2 Firefighters Fatally Shot Near Rochester in Suspected Ambush.

Four firefighters were shot — two fatally — after apparently being lured to an early morning blaze on Monday in Webster, N.Y., a lakefront town about 12 miles northeast of Rochester, officials said.

The suspected assailant also died at the scene, the town’s police chief, Gerald L. Pickering said, though it was unclear if he was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot or by the authorities.

“It does appear that it was a trap that was set,” Chief Pickering said of the blaze that drew the firefighters. “Causative reasons, we don’t have at this time.”

One of the firefighters was “able to flee the scene on his own,” he added. “The other three were pinned down at the location.”

Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester said two firefighters were in “guarded condition.” The two others died at the scene, Chief Pickering said.

The firefighters were from the West Webster Fire Department, about four miles from the blaze, and were believed to be volunteers.

As he recited the names of those killed and wounded at a news conference on Monday morning, Chief Pickering repeatedly choked up. One of the deceased, Michael J. Chiapperini, was a police lieutenant in the Webster Police Department; the other, Tomasz Kaczowka, was a 911 dispatcher for Monroe County.

“These people get up in the middle of the night to go put out fires,” he said. “They don’t expect to be shot and killed.”

John Ritter, an off-duty police officer from Greece, N.Y., who happened to be driving by and stopped to help, suffered shrapnel wounds from the shooting, Chief Pickering added. The firefighters who were injured, both volunteers, were identified as Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the State Police and the Office of Emergency Management were working with local officials. He said Webster firefighters and the police had initially responded to a car fire.

“New York’s first responders are true heroes as they time and again selflessly rush toward danger in order to keep our families and communities safe,” Mr. Cuomo said. “Volunteer firefighters and police officers were injured and two were taken from us as they once again answered the call of duty. We as the community of New York mourn their loss as now two more families must spend the holidays without their loved ones.”

The fire continued to burn through the morning, having spread to several homes. Four homes were fully engulfed and destroyed, and 33 area residents were evacuated, Chief Pickering said.

He added that, with authorities establishing and investigating the crime scene, “it took a while to make it safe” for firefighters to move in and combat the flames.

The site of the fire, Lake Road, runs along a narrow spit of land that divides Lake Ontario from Irondequoit Bay. The houses in the affected area are detached wood frame homes with yards, across the street from the lake.

Chief Pickering likened the area to “a little vacation nest.”

“We have very few calls for service in that location,” he said.

Michael D’Amico, a contractor who has lived on Lake Road for 20 years, said that residents were evacuated to a school. “We still can’t go back,” he said.

The area is home to many summer houses, he said, but some people lived there year-round.

“A lot of times I get woken up by gunfire, but I don’t think too much of it,” Mr. D’Amico said, noting that the area often attracted duck hunters.

“Usually the gunfire comes from the lake or the bay,” he added. “This was from further down the road.”

Vince DiPrima, an assistant manager at Bill Gray’s, a diner across the bridge from the fires, said some firefighters had visited his restaurant on Monday morning. He gave them some coffee.

“The stuff that happened in Connecticut the other day, and then this,” Mr. DiPrima said.

By noon, State Police helicopters swarmed overhead. Emergency vehicles zipped past.

“It’s a weird feeling,” Mr. DiPrima said. “It’s Christmas Eve.”

Russians back down from leaked U.N. Internet Proposal.

The Russian Federation has revised a controversial proposal to turn Internet governance over to the U.N.'s International Telecommunications Union, CNET has learned.

The revised proposal tones down some of the anti-Internet rhetoric of the original, but still calls on the UN to help member states seize control of key Internet engineering assets, including domain names, addresses and numbering.

On Friday, the original proposal, which leaked out of secret negotiations leading up to the World Conference on International Telecommunications taking place next month in Dubai. WCIT will update a 1988 treaty dealing with international telecommunications.

Saturday's changes in the Russian proposal are subtle, and do not modify the overall thrust of the document. Russia continues to propose the addition of a new article to the treaty giving the ITU specific authority over the Internet, something the agency has never had. The original proposal titled that Article "IP-based networks (Internet)." The revised document calls it simply "Internet."

