I was just reading an article from the International Coffee Organization and I just learned today that coffee does not cause dehydration as most people have said and believed. In fact drinking coffee is another way of fluid intake, which a body needs in average 6 to 8 glasses a day. Coffee actually has many benefits for our body. It will save you. ICO says that "Two cups of coffee is all it takes to overcome fatigue". (READ MORE)

With the world economy plunging to the bottom of the pit faster than a blink, my deepest desires have been racing the thought of hitting the big score. The hope of winning the mega lottery, the promotion at work, landing a successful business or even simply getting the dream vacation are ahead of the race. Actually this is kind of natural to anybody but I feel like I have the strongest urge of them all to hitting the big score.

Just like everyone else though here in the US I have been hit so hard with the poor economy. Worried about loosing a good job and not being able to catch up.

I am from a culture of ambitious but conservative people, you know how that is, "before moving a muscle, you have to use all your senses" but 100 times magnified.

Sometimes (not by luck) in order to hit the big score you do exactly the unexpected or even the opposite of the circumstance. I have taken the risks and so far it has been good to me. I am hoping that this pace is taking me on the right direction and I strongly believe that it will even be better when the economy goes back on its track.

Obama's plan includes four new major ideas about job creation, relief to families, relief to homeowners and responding to the financial crisis:

Job Creation: A New American Jobs Tax Credit. Obama is calling for a temporary tax credit for firms that create new jobs in the United States over the next two years.

Relief to Families: Penalty-Free Withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s in 2008 and 2009. Obama is calling for new legislation to allow families to withdraw 15% of their retirement savings – up to a maximum of $10,000 – without facing a tax-penalty this year (including retroactively) and next year.

Relief to Homeowners: 90 day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners that are acting in good faith. Financial institutions that participate in the Treasury’s financial rescue plan should be required to adhere to a homeowners code of conduct, including a 90-day foreclosure moratorium for any homeowners living in their homes that are making good faith efforts pay their mortgages.

Responding to the Financial Crisis: A Lending Facility to Address the Credit Crisis for States and Localities. Obama is calling on the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to work to establish a facility to lend to state and municipal governments, similar to the steps the Fed recently took to provide liquidity to the commercial paper market.
Obama’s plan also calls for temporarily eliminating taxes on unemployment insurance benefits; keeping all options on the table to help our automakers weather the financial crisis; having the Fed and Treasury prepare for guaranteeing a broader range of liabilities of the banking system; and instructing Treasury to help unfreeze markets for individual mortgages, student loans, car loans, loans for multi-family dwellings and credit card loans. (READ FULL ARTICLE)

The world's heaviest man has tied the knot.

Manuel Uribe, who hasn't left his bed in six years, married his longtime girlfriend Claudia Solis Sunday in northern Mexico.

Wearing a white silk shirt with a sheet wrapped around his legs, Uribe smiled as Solis, 38, walked down a flight of stairs wearing a strapless ivory dress, a tiara and hot-pink lipstick.

He later broke into tears as a notary declared the couple husband and wife in a civil ceremony attended by more than 400 guests. For the traditional first dance as newlyweds, Uribe and Solis held hands and swayed to a romantic ballad.

A popular local norteno band played accordion-heavy tunes at the reception, which featured a banquet of meat and buttered vegetables.

Uribe's mother, Orquedia Garza, said the groom steered clear of the five-tier wedding cake.

"He didn't break his diet," she told The Associated Press. "His doctors are here and they are watching him very closely."

The wedding, which was closed to most media, will be featured in an upcoming Discovery Channel documentary on Uribe, the 43-year-old former mechanic said.

"I have a wife and will form a new family and live a happy life," Uribe told hordes of reporters earlier as they followed him through the streets of Monterrey.

A flatbed truck was brought in to tow his custom-made bed decorated with a canopy, flowers and gold-trimmed bows to the wedding at a local event hall. Two police patrol cars escorted him ahead of a long line of traffic.

Uribe tipped the scales in 2006 at 1,230 pounds (560 kilograms), earning him the Guinness World Record as the world's heaviest man.

He has since shed about 550 pounds (250 kilograms) with the help of Solis, whom he met four years ago.

Uribe said he's gunning for a new title: world's greatest weight loser. (WATCH VIDEO)

Peru promotes "vertical birthing" as a way to combat high rates of maternal mortality in the Andean country.

In Peru, at least 185 women die for every 100,000 births. In the US that number stands at about 20. (WATCH VIDEO)

A Japanese robot research centre have created a robot that can do household chores.

Japanese scientists have created a robot that mops up, does the laundry and even cleans the kitchen. The 'Assistant Robot' is the brain child of Tokyo University's Information and Robot Technology (IRT) Research Initiative system research centre and a slew of japanese companies including Toyota Corp, Sega, Panasonic and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

The robot can "see" three dimensional objects and locate them as well as recognising when a job has not been completed properly and move to complete it. Laundry is said to be one of its favourite chores. It can find a dirty shirt, throw it into a washing machine and push the buttons to wash and rinse and spin dry clothes. But those who think this might be the answer to their cleaning woes can't rejoice just yet. The research centre says it will be another decade or two before the robot can be mass-produced. (WATCH VIDEO)

NASA on Sunday launched a probe into orbit high above earth to study the distant edge of the solar system where hot solar winds crash into the cold outer space.

