Teenagers on the Pill are at risk of significantly higher blood pressure

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Teenage girls who are on the Pill are at risk of having high blood pressure in later life, according to research.

Scientists have found that even those who have been taking the contraceptive for only a few months have readings which are significantly higher than those of other girls.

Doctors have long known that high blood pressure is one of several side-effects of the Pill but this is one of the first studies to show its effect on young girls within such a short space of time.

Although the girls’ blood pressure was still within the healthy range, the Australian researchers are concerned that it may rise further when they get older, putting them at risk of heart attacks and strokes.

High blood pressure is known as the ‘silent killer’ within the NHS as there are rarely any symptoms, but it gradually puts extra strain on the blood vessels and heart.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: Gnarls Monkey

Jon Voight defends Brad Pitt’s mom after she gets death threats for penning anti-Obama letter

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Last week, Brad Pitt’s mother Jane Pitt hit headlines after penning a response letter-to-the-editor of her local newspaper, Missouri’s Springfield News Leader, in which she advocated support for Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, referring to him as a “a family man with high morals, business experience, who is against abortion, and shares Christian conviction concerning homosexuality.”

“Any Christian who does not vote or writes in a name is casting a vote for Romney’s opponent, Barack Hussein Obama – a man who sat in Jeremiah Wright’s church for years, did not hold a public ceremony to mark the National Day of Prayer, and is a liberal who supports the killing of unborn babies and same-sex marriage,” she continued. “I hope all Christians give their vote prayerful consideration because voting is a sacred privilege and a serious responsibility.”

However, it seems the backlash surrounding Jane’s opinion has become so vehement that she has reportedly been “scared into silence.”

According to WND, Mrs. Pitt has not only been the victim of vulgar and hate-filled attacks, but she has also received death threats which have left her very frightened.

“So apparently Brad Pitt’s mom is a c***,” tweeted one, while another wrote that “Brad Pitt’s genetics have been brought into question.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: Loren Javier

Chicago Cubs Owner Creates Lesbian Super PAC

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As a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, her politically active family’s sole Democrat, and a sister with three brothers, Laura Ricketts is comfortable being the odd woman out.

But it has not escaped her notice that lesbians such as her are in the minority at political events for gay donors, whether it’s a White House reception or a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, who hopes to become the first openly lesbian member of the U.S. Senate.

So Ricketts immediately embraced an idea by a fellow Chicago businesswoman who approached her a few months ago about creating a first-of-its kind political action committee to champion candidates and causes that appeal to lesbian voters.

LPAC, as the independent super PAC was christened, will be launched Wednesday with the freedom to spend unrestricted amounts of money for or against candidates.

“Being a woman and being gay is really a unique position in our society,” said Ricketts, a co-chair of the Democratic National Committee’s LGBT Leadership Council and one of President Barack Obama’s fundraising bundlers. “I know in my experience of activism, oftentimes it makes a difference if something is women-focused. It’s likely to get the attention of women much more easily.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: Paula Bielnicka Photography

Incredible Video Shows the Knitting Together of the Human Face in the Womb

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This short BBC documentary on the development of the human face in the womb shows, using advanced computer imagery based on 4D ultrasound, how it all comes together between the first two and three month’s of an unborn child’s life.

Photo credit: Mrs. Flinger

Son of Hamas Founder: ‘Time to expose Muhammad’

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Mosab Hassan Yousef stepped out of the airport terminal in a dark suit and tie, looking every inch the Hollywood darling. It’s perhaps not surprising then, that his close friend and the man who accompanied him on his trip to Israel this month, is producer and actor Sam Feuer. Feuer played the role of Yousef Romano in Steven Spielberg’s Munich, a movie about the aftermath of the Black September. Full of intrigue, spies, and clandestine operations—not to mention terror attacks on Israeli citizens—the plot of Spielberg’s cloak-and-dagger movie is not unlike Mosab’s own life as a secret agent.

