News Slip up! Reporter says BLIND man is GAY!

Sometimes it's just fun to laugh!

Lessons in living: Final lecture from professor with pancreatic cancer

Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.

"Almost all of us have childhood dreams; for example, being an astronaut, or making movies or video games for a living. Sadly, most people don’t achieve theirs, and I think that’s a shame. I had several specific childhood dreams, and I’ve actually achieved most of them. More importantly, I have found ways, in particular the creation (with Don Marinelli), of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center of helping many young people actually *achieve* their childhood dreams." - Randy Pausch

Meditation Boosts Mood, Immune System

Meditation May Put a Positive Spin on Emotion, Immune System

WebMD Medical News

Aug. 18, 2003 -- Boosting your immune system may be as simple as putting mind over matter.

A new study shows that meditation can help produce antibodies against illness and also lift your spirits.

Researchers say biological effects seen in the study are long lasting -- up to four months after the end of meditation training. Previous research has focused only on more immediate effects. The new study appears in the latest issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

Researchers measured brain electrical activity in 48 people at several points in the study. At each measurement, the volunteers wrote about one of three of the most positive and negative experiences in their life.

To measure immune response, researchers took blood samples twice after the volunteers got a flu shot. This allowed them to examine how many antibodies the volunteers produced in response to the vaccine.

Additionally, half of the volunteers took a meditation class that met once a week for two to three hours. Researchers also assigned formal and informal meditation practices that they were supposed to do at home one hour a day, six days a week -- with the help of guided audiotapes.

Meditation Helps

Meditation helped on two fronts. People who meditated had the most brain activity in the part of the brain linked to positive emotion and they had higher levels of antibodies than those who didn't meditate. Researchers also say that the increase brain activity was directly linked to the antibody increase among people who meditated.

Researchers say more studies are needed in this area, calling the results "informative but saying little about changes that are more enduring."

Help stop abuse of these "lab" monkeys @ UCSF

YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!

It’s hard to believe but around the country, taxpayers’ dollars are being used to fund cruel animal tests—even though they often violate the Animal Welfare Act! It’s truly horrifying. PCRM is in the midst of a lawsuit against the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)—the latest example of this unlawful cruelty to animals. But we need your help! A letter you have just received from me (or are about to receive) has more details on this disturbing case. You’ll read about how a group of concerned citizens alerted us of the atrocities at UCSF: Drilling holes into the skulls of monkeys Bolting metal restraining devices into their heads Making them “work” to receive “rewards” like water PCRM relies on activists like them—and like you—to help us protect and save more animals from unnecessary death. We must work together to make a difference! I urge you to help protect animals in your own community. You can find tools to help you on our Web site. But to make an immediate difference and help our case against UCSF, please make a generous gift to PCRM today. Your contribution will help PCRM show that concerned citizens will not allow schools or corporations to violate the Animal Welfare Act or use state or federal funding to torture defenseless animals. Please do your part—make a donation today! Thank you for all you do, Neal Barnard, M.D. PCRM President

Hidden Anger of Gay Men- Wonder Why?

Univ. of Vermont Nearly Boycotts Red Cross Blood Drive Over Exclusion of Gay Men

The University of Vermont’s student government narrowly voted Tuesday against forbidding the American Red Cross to collect blood on campus after considering a resolution to boycott drives because gay men aren’t allowed to donate, according to the Associated Press.

After more than three hours of discussion and debate, the university’s Student Government Association rejected the boycott resolution 16-15.

The federal Food and Drug Administration enacted the policy in 1983, and all blood collection organizes must follow it. Supporters of the student government resolution argued that FDA policy contradicts the university’s nondiscrimination standards.

Gay men who aren’t allowed to donate blood “are essentially being told that they’re bad and dirty,” Dot Brauer, director of the school’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Questioning and Allied Services, told the AP. Hosting the Red Cross on campus, she said, “indicates our agreement.”

Red Cross officials told the AP on Tuesday that they disagree with FDA policy and have requested that it be changed. (The Advocate)