5/19 The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com         Frank Schaeffer: How the Bible's Strange Take on Sex Led to Crazy Politics -- and How I Learned to Love Women (and Jesus) Anyway May 18, 2011 at 1:52 PM   My mother Edith Schaeffer herself was the greatest illustration of the divine beauty of paradox I've encountered. She was a fundamentalist living a double life as a lover of beauty who broke all her own judgmental rules in favor of creativity. Read More... More on Spiritual Development         Planets Without Orbits? Astronomers Make 'Exciting' Discovery May 18, 2011 at 1:52 PM   NEW YORK -- Are these planets without orbits? Astronomers have found 10 potential planets as massive as Jupiter wandering through a slice of the Milky Way galaxy, following either very wide orbits or no orbit at all. And scientists think they are more common than the stars. These mysterious bodies, apparently gaseous balls like the largest planets in our solar system, may help scientists understand how planets form. Read More... More on Science         Finance Park In Fairfax, Va. Offers Middle Schoolers Lessons In Money Smarts May 18, 2011 at 1:41 PM   Pay the mortgage or buy a Lamborghini? Based on their purchases in a financial literacy exercise, some middle schoolers in Fairfax County, Va. would rather take the sports car, NPR reports. These decisions become learning experiences for eighth-graders in the large Washington, D.C. suburb's school system. Every student is required to explore such money management issues at an educational arena called Finance Park. Read More... More on Children         Bashar Assad Sanctions Coming From U.S.: AP Sources May 18, 2011 at 1:41 PM   WASHINGTON — The United States slapped sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad and six senior Syrian officials for human rights abuses over their brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, for the first time personally penalizing the Syrian leader for actions of his security forces. The White House announced the sanctions Wednesday, a day before President Barack Obama delivers a major speech on the uprisings throughout the Arab world with prominent mentions of Syria. Read More... More on Middle East Protests         GOP 2012 Primary Race: Still No Frontrunner May 18, 2011 at 1:41 PM   WASHINGTON -- On the heels of announcements by Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump that they will not seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012, a new Gallup report released Tuesday finds there is still no frontrunner for the GOP nomination. The report found that when respondents who had selected Huckabee or Trump as their first choice for the Republican nomination in Gallup's March and April polling were reallocated according to their second choices, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin moved into a near tie for first place. Still, neither potential candidate was the favorite of more than a fifth of Republicans. Huckabee and Trump had been tied for first place, each with just 16 percent, in Gallup's April primary poll, with Romney and Palin trailing. The three candidates with the highest name recognition in Gallup's May polling -- Romney, Palin and Newt Gingrich -- made the biggest gains when second choices for Trump and Huckabee voters were reallocated, but none appeared poised to pick up enough support to vault into clear frontrunner status. Read More... More on Pollster         John Bergquist: Having Patience With Tablets May 18, 2011 at 1:41 PM   Let's be patient with tablets and embrace a lab coat approach to our technology use and experience. Today the consumer and technician are kindred travelers in this dreamlike world of technology, where in short order, we can have that which we imagine. Read More... More on Tablets         NJ-Christie Approval: 47% Approve, 49% Disapprove (Monmouth 5/12-16) May 18, 2011 at 1:41 PM   Monmouth University 5/12-16/11; 807 adults, 3.5% margin of error Mode: Live telephone interviews Read More... More on Pollster         OH-Kasich Approval: 38% Approve, 49% Disapprove (Quinnipiac 5/10-16) May 18, 2011 at 1:41 PM   Quinnipiac University 5/10-16/11' 1,379 registered voters, 2.6% margin of error Mode: Live telephone interviews Read More... More on Pollster         Queen Elizabeth II Seeks Irish 'Bloody Sunday' Reconcilation On 4-Day Tour May 18, 2011 at 1:41 PM   DUBLIN -- Queen Elizabeth II's journey of reconciliation to Ireland took her to the site Wednesday of a notorious massacre where British troops killed 14 Irish civilians in 1920. The queen's visit to Croke Park on the second day of her historic trip highlighted the mellowing in Anglo-Irish relations since those dark days. The large sports stadium is a revered spot for Irish nationalists who mourn those who died there during the conflict with Britain. Read More... More on Queen Elizabeth II         6 Intimate Details You Can Tell Just By Looking At Someone May 18, 2011 at 1:41 PM   How much would you pay to be able to read another person's mind? As superpowers go, it's a hell of a lot more of a game changer than, say, flight. Your career, your relationships -- everything would change. But experts say you can gather a whole bunch of intimate details about a person just by looking at them. No, it's not 100 percent accurate, and it's not magic. It's just science. Read More...         