Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, The boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather has a lot to be thankful for this holiday. After 21 months off, took a dominant victory over Juan Manuel Marquez in September, not to mention a lot of money. Now, in recognition of his good fortune, he’s giving back to less fortunate residents of Las Vegas, through a toy drive and the Thanksgiving holiday.

“The holidays are the most important time to return,” said Mayweather. “No family should have to go hungry on Thanksgiving and that no child should go without a toy at Christmas. I do not think that food and gifts should be a luxury. It is a necessity and through our efforts, we want to this year’s holiday season happier than before for the residents of Las Vegas in need. ”

Source apakistannews.com

Pacquiao vs. Cotto: Round by Round Results

Now there can not be any doubt that Manny Pacquiao is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, after his display on Saturday with a dominating victory over world welterweight champion Miguel Cotto.

Manny stopped the Puerto Rican at 55 seconds of the 12th round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Pacquiao is the only fighter ever history to win seven titles in seven weight classes, he put Cotto on the canvas twice and by the end Cotto was bleeding from cuts near both eyes as well as from his nose.

As the bell went for the start of the fight a huge roar went up from the crowd. Cotto startled Pacquiao with a shot to the head. It seemed in the early rounds every time Cotto threw a punch Pacquiao had moved from that spot. Cotto in the third went down on one knee with more of a stumble than a punch; however in round four, Cotto this time, went all the way down from a hard left to his chin.

Pacquiao continued to dominate the fight, and by round 7 the fight of the year was becoming the Manny show. By round 12 the fight was but over for Cotto, the referee stops the fight with 2 minutes left as Cotto was finished.

To read more on this story go to latimes.com. Tell us what you thought of the fight. Do you think Manny Pacquiao is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world?

Source inentertainment.co.uk

Gray: Out-gunned rodent loses battle of wills

I killed Gus Gus. Who’s that? Apparently the mouse from “Cinderella.” By the way, did you know that’s not really her name — Cinderella? We’ll get to that later.

First I need to come clean about the rodent homicide. No. I didn’t kill the actual cartoon mouse from the Disney classic, but I might as well have the way my friends are treating me.

Every fall, when the weather turns cold, I get a mouse in the house. Sometimes two. Now, I think mice are cute as long as they’re in a cage running on a little wheel. Running around my house while I’m asleep? Not so much. This year has been particularly bad because, after killing a couple of mice with the little poison pellets, a third one dropped by like an unwanted in-law intent on staying the whole winter.

Unlike his predecessors, he was smarter than the average mouse. I put the poison trays out and I watched him come out of his hole, smell it and scurry away. Understand, this was not a mouse who’d only show his beady little eyes in the cover of darkness, he came out during game four of the World Series to watch A-Rod smack a base hit to left field. He would literally run out into the middle of the room, watch a pitch and then run back. At one point, I hid behind the TV with a golf club hoping to swat him. It turns out, I’m as good at hitting a mouse as I am a golf ball, so Gus Gus was more than safe.

It wasn’t my idea to call him that by the way, but a good friend found my mouse musings amusing and kept telling me to “leave little Gus Gus alone.”

Since the poison wasn’t working, I went to my local True Value hardware store to bring in the big guns — a mouse trap. My friends kept telling me to be humane and buy a trap that doesn’t hurt him, then quote “release him into the wild.” What is this? A sparrow with a broken wing? No.

Mice are dirty varmints and, with my luck, he’d just turn around and come right back in. I thought about catching him and taking him for a long drive to the country, but that felt like an episode of “The Sopranos.”

They have a lovely selection of traps capable of sending Gus Gus to that big wheel of cheese in the sky. One was literally the size of a Volkswagen, but the man at the store told me that was for full-size rats and, unless Gus was packing an AK47, it might be overkill. So I purchased the tiniest trap, baited it with peanut butter and waited.

I sat on the couch with my flashlight, watching the trap, and Gus appeared. He smelled the trap, then walked away. I knew I should have gotten the Skippy peanut butter. Unsuccessful, I went to bed. The next morning, the peanut butter was gone but the trap never sprang.

He had licked it clean. I picked it up and it snapped in my hand, scaring me half to death. I’d swear I could hear Gus Gus laughing somewhere behind the wall.

The next night, I set it again, making sure it was on a hair-trigger release.

Unfortunately, when I went to place it down, it snapped, sending peanut butter into my hair. I didn’t feel like showering, but then I imagined waking up and finding a mouse gnawing on my head. After I toweled off, I reset it and went to bed.

I never heard the snap, but Gus Gus is no more. You’d think I’d feel guilty killing him, but when I saw his dirty little claws and black eyes — nope. I thought about burying him in a Yankees World Series commemorative jersey but, to my surprise, they don’t sell them in XXXXXXsmall. It was a nice ceremony though, attended by a local squirrel and chipmunk. Afterwards, we gathered near the trash can for peanut butter and crackers. I think Gus would have liked that.

I mentioned at the top that Cinderella’s name isn’t really Cinderella. Truth is, her name is Ella, but after falling asleep near the fireplace one night she woke up covered in cinders and ash. Her evil stepsisters teased her by calling her Cinder-Ella. Jerks!

Hmm, I wonder if they like peanut butter. I could lend Ella my mouse traps.
Source saratogian.com/

