Mexico imposes swine flu measures

Mexico City has banned restaurants and cafes from serving all food except takeaways in a bid to help prevent the spread of the deadly swine flu virus.
Schools across Mexico have closed and public gatherings are restricted, after more than 150 people are believed to have died from swine flu.
The number of cases globally is rising, though no-one outside Mexico has died.
The UN has called on countries to check their contingency plans for a possible global epidemic, or pandemic.


After Mexico - where the outbreak started - the US has the highest number of confirmed swine flu cases with 64.
President Barack Obama has asked Congress for an additional $1.5bn (£1bn) to bolster the US response.

Will you move?

Don't you hate moving, well we wil be finding a better house to live in, and i am happy about that. plus I hate it over here, the People are just to niosey they want to play there music to lound, the people right next door, they are young, and just don't take in consideration of others. Boy will I be glad to get out of here! Today is Garbabe day so i am going to srt through some stuff that I don't want .

ipod

brooke bought me my ipod I think christmas 2003. it was a 40 gig. and it was awesome. I think this sweet little baby cost about $500. and over the past 5 years, it has carried my music with me wherever I've gone. I've dropped it countless times, replaced the battery twice, and taken it apart to fix it more times than I can count. countless nights with headphones on, long hours in the car, traveling all over the country, and my ipod has always been right with me.but a couple days ago, it breathed its last. I went out and bought a new ipod, of course. and even though it is nicer and cleaner and has color and video and shoots laser beams, I still like the old one better.I'll miss you, old ipod.

how many years did you have with a relationship?

2 years is the long relationship ive encountered. love, comfort, problem, sorrow, happinness. i think everyhting will be settle but at the end break up. we are commited each other, we decided to get married after we finish our studies, but we cannot prove it until we cannot decide to move on already. how pain is the relationship.

The House on Sugar Beach

I spent the summer of 1965 in Monrovia, Liberia. My daughter was born there in August. The Peace Corps had sent me in June because the maternity hospital in Sierra Leone had had problems with childbed fever. I worked in the Peace Corps office as office assistant to the doctor and nurse. In the Sinkor section of Monrovia, I went to Cooper’s Clinic. The doctor was a short, middle aged man who came to check on my daughter and me one morning in the wee hours dressed, in a cutaway coat, striped pants and top hat. He was a member of Liberia’s upper class, the Americo-Liberians, descendants of the freed slaves who originally settled what was, before the 1950ies, the only independent republic in West Africa. Sierra Leone had a similar class, called Krios, who descended from freed slaves brought from British America, but because Sierra Leone had been a British colony, the Krios hadn’t run the country, only worked in administrative positions under the British. They’d found themselves in the minority, though, with independence in 1961, and the largest tribe, the Mende, held the presidency and other important offices. I was intrigued when I first heard of Cooper's book. She's an Americo-Liberian, driven from her home by the civil war in Liberia, who's now a reporter for the New York Times. It's easy to find email addresses of Times' reporters so I wrote to her and discovered that she is from "that Cooper family", that she too was delivered by Dr. Cooper in his Sinkor clinic, some months after my daughter.I read her book almost in one sitting, fascinated. I had this picture in my mind of Monrovia in 1965, sort of like a run down Southern town. With stop lights! (Freetown at the time had only one stoplight). In the back of my mind was a garden party I'd seen once where the guests were all dressed like they stepped off the set of Gone with the Wind--Scarlett O'Hara gowns and cutaway coats. Then there was the scandal that summer, a ritual murder with the latest investigation news every morning in the newspaper until one day President Taubman walked in the closed it all down. Rumor had it that the VP was involved. Sierra Leone seemed to me much safer and more civilized in those days, newly embarked on representative democracy as it was.Cooper's book took me back to the place, but from an entirely different point of view, that of an upper class girl, from the "Congo people" (In Freetown there's a "Congo River" so named because some of the freed slaves came from the Congo; it was generally assumed, evidently, in both places that all the freed slaves from the western hemisphere had originally come from Congo.) All the rest of the people--those I'd heard Americo-Liberians in a restaurant once refer to as aboriginals--were "country people". Cooper characterizes life in the big house on Sugar Beach as privileged. Like the majority of aristocrats everywhere they had servants and treated them well. The children depended on him and loved them. They recognized that "country people" didn't have their advantages. They didn't have forebearers who'd come over on the equivalent of the Mayflower; they didn't have relatives in the top echelon of the government. A unique advantage Cooper recognized was that she grew up black and privileged, with no taint of either slavery or colonial domination in her past. Not only did she escape the discrimination experienced by blacks in the US, but there wasn't any colonial past which had burnt into the people that white people were superior. Cooper's idyllic childhood was interrupted when Samuel Doe, a renegade army officer, raided the Presidential Palace, killed the president (he who had been the VP remembered as being silently accused of involvement in ritual murder) and took over the government. Within days, Cooper saw her cousin, the foreign minister, executed on television along with other high government officials. Soldiers came to Sugar Beach where she was living with her mother and siblings, and threatened them (earlier she'd explained that "rogues" often came to steal from the house, but they weren't called "thieves" because that word was reserved for government officials who stole). Now the soldiers were on a drunken rampage and Congo people no longer had the upper hand. Cooper's mother went to the basement with them if they agreed not to rape her daughters. In no time at all, they were all on a plane to America. Where life was not nearly as easy and where everyone asked her where she was from and then "Where's that?" Money was short. The daughters lived alternately with mother and father (now divorced) while one or the other went back to Liberia to see family or salvage what they could from land and houses that had not been confiscated.Finally after a frightening accident during the invasion of Iraq, where she was embedded with American soldiers on their way from Kuwait to Baghdad, Cooper decided it was time to go back to Liberia. "If I'm gong to die in a war," she thought trapped in a Humvee, "it should be in my own country." I really connected with this book, partly because I had had some experience in Liberia and partly because Cooper tells her story very well. I was even interested in her childhood fears (of heartmen who'd chase you down and cut your heart out) and her adolescent crushes in a Liberian public school and her attempts to fade into the woodwork in successive American schools.

