nb/topstory.html

China Censors Egypt News

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The unrest in Egypt continues,
but China blocked the country's
name from micro-blogs and wiped
away any comments from the web
in regard to the protests.

The Chinese Communist Party keeps
an eye on the Internet and blocks
any content that could represent a
threat. Negative talk of a one
party rule is a "no-no," censored.

Censors nip special events like the
2008 Beijing Olympics, or after a
political crisis- the 2009 riots in
Xinjiang.

The Chinese on protests. On January
30, Global Times, a state-run newspaper,
published an editorial warning,
essentially, that democracy would fail in
Tunisia and Egypt. An excerpt:

"In general, democracy has a strong appeal
because of the successful models in the
West. But whether the system is applicable
in other countries is in question, as more
and more unsuccessful examples arise.

In the West, democracy is not only a
political system, but a way of life. Yet
some emerging democracies in Asia and Africa
are taking hit after hit from street-level
clamor

Democracy is still far away for Tunisia
and Egypt. The success of a democracy
takes concrete foundations in economy,
education and social issues."

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110131060937writ.nb/topstory.html

How To Use Transitions

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Using transitional words/phrases
allow you to work smooth changes
into your writing. They show how
two ideas are connected to each
other.

Second, for example, they let
readers know it happened after
the first incident, and whatever
happened first caused the second
event to happen.

Take a look at my example.

People who become writers are
genetically destined, they either
have to write or they learn to write.
The point that writers are genetically
destined opens the door for all kinds
of arguments, include inheritance defines
a writer. Secondly, writers, simply, learn
to write. Some would reason writing can't
be taught. However, the debate can spin
into a lively one.

Transitional words keep paragraphs from
exploding into disconnected statements.

Transitional words are: plus, first, second,
third, now, beside, in the same way, but,
in fact, for example, in conclusion and in
other words.

In conclusion, poor use of transitional
words will take the reader on a jerky ride,
with here is a sentence and there's another
disjointed idea. In other words, transitional
words bring paragraphs together with consistency.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Use-Transitions

Google to Launch Google Offers

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Google is to launch Google Offers,
the search giant's Groupon competitor,
Mashable learned.

They have the documents to prove it.
One of their sources sent a confidential
fact sheet straight from Googleplex about
the company's new group buying service.

"Google Offers is a new product to help
potential customers find deals in their
area through a daily email," the fact
sheet.

Google Offers works like Groupon or
LivingSocial. How does it work?

People receive an e-mail with a local deal
for the day. They have the opportunity to
buy that deal within a specific time period.
When enough people have made the purchase,
the Google Offer is activated and users get
$10 toward a $20 deal for that certain
restaurant you've wanted to try.

Google is reaching out to businesses in order
to get them on board with Offers.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110125105107writ.nb/topstory.html

A Hacker Is Illegally Accessing Web Sites

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

A hacker says he is accessing web
sites like: military web sites,
government web sites and those
belonging to universities per Noa
Bar-Yosef, Imperva senior security
strategist.

The price range from $33 to $499,
depending on how important or widely
used the web site is.

"You can actually buy the capability
of being the administrator of the web
site," Bar-Yosef explained.

The hacker is also selling databases of
personal information he's stolen from the
web sites for $20 per thousand records.
This information could be used by spammers,
or by fraudsters to break into online accounts.

Bar-Yosef saw evidences that administrative
privileges for 16 web sites were for sale.

Imperva assembled the names of the victims
from its blog post, but security blogger Brian
Krebs posted more details of the incident,
including the names of the hacked web sites.

Some of the hacked web sites are the United
States, states of Utah and Michigan, the
government of Italy and the Department of
Defense Pharmacoeconomic Center, which
analyzes the military's use of drugs and
helps the Department of Veterans Affairs
procure drug contracts.

Whoever is selling the data probably broke
into these web sites using a common Web attack
called SQL injection, Bar-Yosef.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110124065551writ.nb/topstory.html

New Year- Goals And Resolutions

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

How To Work On Goals/Resolutions

A new year, 2011, brings new hopes,
dreams and to-do-lists. Don't just
mouth/think goals, resolutions, but
schedule them into your life. Make
time to realize a goal, resolution.

Keep in mind that goals, resolutions,
take time and determination.

Work on a goal to lose weight daily.
Keep track of what you eat, exercise
and cut-back on foods your body can
do without, shouldn't have.

Get a job resolution requires actively
seeking a job. Don't let filled positions
stop you. Apply for the next job, and
look for other available positions.

Your plan is to start a new relationship?
Stop one?

