ONE FOURTH OF WOOLWORTH'S STORES IN BRITAIN HAVE SHUT THEIR DOORS FOR GOOD

The remainder of the 200 stores are to close within about a week unless a last-minute buyer surfaces for the failed retailer.About 27,000 people are expected to lose their jobs.

The company's debt-ridden predicament is a far cry from the clamour that greeted the first British store, which open in Liverpool, northern England, in 1909 under the FW Woolworth's brand-a subsidiary of the US company.The original US parent stores closed in 1997.Woolworths Australia is a thriving unrelated business-the largest supermarket chain in Australia and a major employer.

BRITONS ARE AFRAID OF THEIR CHILDREN

More than half of all adults in Britain fear the nation's children are beginning to behave like animals, according to a new survey.The children's charity Barnardos found that adults had an overwhelmingly negative attitudes towards towards children,even though most children are managing to stay out of trouble.

54 per cent of adults thought children behaved like animals, while 49 per cent felt children were increasingly a danger to each other and adults.Forty-three per cent said they wanted something done to protect adults from children and 45 per cent believed that many children were branded feral because of their behavior.

Half disagreed with the statement that children who get into trouble were misunderstood and in need of professional help.The survey has uncovered a disturbing intolerance of children in Britain.Words like animal, feral and vermin were used daily reference to children.

50 THINGS YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT OUR PRESIDENT-ELECT: BARAK OBAMA

• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics
• He was known as "O'Bomber" at high school for his skill at basketball
• His name means "one who is blessed"20in Swahili
• His favorite meal is wife Michelle's shrimp linguine
• He won a Grammy in 2006 for the audio version of his memoir, Dreams From My Father
• He is left-handed – the sixth post-war president to be left-handed
• He has read every Harry Potter book
• He owns a set of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali
• He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can't stand ice cream
• His favorite snacks are chocolate-peanut protein bars
• He ate dog meat, snake meat, and roasted grasshopper while living in Indonesia
• He can speak Spanish
• While on the campaign trail he refused to watch CNN and had sports channels on instead
• His favorite drink is black forest berry iced tea
• He promised Michelle he would quit smoking before running for president – he didn't
• He kept a pet ape called Tata while in Indonesia
• He can bench press an impressive 200lbs
• He was known as Barry until university when he asked to be addressed by his full name
• His favorite book is Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
• He visited Wokingham, Berks, in 1996 for the stag party of his half-sister's fiancé, but left when a stripper arrived
• His desk in his Senate office once belonged to Robert Kennedy
• He and Michelle made $4.2 million (£2.7 mi llion) last year, with much coming from sales of his books
• His favorite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
• He carries a tiny Madonna and child statue and a bracelet belonging to a soldier in Iraq for good luck
• He applied to appear in a black pin-up calendar while at Harvard but was rejected by the all-female committee.
• His favorite music includes Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bach and The Fugees
• He took Michelle to see the Spike Lee film Do The Right Thing on their first date
• He enjoys playing Scrabble and poker
• He doesn't drink coffee and rarely drinks alcohol
• He would have liked to have been an architect if he were not a politician
• As a teenager he took drugs including marijuana and cocaine
• His daughters' ambitions are to go to Yale before becoming an actress (Malia, 10) and to sing and dance (Sasha, 7)
• He hates the youth trend for trousers which sag beneath the backside
• He repaid his student loan only four years ago after signing his book deal
• His house in Chicago has four fire places
• Daughter Malia's godmother is Jesse Jackson's daughter Santita
• He says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry
• He uses an Apple Mac laptop
• He drives a Ford Escape Hybrid, having ditched his gas-guzzling Chrysler 300
• He wears $ 1,500 (£952) Hart Schaffner Marx suits
• He owns four identical pairs of black size 11 shoes
• He has his hair cut once a week by his Chicago barber, Zariff, who charges $21 (£13)
• His favorite fictional television programs are Mash and The Wire
• He was given the code name "Renegade" by his Secret Service handlers
• He was nicknamed "Bear" by his late grandmother
• He plans to install a basketball court in the White House grounds
• His favorite artist is Pablo Picasso
• His specialty as a cook is chili
• He has said many of his friends in Indonesia were "street urchins"
• He keeps on his desk a carving of a wooden hand holding an egg, a Kenyan symbol of the fragility of life
• His late father was a senior economist for the Kenyan government

GENERAL MOTORS OPENED A NEW PLANT LAST WEEK IN CHINA

While asking US taxpayers for money, GM is opening a new plant in China.Why not transfer some of the profits from China to the US operations? The joint venture plant will open in Shenyang City and will mass produce the compact Chevrolet Cruze.
This is a pledge to grow operations in China, stated Kevin Wale, president of GM China Group. This is the second plant to open in China. The first plant makes the Buick GL8's and the Buick FirstL and executive wagons.

CHIPPING AWAY AT OBAMA'S CABINET

It seems that the conservatives are chipping away at President-Elect Barak Obama's cabinet little by little. A federal grand jury is investigating whether a financial firm improperly won more than $1.4 million dollars in work for the State of New Mexico shortly after making contributions to PAC'S of Governor Bill Richardson. Mr. Richardson is President-Elect Barak Obama's nominee for Commerce Secretary.

