Strange Local Laws

Strange Local Laws

Fabriek Vir Die Vervaardiging Van Sodanige Bottels

 Fabriek Vir Die Vervaardiging Van Sodanige Bottels

100 Greatest Moments of 2010

 greatest moments of 2010 which must see.

Current Events Quizes

 

Current Events Quizes

Have you paid attention to some of the top stories of the week? Take our quiz and find out.

1. Which state was the first to have dead birds fall from the sky recently?

Israel rabbis wives warn on intermarriage

Israel rabbis wives warn on intermarriage

Israel rabbis wives warn on intermarriage

At least 27 Israeli rabbis' wives have signed a letter calling on Jewish women to avoid intermarriage with Arabs and even avoid working alongside Arab men, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.
The letter also warns Jewish women they risk falling under the sway of Arab men if they serve alongside them in Israel's national service.
"For your sake, for the sake of future generations, and so you don't undergo horrible suffering, we turn to you with a request, a plea, a prayer," said the text of the letter as quoted in media reports.
"Don't date non-Jews, don't work at places that non-Jews frequent, and don't do national service with non-Jews."
The letter accuses Arab men of using Jewish names to deceive unsuspecting women, and warns a life of "curses, beatings and humiliations" awaits them if they date or marry an Arab.
"There are quite a few Arab workers who use Hebrew names. Yusuf becomes Yossi, Samir becomes Sami and Abed becomes Ami," the letter was quoted as saying.
"They ask to be close to you, try to find favour with you, and give you all the attention in the world... but their behaviour is only temporary. The moment you are in their hands, in their village, under their control, everything changes.
"Your life will never go back to the way it was, and the attention you so desired will turn into curses, beatings, and humiliations," the letter warns.
Among the signatories to the letter are the wives and daughters of senior rabbis, including the daughter of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual head of the ultra-Orthodox party Shas, which is part of Israel's coalition government.
The letter is reportedly being distributed by a group called Lehava (Flames), an organisation that seeks to prevent Jewish assimilation and says it draws inspiration from the legacy of anti-Arab rabbi Meir Kahana.
Kahana, who was assassinated in New York in 1990, led the Kach movement, which promoted an extreme right-wing racism against Arabs that led to it being banned in Israel in 1994.
The letter comes as rights groups warn of a rising tide of anti-Arab sentiment in Israeli society.
In recent weeks, about 300 rabbis have signed a letter calling on Jews to avoid renting or selling property to non-Jews, and right-wing groups have staged demonstrations warning Jews against fraternising with Arabs.
The rabbis' letter drew widespread condemnation, including from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but a poll published on Tuesday showed Israelis are evenly divided on the issue.
The survey, which had a margin of error of 4.5 percent, found 44 percent of Israeli Jews supported the rabbis' calls, while 48 percent were opposed.

Makkah municipality explores ways to activate women's role

Makkah municipality explores ways to activate women's role

Makkah municipality explores ways to activate women's role

There are 1,776 women establishments in Jeddah and 1,044 in Makkah, a meeting of officials from Jeddah and Makkah municipalities was told Tuesday.
A delegation from the Makkah municipality visited the Jeddah municipality to benefit from its experience in activating the role of women in the workplace.
Arwah Al-Aama, assistant mayor at the Jeddah municipality, said the meeting focused on the organizational structure of the women's section.
She said women at the Jeddah municipality work in various departments, including legal affairs, information technology, customer service, archiving and others. She added that the delegation was also briefed on modalities of supervising women's establishments as the Makkah municipality was planning to set up a department for the purpose.
The meeting was attended by directors of the departments of licenses and senior officials from the two municipalities.

WikiLeaks prompts internal crackdown

 U.S. tells agencies: Watch 'insiders' to prevent new WikiLeaks

Measure 'happiness,' look for 'despondence and grumpiness,' memo from administration official urges 

How Long Will My Hot Flashes Last?

A decisive answer to this unfortunately would require a crystal ball; and I don’t have one!  You might get some guidance from your family history; the pattern of menopause is often similar in mothers and daughters, and to some extent in sisters. 
Some women get hot flashes as an early indicator of menopause, some never do.  In some women, they last for weeks, in others, months.  In some, they can- believe it or not- last years.  But that’s where the bad news ends. 
Hot flashes, or flushes, when they do occur are the result of a sudden decline in estrogen levels.  Among its many effects, estrogen stimulates receptors in cells that line blood vessels, and helps regulate blood flow.  If the loss of that supervisory influence does result in hot flushes, it can be replaced in a number of ways.  There are many commercially available hormone replacement preparations and in general, short term use of these for symptom control is both safe and reasonable, although only your doctor can say in your personal case.  Bioidentical hormones may be safer still.

GOP sets up huge target for budget ax

Goal of cutting $100 billion carries substantial political and economic risk

House Republicans, led by the incoming speaker, Representative John A. Boehner, made the $100 billion pledge before November's midterm elections.