Most notably, the revised plan continues to assert national control over all Internet activity that crosses national borders, albeit with slightly less inflammatory language.

For example, a key amendment proposed by the Russians now says that "Member States shall have equal rights to manage the Internet, including in regard to the allotment, assignment, and reclamation of Internet numbering, naming, addressing and identification resources and to support development of basic Internet infrastructure."

The original version said simply, "Member states shall have equal rights in the international allocation of Internet addressing and identification resources."

An addition to the treaty in the original proposal that "Member states shall have sovereign rights to manage the Internet within their national territory, as well as to manage national Internet domain names" was also revised, significantly removing the explicit reference to domain names. Domain names have long been the exclusive province of ICANN, a non-governmental organization.

Both versions of the Russian proposal justify warnings by government officials and policy advocates that some ITU member states particularly Russia, China, and Iran would use the conference to advance longstanding efforts to gain better control over key Internet resources currently managed by non-governmental, multi-stakeholder engineering groups such as the Internet Society and ICANN.

For its part, the ITU has been struggling to dismiss claims that the conference would in any way deal with regulation of the Internet, or that the agency had a stake in proposals that expanded its own role. The Russian proposal is the most courageous and most direct plan so far leaked from the process that would turn the ITU into an Internet regulator.

The ITU and the Russians have been working closely on cyber security matters, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has made no effort to hide his broader agenda.

Even if every Internet-related proposal for WCIT is rejected, the process will still demonstrate the increasingly explicit desire of some countries to undermine the current governance model for political and economic reasons, and of the ITU's willingness to cooperate with those countries in the interest of maintaining its own relevance in an age of converged IP-based communications for voice, video, and data.

Rihanna's extreme life continues with a Stockholm end on her'777' tour.

On Friday, pop superstar Rihanna’s “777” tour paid a visit to Stockholm. Having invited more than a few members of the press with her as she flies universal on a Delta 777 jet, as well as some fans and members of her team, getting updates on the “Diamonds” songstress has been quite easy.

According to a report by Ian Drew of Us Weekly, Rihanna immediately went to the Grand Hotel upon arriving in Stockholm. From there she ordered room service, got a massage, and spent two hours getting her hair and structure done before hitting the stage inside of the Berns Salonger nightclub.

Rihanna again lit up the night, wearing an oversized Adam Kimmel for Carhartt denim jacket, a white Wilford body suit without a bra and denim American Apparel shots. Rihanna also donned Tom Ford heels, as well as a Chanel belt and pair of sunglasses.

"It's hot in here. I want to thank you for being so patient and witty," Rihanna stated, addressing her fans. "I love your energy right now!"

Following her performance, Rihanna staged a party in the club’s basement, one that she didn’t make it to until 3:30 a.m.

Upon her arrival, however, Rihanna was in full-on party mode, pouring drinks for everyone and dancing crazily to the house music being played.

Rihanna and everyone left for Paris at 8 in the morning, while finally arriving at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday.

According to a source close to the 24-year old singer, getting proper rest has so far been a struggle during this latest tour.

"She has barely slept and has to perform every night so she tries to shower and sleep whenever she can," the insider revealed. "I don't know how she does it. She just parties hard and works harder. It's a crazy life."

The importance of communication.

Communication is easily overlooked, but the ability to communicate effectively is necessary to carry out the thoughts and visions of an organization to the people. The importance of speech and words whether through a paper or a voice is a communication medium to convey directions and provide synchronization. Without communication, there is no way to express thoughts, ideas and feelings.

There are many ways to provide communication from the organization to the people of your community. In the beginning of communication people used to communicate whether through mouth by mouth or transcript (letters). But due to the technology there came the audio communication by the use of radios which is a fast way to communicate.

Nowadays communication is   faster all over the world compared to the past one because there is an advanced technology where there is a big number of people using phones, fax, email, website, instant message software. Not only that but also many young people are using social networking websites like facebook, twitter, netlog, youtube and so on.

