May 2008 Archives

A new study has linked the consumption of energy drinks to risky and aggressive "toxic jock" behavior amongst young adults. Kathleen Miller, the principle investigator at the University of Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions, published a report on the link between energy drinks, athletics and risky behavior, which appeared in the March issue of The Journal of American College Health. She found that those who regularly consumed energy drinks were more likely to indulge in substance abuse, violence, and unprotected sex.

Miller doesn't necessarily blame the hazardous habits on the energy drinks, which often contain high quantities of caffeine, taurine and other stimulants, but says they may serve as a predicator for such behavior. "It appears the kids who are heavily into drinking energy drinks are more likely to be the ones who are inclined toward taking risks," Miller said.

Two of the energy drink brand leaders are Red Bull and Rockstar, which both market heavily to young people at extreme sports and music events. A 250 ml serving of Red Bull contains 80 mg of caffeine and 1000 mg of taurine, alongside assorted sugars and sweetners, a carbohydrate compound, and some B group vitamins. Rockstar contains similar quantities of caffeine and taurine mixed with what the manufacturers describe as a "the potent herbal blend of Guarana, Ginkgo, Ginseng and Milk Thistle."

Though the drinks themselves contain levels of caffeine that are comparable to those found in a cup of coffee, they can be drunk much faster since they are served cold and therefore provide a more concentrated caffeine hit. The combination of caffeine and tourine, an amino-like acid which was originally isolated from ox bile but is now synthetically produced, is also thought to make the drinks more potent. The subjects of one study, conducted by James Kalus of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, exhibited an 11% increase in resting heart rate after consuming just two cans of energy drink per day for a week. Such potentially detrimental effects, have kept this class of beverages off the shelves in countries such as Norway, Denmark, and Iceland.

When combined with alcohol, energy drinks have been found to serve up an even riskier cocktail. A study conducted by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina found that "college students who drink alcohol mixed with so-called "energy" drinks are at dramatically higher risk for injury and other alcohol-related consequences, compared to students who drink alcohol without energy drinks." Lead researcher, Mary Claire O'Brien, notes when under the influence of super-charged cocktails, "you're every bit as drunk, you're just an awake drunk."

But the stimulants in the drinks, and their effects when mixed with alcohol, aren't the only things encouraging risky behavior. On Red Bull's website, the manufacturers claims the drink improves performance, increases concentration and reaction speed, increases endurance, and stimulates metabolism. Meanwhile the makers of Rockstar, invite fans of their drink to "party like a Rockstar," the phrase being the brand's tag line alongside the words, "Bigger. Better. Faster. Stronger." Could it be young people are falling victim to a false sense of invincibility induced by juiced-up sugared water, and some highly seductive marketing?

Robert F. Kennedy talks eloquently about how the media has failed democracy (click HERE to view video). But has an apathetic democracy also failed the media, by consistently undervaluing it and failing to protect it? I guess it's a question of the chicken or the egg.

Further Reading:

Propaganda, Filler And Fodder: How The News Doesn't Work

On What Planet Is This OK?

Fox Buys Beliefnet: Divine Intervention Or Deal With The Devil?

Are Murdoch, Fox, And News Corp. Plotting A Shift Into The Blue?

UnChristian: A New Understanding Of Contemporary Christendom In America

Blind Faith: Evolving Church and State With Reason And Religion

Worshiping False Idols

Britney Hits The Confessional To The Displeasure Of The Catholic League

The Zen of Tax, That $600 Bribe, And the Enslavement of America

With pump prices acting as strong a deterrent, Americans are putting the breaks on their driving habits. DOT Federal Highway Administration mileage figures released earlier this month show, "the sharpest yearly drop for any month in FHWA history."

Estimated vehicle miles on public roads in March 2008 fell 4.3% when compared to the same month last year, with Americans driving 11 billion fewer miles in total. It was the first time that March driving figure had declined since 1979.

With gas prices like daylight robbery, commuters are choosing to skip the pump and run -- to the nearest bus stop. The American Public Transportation Association reports that last year ridership reached levels not seen in 50 years, with 10.3 billion bus, trolley and train trips taken in 2007. Furthermore, they report that a staggering 35% of summer travelers say they are likely to use public transit to save on driving costs when visiting other cities.

All this is good news for the environment, but extremely bad news for car makers. New car sales dropped by 7 % in April; the seasonally adjusted sales total of 14.4 million vehicles was the worst in 13 years.

With car sales plummeting, car dealers are resorting to desperate measures to move vehicles. One Butler, MO dealer is offering a choice of $250 in gas or a free semi-automatic handgun with purchase. We're not sure why the handgun needs to be semi-automatic (how many people do Missouri drivers need to shoot in one go?), but so far it's by far the preferred option, with 80% of customers opting for a coupon which they can exchange for a gun once they've passed the require background check.

"It's a choice -- protection or gas," said Walter Moore of Max Motors. "We got high gas prices, theft, carjackings, innocent people getting hurt."

We could be wrong, but it seems like Walter's customers aren't the Prius-buying type. It's attitudes like these that make Walter's namesake Michael Moore so proud -- of Canadians. We're figuring Walter skipped Michael's anti-firearm flick Bowling for Columbine when it came out in theaters, but would like to think he might catch up with it on DVD since it notoriously features a bank which offered a similar bonus for new customers. Ultimately, the film showed that guns are about as bad for people as fossil fuels are for the planet. Again, we could be wrong, but we thought the end-game was to get rid of both.

Scientists in Germany are working on a new generation of environmentally friendly explosives for use in bombs. Live Science reports that the research is being partially funded by the U.S. Army.

Explosives such as trinitrotoluene (a.k.a. TNT) and cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (a.k.a. RDX), which are commonly used by military forces around the globe today, create toxic gases upon detonation. Furthermore, the compounds themselves are toxic, and can raise environmental concerns when chemicals from unexploded and partially exploded ordinance leach into ground soil.

The new bombs primarily get their explosive energy from nitrogen rather than carbon. In laboratory tests these explosive were found to be more powerful than traditional explosives, despite having a far smaller carbon footprint. We're sure that those who are eventually the targets of these new green bombs will find this most reassuring.

Does Indiana Jones, who's back in action this bank holiday weekend in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, know he's risking life and limb for a bunch of fake artifacts? Experts analyzed two skulls held by the British Museum and the Smithsonian that were once thought to be pre-Columbian Mesoamerican relics, and concluded that they are modern fakes. The findings are published in the May 2008 edition of the Journal of Archaeological Science.

