kiwipete

PC World - Less than a day after announcing plans to charge customers a $2 convenience fee for every online transaction, Verizon Wireless has announced that it will back off.

Verizon Wireless will not institute the convenience fee for one-time payments made online or over the phone, the company said in a statement Friday afternoon. Verizon reportedly made the decision in response to strong customer feedback.

"At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers," states Verizon Wireless President and CEO Dan Mead. "Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time."

This move also came after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a statement earlier Friday declaring that it would be investigating the fee, which was initially scheduled to take effect January 15.

"On behalf of American consumers, we're concerned about Verizon's actions and are looking into the matter," the FCC said.

When Verizon announced the fee on Thursday, it explained that the charge was necessary to offset costs connected to col on $2.00lecting single payments through online, mobile, and phone channels. A number of alternative payment methods--all of which would not incur a charge--were suggested, including payment by paper check.

Collecting on delinquent accounts is a significant expense to carriers, so they're always looking for ways to get people to participate in automatic payment programs. AT&T, for example, encourages its customers to sign up for autopay by offering a $10 gift card. However, tacking on a per-payment fee isn't the way to encourage autopayers, as Verizon has discovered.

Follow freelance technology writer John P. Mello Jr. and Today@PCWorld on Twitter.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223086/Verizon_Scraps_2_Fee_Plan?source=rss_latest_content&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+computerworld%2Fnews%2Ffeed+%28Latest+from+Computerworld%29

The talk and debate on 2012 end of the world will not end till December 2012. Magazines, Newspapers, televisions, social networking is always speaking about the end of the world. The fact lies in the Mayan prediction. In the prehistoric time the Mayans were an expert in the fields of science and culture. They had made contribution in the fields of Art, Science, and Astronomy. Even the calendar that we follow toady is based on the Mayan Calculation. Researches have found out that the calendar ends in 2012. So we can assume that the world will come to an end in 2012. On the other hand we have another set of scientists saying that the Mayan calendar is based on a cycle. The cycle will again start rotating after 2012. So, the Mayan calendar does not say that the end of the world is near. Let us now look into the fact deeply.

The Mayan side of the coin:

The Mayan calendar is known as the Sun Stone. The calendar is based on the Sun. We can say that it is a solar calendar. As per the calendar the world will end on 21 December 2012. This particular observation is known as 2012 phenomenon. The argument is based on the following points:

The believers state the followings:
•A pole shift will end the world and time will stop.
•A geomagnetic reversal can also end the world on 21 December 2012.
•Solar Storms can burn the surface of the Earth.
The non-believers state the followings on the contrary:
•The concept of pole shift is completely imaginary. A pole shift cannot happen.
•A geomagnetic reversal cannot destroy the Earth.
•Solar storms cannot happen

http://www.123newyear.com/2012/end-of-the-world.html

China's Chocolate World...

http://travel.msn.co.nz/glance/209048/chinas-chocolate-world.glance

It has been claimed that Britain is losing its reputation as a nation of beer drinkers.

Beer consumption has apparently fallen by a quarter since 2006, because many men have stopped going down to the local pub, preferring to stay at home with their wives and girlfriends, sharing a bottle of wine, cider or spirits.

I wonder how true this really is? Or has it to do more with economics? Read on:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10774796

Electric cars made from beautifully light carbon fibre. The future of car construction.

http://www.economist.com/node/16537608

http://www.myhev.com/electric-vehicle/electric-vehicle-beautiful-light-carbon-fiber-2

Don't stone the crows - Science has proven they are not bird brains...

By Peter Petterson

First published at Qondio:

Don't stone the crows - science has proven they are not bird brains. Indeed these members of the avian family have a lot more going for them than a lot of their feathered friends. New Zealand scientists and Aesop the famous Greek writer of fables have something in common - don't stone the crows, they are actually cunning birds who appear to understand basic physics. In one of Aesop's fables illustrating the virtue of ingenuity, a crow was able to drink from a half-filled pitcher by dropping stones in it to raise the water level.

Auckland University psychology researchers have recreated the fable, with a tall half-filled tube of water, which had a small piece of meat floating on the surface. The four rooks named Pepe, Caesar, Mimic and Laura were given a collection of stones and learned to drop them into the tube to raise the water level and allowed them to fish out the food.