Michael A. Siegel: A Decade Later "New Markets" Continues to Build Opportunity in an America Left Behind May 18, 2011 at 1:41 PM   "New Markets" encourages private investments from corporations and individuals who might never consider buying into "high-risk areas." The cost to taxpayers have created nearly 500,000 jobs at a cost of less than $12,000 each. Read More... More on Careers         Mehdi Carcela, Standard Liege Player, Kicked In Face During Belgian League Playoff Match (VIDEO) May 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM   Standard Liege midfielder Mehdi Carcela took a brutal kick to the face in the first half of their Belgian league playoff match against Racing Genk. Carcela and Racing Genk's Chris Mavinga were both chasing after the ball and Mavinga tried to clear it. However, the Genk defender missed the ball and nailed Carcela in the face. The Moroccan immediately fell to the ground and was taken to a nearby hospital, according to the Associated Press. Mavinga was given a yellow card and the match ended in a 1-1 draw, giving Racing Genk the league title. Read More... More on Soccer         Ethan Rome: The Truth About Health Insurance Company Profits: They're Excessive May 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM   Following astonishingly high first-quarter profit reports from health insurance companies, that industry's trade group, America's Health Insurance Plans, now claims it is among the least profitable health care industries. Read More... More on Republicans         Spain Unemployment Protests Staged Ahead Of Sunday Elections May 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM   More than 1,000 young demonstrators packed Madrid's Puerta de Sol square to vent their anger over Spain's economic crisis and staggering unemployment rate. As the AFP is reporting, protesters carried placards reading "Make the guilty pay for the crisis," and chanted "They call this democracy but it is not." Organized via Twitter, the "Egyptian-style" demonstrations were staged ahead of Spain's regional and municipal elections Sunday, and as the BBC is notes, the atmosphere has been quite festive, with most of the crowd singing songs and playing games while they debate. They are demanding jobs and a fairer system of democracy. "We are tired of the unemployment, the corruption of politicians. It is always the same thing. I have no job and I don't see how I can get one any time soon," Madrid resident Jordi Perez, 25, is quoted by the AFP as saying. "They have to know how we feel." Read More... More on Spain         China's Conjoined Twin Girls Are Alive And Growing Stronger May 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM   CHONGQING, China â€" In a hallway at the Xinqiao Hospital of the Third Military Medical University, Liao Guojun spends his days pacing, sleeping on borrowed beds and hoping for news. His daughters are only feet away, behind a locked door at the end of the hall, but he rarely sees them. Liao’s children, unusual conjoined twins born May 5, lie behind the closed and guarded door of the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. The room’s windows have been covered with paper, preventing curious gawkers from stealing glances of China’s notorious newborns. Read More...         Census: Divorces Decline In United States May 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM   WASHINGTON -- New census figures show the "seven-year" itch persists – couples who break up typically separate upon seven years of marriage, and divorce a year later. The 2009 data released Wednesday also show U.S. divorces are leveling off after decades of increases. The census report found that among all race groups, women who were ever married and then divorced reached as high as 41 percent among 50- to 59-year-olds. That's down from 44 percent in 2004. Read More...         