Stroller maker Maclaren USA announced a massive stroller recall early Monday morning.  This recall affects over 1 million strollers and is a direct result of numerous reports that children’s fingertips are being lacerated or in some instances, severed by a hinge located on the side of the stroller.  This dangerous event occurs when the stroller is being folded or unfolded.  Maclaren is voluntarily recalling umbrella strollers sold in the United States and is working with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to handle the recall.

The following models are included in the recall:
Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, Techno XLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.

Maclaren USA notes that their Umbrella Strollers meet all U.S. ASTM & JPMA compliance standards, guaranteeing their umbrella strollers meet the maximum safety standards available. Nonetheless, they are conducting the voluntary recall to alert the operator when opening or closing the stroller of the possible risk of injury.

You may visit the company’s website for more information at www.maclaren.us/recall or you can call (877) 688-2326.  You can also get information about the recall by visiting the Consumer Products Safety Commission website.

Affected strollers were sold as early as 1999 through November 2009 retailing for between $100 to $360.

Health care legislation has shifted over to the Senate, and the euphoria of House passing its version of the health care legislation is over.  The White House is encountering revolt from some Democrats who are left wondering what happened to the President’s promise to slow the upward trajectory in health care spending.

President Obama has trumpeted cost containment as one of the major themes of his health reform agenda, and in May vowed to reduce the growth of health care spending by 1.5 percent, or $2 trillion, over the next ten years.

Unfortunately for the President, many are skeptical that the bill passed by the House, and the Senate’s version would be able to realize the promised savings.  Instead, many believe we are entering into a trap – one that promises more spending rather than savings.

Both the House and the Senate are promising cost-saving measures, to the tune of $440 billion in Medicare savings with the House bill and $420 billion with the Senate’s version.  The pragmatists argue that it is one thing to extract savings out of an inefficient system, but quite another to alter the way that the health system does business today.

The jury is still out on whether the White House will be able to influence legislation that would institute health care delivery reforms and its associated costs savings.  Regrettably, deals the White House made with the hospital industry could prove to be a hindrance to the quest to significantly lower healthcare delivery costs.

Taylor Swift was the host on this week’s Saturday Night Live. Most people would think that she would make fun or at least insult Kanye West for his stunt on a VMA. We can remember that Kanye got up on stage while Taylor was getting her award, and said to the whole world that Beyonce should have won the award. Of course, this embarrassed Taylor and angered a lot of fans.

However, instead of attacking Kanye, she attacked her ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas. She sang a song with the lyrics, “Hey Joe, I’m doing real well! I’m hosting SNL!” The first time she talked about her break-up with him, she was obviously hurt. To make things worse, Joe broke up using the phone, taking less than 30 seconds of his time.

Taylor Swift also sang a song for Taylor Lautner, and even blew a kiss for him. The two Taylors are rumored to be dating, showing affection on a hockey game. It looks like Swift have really gotten over her recent problems. Although her acting skills need a little polishing, her voice and comedy skills make up for it. With sold-out concerts, chart-topping singles, and a new love life, things are going pretty well for her.

The White House is publicly fighting with Fox News, arguing that it tries to damage the Obama administration. Recently, a Democratic political strategist claimed that after an appearance on Fox, he got a call from a White House official. The caller, in a threatening voice, told him not to guest in the news channel again. If the strategist refused to comply, the official implicitly suggested that his career will be affected.

There are two sides to this story. White House Communications Director Anita Dunn denied the accusations. Instead, she said in an e-mail that people are even advised to appear on the network. On the other hand, Fox News contributor Patrick Caddell maintained that some Democrat specialists are told to stay away. Names were not given to avoid problems.

Several experts say that consultants are forced to reject Fox, because the White House wants to isolate the network and compelled to follow them. On a Sunday in September, in an obvious separation, President Obama appeared on five talk shows, but not one came from Fox. The gap between the two leaves others more critical than ever. Instead of attending to the needs of the people, the White House spends time proclaiming a conflict on a news organization.

Lots of artists lip-synch on their concert, and the latest one found guilty: Britney Spears. Some of her fans know she won’t be singing live for the whole concert, but others were shocked by this new revelation and stormed out in large numbers.