British and American researchers used modern techniques to uncover the quartz crystal skulls' secrets. Using electron microscopes and X-ray scanning methods, the teams found that modern industrial techniques had been used to fashion the stone. The British Museum skull was manufactured using rotary tools and an abrasive substance such as crystallized aluminum oxide or diamond particles, while the Smithsonian skull has been fashioned with a silicon carbide abrasive.

The British Museum skull first surfaced in 1881 in a Parisian antiques shop. It was bought at auction by Tiffany & Co, who then sold in on to the museum, at a profit, in 1897. The Smithsonian skull was donated anonymously in 1992. It was left with a note that said it had been purchased in Mexico in the 1960's.

"There are about a dozen or more of these crystal skulls. Except for the British Museum skull and one in Paris, they seem to have entered public awareness since the 60s, with the interest in quartz and the New Age movement," said Cardiff University Professor and study researcher Ian Freestone, speaking to the BBC. "It does appear that people have been making them since then. Some of them are quite good, but some of them look like they were produced with a Black & Decker in someone's garage."

Suspecting their skull was a fake, the Smithsonian first carried out research on their relic in 1992. Meanwhile the British Museum list their skull as being "probably European, 19th century AD" and "not an authentic pre-Columbian artifact".

A simple search on the internet could have saved Indiana Jones the bother of coming out of retirement. Rather than chasing half-way around the world after these forged antiquities, leaving a path of destruction in his wake, it would have been far more efficient it he'd bought a lump of quartz and a power tool from Home Depot to satisfy his quest for a crystal skull.

Alaska's Republican state governor, Sarah Palin, has announced plans to fight the Bush administration on its decision to place polar bears on the endangered species list. Palin is challenging conservation and environmental data, and sights concerns that the Endangered Species Act ruling will hinder oil exploration in the state.

As we previously reported (see story), the polar bear's addition to the endangered species list had repeatedly been delayed, allowing an oil rights sale, which generated bids totaling nearly $3.4 billion, to proceed in an area that is home to 20% of the world's polar bear population. There are less than 25,000 polar bears in total, and that number is expected to decline by 60% over the next 50 years as the creature's habitat literally melts away.

Palin was the first woman to hold office in Alaska, and was also the youngest governor ever to be sworn in. She likes snowmobiling and moose burgers, and was an athlete and a beauty queen prior to taking up politics. Obviously she didn't win her Miss Wasilla 1984 pageant title by promising to "help children and animals."

And you think your boss is bad. Workers at a Hindu shrine in southern India had to take their case to the local human rights commission in order to win the right to wear underpants at work. Their employers at the temple had banned underwear in an attempt to stop the theft of offerings stored in shrine's vault.

The men were forced to work in nothing but shoes, and a cotton wrap, which they wore around their waist. After being forced go commando for five years, the men complained to their union, who in turn took the matter to the Kerala State Human Rights Commission, who upheld their case. Temple authorities are now looking into more high tech security measures.

WGCW-TV in Savannah, the local home of Sex And The City, is going where many network and cable stations fear to tread. The CW Network affiliate is airing PETA's controversial Sex And The Kitty public service announcement next week to help raise awareness for animal family planning. The humorous ad, which shows kitties getting jiggy, has been banned by MTV and most networks for being "too steamy."

PETA warns that one unspayed female cat can produce 36 cats in just one and a half years, and an unneutered male can father limitless litters of kittens. Over 2.4 million unwanted kitten are born each year. Most Will be put down.

Do not click HERE if you are easily offended.

According to information just released by the California Environmental Protection Agency's Air Resources Board (ARB) up to 24,000 deaths a year may be attributed to particulate pollution. The figure is triple that of previous official estimates.

The new data was compiled by USC, who tracked 23,000 people in greater Los Angeles, and the American Cancer Society, who tracked 300,000 people nationwide.

One the reasons that the new estimated death toll is so much higher, is that experts had previously underestimated the dangers of particulate matter, which is too small to be caught by the body's own nose and throat, hair and mucous filtration system, and lodges deep in lungs, causing all manner of health problems such as asthma, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

"Our report concludes these particles are 70% more dangerous than previously thought, based on several major studies that have occurred in the last five years," said the ARB's chief researcher, Bart Croes, in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. "There's no death certificate that says specifically someone died of air pollution, but cities with higher rates of air pollution have much greater rates of death from cardiovascular diseases."

As shown on the California Environmental Protection Agency maps above, California has more counties designated for nonattainment of PM-10 (particulate matter less than 10 microns in size) safety levels in the "serious" classification than the rest of the U.S. put together. A similar map also shows widespread non-compliance for PM-2.5 safety levels (a classification for smaller particles) in California.

Not un-coincidentally, according to data compiled by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 1996, the top 5 metropolitan areas in the nation ranked by mortality rates attributable to particulate matter are all in California. The worst offender was Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, followed by Riverside-San Bernardino, Bakersfield, Fresno, and Stockton.

With such toxic air effectively fatally poisoning 24,000 people per year in the Golden State, drastic measures, such as the Bay Area's new pollution tax, are sorely needed.

"Particle pollution is a silent killer," said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. "We must work even harder to cut these life-shortening emissions by further addressing pollution sources head-on."

Further reading:


Bay Area Imposes First Pollution Tax In U.S.


Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: Pollution May Cause Baldness


The Hidden Danger In Our Air

America's new idol felt Guru Pitka's positive vibes big time this evening (click HERE to view video).

Congratulations to David Cook (the hot rocker had our vote!).

As the good guru says, "remember, winning isn't everything in life, unless you're one of the last two finalists on American Idol."

Mariska Hargitay!

Air quality regulators in the Bay Area have become the first in the nation to impose a tax on greenhouse gases emitted by local businesses.

The board of the Bay Area Quality Management District (BAAQMD) voted overwhelmingly (15 to 1) for the measure. The fees will be imposed on around 2,500 local businesses once the new rules come into effect on July 1.

The BAAQMD's jurisdiction covers nine districts that surround the San Francisco Bay, including Napa, Sonoma, San Mateo, and Marin County. The organization is charged with attaining and maintaining air quality standards "to protect the public's health and the environment."