Most people know the story by now, so I’ll be brief: In 1978, Mosab is born to the son of one of Hamas’ seven founders, Sheikh Hassan Yousef. Prepped to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a terrorist, Mosab starts asking questions until gradually, over the years, he becomes convinced that the ways of Hamas cannot be the truth. He subsequently converts to Christianity. He becomes an agent for Shin Bet. The intelligence he provides prevents terror attacks and leads to the incarceration of Hamas terrorists. In 2007, he leaves the West Bank in favor of the west coast. He gains political asylum in the US and remains there before coming back to Israel for a surprise visit last month.

Something about his life story—and indeed, certain aspects of his personality, including the fearless chutzpah with which he deceived Hamas—is distinctly reminiscent of Frank Abagnale, the real-life protagonist of yet another of Spielberg’s classics, Catch Me If You Can. But unlike the notorious confidence trickster, the former Shin Bet agent did not do what he did to advance his own interests (and neither did he forge millions of dollars worth of checks.) In his own words, Mosab Yousef did what he did in order “to save lives.”

Upon first meeting Yousef, there were a number of things I was curious to discover about his personality. Is he naïve or a realist? Is he extraordinarily foolish or extraordinarily brave? Has playing with fire become a way of life for him or does he take risks out of a sense of moral duty? More than once I was asked by other people, “Is he normal?” Considering the mind-boggling events that have shaped the life of Hamas’ prodigal son, the question is forgivable.

Normal or not, one thing about Mosab Yousef is that he is no politician. When asked whether he has any political aspirations, Yousef answers with a categorical “no.” Given his personality, his answer is hardly surprising. Yousef doesn’t seem to have a single trait that is conducive to being a politician. He has no sense of political correctness, and even though he is polite and refined, he lacks the diplomatic airs and graces of successful politicians. With utmost sincerity and an almost child-like earnestness, Yousef simply states the truth as he sees it.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: travelingCA

House Panel Votes Today on Prohibiting DC Abortions on Unborn Children that feel Pain

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A House Committee will vote today on a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy in the District of Columbia based on scientific evidence showing unborn children feel pain.

Arizona Republican Congressman Trent Franks introduced the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill is similar to a first-in-the-nation law the state of Nebraska passed that successfully drove late-term abortion practitioner LeRoy Carhart to move most of his abortion business to Maryland and bans abortions at 22 weeks gestation (20 weeks post-conception) due to the scientific evidence that not only do unborn children feel pain, they feel it more acutely because pain “dampeners” do not fully develop until 40 weeks gestation, and later.

Currently, in the District of Columbia, abortion is legal for any reason, until the very moment of birth.

According to officials with National Right to Life, at least two abortion providers currently are advertising that they provide abortions in the District past the point that the bill would establish protection – one to 24 weeks after fertilization, and the other during the third trimester, at least to seven and one-half months, and perhaps later.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Bill Gates gives $100k to support gay marriage in Washington State

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Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer and co-founder Bill Gates have each donated $100,000 to the campaign supporting the state’s new gay marriage law, which faces a referendum vote in November.

Zach Silk, campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage, said Monday that the checks were cut Friday and are being reported to the state Public Disclosure Commission on Monday afternoon.

“It’s going to make a tremendous difference,” Silk said. “It’s very important for us to have that broad support from business leaders and companies themselves.”

Microsoft is just one of several prominent Pacific Northwest businesses that have expressed their support for same-sex marriage, including Starbucks Corp. and Nike Inc.

Referendum 74 was certified for the ballot last month after gay marriage opponents turned in more than 240,000 signatures, far more than the minimum of 120,577 valid voter signatures required.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: World Economic Forum

Does EMILY’s List really know what women want?

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A few minutes before 3:00 PM last Thursday, the always-cheerful gals over at EMILY’s List (Early Money Is Like Yeast) sent out yet another e-mail blast begging for money. Since their “proven” track record is so less-than-stellar they opted to use this solicitous rant as an opportunity to address what they have accomplished this year.

They touted and featured some of the 1,300 pro-abortion Democrat women they’ve “trained” these last few months in an effort to excite their strictly pro-abortion base. In the hopes of adding even more to their already deep war-chests they lauded the “political prowess” of this year’s EMILY Listers. What they don’t mention and what becomes embarrassingly apparent every election night is that they should have cut back on the canvas bags and given these poor dears a lesson in the subtleties of concession speeches.