The concert was held in Perth, Australia where the officials are now targeting lip-synching artists. Virginia Judge is the Minister for Fair Trading for New South Wales. She wants to make sure that before buying tickets, the fans know what they’re in for. They shouldn’t be fooled into thinking Britney will sing live, since some paid as much as $1300 a ticket. One plan for this action is to oblige promo ads and tickets to say that a part of the show will be pre-recorded.

In order to have a spectacular show, many artists lip-sync. If they don’t do this, how are they to dance to their amazing choreography? Honestly, not that many artists are as gifted as we think. It takes a lot of editing work to come out with the perfect album. Britney is a very talented artist, but it doesn’t mean she’s superhuman. If fans really love her, they would still go to her concerts, knowing they will have a great time.

Most of the kids are busy these days. With school, extracurricular activities, and finances among others, problems are always around the corner. The major cause of stress for children is doing well in school. Surprisingly, the second major cause is the financial issues of their parents. A study conducted by the American Psychological Association, say that 30% of kids age 8-17 worry about their parents having enough money. Only 10% are pressured over extracurricular activities and 8% have problems with parental relationships.

Parents usually mistake the causes of their kids’ stress. They think that activities and family relationships are the major reasons for stress. The same research asked parents if they think their stress levels have an influence on kids. 63% disagreed, but psychologists don’t think so.

Kenneth Ginsburg, a pediatrician and professor, say that young people “absolutely worry about the things they see us worry about.”

There’s really no use for hiding problems from children when they already know about it. The best way to deal with it is communication. They should talk to their kids and explain why things are happening the way they are. Trying to solve it together will help, but some things can’t be changed. The problems of the world, for example, are impossible to eradicate.

A man believed to be dead came to his own funeral. Jorge Goncalves, age 59, was thought to be killed in a car accident on a Sunday night. It was in Parana state in southern Brazil. The tradition there is to bury the dead the day after. Coincidentally, the funeral date was Finados, a holiday wherein loved ones visit the dead in the cemetery.

But while Goncalves’s relatives were mourning his death, Goncalves himself was busy drinking sugarcane liquor. He was at a truck stop with friends, having no idea that his funeral was about to take place the next day. As soon as he learned about the mistake, he quickly went to the funeral to let everyone know he’s alive.

According to the police, the body was very disfigured but had similar clothing with Goncalves. Besides that, family members don’t stare at a dead body so the error was made. An aunt and a few friends identified the body, but other relatives had doubts. The mother doesn’t believe it was her son, said something was strange about the body.

The corpse was finally identified Monday afternoon. This time, it was to the right family. The corpse was buried in another state, but the name wasn’t released for the family’s privacy.

The fight among Lindsay, Dina, and Michael Lohan has always been a public feud. It’s usually about money, drugs, and fame. Michael says he intervenes with Lindsay’s drug addiction because of love and concern, but many including Lindsay say he just wants fame. No one would ever know the truth about Michael’s real motive, but Lindsay’s drug habit is public knowledge.

Lindsay has been an actress for many years now. She became a star in Parent Trap and Mean Girls, and she got into a lesbian relationship with Samantha Ronson. The latest controversy? She punched her mother Dina when her intervention was being discussed. Michael Lohan released Dina’s voicemail which says,

“You don’t even know what I’d go through trying to get her into, like, rehab and stuff. She’d like, punch me in the face, kick me out of the car…like you don’t know the (expletive) I went through trying to get her an intervention by myself. It was very difficult. She’s really sad and really hurt and really…despondent. I told her not to go to L.A. at 18…she did. I couldn’t leave these other three to go get her and it was, like, a mess.”

Before that shocking voicemail tape, Michael released another voicemail, with Lindsay sharing her woes. However, it was a long time ago and Lindsay is disappointed that his father released a private conversation.

Beyonce is set to go on a concert tour in North Africa. The first stop is Egypt, but here, she gets very nasty remarks about her show. The worst one is “insolent sex party”, said by Islamic conservatives. Egypt’s major religion is Muslim, and they are known to wear headscarves and clothes that hung over their whole body. This is in contrast to Beyonce’s giant posters that advertise the event on Friday evening. Here, she wears a very revealing and sexy outfit where a huge amount of cleavage and bootilicious legs are shown.

