SHORTCUT

Crude Oil Falls After OPEC Defers Decision to Cut Production

2008-12-02T11:09:00.000+08:00

By Mark Shenk and Samantha Zee

Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell for a third day after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries deferred a decision to reduce output until its next meeting on Dec. 17.

OPEC said it will use the time to gauge the impact of a 1.5 million-barrel-a-day reduction agreed to in October. The group will trim production at its next meeting, the secretary general said today. Slowing growth means demand will be “much lower” than expected a month ago, OPEC said after a Nov. 29 gathering.

“OPEC sent a Valentine to the bears,” said Tim Evans, an energy analyst with Citi Futures Perspective in New York. “Rather than announce a production cut over the weekend, they said they might cut when they next meet on Dec. 17. It looks like they missed an opportunity to support prices by making a cut sooner rather than later.”

Crude oil for January delivery fell 60 cents to $48.68 a barrel at 11:04 a.m. Sydney time in after-hours trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. January futures declined $5.15, or 9.5 percent, to $49.28 a barrel yesterday, the lowest settlement since May 23, 2005.

Oil prices have tumbled 67 percent since reaching a record $147.27 on July 11 as the U.S., Europe and Japan face their first simultaneous recession since World War II.

Gasoline for January delivery declined 9.84 cents, or 8.1 percent, to settle at $1.1112 a gallon in New York yesterday.

Pump prices in the U.S. have followed futures lower. Regular gasoline, averaged nationwide, dropped 0.5 cent to $1.82 a gallon, AAA, the country’s largest motorist organization, said on its Web site yesterday. It’s the lowest price since January 2005. The fuel has tumbled 56 percent from the record $4.114 a gallon reached on July 17.

OPEC Meeting

OPEC ministers put off debate on a second cut in output in as many months during the Nov. 29 meeting in Cairo. The group will reduce crude production when it meets in Oran, Algeria, this month, OPEC Secretary General Abdalla el-Badri said. Oil demand is likely to drop further next year, he said.

“For sure there will be action” at the meeting, el-Badri told reporters in Tehran yesterday, declining to specify the amount of output that may be curbed.

“The market is oversupplied,” el-Badri said. “We are seeing the stocks are very high.”

Prices around $75 a barrel would be “fair” and would support investment in new fields, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said over the weekend. The global market is oversupplied by more than 2 million barrels a day, Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said.

“OPEC’s postponement of a decision on output combined with the fact that there’s nothing out there to take cheer from about the economy is sending prices lower,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president for energy risk management at MF Global Ltd. in New York. “The path of least resistance remains down.”

U.S. Recession

The U.S. economy entered a recession in December 2007, the panel that dates American business cycles said yesterday. The declaration was made by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a private, nonprofit group of economists based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The last time the U.S. was in a recession was from March through November 2001, according to NBER.

Manufacturing in the U.S. contracted in November at the fastest pace in 26 years, putting American factories at the forefront of a global industrial slump, a report showed today. The U.S. is the biggest oil consumer.

The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index dropped to 36.2, the lowest level since 1982, the Tempe, Arizona-based group reported. A reading of 50 is the dividing line between expansion and contraction.

South Korean Imports

South Korea imported 73 million barrels of crude last month, down 6.5 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in an e-mailed statement. It was the third month that imports declined. South Korea is the world’s fifth-biggest oil importer, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

Brent crude oil for January settlement fell $5.52, or 10 percent, to settle at $47.97 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was the lowest settlement since May 19, 2005.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net; Samantha Zee in Los Angeles at szee@bloomberg.net

euro 2008 news

2008-06-14T00:10:00.001+08:00

The Keys To Quitting

2008-04-18T11:38:00.000+08:00

Studies have shown that there are certain steps or keys to quitting. Your chances of quitting increase if you follow these steps. Here they are:
Get started
1) Set a quiet date for quitting.
2) Change the ambiance. Get rid of all the cigarettes from your home, car and workplace. Do not let others smoke in your home.
3) Remember your earlier try at quitting and the mistakes that you made.
4) After quitting, do not smoke a single puff.