As it communication has become global, you are able to communicate your organization to the world. Things can be expressed, ideas can be shared, and thoughts can be joined.

The ability and the importance of communication become much more crucial when you are on a mission or need to fulfill a goal. Without a means to communicate, your organization will become isolated. The ability to effectively communicate is very important when it is usually underestimated and overlooked.

Communication is a necessity as we use it to network, spread ideas, and promote. Communicate effectively through well known mediums and convey it simply and precisely. The importance of communication is crucial to the success of your organization because you need to reach out in order to fulfill your mission. The success of endeavor hinges on the ability to communicate effectively in today’s fast paced life, everyone is asked to do more with less.

Ten simple ways to live a less stressful life.

Stress is a major problem for many people; a hectic, stressful job, a chaotic home life, bills to worry about, and bad habits such as unhealthy eating, drinking and smoking can lead to a mountain of stress.

If your life is full of stress, there are some simple things you can do to get your life to a more manageable level.

Now, your life will probably never be stress-free even if it is desirable, and possible, because stress is something that challenges us and helps us grow. At a reasonable level.

You can work long hours in a very stressful job, with little time for your family, smoking and eating fatty foods and not exercising. For that you have a lot of debt and too many bills. It can cause you being unhappy, unhealthy and stressed out all the time. Actually that is because of genetics, but still being pretty stressed.

So you can make some drastic changes an you quit your job. In that case you simplify your life. Not only that but also you quit smoking and start exercising and eating healthier. It eliminates your debt. And you learn some habits that, when apply on a daily basis, can really transform the way you live, in a positive way.

How do you do all of this? One thing at a time. You don’t do a major recall of your life. You change one habit a month, and gradually over the course of a year or two can change a lot of things in your life.

It won’t guarantee that all of these will work for some. They work for all people, but each person is different. Pick and choose the ones that will work best for you, and give them a try. One at a time.

1. One thing at a time. This is the simplest and best way to start reducing your stress, and you can start today. Right now. Focus as much as possible on doing one thing at a time. Clear your desk of distractions. Pick something to work on. Need to write a report? Do only that. Remove distractions such as phones and email notifications while you’re working on that report. If you’re going to do email, do only that. This takes practice, and you’ll get urges to do other things. Just keep practicing and you’ll get better at it.

2. Simplify your schedule. A hectic schedule is a major cause of high stress. Simplify by reducing the number of commitments in your life to just the essential ones. Learn to say no to the rest and slowly get out of commitments that aren’t beneficial to you. Schedule only a few important things each day, and put space between them. Get out of meetings when they aren’t absolutely essential. Leave room for down time and fun.

3. Get moving. Do something each day to be active walk, hike, play a sport, go for a run. It doesn’t have to be grueling to reduce stress. Just move. Have fun doing it.

4. Develop one healthy habit this month. Other than getting active, improving your health overall will help with the stress. But do it one habit at a time. Eat fruits and veggies for snacks. Floss every day. Quit smoking. Cook something healthy for dinner. Drink water instead of soda. One habit at a time.

5. Do something calming. What do you enjoy that calms you down? For many people, it can be the “get moving” activity discussed above. But it could also be taking a nap, or a bath, or reading, (which can also be considered a “get moving” activity if you do it for longer than 5 minutes). Other people are calmed by housework or yard work. Some people like to meditate, or take a nature walk. Find your calming activity and try to do it each day.

6. Simplify your finances. Finances can be a drain on your energy and a major stressor. If that’s true with you, figure out ways to simplify things. Automate savings and bill payments and debt payments. Spend less by going shopping (at malls or online) much less. Find ways to have fun that don’t involve spending money.

7. Have a blast! Have fun each day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Some like to play with their kids, they take the mind off everything and are really hilarious. They also like to play sports (again, often with my kids). Board games are fun. Dancing, again, can be a fun activity. Whatever you choose, be sure to laugh.

8. Get creative. Throwing yourself into a creative activity is another great way to de-stress and to prevent stress. Some people like writing, but others like to paint or play music or sketch or make pottery or do interior design or build things.