Surveillance video shows Fort Hood suspect before shootings

(CNN) -- An owner of a 7-Eleven convenience store in Fort Hood, Texas, said Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan came in for coffee and hashbrowns most mornings, including the day he allegedly shot dozens of soldiers.
Surveillance video from the store obtained by CNN shows a man who, according to the store owner, is Hasan at the cashier's counter at about 6:20 a.m. Thursday (7:20 a.m. ET) -- about seven hours before the mass shooting -- carrying a beverage and dressed in traditional Arab garb.
"He looked normal, came in had his hashbrowns and coffee as you see in the surveillance video," the owner told CNN.
Another surveillance video from the store on Tuesday showed the man believed to be Hasan in scrubs.
While the owner said he was too busy to chat with Hasan whom he knows as "Major Nidal" on Thursday, he said that through his brief talks with Hasan he learned the officer's background was Jordanian, though he didn't speak Arabic well. He added that Hasan didn't wear a wedding ring and joked several times on whether the owner knew a bride for him.
Hasan would also ask the owner whether he planned to attend Friday prayers, a mainstay of Islam, to which the owner would say that he was too busy.
Since 2001, Hasan had been telling his family that he wanted to get out of the military but was unsuccessful, said a spokeswoman for his cousin, Nader Hasan. The Army officer told his family that he had been taunted after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the spokeswoman said.
"He was mortified by the idea of having to deploy," his cousin told the New York Times. "He had people telling him on a daily basis the horrors they saw over there."
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who had been briefed by a general at the post, told CNN that Hasan was to have been deployed to Iraq and was unhappy about it.
Staff Sgt. Marc Molano, currently based at Fort Knox, Kentucky, told CNN that he was treated by Hasan for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington earlier this year.
"Dr. Hasan provided me with nothing but the best care," Molano said. "He was a very well-mannered, polite psychiatrist, and it's just a shock to know that Dr. Hasan could have done this. It's still kind of hard to believe."
Molano described him as "far and away one of the best psychiatrists I ever dealt with."
A soldier who served two tours in Iraq and is awaiting medical retirement for chronic PTSD and severe mental disorders called Hasan "a soldier's soldier who cared about our mental health."
But, he added, "Hasan hears nothing but these horror stories from soldiers who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan -- just hearing it I'm pretty sure would have a profound effect."
Mindy B. Mechanic, an associate professor of psychology at California State University, Fullerton, said listening to horror stories can indeed have an impact, but was unlikely to have such an extreme one.
The impact on therapists who work with traumatized individuals is known as vicarious traumatization or compassion fatigue, she said. "But they don't go out on shooting sprees," she said. "They might get depressed or have some emotional fallout from it, but to go on a shooting spree is not part of what happens to people from having to deal with trauma survivors all the time."
Mechanic, who did not know Hasan, said people don't just snap. "When you start looking back, there are crumbs that suggest everything was not hunky-dory."
A former neighbor of Hasan said he lived in a high-rise apartment complex in Silver Spring, Maryland, with another man, apparently his brother, and that the two appeared friendly.
"They had some Arabic signs out there, and I asked them what they meant," said the woman, who asked not to be identified. The other man, who routinely wore a chef's outfit, told her it was a prayer, she said. "They seemed like they were nice people," she said.
The two men moved out three or four months ago, which she noticed because the Muslim prayer had been removed from their door.
"Honestly, they seemed like very cool, calm guys, and religious guys," she said. "It's kinda strange."
According to military records, Hasan was born in Virginia, and a federal official said he was a U.S. citizen of Jordanian descent.
Military records show Hasan receiving his appointment to the Army as a first lieutenant in June 1997 after graduating from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, with a degree in biochemistry.
Six years later, he graduated from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences' F. Edward Hebert School Of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland, and was first an intern, then a resident and finally a fellow at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Promoted to captain in 2003, he was promoted to major in May.
In 2009, Hasan he completed a fellowship in disaster and preventive psychiatry and was assigned to Darnall in July.
He had been awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon, but was never deployed outside the United States.
Source cnn.com

Hmm. Can't imagine what Major Malik Nadal Hasan's motivation could have been

Nor it seems can the liberal mainstream media.

I was watching BBC’s Newsnight when the story broke of a killing spree at a Texas military base and instantly wondered – as I’m sure did 99.99 per cent of its other viewers – whether this had anything to do with the Religion of Peace. Then a news update came in that the suspect’s name was ‘Hasan’. But the BBC’s reporter hastened to reassure us that there was “no evidence” to suggest this was an act of “terrorism”. Phew! Perish the unworthy thought.

Even today, the MSM is treading on eggshells regarding the killer’s possible motivation.

Here’s the Independent:

A motive for the shooting was hard to pin down last night. However, there were reports that Hasan, who was trained also in psychiatry and medicine in Bethesda, Maryland, was preparing for deployment to Iraq and was not happy to be going there. He had previously worked at the Walter Reed veterans hospital outside Washington.

Yeah, that would be it. You don’t want to be deployed to a combat zone so you do what any sane officer does under the circumstances. Not resign your commission obviously, but tool yourself up and take out a dozen a so of your unarmed comrades.

The BBC’s website takes a similar line, though it does at least (presumably in breach of all BBC guidelines) cheekily slip in the “M” word:

It is not clear what motivated the attacker, named as 39-year-old military psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan.

But some reports said the US-born Muslim was unhappy about being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Interesting use of that word “unhappy”, mind.

The Guardian meanwhile, has a brave stab at the ‘trauma-crazed war vet goes tonto’ line, with the help of one of Hasan’s relatives:

One of Hasan’s cousins, Nader Hasan, told reporters the major was dreading going to war, having counselled scores of returning soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Next to the story, it provides a link to the story of another US veteran – Sergeant John Russell – who did just that, killing 5 of his comrades in May. Unfortunately, as it is forced to admit in a more detailed analysis, can’t have been traumatised by combat because, er….

He was not a soldier returning from deployment in either Iraq or Afghanistan, suffering from stress or combat fatigue. Hasan, although 39 years old, has never served in a war zone.

But that doesn’t stop the Guardian speculating desperately:

Instead, his horror of war came secondhand. He was a psychiatrist who listened to the harrowing stories of his comrades at the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington DC, and latterly at Fort Hood, Texas.

Ah yes that will be it. A bit like passive smoking, the Major was suffering from passive combat stress.

My favourite example of liberal squeamishness, though, comes from the New York Times. Sure towards the bottom of its report, it manages to slip in such not-altogether-irrelevant details as Hasan’s former imam’s claim that he was “very serious about his religion” (so much so that he hadn’t been able to find a sufficiently fundamentalist wife) and that a man with the same name as him was under investigation from the FBI for putting up enthusiastic postings on a Jihadist website about the joys of suicide bombing.

But not before having first blamed those far more likely causes – white racism…

But Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the 39-year-old man accused of Thursday’s mass shooting at Fort Hood, Tex., began having second thoughts about a military career a few years ago after other soldiers harassed him for being a Muslim, he told relatives in Virginia.

And, yes, of course, that old favourite – passive combat stress:

Having counseled scores of returning soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder, first at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and more recently at Fort Hood, he knew all too well the terrifying realities of war, said a cousin, Nader Hasan. “He was mortified by the idea of having to deploy,” Mr. Hasan said. “He had people telling him on a daily basis the horrors they saw over there.”

Source blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Gretchen Real Housewives, Gretchen Housewife of Orange County

Gretchen Real Housewives, Gretchen Housewife of Orange County. Season 5 of The Real Housewives of Orange County is as crazy as ever and even more dramatic than the past 4 seasons – if that is possible.

Life is taking a turn for the ladies of the OC.  Jeana, who will be leaving the show in a couple of weeks, is stressing out about money.  She has her house on the market – after all moving into a 5,000 square foot house won’t be that bad.  Tamara’s marriage is definitely hitting a rough patch.  Her husband can’t say enough nasty things to her – and she looks like she is willing to do anything to keep the peace.