The region's seven biggest polluters are expected to have to pay more than $50,000 each in the first year of the scheme, however fees for the majority of businesses are expected to be less than $1 per year. With polluters being charged a nominal fee of 4.4 cents per ton of CO2, the measure is more symbolic than punitive.

Though the penalties are low, many local business leaders are concerned that reporting mechanism will add additional, unforeseen costs, since, like our tax system, the program will be honor-based, with businesses being expected to measure their own emissions.

The measure is expected to raise $1.1 million in the first year, which will be used to fund air quality programs. Meanwhile, officials hope the scheme will set a precedent and serve as a model for others across the nation.

Love Guru Mike Myers (a.k.a. Guru Pitka) explains to talk show host Ellen DeGeneres why Mariska Hargitay is the new Namasté (click HERE to view video).

Mariska Hargitay is the daughter of 1950's sex symbol Jayne Mansfield and the Hungarian-born former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay. She plays Detective Olivia Benson in the Law & Order spin-off TV series Special Victims Unit. Mariska is a Hungarian name meaning "sea of bitterness." Hargitay is also Hungarian, and means "of Hargita," a county in central Romania.

Namasté is a respectful greeting commonly used in India, Asia, and by people in yoga pants everywhere. It is a conjunct of two Sanskrit words: "namas" meaning "to bow" and "te" meaning "to you."

From a spiritual point of view, "Namasté: is taken to mean "I am your humble servant." Since Mariska Hargitay has overcome much adversity, including the grisly death of her mother to become a tough New York TV cop handling heinous crimes with poise and grace, perhaps the spiritual meaning of the guru greeting "Mariska Hargitay" should be "strength through adversity."

"Mariska Hargitay"

Jude Law did his bit for world peace yesterday (Monday May 19), attending the premiere of The Day After Peace, a documentary he worked on with filmmaker pal Jeremy Gilley.

Gilley, the founder of the Peace One Day organization, successfully lobbied world leaders and the United Nations General Assembly, who in 2001, with resolution A/Res/55/282, established an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on September 21. Gilley documented his journey towards Peace Day in the 1999 film, Peace One Day.

Though he's yet to achieve actual world peace, even for one day, the annual vacation from violence that Gilley helped create has had a profound effect. Last year, 27.6 million people in 200 countries observed Peace Day in some way.

As part of an ongoing quest to persuade those who bear arms to give up the nasty habit for at least 24 hours, Gilley and Law made a secret trip to Afghanistan, where they shot footage for a follow-up film. The resulting documentary, The Day After Peace, features Kofi Annan, The Dalai Lama, Annie Lennox, Jonny Lee Miller, and Angelina Jolie.

U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Jolie is shown in the film meeting with Gilley at his home, which is somewhat more modest than the Hollywood star has become accustomed to. Law and Gilley weren’t tempted to track down other A-listers for their project however. "Organizations can drown under the weight of too many faces," said Law in Cannes.

As an A-lister himself, the handsome star, who was caught by paparazzi sucking face with Kimberly Stewart this past weekend, enjoyed the anonymity his trip to Afghanistan afforded. "They had no idea who I was. I was really there as a B cameraman,” said Law, who is already planning a further foray to the region. He vowed, "I will return to Afghanistan to show the film there."

A British teenager faces prosecution after displaying a sign which called Scientology a "cult" during a protest against the church.

The un-named teen was participating in a May 10th protest organized by the web-based Anonymous anti-Scientology group. Within minutes of joining protesters outside Scientology's London headquarters, which are located near St. Paul's Cathedral, the teen was approached by a police officer who warned that "the word" was not allowed. The teen refused to remove his sign and was the formally cautioned by a female police officer. After again refusing to take his sign down, he was served with a court summons.

The anonymous teen posted an account of the incident on a forum on the anti-Scientology Enturbulation.org website the following day. "I was read the Section 5 Public Order Act of 1986, and was told I was strongly advised to remove the sign," writes the teen. "I was given until 11:30 to remove the sign. At around 12:05 the police caught up with me, I was given a Court Summons and my details were taken down."

The police also confiscated the sign, claiming it contravened Section 5 of the Public Order Act which outlaws "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior or disorderly behavior in a public or private place...with intention or awareness that such behavior may be threatening, abusive or insulting within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress."

In a statement released to The Register, the City of London Police said they "had received complaints about demonstrators using the words 'cult' and 'Scientology kills' during protests," and that "following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service some demonstrators were warned verbally and in writing that their signs breached section five of the Public Order Act 1986. One demonstrator, a juvenile, continued to display a placard despite police warnings and was reported for an offense under section five. A file on the case will be sent to the CPS."

It should be noted that the City of London police have come under fire for their association with The Church of Scientology. A Freedom of Information Act inquiry by The Guardian revealed that more than 20 high and low ranking police officers had been plied with lavish entertainment and hospitality that was laid on by the church.

Freedom of speech and civil liberties advocates are up in arms over the possible prosecution. "This barmy prosecution makes a mockery of Britain's free speech traditions," said Shami Chakrabarti, the director of U.K. human rights organization Liberty. "After criminalizing the use of the word 'cult', perhaps the next step is to ban the words 'war' and 'tax' from peaceful demonstrations?"

In his own defense, while being cautioned (as seen in the above video), the teen quoted from a 1984 high court ruling in which Justice Latey described the Church of Scientology as a "cult." The judge also said, "Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious," and went on to call the church "corrupt, sinister and dangerous."

Meanwhile the teen is contemplating his legal defense, and writes in his Enturbulation.org post, “What's the likelihood I'll need a lawyer? If I do have to get one, it'll have to come out of my pocket money...”

Scientists from the University of Florence in Italy report that listening to classical, Celtic or Indian music for just 30 minutes a day for a month can significantly reduce blood pressure. The researchers presented their findings last week at the American Society of Hypertension's 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition in New Orleans.

"Listening to music is soothing and has often been associated with controlling patient-reported pain or anxiety and acutely reducing blood pressure," noted Dr. Pietro A. Modesti. "But for the first time, today's results clearly illustrate the impact daily music listening has on ambulatory blood pressure."

"We are excited about the positive implications for both patients and physicians, who can now confidently explore music listening as a safe, effective, non-pharmacological treatment option or a complement to therapy," Modesti added.

The study involved a small group of 48 patients between the ages of 45 and 70 who were taking medication for mild hypertension. 28 of the patients were given a CD of down-tempo, "rhythmically homogenous" music, and were asked to listen to it for 30 minutes once a day for a month while practicing controlled breathing exercises. The 20 remaining participants made no lifestyle changes, and served as a control group. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring after the first and fourth weeks revealed a marked reduction in blood pressure among the patients who'd been asked to listen to music.