9. Dilution. This is a favorite of some people. You can like to take 20-30 minutes and just go through a room, getting rid of stuff we don’t use or need anymore. Some people look around at anything that’s cluttering up a room, and get rid of it or find a better place for it. When I’m done, I have a nice, peaceful environment for work, play, and living. Do this a little at a time; it can be one of your “fun activities”.

10. Be early. It will admit that it’s hard to be early when you have to get 6 kids ready (seriously, try it!). But being late can be very stressful. Try to leave earlier by getting ready earlier, or by scheduling more space between events. Things always take longer than normal, so schedule some buffer time: extra time to get ready, to commute, to do errands before you need to be somewhere, to attend a meeting before another scheduled appointment. If you get somewhere early, it’s good to have some reading material.

As a conclusion you have to keep the stress in your life to a manageable level by taking a look on those different ways so that you choose one which will help you.

IS MULTI-TASTING BAD FOR YOUR BRAIN?

Experts reveal the hidden perils of juggling too many jobs. Multitasking has rapidly taken over our lives, to the point where we look woefully lax if we’re doing just one thing at a time.

We think nothing of testing while also watching television, surfing the internet and talking to our family. Indeed, drug companies are busy developing products to enhance our mental efficiency so that we can do even more. 

The research was scanned on volunteers’ heads while they performed different tasks and found that when there is a group of visual stimulants in front of you, only one or two things tend to activate your brain, indicating we’re really only focusing on one or two items.

In other words, our brains have to skitter to and fro inefficiently between tasks. But the real problem occurs when we try to concentrate on the two tasks we are dealing with, because this then causes an overload of the brain’s processing capacity.

There is also the problem of brain drain. This is particularly true when we try to perform similar tasks at the same time - such as writing an email and talking on the phone - as they compete to use the same part of the brain. As a result, your brain simply slows down.

Even just thinking about multitasking can cause this log-jam, just being in a situation where you are able to text and this is similar to the head-fog caused by losing a night’s sleep.

This is why ‘People can’t do it very well, and when they say they can, they’re deluding themselves. ‘The brain is very good at deluding itself.’ Not only does multitasking affect our mental clarity, switching between tasks also makes us less efficient.

The study found that it took students far longer to solve complicated math problems when they had to switch to other tasks - in fact; they were up to 40 per cent slower. The same study also found multitasking has a negative physical effect, prompting the release of stress hormones and adrenaline.

This can trigger a vicious cycle, where we work hard at multitasking, take longer to get things done, and then feel stressed, harried and compelled to multitask more.

Other Studies by Gloria Mark show that when people are frequently diverted from one task to another, they work faster, but produce less. After 20 minutes of interrupted performance, people report significantly higher stress levels, frustration, workload, effort and pressure.

The evidence shows that women’s apparent multitasking superiority is down to the fact they are happier to try doing several things at once. Such changes can make us more disposed to being aggressive and impulsive, as well as raising our risk of cardiovascular disease.

In the longer term, it is the psychological and intellectual toll of multitasking which may cause the most widespread harm. And it’s the younger generations who are at greatest risk.

The more time young people spend multitasking, the harder they find concentrating on single intellectual tasks, such as reading a textbook, according to a report by American scientists in the journal Cyber psychology and Behavior.

Another cause is mental overload: attempting similar tasks, like email and talking on the phone, simply slows us down. So multitasking is actually bad for a child's intellectual development. 'As our minds fill with noise, the brain gradually loses its capacity to attend fully and gradually to anything,' he argues.

Overturned: it is the theory that women's brains are better at multitasking than men did not stand up to research. This is because multitasking denies us essential pauses in our mental space.

We can restore them by techniques such as focusing on non-verbal cues when we are conversing with other people, being more aware of what we’re thinking and spending less time multitasking.

WHY AFTERNOON MAY BE THE BEST TIME TO EXERCISE.