Think about how you'll move on. Some
relationships will not end friendly. Do you
have a place to live after? Is it time to
leave the relationship? A month from now?
Six months?

Some break-ups have to involve law
enforcement. Have everything been arranged
for once you remove yourself from the
relationship?

In my opinion, you need time to yourself,
alone, before starting a new relationship.
You'll need to decide which direction is
best for you. Is there something you've
wanted to do for a long time. Place you
want to see? Pull-out your to-do-lists.

In the new year, 2011, work toward a goal,
resolution, without pressure. Move forward
slowly. No one is timing you. The pace you
use in reaching a goal, resolution, depends
on you, your life-style. Never compare
yourself to a friend or relative. Simply,
keep moving until your goal/resolution is
reached.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/New-Year-New-Hopes-And-Dreams

Suspected Strangler Arrested

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Police arrested suspected serial
strangler Antonio Rodriguez, in
Philadelphia, PA- Kensington section
of the city, on Monday after DNA
testing connected him to the sexual
assault and murder of at least three
women.

The announcement came just minutes
after a press conference in which
Philadelphia Police Captain James
J. Clark announced a "major break"
in the case, with forensic evidence
putting Rodriguez at the scene of
the three homicides.

Rodriguez is a homeless man considered
"extremely dangerous," per Clark.

Rodriguez, 21, is suspected of killing:
Casey Mahoney- 27, Elaine Goldberg- 21
and Nicole Piacentini- 35, Clark continued.

Rodriguez recently was released from
prison, Clark explained, but he declined
to tell the reason for incarceration or
give insight into his criminal history.

State police contacted Philadelphia police
about the match in their offender database.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110118074510writ.nb/topstory.html

Brain-Storming A Writing Idea

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How To Brain-Storm A Writing Idea

Brain-storming a writing idea involves
offering solutions to problems in a
new, different, way.

It's possible that the problem you're
addressing has already been answered.
Still, supply an answer.

Your life experiences, way of looking
at problems and voice are unique to you.
So, you bring a new, different, look to
an old problem.

Brain-storming steps into asking people
familiar with the subject questions about
it, people who have lived through it- how?
Poking around information that's available
on the subject falls under brain-storming.

Information you know about the subject is
compared to what you found. Stir-up the
facts/ideas to see what pops-out.

Brain-storming will take sugggestions into
consideration. Listen. Learn. Write.

It's you, the writer, whom decides how a
problem will be answered, and in what new,
different way.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Brain-Storming-A-Writing-Idea

Loss of 500 Jobs At Myspace

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Rupert Murdoch, the head of media
giant News Corp., and his firm's
Myspace, a social networking web
site, gave notice of a restructuring
Tuesday that will result in the loss
of 500 jobs world-wide.

Advertising revenue and monthly visitors
to Myspace has been down.

The new organizational structure will
enable us to move more nimbly, develop
products more quickly and attain more
flexibility on the financial side,"
Myspace Chief Executive Mike Jones
explained in a statement.

Myspace never really figured out which
one it wanted to be," Dave McClure,
founding partner of 500 Start-ups.
"For the life of me I don't know why
they weren't able to pull it off."

The social network struggled to innovate.
The first signs of Myspace's troubles
starred in 2008, when News Corp. reported
that it was falling short of its $1-billion
revenue projections for the web site.

People familiar with the situation said News
Corp. is looking-over potential buyers.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110112070856writ.nb/topstory.html

Suspect In Congress-Woman's Shooting Faces The Judge Today

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

A man accused of shooting at a
congress-woman Saturday faces a
federal court judge this afternoon.
A high-powered defense attorney who
represented the Unabomber, the Atlanta
Olympics bomber, and Susan Smith, the
South Carolina woman who drowned her
two children by driving her car into a
lake will be at his side.

Jared Loughner, 22, of Tucson, Arizona,
has been charged with five federal
felonies- the attempted murders of Rep.
Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, two of
her staffers, the murders of U.S.
District Judge John Roll and Giffords
aide Gabriel Zimmerman in Tucson.

Judy Clarke will appear with him at his
initial court appearance and ask to be
appointed as Loughner's attorney.

It's possible Loughner could face the
death penalty, but that decision has not
been decided.

Prosecutors have 30 days to bring the case
before a grand jury to obtain an indictment.

Loughner faces state charges, too, in the
fatal shooting of four other people and the
wounding of 11 more.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110110073044writ.nb/topstory.html

Hook The Reader

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How To Hook The Reader
Writers must hook readers, and hold
their attention until the last word
has been appreciated.