They proved to be even more cleverer, however, and when given a selection of small and large stones, they picked out the larger ones which displaced more water at once and brought the food within their reach more quickly. The crows showed an immediate preference for the larger stones, two of them actually disregarding the small stones during their first attempt and before they actually observed their effect on the water, the researchers wrote in their notes. They were also tested with heavy and light objects, choosing rubber cubes over similar sized polystyrene cubes.

The results of the various experiments indicated the birds actually 'understood' their actions, rather than simply doing something because it worked first up. " The differences between causal and arbitary tasks that we presented to the crows strongly suggest that cognitive mechanisms other than simple associative learning are involved." The above is what researchers wrote in the now published entry in PLoS One, which is widely seen as one of the world's leading general science journals.

Crows have previously shown they can use stick-like tools to manipulate their environment, such as dropping nuts on pedestrian crossings for passing cars to crack them open, then waiting for the 'green man' signal so they can safely collect their nuts.

Now Aesop was well aware of their abilities 2500 years ago when he wrote "The Crow and Pitcher", about a thirsty crow learning how to raise the water level in a pitcher by dropping in the stone.

This tale concludes with the proverb: "Necessity is the mother of invention" something that most of us have read at some time, some place, and somewhere! Contributor's Note Have a look at a smart rook now!

Wolf conservationists stay killing...

by Brittany Lyons (Guest writer)

The timeless struggle between man and nature continued in the Oregon Court of Appeals last month. The court has decided on a temporary stay of the killing of two grey wolves blamed for the death of livestock in Wallowa County, Oregon. The proceedings illustrate the complexity of the arguments concerning the conservation of wild animals, which as been debated by environmentalists and students in PhD programsfor years. As the human population grows, how can the needs and interests of farmers, and of all those who benefit from their labors, be balanced with the need to protect the wonder and diversity of the natural world?

The case centers on two members of the Imnaha wolf pack (including the alpha male) who were involved in the killing of a calf in September. The incident brought the number of livestock killed by the pack in the last year and a half to 14. The wolves were slated to be killed following an order issued by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in September, but conservation groups challenged the decision. The groups argue the Oregon Wolf Management Plan, which states wolves that kill cattle can be destroyed, does not comply with the state’s Endangered Species Act. However, wolves are no longer protected in Eastern Oregon under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Although the wolves are no longer considered an endangered species in the area, the conservation group Oregon Wild points there a number of negative implications of the decision. First of all, the killings would reduce the pack to just two members, the alpha female and her young pup, making it unlikely that they would survive the winter. Secondly, Oregon Wildplaces the livestock deaths in perspective, stating that there are only 23 confirmed wolves in Oregon, yet there are more than 1.3 million cattle. Of those livestock, 55,000 were lost last year to weather, disease and thieves while fewer than 20 were lost to wolves. Additionally, when livestock are lost to wolves the rancher is compensated for the loss by provisions made by the legislature. Finally, Noah Greenwald, the endangered species director with the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Seattle Pisuch killings do nothing to save livestock. Greenwald claims, “There are much better non-lethal options, including fencing, guard dogs, and removing the carcasses that attract wolves in the first place.”

The Oregon Cattlemen's Association, counters that wolf numbers will grow at least 33 percent a year, causing the attacks on livestock and wildlife will double. Thus only complicating problems for cattlemen already facing the difficulties that have come with the current recession. The cattlemen also argue this particular wolf pack has been an ongoing problem. The Association's President Bill Hoyt declares: “They had confirmed kills on the same ranch over a period of time and by the same pack. The plan calls for after having multiple confirmed kills (sic), they will take lethal control. That’s what the plan says”. We didn’t like the plan to begin with. But we are learning to live with it. Now, all of a sudden we can’t even do that.”

Ultimately the Appeal Court determine that while nothing in the Endangered Species act prohibits the killing of wolves, there also is not anything to authorize such killing. As a result, the plan to prevent the killings of the two wolves has been stayed while the case is deliberated further.

Clearly the case demonstrates the complexities of weighing the needs of business and the rights of farmers to protect their livestock against the preservation of the natural world. Farmers are only doing what they have been doing for centuries, but then again, so are the wolves. As humans continue to expand into what was once the undisputed territory of animals such as the grey wolf, the debate is sure to continue. Add to that our insatiable demand for of meat and ever cheaper food, and the problem is only likely to grow. The issue is a complicated one, and an understanding of the debate prompts us to question our habits and the part that we all play in the future of animals such as the grey wolf.

http://worldofcae.blogspot.com THE GREEN PLANET BLOG

You are invited to visit the Green Planet blog and read other environmental type stories.

http://www.causes.com/causes/145201-wolf-haven-international

I found an intriguing little site you may enjoy:

A Russian woman has claimed to have kept a dead alien in her fridge.