Gretchen who lost her fiance, Jeff, to cancer last year is getting her life back on track.  Gretchen is dating Slade Smiley, Jo’s ex-boyfriend.  Gretchen and Slade had been friends for 8 years before they started dating.

Lynne’s jewelry business is taking off – I am sure the publicity from the show is contributing to the success.

Vicki’s marriage was a mess last year.  This year they are trying to focus on their marriage and enjoy their time together.  It’s not a lot of time since the two of them are always traveling – just not together.  I am sure the 6 1/2 carat diamond ring that Don bought Vicki has helped.

Vicki and Tamara are still bff.  Jeana asked to borrow money from Vicki , Vicki said no and never heard from her again.  Jeana later says that she was upset with Vicki for changing realtors when she knew that Jeana was going through a very difficult time.  Tamara and Vicki discuss Gretchen’s naked photos that surfaced on the internet. 

Source khabrein.info

JetBlue boosting service in Boston

WASHINGTON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) will sharply boost daily departures from Boston by 30 percent by next summer, the airline said on Thursday.

Including the expansion, JetBlue will offer 78 flights to 33 destinations.

The airline is expanding service to Chicago, Baltimore, Washington, Denver, San Francisco, Fort Lauderdale and several other cities.

It will add four weekly flights to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and one weekly flight to Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The move comes as rivals cut capacity and adjust routes strategically to capture more travelers as softness in demand has cut into the industry's bottom line.

US Airways (LCC.N) said this week it would cut some flights and concentrate closely on its hubs in Charlotte, Philadelphia and Phoenix as well as Washington D.C., and its shuttle between New York, Boston and Washington.

Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) is ramping up its New York LaGuardia operations and Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) said this month it would add service to Denver.

JetBlue posted a $15 million profit in the third quarter, one of only a few carriers to do so during the summer period. (Reporting by John Crawley; Editing by Derek Caney)

Source reuters.com/

Movement toward vote on unemployment extension slow but steady

Ah, the arcane proceedings of government. Yesterday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) threatened to hold a midnight vote to speed up bringing to the floor a final vote on pending unemployment extension legislation. On Tuesday the Senate passed a vote for cloture to proceed, which passed easily. However, there were amendments still in debate. In order to move forward without agreements on the amendments, it would be necessary to hold a roll call vote to proceed; the earliest this could have been done, according to Senate rules, is 30 hours after the cloture vote - that is to say, shortly after midnight this morning.

Reid didn't have to make good on his threat, and the procedural vote itself might not have to happen. Apparently Reid's office said that party leaders should be able to make agreements on the pending amendments to move the bill directly to a final floor vote, which is music to the ears of thousands and thousands of unemployed Americans in dire straits right now. A federal unemployment benefits extension is, one would think, one of the most easy and simple things for this Congress to enact.

Source gather.com/

"Two Kids Eat Free" Program Extended at Boston Market

The "Kids Eat Free" wars continue as Boston Market extends their "Two Kids Eat
Free" per one adult purchase offer on weekends through January 2010


GOLDEN, Colo.--(Business Wire)--
Boston Market today announced that its widely popular "Two Kids Eat Free" dining
program will be extended past October 31, offering customers the same great deal
every weekend (Saturday and Sunday) between November 1 through the end of
January 2010. During the program`s initial launch, more than 550,000 free kids`
meals were enjoyed by Boston Market guests.

The company, known for providing nutritious home-style meals, was the first to
launch a national program where two children, ages 14 and younger, could receive
a free kids` meal all day, every day with only one adult purchase of $6 or more.
The number of free kids` meals doubles to four with the purchase of a Family
Meal.

"The overwhelmingly positive response from our customers tells us we`ve struck a
chord. Everyone wants greater value for their dollar and more time with their
families," said Lane Cardwell, CEO, Boston Market. "Coordinating schedules is
always a challenge, but weekends are family time, and Boston Market wants to
help make family mealtime a reality by continuing to offer the `Two Kids Eat
Free` deal on weekends and providing delicious, nutritious meals at an excellent
price point."

Boston Market Kids` Meals, which cost between $3.79 and $4.29, come with a
choice of entrée, a small side, a kid`s size beverage and cornbread. Entrées
include favorites such as chicken drumsticks, roasted turkey, meatloaf and Mac &
Cheese.

The "Two Kids Eat Free" weekends offer is valid for up to two kids per $6
minimum purchase and is available at all 522 Boston Market locations for
dine-in, carry-out or drive-thru orders on Saturday and Sunday from November 1 -
January 30, 2010. The offer includes up to four free kids` meals with the
purchase of a Family Meal. The "Two Kids Eat Free" deal is not valid with any
other discounts, coupons or offers. No coupon required, but kids must be present
to claim their meals - we want to see their smiling faces!

For more information or to find a Boston Market restaurant near you, please
visit www.bostonmarket.com.

About Boston Market

Boston Market Corporation, headquartered in Golden, Colorado, has been giving
time back to busy families and individuals for more than 24 years by offering
fresh, home-style meals in 522 locations from coast to coast. Boston Market is a
delicious staple of dinner tables across the nation, from the fresh chickens
prepared in signature rotisserie ovens to its extensive selection of
high-quality side dishes.

For the price of a sub sandwich and chips at other restaurants, Boston Market
offers its customers taste, convenience and value. Its flavorful rotisserie
chicken, turkey, meatloaf and brisket put quality and wholesomeness on the
center of the plate. The restaurant was commended for its variety of healthful
options by Men`s Health magazine, which reported that Boston Market`s "expansive
menu of healthy sides and nutritionally reasonable three-piece chicken meals
give diners plenty of choices."

Boston Market also is one of the country`s largest providers of catering
services. Its same-day ordering and delivery for corporate and personal events
and functions of all sizes make Boston Market Catering a welcome relief from
traditional sandwich tray selections.

Through a partnership with H.J. Heinz, one of the world`s leading marketers of
branded foods through supermarkets, a variety of Boston Market Frozen meals are
available from grocers nationwide to take home and eat for those occasions when
visiting a Boston Market restaurant is not practical.
Source reuters.com

Cliff Lee’s Catch Humors the Web [VIDEO]

Last night, I passively watched Game One of the World Series in between writing posts about Facebook’s platform plans, Google’s new music search, and Larry Johnson’s costly Twitter slur.