WATCH: Explaining The Mystery Of Chronic Pain May 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM   We think of pain as a symptom of a disease -- and usually it is, often stemming from something like a tumor, an infection or an operation. But, about 10 percent of the time, the pain itself is the problem. “Pain is a disease,” said pediatric anesthesiologist Elliot Krane, chief of the Pediatric Pain Management Service at the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. During a talk titled “The Mystery of Chronic Pain” for TED, a “nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading,” Krane described how sometimes the nervous system can morph to create a “positive feedback loop” that sends pain signals to an area of your body. “It’s almost as if somebody came into your home and rewired your walls so that the next time you turned on the light switch, the toilet flushed three doors down, or your dishwasher went on or your computer monitor turned off.” Krane said. “That’s crazy, but that’s in fact, what happens with chronic pain.” Read More... More on TED         Philip Morris Targets California Cigarette Tax Measure May 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM   Story comes courtesy of California Watch. By Christina Jewett Supporters of a proposed $1-per-pack tax on cigarettes argue lives and billions of dollars could be saved by the ballot measure. But they are being outspent by a cigarette company that has mobilized to fight the campaign. Read More...         Karl Giberson, Ph.D: The Anointed Leaders of the Religious Right May 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM   American evangelicals, Fox News, and now the Republican Party take their intellectual cues from a roster of remarkably similar populists who head media empires. Read More... More on Christianity         James R. Knickman: Serving the Military Families Who Serve New York State May 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM   We must all ensure that our military servicemembers return home to communities and families capable of supporting their needs and serving them in return. What are some of the actions we can begin to take? Read More... More on Veterans         Leah Mayor: Grant Achatz: Foundation, Innovation, Every Moment Is New May 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM   Grant Achatz is known for his sophistication, originality, creativity and surprise. A meal at Alinea has been elevated from the rankings of mere food to being hailed as art, sculpture, even a spiritual experience. Read More... More on Chicago Restaurants         Peter King 2012? Republican Congressman Leaves Door Open For Possible Presidential Bid May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — Rep. Peter King is leaving the door open for a possible presidential bid. King represents a congressional district on New York's Long Island. His national profile has soared as head of the House Homeland Security panel. Read More... More on Elections 2012         Sandals Hotel Sued By John Van Hoy Estate Over Hot Tub Death Trap May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   The family of a man who drowned tragically under the suction force of a hotel whirlpool is suing the resort, its marketing firm, and the hot tub manufacturer. John Van Hoy Jr., 33, was lounging in the hot tub at the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort on Dec. 28, 2010 when he dipped his head, only to be trapped underwater by the extreme force of the whirlpool's suction outlet, Courthouse News Service reports. The complaint describes Van Hoy as "in excellent shape," with the ability to bench press over 300 pounds. Nevertheless, the suction force was allegedly so strong that he could not free himself. Read More...         DIY Solar USB Charger: How To Make Your Own In An Altoid Tin May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   From EarthTechling's Caleb Denison: Solar chargers are a great way to power your mobile devices on the go and, because the devices are catching on, more and more varieties of them are coming available. We’ve covered and even reviewed a few of them in the recent past. The trouble is, one of the common denominators of these devices is that they tend to be a bit pricey. For those with a little DIY electronics inclination and some free time on their hands, may we suggest taking a look at this slick little DIY solar charger with full assembly instructions available at Instructables? Read More... More on Energy         Gretchen Rubin: Balanced Life -- 6 Tips for Battling Loneliness. May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   Every Wednesday is Tip Day. This Wednesday: six tips for battling loneliness. Read More... More on Happiness         Arva Rice: Collective Bargaining Under Fire: When Bad Things Happen to Good People May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   As politicians all over the nation cast their scrutiny upon public-sector unions, middle-class blacks and other minorities face the prospect of an attack on their collective bargaining rights. Read More...         