Islamic lawmakers have done everything to stop the concert, including a Facebook campaign which has nearly 10,000 supporters. But this didn’t dampen the spectacular concert about to happen in the luxurious Red Sea resort. Thousands will still go despite the big protests.

Just last month, Beyonce cancelled her concert in Malaysia because of the same thing. There, women artists are required to cover their bodies from the shoulder down, without showing any cleavage.

Egyptian officials collaborated with the organizers for the event because this will help boost Egypt’s tourism. They especially want to promote the culture and art, and with Egypt’s long history, this isn’t very hard to do.

In a shooting spree that killed 12 people and wounded 31 more, Fort Hood will be remembered in history as having the worst mass shooting in a military base in the United States. The suspect, first believed to be dead, is Nidal Malik Hasan. He is an Army psychiatrist who’s supposed to be deployed overseas to Afghanistan. Although he was shot four times, Hasan is alive but in a critical condition.

The exact location of the shooting was in the Soldier Readiness Center. As one of the most populated places there, it holds hundreds of soldiers and civilians. Hasan used two pistols, but none of those were issued by the military. He would have been stopped earlier if the soldiers were ready with guns. However, Fort Hood is a military base where soldiers feel safe and don’t carry guns unless they have training.

According to an anonymous official, Hasan’s previous job was in Walter Reed Medical Center. There, he got a low performance evaluation and transferred to Fort Hood this July. The motive for the mass murder is not yet known. His family is distressed about the event and wants to apologize to all the victims. With this tragedy, hopefully security will be tightened everywhere.

Global warming has affected the whole world in big ways, like having a warmer climate and more calamities. But scientists are now considering two options: remove carbon dioxide in the air or put lots of sulfur in the atmosphere. The first option has severe effects on marine life, so the second is being considered more. The sulfur idea was gotten from the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, which cooled the Earth by 0.9 degree Fahrenheit.

It will take billions of dollars a year to do this. Military jets will have to fly over the atmosphere to put these chemicals. There will also be negative effects in doing this option. Droughts will frequent Africa and Asia, oceans will become more acidic, and solar energy will be less productive. And the blue skies everyone loves? Since putting aerosol in the atmosphere will fog the skies, scientists say the sky will rarely be blue.

The Institute of Physics is against this alternative. Efforts are being made to stop global warming, but with this new option available, governments will no longer be firm with the policies regarding climate change. Geoengineering should only be used when we no longer have any choice. Otherwise, it is better to stick with how nature does things.

It has been months after Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna, but the media’s interest in them still hasn’t died down. In a recent interview by Glamour magazine, Rihanna talked about the February assault experience and how she felt after seeing police photos of her bruised face. She said the photo offended her, and was disappointed that the police who leaked her photos were also women.

The whole world watched the whole incident. With helicopters and reporters hounding her and her house, it was easy to watch. She said it “felt like people were making it into a fun topic on the Internet, and it’s my life.”

Rihanna didn’t know her decisions had a lot of impact on people, especially her fans. She feels stronger now. She particularly wants to help abused women who can’t speak for themselves because “domestic violence is a big secret.” The good thing about Rihanna’s situation is that people learn about the widespread abuse and do something about it.

Chris Brown pleaded guilty to the felony charges. He was accused of choking, biting, and hitting Rihanna on their rented sports car. They were on the way to a video music award when it happened. He has been sentenced to five years’ probation, six months of community labor, and one year of domestic violence counseling.

For decades now, Russia has tried to control the alcohol consumption of its people. They are number one in alcohol consumption, forcing its government to do something. The Kremlin was able to manage the problem with casino gambling by prohibiting it this July. However, drinking is a bigger problem because it’s already a part of the Russians.

Each Russian drinks about 4.75 gallons of pure alcohol each year, double the number considered dangerous. Studies have been made to see how deeply alcohol affects Russia. In 1990, the death of more than half the people in Siberia aged 15-54 is caused by alcohol.

One way to solve this problem is by raising the price of vodka. Today, half a liter of vodka only cost $2, significantly lower compared to other countries. A harder but surer way of dealing with alcohol consumption is by closing down the unlicensed distillery because they compose a large part of the industry.

