Your Cellphone, Bacteria, And You

Cellphones these days are everywhere. It is estimated that over 200 million people in the United States own one and use one on an everyday basis. They are a handy and convienient way for people to get in touch with one another. They have also proven to be convenient for the germs and bacteria that reside on the surface of these cellphones that can in some cases spread disease and even in rare cases kill. Methacillin Resistant Staphylococus Aureus or MSRA is the staph infection that is most commonly found on the surface of cellphones. It is resistant to most anti-biotics and it can kill if it enters the bloodstream.
University of Arizona researchers recently tested 25 cellphones randomly from their student body population. They discovered that 20% of the phones tested came up positive for MSRA. The researchers discovered that the germiest parts of a cellphone were usually the keypad and the mouth piece. The researchers also state that the best way to fight this germy problem is by regularly cleaning your cellphone. While this will not eliminate the problem totally it will help reduce the amount of bacteria on the surface of your phone and thereby reduce the risk.

Detroit Mayor Still Refuses To Resign Over Sex Scandal

If you think that you are under fire in your day to day life consider what Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is going through these days but all of it in fact is of his own doing. In the summer of 2007 rumors began to fly in and around Detroit that the mayor was having an affair with his Chief of staff who is a woman named Christine Beatty. He has resisted calls from his political opponents to resign for over a year. Last August the mayor and Beatty both denied under oath that an affair had taken place. Earlier this year in March of 2008 text messages surfaced between Kilpatrick and Beatty in which the two were being very romantic with each other and in some instances explicit. After these texts came to light both were accused of lying under oath and charged with perjury, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy. Just this past August 7th Kilpatrick was forced to spend one night in jail for violating the terms of his bail agreement. He is while being investigated and charged not allowed to leave the city limits but he chose to do so anyway with a trip to Canada in July. The next day he is charged with two felony counts for assaulting two police officers who attempted to detain him. On August 14th both Kilpatrick and Beatty were arraigned. On September 3rd a hearing will be held to determine whether Kilpatrick will be ousted from office.

Post script -- On September 4th, 2008 KIlpatrick admitted that he "lied under oath." He pleaded guilty to felony charges and resigned. As part of his plea deal he will serve 4 months in jail for obstruction of justice and will pay a fine of 1 million dollars.

Hiv in Nyc Spreading 3x Faster Than In rest Of U.S.

In the ongoing battle to stop and prevent the spread of HIV and aids New York City has historically been the epicenter of the fight in the United States and it seems that it is also the place where the least progress has been made. New data released by the City Health Department indicates that HIV is spreading at a rate that is three times faster than the national rate of infection within the nation's most populated city. 4800 new cases were reported in NYC in 2006. That breaks down to 72 new cases for every 100,000 residents of the city. The national rate is about 23 for every 100,000. The data indicates that the rate at which the infection is spreading is holding steady among the white population in the city, slightly rising among the hispanic community, rising steadily among the african American community, and rising sharply among the gay community. Blacks and gays have historically been hit the hardest by the disease and that trend has continued to the present day not only within New York City but nationwide.

Gender Gaps In The U.S.A.

An interesting development has been unfolding with regard to the widening gap between available single men and women in the United States in the last several years. If you are a single woman living on the east coast you may be finding it hard to find a single male for a mate because there are not as many of them around as there are of you. Similarly if you are a single male living on the west coast you are experiencing the same struggle likely because there are fewer women available on that side of the country.
There are gender gaps on both coasts of the United States and here briefly is how it breaks down. This study examined men and women who are between the ages of 25-44 (considered marriage age). In New York City the gap between available women and available men is the largest in the country. Unmarried women outnumber unmarried men in the city proper by over 400,000. In the surrounding metro area the number rises to 770,000.
In the colleges of the city the stats reflect the same facts. Hunter college, for example, Has a student body that is 72% female currently. NYU is 59% female, Columbia is even at 50%. At Pace university in manhattan there is a ratio of 5 to 3 in which women outnumber men. There are a total of 230,000 males in college in New York City and a total of 308,000 females. Single women outnumber single men in every major city on the east coast in fact. The best places to go and live for a single woman looking to find an available man would be Philadelphia and washington D.C. where women outnumber men by a mere 50,000 in both cities.
If you have ever heard the phrase "go west young man" then you perhaps understand what is happening here because many young men have taken that phrase as a call to action and have in fact moved out to the west coast to live in recent years. So much so that the gap between available men and women has widened. There are now over 90,000 more available men then women in Los Angeles. It is in fact the case that men outnumber women in all of the cities and counties in California both large and small.