Does exercise influence the body’s internal clock? Few of us may be conscious of it, but our bodies, and in turn our health, are ruled by rhythms. “The heart, the liver, the brain all are controlled by an endogenous circadian rhythm,” says Christopher Colwell, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles’s Brain Research Institute, who led a series of new experiments on how exercise affects the body’s internal clock. The studies were conducted in mice, but the findings suggest that exercise does affect our circadian rhythms, and the effect may be most beneficial if the exercise is undertaken midday.

For the study, which appears in December Journal of Physiology, the researchers gathered several types of mice. Most of the animals were young and healthy. But some had been bred to have a malfunctioning internal clock, or pacemaker, which involves, among other body parts, a cluster of cells inside the brain “whose job it is to tell the time of day,” Dr. Colwell says.

These pacemaker cells receive signals from light sources or darkness that set off a cascade of molecular effects. Certain genes fire, expressing proteins, which are released into the body, where they migrate to the heart, neurons, liver and elsewhere, by choreographing those organs to pulse in tune with the rest of the body. We sleep, wake and function physiologically according to the dictates of our body’s internal clock.

But, Dr. Colwell says, that clock can become discombobulated. It is easily confused, for instance, by viewing artificial light in the evening, he says, when the internal clock expects darkness. Aging also worsens the clock’s functioning, he says. “By middle age, most of us start to have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep,” he says. “Then we have trouble staying awake the next day.”

The consequences of clock disruptions extend beyond sleepiness. Recent research has linked out-of-sync circadian rhythm in people to an increased risk for diabetes, obesity, certain types of cancer, memory loss and mood disorders, including depression.

“We believe there are serious potential health consequences” to problems with circadian rhythm, Dr. Colwell says. That is why he and his colleagues set out to determine whether exercise, which is so potent physiologically, might “fix” a broken clock, and if so, whether exercising in the morning or later in the day is more effective in terms of regulating circadian rhythm.

They began by letting healthy mice run, an activity the animals enjoy. Some of the mice ran whenever they wanted. Others were given access to running wheels only in the early portion of their waking time (mice are active at night) or in the later stages, the equivalent of the afternoon for us.

After several weeks of running, the exercising mice, no matter when they ran, were found to be producing more proteins in their internal-clock cells than the sedentary animals. But the difference was slight in these healthy animals, which all had normal circadian rhythms to start with.

So the scientists turned to mice unable to produce a critical internal clock protein. Signals from these animals’ internal clocks rarely reach the rest of the body.

But after several weeks of running, the animals’ internal clocks were sturdier. Messages now traveled to these animals’ hearts and livers far more frequently than in their sedentary counterparts. The beneficial effect was especially pronounced in those animals that exercised in the afternoon (or mouse equivalent).

That finding, Dr. Colwell says, “was a pretty big surprise.” He and his colleagues had expected to see the greatest effects from morning exercise, a popular workout time for many athletes. But the animals that ran later produced more clock proteins and pumped the protein more efficiently to the rest of the body than animals that ran early in their day.

What all of this means for people isn’t clear, Dr. Colwell says. “It is evident that exercise will help to regulate” our bodily clocks and circadian rhythms, he says, especially as we enter middle age. But whether we should opt for an afternoon jog over one in the morning “is impossible to say yet,” he says.

Late-night exercise, meanwhile, is probably inadvisable, he continues. Unpublished results from his lab show that healthy mice running at the animal equivalent of 11 p.m. or so developed significant disruptions in their circadian rhythm. Among other effects, they slept poorly.

“What we know, right now,” he says, “is that exercise is a good idea” if you wish to sleep well and avoid the physical ailments associated with an aging or clumsy circadian rhythm. And it is possible, although not yet proven, that afternoon sessions may produce more robust results.

“But any exercise is likely to be better than none,” he concludes. “And if you like morning exercise, which I do, great. Keep it up.”

THE EFFECTS OF EATING TOO MUCH MEAT.

Eating too much meat is a common dietary problem in American society. Most Americans don't realize that they're eating too much meat. The risks of eating excessive amounts of meat include heart disease, kidney disease, osteoporosis and cancer. Here's how to tell if you're eating too much meat.