Get support and encouragement
1) Ask your family and friends to support you when you quit.
2) Tell your colleagues and smoking partner not to smoke around you.
3) Talk to your health care provider.
4) It is better to get as much counseling as you can whether individually, in group or over the telephone.

Follow new behaviors and new skills
1) When you have the urge to smoke, engage yourself in your newly acquired hobbies and skills.
2) Do something positive to reduce stress. You can read a book, go for a walk or listen to music to reduce stress.
3) Drink lot of fluids and water.
4) Plan something interesting to do, everyday.

Have proper medications
1) There are different types of medications available nowadays to help you kick the habit.
2) Do not hesitate to ask the health care provider for advice and follow the instructions.
3) The different medications almost double your chances of quitting.

Be prepared to face different difficult situations
1) Be prepared to give more than one try to quitting. Most of the relapses occur within the first three months of quitting. Try to avoid alcohol in between as it lowers your chances of quitting.
2) Your weight will increase if you quit. But do not let it come in between your determination to quit. You can lose your weight by exercise also.
3) Bad mood should not become the reason to start the habit once again. There are other means to counter bad mood than smoking.

It may not be possible for you to follow the steps accordingly, any how there is nothing to lose in giving it a try. So go for it. Just ask yourself why you want to quit and why you failed the last time and you will know the answer.

Where there is a will, there is a way. It is just the determination and strong will power which ultimately helps you achieve the toughest of targets. Same is the dictum that you need to follow if you wanna quit smoking. You know that cigarette is a highly addictive drug. But, since Nicotine has become an integral part of your life, the more you try to quit smoking, the more you find yourself drawn towards it. You are trying to dispel something with which you have been associated for so many years. Even the thought of leaving it requires a bulk of determination and will power.

Does your mind keep wondering about your earlier failed attempts? Does the thought of quitting smoking make you weak at knees? You may also think that you are never going to succeed in quitting. But, wait don't loose heart, it is the very problem faced by all other smokers.

Though nicotine addiction is very powerful, still every year thousands of people quit smoking successfully. But how are they able to do something which you always thought was impossible? While there is no magic formula to make the process of quitting easier, there are certain steps which you can take to drive out the commitment you need to kick this habit.

First of all, you have to change your mind, if you want to change your life. Smoking is all about your psychology. You have to change your attitude towards smoking to get rid of it. Until you don't begin to feel good about quitting, you will get nowhere.

Remember, smoking cessation requires a lot of work and will certainly test your will power. You have to be positive and stay focused. Making yourself aware about the benefits of quitting smoking will surely help.

Negative thought about quitting smoke exist in every smoker's subconscious mind. You have to work on your mental condition to create a solid commitment towards quitting. You should make it a habit to take note of your every thought, feelings and comments that you make about smoking and smoking cessation plan.

Take note of the physical effects like headache, tight stomach, and tight chest. Think about the taste and smell that you are missing because of your smoking habit. Just think about the bliss of nature that you have to stay away from due o your bad habit.

Ultimately, it is your will power and determination which will help you lead a smoke free life throughout. So, think and build it up before it's too late.

Quitting smoking and gaining weight as a result of it are perhaps the most talked about issues among all the smoking populace. You might have also thought about quitting cigarette many a times in the past but the same fear of weight gain might have held your hand tight and blocked your way.

One of the main hindrances in the quit smoking regime of many is the fear of weight gain. This fear is not a fake one but there are reasons behind it. It is very normal to gain some weight after you quit smoking. But dont let it weaken your determination to stay away from cigarettes.

The point is that have you ever thought as to why do you gain weight when you stop smoking? Well, the following are the reasons for it:

1) Smoking burns calories. In case of heavy smoker, smoking burns up to 200 calories a day.
2) As the calories are burnt, a person's metabolism is boosted slightly.
3) Nicotine is also an appetite suppressant. As such, you will gain weight after quitting.

