Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to allow and set limitations on stem cell research, therapies, and cures which will:

• ensure Missouri patients have access to any therapies and cures, and allow Missouri researchers to conduct any research, permitted under federal law;
• ban human cloning or attempted cloning;
• require expert medical and public oversight and annual reports on the nature and purpose of stem cell research;
• impose criminal and civil penalties for any violations; and
• prohibit state or local governments from preventing or discouraging lawful stem cell research, therapies and cures?

CABAZON, Calif. - A wildfire driven by hot Santa Ana winds killed three firefighters trapped in their engine, critically injured two others and drove hundreds of people from homes Thursday as it swept through the desert hills northwest of Palm Springs.

The firefighters were trying to protect a house from the 4,000-acre wildfire when the flames engulfed the engine, said Pat Boss, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told reporters that three firefighters were killed fighting the blaze. The U.S. Forest Service confirmed the deaths, adding that two firefighters were critically injured.

One of the injured died later at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff/Coroner's Office.

The firefighters were trapped in their fire engine when high winds suddenly pushed the flames over them, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Pat Boss told the Associated Press.

Labels: border, illegal immigration, Mexico

"You have Green Day and 'American Idiot'. Where do they film their DVD? In England," The Killers' frontman told The Word. "A bunch of kids screaming 'I don't want to be an American idiot' I saw it as a very negative thing towards Americans. It really lit a fire in me."

Explaining he was offended by the set-up, Flowers added: "You have the right to say what you want to say and what you want to write about, and I'm sure they meant it in the same way that Bruce Springsteen meant 'Born In The USA' and it was taken wrongly, but I was really offended when I saw them do that."

The singer added he felt the DVD was a bit of a a stunt.

"I just thought it was really cheap," he explained. "To go to a place like England or Germany and sing that song - those kids aren't taking it the same way that he meant it. And he [Billie Joe Armstrong] knew it."

The Killers' frontman said he believed that his band's new album 'Sam's Town' is a much better representation of America.

"People need to see that, really, there are the nicest people in the world here!" he declared. "I don't know if our album makes you realise that. But I hope it's from a more positive place."

*The Columbia CRUNCH - 64
Gridiron Wookies - 34
TCC lost for the first time last week, so he was looking for someone to beat up on to get back on track. Too bad for the Wookies, his QB ended up with a goose-egg..against the Texans.
MVP - Larry Johnson 19 Points (132 Yards Rushing, 2 TDs)
Goat - Byron Leftwich 0 Points (nothing)

Labels: 24, Jack Bauer

If you are a man who doesn't smoke, has a healthy diet, does plenty of exercise, and consumes alcohol in moderation, your chances of having myocardial infarction (heart attack) are lower than a man with a similar lifestyle who never drinks, say researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, USA.

Previous studies indicated that moderate alcohol consumption may lower heart attack risk for high risk people. This is the first study ever to show that this also applies to healthy men with healthy lifestyles.

VIENNA, Austria -- Iran is expanding its uranium enrichment program even as the U.N. Security Council focuses on possible sanctions for its defiance of a demand to give up the activity and ease fears it seeks nuclear weapons, diplomats said Monday.

The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge the information to media, told The Associated Press that within the past few weeks Iranian nuclear experts had started up a second pilot enrichment facility.

[...] In Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country's nuclear capability has increased tenfold despite Western pressure to roll back its atomic program, which Iran insists is peaceful.

[...] Moscow and Beijing are reluctant to impose harsh punishments on Tehran, an economic and strategic partner. They also fear that any sanctions _ which for now rule out military action _ could still start the process toward consideration of force.

Labels: baby

Labels: Clinton, Democrats, election, Kennedy, Obama

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, extending October's record-breaking rally, as falling oil prices bolstered speculation that consumer spending will sustain the economy.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, jumped after saying it will slow new spending on stores, relieving concern that it's growing too fast. Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., the world's largest chewing-gum maker, had its biggest jump in almost three decades after naming former Nike Chief Executive Officer William Perez to head the company.

Stocks gained as earnings from Hasbro Inc., Xerox Corp. and Halliburton Co. exceeded analysts' estimates. Confidence that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged this week for the third consecutive time also supported the markets.

[...]Amid evidence of a slowdown, third-quarter earnings have been a positive for the market. As of today, 167 members of the S&P 500 have reported financial results for the third quarter, with 73 percent topping analysts' estimates. That's more than the 57 percent average since 1992, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

There’s a new book on Ronald Reagan making the rounds, The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism. Its author, Paul Kengor, unearthed a sensational document from the Soviet archives. That document is a memo regarding an offer made by Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts via former Senator John Tunney, both Democrats, to the General Secretary of the Communist Party, USSR, Yuri Andropov, in 1983. The offer was to help the Soviet leadership, military and civilian, conduct a PR campaign in the United States as President Ronald Reagan sought re-election. The goal of the PR campaign would be to cast President Reagan as a warmonger, the Soviets as willing to peacefully co-exist, and thereby turn the electorate away from Reagan. It was a plan to enlist Soviet help, and use the American press, in unseating an American president.

Think about that.