Similar previous studies have closely related blood pressure to music tempo, noting corresponding blood pressure increases when subjects were exposed to more aggressive, up-tempo music, indicating that the speed and genre of music is key to music's heart-calming potential.

"Sadly, despite the global focus on prevention, it predicted that 56 billion people worldwide will be hypertensive by 2025," said Modesti. "In light of these devastating statistics, it is reassuring to consider that something as simple, easy and enjoyable as daily music listening combined with slow abdominal breathing, may help people naturally lower their blood pressure."

If you liked playing with kaleidoscope's as a kid, click HERE.

Adrian Grenier (a.k.a. Aqua Man, Vincent Chase) is ditching his HBO posse, and is hitting the streets with an all new, all green entourage for a new TV show called Alter Eco, to be aired on the Discovery Channel's brand new sister station Planet Green.

With the help of green guru Boise Thomas, sustainable style fashionista Angela Lindvall and eco-renovation master Darren Moore, Granier will take on challenges which will include an environmental home makeover and an eco-overhaul of an L.A. hotspot. The green team will pay house calls on Hollywood celebs and average Joe's alike to show how planet positive change can have a low impact on lifestyle.

The 13-part series premieres on Monday, June 9, at 9 PM (ET/PT) on Planet Green. A sneak preview of Alter Eco will air on Planet Green's launch night on June 4 at 10 PM (ET/PT).

After a three year battle the polar bear has won its place on the government's Endangered Species list. But it's a somewhat hollow victory.

Three non-profits, the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), first sued the Bush administration in 2005 to secure protection for the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act. After many hearings, and even more hold ups, the government was compelled by law to make a final decision by January 9, 2008. The government flouted this deadline however, and was subsequently forced to make a decision by May 15 after animal rights activists, again, took the matter to the court.

This delay allowed The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) to complete the first Chukchi Sea oil lease sale since 1991. A press release posted on the MMS' own website boasted that the sale resulted in "667 bids on 488 blocks -- both record-setting numbers -- on the Outer Continental Shelf," with submitted bids "totaling almost $3.4 billion."

The Chuck Sea lies between Alaska and Siberea and is home to one fifth of the world's polar bear population. "Had the polar bear been listed prior to January 9 as the law required, that lease sale could not have moved forward without some substantial additional review of the impacts to polar bears," said Kassie Siegel, who serves as the climate program director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

"After years of delay, the Bush administration was forced to face the reality that global warming has endangered the polar bear and that the polar bear needs to be placed on the Endangered Species Act," said the Republican Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Edward J. Markey in a statement to CNN. "But the administration has also simultaneously announced a rule aimed at allowing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic to continue unchecked even in the face of the polar bears' threatened extinction. Essentially, the administration is giving a gift to Big Oil, and short shrift to the polar bear."

It's estimated that there are between 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears in total on the planet, but the population is expected to decline to less than 10,000 over the next 50 years. Polar bears are only found in the wild in the Arctic. They spend much of the year on sea ice hunting for seals, which serve as their staple high fat diet. But global warming is taking its toll on the Arctic. The region is warming at a rate that is five times faster than that of the earth as a whole. In September 2007, the Arctic ice cap shrunk to a record low, with an additional 1 million square miles disappearing compared to previous years, meaning the polar bear lost an area of habitat equivalent in size to six times that of California.

Despite the fact that polar bears (and the planet) are on such thin ice, the government has its eye firmly on the gas pump, and is far more concerned about the interests of big business. While adding the majestic creatures to the endangered species list, the Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne, cautioned that the Environmental Protection Act should not be "misused" to regulate global warming.

"Listing the polar bear as threatened can reduce avoidable losses of polar bears. But it should not open the door to use of the Endangered Species Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, power plants, and other sources," said Kempthorne. "That would be a wholly inappropriate use of the ESA law. The ESA is not the right tool to set U.S. climate policy."

Fortunately for the polar bear, the Bush government will soon be extinct. With even John McCain making environmentally constructive comments in recent days, lets hope they can hold out for a wind of change.

The California Supreme Court has ruled that gay couples should have the right to marry. The Republican-dominated high court voted 4-3 in favor of applying and expanding constitutional race and gender protections to sexual orientation and the institution of marriage.

In his ruling, Chief Justice Ronald George wrote that, "...retaining the designation of marriage exclusively for opposite-sex couples and providing only a separate and distinct designation for same-sex couples may well have the effect of perpetuating a more general premise - now emphatically rejected by this state - that gay individuals and same-sex couples are in some respects "second-class citizens" who may, under the law, be treated differently from, and less favorably than, heterosexual individuals or opposite-sex couples.... Accordingly, we conclude that to the extent the current California statutory provisions limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, these statutes are unconstitutional."

With couples already lining up at San Francisco City Hall for appointments to get marriage licenses, the judgment could be a boon to California's economy should it go unchallenged. Unlike other states, California has no residency requirements for obtaining marriage licenses, meaning that same sex couples could flock to the Golden State for ceremonies (though same-sex marriages performed in California may not be recognized in other states).

As comedienne and GLBT activist Margaret Cho pointed out, "just the ice sculptures alone" could be worth a small fortune to the local economy. Living in West Hollywood, the Daily Mantra can think of a new reason to hold on to our tax refund/stimulus payment when it arrives. With the slew of gay marriages that are likely to happen over the summer we anticipate that we'll have to allocate a rather large budget for wedding outfits and gifts in 2008! Yay! We love a good wedding!

The British Government recently made formerly classified files on UFO's available to the public for the first time. Much of the data was compiled by Britain's DI55 intelligence service, a top secret Ministry of Defence organization whose primary official function was to gather information on ballistic missiles.

Due to the volume of documents that have been declassified under the Freedom of Information act, the release will be done in stages over the next four years, giving officials time to redact names, addresses, and other sensitive information. The first wave of files, covering the years 1978-2002, can be downloaded for free (for a limited period) via the National Archives website in PDF format.

France was the first country to make its X-Files available to the public online. The country's space agency, the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), and its GEIPAN unit, which is charged with the task of investigating unidentified aerospace phenomena (UAP) and making information available to the public, launched a website last year which archived GEIPAN's UFO files.

