| Musharraf's cheery swing through Europe
You have to hand it to Pervez Musharraf. With all the problems the Pakistani president faces at home, he still found time to spend eight days in Europe last week, assuring world leaders everything is fine in his nuclear-armed state. But everything is not fine, and the cracks in his sunny public relations facade were not hard to see. Musharraf petulantly lashed out at an influential group of retired officers from Pakistan's powerful military that had urged him to step down immediately, dismissing them in a Financial Times interview as "insignificant personalties." In fact, they are yet another reflection of how the ex-army chief of staff's popularity has plummeted, even among former fellow officers. And when a leading Pakistani journalist at a London news conference asked a reasonable question about the security services, Musharraf implied that he was an enemy of the state.
Women's Unique Hypertension Issues Highlighted In Special Edition Of ...
Women face unique risks for developing hypertension and special challenges in keeping their high blood pressure under control, according to new research published in a special themed issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
The themed issue features more than 45 studies and editorials related to women and hypertension. The publication commemorates the fifth anniversary of the launch of the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women movement, which raises awareness of heart disease risks for women.
"Our goals were to help convey the importance of prevention and treatment of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in women, to emphasize that hypertension is a critical cardiovascular risk factor in women, and to publish the newest and best research related to hypertension in women," said John E.
Times Writers Group: Tax dollars feed fight on obesity
There has been an incredible amount of hype and hysteria associated with the fight against obesity. Words such as "epidemic," "war," "threat" and "disease" have been used to describe the obesity problem and are simply inflammatory. This is reminiscent of past smoking legislation. Smokers have been taxed, demonized and forced to give up their habit for the sake of the health of the population at large. It would seem that there are those who would like to treat obesity in a similar fashion. In fact, in 2004 the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claimed that obesity caused about 400,000 deaths per year, approaching the toll estimated for smoking. This faulty statistic was corrected the following year to represent the more accurate number of 25,814 people per year.
GOP walks out after House rejects 21-day wiretap extension (updated)
The Bush administration and the House of Representatives are locked into a game of chicken over surveillance reform, and the White House has just torn off its steering wheel. Earlier this week, the Senate passed White House-approved legislation that would expand intelligence agencies' power to acquire communications between Americans and persons overseas without warrants. It would also grant telecom firms immunity from civil suits stemming from their cooperation with the program of warrantless wiretaps approved by President George W. Bush shortly after September 11, 2001. The new law is meant to replace the Protect America Act, a temporary stopgap passed hastily in August and due to expire at the end of this week. House Democrats sought a 21-day extension of the current law in order to provide time to reconcile their own bill with the language approved by the Senate, but under a presidential veto threat, that extension was defeated on Wednesday.
October 2005 Archives
In related news, I've suddenly found myself extremely in debt. All cash donations accepted. French actor Gerard Depardieu has announced his retirement. Damn. I'd been praying for a Green Card sequel. In an art-imitates-life scenario, 16-year-old actress Tara Correa-McMullen, who had a small part on Judging Amy as a reformed gang member, was murdered over the weekend in a gang-related shooting. A friend of a friend lives in Ottawa Hills, Ohio. Guess who just bought a house on her street? Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise. Katie grew up five miles away in Toledo. .
Davidson Calendar: Feb. 22- March 3
BlueMax rides are $5 non-members, $4 members; 862-5160. The Ugly Duckling: Nashville Opera presents this whimsical children's operetta, based on the popular short story, providing a lighthearted introduction to voice and drama. 3 p.m. Feb. 23, Barnes & Noble, 515 Opry Mills Drive; free; 514-5000. Country Ham Breakfast: 7 a.m. Feb. 23, Belleview Masonic Lodge, 7420 Old Harding Road; $6. Retired Racing Greyhounds: People interested in adopting retired racing greyhounds are welcome to attend and meet these calm, affectionate dogs, talk with owners and see dogs available for adoption. For more information, call 615-297-2033, visit www.gpanashville.org or e-mail mafones@comcast.net. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 23, Bellevue Pet Supermarket, 830 Highway 100. Show Shoppe Finale Concert: Massey Concert Hall.
Anderson County Council won’t budge on incentives for Kohl’s ...
It's nice to know that these 4 County Council Representatives don't care about new jobs in Anderson County and they don't care about the City of Anderson getting almost a half million dollars in new revenue. All they care about is their own personal agendas. When the 4 of you run for re-election I will be supporting whoever runs against you, at least there is a chance that they will care about the residents of this county. And stop using the water cost as a crutch for your own agenda. The county people want city water but they don't want to pay city property taxes. They cannot have their cake and eat it to. City residents should NOT have to absorb the cost of running water lines out into the county. If you want CITY WATER in the County than you better expect to pay for it. .
L.T., Chargers aim to stay hot entering playoffs
They're 0-4 in the postseason dating to the Super Bowl whuppin' they took from San Francisco following the 1994 season. And it's hard to overlook last year's pratfall against the Patriots. “It has to come one day, and usually, what happens is, when you do get a win, there's a string of them," Tomlinson said. “Hopefully that's the case this year." If the Chargers are going to make the deep playoff run they've been talking about for a few seasons now, it would go through Indianapolis, provided the Chargers end up with the No. 3 seed — and win their opening game. If the Chargers can beat the defending Super Bowl champs a second time, their road to the Super Bowl would then go through New England, as long as the Patriots aren't upset in their opener. Tomlinson thinks the Chargers would match up well against any team in the playoffs.
Israel arrests Palestine ministers
Hamas political leaders say they were not involved in planning the attack by the movement's armed wing and two other militant factions. Two other soldiers and two attackers died. Hamas came to power after winning parliamentary elections in January. It has rejected Western demands to recognise the Jewish state and renounce violence. In an implied threat to Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and his Syrian host, Israeli warplanes buzzed one of President Bashar al-Assad's palaces on Wednesday. Israeli warplanes, tanks and thousands of troops began moving into Gaza overnight Tuesday, knocking out Gaza's only power station, making main roads impassable and bombarding the strip with heavy artillery fire. Yesterday, aircraft pounded suspected weapons factories and empty areas, the military said, while Gazans reported that military bulldozers razed their homes and land.
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