The drunk tank in Mytishchi, Russia gets a number of drunkards everyday. This gets worse during payday, and the government can’t do anything about it. The only punishment of those brought to the drunk tank is a small fine: $3.50. It hasn’t changed since the Soviet times.

Dickinson State University in North Dakota mourned three of their students who were found dead in a pond. Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of San Diego; Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba were on a stargazing trip riding a Jeep when this awful accident happened. Their bodies were found Tuesday night, but they had been missing since Sunday.

The detectives said no foul play is suspected, but autopsies will be gathered to know the cause of death. Whether their vehicle is faulty or the students had been drinking is still being investigated. The three women made a last phone call for help; saying near them is a lake. Signals gotten from that call narrowed the search area, helping authorities locate the car.

It was on Tuesday afternoon that searchers saw trails of the vehicle leading to the waters. After that, planes were sent to see the vehicle’s exact location. It was two hours later that it was pulled out of the water. By then, it was too late.

The three students were all softball players from their college, with a bright future ahead of them. Their family and friends, together with the whole school, will have a prayer service to remember each one of them.

A lot of problems have raged through the Philippines this past few months, particularly politics and the weather. These could affect Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao in a huge way, even his chance of winning his next match against Miguel Cotto. If Pacquiao wins this match, it would be his 7th World Title in 7 Weight Divisions. It’s going to break records.

Last month, two major typhoons, locally known as “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” hit the Philippines. It ravaged cities and provinces, causing big losses to the country. Since Pacquiao is considered a local hero, it would somewhat be his responsibility to help his fellow countrymen.

Another distraction Pacquiao continues to have is politicians flocking around him. He is very famous in the Philippines, so becoming close to him would mean a great deal for the politicians. Since Pacquiao also wants to have a political career ahead, attaching himself to the politicians will help him too.

These diversions from his training will really dampen his chances of winning. Filipinos depend on him too much. They want him to be there when a calamity happens, and politicians want his support especially now that election is coming. Fortunately, Pacquiao is away from the Philippines and is currently training in America.

More than a month has passed since Patrick Swayze died and this is the first time his wife spoke publicly. Lisa Niemi, Patrick’s wife of 34 years, became a guest on Oprah and talked about their problems that never became public. She said that in 2003, they separated for a year because of his drinking problem and “very dark thoughts”. She didn’t want to see him suffer so she just left him. But they reconciled after that and became happy again until his pancreatic cancer was discovered almost two years ago.

The couple never talked about death because they were “too positive” to do so. In his final days, Patrick relied heavily on pain medication to ease his discomfort, and wasn’t usually aware of Lisa’s presence. On September 14, 2009, Swayze finally died at the age of 57.

When Patrick starred in the movie Ghost, Lisa thought she wouldn’t want to see visions, unlike Demi Moore’s character there. But now, that perspective has changed. She would say, “Please show yourself. I would love to see you.”

After his death, Lisa’s been trying very hard to hang in there. She wants to prove to herself and others that her husband’s belief in her courage was correct.

A recently released study shows that eating junk food elicit the same brain response as using heroin. The study was based on Scripps Research Institute, a non-profit and independent organization. The group of researchers said that the rats who are addicted to heroin behave the same as those who eat junk food.

The experiment was used two groups of rats, one group was given high-fat and high-calorie foods while the other was given healthy foods. After five days of experimenting, the result showed that the first group became accustomed to the junk food. This means that the rats have to eat a lot more to reach the same pleasure they had on day one.

The scary thing was, they would do anything to have these foods. Even after being electric shocked, they will continue to eat the junk food. The second group, meanwhile, stopped immediately. The same is true for heroin addicts, because they do anything to continue using the drug.

If this is absolutely true, then there really is a good reason why some parents refuse to give their children junk food. Because once they become addicted to it, reasoning to them won’t matter anymore. This study isn’t designed to scare the crap out of people, but to educate them about eating a healthier diet.

Adam Lambert, the runner-up for American Idol last season, kissed a girl for his cover in Details magazine. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, except for the fact that he is gay. The photos shot were quite sexual, but Adam had no problem dealing with it. He said he has no problem with kissing women because he does like it sometimes. He finds women attractive, but it doesn’t mean he’s “sleeping with them.”