Studies show that people who eat too much meat are 20 percent more likely to develop cancer, especially if they eat a lot of red meat. Pancreatic cancer, in particular, has been linked to heavy meat consumption. Meat also contains lots of saturated fat and cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease.

Processed meats, such as hot dogs, often contain nitrate, a preservative that may become carcinogenic when heated to high temperatures during the cooking process. All meats may form carcinogenic heterocyclic amines, or HCAs, during high-temperature cooking. Marinating meat in vinegar, or microwaving it before cooking, can help reduce the number of carcinogenic HCAs in meat. However, meat may also contain high levels of hormones, which can trigger reproductive problems and early-onset puberty in children.

Your kidneys work to remove excess protein from your body, so eating too much protein can stress them out, leading to kidney damage and even contributing to renal failure in some cases. High dietary protein levels cause your body to excrete more calcium, which can contribute to osteoporosis.

The report, which weaves together statistics from various earlier studies, allows that meat can be an important source of protein and vitamins when eaten in moderation. But in the U.S., moderation may be a problem. The report cites data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization suggesting that Americans consume almost 60 percent more meat than their European counterparts, and four times more than in many developing countries. And much of that meat is either red or processed.

There is also a way to reduce your meat consumption. If you're eating more than the recommended daily allowance of meat, you should probably consider lowering your meat consumption. Red meat carries the highest risks of heart disease and cancer, so eating more poultry and pork can help lower your risk. Serve smaller portions of meat at meals. Eating higher quality cuts of meat, in smaller portions, can help curb your meat cravings without putting your health at risk.

If you're eating too much meat, replace some of the meat in your diet with non-meat sources of protein. Beans, legumes, whole grains and dairy products all contain protein. Nuts, seeds, eggs and soy foods are good choices. A 2009 report from the National Cancer Institute found that people who ate the most red meat , which can have high levels of cholesterol-rising saturated fat, were 27 percent more likely to die of heart disease. That same report also found serious meat eaters were 20 percent more likely to die of cancer than those who consumed the least amount of meat.

While fish and seafood might technically be meats, they don't carry the same risks as do red meat, pork and poultry, because they are so low in saturated fats and cholesterol; fish and seafood can safely take the place of other meats in your diet.

So, what you have to know is that your body needs about eight grams of protein per 20 pounds of body weight per day. You can get much of this protein from non-meat sources. Non-meat protein sources often don't contain as much saturated fat or cholesterol as meat, especially red meat. They also often contain healthy fats, vitamins and minerals that your body needs.

Justin Bieber dominates at the American music award.

LOS ANGELES - America proved its Bieber passion was strong: The teen singer dominated the American Music Awards on Sunday night.

Bieber's wins included the show's top award, artist of the year. His mom joined him onstage at the Nokia Theatre as he collected the trophy, beating out Rihanna, Maroon 5, Katy Perry and Drake.

"I wanted to thank you for always believing in me," Bieber said, looking to his mom.

The 18-year-old also won the honor in 2010. He said it's "hard growing up with everyone watching me" and asked that people continue to believe in him.

Bieber and Nicki Minaj performed together and separately at the AMAs and were both multiple winners.

But collaboration was the night's most colorful performance: Korean rapper PSY and MC Hammer. Hammer joined the buzzed-about pop star for his viral hit "Gangnam Style." PSY rocked traditional "Hammer" pants as they danced to his jam and to Hammer's "Too Legit to Quit."

Bieber won favorite pop/rock male artist in the first award handed out at Sunday's show and gave a shout-out to those who didn't think he would last on the music scene.

"I want to say this is for all the haters who thought I was just here for one or two years. I feel like I'm going to be here for a very long time," he said.

He also won favorite pop/rock album for "Believe." He gave a stripped down, acoustic performance of "As Long As You Love Me," then transitioned to the dance-heavy "Beauty and a Beat," where Minaj joined him onstage, grinding with the teen for a few seconds.