IS PRESIDENT-ELECT BARAK OBAMA CHARTING OUT HIS SECOND TERM WHEN HE HASN'T BEGUN HIS FIRST ?

It seems that President-Elect Barak Obama is doing exactly that. With some of the appointments he has made.I am just flabbergasted that he did not chose other ministers who would have been excellent choices for the invocation. There are mega church ministers in the Washington D.C.area.

I am surprised that none of his transition team has quit. I thought that many of his young group of associates would have been selected, with new ideas. But instead he chose many of Clinton's cronies.

RICK WARREN GIVING THE INVOCATION AT OBAMA'S INAUGRATION, I WILL NEVER LISTEN TO BARAK OBAMA SPEECHES AGAIN !!

I will not give my vote to Barak Obama again. Rick Warren told America that Senator John McCain was in a secured location and did not hear the questions to Senator Barak Obama. When in fact, Senator McCain was en-route to the forum and heard every one of the questions.

I think Barak Obama is trying to win over some of the evangelicals.But Obama is speaking with a forked tongue, and this will come back and bite him. The evangelicals were polled after the forum and all of the crowd said they would not vote for him.

Barak Obama is bending over backwards to please everyone. He and his team are trying to be too perfect and I think that is impossible. I will not be surprised if some of the people he has selected will drop out now.This is not what they came on board for.

WHAT WILL JESSIE JACKSON JR.'S LEGACY BE ? CRUSADER FOR JUSTICE OR SNITCH ?

My hopes were dashed when I heard that he was giving the FBI information for years. Why was that information released ?. I am shocked that he was doing that. He knew that if he became a whistle blower, his career would be ended. Now it seems that it is the case anyway.

I was so impressed with him. He is a better orator than his dad. But I think the powers that be were dreading the thought of Jessie Sr. strolling down the halls of the senate and the White House. I had the same thoughts. Now the politicians in Chicago are wondering what Jessie Jr. told the feds about them.

Now the people in the legislature are going to be leary of him, and will not want to say anything around him. I think it will be very uncomfortable for him in the future. He might be shunned.

WHAT IS GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH'S TRUMP CARD ?

The Illinois Governor is not going down without a fight.He is kicking ass and taking names. And he will tell all if he doesn't get a deal. He doesn't want to spend thirty years in prison. He will take a lot of people with him.

People are shaking in their boots that their name will be mentioned. And the conservatives are foaming at the mouth that Jessie Jackson Jr. will go down with him. Blagojevich has shown no sign of breaking down and is still signing bills.

This reminds me of Larry Flynt of Hustler Magazine who was being prosecuted by the government. He put out a reward for any information of wrong doing by polititians.
He released the info on a few small fry but I believe he kept the big ones in his vault in case the government came after him again.

GIFT CARDS AND STORES CLOSING DOWN

Some are just closing stores and not going bankrupt altogether.
Anyway, just in case anyone was planning to buy giftcards for the season, Consumer Reports says that cash is better this year - or maybe the VISA giftcards?


Stores that are planning to close after Christmas are still selling the
cards through the holidays even though the cards will be worthless
January 1. There is no law preventing them from doing this. On the
contrary, it is referred to as 'Bankruptcy Planning).

Below is a partial list of stores that you need to be cautious about.

Circuit City (filed Chapter 11)

Ann Taylor 117 stores nationwide closing

Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine's to close 150 stores nationwide

Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January

Cache will close all stores

Talbots closing down specialty stores

J. Jill closing all stores (owned by Talbots) Pacific Sunwear (also
owned by
Talbots)

GAP closing 85 stores

Footlocker closing 140 stores more to close after January

Wickes Furniture closing down

Levitz closing down remaining stores

Bombay closing remaining stores

Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January

Whitehall closing all stores

Piercing Pagoda closing all stores

Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.

Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ ( New Brunswick )

Macys to close 9 stores after January

Linens and Things closing all stores

Movie Galley Closing all stores

Pep Boys Closing 33 stores

Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores

JC Penney closing a number of stores after January

Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.

Wilson Leather closing down all stores

Sharper Image closing down all stores

K B Toys closing 356 stores

Loews to close down some stores

Dillard's to close some stores

(UNICEF) HOW 25 WEALTHY NATIONS TREAT THEIR YOUNG

The United Nations Children's fund, (UNICEF) has just completed a survey of how 25 wealthy nations treat their young people. There were 10 benchmark indicators outlining basic minimum standards for early childhood services.

Public expenditures on child care and preschool education services are at just 0.4 per cent of GDP. UNICEF recommends 1 per cent of GDP as an appropriate level of expenditure. Nearly 80 per cent of the world's three-to six-year old's. are now in some form of early childhood education and care.

INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING FORCE SHOULD BLOW PIRATES OUT OF THE WATER

I think this would be the best solution. An Ethiopian -led force is leaving soon and the US wants to put an international peacekeeping force in Somalia. I think this would be a mistake. The US had to withdraw in the past, their mission failed.