Apparently, I missed a rather humorous moment making its way around the Web this morning: Phillies’ pitcher Cliff Lee’s “I really couldn’t care less” or “I’d rather be golfing” catch in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Check it out below:

Big Brother's Dr. Evil -- Reality Baby on Board

Dr. Will Kirby -- aka "Dr. Evil" from the second season of "Big Brother" -- has a baby boy on the way, and judging by the kid's two parents, it's only a matter of time until he shows up ... and dominates ... on a reality show.
TMZ has learned Kirby's soon-to-be-babymama is GF Erin Brodie, who collected a cool $2 million after winning two seasons on the guilty pleasure dating competition "For Love or Money" back in '03 and '04.
Source: tmz.com

ackson Autopsy Photo Leaked?

LOS ANGELES -- Rumors are swirling around Los Angeles that someone has leaked an autopsy photo of Michael Jackson.

The photo reportedly shows Jackson, his eyes wide open, lying on his back on a metal autopsy table. The picture is said to be taken of Jackson's head only, and shot from the left side by someone standing at about a 30 degree angle toward the body.

The pop star's head is reportedly shaven, his face said to be stripped of any makeup. A scar, which was hidden by makeup when Jackson appeared in public, is visible on his left check, according to the rumor. Jackson's tattooed eyebrows are reportedly the only other visible mark on his face. The photo is described as "not a cellphone photo" and is reportedly of "good quality".

The photo, if it exists, would represent a major breach of security for the Los Angeles investigators assigned to the King of Pop's death, as well as the coroner's office where the autopsy was conducted.

L.A. County assistant chief Ed Winter says that his office has no comment on any aspect of the Jackson autopsy. He would not say who was present at the autopsy nor even how many people attended the postmortem examination.

Winter said that he knows who was there and what pictures were taken and would be able to determine if the rumored photo were, in fact, authentic.

The presence of a scar on Jackson's left cheek could provide the key to whether the photo was real or even faked, experts say, because it would pinpoint who knew about the scar -- that is if Jackson did have such a mark on his face.

This would not be the first time a sensitive photo was released to the media. A photo of beaten and bruised pop singer Rihanna was obtained by TMZ and published on-line. The image showed the shocking aftermath of an altercation on February 8 with her then-boyfriend, Chris Brown. A pair of Los Angeles police officers have been placed on paid leave as part of the investigation

The Jackson autopsy photo is reportedly in the hands of a prominent Los Angeles restaurant owner and is being shopped around to media outlets around the world. If real, that photo could easily fetch $1 million for world wide rights, according to industry experts.

Jackson died on June 25, 2009 as he prepared for a comeback concert series in London. The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled that Jackson's death was a homicide involving a combination of drugs. His official cause of death was "acute propofol intoxication."
source ktla.com

Case to rule on pharmacy's liability in prescription drug abuse

A historic lawsuit pending before the Nevada Supreme Court may be the first case in the U.S. to address whether pharmacies can be held liable when a customer causes a fatal car accident. In 2004, Patricia Copening was flagged by the Nevada controlled substance taskforce for buying nearly 4,500 doses of prescription painkillers in a one year period. The state board sent letters to 14 pharmacies in the Las Vegas area warning that Copening could be abusing drugs. In June of the same year, Copening was driving erratically, and struck and killed a young man who was fixing a flat tire on the side of the road.

The case--Sanchez vs. Wal-Mart Stores et al--raises the issue about whether pharmacists should use confidential patient records to protect the public from customers who may have a history of abusing prescription medications such as oxycodone. Lawyers for the pharmacies argue that while drugstores may choose not to sell drugs to a customer, they have no legal obligation to turn away any customer to protect the general public.

In a statement about the case, Walgreen's said, "While we're sympathetic to those injured in [Ms.] Copening's car accident, we agree with the district judge's decision that our pharmacists fulfilled their legal duties." Similarly, Wal-Mart said, "This is a deep personal tragedy for the families involved." Because the court hasn't issued its decision, "we don't believe it's appropriate to say more at this time," the company said.

CVS Caremark, Rite Aid and Albertson's Inc.--the parent company of Sav-On Drug--all declined to comment on the case. The Nevada Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision on the case by the end of the year.

Prescription-tracking systems are operating in 33 states, with the goal of identifying potential addicts and referring them for treatment, or getting law enforcement involved, if necessary. In 2007, retail pharmacies in the U.S. dispensed nearly 180 million prescriptions for opiates, including hydrocodone and oxycodone, up from about 40 million in 1991, according to congressional testimony last year from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

source fiercehealthcare.com

Lil Wayne No Ceiling mixtape and Lil Wayne No Ceiling torrent

Lil Wayne No Ceiling mixtape and Lil Wayne No Ceiling torrent. Lil Wayne No Ceiling mixtape has become a rage on the internet. Its popularity is only going to get more and more popularity. Lil Wayne fans are all looking towards it and they would like to give a great send off to their star who is set to spend around a year in jail.
The No Ceiling mixtape has been leaked to the media and there seems to be a frenzied search on the internet by people who want to listen to it ASAP.

I must admit that despite his jail term for possessing illegal arms, his popularity among his fans has not come down. Instead it has gone up.

Charismatic Southern rapper Lil Wayne began his industry ascendance as one of the Hot Boys, a short-lived Cash Money Records all-star group, and after establishing himself as a successful solo artist, he grew to become a critical favorite, known especially for his entertainting underground mixtapes.

Born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., on September 27, 1982, in New Orleans, LA, Lil Wayne grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans' 17th Ward.

There he became acquainted with the Cash Money Records collective, which he eventually joined as a teenager. Get It How U Live! (1997), a Hot Boys album also featuring Juvenile, B.G., and Turk, marked Lil Wayne's album debut; at age 18, he was the youngest group member.

A second Hot Boys album, Guerrilla Warfare (1999), preceded Lil Wayne's solo debut, Tha Block Is Hot (1999).

