Newzity

His campaign people say no way. Street money is an old tradition in Philadelphia where candidates pay money to the local bosses for their help on the day of election.

How much money we are talking about here? It would cost Obama about half a million. That is not really a big sum considering how much money is spent this election cycle. But the question is of principle. Obama always projected himself as a candidate for the change, someone who does not believe in the old ways of doing business. Come to Philadelphia, a city of old traditions, where the local Democratic bosses are getting the money for decades from all gubernatorial, mayoral, and presidential candidates. It is not just Philadelphia. Street money is common in big cities like Chicago, Baltimore, and Los Angeles. For the local bosses it is not a matter of principle but about respect for the traditions. Some worry that if Obama does not pay up he may lose more than a few voters to Clinton in Philadelphia, and that might ruin his chance of winning the state. But outside the city, people who are inspired by the message of change are wondering whether Obama can put his money where his mouth is. Or in this case, not put his money.

It is hard to tell what Obama would do. But for sure, Clinton would be too eager to pay the extra money for a few more votes.

No this is not about Homer sleeping his work. At a nuclear plant near Miami, real life security officers were caught napping a number of times during work hour.

Over the years, the officers at the nuclear plant got into the habit of sleeping on the job even when they were posted at critical parts of the plant. All the officers knew about it and some would act as lookouts while others slept. The company that employs the officers is facing a fine of $130,000. This is not the first time the company was found negligent about security. Only a few months ago, in January, the company was fined over $200,000 when their employees disabled the weapons that were there for the protection of the plant. The company said it has fired all officers who got caught sleeping.

Some of us might lose sleep over the safety of the nuclear plants if the officers there continue to sleep at work.

Show me more » »

On the Internet one can find more information on how to commit suicide than how not to. Not only that, a British study found that half of the Internet sites that are dedicated to suicide related information promote the act. Only one in eight sites provides information on prevention.

The study used 12 suicide related terms on four difference search engines - Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask.com. They collected a total of 480 links - top ten from each search, and found 240 unique sites. Almost half of those 240 sites had information on suicide methods. One fifth of all 480 sites were primarily dedicated to suicide. Half of those dedicated sites were considered encouraging suicide, not trying to prevent it. Only 62 of the total 480 sites had information on prevention, and 59 sites clearly discouraged suicide. All the three sites that came up most frequently on the search encouraged the visitor to commit suicide.

It is depressing since people with suicidal thoughts may not reach out to other people and try to look for information on the Internet. And as it turns out they are most likely to find encouragement and not much help.

Yes, they are. A new study published in British journal showed that heavy duty house chores improve our mental health and mood - even as little as 20 minutes a week helps.

Though the physical benefits of exercise are well known, exercise is not a sure cure for blues. But this study of 20 thousand people showed that exercises do improve our mood. And it can be anything: scrubbing the bathtub, mopping the kitchen, mowing the lawn, or playing your favorite sports. As little as 20 minutes of housework per week reduces the risk of mental stress and anxiety by 41 percent. When it comes to the blues, sports are most effective and reduce the mood lows by one third. People who do heavy duty housework at least once a week are 20% less likely to suffer from mental health problems. However, the lightweight chores, such as taking the trash out or dusting the table top, do not count. Also, more scrubbing is not as effective as more sports.

So don’t feel bad about all those house chores you have on your to-do list. Go ahead and finish them. They will cheer you up.

Show me more » »

They can brutally beat other kids and break their hip. A ten year old elementary schoolgirl was hospitalized when two of her schoolmates attacked her and broke her hips.

The ten year old told the two girls, aged ten and eleven, to stop throwing water on her eight year old sister. In response, the two girls dragged her off the money bars and repeatedly stomped on her legs and head. The ten year was left with a broken hip. For now she has three pins in her hip, but she might need hip replacement in future. The two girls were charged with juvenile delinquency, which is kids’ version of criminal case. The defense is asking to dismiss the case on the ground that the girls are too young to understand the charges against them.

Does not matter what happens next, the questions remain: how can an event like this happen in an elementary school? What were the teachers and school authorities, who are responsible for the safety of all the kids, doing? What about the parents who are supposed to teach their kids how to behave?

Show me more » »