Now that the UK has opened its X-Files, the US government has come under increasing pressure to follow suit. It's not just Sci-Fi fans and conspiracy nuts that are seeking more access to this information however. Many high level government and military officials, including politicians, CIA and FBI agents, former astronauts and NASA employees, are calling for the government to open up its X-Files and reopen its UFO investigations, which were officially halted in 1970. As detailed in the above documentary (if player fails to load, click HERE to view), many very credible people are saying some very incredible things. The truth is out there....

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Hindu groups in India are seeking to ban Mike Myers' new film, The Love Guru. In it, the shagadelic Austin Powers actor portrays a character called Guru Pitka, who is dubbed the "second best guru in India." Unfortunately not everyone is seeing the funny side of Myer's self-help industry satire, and pressure is apparently being put on India's Central Board of Film Certification and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to ban screenings of the film in the country.

Bhavna Shinde, a representative of the Mumbai-based Hindu organization Janjagruti Samiti, is quoted as saying that Indian censors should, "stop distributing or screening the movie till Paramount has made necessary changes ... so that it will not hurt the feelings of the worldwide spiritual and Hindu community." American-based religious leader, Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, has accused the film of "lampooning Hinduism."

Myer's Love Guru co-stars include Justin Timberlake, Jessica Alba, Daily Show funny man John Oliver (as Dick Pants), and Gandhi star Ben Kingsley (as Guru Tugginmypudha). Real life uber guru Deepak Chopra also has a cameo role, and is featured in the film's publicity campaign. Guru groupies can log on to FavoriteGuru.com to vote for the man they'd most like to follow. So far Myer's alter ego Guru Pitka is leading with 62% of the vote, compared to Chopra's 38%, making it more decisive than a Democratic primary (if you ignore West Virgina like the superdelegates are).

Before Myer's started filming The Love Guru, he spent some quality time with Chopra to get the right vibe. In 2006 the double act appeared on The Sundance Channel's series Iconoclasts, and spent the day together in preparation for a symposium on comedy and spirituality that evening.

Chopra explained the need for laughter in spirituality, saying that, "When your soul responds to the paradox of our existence, to the contradictions of our existence, to the fact that wherever there is joy there is suffering, when your soul recognizes this, it can do nothing except laugh."

Myers closed the show, by saying, "Everything that I've read suggests that enlightenment is lightening up." After recent events, he may want to revise that statement.

A senior Vatican scholar has said it's OK to believe in aliens. In an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano published on Tuesday, Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, who serves as the director of the Vatican Observatory, says that the possibility of extraterrestrial life "doesn't contradict" the Roman Catholic faith and that ruling out the existence of such life forms would be tantamount to "putting limits" on God's creation.

"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" states Funes in the article entitled The Extraterrestrial Is My Brother. "Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation."

The Vatican Observatory is one of the oldest astronomical organizations in the world. It was founded as part of the church's efforts to reform the Julian calendar in 1592. Today the organization serves as a bridge between church and science. With its help, the Vatican has adopted a somewhat more enlightened and conciliatory approach to science and its practitioners since the days when it imprisoned Galileo for his heretic belief that the earth revolved around the sun (and not vice versa, as the church liked to think at the time).

During an address to The Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1996, Pope John Paul II famously quoted Pope Leo XIII saying, "Truth does not contradict truth." Clarifying the church's position further, Funea states that the Bible "is not a science book," and that he believes the Big Bang theory is the most "reasonable" theory to explain the creation of our universe, though he, of course, maintains that the big bang didn't happen by chance, but was instigated by God as part of his universal master plan.

Funes' recent L'Osservatore Romano interview, which has garnered much press, is not the first time the Vatican has gone on the record with regards to embracing the concept of alien life. A colleague of Funes', Brother Guy Consolmagno, the director of the Vatican Observatory's Research Group, which is based at Arizona's Steward Observatory, published a 48-page pamphlet on the subject in 2005 entitled Intelligent Life in the Universe? Catholic Belief and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life. In it, he posed many religious and philosophical questions about alien life: Do aliens have souls? Are they were subject to original sin? Do they need to be baptized and have a belief in Jesus in order to be saved? Do they even need to be saved? And if so, do we have the right to evangelize alien cultures?

Like Funes, Consolmagno is comfortable with the relationship between the Catholic faith and science, and the possibility of alien life. When asked about "how Catholicism would hold up" if intelligent life was discovered beyond our planet in an interview with the Catholic News Service, he responded by saying it would not mean "everything we believe in is wrong," rather, "we're going to find out that everything is truer in ways we couldn't even yet have imagined."

Sex And The City fans can now enjoy all the pleasures that Mr. Big has to offer. To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Rabbit's cameo appearance on the show, Love Honey, the Manolo Blahnik of sex toys, are offering a limited edition version of the vibrator that turned Charlotte into a recluse.

Tall, dark and handsome, the new vibrator is fashioned after Carrie Bradshaw's on/off boyfriend Mr. Big. What's so special about Mr. Big you may ask. Well the manufacturers tell us that he "has extra-long rabbit ears, dozens of gyrating pearls and easy push-button controls." Though the new Sex And The City film doesn't promise that Carrie and her man will live happily ever after, like the gentleman he is, Mr. Big always delivers a happy ending.

Have you just found out your partner's cheating on you with your best friend? Did someone just dump you by text message? Are you likely to burst into tears every time you hear "Nothing Compares 2 U" on the radio? Then Hime & Company could be your dream employers, since the enlightened Japanese company is offering heartbreak leave as one of its many employee benefits.

The company's website explains that, "Many companies have maternity leave and claim they are kind to women because of this... People may take sick leave, yet not for heartache. But people would find it harder to be at work in such a situation, making simple mistakes, doing strange things."

As anyone who's ever shown up to work red-eyed and fuzzy brained after a particularly heinous row with a loved one knows, heartbreak leave makes sense not only for the employee but for the employer too. The recently heartbroken are in no mental state to make competent decisions, or deal in a cool and collected way with fellow workers or members of the public.

Employers may also want to consider the man-hours lost as co-workers rally round to cheer up the heartbroken. All those serial heart to hearts by the coffee machine add up, making a day or two of official heartbreak leave look like sound economic sense.

Those with perpetually tragic love lives have their heartbreak capped at Hime & Company however. Those in their early 20's are allowed one heartbreak day a year, those in their mid-twenties are allowed two, while those who are thirty-plus are allowed a full three-days heartbreak vacation. (The Japanese are famous for their love hotels, perhaps they should have heartbreak hotels with classic back & white movies, tissues and chocolate on tap too.)

