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POPSStorytelling is a carrier "Maybe storytelling - from TV to folk tales - actually serves some specific evolutionary function," says Gottschall. "They're not just by-products of evolutionary adaptation."
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POPS3 + 3 = Sick I am under the impression Americans takes pills to sleep, pills to wake up, pills to relax, pills to be more energetic, pills, pills, pills. Why do Americans eat so much medicine? When Heath Ledger died, I remember thinking, "Why is such a young, seemingly healthy man popping prescription pills, like they were M&M's?" Is the difference a quick-fix mentality, short-cutting, or because you are bombarded with medicine ads on TV all the time? Why the obsession with pills? Could it be the profit-driven American healthcare system that coaxes people to think they need all these drugs?
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POPSACORN's Corporate Donors Backing Off Banks and other financial institutions have given millions of dollars and other forms of support to ACORN for decades in response to boycott threats from the organization, as well as accusations of racism and other forms of discrimination in granting personal loans and mortgages. The ACORN campaigns followed passage of the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which was designed to pressure financial institutions to loosen lending standards in order to increase home ownership among poor and minority communities. Legislation strengthening CRA during the Clinton administration greatly encouraged such ACORN activities. Dissident current and former officials of ACORN claim that donations made to AHC and other affiliates are often misappropriated. “There’s no guarantee that any donations are going where they are supposed to be going,” said Ron Sykes, treasurer of the Washington D.C. ACORN and a member of the ACORN 8.
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POPSHouse Attacks Fed, Treasury ... Ron Paul's Measure Approved 
The Fed faces a stinging backlash from legislators from both parties who argue that has too much power and too little oversight. On Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee began debating legislation that would largely remove the Fed from bank supervision over the objections of the Fed and the Obama administration. The Fed audit provision was added to pending legislation on financial regulation that the committee's chairman, Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, had planned to put to a vote Thursday. But he abruptly announced late in the afternoon that the bill wouldn't move ahead until after Thanksgiving. The reason: Ten members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the committee said they would oppose the bill to protest a lack of action to address the economic pain borne by their constituents. Although the economy appears to be growing again, lawmakers face increasing pressure in their districts to do more to boost growth and address an unemployment rate now at
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POPSBeing the Featured Clipmarks Clipper Helping your fellow clippers to be more knowledgeable about what is important is an excellent motivation for clipping. With a bit of cooperative organisation groups of clippers will be able to provide each other and other groups with professional monitoring services.
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POPSReligious leaders file suit: Prop. 8 is "grave threat to religious freedom" Today, the California Council of Churches and other religious leaders and faith organizations representing millions of members filed a petition with the California Supreme Court asking the Court to invalidate Proposition 8. The petition argues that Proposition 8 poses a severe threat to the guarantee of equal protection for all and was not enacted through the constitutionally required process for such a dramatic change to the California Constitution. The petition is filed on behalf of the California Council of Churches, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ, two Episcopal Bishops (of California and Los Angeles), the Progressive Jewish Alliance, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations and the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of California, and the Northern and Southern California Nevada Conferences of the United Church of Christ.
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POPSBushco wrote war pitch BEFORE knowing intel National Security Archive reports the Bush-Cheney White paper "justifying" the invasion was developed a full three months in advance of the intelligence data and analysis that should have served as the basis for that justification; then doctored NIE report to agree with their own White Paper. Only imminent threat mentioned was the possibility of Iraqi terrorism in USA if Saddam regime was threatened - but Bushco deleted it before giving the report to Congress.
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POPSSayed Pervez Kambaksh: Free At Last full story at source: Only a handful of people were aware of the intensive diplomatic negotiations which took place behind the scenes to get Mr Kambaksh out of jail, details of which cannot be revealed to protect those, Afghans and foreigners, who were involved. Hardline Islamists, including a number of political figures close to the government of President Karzai, have repeatedly called for Mr Kambaksh's execution and were fiercely critical when an appeal court reduced the original death sentence to 20 years' imprisonment. One senior diplomatic source said: "The danger is very real and we are well aware that there will be a reaction when it becomes clear that Pervez had gone. It was imperative he was safely out of the way before attempts could be made to block that."
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POPSFormer CIA Officers: Tenet is the Alberto Gonzales of the CIA The letter described Tenet as "one of the bullies." "You helped set the bar very low for reporting that supported favored White House positions, while raising the bar astronomically high when it came to raw intelligence that did not support the case for war being hawked by the president and vice president. "It now turns out that you were the Alberto Gonzales of the intelligence community -- a grotesque mixture of incompetence and sycophancy shielded by a genial personality." ... "You betrayed the CIA officers who collected the intelligence that made it clear that Saddam did not pose an imminent threat. You betrayed the analysts who tried to withstand the pressure applied by Cheney and Rumsfeld.
