2010- twenty-ten or two thousand ten?

I prefer two thousand ten, but keep hearing everyone in the news, on tv etc saying 'twenty-ten.' I'd like to know- who decides these things? Do we simply go on precedent alone? I guess in the twentieth century it was called 'nineteen-ten' BUT I guess it would have seemed silly to go the extra mile and say 'nineteen hundred ten' or 'one thousand nine hundred ten.' Just makes me wonder who decides how we say the year.
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Been trying to 'bone up' on the current health care reform bill. Seems all good to me- which is what I was thinking when I knew less about it. In my mind, any social health care reform would be beneficial to the people of this country. I especially like the fact that anyone- between jobs, unemployed, etc could have the option (or would be required) to get the national health care, because honestly at this point its scary to be uninsured (as I am). Every day when I get on the tread mill I get scared to run faster than a certain speed because I realize that falling off the treadmill at a fast speed could definitely hurt me. It sound funny- but I am a klutz so I actually am a bit scared.

I also like the fact that there's a limit to how much a person or family would have to pay in one year. I think it's around five thousand dollars. Which is a ton to the average person anyways, but better than the tens of thousands of dollars some people are paying right now. I also like the fact that insurance companies wouldn't be able to refuse people with pre-existing conditions. Good.
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Every day that I'm living in the US again I get more and more frightened of the influence that Fox news has over people. Yikes. I think its extreme brain-washing to the maximum. Glen Beck= a very frightening individual in my book.

Got some quality books at the library today, so hopefully I'll be able to get through some quickly and update:)

This is what I've missed out on.......

So I was reading one of my fav websites today doublex.com and read a very funny article that showed exactly what I've been missing out on whilst living outside the US. Man vs. Food, what doublex describes rightly as 'man porn'. The article made me chuckle. Then I looked up a clip on youtube of the show and not-surprisingly it was exactly as they had described. Disturbing. Then I asked my parents if they had heard of the show. They answered 'yes' as if everyone in the world would have heard of this show.... perhaps now they have.

Hello from America!

A quick update, for myself/ anyone who bothers reading this. I now write to you from America! I am back living at home for the time being. I've been back home since December 17, when my bf William and I traveled over for the holidays. Since we were very busy over the few weeks he was here (and because in the last days of me being in London I was equally swamped!) I haven't updated at all- I understand your sadness! Weep no more though, as I am back to give my opinion on everything happening in the world, books I'm reading, movies I'm watching, etc!
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Update on my vegetarianism...
Happy to say, still going strong! 46 days, two major holidays and lots of bacon jealousy later, I'm still meatless! Been out to eat lots of times and am discovering its not too hard to find veggie options at all the places I would normally eat at home:) I got two vegan/ vegetarian cookbooks for Christmas which I am eager to try out:)
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Update on what I'm reading...
Am reading lots of old Newsweeks in a vain attempt to keep up with things I've missed in the past few months- esp. because I love Newsweek (though I must say I hate the new format- they need to bring back the old format!). Read an article I obviously liked- on Fox's un-American news reporting. Talked about how biased they are and how they consistently defend their bias and how their bad reporting is making the other networks bad in an effort to compete with Fox. Obvi I liked the article. Any article that rips on Fox is delightful in my book.
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Reading 'They take our jobs' by Aviva Chomsky (pretty sure the daughter of Noam) on the myths of why immigration is bad for the US. I may be researching this topic for a while- this book seemed like a good place to start. I'll update on things I like/ dislike etc.
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Other than that, I'm home, and should have more time to write now! However I do wish my inspiration, my bf William, was here with me still. Sadly, he's now back in London- though I'm counting down the days til I see him!!!
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PS- I'm also starting a new 'work-out' regimen to go along w/ my healthy eating (for lack of better word) regimen. I'm out!

P.S.

Apparently I'm not the only one who see's the true evil of Rupert Murdoch. In the Guardian's weekend supplemental magazine, a provacative interview with George Michael revealed that he has the same feelings towards the man as I do. He refers to Murdoch as 'the devil'. Amen G.M., amen.

Day 23 and all's fine....

So, dear friends (or just Dana, re-reading her own un-inspiring words), I am on day 23 of vegetarianism. No beef, pork, poultry, fish or any other animal meat have I consumed in the past 23 days. I can honestly say it hasn't been hard so far. I don't know if that's because I never ate a ton of meat in the first place, who knows. I also have been trying to snack more healthily and consume less dairy. Soy milk is just fine for me, but I do love cheese, so that is a continuing struggle, but until I decide to go vegan, I'll just eat in moderation.

In my continuing quest of healthiness and need for further inspiration as to why being healthy is worth the extra time and money, I watched the documentary Food Inc and read Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation.