Minaj, who wore three different wigs and four outfits throughout the night, repeated her AMAs wins from last year, picking up trophies for favorite rap/hip-hop artists and album for "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded." She was in an all-white get-up, including fur coat and pink hair when she performed her new song "Freedom." The scene was ghostly and snowy, as a choir also in white joined her onstage. One background singer stole the performance, belting semi-high notes as Minaj looked on

As Bieber won his second award, he was kissed on the neck by Jenny McCarthy, who presented the award."Wow. I feel violated right now," he said, laughing.

"I did grab his butt," McCarthy said backstage. "I couldn't help it. He was just so delicious. So little. I wanted to tear his head off and eat it."
Bieber's red and black outfit seemed to be the night's theme, as Taylor Swift and Usher wore similar ensembles.

Does death exist? New theory says'no.'

Many of us fear death. We believe in death because we have been told we will die. We associate ourselves with the body, and we know that bodies die. But a new scientific theory suggests that death is not the terminal event we think.

One well-known aspect of quantum physics is that certain observations cannot be predicted absolutely. Instead, there is a range of possible observations each with a different probability. One mainstream explanation, the "many-worlds" interpretation, states that each of these possible observations corresponds to a different universe (the 'multiversity'). A new scientific theory - called biocentrism - refines these ideas.

There are an infinite number of universes, and everything that could possibly happen occurs in some universe. Death does not exist in any real sense in these scenarios. All possible universes exist simultaneously, regardless of what happens in any of them. Although individual bodies are destined to self-destruct, the alive feeling - the 'Who am I?'- is just a 20-watt fountain of energy operating in the brain. But this energy doesn't go away at death. One of the surest axioms of science is that energy never dies; it can neither be created nor destroyed. But does this energy transcend from one world to the other?

Consider an experiment that was recently published in the journal Science showing that scientists could retroactively change something that had happened in the past. Particles had to decide how to behave when they hit a beam splitter. Later on, the experimenter could turn a second switch on or off. It turns out that what the observer decided at that point, determined what the particle did in the past. Regardless of the choice you, the observer, make, it is you who will experience the outcomes that will result. The linkages between these various histories and universes transcend our ordinary classical ideas of space and time. Think of the 20-watts of energy as simply holo-projecting either this or that result onto a screen. Whether you turn the second beam splitter on or off, it's still the same battery or agent responsible for the projection.

According to Biocentrism, space and time are not the hard objects we think. Wave your hand through the air - if you take everything away, what's left? Nothing. The same thing applies for time. You can't see anything through the bone that surrounds your brain. Everything you see and experience right now is a whirl of information occurring in your mind. Space and time are simply the tools for putting everything together.

Death does not exist in a timeless, spaceless world. In the end, even Einstein admitted, "Now Besso" (an old friend) "has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us...know that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." Immortality doesn't mean a perpetual existence in time without end, but rather resides outside of time altogether.

This was clear with the death of my sister Christine. After viewing her body at the hospital, I went out to speak with family members. Christine's husband - Ed - started to sob uncontrollably. For a few moments I felt like I was transcending the provincialism of time. I thought about the 20-watts of energy, and about experiments that show a single particle can pass through two holes at the same time. I could not dismiss the conclusion: Christine was both alive and dead, outside of time.

Christine had had a hard life. She had finally found a man that she loved very much. My younger sister couldn't make it to her wedding because she had a card game that had been scheduled for several weeks. My mother also couldn't make the wedding due to an important engagement she had at the Elks Club. The wedding was one of the most important days in Christine's life. Since no one else from our side of the family showed, Christine asked me to walk her down the aisle to give her away.

Soon after the wedding, Christine and Ed were driving to the dream house they had just bought when their car hit a patch of black ice. She was thrown from the car and landed in a banking of snow.

"Ed," she said "I can't feel my leg." She never knew that her liver had been ripped in half and blood was rushing into her peritoneum.

After the death of his son, Emerson wrote "Our life is not so much threatened as our perception. I grieve that grief can teach me nothing, nor carry me one step into real nature."

Whether it's flipping the switch for the Science experiment, or turning the driving wheel ever so slightly this way or that way on black-ice, it's the 20-watts of energy that will experience the result. In some cases the car will swerve off the road, but in other cases the car will continue on its way to my sister's dream house.