Interestingly, none of Hime & Company's workers have taken advantage of the company's heartbreak holidays, though another benefit has seen a much higher uptake rate. 100% of employees have taken advantage of the company's "bargain leave," which is offered to workers twice a year so they can take advantage of the sales. This leads us to conclude that companionship from coworkers and retail therapy tops solace when it comes to dealing with a broken heart.

CO2 levels have reached record highs. According to data published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now stands at 387 parts per million (ppm). This represents a 35 to 45 per cent increase compared to pre-industrial revolution levels, which are believed to have remained steady at between 260-280 ppm for the preceding ten thousand years.

This news comes hot on the heels of a report by top NASA climatologist James Hansen, which calls for target CO2 levels to be reduced to 350 ppm in order to avoid the "possibility of seeding irreversible catastrophic effects." The European Union currently has a target ceiling of 550 ppm, which is the world's most stringent. Hansen, who has repeatedly accused the Kyoto-bashing Bush administration of trying to silence and censor him, fears that unless we take immediate and drastic action, global warming may accelerate at a far higher rate than expected, and life as we know it could end.

He theorizes that a mechanism known as "fast-feedback" will mean that radiation reflecting polar ice caps will melt rapidly, and not gradually as previous models have shown, once a 2-3 degree temperature tipping point is reached. As the ice melts, it will raise ocean levels, meaning that even more of the planet will be covered by heat-retaining water, exacerbating the cycle of global warming.

In the conclusion of a paper submitted to Science magazine last month, Hansen warns that, "If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm."

In order to publicize the 350 ppm bar that Hansen has set, Middlebury College scholar and author Bill McKibben co-founded Project 350. McKibben calls 350 "the red line for human beings" and "the most important number on the planet."

"Everyone on earth, from the smallest village to the cushiest corner office, needs to know what 350 means," says McKibben. "The movement to spread that number needs to be beautiful, creative, and unstoppable."

For more information on the number that will mark our salvation or our doom, go to: www.350.org. To find out how you can become part of the solution, go to: www.wecansolveit.org.

A great workout for students of the Law of Attraction!

Could it be that a little of what you fancy really does you good? I can't help noticing the connection between two recent health stories in the news: one about the positive effects of chocolate, the other about the health benefits of being bootylicious.

The first report talks about how a little fat on your booty actually may be good for you. A study undertaken by the Harvard Medical School and published in the Cell Metabolism medical journal (catchy title) found that there are good and bad types of fat. And while abdominal visceral fat, which wraps itself around organs, raised the risk of poor health, subcutaneous fat, which is found under the skin particularly around the buttocks, appeared to boost metabolism and help regulate the body's insulin levels, and may protect against type 2 diabetes. (By the looks of recent paparazzi photos, at least that's one thing Mischa Barton won't have to worry about).

This study follows hot on the heels of research conducted by a team from the University of East Anglia in England which found that eating chocolate can reduce health risks in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes. The scientists involved in this study are now testing the theory that the flavonoid compounds found in chocolate may provide protection against cardiovascular disease (it should be noted that the chocolate researchers used was especially formulated with raised evels of flavonoids).

Of course, as Mischa Barton can tell you, every square of chocolate a girl eats goes straight to her behind, so we're happy to hear there's an upside to your jeans being a little tight around the rear end (though muffin-top is not a good sign, since that's the wrong kind of fat). I guess next time a woman asks that leading question 'does my bum look big in this?' the correct response may be a resounding, heart-healthy, diabetes aware, 'yes.'

"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are the big three inalienable rights set out in our Declaration of Independence, but a female politician in South America is hoping to build on this, and improve things south of the border for her fellow countrywomen, in more ways than one.

Ms Soledad Vela, a member of Ecuador's ruling party, is proposing that women should have the right "to enjoy sex in a free, fair and more open society" under the country's new constitution, which she is currently helping draft.

Not surprisingly, the measure is not popular in all quarters. One male politician called Ms Vela's proposal "ridiculous," another accused her of trying to enact “orgasms by law.” Ms Vela maintains she is just trying to ensure a better distribution of wealth and rights. Sounds fair to us.

Start the weekend off on the right foot with the highly contagious new single from Goldfrapp, entitled "Happiness," from their album Seventh Tree. Listening to this Sgt. Pepper style ditty certainly put a spring in our step.

If player fails to load click HERE to view music video.

More recommended music:


Morcheeba's Paul Godfrey Dives To The Depths of Depression And Surfaces With The Band's Best Album Ever


Sia Furler: Some People Have Real Problems, But Not This Singer

Foul-mouthed Hell's Kitchen host Gordon Ramsay has called for "stringent" restaurant licensing laws to be put in place in the U.K. to ensure that "produce is only used in season." The Scottish born celebrity chef appealed for extreme measures to penalize non-compliant establishments during an interview broadcast by the BBC today. He has previously met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to voice his concerns about the environmental impact of modern food production techniques.

While the idea of legislating against out of season fruit and veg may seem a little over the top, the reasoning behind Ramsay's appeal for radical action is sound. With food prices rising along with the price of gas, it makes sense to make the most of cheaper seasonal produce that can be grown locally. Such measures also make environmental sense, reducing the impact of high-energy food production methods, and the fuel consumption and emissions caused by its transportation.

"I don't want to see asparagus in the middle of December. I don't want to see strawberries from Kenya in the middle of March. I want to see it home-grown," says Ramsay. "Fruit and veg should be seasonal. Chefs should be fined if they don't have ingredients in season on their menu."

The Daily Mantra couldn't agree more. Food grown locally, and in season, is better for the environment, and better for your health and palate, since produce that is force-grown and transported over long distance loses both flavor and nutritional value.

Click HERE and HERE to find out what's in season now.

Further healthy eating reading:


Vitamins Are No Substitute For Fruit And Veg, And May Increase Mortality


Organic Food Really Is Better So Stock Up On The Top 5 Essentials


The Far-Reaching Benefits of Vegetarianism


Sugar Is The Heroin Of The Masses: Dr. Barnard Gives Advice On How To Kick The Habit


Right Now, Less Cow

A poem for the online world from comic, poet and super highway scholar Rives.

If player fails to load, click HERE to view.