OIl Revenues For Iraqi Government Skyrocketing

If there is one benefit that can be found from the ever increasing price of oil it is that its helping the Iraqi government rise up and start to stand on its own feet because of the increasing amount of revenue that it is providing. The amount of money that they are taking in from oil revenues has tripled in just three years. In 2005 the total amount was about 24 billion dollars. In 2006 it went up to 32 billion dollars. By 2007 it had reached 40 billion. It is estimated that by the end of this year the figure will reach possibly 90 billion dollars. There is a little bit of a problem though. The Iraqi government has done little to improve the plight of the average Iraqi citizen with this new windfall. It is estimated that they have spent less than 1% of it on infrastructure projects such as upgrading their electrical delivery systems in order to prevent the common power outages that occur both in Baghdad and other parts of the country. The result is that the American taxpayer is picking up that tab for them. The Government Accountability Office estimates that about 48 billion dollars of U.S. funds have been directly spent on Iraqi reconstruction while most of the money taken in by the Iraqi government seems to often go missing without a trace and cannot be accounted for.

Sale Of Locking Gas Caps Double In One Year

Now that gasoline is worth more than its weight in gold there is a new fear that has come over the driving public, the fear that their gas will be stolen right out of their car's tank when they park overnight. This fear is prompting many drivers to do what they can to protect their gas "investment" and prevent it from being stolen by purchasing a little device called a locking gas cap. Simply explained it is a cap that fits over the opening of a standard gas tank that is found in all cars. The cap has a lock on it with a keyhole and once the key is inserted and turned it locks the cap in place over the gas tank opening and thereby prevents anyone from just coming up to your parked car and sucking the gas out and leaving your car dry. There is a new device that is being advertised in some major catologs and other places that is designed to siphon gas out of a cars tank. It is a long plastic flexible tube that once inserted can suck the fuel right out. It sells for about $20. The locking gas cap can prevent this kind of theft. One of the companies making the cap is called Stant Manufacturing. They report that they have sold over 1.3 million gas caps already in the first six months of 2008. This figure is more than double their entire sales last year. The locks are not perfect however. They can and have been broken into. Law enforcement authorities despite this fact still recommend that the public invest in the purchase of one of these devices. They state that while the caps can be broken into it still acts as a deterent because it takes time for a thief to do so. They are more likely to move on to an easier "mark" if they find a Gas cap on your tank. This deterent factor may make it worth the modest investment.

Couple Faces Jail Time For Sex On The Beach

If You know the old saying "When In Rome Do as the Romans Do" this cautionary cliche would be well worth heeding if you are a westerner living and working in the middle east. On July 5th A British couple, Michelle Palmer 36, and Vince Acors 34, were arrested after they were caught having sexual relations on top of a plastic chair on the beach in Dubai, which is located in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) Acors is a British businessman involved in the telecom industry and Palmer was a manager for a publishing firm with offices in the city. According to reports the events that led up to the arrest happened earlier in the day when Ms. Palmer met Mr. Acors, who is a married man with a family back in Britain, at a company party in the early afternoon where some serious drinking was taking place. This activity went on for the rest of the day and well into the night when Palmer and Acors decided to head for the beach. At the beach they were first spotted by a local policeman who saw what they were up to and put a stop to it and let them off with a warning. The policeman shortly returned to the scene and found the two had picked up where they left off and proceeded to arrest them. Ms. Palmer in her drunken state is said to have shouted at the officer and called him "A dumb fucking Arab" and other words to that effect. In Dubai it is a crime to engage in sexual activity with anyone outside of your spouse which is punishable by up to 6 years in jail so both of them are facing some real jail time. The matter is further complicated by the fact that this particular event has recieved some serious attention around the world and the authorites in Dubai may be interested in throwing the book at the two offenders in order to set an example for others who may be so inclined to engage in this kind of behavior in their country. Public displays of affection are a constant problem on the beaches of Dubai because there are so many westerners who live and work in the city and like to party hard when they are off. The local muslims who live there are said to constantly complain to the authorities that there is so much vulgar activity taking place in plain view that they cant even take their children to the beach. The local authorites are therefore cracking down on it because of the complaints.