It has been said that if aliens were really intent on landing on planet Earth, the pictures that are available would confirm one of their first ports of call would be Russia.

There are other claims of extraterrestisl life including the one by a Russian woman in Siberia who claimed she has kept an alien in her fridge. Fact or fiction? It will be fun finding out, I'm sure!

Russia is a hotbed of UFO activity and its possible that alien craft have been tracked by both miltary and civilian agencies, despite cases of hoaxes being proven.

http://hauntedearthghostvideos.blogspot.com/2011/11/russian-woman-claims-to-have-kept-dead.html?spref=fb

Tuition to teach bloggers in oppressive states how to communicate freely...

AP – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers a speech at the Conference on Internet Freedom, …

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The European Unionshould help teach bloggers living under oppressive regimes how to communicate freely and avoid detection, and develop technology to help them, the bloc's digital affairscommissioner said Friday.
Speaking at an online free speech conference, Neelie Kroes said digital dissidents needtools that are "simple and ready-made."
"I want theEU to help develop and distribute thesetools," she said.
Governments, companies and civil liberties groups are meeting at the Freedom Online conference at the DutchForeign Ministry in hopes of creating a coalition of like-minded groups to promote Internet freedoms.
Bloggers and users of social networks played a key role in fomenting the revolutions of the "Arab Spring" — and took great risks.
In an emotional speech, Syrian blogger Amjad Baiazy said his country's surveillance system was built by Western companies. He said he was arrested and tortured in Mayfor expressing his opinion online, and a friend was arrested as recently as this weekfor a Facebook posting. He called on governments to fightfor "security of citizens, not corporations or governments."
On Thursday U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened the conference with a callfor companies not to sell surveillancetools to authoritarian regimes.
Dutch member of parliament Marietje Schaake echoed Clinton's call, saying that companies "with a reputation to lose" — such as Google, one of the conference's sponsors — are more likely to heed it.
However, she said less well-known companies may need incentives or laws to restrain them.
She said it was ironic there is also conference being held this week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, aimed at disseminating advanced surveillance techniques.
"We need to get ahead of the curve," she said. "Some governments curb freedom before the Internet fully arrives there."
Schaake also slammed the U.S.for its proposed "Stop Online Piracy Act," which would require U.S. telecommunications companiesto block access toforeign-based websites that infringe U.S. copyrights.
This will "give great incentives to governments like China to do the same," she said, blocking political speech they don't approve and arguing that their censorship practices are no different than those in the West.
Karen Reilly of the TOR project, which helps Internet users browse the web anonymously, said governments should listen less to the copyright lobby. She said her organization could use assistance in answering technical questions in local languages, noting that addition of a Persian service had opened up a flood of communication from Iran.
Among concrete actions taken Friday, the Dutch governmentpledgedeuro1 million ($1.3 million) to develop "mesh" networks — networks that use mobile phones to create a backup system to disseminate information when a government tries to block the Internet or social networks. He named Syria, Iran and Zimbabwe as target countries.

Acknowledgements: Associated Press

http://kiwiriverman.blogspot.com The Riverman Reports:

Related articles
Summary Box:EU Commissioner calls for new tools (seattlepi.com)
Dutch: $1.3 millionfor oppressed bloggers (seattlepi.com)
EU Commissioner calls for new toolsfor bloggers (sfgate.com)
Clinton warns tech business not to help tyrants (seattlepi.com)
Clinton warns tech business not to help tyrants (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Clinton keeps host waiting until she's off phone (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Clinton warns tech business not to help tyrants (sfgate.com)
See Hillary Rodham Clinton's remarkable speech callingfor the protection of the rights of LGBT people (pinkbananaworld.com)
Daily Report: Clinton Pushesfor Internet Freedom (bits.blogs.nytimes.com)

Aussie train service terminated by giant purple penis art...

A train service was terminated in Sydney after a giant purple penis was spray painted on the driver's window.

RailCorp told ninemsn the train was cancelled on December 7 after the graffiti was found on windscreen of the back driver's cabin.

"It was not only offensive, but would have been a safety hazard when the train operated back from Dapto as it would have blocked the driver’s view," RailCorp said in a statement to ninemsn.

