All In One

Friday, December 29, 2006 By LARRY KAPLOW Cox News Service BAGHDAD, Iraq — Saddam Hussein was hanged just before dawn today, dramatically ending the life of the once-feared Iraqi dictator less than two months after his conviction for crimes against humanity. Death came about 6 a.m. Baghdad time (8 p.m. MST Friday), according to Iraq’s state-run television. The location was not immediately disclosed, nor were the names those who witnessed the execution. But there were media reports that some in attendance danced in celebration after the hanging. Also hanged were Saddam’s half-brother Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court. There was no immediate word on what would be done with Saddam’s body. Reuters news agency reported that Saddam’s daughter Raghd, who is exiled in Jordan, wants his body buried temporarily in Yemen in hopes it can eventually be reburied in Iraq. The capital was mostly quiet early today after the normal overnight cur...

Last Updated 02/06/2005, 02:34:52 Telephone text messaging is an effective way of helping young smokers kick the habit, according to a New Zealand study. The Auckland University study showed twice the number of young smokers receiving text support on their mobile phones kicked the habit compared with others who did not receive the support. Quit rates after six weeks were 28 per cent for the texting group and 13 per cent for the rest of the 1,705 young smokers who took part in the two year study starting in 2002. Half of the participants received intensive text messages leading up to an agreed quitting date, as well as one month of free text messaging. The director of the university's clinical trials research unit, Anthony Rodgers, said the free text service acted as a distraction. People also picked up on text buddies, people who were due to quit around the same day. "This is a very encouraging result," Dr Rodgers said. "We want to develop the concept further, but th...

The Actual Reasons for Starting As the saying goes, "Hindsight is 20/20 vision." Most people who smoke wish they had never started. If you were able to go back in time to when you first tried a cigarette, what would you do? Chances are good that you wouldn't even take one single puff. While you can't physically go back in time, you can go back mentally and try to remember why you started to smoke. Do you remember your very first cigarette? Who were you with? Was it with a group of friends or perhaps an older brother or sister? Most people who smoke got their first few cigarettes from an older sibling or from friends. What did it feel like to smoke that first cigarette? Aside from feeling nauseated, you probably felt pretty cool. How did you like to inhale your cigarette? Did you practice holding it in front of a mirror until you got it right? Were you conjuring up an image as you smoked? Where did that image come from? And why did you continue to smoke i...

By Reuters Friday December 22, 11:26 AM By Paul Majendie LONDON (Reuters) - British author J.K. Rowling revealed on Thursday that the long-awaited seventh and final book in her wizard saga will be called "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," sparking the next phase of Pottermania. Fans of the series that has already sold an estimated 300 million copies worldwide were kept guessing with the publication date not set -- although that did not stop one U.S. bookseller from starting to take reservations. The intriguing and ominous title had Potter aficionados puzzling over what might happen to the bespectacled hero. "Will a favorite character die? Could Harry himself face a grisly demise? How will it all end?" asked Sam Harrison, children's buyer at the British bookchain Waterstone's. "But surely the question all Potter fans will want answering as soon as possible is -- when can they get their hands on a copy?" Rowling, whose creation has turned her in...

1. Underwater Weighing: Underwater weighing is the most accurate method for determining your percent body fat, but it's the least practical because it's done with sophisticated equipment at university research facilities. This method is based on the premise that fat floats - think of how oil rises to the top in a bottle of salad dressing. Therefore, by submerging a body in a tub of water, you can determine how much of it is lean and how much is not. You sit in a large tank or tub full of water in a special chair with a weight belt around your waist. A trained technician then submerges you beneath the surface of the water as you force all the air out of your lungs. You must remain underwater for about 10 seconds so that the technician can record your weight. The technician repeats this procedure eight to ten times in order to determine an average. 2. Skin fold thickness: Measuring skin-fold thickness (the amount of fat just under the skin) is a simpler method for d...

Heartburn is the most common symptom of Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). GERD is a condition in which stomach acid or bile flows back (refluxes) into your food pipe (esophagus) even when you are standing because the pressure in the abdomen (where the stomach is present) is greater than the pressure in the chest (where the esophagus is present). This constant backward of acid can irritate the lining of your esophagus causing it to be inflamed and irritated. The esophagus normally contracts (i.e., after swallowing), and this sends a wave down the length of the esophagus, pushing food down into the stomach and clearing the esophagus. Thus, any stomach juices that reflux up into the esophagus are sent back down. Saliva also helps to neutralize the acid brought up into the esophagus. Since the esophagus is above the stomach when we are standing, this helps limit exposure of the esophagus to stomach juices. If you are suffering with GERD, you have worse reflux after meal...