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Scrambling to get 60 seconds out of every minute, Katie Meacham finally got the boyfriend to take her for a carriage ride in Central Park. He hated it, she reports. “He said, ‘You know this is a pity ride, don’t you?’ ” she said, laughing. Even though she is just 26, her days and time are at a premium. Ms. Meacham lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, but she is also a citizen of another country: cancer land. She has a kind of aggressive lymphoma, a disease that ruins the blood.

China has inaugurated a voluntary organ donor program, hoping to overhaul a system that now harvests the vast majority of its organs from black-market sellers and executed prisoners and leaves millions of ailing people without hope of getting a transplant. The new program, run by the national Red Cross Society with help from China’s Health Ministry, was reported by the state-run English-language newspaper China Daily on Wednesday. The newspaper quoted the vice minister of health, Huang Jiefu, as saying the goal was to create an organ donation system that “will benefit patients regardless of social status and wealth.” At least...

WASHINGTON – A day after his White House meeting with President Barack Obama, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the United States a "deadbeat" donor to the world body while making the made the rounds on Capitol Hill. Ban's criticism Wednesday of the U.N.'s single biggest backer irked some members of the House Foreign Relations Committee. They were generally supportive of his leadership but voiced concern about U.N. efforts in areas from Sudan to Somalia. "He used the word 'deadbeat' when it came to characterizing the United States. I take great umbrage (over) that," Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the panel's senior Republican, said...

Clinton donor benefited from legislation backed by Sen. ClintonAn upstate New York developer donated $100,000 to former President Clinton's foundation in November 2004, about the same time Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton helped... By CHARLIE SAVAGE The New York Times Originally published Sunday, January 4, 2009 at 12:00 AM WASHINGTON — An upstate New York developer donated $100,000 to former President Clinton's foundation in November 2004, about the same time Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure millions of dollars in federal assistance for the businessman's mall project. Sen. Clinton helped enact legislation allowing the developer, Robert Congel, to use tax-exempt bonds...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A federal grand jury is investigating how a California firm that contributed to the political activities of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the nominee to head the Commerce Department, won a lucrative government contract. A person familiar with the proceedings told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the panel is looking into possible "pay-to-play" dealings between CDR Financial Products and someone in a position to push the contract through with the state of New Mexico. The person asked not to be named because the proceedings are secret.

Short on cash, some put a price on themselves Lean times spurs interest in payment for sperm, eggs, plasma — even hair By JoNel Aleccia Fri., Dec. 5, 2008 Before this fall, it might not have occurred to Michael Aylesworth to swap his sperm for money. But faced with rising bills, a dwindling budget and a fractured economy, the 30-year-old Seattle man took stock of some very personal assets — and decided to sell. “I did it because I’m a student and I’m always broke,” said Aylesworth, who spent several delicate minutes in a small room at the Seattle Sperm...

The Obama campaign has turned its security settings for accepting online contributions down to the bare minimum -- possibly to juice the numbers, and turning a blind eye towards the potential for fraud not just against the FEC, but against unsuspecting victims of credit card fraud.

A $100,000 state grant for a botanic garden in Englewood that then-state Sen. Barack Obama awarded in 2001 to a group headed by a onetime campaign volunteer is now under investigation by the Illinois attorney general amid new questions, prompted by Chicago Sun-Times reports, about whether the money might have been misspent. The garden was never built. And now state records obtained by the Sun-Times show $65,000 of the grant money went to the wife of Kenny B. Smith, the Obama 2000 congressional campaign volunteer who heads the Chicago Better Housing Association, which was in charge of the project for...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Barack Obama is getting rid of an old $5,000 campaign donation that was given to him by an Illinois businessman who was indicted this week. The money was donated to Obama's U.S. Senate campaign in 2003 by Abdelhamid "Al" Chaib of LaGrange Park, Ill. Chaib was indicted Thursday on federal charges of taking part in a scheme to fraudulently obtain a $3.4 million loan. "In light of this week's news reports, we felt more comfortable donating those contributions to charity," Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said Friday. The Democratic presidential candidate's campaign is dividing the money between two...

