kisma Johnson's blog: "Womens Dictionary"

Is this socialism, communism or both? It's just a short one, only 6 questions. If you don't know the answer, make your best guess. You don't need paper or anything. Answer all the questions before looking at the answers. Who said it? 1. "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." A. Karl Marx B. Adolph Hitler C. Joseph Stalin D. None of the above 2. "It's time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few...and to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity." A. Lenin B. Mussolini C. Idi Amin D. None of the Above 3. "(We)...can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people." A. Nikita Khrushev B. Josef Goebbels C. Boris Yeltsin D. None of the above 4. "We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own...in order to create this common ground." A. Mao Tse Dung B. Hugo Chavez C. Kim Jong Il D. None of the above 5. "I certainly think the free-market has failed." A. Karl Marx B. Lenin C. Molotov D. None of the above 6. "I think it's time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched." A. Pinochet B. Milosevic C. Saddam Hussein D. None of the above Answers: 1. D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton, 6/29/2004 2. D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton, 5/29/2007 3. D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton, 6/4/2007 4. D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton, 6/4/2007 5. D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton, 6/4/2007 6. D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton, 9/2/2005

How to Make a Woman Happy It's not difficult to Make a woman happy. A man only needs to be: 1. a friend 2. a companion 3. a lover 4. a brother 5. a father 6. a master 7. a chef 8. an electrician 9. a carpenter 10. a plumber 11. a mechanic 12. a decorator 13. a stylist 14. a sexologist 15. a gynecologist 16. a psychologist 17. a pest exterminator 18. a psychiatrist 19. a healer 20. a good listener 21. an organizer 22. a good father 23. very clean 24. sympathetic 25. athletic 26. warm 27. attentive 28. gallant 29. intelligent 30. funny 31. creative 32. tender 33. strong 34. understanding 35. tolerant 36. prudent 37. ambitious 38. capable 39. courageous 40. determined 41. true 42. dependable 43. passionate 44. compassionate WITHOUT FORGETTING TO: 45. give her compliments regularly 46. love shopping 47. be honest 48. be very rich 49. not stress her out 50. not look at other girls AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU MUST ALSO: 51. give her lots of attention, but expect little yourself 52. give her lots of time, especially time for herself 53. give her lots of space, never worrying about where she goes IT IS VERY IMPORTANT: 54. Never to forget: * birthdays * anniversaries * arrangements she makes HOW TO MAKE A MAN HAPPY 1. Show up naked 2. Bring food

he human race will one day split into two separate species, an attractive, intelligent ruling elite and an underclass of dim-witted, ugly goblin-like creatures, according to a top scientist. 100,000 years into the future, sexual selection could mean that two distinct breeds of human will have developed. The alarming prediction comes from evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry from the London School of Economics, who says that the human race will have reached its physical peak by the year 3000. The report claims that after they reach their peak around the year 3000 humans will begin to regress These humans will be between 6ft and 7ft tall and they will live up to 120 years. "Physical features will be driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility that men and women have evolved to look for in potential mates," says the report, which suggests that advances in cosmetic surgery and other body modifying techniques will effectively homogenise our appearance. Men will have symmetrical facial features, deeper voices and bigger penises, according to Curry in a report commissioned for men's satellite TV channel Bravo. Women will all have glossy hair, smooth hairless skin, large eyes and pert breasts, according to Curry. Racial differences will be a thing of the past as interbreeding produces a single coffee-coloured skin tone. The future for our descendants isn't all long life, perfect bodies and chiselled features, however. While humans will reach their peak in 1000 years' time, 10,000 years later our reliance on technology will have begun to dramatically change our appearance. Medicine will weaken our immune system and we will begin to appear more child-like. Dr Curry said: "The report suggests that the future of man will be a story of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Space rocks go under the hammer Some of the world's most famous meteorites are going under the hammer at a New York auction house in what is said to be the first sale of its kind. The pieces are drawn from collections across the world and many examples are richly coloured and intricately patterned. Price estimates range from $1.1m (£0.53m) for a 13-kilo (29-pound) piece to pebbles worth a few hundred dollars. Some of the lots for sale at Bonham's fell to Earth thousands of years ago. Only one is documented as having made a fatal impact. The fatality, in the case of the Valera Meteorite which hit a field in Venezuela in 1972, was a cow. "It's very rare to have a meteorite actually impact a living being... so now that particular meteorite is considered to be collectible," Bonhams meteorite specialist Claudia Florian told the BBC's Radio Five Live. Another piece in the 54-lot auction of "fine meteorites" comes from the l'Aigle Shower of 1803 in Normandy, France - a find which helped convince European scientists that rocks could, indeed, fall out of the sky. Crown jewel Some of the lots originated in the UK's Natural History Museum or the US Smithsonian Institution but many come from the Macovich collection in New York, built up by enthusiasts whose interest in the stones was as much aesthetic as scientific. With a price estimate of $1.1m, the piece de resistance for Sunday's sale appears to be the "Crown Section" of America's famous Willamette Meteorite, discovered in Oregon in 1902. The 13-kilo piece was cut from the rock as part of a meteorite exchange between the museum and collectors. But that still leaves the American Museum of Natural History with about 15.5 tons (32,000 pounds) of the original. Another US meteorite up for auction features naturally occurring gemstones, olivine and peridot. It was found outside Greensburg, Kansas, in 2005. An altogether more humble offering are the tiny stones from a shower which hit Holbrook, Arizona, in 1912. The smallest of these weighs just a gram with an estimated price of $350.