The solo album went double platinum, peaking at number three on Billboard's album chart and spawning a Top Ten hit with the title track. Lil Wayne's second album, Lights Out (2000), failed to match the success of its predecessor, nor did 500 Degreez (2002), his third album. 
Source khabrein.info

CareerBuilder Halloween survey shows most workplaces considered 'scary'

CHICAGO - A recent CareerBuilder Halloween survey shows most workers describe their workplace as scary despite having a Glenda the Good Witch type boss.
The popular online career site questioned more than 4,000 workers about which popular Halloween character best reflected their boss' behavior.
Twenty percent of those surveyed said their boss was liked and respected and compared their manager to the Halloween character Glenda the Good Witch. Glenda was followed by The Wolf Man who 11 percent of workers described as fine one minute, then howling the next.
Bosses described as never around were compared to The Invisible Man by 10 percent of the survey participants. Nine percent of respondents characterized their boss as Casper the Friendly Ghost, meaning they are eager to help, but often misunderstood.
The remaining 19 percent of votes went to Dracula, 6 percent, where bosses constantly suck the life of of employess; Wicked Witch of the West, 5 percent, described as always acting conniving and sending out minions to do his/her dirty work; The Mummy, 4 percent, one who is slow-moving and has an acient thought process; Grim Reaper, 3 percent, a boss who constantly delivers bad news and inspires fear among workers and finally Frankenstien saw 1 percent, described as green with envy.
CareerBuilder's survery also asked the participants about the scariest part of their job. Workload topped the list with 18 percent followed by:
-Performance reviews - 9 percent
-Tight deadlines - 9 percent
-Hours worked - 8 percent
-Their boss or supervisor - 7 percent
-Sitting through meetings - 6 percent
Editor's note: 9NEWS is owned by Gannett Company, Inc., a partial owner of Career Builder.
Source 9news.com

Black Flag collaborator Chuck Biscuits dies

Chuck Biscuits, the drummer who played with bands including Black Flag, Danzig and Social Distortionhas died of throat cancer.

The Canadian drummer, real nameCharles Montgomery, died on Saturday at the age of 44, reportsPunknews.org.

He was a member of Black Flag for five months in 1982, although he does not play on any official recordings with the band. He later joined Danzig at the invitation of producer Rick Rubin.

He went on to play in Social Distortion before quitting in 1999.

Source nme.com/

When fact meets fiction, the cases are harder to solve

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- The saying goes that life imitates art. But that's the last thing you want when you write crime fiction. You never want to see the things you write about mirrored back to you in real life.

But a month ago as I prepared to publish and promote my latest detective novel, "Nine Dragons," I learned of a true mystery with eerie similarities and connections to my story and my research. It has been a heart-tugging reminder that while crime novels may be entertaining thrill rides and puzzles, they also skirt the shores of reality for many.

Before writing novels I worked as a police and crime reporter in Los Angeles. What I saw and wrote about back then became the grist of my fiction. In that case, art imitating life. I took real stories -- a daring bank heist, a conversation with a killer, the unsolved murder of a sports agent found in the trunk of his Rolls Royce -- and turned them into fictionalized investigations in which my fictional hero, Detective Harry Bosch, always won the day.

That was fine. That worked. What was done was done and I could bend the truth and make the story my own in fiction. I think that is the crime novelist's job, to take inspiration from the real world and to turn it back as something that entertains, puzzles and maybe -- if you're good -- even reflects the world back at the reader. To me, there is an art in that.

But this time things have gone the other way. In "Nine Dragons," Harry Bosch is working a murder case in Los Angeles when he gets word that his young daughter has disappeared in Hong Kong. It's every father's nightmare. Harry drops everything, including his case, and flies to Hong Kong to find her. He traces her last known location to a spot in the Tsim Sha Tsui neighborhood of Kowloon called Chungking Mansions. After that point, she has vanished.

Behind the Scenes: Producer shares her memories of Connelly

Chungking Mansions is a well-known place to many travelers to Asia. It is sort of a modern Casablanca, a crossroads of the world. It is several cut-rate hotels housed in one large and old building, and all of it above a world bazaar where dozens of languages are spoken, and food and other comfort items from almost any country in Asia can be found and purchased. It is the kind of place where Harry Bosch checks his back repeatedly as he walks through.

It is also the kind of place where I checked my back repeatedly when I walked through while researching the book. This was because I had a camera behind me.

Last November I went to Hong Kong and visited Chungking Mansions repeatedly as I made a final research journey while writing the book. Filmmaker Terrill Lee Lankford went with me so he could document my research of the places that would be in the novel. This was so I could refer to video while writing about Hong Kong once I returned home. It was also so he could make small films that could be used to document and promote the book when it was published.

Prominent Houston lawyer John O'Quinn killed

Houston lawyer John O'Quinn, who was instrumental in pioneering verdicts against the makers of breast implants, hazardous drugs and tobacco products, has died in a traffic accident. He was 68.

The Houston Chronicle quotes Houston police as saying O'Quinn was one of two people killed Thursday morning when a sport-utility vehicle skidded across the median of Allen Parkway and slammed into a tree just west of downtown Houston.

O'Quinn was at the forefront of national litigation like the breast implant cases and was one of the lead lawyers in the state of Texas' massive settlement from the tobacco industry. He also was prosecuted by the State Bar of Texas for how he obtained cases and found in contempt midtrial for sleeping in a jury room.

Source dallasnews.com

Ek Niranjan Review | Ek Niranjan Movie Review

The biggest challenge for a director to make a movie is a budget and to find a big hero. Puri Jagan never makes a film that appears cheap or suffers from lack of funds, he had crossed that hurdle years back and is always giving something that stands up technically well. Hero? Almost every actor's dream is to work with him, and hero's capacity to deliver? Prabhas is not the kind of actor to whom you got teach the ABCs of acting. He has developed his own unique style like Raviteja, has his own brand of comedy so what does the director need to do? All he needs is a pressure or conflict to drive his story forward in a way that will keep the viewer wondering what will happen next.

We don't learn from other people's experience, so we still bring to our screen a heroine who might be genius in her own language but looks just like a porcelain doll. There might be actors who don't know Telugu but still can emote but here Kangana fails miserably, her looks are no where remotely south Indian and she scares you right in the opening scene itself when she comes playing with the guitar. There is the director's favourite place Bangkok wherein he's been shooting for more than 40 days to see what he shot in those 40 days, we waited and waited to see Bangkok and it came post interval..it looked more or less like Mumbai.

The story? Now divide the film into two halves, use the first half for introducing the hero and his contacts and the second half fill it with violence, blood shed and once in a while bring in Ali or Brahmanandam with weird get-ups may be like eunuch or a priest/ascetic for comic relief.
Now the rest of the characters, Posani Krishna Murali barks like usual and he might have in all probability written the dialogues for his own character. Sonu Sood's recession dialogue makes you think actually if husbands have begun sleeping with their wives just because it's recession time. If he stole the show in Super, Arundathi this is one more film that brought out his flair for light-hearted acting. He kept the audience wondering if he still was a hero or a villain. May be Puri will be able to answer it right!

What can Prabhas do? Some stories sound interesting when narrated. There is a scene in which Kangana declares her love and he sinks on the floor red-eyed, sobs like a baby, Prabhas is wowie. His work has been improving with every film but sadly the stories/directors are letting him down.