I am seeking some input on the following: On the Big Island of Hawaii, on the more rural south & east side, a woman has stepped forward to provide a new Catholic Church. She has already purchased the 10 acres, and has stated that she will provide the $10 million building costs, covering everything except pews and some minor interior furnishings. She has enlisted 2 teams of architects to draft 2 designs, both of which will be domed structures (ie the entire structure will be in the shape of a dome). When the bishop approves , these 2 designs will...

Sperm donor pays maintenance to lesbians By Graham Tibbetts Last Updated: 8:42pm GMT 03/12/2007 A sperm donor who helped a lesbian couple have two children is now being forced to pay thousands of pounds for their upbringing, he said. Andy Bathie, 37, agreed to assist Sharon and Terri Arnold - who were united in a religious blessing ceremony - after they assured him he would have no involvement in raising the boy and girl. Andy Bathie: Legal challenge But after the couple split up he was tracked down by the Child Support Agency and forced to make regular maintenance payments....

A man of 72 is to donate sperm to try to father his own 'grandchild'. He has been cleared to provide the sperm to his daughter-in-law to allow her to become a mother. Any baby born will be its grandfather's genetic child and a halfbrother or half-sister to the man it takes to be its father. What do you think about the case? Join the debate The case - believed to be the first of its kind in the UK - raises ethical questions about how well the child will cope with such unusual family circumstances. The Harley Street doctors...

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) - Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu failed to appear Wednesday for a bail hearing and a judge issued a new warrant for his arrest. Hsu forfeits the $2 million bail he posted last week. Hsu had been a fugitive in California for 15 years during which time he became a top donor to Democratic candidates, including presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. Hsu pleaded no contest in 1991 to a felony count of grand theft, admitting he'd defrauded investors of $1 million in a bogus investment scam. Prosecutors say he was facing up to three...

Parents who conceal the fact that a child was conceived from donor sperm or eggs could face jail under rules proposed today. The information should be declared on birth certificates to ensure children learn the truth about their creation, says a powerful committee of MPs and peers. In a report which touches on a highly-sensitive ethical issue, they argue that it would give parents "the incentive to inform their child" at the time and in the manner of their own choosing. But because it is an offence to give false information on a birth certificate, anyone who refused could be...

Tancredo: Donation from Planned Parenthood physician reflects immigration stance Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo says he won't return a campaign donation from a medical doctor who has ties to Planned Parenthood. The Colorado congressman says the donation had nothing to do with abortion, but rather the physician's support of Tancredo's immigration policy. Recently the Sam Brownback campaign sent out an e-mail saying Tancredo accepted thousands of dollars in donations from Dr. John Tanton, the founder of the Northern Michigan Planned Parenthood Association. But Tancredo says Tanton's donation is related to the doctor's affiliation with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)....

A controversial Dutch reality TV show featuring a contest to win a kidney was a hoax, producers Endemol have admitted. The Big Donor Show was supposed to have featured a terminally-ill woman choosing a recipient for her kidneys. However, at the last minute the programme's producers, who also make Big Brother, revealed on air that the woman starring on the reality show was a healthy actress. But the contestants trying to win the kidneys are genuine and are still in need of organs. All knew the programme was a hoax before they agreed to participate. Programme makers Endemol said their...

The businessman, influential in Pakistani circles, also aided Boxer. WASHINGTON — A Pakistani immigrant who hosted fundraisers in Southern California for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is being sought by the FBI on charges that he funneled illegal contributions to Clinton's political action committee and Sen. Barbara Boxer's 2004 reelection campaign. Authorities say Northridge businessman Abdul Rehman Jinnah, 56, fled the country after an indictment accused him of engineering more than $50,000 in illegal donations to the Democratic committees. A business associate charged as a co-conspirator has entered a guilty plea and is scheduled to be sentenced in Los Angeles next...