The e-mail that went out to millions of their subscribers notes and emphasizes that these pro-abort broads were made aware of what the American female electorate “really” wants as seen through the pro-abortion prism that is EMILY’s List. They claim to have conducted their own “extensive” polling and discovered that:  “The characteristics women voters seek in their congressional representatives include collaborative, equality, balance, relatable, listeners, nurturing, smaller egos, understanding, … and more feminine qualities.”  Really?!?

Nurturing? This is an organization that raises tens of millions of dollars each election cycle with the singular purpose of giving cash to women who advocate the destruction of their own children. In their warped and disconnected reality nothing says “nurturing” more than supporting partial-birth abortion. They advocate nurturing their unborn daughters by ripping them to shreds. Hamsters have a better “nurture” track record.

Smaller Egos? On June 16, 2009 Brigadier General Michael Walsh was testifying before the Environment and Public Works Committee. During the course of his back and forth with male Senators he referred to them as ”Sir,” which is the most common and respectful way of addressing Senators by members of our Armed Forces. But when he referred to Babs Boxer (D-CA) as “ma’am” (most respectful way the military addresses superiors) her super-sized ego attempted to publicly dress-him-down by insisting he call her “Senator.” You can watch the demure Ms. Boxer’s cringe-worthy exchange with the Brigadier General here.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: david_shankbone

Muslim nations’ fertility rates “have taken a steeper dive than any countries in history”

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Fertility rates of Muslim populations around the world have almost literally fallen off a cliff, so steep has been their decline. Policy makers at the UN and elsewhere have barely noticed this.

“There remains a widely perceived notion — still commonly held within intellectual, academic, and policy circles in the West and elsewhere — that ‘Muslim’ societies are especially resistant to embarking upon the path of demographic and familial change that has transformed population profiles in Europe, North America, and other ‘more developed’ areas,” write Nicholas Eberstadt and Apoorva Shah in the June 1 issue of Policy Review.

It is generally thought that Muslim fertility rates are growing by leaps and bounds. This has fed into the panic about growing Muslim influence, especially in Europe. While Eberstadt and Shah do not deal specifically with Muslims in Europe, they do point out that fertility rates have declined all over the Muslim world and that predominantly Muslim countries have taken a steeper dive than any countries in history.

Using data from the UN Population Division, which projects fertility rates for 190 countries, Eberstadt and Shah “appraise the magnitude of fertility declines in 48 of the world’s 49 identified Muslim-majority countries and territories.” The data show that “forty-eight Muslim-majority countries and territories witnessed fertility decline over the past three decades.”

When absolute fertility decline is examined, Eberstadt and Shah show “a drop of an estimated 2.6 births per woman between 1975 and 1980 and 2005 and 2010 — a markedly larger absolute decline than estimated for either the world as a whole (-1.3) or the less developed regions as a whole (-2.2) during those same years.” They point out that “Fully eighteen of these Muslim-majority places saw (total fertility rates) fall by three or more over those 30 years–with nine of them by four births per woman or more.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Abortion backers assault more pro-lifers in recent violent assaults

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In recent days we have reported on the assault of a pro-life protester (caught on video and followed by arrest) and the vandalization of a pro-life leader’s home.

Here are two more attacks by abortion supporters against pro-lifers to report.

The first occurred June 30 and is in follow-up to my story that pro-life activists planned to distribute flyers outing country singer JoDell Nauert as the owner of three abortion clinics at an Independence Day gig.

This was ironically a charity event for a group supporting handicapped children and adults.

Six pro-lifers paid to enter the event and were in the process of distributing tracts when organizers asked them to leave, which they did.

But one of those pro-lifers, Steve Kinn (above right) is a disabled veteran who walks with a cane due to injuries sustained to both his knees. When he didn’t exit fast enough, the property owner allegedly shoved him, making him fall to the ground and reinjure one of his reconstructed knees to the extent he had to be taken out in an ambulance.

It was of no help that a police officer threatened to arrest Kinn for trespassing both before and after he reached the hospital.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: tobyjmarks