Mother's fish consumption linked to child's IQ

A large study has found that children of women who ate little fish during pregnancy had lower IQs and more behavioral and social problems than youngsters whose mothers ate plenty of seafood, a finding that challenges the U.S. government's standard advice to limit seafood while pregnant. The study finds "no evidence to lend support to the warning of the U.S. advisory that pregnant women should limit their seafood consumption," the team led by Joseph Hibbeln, at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, concluded in the Lancet.
The study found that children born to women who ate about three servings of fish per week or less — near the maximum advised by the Food and Drug Administration and the environmental Protection Agency — had lower verbal IQs, more problems with fine motor skills, and higher rates of behavioral and social difficulties, compared with youngsters whose mothers consumed more seafood during pregnancy.

http://www.chron.com/

China Celebrates New Year, Sunday Feb. 18, 2007 (Year 4075)

Beijing was covered in thick black smoke as China celebrated the start of the year of the golden pig. For the first time in over a decade, fireworks were allowed throughout Beijing as fire and safety restrictions were loosened and 20,000 workers were recruited to sweep away the red firework debris that collected in some areas. In the Chinese lunar calendar, the years of gold and the pig coincide once every 60 years and children born in the year are supposed to have a fat and easy life. White collar worker Deng Yu said: "I hope that during the Year of the Pig I get really rich, and will be healthy and joyous."

"There is no thrill in easy sailing when the skies are clear and blue, there's no joy in merely doing thing which any one can do. But there is some satisfaction that is mighty sweet to take when you reach a destination that you thought you'd never make" - Spirella

At Least They Had To Work At It

The stupid things people do:

1. Tim Hardaway commenting on homosexuality - "You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known," Hardaway said. "I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."

2. Britney Spears staying in rehab one day and then cutting off her hair and getting more tatoo's. "I don't know what's going on in her head, but she obviously is not very happy deep down, but she thought it would make her happy to have her head shaved. She didn't say if she liked it or not, but she thought it would make her happy to do it so she did."

3. Jet Blue airlines leaving customers locked on a plane for up to ten hours. "We had very limited toilet usage while we were on the plane," said Elizabeth Regale, who logged 10 hours of what she described as hell on a trip to nowhere.While they waited to take off, John Farrell waited to arrive. His JetBlue flight from Fort Myers, Fla., landed at 10 a.m., but passengers didn't get off until nearly 7 p.m., he said. "You gotta realize the frustration — you can look out the window and you can see, there's the gate, and if you let us off the plane, we can walk there," said Farrell, 48, of Brooklyn.

4. Getting fired for pretending to work: After Emmalee Bauer, 25, was fired by the Sheraton hotel company in late 2006, she sought unemployment compensation from the Iowa agency that offers benefits to employees terminated through no fault of their own. However, the judge noted that Bauer had written a 300-page journal, during office hours, chronicling her efforts to avoid work. Among her entries: "This typing thing seems to be doing the trick. It just looks like I am hard at work on something very important," and, "Once lunch is over, I will come right back to writing to piddle away the rest of the afternoon," and, "Accomplishment is overrated, anyway." (Her claim was denied.)

5. School systems that have lost their minds: The school system in Hagerstown, Md., issued a written reprimand in December to the parents of a 5-year-old kindergarten boy who had pinched a classmate's buttocks, terming his behavior "sexual" harassment. Said his dad: "He knows nothing about sex. There's no way to explain (to him) what he's been written up for." Also in December, the principal of a preschool in Bellmead, Texas, issued an in-school suspension to a 4-year-old boy after he hugged his female teacher's aide with his face in her chest, which was termed "sexual contact and/or sexual harassment"

www.joinrudy2008.com

"All the resources needed to make me successful are within me."

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off of your goal.
Henry Ford

"I can only change the present - My own: Thoughts, Attitudes, Actions."

"The incomparable beauty of life is not discovered with the eyes or the mind, but with the soul."
George Webster Douglas

It was a long time coming for both Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning but they finally captured the gold. Dungy fired by the Tampa Bay Buc's had to sit back and watch Jon Gruden win the Super Bowl with his team, Peyton had to live with the moniker that he could not win the big game because he never beat Florida or won a national championship at Tennessee. All of that is behind them now, they are the world champions of football and it could not have happened to two finer men. Dungy still recovering from the suicide of his son and Manning living with the monkey on his back. Congratulations to both of these deservedly good men.

Never, Ever, Believe The Front (Read The Label)

1. Kraft Foods, the maker of Capri Sun—foil pouches filled with a solution of water, high-fructose corn syrup, and small amounts of juice—is being sued by a Florida woman for deceptively marketing the product as “All Natural.” The suit contends that the company’s deceptive marketing tricks consumers into thinking the product is healthier than it actually is, perhaps encouraging some people to confuse the almost juice-less drink with real fruit juice. Though high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is no more harmful than other sugars, it is a plainly man-made ingredient, according to the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

2. Cadbury-Schweppes will no longer market 7UP as “All Natural” according to a statement put out by the company. Rather, the company will highlight ingredients “for which there is no debate” over whether they are natural, which will obviously exclude the controversial factory-made sweetener known as high-fructose corn syrup. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) will drop a planned lawsuit against the company now that the misleading “all natural” claims will be halted. CSPI notified Cadbury-Schweppes of the possibility of a lawsuit in May and has discussed labeling issues with the company off and on since then.