Millions of americans, particularly women, share paranormal beliefs and experiences "that don't fit under any religious umbrella," says Christopher Bader, one of the Baylor University sociologists analyzing the Baylor Religion Survey. Overall, 52% of people surveyed say they believe in prophetic dreams. More than 40% agree that places can be haunted and that ancient advanced civilizations, such as Atlantis, once existed, just as writers from Plato to psychic Edgar Cayce have described. One question, however, drew such wide agreement that Bader suspects researchers' intent was unclear. "We asked whether 'Some alternative treatments are at least as effective as traditional medicine,' " and 74.5% said yes. "We were thinking of crystals, aromatherapy. ... But people may have read the question to mean acupuncture, vitamins or herbs," which have been scientifically studied and are widely used. About 25% use the Internet or books to research the prophecies of 16th-century astrologer Nostradamus, ghosts, yoga, astrology and UFOs, the survey found. Findings don't surprise Matthew Gilbert of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, which promotes research of "the frontiers of consciousness." "People are embracing a larger reality of what it means to be human. ... Maybe those who have unusual experiences recognize that while their religion didn't explain them, it doesn't mean they didn't happen."

Any cemetery can be creepy, even in the light of day. But the Union Cemetery in Easton, located at the intersection of Routes 136 and 59, is reportedly the most haunted in the state. And as local legend goes, some of the spirits spill over to the Easton Baptist Church across the street as well. Ghost hunter and founder of the Cosmic Society, Donna Kent, said a mysterious "White Lady" travels between the Union Cemetery in Easton and the Stepney Graveyard, less than 10 miles away. Kent, who is also the tour guide for Haunted ConneCTicut tours, said that the "white lady" is a ghostly figure that appears in a white nightgown, but her identity is unknown. She believes that it had something to do with a love triangle. Rumor has it that it could be Ellen Smathers, wife of John Smathers, whose body was found in a sink-hole behind the Easton Baptist Church, weighed down with iron chunks in his pockets. And yet another body was found in the sink-hole around the turn of the century, that of Mrs. Knott, who was supposedly murdered by her lover, Elwood Wade. But Kent also believes that the Union Cemetery is not necessarily haunted by those souls who were buried there, but by spirits that are simply attracted to the negative energy that seems to surround the area. According to Kent, a local fireman was said to have struck the "white lady" as he was driving near the Union Cemetery, after the road in front of him morphed into an old cobblestone street. He claimed that he saw her in the road, reaching out to him. He heard a thump, and there was a dent in his truck, but no evidence was ever found of anybody being injured, killed, or anywhere around. And, as folklore has it, he saw a man sitting next to him in the truck, wearing a straw hat. Wayne Crossman of the Easton Fire Department laughed when asked about the mystery surrounding the white lady, although he did say he heard about the firefighter who claimed to have seen her, and that he worked with a different firehouse. As it turns out, the firefighter was reportedly with The Stepney Fire Department, but he is no longer with the company. "I've heard rumors, but I'm not into that superstitious stuff," Fire Marshall Carl Lewis said. Not at liberty to reveal the identity of the firefighter, Lewis simply stated, "He's no longer here." So, if the firefighter in question had seen the white lady, and none of his fellow firefighters believed him, it would be no surprise that he's no longer with the company. Or perhaps after having such a fright, he was no longer able to serve and carry out his duties as a firefighter? Or, did he simply hit at white-tailed deer that ran off wounded into the woods and claim to have seen a ghost? Kent is the author of "Ghosts and Legends of Eastern Connecticut," published by Haunted America/History Press, and she has written stories and taken photos of ghostly images all over the state, including the Union Cemetery and Easton Baptist Church. For more information about her book, or the Cosmic Society, visit the Web site, www.CosmicSociety.com. If you're really brave, you might want to take a Haunted ConneCTicut Tour, where you can explore haunted places throughout the state to discover more about historical and contemporary lore and phenomena. Some of the spooky tours offered include journeys of Southwestern, Northwestern and Eastern Connecticut, with some featuring lunch, brunch or dinner at allegedly haunted locations. Some tours offer an overnight stay, or you could even venture on a lantern light walk through a graveyard. All tours are geared for adults and older children. Highlights of the Southwestern tour are the Union Cemetery, the Booth Homestead in Stratford and the Carousel Gardens restaurant in Seymour, where you will hear menacing tales about the white lady, the legend of "Hanna Cranna," and the ghost of Ruth Wooster. For more information, visit www.connectionsgrouptours.com But as far as the Easton Police Department is concerned, the white lady is simply a myth that keeps them busy chasing kids out of the Union Cemetery, nobody has actually seen anything. The Union Cemetery closes at dusk, so if you should dare to stop for a look, if you chose to decide for yourself if the white lady really exists, it is recommended you visit on a sunny afternoon. Story By Joy Ledwell