Now the story is all about why he is not Ek Chotu but Ek Niranjan. He plays the role of a kid who's abducted, grows up yearning for a family and relationships and catches criminals for a living. He keeps catching them till he discovers that one of the criminal is his brother and his love Sameera (Kangana) is another criminal's sister. There is more to it. Lot of bone crunching stunts, a heroine who looks pale in the first half and almost dead in the second half inspires him to finish off the drama. But the story goes on without him finding his family..so it has to be Ek Niranjan, this is strictly for Prabhas's fans.
Source cinegoer.com

Bill O’Reilly Likes Mooncalf; Is Actually Himself A Dead Baby Cow.

And lo, O’Reilly says dumb shit again. Here’s a video of him blabbing on about the word ‘mooncalf’, which is the definition of an aborted cow fetus. How delightful. It’s like the blind leading the blind.

I just don’t get his appeal. How can Fox News watchers even come vaguely close to liking anything he says? He’s the smuggest asshole in the world, as is Glenn Beck, and they don’t so much pander to the idiots that watch Fox News as they rub them on their heads and go “yes you areeeee!” while decrying the Obama administration that’s working hard to protect the civil liberties. I mean, HONESTLY, y’all. And now he jumps upon liking dead baby cows fetuses. What the hell. Is he drunk? Can I have what he is drinking? He is drunk on the blood of idiots. I want to punch him so bad it hurts. Just once! Just once when he isn’t looking. That’s all I want for Christmas.



Source manolith.com

Watson: Permafrost on the pumpkin

GRISE FIORD, NUNAVUT–Ghosts and goblins can conjure their way across the polar ice pack to Canada's most northern community. Getting pumpkins, costumes and candy to the High Arctic for Halloween is Henny Richer's job.
She does it with the deftness of a quartermaster on the march, moving costumes, decorations, food and toys thousands of kilometres to make sure this isolated hamlet can have the same celebrations most other Canadians take for granted.
About 145 people live in Grise Fiord, on the southern tip of Ellesmere Island. It's 3,655 kilometres north of Toronto, further north of the GTA than Vancouver is west of it.
The only Canadians living higher in the Arctic are researchers who rotate through Eureka base, 378 kilometres northwest of here, and troops gathering signals intelligence at Canadian Forces Station Alert, which lies at the northern tip of Ellesmere Island.
The sun will soon disappear from Grise Fiord's sky and will only come creeping up again in February. So folks here know how to make the best of the dark.
And with kids making up roughly a third of the population, Halloween is one of the biggest nights of the year.
Trouble is, the seaside community is ice-bound for months at a time, which leaves little room for spontaneity. So the pressure is on Henny when it's time to make a party happen.
Along with her husband Ray, Henny runs the Grise Fiord Inuit Co-op. It's the only place to shop – literally. Most items on the shelves come in by sealift, and only one ship makes a single trip this far north each year.
It arrived in the second week of September, with close to $300,000 in cargo to stock the co-op's shelves, including face paint, wigs, rubber masks and costumes for kids to dress up as dinosaurs, princesses, skeletons and pirates on Saturday night.
The Herculean effort to bring Halloween to Grise Fiord began in April, when the Richers made their annual shopping trip to the south, visiting trade shows and wholesalers in cities such as Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg, searching for good bargains and reminding suppliers not to miss the boat.
"We have to be able to provide our customers with anything they could possibly need – for the year," Henny said. "Once it's up here, you can't send it back because the freight costs are astronomical."
Any sea freight for Grise Fiord, including dry food from soup to nuts, along with snowmobiles, furniture and clothes, must be at the docks by late June, when the Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping Inc. vessel begins its voyage from the port of Valleyfield, Que., to Ellesmere Island.
When the ship reached here last month, with 10 shipping containers and numerous crates, the Richers were up 28 hours straight, getting the goods stored away so the empty sea containers could go back south. They hired most of the hamlet's residents to offload.
"It's early Christmas," Henny said. "Even for me, when I'm going through everything that I know we've bought – which is never an easy job opening up all the boxes to see what's in them – it's like I'm opening Christmas."
Since pumpkins are perishable, the Richers had to fly in the 35 they needed from Amos, Que. The medium-sized pumpkins, priced at about $15 each, made the final leg of the journey on a DHC-6 Twin Otter, operated by Kenn Borek Air Ltd., out of Resolute Bay.
When big days like Halloween approach, everyone here keeps their fingers crossed for calm air and clear skies. The plane is only scheduled to come once a week, carrying freight stacked up to the ceiling and any passengers that can fit in behind the cargo.
On final approach, the pilots steer straight for one of the cliffs towering over the hamlet and then suddenly bank left to land on an icy airstrip. Even a little wind or fog can force the flight to be cancelled, and they often do.
The Richers started running the co-op store in 1997, after the Bancroft, Ont., hardware store that Ray managed was closed. Henny gave up her antique shop and followed him north.
They were only going to stay for a year, but a dozen years later, they're still here and happy for it.
When Ray fell ill, and flew south last week, Henny was on her own. Yet even with all the things that can go wrong in a day in the High Arctic, like blowing out her telephone line with a spark from her finger, Henny is still smiling under the pressure.
People haven't even put on their costumes for this year's Halloween and she is already at her desk planning the logistics for trick-or-treating in 2010.
It's the only way to keep the business, which was in serious financial trouble when the Richers arrived, running a steady profit. It all goes back into the pockets of the shoppers who own it.
"We're one of the few co-ops that are very much financially viable," Henny said. "We have no debt. Even the stock that came in on sealift is the community's – it's already paid for."
Vanessa Ipeelie, the co-op's 20-year-old cashier, hasn't settled on a costume yet, but a friend is going as Dora the Explorer. Whatever costume a trick-or-treater wears here, it's certain to include a heavy parka. The forecast for Halloween is a low of -21C, and a high of -17C. But you're not likely to find a warmer community anywhere.
Like an unofficial elf, Henny keeps a pretty close count of Grise Fiord's kids, who numbered 52 at her last tally. She also makes it her busi-ness to know their ages.
Instead of sending a list to the North Pole, Henny takes it to her toy supplier in the south, along with a budget, and asks him to send something appropriate for each kid's age. This year, she's pleased with the results, which are very hush-hush.
Christmas secrets have a short shelf life in the only store in town. So Henny hides all potential Christmas presents away, including things like tools for men and bath baskets for women, and brings them out close to Dec. 25.
Special shopping nights are designated for kids, women and men, to improve the odds of everyone in Grise Fiord finding a surprise under the tree on Christmas Day.
"My grandson thinks Papa works for Santa Claus," Henny said.
Source thestar.com

Chelsea Handler: Playboy's Biggest Issue Ever?