As cigarettes are appetite suppressants. One of the aftermaths of quitting is that your appetite will increase which will make you acquire some weight. Smokers light up a cigarette when others are snacking between meals. We know that nicotine is a stimulant. It interferes with the release of hormones and other signals that trigger feelings of hunger. As a person quits smoking, it is very natural of him to look for something so that he can fight off the urge to smoke. So, food is used as a replacement to fill the gap arising out of your quitting. But, it is only an emotional comfort and hence women are more susceptible to return to smoking to avoid gaining weight. However, there are some constructive ways of fighting weight gain:

1) Regular exercise You do not have to go through rigorous exercise. A brisk walk around your neighborhood will do wonders for your health. It will also help you fight the cravings for smoke.

2) Avoid alcohol You should avoid alcohol completely during this period. You should not increase your chances of relapsing by drinking alcohol. This is because alcohol is high in calories and it is an inducement to smoke.

3) Have patience You have to be good to yourself and look forward to doing a thing at a time. You may fail in all the things if you persist on doing many self-improvement projects all at the same time. Just be patient about the fact that you can decrease your weight gradually.

It is a normal thing to gain 5 to 10 pounds in the first few months of quitting smoking. If you follow the above processes, you may stay in track without gaining much of it. All the best!

Health Tip: Taking Folic Acid

2008-04-12T01:28:00.000+08:00

(HealthDay News) -- Folic acid is an important B vitamin for women -- especially for those who are pregnant or who are planning to become pregnant. It can help prevent serious birth defects of the baby's brain and spine.
Folic acid may also benefit men and women of any age, the U.S. National Institutes of Health says. Some studies show that it may help prevent heart disease, stroke, some cancers and Alzheimer's disease.

You should always talk to your doctor about what's an appropriate amount for you. The NIH site womenshealth.gov offers these general guidelines about folic acid:

* Women who are able to become pregnant should take 400 micrograms of folic acid each day.
* Pregnant women need 600 micrograms daily.
* Breast-feeding women need 500 micrograms daily.
* Women who have had a baby with certain birth defects -- such as spina bifida or anencephaly -- and who want to have another baby should check with their doctor. These women may need as much as 4,000 micrograms of folic acid per day.
* Women who have had a baby with these birth defects and who do not plan to have another baby should take 400 micrograms daily.

Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

Is Pornography Addictive?

2008-01-07T10:49:00.000+08:00

Psychologists debate whether people can have an addiction to pornography.
By Martin F. Downs
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD, MD

In November 2004, a panel of experts testified before a Senate subcommittee that a product which millions of Americans consume is dangerously addictive. They were talking about pornography.

The effects of porn on the brain were called "toxic" and compared to cocaine. One psychologist claimed "prolonged exposure to pornography stimulates a preference for depictions of group sex, sadomasochistic practices, and sexual contact with animals."

It used to be that if you wanted to see pornography, you had to go out and buy a magazine or rent a video. Store hours and available space under the mattress placed some limits on people's porn habits.

Now there are an estimated 420 million adult web pages online. "For the person who has difficulty stopping, more is only one click away," says sex therapist Louanne Cole Weston, PhD.

There's no doubt that some people's porn consumption gets them in trouble -- in the form of maxed-out credit cards, lost sleep, neglected responsibilities, or neglected loved ones. But Weston is one who takes issue with calling problem behavior involving porn an addiction. "'Compulsive' is more appropriate," she tells WebMD.
Compulsion or Addiction

The difference between describing the behavior as a compulsion or an addiction is subtle, but important.

Erick Janssen, PhD, a researcher at the Kinsey Institute, criticizes the use of the term addiction when talking about porn because he says it merely describes certain people's behavior as being addiction-like, but treating them as addicts may not help them.

Many people may diagnose themselves as porn addicts after reading popular books on the subject, he says. But mental health professionals have no standard criteria to diagnose porn addiction.

