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.