An inviting title is necessary. The
title stops a potential reader by
promising to reveal some truth,
provide a shock, entertains,
encourages an action, angers or
saddens.

Present the topic as if you're
talking to a friend. A mixture of
long and short sentences work best.

Technical information is thinned-out
with everyday language, lay-person
words.

Street jargon isn't used unless
universally known. Street jargon in
one area of the country, world, may
not be known in another.

Stick with words that readers don't
have to look-up every two or three
minutes.

It's safe to work with words that an
eight grade student could understand.

Mix-up the mood, direction, of paragraphs
to hook readers.

Take a look at my examples.

Sample One

Mary had a fight with Rose, ran-out
and the window in the door broke.

Or

Mary battled Rose, stormed-out as the
door pane shattered.

Sample Two

Mr. Brown has all kinds of diseases, and
not expected to live.

Or

Mr. Brown is stuffed full of diseases, and
people are baffled that he's still living.

The above tips will help you hook readers
from paragraph one to the last word.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Hook-The-Reader

Death Will Knock

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Death Comes For Us All
Death knocks at every door, sooner
or later. It doesn't matter if you're
a CEO, leader, baker or candle-stick
maker. Sometimes in human opinion,
death knocks too early.

It can be reasoned that death is
merciful, even relieves suffering.
Perhaps, death is better for the
terminally ill.

Death has no patience for survivors
or mourners. Death claims and departs.
Death turns a deaf ear to pleas for
more time.


Where there is a thread of life, talk
and tell people how you feel. Often,
death surprises.

Cry for a love one, let it out. It's
all right. Don't be afraid to bring
that emotion to the surface. You'll
feel better.

I speak from experience. I lost my
mother, and my husband nine months
later.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Death-Will-Knock

WikiLeaks Founder's $1.3 Million Book Deal

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has
a $1.3 million book deal to cover legal
costs relating to his arrest and lawsuits
directed at his whistle blowing web site.

"I don't want to write this book, but I
have to," he told the Sunday Times. "I
have already spent £200,000 for legal
fees and I need to defend myself and to
keep WikiLeaks afloat."

The book will be published in the U.S. by
the Alfred A. Knopf publishing house, part
of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at
Random House, and British publisher Canongate.

Assange told the British newspaper that he
will receive $800,000 from Knopf and about
$502,000 from Canongate.

WikiLeaks came under financial strain when
Paypal, MasterCard and Visa cut off all
processing of donations to the web site.
According to Assange, the web site has
lost approximately $650,000 since the
funding was stopped. The web site was
receiving approximately $130,000 in
daily donations.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20101227071913writ.nb/topstory.html

The New York Times Link To WikiLeaks

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

David E. Sanger, a New York Times
reporter looked through the latest
WikiLeaks information and wrote
stories based on the leaked
material, said in an interview on NPR.

It "was never an easy decision to
publish national security information,"
but "at the end of this process, what
we did was responsible, it was legal
and it was important for a democratic
society."

The Times was the only American news
organization to receive government
documents that were released by WikiLeaks,
the Internet organization that specializes
in exposing government secrets through
leaked information.

WikiLeaks released about 90,000 documents
prepared by U.S. military sources on the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this summer.

WikiLeaks cut its link with The Times,
offered the State Department cables to
two other American news outlets, CNN and
the Wall Street Journal. Both refused,
decided that its terms - including a demand
for financial compensation under certain
circumstances were unacceptable.

WikiLeaks decided not to work with The
Times on the latest leaks.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20101221113709writ.nb/topstory.html

How To Thread Information Into Poems

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Turn Any Information Into Poems

One topic can be the inspiration
for several poems. Let's look at
history, for example.

I was curious as to the name of
the person responsible for writing
"taxation without representation..."

Research confirmed that James Otis
was given credit for writing the
phrase.

Otis wrote and spoke-out to encourage
the American colonists to become
independent of England.

Here's a free verse poem off the
top of my head.

Stand Tall

James Otis

Massachusetts

Gent

Spoke-out

Seize colonists

Independence

From

Mother England

A second phrase grabbed my attention,
and it was: "If they want to have a
war..."

The words was spoken by captain John
Parker, April 19, 1775.

Parker battled, with a few men, three
companies of British soldiers.

Take a look at my Pantown poem.

We Came

Chilling April night melts into dawn

Men ravaged by time,

Boys not yet at full term

Stood for the battle.

Men ravaged by time

Sprinkled on a Boston road,

Stood for the battle

Strong of heart.