WASHINGTON — The incoming Republican majority in the House is moving to make good on its promise to cut $100 billion from domestic spending this year, a goal eagerly backed by conservatives but one carrying substantial political and economic risks.

House Republican leaders are so far not specifying which programs would bear the brunt of budget cutting, only what would escape it: spending for the military, domestic security and veterans.
The reductions that would be required in the remaining federal programs, including education and transportation, would be so deep — roughly 20 percent on average — that Senate Republicans have not joined the $100 billion pledge that House Republicans, led by the incoming speaker, Representative John A. Boehner, made to voters before November’s midterm elections.
Even if adopted by the House, the Republicans’ budget is unlikely to be enacted in anything like the scale they envision, since Democrats retain a majority in the Senate and President Obama could veto annual appropriations bills making the reductions.
But the effort is more than symbolic: in particular it could give House Republicans increased leverage in budget negotiations with the White House this winter and spring, when the administration must get Congress to raise the federal debt limit or risk a government financing crisis.

Transform Your Body in 2011

Transform Your Body in 2011

Sculpt your best body ever with this 3-days-a-week workout plan

Most women share the same new year's resolution: get into shape. But if you want to join the ranks of those who actually achieve their goal, follow this workout plan that will revolutionize your body in 4 weeks.
Blast fat and build lean muscle from head to toe with this total-body regimen. The plan combines dumbbell exercises, bodyweight moves, and cardio 3 days a week.
This workout, adapted from The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises, is designed by Ed Scow, CPT, is the owner of ELS Massage and Personal Training in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Buy the only fitness book you'll ever need.

Weeks 1 & 2
Monday:
Warmup
Strength Workout A
Cardio Use a fitness machine (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, etc.) or run outdoors. Warm up for 4 minutes at a pace of 30 percent of your best effort. Then do 6 intervals of the following: 30 seconds at 80 percent effort, then 1 minute at 40 percent. Finally, cool down with 3 minutes at 30 percent effort.
Wednesday:
Warmup
Strength Workout B
Friday:
Warmup
Strength Workout C
Cardio Use a fitness machine (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, etc.) or run outdoors. Warm up for 4 minutes at a pace of 30 percent of your best effort. Then do 6 intervals of the following: 30 seconds at 80 percent effort, then 1 minute at 40 percent. Finally, cool down with 3 minutes at 30 percent effort.
Multitask your way to a better bod with these two-in-one exercises.
Weeks 3 & 4
Monday:
Warmup
Strength Workout A
Strength Workout D
Cardio Use a fitness machine (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, etc.) or run outdoors. Warm up for 4 minutes at a pace of 30 percent of your best effort. Then do 6 intervals of the following: 30 seconds at 80 percent effort, then 1 minute at 40 percent. Finally, cool down with 3 minutes at 30 percent effort.
Wednesday:
Warmup
Strength Workout B
Strength Workout E
Friday:
Warmup
Strength Workout C
Strength Workout F
Cardio Use a fitness machine (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, etc.) or run outdoors. Warm up for 4 minutes at a pace of 30 percent of your best effort. Then do 6 intervals of the following: 30 seconds at 80 percent effort, then 1 minute at 40 percent. Finally, cool down with 3 minutes at 30 percent effort.
Try these moves to tone every body part.

Airports toy with the idea of tossing the TSA 

A security contractor pats down a traveler at San Francisco International Airport last year. Security checks at San Francisco International are conducted by private contractors, not federal TSA agents.

 

Privatizing security won't affect cost or protocol, but could bolster efficiency, customer relations

A new year has brought new resolve for airport managers who are fed up with the Transportation Security Agency.

"The TSA has grown too big and we're unhappy with the way it's doing things," said Larry Dale, president of Orlando Sanford International Airport. "My board is sold on the fact that the free enterprise system works well and that we should go with a private company we can hold directly accountable for security and customer satisfaction."
Dale isn't alone. Airports in Los Angeles, the Washington, D.C. metro area, Indianapolis, and Charlotte, N.C., are also considering tossing the TSA.

Facing WikiLeaks threat, bank plays defense 

By the time the conference call ended, it was nearly midnight at Bank of America’s headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., but the bank’s counterespionage work was only just beginning.

A day earlier, on Nov. 29, the director of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, said in an interview that he intended to “take down” a major American bank and reveal an “ecosystem of corruption” with a cache of data from an executive’s hard drive. With Bank of America’s share price falling on the widely held suspicion that the hard drive was theirs, the executives on the call concluded it was time to take action.
Since then, a team of 15 to 20 top Bank of America officials, led by the chief risk officer, Bruce R. Thompson, has been overseeing a broad internal investigation — scouring thousands of documents in the event that they become public, reviewing every case where a computer has gone missing and hunting for any sign that its systems might have been compromised.