Clipmarks | England Clips

Quadriplegic Takes Solo Sail through British Isles

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:13:50 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: If you think you can, you will!

Two weeks ago, 36-year-old Hilary Lister set off from the coast of England for a solo sailboat ride through the British Isles, which will take as long as three months to complete.

It sounds like enough of a challenge already – but you haven't heard half of it: Lister, who is quadriplegic, cannot move any part of her body except for her head, eyes, and mouth. Instead of directing the sailboat by hand, she's using a "sip-and-puff" system, in which she blows into a series of straws in order to move the sails and control the boat's movement.

Though Lister's got the sailboat to herself, she's not entirely on her own: She's got a crew following her on another boat, which generally stays about a quarter of a mile away. The crew members help her eat food and use the bathroom, and can keep on eye on her to make sure she's safe at all times.

Sailing may seem like a strange activity for a quadriplegic to take on alone, but Lister claims the hobby has saved her life.

By Kathryn Hawkins

A little good news for some Americans amid all this financial meltdown and new evil empire talk

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:53:38 GMT

clipped by: nedhamson1

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

BOSTON (Reuters) - The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriage on Friday in a victory for gay-rights advocates that will allow couples to marry in the New England state.

The court found that the state's law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.

Connecticut is now the third state in the country to allow gay marriage, following neighboring Massachusetts, the first state to allow it, and California.

Tags: human rights

British bank bailout to make 692 billion available

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 07:18:40 GMT

clipped by: tommy2balmy
clipper's remarks: "They've got additional capital now if they want it, they've got an unlimited source of liquidity," said Terry Smith, chief executive of the money brokers, Tullett Prebon.

"That certainly should stop the panic in terms of people wondering whether or not the banks are safe."

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The UK government has announced a package of measures aimed at rescuing the banking system that makes available £400bn ($692bn) of fresh money.

It will initially make extra capital available to eight of the UK's largest banks and building societies in return for preference shares in them.

The key points of the plan are:

Banks will have to increase their capital by at least £25bn and can borrow from the government to do so.

An additional £25bn in extra capital will be available in exchange for preference shares.

£100bn will be available in short-term loans from the Bank of England, on top of an existing loan facility worth £100bn

Up to £250bn in loan guarantees will be available at commercial rates to encourage banks to lend to each other.

To participate in the scheme banks will have to sign up to an FSA agreement on executive pay and dividends.

Much of the current crisis has been caused by the banks' unwillingness to lend to each other

The deal has also been welcomed by the banks.

Tags: british bailout, british

British Paganism Alive and Well

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:49:02 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.realtruth.org

Clad in floor-length white robes, members of The Druid Order of London marched up Primrose Hill in London’s west side to participate in the pagan celebration of the Autumn Equinox on September 22. It is the only time during the year in which there are equal amounts of daylight and dark.

Laughing and smiling, members of the Order and even a mother toting a child, ascended the hill, forming a circle at the top while conducting pagan rituals and singing. The celebration drew dozens of people who were fascinated by England’s pagan past. The ceremony was followed by a picnic in a nearby park.

Originally founded in Oxford in 1245, the group dates its first official ceremony to 1717, when the Order was established at one of the highest points in the city, Primrose Hill.

According to the website for the British Council of British Druid Orders, the group considers itself “part of the process of the rekindling, in the 21st century, of an ancient national nature religion.”

Tags: britain, pagan, druid, ritual

Removing a bladder stone from a turtle

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:55:28 GMT

clipped by: pcmkrfn

Clip Source: www.azcentral.com

Handout picture of the X-ray of five-year-old, Polly, an African pancake tortoise, who is recovering after an operation to remove a bladder stone the size of a small egg at Bristol Zoo in Bristol, England. During the hour-long operation vets had to cut away a hole in the bottom of Polly's shell in order to remove the bladder stone, which may otherwise have killed her within weeks or months. The bladder stone weighed 19g and measured 3.7cm (1.5 inches) by 3cm (1.2 inches) and Polly measures just 14cm (5.5 inches) long from head to tail.

clipped from: www.cracked.com 5 Stupid Get-Rich Quick Scams (People Still Fall For)

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:38:29 GMT

clipped by: rmowery
clipper's remarks: This made me chuckle.

Clip Source: www.cracked.com

5 Retarded Get-Rich Quick Scams (People Still Fall For)

Want to get rich, but don't have the time or energy to start a business? Or get a job at one? Don't worry! In the era of the internet, any old dumbass can log on and make piles of cash with no effort or skill!