A Los Angeles man has won the right to use his wife's last name following a lawsuit against the State of California that lasted two and a half years.

After he married, 31-year old Michael Bijon wanted to use his wife's last name, but found that though it was a relatively simple process for a married woman to adopt her husband's last name, with the roles reversed, he would be subject to an entirely different process involving a $350 fee, a court appearance, a public announcement, and a whole pile of paperwork.

After getting stuck in a mountain of red tape, Michael and his wife Diana Bijon called on the California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union for a little help with their problem. Following their successful lawsuit, California changed its laws, making it possible for married couples and domestic partners to put their preferred name on marriage and DMV paperwork, irrespective of sex.

This is certainly a change that's long overdue. To quote the ACLU's SoCal legal director, Mark Rosenbaum, "This disposes of the rule in California that the male surname is the marital name to the same trash bin where dowries were once tossed out."

As a writer, I'd used a pen name for almost a decade before I got married, so changing my name after my husband and I tied the knot just didn't make sense. Being a feminist, it also rankled that it was the woman who was asked to sacrifice part of her identity, unnecessarily, and by default.

I've been married now for the better part of a decade, and find the seemingly old-fashioned attitudes and expectations of people and institutions with regards to my surname choice quite bemusing. Much of my family still insists on calling me Mrs. X on correspondence. They know full well that I never changed my name, in part to make a point. I also use Ms. rather Mrs., since I think that the change in courtesy title according to marital status, which is another women only thing, is also anachronistic. I figure that those who persistently call me Mrs. X are making a point of their own about the traditional values to which I refuse to subscribe.

Personally, I've always liked the double-barreled option, which literally brings both sides together with a new family name. Michael and Diana Bijan could have gone this route without a change in the law, but in their case, Michael felt far closer to his wife's father, which is why he wanted to use her last name only. For me, the double-barreled choice didn’t make sense, since my name was also my trademark (and our names joined with a hyphen sounded a little too convoluted).

The current humorous Hollywood fashion for combining names (as in TomKat and Brangelina) actually seems rather sensible to me. If John Mayer marries Jennifer Aniston, they could go by the name Mayerston or Anistayer. Similarly, if George Clooney ever decides to get hitched to Sarah Larson, they have an option of adopting Larsooney or Cloonson as their new mutual family name. At least it'd make for a plethora of interesting new hybrid names (though probably some unfortunate ones too, what if Helen Hunt marries Cameron Crowe?).

Then again, I like that other Hollywood tradition of getting married and keeping the name people actually know you by. That option certainly made the most sense to me. What do you think?

Eccentric American singer/songwriter Tom Waits staged a fake press conference, which was recorded and posted on YouTube (see video), to announce his upcoming Glitter And Doom Tour. With some recorded crowd noise for company, Waits explained that he was guided by astrology when routing his tour, noting his journey will mirror the snake-like Hydra constellation. The fun loving and free spirited Sagittarius singer, whose vocals have been likened to a two week old cigarette stub at the bottom of an emptied glass of bourbon, further explained that he picked the towns he's due to play according to the principle of Pehdtsckjmba (pronounced peh-ska-JIM-bah).

Click HERE to view tour schedule.

We may want to consider re-writing the old adage “you can never have too many friends,” especially when in comes to social networking websites. This short video clip from British comedy group Idiots of Ants highlights the many perils of online friendships on services such as MySpace and Facebook.

Having said that, we’ve yet to meet a Daily Mantra reader we didn’t like (though that could change). If you’d like to become our friend, you can hit us up on both MySpace and Facebook.

If player fails to load, click HERE to view video.

Today (May 7) is the seventh annual Great American Grump Out, during which no grumping, frowning, grousing, or complaining is allowed. If being happy for the hell of it for a full 24 hours sounds like too much to bear, consider this: according to Harvard's Men's Health Watch, "optimists enjoy better health than pessimists."

Analyzing data from a series of studies, researchers found that:

• Optimistic coronary bypass patients were only half as likely as pessimists to require re-hospitalization.
  
• Highly pessimistic men were three times more likely to develop hypertension.
  
• People with positive emotions had lower blood pressures.
  
• In one study, the most pessimistic men were more than twice as likely to develop heart disease compared with the most optimistic.
  

Concerned about which came first, the chicken or the egg, or in this case optimism or good health, researchers adjusted their results to take into account pre-existing conditions, but still found that an optimistic outlook had significant positive health benefits.

So give a glass half-full outlook a try, at least for the rest of the day. You might find you like it!

Researchers have found yet another good reason to stop smoking and reduce pollution. They've discovered that airborne toxins may be a contributing factor for the onset of male pattern baldness.

Scientists from the University of London studied hair follicles from balding men and found that the process of hair growth was impaired by oxidative stress.

"We think any pollutant that can get into the bloodstream or into the skin and into the hair follicle could cause some stress to it and impair the ability of the hair to make a fiber," says Mike Philpott, one of the researchers involved in the study.

"There are a whole host of carcinogens and toxins in the environment that could trigger this. It suggests that if you stop smoking or live in an area with less air pollution, you may be less predisposed to hair loss."

The team are now planning further tests to discover which compounds are most likely to interfere with the hair growth process.

Tom Cruise has launched his own website as a “thank you” to his fans, and to mark his quarter century in showbiz celebrations. Any references to Scientology are notable by their absence from the site.

Cruise’s very public proselytizing on behalf of the church caused a major rift between the actor and his one-time studio boss Summer Redstone in 2006. After “operation normal” went into effect, with Cruise’s image repairing Oprah appearances, it’s also notable that Cruise and the Paramount chief have kissed and made up, paving the way for the next Mission Impossible installment.

If those two superpowers, who were once divided by faith, can get along for the greater good, what’s stopping China and the Dalai Lama from following suit? Can’t we all just get along?

Are you boring your goldfish to death? It seems we may have seriously underestimated the intelligence of our tiny, finned friends, who, it turns out, can be just as smart and playful as dogs.

"There is mounting evidence that fish are more intelligent than people give them credit for," says Dr. Dean Pomerleau. The 41-year old fish expert, who lives in Los Angeles, California, has developed a fish training program that will help owners realize the full potential of their aquarium bound pets.

"With the correct tools and the basic promise of a food reward, fish can very quickly learn complex tricks," claims Pomerleau, who used his techniques on Comet, the 2-year old common goldfish, who is featured in the promotional video for his owners' Fish School Training Kit (click HERE to view).