Fast Food Nation was pretty good, and full of interesting albeit more small tidbits and factoids about the fast food industry than anyone would probably care to know. None-the-less, it definitely is an interesting look at what happens behind the scenes in fast food land. And has definitely inspired me to not eat/or eat very very limited-ly at the chains mentioned in the book, which shouldn't be had, as most of the offerings are meat products. Along with Food Inc, its just interesting to see how many government and food industry links there are. Another reason not to trust the government, as if I needed another lol.

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In recent news, Obama has sent 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. At the same time he has set a deadline for the troop presence (I think in 2010 or 2011). Obviously he is trying to please both sides, but honestly, will this work? NO. Nothing will work- agression-wise that is. The only hope for the Afghan people is for non-governmental agencies to be a force of good within the country, building infrastructure and providing jobs so that young men won't be tempted to join the Taliban out of desperation for money. Obama's strategy won't 'save' the Afghan people. Bombs don't save people. They kill people.

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I guess that's it for now. Sorry I've been in a non-blogging mode the past week and a half. It may be easier when I'm done with work, and/ or when I'm back in the US.
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*PS included an interesting site I found... check it out.

Disturbing article of the day... and others.

In last week's Observer (the Guardian's Sunday paper), there was an article on the new brand of female conservative 'firebrands' in the US. I only happened upon because in the most recent Observer a letter from a Texas woman said thats these women (Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, Ann Coulter etc), represented a 'new type of American feminism' which values God, family, faith etc. Basically when I read the letter to the Observer, I cringed and thought, oh how embarrassing. Which is basically how I feel every time conservative American views like this are 'out there' for (what I presume to be) intelligent (as they are reading the observer) British people to read.

So after seeing the embarrassing letter, I went back and read the actual article by Paul Harris. He basically discusses how figures like Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann are using their roles as religious female conservative politicians and mothers (who hold vicious views of liberals) to win over chunks of America's conservative population. Not as disturbing as when you read further and see what (for instance) Bachmann's actual political views are. 1. She doesn't 'believe' in global warming, so she disagrees with the US signing climate legislation (what??). 2. She's completely against health care reform. (just because she's been covered through her life, is she completely blind to the fact that others can't afford coverage and must suffer and sometimes die because of this?) 3. She thinks Obama is a socialist. (does she know what a socialist is? and btw, what's wrong with that?). ETC.

Anyways, on the flip side, I will say, I am impressed that these women can attract a following (albeit a bunch of ignorant people who don't want to hear the other side of the issue(s), and I do like the fact that they are not 'Washington-ized', my word for politicians who have been in Washington too long and have tailored their views and politics to follow a straight diplomatic line. Palin and Bachmann (though I think they are idiots) attract attention and admiration because they are not 'Washington-ized'. And I guess I have to respect that.

In any case, I just wish the same type of politician would emerge on the liberal side- one who has little Washington experience, but a lot of political and life experience (but who is smart, with worthwhile intelligent views). And if its a woman, all the better. Hillary, you say? I'm sorry but there are almost no people AS Washington-ized as Hillary. Moving on....

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Another article in this past weekend's Observer discussed human trafficking of Mexicans into- you guessed it OHIO! and Michigan. What a red-letter day for my neck of the woods! lol. Basically this one was on how Mexican migrants are being forced into human slavery- work, sex, etc. And many/ most have no escape because they are afraid to (or can't because they are illegal) go to the police to tell them they are being trafficked. I think basically what this article reminded me of once again is how f***ed up our world is and how immigration rules/ restrictions that keep the world functioning as it is are a huge part of the blame. I really am thinking more and more about writing a research paper on the state of immigration and reforms and how they will all fail. Nothing besides a complete overhaul of our world system as we know it will allow people of all countries to be free and equal. Until a Mexican worker in the US is treated with equality and respect to an American worker or until an American student can stay in the UK and find work (hint hint) without restrictions, our world will continue to be f***ed up.

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On the veg front, I have been a vegetarian now for 10 days. Though I did have a dream I ate meat last night.... weird.

Disturbing article of the day...

So yes, to many young women out there dreading their first pap test, this article may come as a relief, but to a person who, in the past, had pap tests that revealed abnormalities which could have led to cervical cancer, I don't see why the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is making this big announcement now- which- as they even admit to, may cause the women that should still go frequently- young women who are sexually active- to think that pap tests are not a big deal and make them think that avoiding the test is okay. Also, this announcement comes on the heels of the announcement that women don't need to get mammograms as young or as frequently as previously thought. The NT Times article alludes to the ACOG insisting that its just a coincidence, but it just seems way too coincidental for this girl. So will I have less frequent pap tests than before? I think not, I will probably continue to go once a year as I have done since my first one. I think that an announcement like this should not be one that is given to all women in the US at once, but rather something personal than a woman's doctor could say to her in the privacy of his or her office. How many girls are being put at risk by the ACOG's big announcement?? I guess time will tell.