Sprinkled on a Boston road

Boys not yet at full term,

Strong of heart,

Chilling April night melts into dawn.

Select a topic of your choice and
create poems.

Believe In Self

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Believe In You

You must, first, believe in
yourself to succeed at life,
writing. People will, often,
fail to see your vision, goal.
They'll suggest a different
path for you.

If you have no belief in self,
anyone can persuade, turn, you
against what's right or your
goal. You'll believe, trust,
anyone or everyone.

Before long, confusion sets in.
From listening to others, stress
builds-up and sickness over-takes
you.

There's nothing wrong in considering
other opinions, but believe in self.
Do what's best for self. Live your
vision, dream.

Learn to say no, speak-up for self. If
you don't believe in self, who will?

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/Believe-In-You

Publish Your Own E-Book

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

How To Create An E-Book
People are always on the look-out for
how to do, make, sell or profit. Life's
experiences are stuffed-full of writing
ideas.

Ideas are bought to life through the e-book
process.

E-book is an abbreviation for electronic book,
digital book. A reader is required before an
e-book can be read on your computer.

Benefits to the e-book process are many.

People will pay for informative products. The
low over-head costs, easy distribution through
a download/web site and publishers can't squeeze
in their vision appeals to most.

There's no need to search high and low for a
publisher when you can do the e-book process.

Decide on a subject to explore or write about.
Pick more than one writing idea. Select five.
Sometimes, there's nothing else to say about
a writing idea, or you get bored with it. If
one writing idea isn't working, go to the next
one.

A writing idea should excite your imagination,
and have mass appeal.

The title catches the reader's attention. Snap
his/her eyes back. Titles make statements,
question today's norm or give readers a new look
at a topic.

Some outline. The idea of graphics is kicked around
the mind. Graphics end-up as the e-book's cover.

The cover, graphics, should reflect the contents.
It, too, must please the eyes. A title is inviting.

Consider a Table of Contents, and an Appendix.

How will you spread the word about it? Viral
Marketing is used. Viral Marketing is free.
It saves time and money.

It means that social networks are used to
promote your e-book. Word of mouth spread
via the Internet works well too. Get creative.

Perhaps, a video on YouTube would stir-up the
buzz about your e-book. Start a chat on Facebook
about your e-book. Leave no social network
un-turned.

Tell people too. Let friends and relatives know.
Drop a word, start a conversation, about your
e-book when out.

E-book publishing is made with an Adobe PDF file,
which can be done using a full version of Adobe
Acrobat. Most computers are sold with a free version
of Adobe Reader.

Begin making your e-book by opening a blank document,
or Microsoft Word File. The font size is Roman 12
point, and single spacing is used. Or, you may
prefer Verdana, 11 point.

Sizes for e-books are 5 1/2 by 8 1/2, or 6 X 9 by
8 1/2. Adjust Microsoft Word File to your choice.

Name and book titles are in the header. Page numbers
are centered at the bottom of each page. Major points
are displayed in bold type.

The e-book process can become a business.

Retailers Open Doors On Thanksgiving Day

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

Some retailers have different policies
and are opening their doors on Thanksgiving
Day.

Kmart, Sears and Toys'R'Us are a few stores
opening their doors to people looking to start
their Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving Day.

Walmart will price match circulars from
competitors, and will be open on Thanksgiving
Day too.

Here's a list of store openings, but check
your local listings too.

Giant Food: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Wegmans: 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sears: 7 a.m. to noon

Safeway: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Kmart: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Walgreens: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Gap: 9 a. m. to 9 p.m.

Banana Republic: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Michael's: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Toys 'R' Us: Opens Nation-wide to 10 p.m.

Walmart Supercenter stores will be open 24
hours on Thanksgiving, and most regular
Walmart stores opening 'til midnight
Thanksgiving night.

Ugly Betty Actor Hacks Mother To Death

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with me? Leave me your opinion.


An actor wielding an ornate Freemason
sword hacked his mother to death early
yesterday in their Brooklyn apartment
while screaming out Bible passages/Masonic
references, police and witnesses stated.

"Repent! Repent! Repent!" Michael Brea,
shouted at his 55-year-old mother, Yannick,
during his explosion and the killing at their
Prospect Heights apartment, neighbors explained.

The Masonic sword was 3-feet long and was
for ceremonial use, per police sources.

Brea, 31, had roles in "Ugly Betty" and the
movie "Step Up 3D," was heard yelling about
the "architect of the universe," a term used
by Freemasons to refer to a supreme being.