Adam came out of his closet some time before the big finale in AI. Aside from his boyfriend only known as Cajun, Adam talks openly about his past. For his interview in Details, he discussed his past relationship with another man and the depression he got into because of that. He also said that in high school, he had such low-esteem about his looks. That’s where the heavy make-up came from.

Today, he’s earning a lot from his amazing voice. He signed a contract with 19 Entertainment and gets to work with some of the best producers in the industry.  He already rented a big house in Hollywood Heights and is planning to buy a new Jaguar coupe. He’s really happy with his life right now, living the American dream.

After making headlines because of their differences, Fox News executive Michael Clemente and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs finally met. No details about the conversation reached the public, but it is hoped that the two will finally reach a truce.

The latest clash between the Fox News and the White House came when news anchor Shepard Smith interviewed Republican Chris Christie while his rival Jon Corzine, a Democrat wasn’t. The two are running for the New Jersey gubernatorial position. Smith apologized later for the “lack of balance.”

While this conflict is happening, support has been garnered for Fox by CNN host Campbell Brown. Her prime-time show invited Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and asked her about media biases. Jarrett was asked whether her camp thinks that MSNBC is biased as well. However, Jarrett didn’t talk about the network. She didn’t want to publicly accept that MSNBC is pro-Obama and doesn’t criticize his administration that much.

Brown’s response to this? The White House shouldn’t talk about media bias “because when you just target one side, you reveal your own bias – that you are only critical of those who are critical of you.” They will only lose the trust given to them by the public.

With his autobiography coming up, Andre Agassi is coming clean about his past. Andre is the eighth-time Grand Slam champion, one of the best in his field of tennis. In his interview with People magazine, he admitted to a lot of things, including using crystal meth in the earlier years. However, the drug result was disregarded after he said that his intake was accidental.

Passages from his book also revealed that he had worn a hairpiece during the 1990 French Open and almost fell during one of his game. Also seen in the book are details about his ex-wife Brooke Shields’s admiration for his current wife Steffi Graf. It was stated there that Shields would put photos of Steffi on the refrigerator to inspire her to work out before their wedding.

Agassi also wrote about his past with Shields. He said they dated just after Christmas in 1993 and connected by talking about their assertive parents. He also became very jealous in the set of “Friends” where Shields once became a guest. He walked out after seeing Shields lick her co-stat Matt LeBlanc’s hands.

What troubled him the most was the camera around him. He had to wear a hairpiece before for fear of mockery and criticisms. “Win or lose, they wouldn’t talk about my game. They’d only talk about my hair. I can close my eyes and almost hear it. And I know I can’t take it.”

The question whether John Gosselin will break up with girlfriend Hayley Glassman might be answered on Sunday. That’s when he will apologize for his very public behavior and possibly announce his decision about Hayley.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding John lately, after he and his wife Kate filed for divorce. There’s an extramarital affair, financial misunderstandings, and a lot more. Now, the subject focuses on John and Hayley’s relationship while John is still married to Kate.

John is of Jewish faith with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach as his spiritual counselor. The rabbi has been against John’s sexual affair with Hayley and wanted him to wait until his divorce is final. However, it is not known to the public whether John took his advice.

He did release a statement about the subject:

“I have always endeavored to be a loving father and a devoted parent who serves as a moral exemplar to his eight children. I have therefore agreed to a forum at New York’s West Side Synagogue this Sunday where I intend to publicly apologize in a sacred space to those whom I have hurt. I wish for the public to know my regret at having, at times, betrayed the moral principles that have always guided me.”

After eight years of invading Afghanistan, the last three months have been the bloodiest for the American troops. More than a thousand soldiers have been seriously injured and have to be amputated. Most of the casualties are caused by roadside bombings, so more US soldiers are being sent for support and lessen the bombings. With 350 out of 68,000 soldiers injured, this rate is much higher than the one in Iraq although more troops are there.

Over 1000 improvised explosives devices either exploded or were discovered first in August alone. This is double the number among all the other months. Aside from that, those devices are much stronger now and can destroy bomb-resistant military tanks. The bombs are found almost anywhere: roads, footbridges, foot trails, and even the waters.