Now I'm thinking. When will we have our first famous "plastinized" celebrity? Will it be Michael Jackson albeit his missing nose? At least he wouldn't be frozen like a giant popsicle in a cryogenic chamber. What about Bill Clinton? Well, I believe he could become an instant hit given his history at the White House behind closed doors. I'm sure people will want to take a closer look at Bill Clinton's "plastinized" body and see what the big deal was about just like

Don't worry, the doctor told Brian Lykins' parents, as he prepared to use cartilage from a cadaver to fix their son's knee. A million people a year have operations that use tissue from donated dead bodies. The nation's largest tissue bank had supplied this cartilage. It was disinfected and perfectly safe, he assured them. But it wasn't. Four days after this routine, elective surgery, Lykins — a healthy, 23-year-old student from Minnesota — died of a raging infection. He died because the cartilage came from a corpse that had sat unrefrigerated for 19 hours — a corpse that had been...

Congressional candidate Pete McCloskey, running against Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy in Tuesday's GOP primary, is returning a $2,100 campaign donation he received from a man tied to al-Qaeda. The money was from M. Yaqub Mirza, a Pakistan native living in Virginia, who has been investigated by the Justice Department for allegedly helping to finance al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad. Mirza's offices were raided by federal authorities in March 2002. McCloskey, a moderate former House member who has raised questions about Pombo's ethics, said he's never met Mirza but would return the money. "This is America, so you are presumed innocent...

WASHINGTON - Senator Clinton's likely Republican opponent in 2006 and a South Korean newspaper are raising questions about campaign donations the New York Democrat has received from a New York businessman who is involved in an organization that sets up cultural events in North Korea. The organization was founded by a man who later resigned as South Korea's ambassador to America after allegations emerged that he helped establish a "slush fund" for South Korean politicians. "Once again serious questions surround Senator Clinton's fund-raising operation," the Republican challenger in Mrs. Clinton's Senate re-election bid, a former mayor of Yonkers, John Spencer,...

Teenager finds sperm donor dad on internet Ian Sample, science correspondent Thursday November 3, 2005 The Guardian (UK) Using nothing more than a swab of saliva and the internet, a 15-year-old boy has tracked down his anonymous sperm donor father, according to details released today. By sending a swab taken from the inside of his cheek for genetic testing, the teenager was able to use genealogy websites to trace his father by looking for men with a matching Y-chromosome, which is passed down the male line. The genetic detective work has major implications for men who have donated sperm under...

TOLEDO, Ohio - A coin dealer and major GOP donor at the center of a scandal in Ohio state government was charged Thursday with illegally funneling $45,400 in contributions to President Bush's re-election bid. Tom Noe was accused in a federal indictment of giving money directly or indirectly to 24 friends and associates, who then made the campaign contributions in their own names. In that way, he skirted the $2,000 limit on individual contributions, prosecutors said. "It's one of the most blatant and excessive finance schemes we have encountered," said Noel Hillman, section chief of the U.S. Department of Justice's...

EUREKA -- Rob Arkley has apparently given more to help pass Proposition 75 than any other single individual in the state of California. According to the California secretary of state’s website, Arkley heads up a long list of big donors supporting Proposition 75 with a total of $302,000 given to groups supporting its passage. The contributions came in two different contributions, one for $250,001 in September and another for $52,000 made earlier in August. Arkley did not return a call for comment by deadline. But an employee for Security National, owned by Arkley, called the Times-Standard and said his boss...

Just a headline, presently.

Anonymous Donor Thanks America for His Rescue The Associated Press Published: Sep 7, 2005 WASHINGTON (AP) - The anonymous donor turned up at a U.S. diplomatic office and presented an envelope with 1,000 euros (about $800) for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. It was a way of repaying a debt to the United States for being liberated by American soldiers from a concentration camp and treated more than 60 years ago, Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman, said Wednesday in relating the incident. The donor was 90 years old, but that is all McCormack would say by way of identification. "This...