Postscript - On october 16th, 2008 both Mr. Acors and Ms. Palmer were sentenced in a Dubai court to three months in jail and fined $250 each. They were further ordered to leave the country upon completion of their sentences.

Suicide Rate In Japan Soaring

The day to day stress of modern day life can be difficult to handle for some but in japan it seems it is causing more people than ever to commit suicide in an attempt to escape from it. In 2007 the total number of Japanese who committed suicide was 32,863. This figure represents a 35% increase from the 1997 total. It is a figure in fact that is higher than the total number of suicides that occur in the United States annually. Keep in mind that the U.S. Has a population that is more than double that of Japan. The biggest reason is considered to be unemployment. The lack of a job carries a stigma in every society but in Japan it is much more so. Suicide is considered an honorable way out in many instances. Another leading cause is thought to be work related stress. There was also a reported increase in the number of students who committed suicide as well. That number increased to 339. Out of the total number there were 100 of whom decided to commit suicide by jumping in front of trains. In a new and strange twist Japan Railways has now started to go after the families of these people. The railway seeks compensation from the familes for the delays that the suicides cause the company. They are seeking and are expecting to receive about $70,000 from each family of every person who committs suicide in this way.

Plastic Water Bottles May Be Harming Your Health

Plastic water bottles these days can be found here, there, and everywhere. They are a convienient and overpriced source of fresh cold water for us during the day as we all know. What most consumers do not know is that depending on the type of plastic the water is bottled in it can be harmful to your health. Most bottled water comes in the familiar clear plastic bottles like Dasani or Aquafina and others and this type of plastic is in fact the most potentially dangerous. These clear bottles are made of a type of plastic known as polyethlene terephthalate or PET for short. The problem with it is that it degrades over time and as this degrading occurs the plastic will then begin to harbor a variety of germs and bacteria which can be harmful. Most scientists believe that if the bottles are used one time only that there is little to no real health risk. If the bottles are reused and refilled over and over then the possibilty of a build up of harmful bacteria can lead to various types of health issues down the road for consumers. Doctors and scientists alike advise the public that there is a safer alternative if you are interested in saving some money by refilling your plastic water bottles and reusing them. A safe type of plastic bottle is known as HDPE. It is a high desity polyethylene. It is softer, and it is more opaque in appearance than the clear plastic that is more dangerous. Scientist have reported that there are no known health problems assossciated with it and have given the public a green light for its use and reuse. The one drawback with it is that it is not nearly as cool looking as a clear Dasani or Aquafina bottle but it is much cooler and safer healthwise however.

German Inventor Working On A Spray On Condom

The wonderful thing about condoms is that they can save your life. The not so wonderful thing about them is that they can rob a man of so much sensitivity during sex that it almost does not make it worth it to bother sometimes. There is an inventor in Germany who is working on making this somewhat less of a drag. His name is Jan Vinzenz Krause and he is a sex educator and entrepreneur who is currently hard at work on inventing a condom that can be sprayed on before sex. The benefit of this new method of safe sex is that the material once sprayed on to the man's member will contour to the shape of the penis for a 100% perfect fit which will increase the safety factor and provide for more natural sensations during intercourse. The inventor got the idea for a spray on condom while he was sitting in his car which was running through a car wash at the time. He noticed that the water hitting his car was contouring to the shape of his vehicle and "bing" the magic light went off in his head and he thought this would be a great way to put on a condom. There is one little problem with his invention currently. The product once it is sprayed on takes several minutes to dry before intercourse can take place. Krause knows that in order for the product to be viable and usable he will have to get that drying time down to less than ten seconds or so. He feels that over time he will be able to achieve this and go to market with his new product soon. In the mean time a curious world watches and waits.