3. The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest filed suit today against Coca-Cola and Nestlé for making fraudulent claims in marketing and labeling for Enviga, a new artificially sweetened green tea soft drink. Labeled “the calorie burner” on cans, Enviga is marketed as a weight-loss aid, with claims that it has “negative calories” and that it can “keep those extra calories from building up.” Enviga’s web site also says the drink is “much smarter than following fads, quick fixes, and crash diets.” But according to CSPI scientists who reviewed the studies cited by Coke and Nestlé, Enviga is just a highly caffeinated and over-priced diet soda, and is exactly the kind of faddy, phony diet aid it claims not to be. Enviga consists of carbonated water, calcium, concentrated green tea extract, various “natural flavors,” and ingredients typically found in diet soda, such as caffeine (three diet colas’ worth), phosphoric acid, and the artificial sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame potassium. The company says its green tea extracts are high in an antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG.

The Stooges Award Goes To ...

At least they were stupid on purpose.

1. A candidate for President & United States Senator calling another presidential candidate "the first clean and articulate" black candidate we have had. (Sen. Joe Biden)

2. A major football player trying to go through airline security with a water battle with a hidden compartment in it. Water has been banned from going through security for two years.

(Michael Vick)

3. Young celebrities and attention whores not wearing underwear on purpose then getting out of cars like truck drivers when they know they are being photographed by another sleazy bunch and their privates are splashed all over the Internet.

4. A particular celebrity having sex with multiple guys, letting them video tape it and then getting pissed when it shows up on the Internet. By the way, every time someone buys her first video that went on the Internet she gets a cut of the money.

5. The parents of 3 & 4 who even though their children may be legally "adults" need to smack some sense into them.

6. People who get to airport security and don't have their I.D. and boarding pass accessible. This has only been going on for five years folks, wake up.

7. A major media company planting little boxes with blinking lights all over a major U.S. city as part of a promotional stunt and then being surprised in this day and age when people think they are bombs.

8. An astronaut drove 900 miles and donned a disguise to confront a woman she believed was her rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot, police said. She was arrested Monday and charged with attempted kidnapping and other counts. U.S. Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak, 43, who flew last July on a shuttle mission to the international space station, was also charged with attempted vehicle burglary with battery, destruction of evidence and battery. She was denied bail and is scheduled to make a court appearance Tuesday.

A Recipe For Success

All food products to day go to a great deal of trouble on packaging. They focus group, test and work hard to get the most attractive package out there while staying "legally" accurate. You should never buy food based on what the front of the box say's. Always read the label and keep some simple rules in mind. For a truly healthy product you only need to read two lines on the nutrition label; 1) Calories 60 Calories from Fat 15, as long as the fat number stays below 20% of the calorie number you are ok. So in this case 12 calories is the acceptable number so this product already fails the "good health" test, 2) the only other line you should look at is Sodium, once again the count should only be 20% of the calories. In this case as you can see there is far to much sodium in this product because once again the max should be 12mg. Once you have done those two things then you read the ingredients. When reading the ingredients remember that they are listed by quantity, if an ingredient list starts with sugar remember that is the largest ingredient in the product try to keep sugar at least the fourth or fifth item on the ingredients list and then that should be f0ll0wed by anything with "oil" in the name. These are simple easy steps to make sure you and your family eat healthy.

A Country Divided

For a long time I thought the conversation about Red state Blue state was unfounded. I have spent the last week with a large group of people primarily from the Blue states and of course as luck would have it I am from a Red state. The one thing I have discovered for sure is that both sides are deeply rooted in their beliefs. What I don't understand from either side is the inflexibility and unwillingness to listen to opposing views. Now let me say this, even though I am a Red stater as I get older I seem to listen to opposing views more. The problem with that is that it places me in the "middle of the road" category, and that is considered weak or "wishy washy". The former Agriculture Commissioner of Texas, Jim Hightower, once said "There is nothing in the middle of the road but white stripes and dead armadillo's". It is this thinking that prevents Congress and the country's leadership from getting anything done. After 9/11 everyone was on the same page and moved in the same direction. Now at this point I want to say that "dissent" is good, it can be helpful and by working together I don't mean in lockstep. I am not saying we should blindly follow anybody, but can't we at least listen to the other side and at least try to reach some common ground. Maybe I am just venting but we all live in the same country and it is the best one on the planet, lets not "disagree, just to be disagreeable".

"It is obvious we cannot use the same thinking to solve the problem that we have been using to cause it." Albert Einstein