Chelsea Handler's dad must be so proud.
Playboy's December cover girl set herself up for the big reveal tonight on The Jay Leno Show, joking with the host that her pop was going to love it "because he thinks I'm very sexual."
Then Jay surprised Chelsea with a larger-than-life version of the leggy blonde's Playboy cover, featuring the Chelsea Lately host (who quit drinking for "like a day and a half" to get in shape) standing in some faux snow, clad in a barely there white bikini and tall cushy boots.
Handler demurred, however, when a slightly worked-up Jay encouraged her to strike a similar pose for the audience.
"We need the guy that airbrushed me to come back," she cracked.
Source eonline.com

Sea Shepherd No Longer Alone in the War Against Whaling

Image source: seashepherd.org

Avid watchers and followers of the hit Animal Planet TV show Whale Wars will be ecstatic to hear that the Sea Shepherd crew finally has another ally to help them in their war against commercial whaling on the high seas. This past week, it was announced that New Zealand’s Earthrace crew will be joining the fight, making their combined effort quite the ominous force to be reckoned with.
The Earthrace ship (recently renamed the Ady Gil) is said to look like something out of the future or perhaps a form of alien watercraft. It is a tri-hull wave piercer, built 78 ft (24 m) long and is capable of going underwater to a depth of 23 ft (7 m). The shape of the ship allows it to cut through the waves, rather than sail on top of them, as most boats do; and it can travel at a speed up to 40 knots. Paul Watson, captain of the Sea Shepherd’s crew and flagship Steve Irwin, said “we’ll be using it to intercept and block harpoons”. This will be an extremely helpful tactic, considering that the Japanese whalers have a “thing” for explosive harpoons.
The explosive harpoon may be one of the cruelest ways for a whale to meet its grim fate. The harpoon is shot into the whale and explodes inside the body; if that doesn’t work, whalers will then start to use rifles or a penthrite harpoon. Due to these barbaric methods, it can take some whales over an hour to die. What’s worse, there is no limit on the number of weapons that can be used to kill a whale, nor a limit on the amount of time it takes for the animal to die. They have to suffer through every twisted bit of gore that man sees fit to put them through, even in areas that are supposed to be their sanctuaries.
Yes, that is right, Japan also hunts in what are supposed to be protected whale and sea life sanctuaries; protected by the IWC at that. Even more ridiculous is the way the Japanese attempted to appeal to the International Whaling Commission, stating the Steve Irwin ship endangered their lives in the Southern Ocean last year (where one of the sanctuaries is located). “We cannot tolerate such audacity,” Jun Yamashita—a Japanese delegation member—told the commission. “We ask for all appropriate measures, including a ban on the ship from leaving port, so that we can prevent these acts from being repeated.” It seems to me they just want to be able to do their illegal whaling stints without being under watch or under attack.
Source greenfudge.org

Kandi Burruss boutique Tags and Kandi Burruss clothing store

Kandi Burruss boutique Tags and Kandi Burruss clothing store. There is some good news for Kandi Burruss fans in Atlanta and beyond. The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss who has won hearts and minds of her fans with her impressive personality is now to floor them with her clothing lines.
Kandi who lost her boy friend last month in a brawl seems to be coming out of mourning.

She is maximizing her stint as a "Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast member, bringing renewed attention to her abilities as a songwriter with her work on the "Tardy For The Party" song for cast member Kim Zolciak who is just a little challenged as a vocalist.

Burruss is also expanding her business opportunities by opening a clothing boutique in metro Atlanta with friend Peaches Chin who will run the boutique on a day to day basis.

The store called Tags, will focus on affordable men's and women's clothing. The Atlanta Journal Constitution provides additional details on Burruss' business venture.

Here's wishing her well as she's opening the store during a challenging economic climate, but by marketing affordable clothing she's at least giving the store a chance to succeed.

Thirty two year old Kandi Burrussis a multifaceted personality. She is known to be R&B singer, songwriter, record producer and television personality, best known as a former member of the group Xscape from Atlanta.

In early 2006, Kandi began work on her sophomore album. The first single "I Need" was a promotional single only. It featured rap duo 8Ball and MJG. Another song, "Keep It Gangsta" featuring rapper Lil Scrappy, was also set to appear on the album, although it was never released as a promo single.
Source khabrein.info

Free Salary Report Reveals The Secrets of Pay

In this time of recession and multiple layoffs, many feel happy to just have a job. However, as a recent report notes, there are some "secrets" that company don't want you to know about salaries in your field; the report includes a link to a free salary report, as well.

You can get a free salary report from many different locations on the web, and they are generally based on localized surveys of areas around the country. As such, they let employees know what the "going rate" is for their profession and area.
To get a free salary report, you enter your information, including location, and the site will produce a report that gives you information on income trends in that area. It's easy to use, and generally private and free (although of course, there is always something they want to sell you).
Besides the link to the free salary report, the overall report on "salary secrets" note that although things are bad, they are not that bad.
For example, despite the recession, and the fact that many are willing to take a pay cut rather than lose their job, you can still negotiate your salary, if you have market data. Obviously, that's where a free salary report comes into play,.
Additionally, it's also true, that if the job market is hot, sometimesstarting salaries may be higher for new employees than they are for long-term employees. This is less of a trend during this recession.
Finally, pay isn't necessary a result of your performance alone. Obviously, the local job market as well as the cost of living in the area will affect things, which is why (once again) a free salary report will come in handy. It's not a "magic bullet," and the economy, as it is now, is a real drag on salaries, but it's still useful.
Source huliq.com

15 year old kills 9 year old

Neighbors say the suspect is a 15-year-old girl who lived at Elizabeth's friend's house

15 year old kills 9 year old: 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten disappeared Wednesday night as she walked home from a friend's house around dinner time. Police spent two days searching for the girl in the wooded areas of St. Martins, Missouri before receiving a handwritten note Friday that led them to a 15-year-old juvenile. The teen then showed detectives Elizabeth's body, which was found in a deeply wooded area that had already been searched. She was so obstructed by foliage that they'd missed her the first time through...

Officials will only say that they plan to charge the juvenile with first-degree murder sometime this week. But according to residents, the assailant is a 15-year-old girl who lived in the house Elizabeth was leaving the night she disappeared. There's still no answer as to how or why the little girl was murdered.

Read full article:15-Year-Old Girl Charged with Elizabeth Olten's Murder
truecrimereport.com

Billy Bell Leaves 'So You Think You Can Dance' Due to Illness

Nineteen-year-old dancer Billy Bell has stopped competing in So You Think You Can Dance because of an unspecified illness. Fox gave no further comment on the matter, but according to MSNBC, 21-year-old Brandon Dumlao of California will be taking his spot on the show. 