Passengers had to wait 29 minutes for a replacement train to continue the route from Sydenham Station.

The vandalised train was sent to the depot for cleaning.

A photo of the train was posted by a passenger on social news website Reddit.com who said: "This graffiti just caused my train to terminate … Literally c--- blocked."

RailCorp said the incident showed how graffiti can impact customers.

"Not only is there a cost to the taxpayer in clean up; but the service was terminated and customers experienced delays of 29 minutes as a result."

The company said people caught vandalising rail property faced fines up to $2200 ($NZ2896).

http://news.msn.co.nz/article/8387342/penis-graffiti-causes-sydney-train-to-terminate

Afghan president pardons imprisoned rape victim - after she agrees to marry attacker

International outrage over plight - what are western troops doing supporting this insidious Islamic Sharia law in Afghanistan?

Aref Karimi/AFP/Getty Images

Burqa-clad Afghan women walk in the old part of Herat on November 23.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday pardoned an Afghan woman serving a 12-year prison sentence for having sex out of wedlock after she was raped by a relative.

Karzai’s office said in a statement that the woman and her attacker have agreed to marry. That would reverse an earlier decision by the 19-year-old woman, who had previously refused a judge’s offer of freedom if she agreed to marry the rapist.

Her plight was highlighted in a documentary that the European Union blocked because it feared the women featured in the film would be in danger if it were shown.

More than 5,000 people recently signed a petition urging Karzai to release the woman. She had the man’s child while in prison and raised her daughter behind bars, which is common among women imprisoned in Afghanistan.

A statement released by Karzai’s office says that after hearing from judicial officials, the decision was made to forgive the rest of the sentence she received for having sex out of wedlock, a crime in Afghanistan. The presidential statement did not say when the woman was to be released or how much prison time had been pardoned.

The woman told The Associated Press in an interview last month that she had hoped that attention generated by the EU film might help her get released. With the film blocked, she said that she was losing hope and considering marrying her rapist as a way out. She said her attacker was pressuring her to stop giving interviews.

About half of the 300 to 400 women jailed in Afghanistan are imprisoned for so-called “moral crimes” such as sex outside marriage, or running away from their husbands, according to reports by the United Nations and research organizations. Fleeing husbands isn’t considered a crime in Afghanistan.

The EU welcomed the woman’s release.

“Her case has served to highlight the plight of Afghan women, who 10 years after the overthrow of the Taliban regime often continue to suffer in unimaginable conditions, deprived of even the most basic human rights,” the European Union’s Ambassador and Special Representative to Afghanistan, Vygaudas Usackas, said.

He said the EU hoped the same mercy would be extended to other women serving similar terms. Usackas said he planned to raise the issue of Afghan women’s rights at an international conference on Afghanistan Dec. 5 in Bonn, Germany.

Some of the most severe restrictions women faced under the Taliban, like a ban on attending schools and having to have a male escort to venture outside the home, were done away with when the radical Islamic movement was driven from power in 2001. But Afghanistan remains a deeply conservative and male-dominated society, meaning women are still sold to husbands and rights enshrined in law are often ignored in practice.

New discoveries shed light on why and when stonehenge was built...

Extraordinary new discoveries are shedding new light on why Britain’s most famous ancient site, Stonehenge, was built – and when.

Current research is now suggesting that Stonehenge may already have been an important sacred site at least 500 years before the first Stone circle was erected – and that the sanctity of its location may have determined the layout of key aspects of the surrounding sacred landscape.

What’s more, the new investigation – being carried out by archaeologists from the universities’ of Birmingham, Bradford and Vienna – massively increases the evidence linking Stonehenge to pre-historic solar religious beliefs. It increases the likelihood that the site was originally and primarily associated with sun worship

The investigations have also enabled archaeologists to putatively reconstruct the detailed route of a possible religious procession or other ritual event which they suspect may have taken place annually to the north of Stonehenge.

That putative pre-historic religious ‘procession’ (or, more specifically, the evidence suggesting its route) has implications for understanding Stonehenge’s prehistoric religious function – and suggests that the significance of the site Stonehenge now occupies emerged earlier than has previously been appreciated.

The crucial new archaeological evidence was discovered during on-going survey work around Stonehenge in which archaeologists have been ‘x-raying’ the ground, using ground-penetrating radar and other geophysical investigative techniques. As the archaeological team from Birmingham and Vienna were using these high-tech systems to map the interior of a major prehistoric enclosure (the so-called ‘Cursus’) near Stonehenge, they discovered two great pits, one towards the enclosure’s eastern end, the other nearer its western end.

