Scientists have found evidence that meditation can make physical changes in our bodies, by boosting parts of the brain and the immune system. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin studied people who practiced “mindfulness” meditation, a technique developed by stress reduction specialist Jon Kabat-Zinn to help hospital patients deal with pain and discomfort. Out of 41 patients, 25 attended a weekly class and one seven-hour retreat, and they also practiced exercises at home. The rest didn’t meditate, so they acted as a control group.
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Israel has greater military capabilities than it did during the Gulf War, and will certainly retaliate against any Iraqi missile strike on them during our war against Iraq. This could complicate and length the war. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he won’t be bound to restraint if Iraq fires weapons of mass destruction against Israel.
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According to Dr. Floyd Bloom, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the U.S. healthcare system is “in imminent danger of collapse,” despite the fact that we spend more on medicine than any other country. He says the system is failing both patients and doctors, and our medical weakness could suddenly become serious during a chemical or biological attack. “The threat of war and the imposition of mass casualties from any new acts of terrorism could prove calamitous for the U.S. medical community’s ability to care for the ill,” Bloom says. An interesting note: This story comes from the BBC and was not reported in the U.S. media.
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The Himalayas have the Yeti, Indonesia has the Orang-Pendek, the Pacific Northwest has Bigfoot. But there is no crypto-primate quite like Florida’s Skunk Ape.

The skunker is famous not only for a smell so powerful that it has been known to drive even swamp fishermen who have not bathed since childhood to crazed flight, it is also known for raising a riot (and a few other things) during its mating season.

According to RV Park owner David Shealy of Ochobee, Florida, two visiting Swedish ladies have found out just what skunker mating season can mean–the hard way.
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