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Cure for killer bug - but there's a catch KATE FOSTER IN THE annals of medical history, this could go down as one of the most effective but stomach-churning treatments ever devised. Scientists seeking a cure for a deadly superbug have successfully treated patients using human faeces. Trials in a Scottish hospital have shown patients suffering from the Clostridium difficile bug can be cured using 'donor stool' administered via a tube through the nose into their stomach. Clostridium difficile was last week at the heart of a damning report into cleaning failures at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust...

Double Helix Nebula Do you believe the root cause of human behavior is the result of an individual’s genetics or is behavior a product of an environment? Is there a gene that makes us ask, “why?” or is curiosity about interacting with our environment and having access to good answers? In determining the success or failure of an individual in their environment, we now know the “nature versus nurture” debate is bunk. The question is misleading. It implies the influence of nature can be isolated and subsequently separated from the influences of nurture. The entire purpose of the “nature...

Fact Sheet: Strengthening Our Friendship with the Muslim Community Worldwide (See Below) 11:08 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Imam, thank you very much. Thank you for inviting me. I bring my personal respect to you, sir. And I appreciate your friendship. I do want to thank the governors of the Islamic Center. I welcome the Ambassadors. Thank you all for coming. I appreciate other distinguished guests who are here. It is an honor to join you at this rededication ceremony. As the Imam mentioned, half a century has passed since one of our great leaders welcomed the Islamic Center into our...

Oregon - A senator introduces an amendment to make it easier for a man to take his wife's surnameYou've heard of women's lib. Now, state Sen. Vicki Walker wants to introduce you to men's lib. The Eugene Democrat tagged an amendment onto a routine housekeeping bill that she hopes will help men who want to change their names when they marry, but aren't really sure how. Under Walker's amendment, the application for marriage licenses would be redesigned to make room for a little box where the bride and groom can write what they'll be called after the big day. Now,...

Shooter at Tech massacre identified in bomb threat; 9 hospitalized; victims named Monday morning's campus rampage was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. These are the latest details to emerge. Alan Kim | The Roanoke Times At mid-day today, Blacksburg's South Main Street looks much the same as it always does. Traffic is manageable. Businesses are open. But the flag at A Cleaner World drycleaner is at half mast. Farther down the street, in downtown Blacksburg, it looks a little like a Virginia Tech Game Day. Plenty of students are crossing streets and walking along sidewalks. Almost every one...

This is a 22 page report based on a comprehensive survey of American religious and other values. It is not possible to excerpt it. The Report begins by classifying values groups into: (1)Orthodox; (2)Progressive; (3) And, Independent. Orthodox represents about a third of the population. These individuals have a basic, religious outlook on life and they overwhelmingly believe in God. They wish to see government policies mirror religious values. They are strong believers in right and wrong and see most social issues in black and white terms. Progressives represent one sixth of the populationand are uniformly opposed to religious values...

(AP) TRENTON, N.J. New Jersey is looking to become the second state to outlaw a powerful gun that critics say can be used by terrorists to shoot down an airliner. Democratic lawmakers and Ceasefire N.J., an antigun group, unveiled a plan today to make it illegal to sell .50 caliber weapons in New Jersey. Legal Community Against Violence, a public interest law center that favors gun control, says California is the only state with a similar law to what's proposed in New Jersey. Maryland strictly regulates the rifle by requiring enhanced background checks and other requirements for its purchase. Supporters...

WAUSAU, Wisconsin (AP) -- Who is that mysterious, elegant man? And why is he sitting on a dead horse? Such are the questions sparked by a black-and-white photograph taken in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, between 1876 and 1884 that has led to nationwide curiosity, speculation and jokes. It's a picture of a mustachioed man in a suit and top hat who sits rakishly on the side of an expired horse in the middle of a dusty street. The picture was included in a newspaper's 2007 calendar and the response from readers prompted news articles. From there, it took off on the Internet....

It turns out you only have to attend a White House Christmas party to find out where President Bush is headed on Iraq. One guest who shook hands with Bush in the receiving line told him, "Don't let the bastards get you down." Bush, slightly startled but cheerful, replied, "Don't worry. I'm not." The guest followed up: "I think we can win in Iraq." The president's reply was emphatic: "We're going to win." Another guest informed Bush he'd given some advice to the Iraq Study Group, and said its report should be ignored. The president chuckled and said he'd made...