PASADENA, Calif. - Astronomers have unmasked hundreds of black holes hiding deep inside dusty galaxies billions of light-years away. The massive, growing black holes, discovered by NASA's Spitzer and Chandra space telescopes, represent a large fraction of a long-sought missing population. Their discovery implies there were hundreds of millions of additional black holes growing in our young universe, more than doubling the total amount known at that distance. "Active, supermassive black holes were everywhere in the early universe," said Mark Dickinson of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, Ariz. "We had seen the tip of the iceberg before in our search for these objects. Now, we can see the iceberg itself." Dickinson is a co-author of two new papers appearing in the Nov. 10 issue of the Astrophysical Journal. Emanuele Daddi of the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique in France led the research. The findings are also the first direct evidence that most, if not all, massive galaxies in the distant universe spent their youths building monstrous black holes at their cores. For decades, a large population of active black holes has been considered missing. These highly energetic structures belong to a class of black holes called quasars. A quasar consists of a doughnut-shaped cloud of gas and dust that surrounds and feeds a budding supermassive black hole. As the gas and dust are devoured by the black hole, they heat up and shoot out X-rays. Those X-rays can be detected as a general glow in space, but often the quasars themselves can't be seen directly because dust and gas blocks them from our view. "We knew from other studies from about 30 years ago that there must be more quasars in the universe, but we didn't know where to find them until now," said Daddi Daddi and his team initially set out to study 1,000 dusty, massive galaxies that are busy making stars and were thought to lack quasars. The galaxies are about the same mass as our own spiral Milky Way galaxy, but irregular in shape. At 9 to 11 billion light-years away, they existed at a time when the universe was in its adolescence, between 2.5 and 4.5 billion years old. When the astronomers peered more closely at the galaxies with Spitzer's infrared eyes, they noticed that about 200 of the galaxies gave off an unusual amount of infrared light. X-ray data from Chandra, and a technique called "stacking," revealed the galaxies were, in fact, hiding plump quasars inside. The scientists now think that the quasars heat the dust in their surrounding doughnut clouds, releasing the excess infrared light. "We found most of the population of hidden quasars in the early universe," said Daddi. Previously, only the rarest and most energetic of these hidden black holes had been seen at this early epoch. The newfound quasars are helping answer fundamental questions about how massive galaxies evolve. For instance, astronomers have learned that most massive galaxies steadily build up their stars and black holes simultaneously until they get too big and their black holes suppress star formation. The observations also suggest that collisions between galaxies might not play as large a role in galaxy evolution as previously believed. "Theorists thought that mergers between galaxies were required to initiate this quasar activity, but we now see that quasars can be active in unharassed galaxies," said co-author David Alexander of Durham University, United Kingdom. "It's as if we were blindfolded studying the elephant before, and we weren't sure what kind of animal we had," added co-author David Elbaz of the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique. "Now, we can see the elephant for the first time." The new observations were made as part of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, the most sensitive survey to date of the distant universe at multiple wavelengths. Consistent results were recently obtained by Fabrizio Fiore of the Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Italy, and his team. Their results will appear in the Jan. 1, 2008, issue of Astrophysical Journal.