"He kept chanting, 'Repent!'" Greg Clare, who
lives below the Breas. "He kept asking her if
she believed in Jesus Christ, if she believed
in God. She was yelling, 'Help me! Help me!'"

He was taken to Bellevue Hospital for psychiatric
evaluation, but said, "When I looked at my mother,
I saw the devil."

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20101124135937writ.nb/topstory.html

Cure For Writer’s Block

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

You're excited about writing, talked
with friends and family. The writing
itch will, finally, be relieved. You,
even, carved-out some space for writing.

The time has come for you to enter your
writing place. You ease down in front
of the computer.

Thirty minutes later, you haven't written
a word and can't think of anything to
write. Writer's block has crippled your
creative process.

Take a deep breath. Let it out slowly.

Glance out of the window, or around the
room you're in.

What do you see? The back of someone's
head? Perhaps, your eyes landed on a tree,
flower or bird.

A couch, chair, book or clock grabbed your
eyes?

The person, thing, that jumped into view is
what you'll write about.

Let's go through how the cure for writer's
block works.

Give some thought to what you want to write
about. Should your topic be fiction, non-
fiction or poems?

My eyes noticed a how-to writing book. I can
write an article, short story on a missing
page in the book or an essay about writing.

I decided to write a short story on a missing
page from the book.

The chirping bird outside my window could be
written about, a specific species.

The cure for writer's block works when you've
been assigned a project too. Simply, select a
phrase, word or theme from the project to write
about.

The cure for writer's block works, and it's
fun.

Test the cure for writer's block. Let me know
about your results.

The Game To Ignite Writing

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

A Writing Game
Select any word from a corner of your
mind, out of the room you're in, some
word heard during the day or a word
that plucks at your attention.

Take some time to twirl it around your
creative process. Here is where you
determine how the word rolls into a
writing project.

My word from the game to ignite writing
is wine.

You'll need a total of five words. Mix-in
four more words related to the original
word.

My original word is wine. Soothing, wet,
cold and relaxing float to my mind that's
related to wine. Or, they are four words
that work well with wine.

The words can be shuffled in any direction:
fiction, non-fiction or poems.

The following demonstrates how my words can
be used in the game to ignite writing.

"Fannie stopped by last night in the cold rain,
bottle of wine in hand." Fran sat in her
L-shaped kitchen across the table from her
sister, Freda.

"You know how I feel 'bout her," Freda said.

"She and the bag were really wet, limp even."

"How could she be limp?"

"I mean Fannie couldn't relax, kept peeking
through the living room's curtain." Fran sighed.
"Nothing I said soothed her.

"I think she's..."

The above story can ride-out in a short story
or novel.

Take a look at the poem centering around my
words.

In a wet twenty below

Sunny Minnie-

Wobbles down the street

Trying to get back,

Clutching her bottle of cold wine

To sooth her memories of life,

While each pain relaxes numb.

The game to ignite writing will help you
produce fiction, non-fiction or poems.
Put your own spin on it. Let me know how
the game to ignite writing helped you. Or,
it offered no help?

Deficit Panel Proposes Cuts

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with me? Leave me your opinion.

A White House commission proposes
to cut the federal budget deficit
by hundreds of billions a year.
Social Security benefits, middle
class tax breaks and defense spending
are of interest.

The initial plan is to stop various
breaks the middle class are getting
like the deduction for home mortgage
interest.

On Social Security, the plan would
slowly raise the retirement age to 68
around 2050, 69 by 2075. It would combine
various cuts to benefits with an increase
in taxes on wealthier people's incomes.
Also, it's looking to curb federal spending
on health care except what's needed for the
recently passed health care plan. This would
be achieved by introducing further changes,
including reform of medical/malpractice law,
and by slowing the growth of the Medicare p
rogram.

A version of the plan would dramatically lower
individual rates to 9%, 15% and 24%.

"Tough choices" are going to be necessary to
tame a deficit that has soared to more than
$1 trillion a year, President Barack Obama
shared with leaders of his own Democratic
Party.

"Before anybody starts shooting down proposals,
we need to listen, gather up all the facts, and
be straight with the American people," Mr. Obama
stated at a press conference Thursday in Seoul,
where he attended a Group of 20 nation's summit.

The commission staff's goal is to curtail growth
of the federal debt by roughly $3.8 trillion by
2020.

"In the end, the president is going to have to
decide whether to incorporate some of this into
the 2012 budget," David Walker, a former U.S.
comptroller general and an advocate for deficit
reduction. "He's going to have to lead, because
if the president doesn't lead on this, it goes
nowhere fast."