We are perceived almost universally as the world's bully--the modern day equivalent to the old USSR Foreign policies and hidden (oil) agendas are the current downfall of this administration. There would be no terrorists in Iraq if we had not invaded Iraq for the hope of cheap oil In the real world, calling our troops illegal, immoral, occupiers, soviets and terrorists is slamming our troops. Some have also presented the alleged conduct of a couple bad apples as the norm for our military as a whole. You guys may as well throw in baby killers. These statements amount to slander because you guys are willfully and knowingly misrepresenting the true reason that they are there with malicious intent. You guys are giving aid and comfort to an enemy during a time of war. It is immoral, unpatriotic, anti-American and amounts to an act of treason.

The Body Electric's New Look Why shock therapy deserves its mini ...

The history of electric shock therapy would seem to lend itself to a rather straightforward tale of last-ditch, gruesome treatment of mental illness. After all, we've all seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

But in their new book Shock Therapy, Edward Shorter and David Healy say this version is almost entirely inaccurate. Shorter is a historian who has written extensively on psychiatry, and Healy is a psychiatrist who has been highly critical of the marketing of psychopharmacological drugs. They believe that electroconvulsive therapy is incredibly effective. And yet for decades, a severely depressed patient—even one on the brink of suicide—might not have been offered the therapy, or if her doctors had proposed it, she or her family might well have declined it. In explaining why, the authors demonstrate that though we may assume medical treatments get adopted or rejected based on objective statistics, in fact data are often misinterpreted and manipulated by outside influences that end up overpowering them.

Police investigate shooting in Algiers

This comment is in regards to the cover article on the crime issues that face New Orleans. While I thought the article was much needed and covered the frustrations over how to deal with crime in our city, it seems to me that the perspective is flawed. How can you solve the crime facing our beloved city, if you dont face up to the issues of poverty and rebuilding? How can you continue to fault the police department, and the mayor and district attorney, if you cant look your own self in the face, where the extremities of wealth sit next to the woes of poverty (white and black)? How can you talk about these issues when youre city cares more about the tourist dollar and fixing up the warehouse district than putting the money into the rest of the city, that still stands silent with abandoned houses and failing hospitals and infrastructure? While I most definitely believe the police are doing a better job, especially in regards to more community involvement and the beats cop walking the streets, they have to do a better job of getting the news to the people, and that includes this newspaper and mostly the television news that sometimes verges on entertainment rather than covering the news that actually matters.

Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton's movie The Hottie and The Nottie completely tanked this weekend. To be honest, I'm surprised it made more than $1.50. But, I'm no box office analyst. Fortunately the folks at Fantasy Moguls are and, like my fifth grade girlfriend, did the math for me:

Paris didn't seem too concerned that her acting career is back in the shitter where God himself wants it. She unveiled her new line of shoes at Macy's yesterday and signed autographs for fans.

EOG Resources, Inc. Q4 2007 Earnings Call Transcript

You will notice that the 8-K guidance also reflects tighter differentials from Henry Hub to U.S. as compared to 2007. Using the mid-point of 8-K guidance our full year 2008 unit costs for lease and well DD&A, G&A, total exploration, net interest expense, and excluding transportation and taxes other than income are forecast to increased only 2.5% over 2007, with our current hedge position for 2008, as outlined in yesterdays 8-K filling for every $0.10 change in Henry Hub, EOG's net income and cash flow is impacted by approximately $20 million. Similarly for every $1 move in WTI, EOG's net income and cash flow was impacted by approximately $8 million. Now, I'll turn it back to Mark to discuss his concluding remarks. Mark G. Papa - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thanks Tim. Now let me summarize.

Britney's Fall From Grace Makes the Cover of Rolling Stone

A couple of months ago, there were rumors swirling that Britney may be on the cover of Rolling Stone again, and the issue officially hits newsstands this week. The article has more stories about Britney's dizzying downward spiral, including a mall visit gone bad, plastic surgery rumors, and juicy details on her relationship with Justin. So far, the magazine has only released a teaser excerpt, which is just another upsetting story about an outburst Britney had while trying on clothes at Betsey Johnson. Here's more:

. . . she ducks into the dressing room with Ghalib. He emerges with her black Am Ex. The card won't go through, but they keep trying it. "Please," begs Ghalib, "get this done quickly." One of the girls runs to Britney's dressing room, explaining the situation through a pink gauze curtain.

In the Pink for Valentine's Day

According to the information on the back of my shampoo bottle, 15 percent of women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day. I find that hard to believe. As far as I know, none of my friends have ever done that, and I think I would have run across at least one person sending themselves flowers by now, if almost one out of every seven women did. This is not to say that I can't understand why some women would want to send themselves flowers. Valentine's Day can magnify insecurities about being loved and feeling attractive. Fortunately, there are a few quick fixes that can still make a difference in the appearance of your skin in time for the big day.

A few simple steps can improve the appearance of your skin even at the last minute. Avoid overdrying with soap or toners. Instead, use a gentle, hydrating cleanser, such as Cerave.