Eager to show the US that Israel cares, Jerusalem is offering the US a field hospital, forensic experts and even organized prayer in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, diplomatic officials said Sunday. According to the officials, Jerusalem is still waiting for a response from Washington whether it has need for an IDF field hospital to be set up in areas hit by the Hurricane, or whether the US can use Israeli forensic specialists expert in identifying bodies. Israel experts, according to officials in Jerusalem, gained valuable experience identifying flood victims during January's tsunami when a team of experts was sent...

SACRAMENTO - Less than two months after giving $10,000 to an initiative campaign committee tied to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a well-connected private prison company was tentatively awarded a $20 million contract by the state of California to operate a San Joaquin Valley correctional facility. Altogether over the past two years, GEO Group has donated $68,000 to various Schwarzenegger committees, according to campaign reports. Officials with the state prison system insist there is no tie between the donations and the contract, which is part of a broader strategy to use less-expensive private beds to relieve severe overcrowding in the 33 state-run...

LOS ANGELES - George Lopez underwent a kidney transplant with an organ donated by his wife, a publicist for the actor-comedian said Monday. George and Ann Lopez "are resting comfortably in their Los Angeles home and are both expected to make a full recovery," according to a statement from spokeswoman Marleah Leslie. The operation occurred last week at an undisclosed hospital in Los Angeles, said another spokeswoman, Ann Gurrola. Lopez, star of the ABC comedy "George Lopez," had a genetic condition that caused kidney deterioration, the release said. Further information on the condition was unavailable, Gurrola said. Filming on his...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - On the eve of hearings into a troubled state purchasing contract, legislative investigators said Tuesday they want to know more about how an inexperienced Virginia-based firm got hired after its only competitor was disqualified and the company gave $25,000 to one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's political campaigns. Last June, the Schwarzenegger administration hired CGI-AMS to help the state cut its near-$5 billion annual purchasing bill. But so far, the company has failed to deliver on its goal of trimming $96 million in spending this fiscal year. Questions surrounding how the contract was awarded, the company's lack of...

DURHAM — The University of New Hampshire’s Student Senate will consider adopting a resolution tomorrow that would challenge the federal government’s policy of banning sexually active gay men from donating blood. Sponsored by student Sen. Nicholas Christiansen, a 19-year-old sophomore, and the student senate’s Community Change Council, the resolution wants the Food and Drug Administration and the American Red Cross to become, in its words, “aware of our strong opposition to the policy that bans sexually active homosexual males from ever donating blood, and that the students are dedicated to equal treatment and opportunity for all people, regardless of sexual...

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission on Tuesday imposed a record $270,000 fine against Westside developer Mark Alan Abrams after the panel concluded that he hatched a scheme to launder political contributions to benefit James K. Hahn's 2001 mayoral campaign and the campaigns of two Hahn allies. The fine is the largest penalty assessed against an individual by the ethics panel in its 15-year history. "The actions of Mr. Abrams here really strike at the heart of democracy," said Gil Garcetti, president of the Ethics Commission. "It's simply not right." No one has said that Hahn knew the contributions were tainted,...

A Pole caught carrying five kilos (11 lbs) of amphetamines at the Norwegian border failed to convince a court that he had been summoned to Norway to donate sperm. The man was stopped at Svinesund on the Swedish-Norwegian border during a spot customs check of a passenger bus last May, NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) reports. Customs officials found five kilos of amphetamines in his luggage and his fingerprints on the packaging the drugs were in. The man's story was that he had come to Norway to donate sperm to a Norwegian couple that he had met via the Internet. They had...