Although this is the case, the survival rate is higher now thanks to modern medicine and quick responses. Hospitals work round the clock to provide for the soldiers, and the beds are always full of the wounded people. The hardest part when dealing with the injured is the rehabilitation where constant care and assistance are needed. This problem is endurable as long as more people are saved from this war.

A new metal specialty show for KEXP called “Seek and Destroy” launches on Halloween night and will be on the air every Saturday from midnight till 2 a.m. following the launch.  Quality, metal broadcasts that embraces both the old and new-school swath of metal sub-genres has been MIA from Seattle airwaves, and this show hopes to change that.  Hannah Levin and Tanner Ellison will host.

Hannah at Seattle Weekly has been counting down her top 10 favorite metal records of all time.  Her opening salvo was Girlschool, a female-fronted metal band that absolutely shredded in the early 1980s.  This English band of royal marauders was conceived in 1975, and underwent some changes prior to their explosion onto the scene in the early 80s.  Girlschool most likely flourished from Motörhead leader Lemmy Kilmister’s mentoring, whose management team got involved on the Overkill tour in 1979.  Unlike other megalomanics during his time, Kilmister provided direction but didn’t dictate.  Girlschool released their first single, “Take It All Away” in 1978 and their first album, Demolition, materialized in the spring of 1980.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Levin’s countdown is already on Day 8 and launch day is on Halloween, right around the corner.

With a smiling, photo-op seeking Nancy Pelosi leading the way, House leaders unveiled a health care reform bill on Thursday. The bill promises to greatly expand coverage of the uninsured while alleviating budget deficits over the next decade. It also addresses a public option that is not as robust as some are calling for, but may pass the House nonetheless.

So how much? The bill means a net cost to the federal government of $894 billion over the next decade, but proponents insist that the provisions would generate revenue from new taxes and from savings in Medicare to pay for the cost. Critics argue that Pelosi is conveniently leaving out other measures that would bump the cost north of a trillion dollars.

So who’s getting the shaft? The primary victims of tax increase would be those whose annual income exceeds $1 million for couples and $500,000 for individuals. Many predict the wealthy will find a way around this blatant redistribution of wealth, and that the only people who are going to end up paying for this are Mr. and Mrs. Joe Citizen and their children. The deficit will mount, the government will continue to borrow, and the future generations will be indebted long before they’re old enough to even own a bank account.

Incidentally, the bill requires employers to offer health coverage to their workers and pay a substantial share of the premiums or get slapped with a big penalty. Proponents claim that such an approach would be a useful “prod” to make insurance more available and affordable to employees. Maybe. Or maybe businesses will shutter their doors and business owners will just turn into someone else’s employee. Or maybe business owners will shift their base of operations outside the country. Time will tell. But the possibilities are quite unnerving.

This Sunday, Favre will return to the house he rebuilt with Mike Holmgren in the 1990s. He will lead the Vikings against Aaron Rodgers and the new look Packers in his first game on Lambeau field as a non-Packer. Favre, under the tutelage of Holmgren, became an idol in Green Bay by gun slinging his way to win Superbowl XXXI. He would have bagged XXXII as well, but for the superhuman effort of an old fart named Elway. Favre fell a touchdown short against the underdog Broncos.

Since Favre left the Packers is a messy split in 2007, Aaron Rodgers, former Cal QB, took the helm. Thompson and McCarthy wanted to go with youth, so out went old man Favre. “I totally understood the direction they wanted to go in,” Favre said.

Rodgers was impressive in his first year post-Favre, throwing for more than 4,000 yards with 28 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. This year, he has the second-highest rating in the league, second only to Peyton Manning.

The old wily veteran Brett Favre has been on a mission this season. He has a completion rate of just under 69 percent, 12 touchdowns and look-at-this: only three interceptions. Already, Favre has made the rest of his team that much better. Who would have thought that tight end Visanthe Shiancoe could look so good catching balls in short yardage situations?

So who’s going to prevail this coming Sunday? The old man or the smooth kid? Favre vs Rodgers. In Lambeau. Vikings vs Packers. This will be a good one.