Submitted by Waspie Dwarf: Some Neanderthals were probably redheads, a DNA study has shown. Writing in Science journal, a team of researchers extracted DNA from remains of two Neanderthals and retrieved part of an important gene called MC1R. In modern people, a change - or mutation - in this gene causes red hair, but, until now, no one knew what hair colour our extinct relatives had. By analysing a version of the gene in Neanderthals, scientists found that they also have sported fiery locks. "We found a variant of MC1R in Neanderthals which is not present in modern humans, but which causes an effect on the hair similar to that seen in modern redheads," said lead author Carles Lalueza-Fox, assistant professor in genetics at the University of Barcelona. Though once thought to have been our ancestors, the Neanderthals are now considered by many to be an evolutionary dead end. They appear in the fossil record about 400,000 years ago and, at their peak, these squat, physically powerful hunters dominated a wide range spanning Britain and Iberia in the west, Israel in the south and Siberia in the east. Our own species, Homo sapiens, evolved in Africa, and displaced the Neanderthals after entering Europe about 40,000 years ago. The last known evidence of Neanderthals comes from Gibraltar and is dated to between 28,000 and 24,000 years ago. Selective pressure: Until relatively recently, scientists could turn only to fossils in order to learn what Neanderthals were like. But recent pioneering work has allowed scientists to study DNA from their bones. In Neanderthals, there was probably the whole range of hair colour we see today in modern European populations, from dark to blond right through to red Dr Carles Lalueza-Fox Genetics could shed light on aspects of Neanderthal biology that are not preserved in fossils. These include external appearance - such as hair, skin and eye colour - cell chemistry and perhaps even cognitive ability. This will help scientists address key questions, such as why we inherited the Earth and not them.

Anthony North: One of the most written about mysteries is that of Atlantis. What does it mean? What is it? Where is it? What influence does it have on us? Does it exist in the first place? So many questions, so many ideas. For this essay I thought I'd go back to source and see if we can learn anything about its conception. And the beginning of the myth takes us back to that great philosopher, Plato, who first wrote about it. But can we find hints in Plato's life and mind itself? Early life: Being nothing less than the father and instigator of western philosophy, Plato was born in Athens in 428BC to one of the great political families of his time. His actual name was Aristocles, Plato being a nickname which means ‘broad and flat', referring to his shoulders which he used to great effect as a wrestler. Indeed, it was thought that Plato would be a great wrestler. But his talent was shown to be inferior and he tried being a poet, but was equally lacking in talent. Stuck for a profession, Plato began to think about his future. Statesman or philosopher were uppermost in his mind, but once he had heard Socrates speaking, he knew where his future lay; in philosophy - particularly in the ideas of Pythagoras. Pythagoras and forms: Pythagoras had been an enigmatic figure. On the one hand a philosopher and on the other a mystic who was believed to have performed more than the odd miracle, he is seen today as the instigator of the quasi-religious cult of the Pythagoreans. Believing that behind the chaotic world of appearance there existed a harmonious world of numbers, he is seen as the father of mathematics. Plato was fascinated by this harmonious world below the consciousness we appreciate. He developed it into his philosophy of ‘Ideal Forms'. To Plato this fundamental realm was a world of ideas and forms. Existing in an eternal state of unchanging reality, everything that could be conceived in the conscious world already existed as an idea or form in this other world. Hence, nothing could be invented, merely rediscovered.

It may be only a short while away, but the world in 2020 will be very different. Cosmos asked some of the world's leading scientists to forecast the future. Albert Einstein claimed he never thought about the future. "It comes soon enough," he would say. And you can see his point. What would have been the good of worrying about our destiny when it was not of our making? But life has changed since the great physicist's day. Sweeping changes of our own creation now beset our world: carbon emissions, soaring populations, cloning, rising extinction rates. We are changing our planet and its biosphere in ways that were once unimaginable. We are also developing lifesaving technologies that would have appeared equally incredible a few decades ago. Everywhere we witness change. But what will this bring and how will it affect our world? In this article, we address these questions in detail and explore the issues involved, concerns that will shape the existence and lifestyles of ourselves and our children. Some, notably those involved in medical research, look very hopeful. Others, especially those concerned with climate and biodiversity, look far less optimistic. Indeed, they appear downright disturbing. Overall, it is sobering stuff, though we should not be too downhearted about our prospects for life in 2020. As that other great guru of the 20th century, Charles M. Schulz, creator of the 'Peanuts' cartoon, once observed: "You needn't worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia." Hot in the city: Whatever else we experience in 2020, the impact of climate change will be inescapable. That's the clear message from virtually every scientist working in the field. Last century saw global atmospheric temperatures rising by 0.6¢ªC; in the next decade and a half, we can expect much the same. "Climate change will become particularly noticeable at the poles," says James Lovelock, the British scientist who developed the Gaia hypothesis, the idea that life itself makes existence tolerable on Earth.