Billy Bell was forced to leave SYTYCD because of an illness.

The show's executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe said in a statement, "We are disappointed that Billy cannot continue dancing in the competition on the advice of his doctor and wish him a speedy recovery. However, we are fortunate that Brandon Dumlao has agreed to return."

Bell's family posted a message on his Facebook page earlier this week, saying: "Billy’s family would like to thank all of his fans for the support they have shown him this season. Billy was released from the hospital today and is feeling better. Please respect the family’s privacy. As of right now, Billy hopes to try out again for season 7… Thank you so much for sharing your love and support with our family! The Bell Family."

Source zimbio.com

Swine Flu Vaccine Scarcity Stirs Anger in U.S. Cities

Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- San Diego health officials said the county depleted its main supply of swine flu vaccine today after receiving only 25 percent of the 411,000 doses anticipated for October, as reports of shortages nationwide mount.
New shipments may arrive “in the next week or two, we hope,” said Jose Alvarez, a spokesman for the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency. From New York, where October deliveries fell short by 400,000 doses, to Dallas and Phoenix, which have postponed mass vaccinations, to San Francisco, where one family clinic is fielding 400 calls a day, local officials are being pressured by parents for swine flu vaccine as the death toll for children in the U.S. reached 95.
The U.S. received about 9 million more doses of H1N1 vaccine from drugmakers in the last week, bringing the total available for distribution to 23.2 million, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today. The supply isn’t enough, Thomas Frieden, director of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a call yesterday with reporters. Local officials and doctors agree.
“Some parents are very angry,” said Joanne Cox, associate chief of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital in Boston. “We have very high demand. The phones are ringing off the hook.”
Nicole Lurie, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at health and human services, said Oct. 23 that the U.S. won’t get the 195 million doses it had planned for by the end of the year because of production delays at two drugmakers and one manufacturer’s failure to gain regulatory approval for its product.
Vaccine Suppliers
GlaxoSmithKline Plc and AstraZeneca Plc, both based in London, Sanofi-Aventis SA of Paris, Novartis AG in Basel, Switzerland, and CSL Ltd. of Melbourne, Australia, provide the bulk of the U.S. supply. Sebelius said today that production of the vaccine is being “accelerated” and the reasons for the slow start have been fixed.
While the U.S. may receive 42 million doses from the drugmakers to distribute to states by mid-November, that is 8 million fewer than earlier U.S. estimates, Lurie said. Local health departments are already feeling the pinch.
San Diego received only 100,000 doses of the vaccine it was expecting this month, Alvarez said yesterday. About 16,500 doses were distributed through county clinics over the weekend, he said. The county ran out of vaccine delivered through injections today, and has limited supplies for pregnant women, said Tom Christensen, a spokesman, in a telephone interview today.
Parents Confused
Parents are getting mixed messages from schools and doctors offices, which are urging them to vaccinate kids when supplies often aren’t available, said one Boston-area mother.
“Do I want my kids to be vaccinated? Sure,” said Margaret Birchall, a mother of four kids ages 10 to 22 in Topsfield, Massachusetts. “But what do you do? You’re being told to be sure to get the vaccine, but then they don’t have it.”
Dallas County, Texas, canceled a mass vaccination effort planned for Oct. 24 because it didn’t have enough doses, said Zachary Thompson, director of the county’s Health and Human Services agency.
“We may get a lot of vaccine on the back end, in November or December, but our goal is to do mass vaccinations as early as possible,” Thompson said yesterday. News coverage has heightened awareness of the pandemic “and everybody is ready to take the vaccine,” he said.
Many Questions
About 400 people a day are calling East Bay Pediatrics, a physician practice that serves about 14,000 children in Berkeley and Orinda, California, east of San Francisco, said Mary Gilbert, a registered nurse. The pediatricians’ office received about 300 doses of the vaccine in mid-October, and the supply was gone in three days, Gilbert said.
“It’s very hit or miss as to when we get the product,” she said. “We just keep telling people to be patient. Most people are just scared from what they’re reading in the newspapers.”
Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix, has received about a third of the vaccine supply it had anticipated by now, said Rebecca Sunenshine, an epidemiologist with the Department of Public Health. In total, the county expects to get about 250,000 doses, she said in a phone interview yesterday.
With temperatures in the high 80s, “we had tremendous lines” that lasted for hours over the weekend at pediatrician offices, pharmacies and clinics, Sunenshine said.
17,000 Vaccinations
The county vaccinated 17,000 people on Oct. 24, focusing on higher risk groups, she said. A series of mass immunization programs at schools has been postponed, she said.
New York City will get 800,000 doses of the vaccine by the end of this month, compared with the 1.2 million it expected, said Jessica Scaperotti, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. A vaccine program in schools started today with 125 elementary schools.
President Barack Obama declared swine flu a national emergency on Oct. 24. The disease is widespread across the country and accounted for 411 confirmed deaths and more than 8,200 hospitalizations from Aug. 30 to Oct. 17, the CDC said.
While H1N1 produces similar symptoms as seasonal flu, it is targeting a younger population and can lead to severe illness and death. The seasonal flu kills about 36,000 people a year in the U.S., though the majority of those deaths are in people older than age 80.
Children’s Deaths
Ninety-five children 17 years old or younger have died from confirmed swine flu since April 2009, more than the toll for a typical year of influenza, according to the CDC Web site.
A World Health Organization advisory panel is deliberating today whether one or two doses of the vaccine are needed to fight the virus. The U.S. and Australia have begun mass immunization programs based on a single-dose regimen, while Japan and the European Union are calling for two shots.
The vaccine will reach Hong Kong by the end of the year, about three months after an initial wave of cases peaked, a health official there said. China and Russia each have had four deaths from the H1N1 virus, news agencies reported today.
Chicago-based Aon Corp., the world’s largest insurance broker, is offering to cover companies against the risk of their offices being shut by the pandemic.
Concern that there are shortages is bound to boost demand from those afraid the product won’t be available in time to head off the disease, the CDC’s Frieden told reporters in his call yesterday.
About 11.3 million doses had been shipped to states as of Oct. 21, according to the CDC.
California received the most vaccine as of Oct. 21, at 1.3 million doses, according to the CDC’s Web site. Texas was next with 831,400, followed by New York, at 729,100. As of then, 14.1 million doses were available for ordering.
“Some of those early challenges have definitely been addressed,” Sebelius told reporters at a Washington news conference today. “The growth rate” of vaccine doses “is much more robust.”
Source bloomberg.com