Saturday, February 19, 2011

[Peckers_Pics] Model Wars, PICS; Feb 20, 2011-Safe PICS For All Ages



Model Wars, PICS; Feb 20, 2011
Safe PICS For All Ages / Support Keith Olbermann who will be on "Current TV"

Updates on Keith Olbermann  @ ObamaBiden2008 (Update: Keith has joined "CURRENT TV"). Please check with your cable provider to see if you have "Current TV".  If enough people ask, you shall get service.  Expect Keith to begin this summer.  "Current TV's" founder is Al Gore.  Charter Cable does not carry "Current TV".  Keith is a man who stuck his neck out for progressives, as well as the LGBT community.

Updates on slain gay activist - David Kato of Uganda @ ObamaBiden2008

Boycott: "Chick-fil-a" as they are against gay marriage and donate to anti-gay causes.

Consider joining:

Diet & Fitness:

  • Reminder: Did you complete your Diet Journal today?
  • Did you do any physical activity?  If not, make a point of it by tomorrow! 
  • Perhaps our male fitness photos shall inspire you to get Fit!
Health - Wellness - Exercise - Reflections:
Speaking Two Languages May Delay Alzheimer's

LAURAN NEERGAARD; 02/18/11; AP

WASHINGTON --- Mastering a second language can pump up your brain in ways that seem to delay getting Alzheimer's disease later on, scientists said Friday.

Never learned to habla or parlez? While the new research focuses mostly on the truly long-term bilingual, scientists say even people who tackle a new language later in life stand to gain.

The more proficient you become, the better, but "every little bit helps," said Ellen Bialystok, a psychology professor at York University in Toronto.

Much of the study of bilingualism has centered on babies, as scientists wondered why simply speaking to infants in two languages allows them to learn both in the time it takes most babies to learn one. Their brains seem to become more flexible, better able to multitask. As they grow up, their brains show better "executive control," a system key to higher functioning - as Bialystok puts it, "the most important part of your mind."

But does that mental juggling while you're young translate into protection against cognitive decline when you're old?

Bialystok studied 450 Alzheimer's patients, all of whom showed the same degree of impairment at the time of diagnosis. Half are bilingual - they've spoken two languages regularly for most of their lives. The rest are monolingual.

The bilingual patients had Alzheimer's symptoms and were diagnosed between four and five years later than the patients who spoke only one language, she told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Being bilingual does nothing to prevent Alzheimer's disease from striking. But once the disease does begin its silent attack, those years of robust executive control provide a buffer so that symptoms don't become apparent as quickly, Bialystok said.

"They've been able to cope with the disease," she said.

Her work supports an earlier study from other researchers that also found a protective effect.

What is it about being bilingual that enhances that all-important executive control system?

Both languages are essentially turned on all the time, but the brain learns to inhibit the one you don't need, said psychology professor Teresa Bajo of the University of Granada in Spain. That's pretty constant activity.

That's not the only area. University of British Columbia psychologist Janet Werker studies infants exposed to two languages from birth to see why they don't confuse the two, and says bilingual babies learn very early to pay attention better.

Werker tested babies in Spain who were growing up learning both Spanish and Catalan. She showed the babies videos of women speaking languages they'd never heard - English and French -- but with the sound off. By measuring the tots' attention span, Werker concluded that babies could distinguish between English and French simply by watching the speakers' facial cues. It could have been the different lip shapes.

"It looks like French people are always kissing," she joked, while the English "th" sound evokes a distinctive lip-in-teeth shape.

Whatever the cues, monolingual babies couldn't tell the difference, Werker said Friday at the meeting.

But what if you weren't lucky enough to be raised bilingual? Scientists and educators know that it becomes far harder to learn a new language after puberty.

Partly that's because adults' brains are so bombarded with other demands that we don't give learning a new language the same attention that a young child does, Bialystok said.

At the University of Maryland, scientists are studying how to identify adults who would be good candidates to master a new language, and then what types of training are best. Having a pretty strong executive control system, like the lifelong bilinguals have, is among the good predictive factors, said Amy Weinberg, deputy director of the university's Center for Advanced Study of Language.

But people don't have to master a new language to benefit some, Bialystok said. Exercising your brain throughout life contributes to what's called cognitive reserve, the overall ability to withstand the declines of aging and disease. That's the basis of the use-it-or-lose-it advice from aging experts who also recommend such things as crossword puzzles to keep your brain nimble.

"If you start to learn at 40, 50, 60, you are certainly keeping your brain active," she said.
Take Action:

And Now, Model Wars!

This group is called "Peckers Pics."  The English -  slang definition of "pecker" is to pluck at the truth. Therefore, we peck at items such as Gay Men's Health, Male Fitness, Gay (LGBT) Politics & Issues.  In this section you may peck at each photo in order to decide the winner of the "war of the fittest!"  Whereas, who is the model that may inspire you to exercise and "get fit?"  Warning: This may stoke you!
 
Your participation in discussion of health / news articles - appearing in this message is greatly appreciated.
 
Benjamin Godfre
 
VS
Evandro Soldati
 
You Decide!
Manhunt Event; Dallas Texas; Jan 27, 2011
Stoked?
Tool Shed; Palm Springs, CA; Jan 26, 2011
Target revises policy on political donations, but little has changed
Gay Boycott of TARGET Continues!
 
LGBTQ NATION; Feb 19, 2011

Target has revised its policy on political contributions, following a furor that arose last year when it was revealed the retailer had donated money to a political action group that supported an anti-gay candidate for for Minnesota governor.

In July 2010, The Minneapolis-based retail chain gave $150,000 to the Republican-friendly fund "Minnesota Forward," a political action group that campaigned on behalf of gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, a staunch opponent of same-sex marriage, who, in 2007, authored a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage and civil unions.

News of the donation drew protests by the LGBT community, Target became the target of nationwide boycotts, and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) stripped the retailer of its perfect score on its annual Corporate Equality Index, and dropped it from its annual buyers guide.

Target now says it has conducted a thorough review of its policies regarding political actions and contributions, and that a committee of senior executives will review a political contribution before it's made.

The Minnesota Independent reports:

On Thursday, Target announced a new set of policies around corporate political contributions.

Now, before general corporate funds can be used for political donations, they'll have to go through a policy committee comprised of senior Target executives that's "responsible for balancing our business interests with any other considerations that may be important to our team members, guests or other stakeholders," according to the new policies posted on the Target website.

The policy committee will be in charge of those decisions regardless of whether the contribution is to an independent group such as MN Forward or to a political action committee.

The change doesn't necessarily mend any fences with local LGBT advocates.

In December, a report by The Awl revealed that Target continued donating to anti-gay politicians even after CEO Gregg Steinhafel reaffirmed the company's long-standing support for gay rights and committed to reforming the review process for future political donations.

The broad language of the new policy -- "the use of general corporate funds for political contributions is permitted if the Policy Committee determines that would be an appropriate means of advancing issues that are important to our business" --- simply means that Target will continue donating money to candidates who are friendly to the company's corporate interests, regardless of their position on LGBT equality.
"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."
....Jake
 

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All members of "Peckers PICS" are requested to join our "Obama Biden 2008" group as it runs in conjunction to this group.  Both groups shall not repeat articles from one group to another.  However, to gain full knowledge of Gay rights, members must belong to the Obama group as well as this group.  Therefore, please accept your invitation to join. 

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"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."

...Jake (Moderator)



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