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POPSIran Prepares For War, While Obama Sleeps! What damage has been caused by Obama’s withholding this information from the world? Yet, he praised the Islamic Republic of Iran and apologized for America’s actions in the Middle East. He held out his hand to a regime that denies the Holocaust while plotting to commit another one, and has a history of lying repeatedly to the international community while murdering away around the world (including its own citizens, uh..subjects). Obama has given Iran more time to develop nuclear weapons. But is there more damage that Obama has caused? He has allowed Iran time and wiggle room to escape the brunt of the one type of sanction that once held promise to restrain Iran: crafting and enforcing sanctions on companies and nations that export refined gas to Iran. In the last year, threats of sanctions on those few companies and nations that supply Iran with gasoline and heating oil have been partially effective. But the serious pressure would have come from sanctions passed by .
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POPSGeneral Wesley Clark Joins Democrat anti-Semitic Wing
I clipped this article as an appalling example of the kind of extremist rhetoric that is being perpetuated by some right-wing political groups. Calling Carter an anti-Semite because of the title of his new book, and do not be fooled, the vitriol is based mostly on the use of the word "Apartheid" in the title, is totally dishonorable and disgusting. Now, trying to tag Wesley Clark as being anti-Semitic, and using his friendship with President Carter as a prime example of his anti-Semitism in a new low in all of this crap. As the editor of an online magazine promoting Jewish culture and lifestyle on the Web, I have no use for people who use criticism of Israel as a determining factor of a person's overall feelings about Jews. It is due to the efforts of AIPAC and other right-wing organizations that American Jews especially are being led to believe that only someone who is anti-Semitic would ever criticize Israel. I for one criticize Israel at times, and I am no anti-Semite.
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POPSWhat Makes People Give? "For those of us who aren’t putting together fund-raising appeals, the real importance of these studies is the glimpse they offer into the human mind, and the clues about how to make the world work a little bit better."
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POPSLiberals Fueled Wall Street Woes Prudent best practices in lending fell by the wayside under pressure from liberal activists and "community organizers" who advocated "Change" to loosen lending restrictions to minorities. If you liked this "Change", you'll just love the "Change" the Trojan Horse has in mind for us.
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POPSMugabe Unleashes Wave of Terror with Mass Abductions Robert Mugabe is a 'dictator in democratic clothing'. The South African Development Community has been urging Mugabe to address the cholera epidemic (which he refuses to acknowledge) and the economic crisis (which he helped create). The U.S. recently gave $600,000 to fight the cholera epidemic. Any aid sent to this country ends up in the pockets and mouths of the ruling elite. Recent elections were marred with violence and intimidation designed to keep Mugabe in office. 'International pressure' and 'sanctions' are not changing anything in Zimbabwe. How can the world stand by and allow this humanitarian crisis to continue? We need a mechanism to rid ourselves of this vermin not give them aid.
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POPSJ-Street: The New Israel Lobby 
It is safe to say that at least one participant in the meeting enjoyed this exchange immensely: Jeremy Ben-Ami, the founder and executive director of J Street, a year-old lobbying group with progressive views on Israel. Some of the mainstream groups vehemently protested the White House decision to invite J Street, which they regard as a marginal organization located well beyond the consensus that they themselves seek to enforce. But J Street shares the Obama administration’s agenda, and the invitation stayed. Ben-Ami didn’t say a word at the meeting — he is aware of J Street’s neophyte status — but afterward he was quoted extensively in the press, which vexed the mainstream groups all over again. J Street does not accept the “public harmony” rule any more than Obama does. In a conversation a month before the White House session, Ben-Ami explained to me: “We’re trying to redefine what it means to be pro-Israel. You don’t have to be noncritical. You don’t have to adopt the party line. It
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POPSIs Our Worship of Consumerism and Technology Making Us Depressed? The Unhappiness Taboo There are many possible reasons for the increasing rate of depression among Americans, but I believe that one important cause is a culture that demands happiness. The pressure to be in a good mood can make people ashamed of not being in one. This "pain over pain" can then result in normal low moods becoming prolonged bouts of despair.
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POPSA prophetic voice needed in healthcare debate Time for the religious and humanist communities to insist that reform itself is not enough: we want the plan that gives "care" priority over "profits" and over "what will fly in D.C." (simply code words for “what those congressional reps who are dependent on the contributions of the health care industry are willing to allow to get through their committees.”)
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POPSTeens Club for Animal Rights These days there are too many bad things that our children can get into...lack of supervision, boredom, low self esteem, peer pressure can all contribute. That's why it's important for them to know what goes on in this world and what part they can play in making a difference. By giving them a voice in something they believe in, is one way to keep their minds occupied. Nothing could feel better than knowing that they are saving the lives of animals...Humane Teen Clubs should be encouraged in our homes and in the schools..Our children need to learn that they can make a difference, everything is not hopeless ...I would be proud to know my child or grandchild joined in the fight against animal cruelty around the world and in their own community
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POPS`Iran nowhere near nuclear weapon` That being the case we have to assume that the ongoing harassment of Iran is about oil - and the USA`s assumption that they have the right to any oil anywhere, endangering us all.
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