Commercial Club

Commercials are the new Myspace when finding new bands, Apple started it all with their cute fun song choices that introduced the country to their favorite new song by a new artist (to us indie music people, we already knew these bands hehe). Some songs are especially made for commercials (like that adorable 100 Calorie Oreo Candy Bites commercial - look it up on youtube) and can never be bought on itunes :( How do we fix this commercial jingle problem? SLOW CLUB!This British boy and girl duo are the voices behind the newest and cutest Lay and Ritz Cracker Ads.Cute, childish, playful, and summery is their sound, and ironically its not too "commercial" sounding. They haven't released their full CD yet, rather just little singles from their commercials and EPs. Check them out on itunes now and listen with a bag of Lays or some Ritz Crackers.JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON!

wounded MPD officer

What was WISN Channel 12 thinking yesterday when they ran a story, with video, of one of their reporters, Colleen Henry, blindsiding the wife of officer Vidal Colon after they were specifically told that they family did not want to speak with the media at this time? Channel 12 walked up to the officers home with cameras rolling, and showed the surprised wife of officer Colon& Shameful! Why did Channel 12 violate the officer and his families request? Trying to play got-ya with a hero? I cant find this video on their website, I hope they realize how badly they bungled that attempted blindside and pulled it from their site Both Channel 12 and Fox6 are taking an accusatory attitude, seeming to blame the officer for not wearing body armor, this is an option that is left up to the individual officer, and is not the cause of his being shot. The reason he got shot was because of a criminal justice system that cant keep a man that had already tried to kill police officers, behind bars. If you would like to watch a respectful story, including a great interview with the officers brother, Sgt. Roberto Colon, visit WTMJ TVs website and click the blue video link, Channels 6  12 could learn a little something about journalistic integrity by following TMJs lead. Note: This is not just me noticing this reporting bias, others have been reaching out for a place to voice their displeasure. I know we have a strong readership within MPD, if you would like to voice your opinions, feel safe to do so anonymously.

MS getting ready to launch Zune software on phones?

Yeah, something is definitely up in Zuneland. Not only did images of the Zune HD leak out late last week, today AdWeek says that Microsoft's auditioning three major ad agencies for the launch of a new mobile service called "Pink" -- which is the project codename for Zune software on mobile phones. No, this doesn't mean any of those Tegra-powered Zunephone rumors are coming true -- it's far more likely that Microsoft is finally gearing up to re-launch Zune as the preferred media software and service for Windows Mobile, a plan Steve Ballmer's been hinting at for ages now. Remember, Microsoft has to keep its large stable of Windows Mobile hardware manufacturers happy, and launching a hyped new phone of its own with a Zune-based OS would basically be perceived as stabbing a billion-dollar business in the back -- not something you want to do when most of your partners are also deep in the Android game. On the other hand, you don't audition three huge ad agencies just to launch a Zune app on busted ol' WinMo, so there could be something big cooking -- if you forced us to throw caution to the wind and just guess, what we'd want to see is that $500m Danger acquisition pay off in the form of a reskinned consumer-oriented edition of Windows Mobile that integrates Zune services, running not only on a touchscreen Zune HD, but a variety of phones from third-party partners. Wishful thinking? You bet -- probably even crazy thinking -- but it would certainly shake things up, and that's never a bad thing. We'll see how it plays out -- care to share your dream Zune strategy in the meantime?[Via CNET]Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable VideoZune rumors heat up, MS getting ready to launch Zune software on phones?