It has been a discouraging time for many of us on Free Republic. Besides losing an election we now must select a Presidential candidate. We know we are up against both the Democrats and the mainstream media. Surely it is time to think through who we want and why. As 2008 approaches we will ask candidates, “Why are you running for office?” Some stumble but most will answer this question in one of two ways. Either they will claim a desire “to serve the people” or they will conservative issues they support. Adding personal and professional biographical material may flesh...

Mr. Bolton served with exemplary tact at Turtle Bay, notwithstanding critics who said he wouldn't. More important, he has stood forcefully for American interests despite the leaks and sniping from the office of Secretary General Kofi Annan. He helped to corral votes for resolutions isolating Iran and North Korea for their nuclear programs. He was assailed for leading the fight against Mr. Annan's "reformed" Human Rights Council, but he and the U.S. are now looking prescient as that Council descends into one more Israel-bashing cabal. He also fought harder for U.N. reform than have his critics who claim to want...

...Why does Giving America behave so differently from Non-Giving America? The answer, contrary to what you might be thinking, is not income; America's working poor give away at least as large a percentage of their incomes as the rich, and a lot more than the middle class. The charity gap is driven not by economics but by values. "...Americans who weekly attend a house of worship are 25 percentage points more likely to give than people who go to church rarely or never. These religious folks also give nearly four times more dollars per year than secularists, on average, and...

Before Representative Charles Rangel writes any more he should read Albert Jay Nock's "Peace the Aristocrat." If he wants more emotion than reason he should read antiwar.com by Justin Raimando. Both Charlie and Justin miss why wars remain popular. Albert Jay Nock does not "Peace the Aristocrat" is a relatively famous essay by Albert Jay Nock explaining why pacifism is so often unsuccessful. It can be found in the May 1915 edition of the Atlantic Monthly. Albert Jay Nock was a lifelong pacifist and a libertarian before the word was invented. Many credit him with being the American father of...

THOUGH STOCKS HAVE SKIPPED TO NEW HIGHS this year, some investors have been reluctant to join the party. Bad news for them: This year, through Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrials had rallied more than 14%, while the S&P 500 was up almost 12%. A sizable stash of sidelined cash is good news for share prices, however, as it is available to invest at a moment's notice. If even a fraction of these funds flow into the market, stocks are apt to keep climbing to new records. A Bulls' Best Friend: A rise in the line shown here often is a...

Fox and Friends things

Software squeezes PC onto an iPod RingCube's MojoPac works on any portable storage device The Associated Press Updated: 6:15 a.m. PT Sept 26, 2006 Mobile computing just got more portable. Making even the latest pocketbook-sized ultra-mobile personal computers look more like lumbering giants, RingCube Technologies Inc. unveiled software that can virtually squeeze a PC onto an iPod, USB keychain drive, cell phone or any gizmo with digital storage space. RingCube's MojoPac software mirrors a computer's personal settings, programs and data on a storage device. Then, when it's connected to any computer running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system, the virtual...

Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, had a way with words. In 1922, she wrote a book chapter titled "The Cruelty of Charity." Charity toward the poor, especially toward poor immigrants, she opined, only "encourages the healthier and more normal sections of the world to shoulder the burden of unthinking and indiscriminate fecundity of others, which brings with it … a dead weight of human waste."

Drug can help cut diabetes risk, say researchers By Nic Fleming, Medical Correspondent (Filed: 16/09/2006) A drug that improves the body's ability to turn sugars into fuel can substantially reduce the chances of people at risk of Type 2 diabetes developing the disease, according to research published yesterday. In a large international trial volunteers with "pre-diabetes" taking rosiglitazone, sold under the brand name Avandia, were 60 per cent less likely than those on placebos to develop the full disease. The drug, already prescribed to those with Type 2 diabetes, was also found to help patients return to normal blood sugar...

Why do men need war? It's male bonding Reports by Roger Highfield and Nic Fleming (Filed: 09/09/2006) Men need threats, rivalry and war for them to work together the most effectively, according to a study of the "male warrior effect". The issue of why men start wars has been investigated in a series of experiments by Prof Mark van Vugt of the University of Kent. They reveal that conflict is part of male bonding. "We all know that males are more aggressive than females but with that aggression comes a lot of co-operation," Prof van Vugt said yesterday. While male...

The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards are tonight at 8 PM eastern. Look forward to host Jack Black, an endless parade of shameless self-congratulations and drunken F-bombs, and maybe some cretins trying to out-gross past appearances. Scheduled performances: Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Christina Aguilera. Mayor Bloomberg announced that Shakira will win (no, I'm not kidding). To commemorate the show's return to New York City, MTV has produced VMANYC2006, which will be "the site that never sleeps," with a map showing favorite celebrity places in NY.