Monday, January 26, 2009

Weekly News

62,000 Jobs Are Cut by U.S. and Foreign Companies
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/business/economy/27jobcuts.html
65,000 job cuts were announced on Monday alone, and those numbers keep rising. Automaker General Motors and construction and pharmaceutical makers Pfizer and Wyeth, Home Depot, and Sprint Nextel have cut 25,000 jobs combined. While automaker General Motors has cut up to 20,000 alone. Almost 2.59 million jobs have been dropped in our economy since the beginning of the recession in December 2007.


Obama Aims for Oil Independence
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7851038.stm
President Barak Obama is pushing to get America ‘free of our dependence on foreign oil’. He’s not just pushing for energy independence, he’s pushing for it fast. Obama promises to ‘reverse America’s dependence on foreign oil while creating jobs’ but also warned that there is no “quick fix”. Obama also labeled this choice as a ‘crossroads in history’, and ‘a future safer for our country, prosperous for our planet, and sustainable.’


Pfizer to buy Wyeth for $68 billion
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE50M1AQ20090126?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
Talks between Pfizer and Wyeth to secure the buy are coming to a conclusion. Over the last while both companies have experienced some debt, though Pfizer has also managed to gain profits while Wyeth only seems to go downhill. The development of new drugs and competition from other companies have greatly contributed to Wyeth’s downfall. The talks between the two companies have mostly dealt with how the buy out will help to equalize the finances of the companies.

Medicare Broadens Coverage of Drugs for Cancer Patients
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27cancer.html
Is Medicare taking an unapproved risk? The Food and Drug Administration thinks so. Medicare has decided to cover cancer treating drugs even many that have not been approved by the FDA. There was little public debate over the topic even though many of the drugs may not work. Apparently the new policy makes it much easier to get even the questionable treatments paid for. A critic of the plan and a health policy analyst Steven Findlay said, “Medicare is providing carte blanche in treatment for cancers.”

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Product Review

Have you ever just wanted your acne to go away? If you’re like most people then you probably have. Have you tried product after product and nothing has helped? Then I have some advice for you. Don’t waste your time trying Noxzema. Noxzema claims to deep clean and dissolve oils on your face while not leaving it to dry. Well it certainly doesn’t leave your face dry. And it also doesn’t remove oils. Despite its claim to actually remove or dissolve the oils, Noxzema only seems to increase them. In fact after just one month of using Noxzema my face was worse than when I had started. My face did not look and worse and fewer pimples were heading out granted. But there in lies more problems. Noxzema actually seemed to cause the oils in my skin to build up instead of dissolve. Despite its problematic results Noxzema is very easy to use. All one has to do is collect a little on ones fingers and rub it gently into ones face. You can cover your whole face or just selective spots. It rubs in very nicely, and all you have to do afterwards is just wash or rinse it off. This makes for very convenient use, especially at times when you normally wash you face anyway. Noxzema is also comparatively cheap compared to many other products. While Noxzema cost $5 at most for a medium sized container, other products cost from the cheapest being at Target as $13-$15, then Aloette as $16-$19, and the priciest being at Skin Medica as $30-$40. But after trying Noxzema with such bad results I have come to the conclusion that there might be a reason why its so cheap. Other products have worked much better, including a homemade remedy called Colloidal Silver. This product can be cheap if homemade, though if bought at the store it can be anywhere from $12-$50 depending on brand and size of bottle. Overall Noxzema is just about worth as little as it costs. So spending a few more dollars for something that works might just be worth it.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

News

Bush Commutes Sentences for Two Former Border Patrol Agents
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/19/bush-commutes-sentences-border-patrol-agents/ January 19, 2009: On his last day in office President Bush faces great amounts of pressure to commute the sentences of two former border patrol agents. The two agents had been sentenced on accounts of assult after they shot a known drug runner on the border. Their terms would have finished on March 20th but Bush decided to commute them. Many other individuals have not been so lucky as Bush has given far less pardons and commutes then either President Clinton or President Reagan.


Obamas Search for New Church to Call Spiritual Home
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/19/obama-family-searches-new-church-spiritual-home/
January 19, 2009: After 5 months of being out of a church due to the political fuss over their former church the Obamas stepped inside a church yesterday. Nineteenth Street Baptist Church was graced with the presence of the first family as they visited to see if this would become their new church. "That is a very personal and yet also prayerful decision for any family” said the Rev. Derrick Harkins, senior pastor at Nineteenth Street Baptist. Though the church hopes the Obamas will settle down with them, but whatever happens the Obamas main goal is to keep following and doing God’s will.