When they modelled the relationship between these newly-discovered Cursus pits and Stonehenge on their computer system, they realised that, viewed from the so-called ‘Heel Stone’ at Stonehenge, the pits were aligned with sunrise and sunset on the longest day of the year – the summer solstice (midsummer’s day). The chances of those two alignments being purely coincidental are extremely low.

The archaeologists then began to speculate as to what sort of ritual or ceremonial activity might have been carried out at and between the two pits. In many areas of the world, ancient religious and other ceremonies sometimes involved ceremonially processing round the perimeters of monuments. The archaeologists therefore thought it possible that the prehistoric celebrants at the Cursus might have perambulated between the two pits by processing around the perimeter of the Cursus.

Initially this was pure speculation – but then it was realized that there was, potentially a way of trying to test the idea. On midsummer’s day there are in fact three key alignments – not just sunrise and sunset, but also midday (the highest point the sun reaches in its annual cycle). For at noon the key alignment should be due south.

One way to test the ‘procession’ theory (or at least its route) was for the archaeologists to demonstrate that the midway point on that route had indeed a special relationship with Stonehenge (just as the two pits – the start and end point of the route – had). The ‘eureka moment’ came when the computer calculations revealed that the midway point (the noon point) on the route aligned directly with the centre of Stonehenge, which was precisely due south.

This realization that the sun hovering over the site of Stonehenge at its highest point in the year appears to have been of great importance to prehistoric people, is itself of potential significance. For it suggests that the site’s association with the veneration of the sun was perhaps even greater than previously realized.

Read much more here: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/history/secret-history-of-stonehenge-revealed-6268237.html

More information here: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/

The Amish don't get autism - And they don't get vaccinations - possible link...

People outside the alternative health community are often confused by the lack of autism in the Amish people. The Amish do not experience autism, or any of the other learning disabilities that plague our technological society. The Amish live in a society that consists of outdated technologies and ideals, by contemporary standards. Their diet consists of eating organic, fresh, locally-grown produce, and of course, they do not follow the established vaccination routines. To the dismay of the mainstream media and the medical establishment, this has resulted in a healthier people, that are void of all of our chronic diseases. Heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are virtually non-existent in Amish villages. Equally non-existent are modern, chemically-engineered medicines, enhanced (chemically-engineered) foods, G.M.O. foods, and of course, vaccines. How is it that those who are without the “miracles” of modern orthodox medicine are healthier? The truth about health, medicine, and how they both relate to the Amish is becoming an embarrassment to some rather powerful people.

There have been 3 (yes three) verified cases of autism in the Amish, and at least two of those children were vaccinated. No information is available for the third. The strong correlation between vaccinations and autism is absolutely undeniable, unless you work for the medical establishment, the government, or Big Media. Proponents of the status-quo claim that the Amish obviously have a special super gene that makes them immune to autism. They pathetically try to rationalize that autism is some type of genetic failure (i.e. God’s fault), which attacks a brain based on religious affiliation. We’re tentatively expecting a space alien theory next, in a similar vein to the aliens theory used to attack those who believe in a Creator. This is truly is F.D.A. and A.M.A. science in all its shining glory. Vaccine proponents are willing to espouse any ridiculous explanation, so long as they do not have to accept that their entire industry of vaccinations is causing chronic disease, leaving autism for 1 in every 100 children now.

When the Amish are simply left alone, to live free of chemical toxins found in our medicines and foods, they are not plagued with diseases, learning disabilities, or autism. They are categorically more intelligent, with the exception of advanced (college-level) writing skills, which is explainable by the fact that English is not their primary language. Could it be those same Amish ‘super genes’ at work again? Society could learn greatly from their example, if we would only stop poisoning ourselves, and our children on a routine basis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wemDh08KMcY

http://kiwiriverman.blogspot.com

Chopper wreckage recovery today - a couple of real heroes killed when their helicopter crashed in a rescue attempt during a massive and suspicious blaze.

Kaitaia ranger William Macrae (left) and pilot John 'Prickles' de Ridder Shrink
Northland pilot John 'Prickles' de Ridder (inset) was flying into fiery conditions when his helicopter crashed last night. Photo / SNPA Images/Petrina HodgsonWork to recover the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed during a massive blaze in New Zealand's Far North begins today.

