Yeah, I’d want me, too…

Read the report by CNN:
Chinese Companies “Rent” White Foreigners

Source: AFP

A drug that failed to fight the blues could be the female answer to the little blue pill Viagra the lead North American investigator analysing tests of the drug said Tuesday.

Women who took the drug flibanserin when it was being tested as an anti-depressant said it didn’t help them beat the glums, but did give them “an increase in libido that they liked,” John Thorp, one of the investigators analyzing data from three clinical trials of the drug, told AFP.

Lack of desire is the most common sexual problem in women aged 30 to 60, just as erectile dysfunction, for which Viagra is one of a choice of treatments, is the most common sexual disorder among men in the same age bracket, Thorp said.

“Men remain interested but can’t act or perform properly and women lose interest,” said Thorp.

“So where Viagra and other erectile dysfunction medications work in the blood supply, flibanserin works in the brain,” he said.

In the light of the women’s reactions to flibanserin, the German drug company that had first tested the drug as a treatment for depression, Boehringer Ingelheim, several years ago began exploring the possibilities of it being the active ingredient in the female answer to Viagra.

Nearly 2,000 pre-menopausal women were given flibanserin or a placebo for 24 weeks and asked to report back to researchers or make diary entries on six variables, including the number of satisfactory sexual encounters they had and their level of sexual desire.

The studies found that 100 milligrams a day of flibanserin resulted in “significant improvements” in the two variables.

Flibanserin is currently an investigational drug and is only available to women taking part in clinical trials.

red·skin – n. – Offensive Slang
Used as a disparaging term for a Native American.

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The law I study is an institution based not on truth, not on fairness, not on justice or morality.

It is founded on a commercial interest most often described as “dispute resolution.”  Generally, I approve.

Yet with profound sadness should we all receive the news that the doctrine of laches has prevailed over the substance of prejudice.  That the Washington Redskins for so long relied on the economic power of its derogatory racial slur and accompanying logo was cause enough to deny the appeal of those few survivors of the planet’s first cataclysmic holocaust.

Supreme Court Declines to Review Ruling on Team Nickname
The two-decade old legal challenge by Native American activists to change the name of the Washington Redskins came to a close when the Supreme Court declined, without comment, to reconsider a lower court’s ruling that the activists waited too long to claim that the team name is so racially offensive that it does not deserve trademark protection.

HOWEVER, the struggle isn’t over yet.

Six American Indian young people from across the country have filed a joint petition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the cancellation of the Washington Redskins football organization (Pro-Football Inc.) trademarked term, “Redskins.”  Because the six American Indian petitioners are between the ages of 18 to 24, laches is not be applicable in their petition.

READ MORE HERE:  Building a new generation to take on the Redskins case

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Interestingly enough, the sentiment expressed in this pair of suits is not shared universally among all members of the Indian community. 

See: In Twist, Tribe Fights for College Nickname (reporting on the Spirit Lake Tribe’s effort to preserve the University of North Dakota’s team name, The Fighting Sioux).
See also: More Reservations About Native American Mascots

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But the news ain’t all bad, as 2009 comes to a close…

New Hopes on Health Care for American Indians
The health care overhaul now being debated in Congress appears poised to bring the most significant improvements to the Indian health system in decades. After months of negotiations, provisions under consideration could, over time, direct streams of money to the Indian health care system and give Indians more treatment options.

Cf. Swine Flu (H1N1) death rate is elevated for Indians, Alaska natives

U.S. Will Settle Indian Lawsuit for $3.4 Billion
The federal government has announced that it intends to pay $3.4 billion to settle a 13-year-old lawsuit alleging that it has mismanaged the revenue in American Indian trust funds, some dating to the 19th century.  The decision potentially ends one of the largest and most complicated class-action lawsuits ever brought against the United States.

U.S. Eases Way to Recognition for Shinnecock
The Obama administration announced that the Shinnecock Indians on Long Island meet the criteria for federal recognition, signaling the end of a 30-year court battle.  “This recognition comes after years of anguish and frustration for many members of our Nation, living and deceased,” Randy King, chairman of the Shinnecock trustees, said in a statement, adding, “Perhaps this recognition will help some of our neighbors better understand us and foster a new mutual respect.”

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But back to the matter at hand, would you tolerate a hysterical hypothetical?

Had the Nazis been victorious in Europe, would the world tolerate a baseball team known as the Berlin Yids, so referenced by the stereotypical image of a large-nosed, payos-adorned rabbi deriving from an ethnic group systematically snubbed out of existence?