Crucial Zimbabwe talks Collapse
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7836859.stm
January 19, 2009: Peace talks between Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have failed. Mr. Tsvangirai called the impasse "the darkest day". But despite this label President Mugabe said that he had done everything he was required to do and the time for talks was over. This failure has caused continued unrest in the country and much division of the people of Zimbabwe.

Doctors Report ‘Alarming’ Rise of MRSA in Kids
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28736696/
January 19, 2009: Doctors have found that MRSA is becoming more and more common, especially in kids. And as if that weren’t bad enough MRSA is becoming more drug resistant as time goes on, even drugs that used to affect if aren’t anymore. But perhaps the most alarming thing about this outbreak is not how much its being found, but where and why it’s being found. MRSA is being found quite commonly in people who have recently had an ear, nose or throat infection. Even if these people haven’t been around a hospital.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Hurricane's website review

Have you ever wondered about the debate between creation and evolution? Specifically about the mysteriously unexplained creation side? Then the Answers in Genesis ministry has a website for you. Answersingenesis.org is an excellent place for inquiring creationists and creation inquirers alike. At the top of this brightly colored web page Answers in Genesis proclaims ‘Genesis 1:1. believing it. defending it. proclaiming it.’ Their website holds up to this logo. Answersingenesis.org is designed to provide people all over the world with mounds of evidence for creation and faith strengthening resources for biblical creationists. This site also works to show how creation is the base for the whole rest of the Bible. Answersingenesis.org is home to online articles and biographies, a store, upcoming and past events, a media section, a kid’s section, education, and Answers in Genesis history. The online articles are mainly resources and articles out of their magazines, which have been made more accessible by being on the web. The biographies are mostly about creation scientists and the trials they have undergone in our modern society. The store sells anything from books and magazines to shirts and hats. Most of these products are there to help spread and validate the theory of creation, and disprove the theory of evolution. The media section mainly deals with all the radio programs that Answers in Genesis has put out, which are downloadable or can be listened to online. The education section includes things from modern public education reviews to devotionals to curricula for those who need or want it. All information on the site was easily accessible and clearly labeled. Everything on the site was organized into logical sections and sub sections, making navigation of the site very easy. Also, this site is extremely easy to search for a specific topic. Upon searching for something, say the Grand Canyon, one could find all sorts of information in the forms of articles books and videos. It is extremely easy to find more than enough information and resources on ones desired subject of interest. The one thing the website does lack is great amounts of online resources. Though there are many articles and such online most of the resources must be purchased or rented. One bonus for the website though is that it does not require any extra add-ons or modifications to your web browser to use. Overall the website is fairly efficient and easy to use. I appreciate the amount of diversity that the site has, and the large collection of knowledge that is stored there. This site is one of the best places I have found for information about creation.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Websites I use 2

www.runescape.com
Runescape: The massive online first person player. A lot of fun, and easy to use. A place to do anything from baking bread to killing dragons.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/
US State Department: Another good place to research countries. Can also be used to find information about Wyoming.
http://www.yahoo.com/
Yahoo: Can be useful for information, not necessarily though. It does have a lot of fun little games for boring days.
http://www.sheridanwyolibrary.org/
Wyoming Library’s: A good place to find information about local libraries. It also provides information about the books these library’s are carrying.
http://www.google.com/
Google: A good place to find things. Has and email provider, maps and a store. Can be very useful.

Website I use

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
Star Wars wiki: Perfect place to find information about all you favorite star wars characters. It can also provide good pictures, occasionally.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/
Answers in Genesis: A creationist resource, full of articles and videos. A good place to strengthen your Christian faith. There are even comics!
https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=mail&passive=true&rm=false&continue=http%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2F%3Fui%3Dhtml%26zy%3Dl&bsv=1k96igf4806cy&ltmpl=default&ltmplcache=2&hl=en
Gmail: a so far secure email provider. Has a pathetic spellchecker and lots of other features which I don’t understand. It works better than many others I’ve tried.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd
Library of Congress: Very useful place. Lots of information. It’s like a huge library on your computer.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbood/index.html
CIA factbook: best place to research countries I’ve found. Tells you everything about a country from population to common foods. You can also find pictures to help you along.