That or all of the following programs are complete bullshit.

Sell "The Greatest Vitamin in the World"

Don Lapre is that annoying hobbit-looking dude you might have seen a few years back trying to tell people they could get rich by placing classified ads, even if they didn't involve sexual services. This time he is back selling "The Greatest Vitamins in the World," because subtlety is another of Lapre's strengths.

The vitamins are supposedly the result of millions of dollars of testing and development and over 100 studies by the New England Journal of Medicine. Lapre claims the vitamins can help with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Cancer! Holy shit!

Tags: get rich quick, money, stupid, schemes, entertainment

UK Rushes Bailout Plan for Troubled Banks

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:15:15 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: UK moves to nationalize struggling banks. Sounds like a run on a few banks in the UK could strap them for cash. Do they have the equivalent of FDIC, are the people accounts insured by the government? The moves are to provide enough "cash on hand for day to day operations"--i.e. consumer withdrawals:

To address the collapse of confidence in money markets, the standby facility should ensure big banks have enough cash to fund day-to-day operations.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Government to unveil bank rescue

The UK government is poised to announce details of a £50bn rescue package for the banking system, the BBC's business editor has learned.

It will include a proposal to use taxpayers' money to invest in banks - in effect part nationalising them.

The dramatic initiative is aimed at stabilising the financial system and making sure banks have enough cash.

The news comes after a day of steep falls in UK banking stocks and a high-level Downing Street summit

Prime Minister Gordon Brown earlier held talks with Bank of England Governor Mervyn King.

The announcement comes amid a series of dramatic developments in the world financial system:

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said Wednesday would be a "real day of reckoning for the whole British economy".

Monday's meeting was attended by Mr Darling, Mr King and Lord Turner, as well as representatives of RBS, Barclays and Lloyds TSB.

The government also needed to explain how taxpayers' interests would be safeguarded

Tags: uk, britain, banks, barclays, lloyds tsb, royal bank of scotland, bailout, financial crisis

Tudor Chain of Office for Sale

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:59:29 GMT

clipped by: piomio

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The only known surviving chain of office from the time of Henry VIII is being put up for auction.

The king gave the gold Coleridge Collar to one of his closest advisers, Sir Edward Montagu, around 1546.

The chains showed allegiance to the monarch and the intricacy of the design and quality of the metal signified the status of the wearer.

It is expected to fetch £300,000 when it goes under the hammer at Christie's in London on 6 November.

It will be the first time that the Coleridge Collar, thought to be of the most important surviving relics of the Tudor age, has come up for auction.

This type of livery collar, as it was known, became popular when they were used by Henry IV as an official symbol of allegiance to the monarch.

Tags: king henry viii, tudor, england, royal

How the Dead are Helping to Fight Identity Theft

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:41:17 GMT

clipped by: lovemorgul

Clip Source: www.money.co.uk

As part of a government backed drive to crack down on identity theft, details of all deaths in the UK will now be released on a weekly basis.

It is hoped that this move will help eliminate Impersonation of the Deceased (IOD) fraud which is currently one of the fastest growing forms of identity theft afflicting the UK.

The information is set to be released to select organisations as part of a partnership between the Registrars General for England & Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Any organisation can apply to receive the data, however they will have to undergo strict vetting procedures and agree to operate in accordance with a stringent licensing agreement before the highly sensitive information will be shared.

Credit reference agency, Experian, Tracesmart Ltd and Faraday Tracing Bureau are among the first companies who have been approved to receive the approximated 12,000 death records a week.

Tags: identity, dead, theft, uk, criminal, fraud, llegal, illegal working, drug, terrorism

Hotel booking uk

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:55:11 GMT

clipped by: jamesblake04
clipper's remarks: When choosing a hotel to stay at while vacationing in the United Kingdom you may find yourself overwhelmed at the four-thousand possibilities. There are several websites that are dedicated to helping you plan your vacation to the United Kingdom.

Clip Source: www.travelnews-worldwide.com

Hotel booking uk

The United Kingdom includes all of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Eire and the Isle of Man. When choosing a hotel to stay at while vacationing in the United Kingdom you may find yourself overwhelmed at the four-thousand possibilities. To make choosing the right hotel much easier just go online. There are several websites that are dedicated to helping you plan your vacation to the United Kingdom. You will be able to browse five-star hotels in the eclectic and vibrant city of London or choose a countryside bed and breakfast. You can plan your entire vacation online, this includes your airfare, hotel reservation and any thing else that you might need. This even includes theater and event tickets. Take advantage of everything your place of travel has to offer. Become immersed in another culture and another way of life.