I encourage you to reexamine the Washington Redskins mascot…

Six American Indian young people from across the country will file a joint petition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Aug. 11 for the cancellation of the Washington Redskins football organization (Pro-Football Inc.) trademarked term, “Redskins.”

This satirical take on developments at the border was submitted by one of our listeners.  Thanks for the contribution, Chet.

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How dare the Arizona legislature promulgate such discriminatory sanctions against the Catholics who courageously strive to embrace our great country, the land of the free?  SB 1070—Arizona’s shocking assault on this ancient religion—is a misdirected and hysterical overreaction to the institutionalized pedophilia of the Catholic Church.  While the good people of Arizona have every right to be revolted by the papacy’s active encouragement of child molestation, to pass a bill that denies foreign Catholics—most of whom have never committed a crime against a child—the right to enter our country is patently unfair.  The First Amendment, applicable to the States through the 14th Amendment, prohibits such discrimination against a religious group.  Even one that operates like a paternalistic, hierarchical cult.

This bill renders criminal any Catholic immigrant who exists without an alien registration document.  It requires police to question him about his status if there is reason to suspect that he is a Catholic from “south of the border.”  Perhaps the police will start checking to see whether they have the crucifix around their necks.  Indeed, wearing the mark of Christ is now tantamount to inviting the same persecution He faced.

The bill imposes penalties for harboring undocumented Catholics—even family members.  Are the police to be stationed outside Catholic churches in an attempt to ensnair unsuspecting worshippers?  Under this bill, these “pilgrims”—who cross the remote desert of Arizona in search of a better life in America—are to be stopped, searched, and imprisoned.  When will the government stop the oppression?  When will this “War on Catholics” end?

It is entirely understandable that Arizonians would not want the Pope, a former Nazi and child-molestation-apologizer, to visit their State.  But to impose punishment upon all Catholics who wish to come to Arizona from southern areas is a form of group punishment reminiscent of the despicable Japanese internment camps.  When will the Tea Party condemn this oppression?  Where are the Republicans who proclaim their belief in the right of the free exercise of religion?  This legislation signals that the government knows no limits; the War on Catholics will soon expand to target Catholics from Ireland, Catholics from Poland, even Catholics from Italy.

Yet what it won’t stop, of course, is the child molestation.  And isn’t that the real reason for this bill?  Indeed, some in Arizona may try to justify this assault on Catholics as an attempt to stop Mexican immigration.  But Americans are smarter than that; they know the real effort is to stop the Catholics.  The last time a religious group was targeted in such a way, six million Jews vanished from the Earth.  America, beware.

If Arizonians really wanted to protect children, they would keep them out of Catholic churches.  They would not try to keep Catholics out of America.

Anti-Aging Substance Made from Human Sperm!

Spermine, a powerful anti-oxidant originally discovered in human sperm, is said to diminish wrinkles and smooth the skin.

The substance is now being synthesized in laboratories and sold by a Norwegian company called Bioforskning. Spermine facials cost $250 at Townhouse Spa, where the substance is penetrated with ultrasound and infrared light (a more basic treatment can be found for $125 at the nearby Graceful Services).

SOURCE: The New York Times

Warren E. Buffett, the billionaire investor who supported Barack Obama during the presidential campaign, might be more than just an informal adviser to the president: He might also be his distant cousin, according to a new study of Mr. Obama’s family tree.

Genealogists at Ancestry.com, the online genealogy site, reported Tuesday that Mr. Buffett and Mr. Obama are seventh cousins, three times removed, and share a great-grandfather who owned slaves in Maryland.

The ancestor, Mareen Duvall, emigrated from France to Maryland as an indentured servant in the 1650s, the genealogists reported. By 1659, Mr. Duvall had purchased property in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, which he later named “Middle Plantation,” the report said.

According to historical records, Duvall belonged to a religious sect called the Jacobites, was a slave owner, planter and merchant and was “conservative in his political life.”

Spokesmen from the White House and Mr. Buffett’s office did not respond to requests for comment about the online site’s findings.

“We’ve all watched Pres. Obama and Warren Buffett’s ongoing association, from Buffett’s official endorsement of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign to their sometimes differing views on economic
policy,” Anastasia Tyler, a genealogist at Ancestry.com, said in a statement. “Like most family members, the President and Buffett may not always agree on everything, but this latest discovery confirming they are related may shed light on why the two seem to see eye-to-eye on many issues.

CHANNEL THIRTY-EIGHT:
Coming 2010