What Is a Bone Marrow Transplant? Replaces unhealthy cells with healthy ones  Related Resources • Minority Marrow Matches Fewer • Articles and links on bone marrow transplants • Articles and links on leukemia    From Other Guides • Breast Cancer and Bone Marrow Transplants • Transplants in Children    Elsewhere on the Web • National Marrow Donor Program • American Bone Marrow Donor Registry   Mary Kugler, MSN, RN,BC Guide to Rare/Orphan DiseasesWhat is a bone marrow transplant? A bone marrow transplant is when special cells (called stem cells) that are normally found in the bone marrow are taken out, filtered, and given back either to...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A Senate committee Wednesday rejected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reappointment of a state Board of Education member who became embroiled in the debate over bilingual education. The Senate Rules Committee deadlocked 2-2 over Schwarzenegger's nomination of Silicon Valley entrepreneur Reed Hastings for another term on the board. He needed at least three votes from the five-member committee. Hastings, a Democratic Party campaign donor, was originally appointed to the board by Gov. Gray Davis in 2000. He was reappointed by Schwarzenegger, a Republican, last year. But Hastings ran into opposition from Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Norwalk, and bilingual education groups...

BIG Brother bosses Endemol want to make a brand new reality TV show where fellas battle it out to be a sperm donor to a wannabe mother. The programme - dubbed Make Me A Mum - will see men compete against each other to impregnate a willing woman. Hopefuls will be whittled down to two finalists - one picked for his biological compatibility and the other on personality and looks. The woman will then choose who she wants to win, according to Yahoo News. The show has yet to be snapped up by any channels worldwide and has been slammed...

Japan Becomes Top Donor With $500 Million Pledge Navy Helicopters Begin Aid Delivery in Sumatra BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Jan. 1 -- The first U.S. Navy helicopters fluttered in from an offshore carrier group Saturday and ferried aid to flattened towns along the western coast of Sumatra island largely cut off from help since a tsunami six days ago inflicted one of history's great disasters on Indonesia. A day after the United States increased its contribution to the tsunami reconstruction effort to $350 million, Japan raised its pledge from $30 million to $500 million. With Japan's donation, the largest from...

If the name of a "Big Money" Political Party Donor with ties to Enron were discovered on the Saddam's Coalition of the Bribed, what do you think would happen to the Candidate of that party? What if that Candidate of that Party was John Kerry? Newsweek drops a bombshell on the Kerry Campaign: Texas Oil Baron and Big-Time Democrat Donor Oscar Wyatt has received perhaps as much a $22 million dollars in profits through oil allocations bought illicity from Saddam Hussein. From MSNBC: United Nations: Oil-for-Food Fiasco?"Law-enforcement sources say Americans who participated in alleged oil-for-food scams also may face further...

I did a search on Opensecrets.org for Ben Barnes' donations. He has been a very busy man. The number of checks written must have given him writers cramp. The following is a summary of the donations since 1990. BARNES, BEN           9/18/1991        $500                Alexander, Bill Jr BARNES, BEN           5/20/1999        $5,000             Americans for Responsible Leadership BARNES, BEN           3/3/1994          $1,000             Andrews, Michael A BARNES, BEN           10/4/1991        $1,000             Andrews, Michael A BARNES, BEN           10/10/1989      $1,000             Andrews, Michael A BARNES, BEN           12/16/1998      $3,000             Arena PAC BARNES, BEN           1/14/1994        $1,000             Assn of State Democratic Chairs BARNES, BEN           2/22/2001       ...

The White House has refused to promote a key official at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who has worked on healthcare problems confronting Iraq and Afghanistan because he contributed to the Democratic Party four years ago, The Hill has learned. He is Howard Zucker, a pediatric cardiologist and anesthesiologist who is deputy assistant secretary for health, science technology and medicine. He earned his medical degree at age 22 and has law degrees from Fordham University and Columbia University. He has also worked with NASA astronauts at MIT designing experiments for the space shuttle. Bush administration officials say...

Something to Yak About – Major Kerry Donor Behind Upcoming 527 Attack on President With all these left-wing 527 groups popping up – you know, the ones that can receive and spend tens of millions of dollars on partisan campaign politics with virtually no accountability – it’s getting just a little redundant, dontchathink? Nevertheless, one of the newest such groups helping John Kerry’s efforts calls itself the Environmental Accountability Fund, which is now readying itself to bash away on President Bush over bogus enviro-beefs. Turns out this newly hatched 527 received seed money from billionaire liberal John Sperling, who’s...