The administration states that the US Navy is the world's predominate sea power and believes in freedom of navigation. Now the pirates are targeting cruise ships. Some countries are saying if they capture these pirates, where would they hold them and where would they go on trial. They do not want another Guantanamo Bay.

I believe that with our advanced technology, we could dispatch some fighter jets to the area of these freighters that are being approached by unknown boats and blow them out of the water.

GEORGIA TO START PRIVATIZATION OF STATE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALS

Earlier plans were for limited privatization, now talks are underway to hire for-profit companies to build and operate three new psychiatric facilities to replace all seven existing state hospitals.

This would end 150 years of state-provided psychiatric care in Georgia.There is now an investigation of the hospitals by the Justice Department. Other states have mixed reviews after turning over care to the private sector.Just look at what happened to the state prisons. Florida can't track any difference in care and North Carolina auditors said the state wasted $400 million after allowing unqualified private companies perform treatments.

GETTING PSYCHED UP FOR THE INAUGURATION

Quite a few relatives and friends are going to Washington D C to Barak Obama's inauguration. I do not see how they can put themselves through that. There will be so many people with their own agendas and their signs there. Also it will be liken to the Hajj and a Greatful Dead Concert. I think it will remind me of the sixties.

Washington wants to make much money off the event. Since they will keep the bars open 24 hours a day there will be many arrests for loitering, drunk in public,brawling, etc. The city should fill their coffers to the brim. Just think how many fender benders and DUI's they will have.

To get myself psyched up, the day before, I will look at Spike Lee's 1996 movie, "Get On The Bus".It was about the bus trip to "The March On Washington".
It was a wonderful movie.

BRITAIN DEPORTS HIV PATIENTS

The UK is accused of double standards for permitting the deportation of HIV patients. to countries where they may not get the drugs to stay alive. They are sending them back to places where they may not get medications, even though they were given the drugs in the UK.

The UK has supported the G8 pledge to get treatment to people who used it in poor countries. The African HIV Policy Network is attempting to change the UK'S policy.

THE SUPREME COURT THROWS OUT CASE QUESTIONING OBAMA'S CITIZENSHIP

Phillip J Berg filed a case before the Supreme Court about his citizenship.The case has been dismissed for lack of standing. This case hinges on his place of birth because only a natural born citizen can be eligible for the office of President.

Mr. Berg is claiming that Barak Obama was born in Africa.

ARE YOU AFRAID OF GETTING THAT 3 AM CALL ?

I was speaking to friends last month about the millions of jobs being lost and worried if I may get a call. The solution I had to the problem was to get a house in the south and put those cousins and others in it. I would pay the mortgage and give them some seeds so they could grow their gardens. This would apply to the slackers. I would ask them to recycle.I was wondering if they would survive.

ICELAND IS SHOOTING POLAR BEARS THAT STRAY FROM GREENLAND

In Reykjvik, Iceland, A commission has recommended that polar bears be shot and not offered a free haven. Two polar bears were shot affter they landed on the northern coast of Iceland. They were swept to sea on floes from Greenland. This sparked protests from conservationists and animal rights groups.

The commission head, Hjalti Gudmundsson said the polar bears pose a threat to humans and there are large costs of moving the large mammals back to Greenland or a zoo. Police were forced to shoot one bear in June when it charged a group of reporters "in a panic".

O.J.SIMPSON DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS THE MOST HATED MAN ALIVE

I think the judge in the case was fair, but she gave a complicated sentence. Simpson wouldn't just go away, he flaunted around in public. He was a jock and a very strong man. Most athletes are like that. I think the judge should have taken into account that the policemen were giving each other high-fives, and screaming, " we got him".

I think he could have got some leniency because it was entrapment, and the ex-cons colluded with the " powers that be" to tape him for dropping charges against them.

A DOCTOR GOES ON AN ORGANIC DIET FOR THREE YEARS AS AN EXPERIMENT

A doctor in California went on an organic diet for three years to see if there were any benefits.

DECEMBER 1st WORLD AIDS DAY

The stigma surrounding aids is still strong, but the tradition of polygamous marriage adds to the challenge of preventing transmission. Most people infected are often diagnosed too late to be saved. Some are living with HIV became infected through contaminated needles while injecting drugs.

Swaziland has the highest HIV infection in the world, with more than one-fourth of it's population is infected.

WORLD ECONOMIC GROWTH WILL SLOW TO 1 PERCENT IN 2009

DOHA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - World economic growth will slow to 1 percent in 2009 from 2.5 percent this year as the financial crisis bites and the global economy may even contract if stimulus packages prove too little too late, a U.N. report said.
The report on World Economic Situation and Prospects 2009, an advance copy of which was issued at a development conference in Doha on Monday, urged coordinated international stimulus packages to limit the impact of a downturn in Western economies on poorer countries.
Next year's growth forecasts compare to global growth rates of 3.5 to 4 percent from 2004-2007 and the report said the economic environment for developing countries had deteriorated sharply after early complacency.


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