Raising the stakes

Low prices and a strong yen give Japanese firms an opportunity to buy abroadWHEN Energy Frontier, an enormous tanker, glided into Tokyo Bay on April 6th from Sakhalin Island, she was not just carrying the first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a problematic Russian venture, under a deal signed 15 years ago. She was also bearing the symbolic weight of Japans aspirations to greater energy security. Lacking natural resources, Japan imports more than 95% of its energy. Almost all its oil and a quarter of its LNG come from the Middle East. To reach Japan ships must travel for 20 days, passing near pirate-infested waters. Sakhalin, by contrast, is just three days away.In 2006 the Japanese government called on industry to increase its ownership of foreign energy projects to cover 40% of Japans energy needs, up from 15% at the time. The idea was to make the country less dependent on the spot market in case of trouble by taking stakes in various energy projects around the world. But as prices soared and China became a keen buyer, slow-moving Japanese firms found themselves being shut out of deals. ...

St. Patrick's Day 10km

Well I achieved my goal of getting under 1:00. I managed to squeak in at 59:15. Because we didn't have chips I had to rely on the Garmin. This morning I felt blah---I think this was due to all the traveling we did yesterday in the car. I suppose that Chinese Food for dinner probably wasn't an ideal choice, but hey---it is what it is. I am just glad that the first race for the season is over and done with and now IM training is officially underway beginning tomorrow with a dip in the pool. Luckily for me this also means that eating crappy will no longer be an option. Now I just have to convince everyone at work that I CAN NOT partake in junk food. Yeah...I am talking like they tie me up and force it down my throat. Okay...back to the race....we left the house at 9am 'cause the race started at 10am. We got to the site at around 9:20 am and went to hang out inside...it was not as warm as I was hoping for today, but it was manageable. When we were waiting I kind of wished that I had dressed warmer. At 10:45am Trevor and the kids walked with me over to the start line and gave me my well wishes and a lot of hugs and kisses. I got my music ready and next thing you know without any real warning the race had begun. The beginning was on a down hill slope and it was icy. I took it easy as the last thing I wanted to do was spill and get injured. I think for the first 2-3 km all I could think about was how cold my hands were. Finally I started warming up. It was a 2 loop course. The 5 km and 10km race started together so the second loop was a less congested as the 5 km headed to the finish line as the 10 km racers kept going. Shortly there after I saw my gang with their clappers and cowbells. Seeing them gave me that extra kick that I needed...thanks, gang!! I was well on my way in the second loop and I could feel me slowing down. A group of girls passed me and I decided that I would tag along with them. This kept me going for the next few km until we got to the University area and things got congested...they managed to get in front of me, but I kept going and then I saw where the finish line was. I ran as best as I could. Just as I saw the finish line I saw my gang once again...cheering..."Go Mommy" "Run Mommy". It was so nice to see them again. This was not a PR for me but it was fun run. I will save the PR for the Police Half coming up at the end of April.

Medion's Atom-powered E1211 and E1215 make the scene

If you're a resident of the European Union (or just a big fan) you might like to know that Medion's back with another nondescript, low-priced laptop or two. Understated sequels to the Mini E1210, both the E1211 and E1215 sport a 10-inch display, Intel Atom processor, 160GB hard drive, Windows XP Home, webcam, Bluetooth, and WiFi, and weigh a mere 1.25 kilograms -- and the latter also rocks integrated UMTS. According to Portable Gear, these guys are expected to fall into the €400-500 price range, rearing their heads in retail outlets such as Aldi, Hema, Action, Gamma and Karwei. Hit that read link for some more exciting pics.

FKL - No.4 - Up Yours - Dubstep Mix

p>MOVEMENT 4 JA PEOPLE No. 4, aka Static Itch, aka Raj “I got your bass right here” J.I., has come a long way this year. He’s broken ground in the realms of production and composition with a recently release EP, “Acid Singes” as well as exploring and mastering the art of the crafted mixset with various styles including industrial, indie rock, IDM, and of course dubstep. I wonder who’s gonna be the first to book him when he returns to KL… Where ever it is, be sure you get some video for the Foundation Raj! No. 4 hits us with a ground quaking, bass quenched dubstep banger of a set for the Winter Solstice season. Tracks from the likes of Ramadanman, N-Type, Darqwan, Plastician, and one of my new favorties Milanese, are sure to keep your head bobbin as you squat-step to this cypher. All I can say is Blaze dis one and enjoy… The Foundation proudly presents: [No.4 - Up Yours] -tracklisting- 01. Ramadanman - Every Next Day 02. N-Type - Way Of The Dub (caspa Remix) 03. Benga - Dubstep Dreams 04. Pinch - Punisher (Loefah’s SE25 Mix) 05. Milanese feat. Kate Kestrel - Double Face 06. Darqwan - Ghost Not Memory 07. Headhunter - Prototype 08. Plastician - White Gloves 09. Vex’d - Fire 10. Milanese - Mr. Good News 11. Distance - Traffic 12. Plastician - Bad Boy Sound 13. Milanese - So Malleable (cold Mix) 14. Skream - Get Mad Base 15. Mrk 1 - Trip Down The Nile Download here