James Peron: Drug Warriors Gun Down Young Father May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   The young husband and father, Jose Guerena, an Iraq veteran, was lying in his own blood, shot at 71 times by heavily armed men. There are lots of questions. The Pima County, Arizona, Sheriff's Department is giving few answers. Read More... More on Arizona Politics         Andrew Z. Cohen: Shining Light on Your Unconscious Values May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   If you want to know what your values are, just look at your own life. Your life looks like your values. A lot of us think we have higher or spiritual values, but those values are not necessarily reflected in our so-called personal lives. Read More... More on Spiritual Development         BPA-Free Receipts: Fast Food Chains Make The Switch May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   Yum! Brands, the fast-food megabrand that includes Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, has announced this week it will switch to BPA-free receipts. The heath hazards of the chemical Bisphenol A, known as BPA, are well-understood. And more recently the prevalence of BPA on receipts and paper bills has been generating buzz, putting pressure on companies to take action. Kroger Supermarkets has also recently switched to BPA-free receipts. An investigation by the Environmental Working Group found BPA on 40 percent of receipts sampled from major U.S. businesses like McDonald's, CVS, KFC, Whole Foods, WalMart, Safeway -- even the post office. (Whole Foods has since gone BPA-free). Read More...         Clarence Thomas Takes Aim At Supreme Court Critics May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   AUGUSTA, Ga. — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas opened up to an audience of attorneys in his home state of Georgia on Tuesday, comparing critics of the bench to die-hard sports fans and wondering aloud whether they suffer from a "disease of illiteracy or laziness." Thomas, who was born in nearby Pin Point, told the Augusta Bar Association that the downward spiral of public discourse from people who are "drunk on their own opinions" must come to an end. Read More... More on Clarence Thomas         Math Anxiety About More Than Just Disliking Numbers May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   Math problems make more than a few students--and even teachers--sweat, but new brain research is providing insights into the earliest causes of the anxiety so often associated with mathematics. Read More... More on Children         Gilt Taste Launches May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   Today, Gilt Groupe officially launched their newest project: Gilt Taste, "offering artisanal hard-to-find foods" as well as food magazine-style features. Gilt Taste has assembled a group of seasoned food professionals, including editorial advisor Ruth Reichl, the former editor-in-chief of now-defunct Gourmet magazine, and features editor Francis Lam (also formerly of Gourmet). Lam will be working with a team of food writers including James Beard award winner Barry Estabrook (see his piece on fracking), Hank Shaw, of the blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook and Le Bernardin pastry chef Michael Laiskonis. Reichl explains Gilt Taste's mission in her welcome letter: Read More...         Tom Matlack: Sex Slavery in America May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   Sex trafficking exists within the broader commercial sex trade, often at much higher rates than most people realize or understand. Read More...         Honest Chain Restaurant Menus May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   Welcome to Olive Garden! You're about to experience the kind of genuine Italian cooking that only a multi-national, publicly traded corporation founded in suburban Minneapolis could provide. Read More...         IAEA Hacked? Nuclear Agency Fears Iran Hackers: Diplomats May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   VIENNA — The U.N. nuclear agency is investigating reports from its experts that their cellphones and laptops may have been hacked into by Iranian officials looking for confidential information while the equipment was left unattended during inspection tours in the Islamic Republic, diplomats have told The Associated Press. One of the diplomats said the International Atomic Energy Agency is examining "a range of events, ranging from those where it is certain something has happened to suppositions," all in the first quarter of this year. He said the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog agency was alerted by inspectors reporting "unusual events," suggesting that outsiders had tampered with their electronic equipment. Read More... More on Iran         SETI@home Project Lets Computer Users Search For Alien Life on 86 Planets May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM   As scientists suggest they're close to discovering the first habitable planet beyond our own, 86 individual planets are now being scanned for signs of aliens in the cosmos. And people can use their home computers to join in the search. In April, the SETI Institute in California announced what it hopes to be a temporary suspension of its efforts to find intelligent signals from outer space. Federal and state budget cutbacks caused a reduction in the use of