Tags: hotel booking uk, online hotel reservations uk, hotel reservations uk, online hotel bookings uk, hotel bookings in uk, hotel bookings

Bernanke, Paulson, Trichet May Act to Unblock Lending (Update1)

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:50:56 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Rates are also surging in the commercial paper market that many U.S. companies use to finance their day-to-day operations. Yields on overnight U.S. commercial paper jumped 0.94 percentage point to 3.68 percent.

`The Federal Reserve must now act as a clearing house'' for banks and ``must also take another bold step: outright purchases of commercial paper, said Bill Gross, manager of the world's biggest bond fund at Newport Beach, California-based Pacific Investment Management Co.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index having its steepest intraday decline since 1987 and emerging markets, until now the locomotives of the world economy, hit particularly hard: exchanges in Russia and Brazil halted trading.

One less complicated step would be for central banks to lower rates in concert. Traders are betting that the Bank of England will lower rates at a meeting this week, and that the Fed will cut its benchmark by at least half a point at or before an Oct. 28-29 gathering.

Clip Source: www.bloomberg.com

In the U.S., Federal Reserve chief Bernanke yesterday signaled he's preparing measures with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to unfreeze markets where loans aren't secured by assets.

Bernanke is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook from 12:30 p.m. in Washington today. He and Paulson meet with European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and their other Group of Seven major-nation counterparts Oct. 10 in Washington.

It's those markets that are now ground zero for the crisis. A series of high-profile failures of financial institutions in the U.S. and Europe has made banks wary of trading with each other and sent rates soaring. The three-month London interbank offered rate, or Libor, that banks charge each other for loans was 4.29 percent yesterday, close to the highest since January.

``Libor is the problem and it has been the problem all along,'' said John Roberts, managing director at Barclays Capital Inc.

If they fix that, they are on their way to fixing a lot of things.

Tags: fed chief bernanke, treasury sec paulson, oct.10 meeting, european central bank trichet, london interbank rate

A Caravan And Motorhome Enthusiast

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:02:54 GMT

clipped by: hiremotorhome
clipper's remarks: Rick Lomas is from Newcastle, Staffs, England. He lived around Staffordshire and runs motorhome business.

Clip Source: weblog.xanga.com

After Coventry Rick moved ‘down south’ to Finchley, London. In 1985 Rick went to Hatfield Polytechnic which is know known as The University of Hertfordshire. Rick studied Electronic Engineering where his interest in the UNIX operating system was to prove useful later on. At the time his home was in Radlett, Hertfordshire where he remained when he then got a job working as a Unix Systems Administrator for Reed Elsevier in Clerkenwell, London.

Scoliosis Brace

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:32:37 GMT

clipped by: flower425
clipper's remarks: Scoliosis Treatment – Achieve best results. Get Adult Scoliosis Treatment with Scoliosis Braces. Reliable Alternative Scoliosis Treatments, Scoliosis Surgery Alternatives and best Non Bracing Treatment. Get updated Scoliosis Treatment Information.

Clip Source: www.scoliosiscorrectioncenter.com

The Scoliosis Correction Center of New England is located in Hartford Connecticut and is dedicated to the evaluation and non-surgical scoliosis treatment.

Please do not have surgery before investigating our methods and discussing your case with us!

X-Ray Showing broken Harrington Rod

Scoliosis Surgery: the Untold Truth

Scoliosis Correction questions?

Email: ScoliosisCorrection@gmail.com

call Dr. Hersh : 860-727-8820 or
860-524-8955

Tags: scoliosis treatment, adult scoliosis treatment, scoliosis braces, scoliosis treatments, scoliosis brace, alternative scoliosis treatment

William H Dietz

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:44:24 GMT

clipped by: yiduozhang

Clip Source: www.cdc.gov

Director, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, NCCDPHP

William H. Dietz, MD, PhD, is the Director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the CDC. Prior to his appointment to the CDC, he was a Professor of Pediatrics at the Tuft′s University School of Medicine, and Director of Clinical Nutrition at the Floating Hospital of New England Medical Center Hospitals. He received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970 and a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Fall of Democracy

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:18:43 GMT

clipped by: raw40
clipper's remarks: Because of brain dead who only think give me,give me, give me.

Clip Source: www.mcsm.org

The Fall of Democracy

When the thirteen colonies were still a part of England, Professor Alexander Tyler wrote about the fall of the Athenian republic over two thousand years previous to that time:

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship.

The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.