There is nothing common about Comet though, since the goldfish is well on his way to snagging the fish trick world record, which is currently held by fellow Fish School alum Albert Einstein, a 3-year old calico fantail also owned by Pomerleau.

"We've used techniques that we've customized for pet fish, but are based on those used to train dolphins and other marine mammals," explains Pomerleau, who uses fish food as an incentive for correctly executed stunts. "The basic idea is to reinforce successive, increasingly accurate approximations of a desired behavior…with a little time and repetition, the animal will learn to perform the complete behavior to receive the reward."

Pomerleau's Fish School Kit, which is available via Amazon.com, gives you all the apparatus, tools and training you need to teach your star swimmer basketball, fetch and football. With the help of an instructional DVD, which is also included in the kit, you'll also learn how to teach your fish new skills such as the limbo, slalom and tunneling.

With Pomerleau’s Fish School raising the bar on the fun that can be had with fish, he hopes that people will see these innately social and curious creatures in a new light. "Now people in the market for a dog might want to consider a fish instead.”

A meeting between representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government took place in Shenzhen, north of Hong Kong this past Sunday (May 4). It's the first time that the two sides have come together for direct dialog since violence erupted in Tibet in March.

According to a press release on the Dalai Lama's official website, his special envoy Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen traveled to China for the talks, which began on Sunday morning.

It is too soon to say if any tangible progress has been made beyond the window dressing the Chinese needed to placate various governments around the globe, including our own, who've been putting mounting pressure on China to resume talks with the exiled Tibetan leadership in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. However, China's official news agency, Xinhua, has reported that a second round of talks are planned, though a firm date for these has yet to be announced.

Our favorite camellia sinensis-pusher Dr. Tea explains how the three magic compounds found in tea (caffeine, L-theanin and EGCG) work together to promote health, beauty and weight loss (click HERE to view video).

Further Reading:

• Just Don't Call That Store Bought Wizened Foliage Tea
  A gourmet tea guide.
  
  
  
• Tea Mine
  The best tea cups and infusers.
  
  
  
• Drink Your Way To A Better Life With The Ultimate Tea Diet
  How tea can help you attain and maintain your ideal weight.
  
  
  
• Dr. Tea's Top Five Tips To Help You Drink Your Way To A Healthier Life
  How to drink tea at night and still get to sleep.
  
  
  
• Just Say No To Milk And Two Sugars
  How the things you add to your tea may counteract its health benefits.
  
  
  
• Get Blissed Out On Caffeine - And Perhaps Prevent Cellulite And Cancer Too
  The hidden power of caffeine.

Tantra teacher and practitioner Scott Catamas claims that "by combining our sexuality with our spirituality" we can make our "relationships more profound." He also tantalizes with the prospect of never-ending orgasms, which he says make women "very, very happy."

We're sure there's a lot to be said about the benefits of tantric sex. Its focus on eye contact and intimacy is very appealing, but while endless orgasms may sound like a lot of fun, in practice we know that busy schedules (and limited energy levels) rarely allow for never-ending fun (of any kind).

So before we stress out about barely attainable goals and orgasms lasting longer than an MTV Real World marathon, we thought we'd bring some balance into the equation by drawing attention to a recent US study which aims "to dispel unrealistic beliefs among couples that good sex should go on for a long time."

The survey, which was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, found that a modest 13 minutes was considered the most "desirable" amount of time for penetrative sex to last by those interviewed. Intercourse lasting between 3 and 7 minutes was considered "adequate,” less than three minutes was "too short," but over 13 minutes was "too long."

So, while it might be fun to give tantra a whirl, if both partners have the time, energy and inclination, the thrill, timeliness and therapeutic benefits of a 3-minute quickie should not be underestimated. All good things do come to an end, quality can be more important than quantity, and a highly "desirable" 13 minutes should not be underappreciated by those who may just have unrealistic (KY-sponsored) expectations.

Further Reading:
The Art of Sexual Ecstasy by Margot Anand

TomKat welcome Oprah into their Colorado home for an interview the talk show host promises will "clear up everything." Does Tom pull-off his most challenging role to date, namely acting normal (a word Oprah uses in her interview repeatedly). Will this intimate tête-à-tête repair the superstar Scientologist's damaged reputation? As Star magazine reports Katies Holmes is to spend 3 days at Scientology's Gold Base boot camp, is that even possible at this point? Watch the clips and decide.

Speaking at a gathering marking Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the White House yesterday, George Bush said he was working "to extend the hope of liberty throughout Asia." The president then followed up with a series of statements about the situation in Tibet. He said that any dialog between the Chinese government and representatives of the Dalai Lama must be "substantive" and address the "legitimate concerns" of the Tibetan People.

"I welcome the recent statements by the Chinese government expressing its willingness to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama, precisely what I had suggested (Chinese) President Hu Jintao do," said Bush. "It's important that there be a renewed dialogue -- and that dialogue must be substantive so we can address, in a real way, the deep and legitimate concerns of the Tibetan people."

As we first reported on April 25 (see story), the official Chinese government press agency, Xinhua, announced that direct talks between government officials and a representative of the exiled Tibetan leader were likely to begin in the "coming days." However the Dalai Lama's spokesperson, Tenzin Taklha, said that though they would "welcome" an invitation, they had yet to be contacted directly by the Chinese government with regards to such talks.

Fans of the film What The Bleep Do We Know!? will know all about Japanese scientist Dr. Masaru Emoto's work with well intentioned water, which is further explored in the new film Water (and comes conveniently pre-packaged by our friends at H2Om). Now it seems that chocolate can benefit in a similar way from good vibrations.

Dr. Dean Radin, the Senior Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, an organization dedicated to expanding science beyond conventional paradigms, looked into the matter. In double blind tests he found that "there was a 67% improvement in the mood of the people who ate the intentional chocolate."

"I think intentional chocolate reminds us in a particularly delicious way that at some fundamental level mind and matter really are deeply interconnected," notes Radin in this Current TV podcast.

The Daily Mantra is happy to hear there's yet another possible benefit to eating our favorite health food. We just have one question: Where can we volunteer for those double-blind chocolate chomping tests?

Further Reading:

• Get Your PMS Fix
  
• Chocolate And Hemp: Our Kind Of Alternative Medication
  
• Chocolate May Reduce Pregnancy Complication Risk
  
• Chocolate May Cut Diabetes Risk