While browsing fundrace.org, the site that tells you what your neighbors (friends, celebrities, enemies) contribute to political campaigns, I saw this. (I'm assuming there is only one Jamie Farr, self employed, actor.)Fundrace listing

Retired Teacher Crafts Saddle For President Bush Retired Michigan teacher Jim Rice, 75, has spent the past six weeks crafting a saddle for President Bush. The result is worth about $3,500. Michigan Congressman Nick Smith will present the saddle to the President later this year. Rice worked for 40 years as an industrial arts teacher in Adrian, Michigan, until retiring in 1989. In the summer, he would work full-time as a saddle maker and leather worker. Rice says he and a fellow leather worker, Danielle Cole, will have put between 80 to 90 hours of work into the project.

'NY Times' Mag Editor May Have Broken Political Gift Ban By Joe Strupp Published: July 12, 2004 NEW YORK An editor at The New York Times Magazine may have violated the newspaper's highly-publicized ban on political campaign contributions with a $1,000 donation to John Kerry's presidential campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records. Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis confirmed that the newspaper was looking into the contribution by Elizabeth Stewart, a fashion editor for the Times Magazine, who made the donation on May 20, according to campaign records listed at the PoliticalMoneyLine Web site. "Right now we are checking," Mathis told...

The Jerusalem Times (independent Palestinian weekly) 26 February 2004 www.jerusalem-times.net/article/news/details/detail.asp?id=4834 The Palestinian Authority and the Government of Germany have ended February 20 talks on how and where to spend about 40 million euros Germany has allocated to the Palestinian people for projects during 2004. The two sides signed an agreement of understanding on this at the Ministry of Planning but the official final agreement will be signed between the two governments in Germany in July. According to a statement released by the German Representative Office in Ramallah, an official German delegation from the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development held...

The campaign of the Democratic frontrunner, John Kerry, was put on the defensive yesterday when it emerged that he had lobbied the Pentagon on behalf of a defence contractor who had made illegal contributions to his campaign for re-election as a Massachusetts senator. The Los Angeles Times said Parthasarathi Majumder, whose firm was working on a missile project, had pleaded guilty last week to breaking campaign finance law by instructing his employees to make donations, totalling $25,000 (£13,190), to Senator Kerry between 1993 and 1998 and then reimbursing them. Companies can avoid the legal limits on contributions in this way,...

Posted Jan. 18, 2004 Sources: The Donor Foundation, United Network for Organ Sharing, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Cheryl and Paul Veirauch hold a photo of their son, Sean, in their Neenah home. Sean died Oct. 31 of a gunshot wound, but helped save the lives of others through his decision to donate his organs. Post-Crescent file photo by Kristyna Wentz-Graff Transplants Figures on organ transplant activity in the United States in 2004: • Candidates awaiting organs: 83,626 (as of Friday) • Donated organs: 9,845 (as of Jan. 9) • Transplants: 19,101 (as of Jan. 9) • Approximately...

<p>It's a King Solomon tale with a 21st century twist -- two women battling in court over the same children.</p> <p>Science says both women are the biological mothers of 7-year-old fraternal twins -- one provided the eggs, the other carried the girls to term. And the women raised the twins as a couple until they broke up nearly two years ago.</p>

'Extended' criteria increase organ donations without compromising patient health In a related study from the University of Texas Health Science Center, researchers evaluated the clinical outcomes of lung transplants in patients receiving either extended or standard donor lungs. Donors were considered "extended" if they met any of the following criteria: donor age of 55 or older, smoking history of more than 20 pack-years, having a history of pulmonary disease, chest radiographic changes, purulent sputum on bronchoscopy, or a decrease in oxygenation on 100 percent oxygen. Donors were matched with recipients, resulting in 20 patients receiving extended donor lungs and 11...