West Virginia write-in candidates include Santa Claus

Sep 25, 2008 There is a Santa Claus in West Virginia, U.S.A. running for president as a write -in candidate. (A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name.)
Known as Thomas O'Connor until 2005 when he legally change his name to Santa Claus lives near Lake Tahoe. Thanks to the state's easy registration rules all the West Virginian have to do is file a form at least 42 days before the election unlike most states which put a number of hurdles before write-in candidates, ranging from requiring dozens of forms to identifying presidential electors for the candidate. The primary reason Santa said he is running is that Obama and McCain have refused for more than a year to address the plight of the 2 million children in the U.S. annually who are abused, neglected, exploited, abandoned, homeless, and institutionalized through no fault of their own. VIA

Santa Claus Homepage

World's shortest man with longest-legged woman & tallest man

He Pingping from Inner Mongolia, China's autonomous region, the world's smallest man sits underneath Svetlana Pankratova from Russia, the Queen of Longest Legs, as they pose at Trafalgar Square in London, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008. Pingping, born with primordial dwarfism, holds the Guiness World Record for the smallest man at 74.61 cms (2 feet and 5.37 inches) and Pankratova holds the Guiness World Record for the longest leg of any woman at 132 cms


Mr Pingping, 20, suffers from primordial dwarfism and was no bigger than his father's palm when he was born. He was flown to Britain from his home in inner Mongolia where he runs a restaraunt. Ms Pankratova, who stands at 1.96m, is a 36-year-old Russian real estate agent who lives in in Spain. The pair were brought together to promote the 2009 edition of the Guinness World Records book, which is launched today.

17 July 2007 Mr Xishun, 56, towers above everyone at an astonishing 7.9ft, 19-year-old Mr Pingping is a mere 2.4ft high. Bao Xishun, a herdsman from Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, was recently married in a traditional ceremony to a 28-year-old saleswoman from his hometown. At 5ft 6" Xia Shujian only comes up to his elbow and is half his age. Mr Xishun was confirmed as the tallest person by the Guinness Book of Records last year. VIA1 VIA2

World's shortest man, He Pingping, makes trip to New York City-Friday, September 19th 2008



VIA
World's shortest man, He Pingping, makes trip to New York City

Keeley vs. Claudia: The sexy showdown

20. September 2008 England's Keeley Hazell and Claudia Ciesla of Germany are looking to do their countries proud as they fight it out in a sexy showdown.

Keeley Hazell: English men have been drooling over her ever since she shot to fame by winning The Sun's Page 3 Idol competition in 2004. Renowned for her amazing figure, her career has since rocketed. The gorgeous gal from South East London has been a constant feature on the covers of men's magazines and in ad campaigns.

Ambitious Keeley also released a popular music video, 'Voyeur', which did the rounds on the internet. Twice named among the top five of FHM's World's Sexiest Women, she's now a household name around the world among red-blooded males.




Claudia Ciesla:
The German stunner is set to challenge feisty Keeley as the toast of England - and Germany. The blonde bombshell from Bamberg made her name by appearing as a BILD World Cup Girl in 2006 as well as being an AUTOBILD Tuning Girl.Claudia Ciesla in Llandudno, Wales for I love dancing in espana

Following the release of her recent single 'I love dancing in Espana' she has jetted off to Calcutta in India to star in a Bollywood film. Claudia is currently shooting an Indian film called '10:10' in Calcutta. Playing the part of a German journalist, Claudia stars opposite Indian film star Soumitra Chatterjee. The multi-talented Claudia certainly has all the right assets to make it to the top.

But German men were given a slap in the face after sizzler Claudia admitted to 'The Sun' that she loves British men! Speaking to Britain's biggest-selling paper she revealed: “They make you feel like a queen.” And she is sure to find a string of suitors after the double-D wonder showed off her unbelievable all-natural curves.

The battle of the breasts was a bust for German BILD girl Claudia Ciesla as voters chose British beauty Keeley Hazell as their favourite buxom babe - both in Germany and in the UK.

In a recent interview with BILD, sexy Claudia challenged Keeley to a friendly duel
in a nice little competition with events like car racing, bungee jumping or skydiving. Claudia explained. "I see the whole thing as a friendly match between Germany and England."

Claudia Ciesla

Keeley Hazell

CClaudia.net - Official Homepage of CClaudia
Official Keeley Hazell Website
VIA BILD.com

Online medical records.

Medical records services, such as Microsoft HealthVault and Google Health, promises an explosion in the storage of personal health-care information online.

While the services aim to make it easier for consumers to access and manage their personal health information, the ready availability of this data also makes it much easier and less expensive for insurers to put your medical history under the microscope. In fact, the number of companies that have legal access to this information runs into the millions, say privacy advocates.

Microsoft kicked off the beta test of its HealthVault service almost a year ago, while Google announced its Google Health service last February and launched a beta in May. While both services are still in beta, each company has partnered with large health-care providers for pilot tests: Microsoft with Kaiser Permanente and Google with the Cleveland Clinic. Microsoft, Google, and other companies that put your medical records online ensure that their security is top-of-the-line. Their services are intended to give consumers greater, not less, control over who sees what by giving consumers personal ownership of their information, according to the services.


Indeed, consumers' control of their health data is not the core problem. It's what happens to your information after its initial release that worries privacy advocates — and with good reason. For instance, a July article in Business Week cited the case of a Louisiana couple denied health insurance because the wife took two medications that set off red flags for a prospective insurer.

Most observers — including privacy advocates — state that the move to store our health records in the cloud is inevitable. In fact, there are many benefits to consumers for having that information available virtually instantly. For example, if you were in a different city and needed to be rushed to the emergency room, your health history would be immediately available to the physicians on call.

The downside is that storing health records online makes it easier for insurers to calculate the odds that you will be more expensive to insure than the next person. That's the rub, say privacy advocates. There is a law that keeps health data from being misused called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. Moreover, there are many exceptions to the law. Additionally, both Microsoft and Google claim their health services are not subject to HIPAA regulation, since they don't offer health-care services themselves.


Patient Privacy Rights offers these recommendations and questions to safeguard your health-care records:-

• Don't even think about using a personal health record (PHR) that's offered by an employer or insurer. These are the last companies with which you want to share all your personal health and daily activities.

• Don't simply rely on a "HIPAA-compliant" PHR. HIPAA has more loopholes than the tax law; millions of businesses can legally access your information without your consent.

• How do you authorize access to the information? If gaining access requires nothing more than having someone guess your password, say "no, thanks."

• Does the PHR provider have the right under its "agreements" to take, sell, or share your information?

• What security does the PHR provide?

For the time being it would be advisable to hold off signing up for any electronic health-records system. Giving more time for the system to be tested out especially the potential for identity theft .

Gambling Website Posts Odds on Sarah Palin Daughter’s Pregnancy

Tue, 16thSept2008 There's a new celebrity in town, Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol about to give birth and that means it's time for online gambling websites to start offering those oh so famous baby odds. The largest most successful sportsbook on the web, BetUS.com posted odds on all things of Bristol Palin pregnancy.

Analysts at BetUS.com posted the following odds on the Bristol Palin Pregnancy: Odds on sex of baby male/female? 1/1 boy 1/1 girl 250/1 twins Odds on whether she'll get married before or after the birth of the child Before 1/1 After 1/1 Not marry the father 20/1 Odds on color eyes the baby will have Brown 4/6 Green 6/4 Blue 2/1 Weight of Bristol's baby at birth Over/Under 7lbs 5 ounces 5/6 Over 5/6 Under Additional Pop-Culture odds, Sports and Newsworthy odds can be found at BetUS.com