Christine had recently lost 100 pounds, and Ed had bought her a surprise pair of diamond earrings. It's going to be hard to wait, but I know Christine is going to look fabulous in them the next time I see her.

Consumers may face soaring milk prices

With Farm Bill Stalled, Consumers May Face Soaring Milk Prices.

WASHINGTON — Forget the fiscal crisis and the automatic budget cuts. Come Jan. 1, there is a threat that milk prices could rise to $6 to $8 a gallon if Congress does not pass a new farm bill  that amends farm policy dating back to the Truman presidency.

Lost in the political standoff between the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans over the budget is a virtually forgotten impasse over a farm bill that covers billions of dollars in agriculture programs. Without last-minute Congressional action, the government would have to follow an antiquated 1949 farm law that would force Washington to buy milk at wildly inflated prices, creating higher prices in the dairy case. Milk now costs an average of $3.65 a gallon.

Higher prices would be based on what dairy farm production costs were in 1949, when milk production was almost all done by hand. Because of adjustments for inflation and other technical formulas, the government would be forced by law to buy milk at roughly twice the current market prices to maintain a stable milk market.

But the market would be anything but stable. Farmers, at first, would experience a financial windfall as they rushed to sell dairy products to the government at higher prices than those they would get on the commercial market. Then the prices customers pay at the supermarket would surge as shortages developed and fewer gallons of milk were available for consumers and for manufacturers of products like cheese and butter.

For dairy farmers like Dean Norton in upstate New York, who are struggling with high feed costs caused by this summer’s drought, a jump in prices would be welcomed.

“But it would be short-term euphoria followed by a long hangover that would be difficult for us to recover from,” said Mr. Norton, who is president of the New York Farm Bureau. “I don’t think customers and food processors are going to pay double what they are paying now for dairy products.”

The Senate passed a farm bill in July. A House version of the bill made it out of committee, but House leaders have yet to bring its version to the floor.

Under the current program, the government sets a minimum price to cover dairy farmers’ production costs. If the market price drops below that, the government buys dairy products from farmers to buoy prices and increase demand. Since milk prices have remained above that minimum price in recent years, dairy farmers usually do better by selling their products commercially rather than to the government.

But if 1949 rules go into effect, the government would be required to buy dairy products at around $40 per hundredweight — roughly twice the current market price — to drive up the price of milk to cover dairy producers’ cost.

“It would be bad for consumer demand in the long run,” said Chris Galen, a spokesman for the National Milk Producers Federation, which represents more than 32,000 dairy farmers.

Mr. Galen and others in the dairy industry said reverting to 1949 policies could probably force the makers of butter, cheese, yogurt and other dairy products to look for cheaper alternatives, like imported milk from countries like New Zealand.

Most dairy companies declined to discuss plans to buy dairy supplies from abroad if they are forced to pay higher prices for milk.

But Land O’ Lakes, a dairy company based in Arden Hills, Minn., said the 1949 law could be potentially disruptive for dairy industry operations.

“Congress needs to pass a comprehensive farm bill that helps farmers continue to feed the world, keeps food prices  affordable and provides farmers some financial stability in the very unpredictable profession of farming,” said Rebecca Lentz, a company spokeswoman.

In a conference call with reporters on Thursday, Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary, said the department was exploring all its options to deal with the possibility of the 1949 law going into effect.

“We will do whatever we are legally obligated to do,” said Mr. Vilsack, who declined to say what specific steps the department would take to prepare for what dairy lobbyists and industry officials are calling the “milk cliff.”

Among the options: the agriculture secretary could drag his heels on the milk purchases until Congress passes a new farm bill or an extension of the 2008 one that expired in September, said Vincent Smith, a professor of agriculture at Montana State University in Bozeman.

“This is a totally antiquated law that has nothing to do with farming conditions today,” Professor Smith said. “It was put as a poison pill to get Congress to pass a farm bill by scaring lawmakers with the prospect of higher support prices for milk and other agriculture products. Letting it go into effect for even a few months would be particularly disastrous for consumers and food processors. “