the Allen Telescope Array in northern California, leaving astronomers who search for extraterrestrial intelligence to ask for public donations to get the array up and running again. In the meantime, space.com reports that instead of searching the heavens for other solar systems that might contain ET signals, scientists are scanning 86 specific planets with the world's largest steerable telescope, the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Radio Telescope in West Virginia. Read More... More on UFOs and Paranormal         Marshall Fine: Movie Review: Midnight in Paris May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   There's a strain of magical realism that runs through the filmography of Woody Allen that pops up - and delightfully so - in his newest film, Midnight in Paris. From Alice to Mighty Aphrodite, from Scoop to Zelig and The Purple Rose of Cairo, all the way back to his short fiction (particularly "The Kugelmass Episode" in his collection, Side Effects), Allen has shown a fanciful touch that is part magic, part surrealism, part fantasy. His characters suddenly find their reality shaken by something that seems to be impossible - yet is happening to them. That was the case of everything from Alice and the title character's ability to disappear to The Purple Rose of Cairo (and its delicious switcheroo, with characters moving between the world of a movie onscreen and the real world off the screen). Read More... More on Movies         Big Girls, Small Kitchen: Snacking 101: How to Dress Up Simple Chocolate Chip Cookies May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   To try to get out of my boring cookie rut, I stopped eating the cookie dough long enough to try different dessert combinations that don't require much more work. Read More... More on Recipes         Pasi Nurminen, Finnish Hockey Coach, Gets Drunk And Falls Face-First Into Trophy (VIDEO) May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   Finland recently topped rival nation Sweden in the World Hockey Championships. The upset win sent the Finnish people into a frenzy, as Helsinki was reportedly overrun with tens of thousands of all-night revelers after the title was secured. The jubilation wasn't limited to fans, evidently, as the team evidently enjoyed itself on the flight home as well. A video that is quickly making the rounds shows Finnish goalkeeping coach, Pasi Nurminen, stumbling off of the team plane before falling forwards and face-planting into the trophy. Helsingin Sanomat reports that "the trophy had a very visible dent in it by the time it appeared before the public." Watch the video below to see just what might have caused that dent. Read More... More on Video         Health Care Ills Infect 2012-Bound Republicans May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The troubled healthcare industry, recently a problem for Democrats facing voter anger over President Barack Obama's overhaul law, is now plaguing Republicans hoping to take the White House in 2012. The health law proved a liability for Democrats in the November 2010 elections as Republicans surged to big victories in Congress by labeling it and other Obama-backed programs as the heavy-handed intrusions of big government. Read More... More on Newt Gingrich         Heather Taylor: Chef Speak: Christopher Phelps and Zachary Walters May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   In this culinary era of wasabi foams, we've reached a point where a pork chop can be a thrilling item to see on a menu. Especially if that menu is written on a chalkboard at West Hollywood's Salt's Cure. Read More... More on LA Restaurants         Border Patrol Makes Largest Bologna Bust Ever May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   Oh yes, there is in fact such thing as "contraband lunchmeat." In what is reported to be the largest bust of bologna ever at the Santa Teresa, New Mexico point of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 35 rolls of the pork product (385 pounds!!) from a Ciudad Juarez resident. That's enough for about 4,000 sandwiches. Although bologna is more likely considered a mild lunchmeat rather than a hot black market item, it is prohibited to bring it into the country. Since bologna is made from pork, it has the potential to introduce foreign animal disease to the U.S. pork industry, Santa Teresa Port Director Grace Gomez told KOAT. She expands, "This seizure really stands out because when we seize bologna it is usually a small quantity or at most a roll or two." This recent seizure is not actually Guinness World Record worthy, however. In November 2003, 81 rolls of bologna (756 pounds!!) were seized in El Paso. Read More...         Dodgers Reward In Fan Beating Case Increased May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   LOS ANGELES -- Authorities are hoping a bigger reward will lead them to the suspects in the brutal beating of a Giants fan at Dodger Stadium in March. Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday the Dodgers have increased the size of the reward by $100,000, pushing the total amount offered past $200,000. Read More...         Inder Sidhu: The Story of All Great Organizations May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   What do Mitt Romney, Big Oil and Nintendo have in common? Each is trying to sell a story that few seem willing to buy. Read More... More on Gas & Oil         10 Fastest Growing U.S. Industries: IBISWorld May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   Over the course of the recession, major companies have failed, entire industries have withered. But at least a few have not only survived, but grown. IBISWorld's recently released report, "Top 10 Fastest Growing Industries," delves deeper into the trends discussed in last month's report on dying industries. Except this time, their focusing on the good instead of the bad. Dying telecommunications and newspaper industries have made way for other companies based around internet and technology. No one's revenue growth comes even close to that of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) providers, like Skype, as the entire industry's revenue grew by 194 percent in the las tyear. That could help explain Microsoft's surprising decision to purchase the company for $8.5 billion earlier this month. Read More... More on Newspapers         Christian Audigier's Home Hits Market For $8.26 Million May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   Via Realtor.com: Fashion designer Christian Audigier, the man behind the clothing and wine label of the same name and the infamous Ed Hardy brand, has listed his Hancock Park home on the market for $8.265 million. Realtor.com says that Audigier had at one time planned to move into the Holmby Hills mansion once owned by Michael Jackson, though that home has since been taken off the market. Audigier purchased this seven bedroom, seven bathroom home for $4.78 million in 2007. The 8,276 square foot house was built in the 1920s and its features include a grand foyer and gourmet chef's kitchen. The .80 acre corner-lot estate also includes a separate guesthouse, custom-sized pool with two cabanas, a built-in 20 foot bar, and an outdoor kitchen. And, in classic Audigier form, the already over-the-top house comes with a Rolls Phantom 5 included. Want to see how the man behind Ed Hardy designs his digs? Check out the slideshow below. Photos courtesy of Realtor.com Read More... More on Celebrity Real Estate         Paris In Los Angeles: Springtime In Paris -- In LA May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   Story comes courtesy of Marpop. By Mar Yvette Ah, springtime in Paris. Flowers in bloom. A romantic river… and loads of tourists. Read More... More on LA Around Town         Sat Hon: The Yellow Peril May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   Asian-Americans, as a group, are transplants: trunks from one culture grafted onto roots belonging to another. Their immigrant parents tried to retain and transmit a memory of Asian heritage, but those values and practices are long gone. Read More...         Eric Holder Names Class Action Lawyer To Run 9/11 Fund May 18, 2011 at 12:14 PM   WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Eric Holder named a veteran New York lawyer to head the new 9/11 victims' fund, passing up another choice that was more popular with the 9/11 community. Holder announced late Wednesday morning Sheila Birnbaum, an attorney who teaches law at NYU and helped mediate dozens of 9/11-related lawsuits, will be the fund's special master. Birnbaum has extensive background in mass tort cases, having represented State Farm Insurance against Katrina victims, among numerous other actions. News of Birnbaum's appointment to oversee the $2.5 billion fund seemed likely to get mixed reactions in the 9/11 community, which desperately wants the process to move forward. Many in the community had hoped that Holder would name Blake Chisam, who ran the House Ethics Committee's investigations for the last several years, seeing him as a figure with less 9/11 baggage who potentially would be more open the pleas of victims than the veteran Birnbaum. Read More... More on September 11         Special Election To Replace Rep. Jane Harman: Janice Hahn Leads The Pack May 18, 2011 at 11:54 AM   LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn advanced to a runoff in the election to fill Democratic Rep. Jane Harman's Southern California congressional seat, but the race for second place was too close to determine who her opponent would be. With all precincts reporting, Hahn, a Democrat, led the other 15 candidates in Tuesday's election with 24.6 percent of the vote. Read More...             This email was sent to cbzvdani.delluve@blogger.com. Delivered by Feed My Inbox PO Box 682532 Franklin, TN 37068 Account Login Unsubscribe Here