Afghanistan’s election authority defies international pressure to cut the number of polling centers in order to reduce fraud. Instead, the dubiously named Independent Election Commission (IEC) is planning to open 155 more polling stations, each a potential fraud case.

An official inquiry revealed that nearly 1 million fraudulent votes were cast in favor of the incumbent President Hamid Karzai during the primary elections. It was hoped that with the run-off, the number of polling stations can be significantly reduced, so as to minimize the risk of fraud taking place. It would have been bad had the number of polling stations remained the same. But to increase it would be disastrous, insists UN officials. The run-off takes place next Saturday with the IEC scrambling to open of more voting centers. Score one for the fraudsters.

During the primary voting, polling stations operated were operating in insecure areas that prevented election monitors from detering large scale ballot stuffing. Abdullah Abdullah, the run-off challenger, insists he would only participate if 500 polling centers were closed and the head of the IEC was fired. Perhaps he shouldn’t hold his breath.

A western representative tasked with helping with the elections said that this latest development was like a “punch in the stomach, because everything we asked them to do they rejected”. Morale among election workers, already reeling after six UN staffers working with election organizing were killed by a Taliban hit squad in Kabul yesterday. In response to this outrage, the UN appears to have ordered all non-essential staff to leave Afghanistan.

Regardless of what Richard Holbrooke is trumpeting, election observers in Kabul believe a clean vote is not attainable, claiming that “It’s going to be a fraudulent election, we can’t kid ourselves on that…” Some accuse the US and the UK of turning a blind eye to many of the IEC’s transgressions in the first round of voting just so that the process can move forward. Nothing good can possibly come from that bone-headed move. It merely sets a precedent for future bad-boys wanting to defraud the nation.

Mega hit vampire show True Blood is garnering a lot of buzz about their next season. So what is being thrown around? The writers and creators of the acclaimed series were reportedly discussing details of what’s next at the Paley Center this week.

We heard reassurances that Bill and Sookie will be holding strong. Hmmm, how about we split them up to add to the tension? I never did get used to that name, soooookiiiieeeee. Sounds like a sushi dish gone bad. Anyway… Also heard that tons, or as they said it, boatloads of new characters are coming in. Really? Wonder what precipitated that move. New characters, sure. But boatloads? Guess there’s a glut of unemployed actors out there. Among them will be werewolf Alcide. Who? Allegedly still uncasted, but rumored to be appearing starting the third episode. We’ll see. What they really need to add are some more hotties. Female hotties. There are enough male neck biting, blood suckers on that show. We need more of the tender loving type of neck biting, blood sucking battie femme fatales.

Though it’s been said that there will be no out-of-place casting (Snoop can go back to the sidelines of USC football practices), rumors are that Skarsgard appears sans clothing (well, almost fully sans textile) in the first episode of season 3. A big cheer from the contingent who can’t wait to see that. Some of us would rather see Rogue naked.

What’s the scoop today as we prepare to sail away?

The Washington Post is alerting us that the sneaky rats in congress are up to no good again. A confidential House report, inadvertedly placed on a public facing network, allegedly reveals details of investigations into lawmakers; in fact, reports are that more than 30 of those unscrupulous meatheads, including their aides, are being investigated on issues related to defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling. Whatever happened to the “new way of doing things” peddled by Mr. Yes We Can? Apparently, no we can’t have a transparent government because the needs of the few scumbags far outweigh the needs of Mr. Joe and Mrs. Jane.

And the greed keeps manifesting itself incessantly. People keep figuring out how to make money off of the now deceased Michael Jackson, who is proving to be a more lucrative commercial entity now that he’s off to the spirits. The shameless film “This Is It” leads the way, despite protest mounted by the Jackson family, no doubt because they aren’t the ones profiting from it. Now, people are lining up to peddle gifts given to them by the deceased King of Pop. Bidding begins on November 21. NY-based Julian’s auctions will be conducting the event, and people can expect to see a scarf worn by Jackson, the white glove he made famous when he first unveiled the Moonwalk in 1983, and even a Mercedes he gave to his aunt. Like I said, greed keeps manifesting itself. In all, expect to see around 80 Michael-related items, and sadly, 34 of them were gifts given by Michael to friends and fans.