Mary Anne Layden, PhD, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, was one of the witnesses at the Senate hearing on pornography addiction. She says the same criteria used to diagnose problems like pathological gambling and substance abuse can be applied to problematic porn use.

"The therapists who treat pornography addicts say they behave just like any other addicts," she tells WebMD.

One of the key features of addiction, she says, is the development of a tolerance to the addictive substance. In the way that drug addicts need increasingly larger doses to get high, she thinks porn addicts need to see more and more extreme material to feel the same level of excitement they first experienced.

"Most of the addicts will say, well, here's the stuff I would never look at, it's so disgusting I would never look at it, whatever that is -- sex with kids, sex with animals, sex involving feces," she says. "At some point they often cross over."

Janssen disputes that people who look at porn typically progress in such a way. "There is absolutely no evidence to support that," he tells WebMD.
Why We Watch

Weston says she thinks there are three main reasons why people turn to pornography: to see their fantasies acted out, to avoid intimacy in a relationship, and simply to aid masturbation.

"Sometimes people are just going to it for things they wish they could do in real life," she says. "It fills in a gap in their own relationship. They have a partner who doesn't like to do oral sex and they love it themselves, and they're in this relationship and they want to stay, so they go and look at pictures of oral sex."

In this regard, porn can be part of a healthy relationship, she says, but in some circumstances it can hinder intimacy.

"Then there are the people who are too embarrassed to explain what it is that they really would like to participate in, so they go there secretively, never having revealed to their mate what they would like to try," Weston says.

If they were to reveal their fantasy, they might find their partner willing to go along with it, and they might end up with more fulfilling sexual relationships. For some, however, that would be unacceptable.
Psychologists debate whether people can have an addiction to pornography.
(continued)
Why We Watch continued...

"Some people go there because the intimacy in the relationship is as high as the person can stand it. If they were to unveil the sexual interest which is sort of their closely held secret, the intimacy would be way too high for their own ability to tolerate it, so they save it for elsewhere," Weston says.

Independent of the role it plays in relationships, people also look at pornography just to arouse themselves before or while masturbating.

"I think of porn addiction as a label that's used to put down behavior that's disapproved of socially," Violet Blue, a sex educator and author of The Ultimate Guide to Adult Videos, tells WebMD. "A lot of it is shaming masturbation."

Men are thought to be more easily aroused by erotic imagery than women are, but many women masturbate to pornography, too, she says.

She moderates an online message board for female enthusiasts called the Smart Girls' Porn Club. "I occasionally receive emails from members of the group about different kinds of sexual problems," she says, but none so far have expressed concerns about stopping.

Hahaha

2007-10-11T22:12:00.001+08:00

Small daring boy

SHORTCUT 4 YOU

2007-02-19T09:16:00.000+08:00

Yahoo! Shortcuts are special features designed to help you to find answers quickly. Click the title of a specific feature to learn more about it.
Google provides shortcuts for finding commonly sought utilities and information, which you may have previously found offline or on specialized sites. The results of these shortcuts appear to the right of a tag or specialized icon and above your search results.
The Shortcut Gadget has 4 buttons which practically get your favorite programs under your mouse, whether in the sidebar or floating. To change the button image you just need to click the small button next to the big button you want to change and then browse to the image file you want to put in. To change the button target you just write the command/webpage or browse to the wanted location from the gadget options.
Microsoft Windows and applications shortcut key;
Listing all Computer shortcut keys for major applications.
This is a list of the most common keyboard shortcuts in Firefox, and the equivalents in Internet .
Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews. Find the software you're looking for at Download.com, the most comprehensive source for free-to-try software downloads on the Web.

WHAT IS SHORTCUT?

2007-02-18T09:21:00.000+08:00

The word shortcut may have the following specific meanings, besides its generic meaning of a shorter route or smaller effort but for my blog the word shortcut means:

A faster path for surfers to surf through the world.