Pilot John de Ridder and Department of Conservation worker William Macrae were killed when their helicopter crashed about 350m off the coast of the Karikari Peninsula late on Wednesday.

The Squirrel ZK-IMB helicopter had been assisting firefighters battling a massive blaze that destroyed at least three homes and sent residents scrambling for shelter.

The Civil Aviation Authority said a recovery barge was expected to reach the area early this morning after making the 12-hour journey from Paihia.

A dive team from Paihia would make an initial dive before working with the barge crew and air crash safety investigators to determine best way to winch the wreckage from the water.

The timing of the recovery would depend on sea and weather conditions, but investigators hoped it would be possible some time today.

The helicopter was submerged in about 7m of water.

Investigators were yesterday working to confirm details, including where the wreckage would be taken once recovered.

The men's bodies were found midday Thursday and recovered late that evening.

Acknowledgements: - APNZ

How Laughter Can Help Dementia Sufferers...

My grandmother was a lovely lady with a unique sense of humour and a very kind heart. Her love for children extended to all the youngsters in our neighbourhood whom she welcomed into her home and spoiled with plenty of sweet treats.

Sadly, this was no longer the case a few years before she passed away. Age-related dementia started to take its toll and we helplessly watched how this cruel disease slowly stole a loved one away from us.

At first, she was just forgetful before the confusion started to set in. Soon she lost her memory completely and became very aggressive... she had turned into a shouting, nasty, angry woman that no one recognised anymore.

No laughing matter

The harsh reality is that for some dementia sufferers it gets much worse than simply just being mean. Most dementia patients eventually suffer from agitation that can be so fierce that it frightens family and friends.

Dementia-related agitation includes physical aggression, repetitive behaviour, wandering, screaming, etc. It's a daunting experience — for both the patient and their family or caregivers, and one I hope not many of you will ever have to live through.

Doctors typically prescribe side effect ridden antipsychotic drugs to alleviate agitation. However, perhaps you'll be willing to try a slightly different approach before opting for prescription drugs... After all, you are still dealing with someone who is very close to your heart.

The best medicine

Recently, Australian researchers teamed up with the Arts Health Institute (AHI), an organization that trains "humour practitioners" who specialize in working with the elderly.

They conducted a study in more than 35 assisted living facilities to test humour therapy in subjects with dementia and agitation. After 12 weeks, researchers found that humour therapy reduced agitation by 20 per cent, on average.

This is a remarkable outcome because it's about the same result seen in the use of antipsychotic drugs... Adding the fact that the side effects of these drugs include stroke and death, there's no argument that humour therapy might be the better option.

But the good news doesn't stop there. In a follow-up at 26 weeks after the end of the humour therapy period, the researchers found that agitation remained at the improved level.

Previous studies have also shown that a good belly-laugh stimulates the release of feel-good endorphins, which also reduce pain, pacify stress hormones, enhance the immune system, and help control blood pressure.

So, if you know someone who's suffering from dementia- related agitation, suggest humour therapy as an alternative to antipsychotic drugs. Combined with acupuncture and massage these therapies will certainly help to prompt endorphin release and help alleviate the effects of agitation.

It's worth a try and won't do any harm.

Francois Lubbe
UK Editor
The Health Sciences Institute

thehealthierlife.co.uk

The Magical Minnesota Multi dimensional Ax...

By Ken Korczak

Kittson County Top News Examiner

An ax in northern Minnesota was recently sent on an inter-dimensional journey after possibly being stolen by a “shadow entity.” After being missing for two days, the ax returned, but appears to have been slightly altered in shape and form.

The incident occurred in a remote region of Roseau County in early November. The owner of the ax was perplexed one morning when he noticed that the tool had vanished from where he left it lying in his yard – the only evidence that remained was an outline of the ax in the snow.

The owner was mystified because the ax appeared to vanish into thin air – a light snow had just occurred, covering the yard, driveway and entire area where the ax had been lying on the ground. There were no tracks, no signs of disturbed snow – only a mysterious outline.
..

Continue reading on Examiner.com The Magic Minnesota Multi-Dimensional Ax - Minneapolis Top News | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/top-news-in-minneapolis/the-magic-minnesota-multi-dimensional-ax?CID=examiner_alerts_article#ixzz1fR10kYYr

Acknowledgements to one of my old blogging friends from the blogesphere.