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) was launched at 1745 GMT, according to images broadcast live by the US space agency.

The small probe was deployed on a Pegasus rocket which dropped from the bay doors of a Lockheed L-1011 jet flying at 12,000 meters (40,000 feet) over the southern Pacific Ocean near the Marshall Islands.

"The count went really smooth... and everything appears to be going well," NASA assistant launch manager Omar Baez said shortly after the launch. (READ MORE)

“Maligayang pagdating sa Tagalog na Facebook.”

The extremely popular social networking site Facebook has switched on its Tagalog version catering to the site’s growing Filipino user base.

The Tagalog version effectively expands Facebook’s language options to 34 (seven are still in beta phase).

Most of the services and options in the Tagalog version of Facebook are translated into the vernacular, with only a few exceptions. The Home, Inbox and Profile tabs remain in English and all English messages and posts sent by users’ friends’ list will not be translated.

Many Filipino uses have already started using the Tagalog version of Facebook, sending messages to other users in Tagalog, as well as posting on Walls and Pokes.

One example: “Ano ginagawa mo ngayon? roughly translates “What are you doing?” — a question posed by Facebook which users can fill in with short messages.

Facebook is also encouraging Filipino users to invite others to use the Tagalog version.

Facebook is one of the fastest growing social networking sites worldwide. It currently has over 110 million users who are utilizing about 24,000 applications, many of which are developed and contributed by users.

DESPITE the migration of many Filipino medical professionals abroad, the Department of Tourism (DOT) still believes the Philippines can become a medical tourism destination.

“In fact, a lot of them are coming back because of that [medical tourism],” said Cynthia Carrion, DOT undersecretary for Sports and Wellness, during the Philippine Health and Wellness Summit here in Manila.

Carrion related that Filipino doctor Samuel Bernal has been bringing his patients to the Philippines for the past 15 years.

Bernal believes that the Philippines can be competitive because of the quality of its labor force.

“Taking care of people is not an automatic, robotic thing, where it is not the machine that can replace the human touch, and that is the competitive advantage of the Philippines,” added Bernal.

Bernal also said that scientists and physicians should collaborate in order to improve medical technology and healthcare.

“We just have to direct them into providing the type of scientific support that will allow medical professionals to deliver the best technology and the best care to patients,” Bernal said.

Not only should scientists and physicians collaborate, but also hospitals, added Dr. James McCormick, president of Premier Medical Travel Company.

“Competition should not be local but global. Hospitals within a country should work together because the reward for the country is greater than the reward for any single hospital,” added McCormick.

Google's phone debuts.

Customers line up in New York City to be the first to buy Google's new G1 phone.

It's been dubbed by some as the "iPhone killer." Some analysts expect as many as 400,000 G-1 phones will be sold in the United States by year end.
(WATCH VIDEO)

Republican John McCain's campaign defended vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin on Friday over a flap involving $150,000 in clothes purchased by the Republican Party for her and her family's use. (READ MORE)

Bleak outlooks from world carmakers and more news of big job cuts at major companies on Thursday deepened fears in corporate boardrooms and trading floors around the world of an extended global recession.

Asian shares tumbled, hit by weaker-than-expected Japanese export data, European stocks closed slightly lower as losses in banks and automobiles eclipsed gains in oil and defensive shares, and emerging markets were pounded again.
(READ MORE)

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress on Thursday he is "shocked" at the breakdown in U.S. credit markets and said he was "partially" wrong to resist regulation of some securities.

Despite concerns he had in 2005 that risks were being underestimated by investors, "this crisis, however, has turned out to be much broader than anything I could have imagined," Greenspan said in remarks prepared for delivery to the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
(READ MORE)

Two U.S. fighter planes were scrambled and ordered to shoot down an unidentified flying object (UFO) over the English countryside during the Cold War, according to secret files made public on Monday.
(READ MORE)

Exports are projected to reach $84.4 billion in 2010 in a new three-year Export Development Plan that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has approved, the government-private sector Export Development Council (EDC) said.

The plan puts export earnings at $64.2 billion in 2008, up nine percent from $58.8 billion in 2007.

However, the Philippine Exporters Confederation said these projections might have to be reviewed because the global financial meltdown might have rendered them unrealistic.

The EDC said that under the plan, which President Arroyo approved last month, exports of goods are expected to grow by 4-8 percent and exports of services by 35-40 percent. (READ MORE)

Intel demonstrated the first working Moorestown chips to come out of its labs during the Intel Developer Forum here.

Moorestown, which was first announced by the company in 2007, consists of two silicons; Lincroft and Langwell. Lincroft integrates the input/output processor, memory controller, graphics, video encode/decode and native 2D, while Langwell, a single communication hub, supports various I/O ports enabling connection with wireless, storage, and display components.

Moorestown is designed for portable computers dubbed by Intel as Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs).
(READ MORE)

“There’s an entirely new political media ecology that’s been formed because of this platform we call YouTube,” Rasiej said.

Some of McCain’s hardest-hitting video ads such as “Celeb” or “The One,” in which Obama is depicted as an over-hyped media creation, never appeared on broadcast television but only on YouTube as so-called “ghost videos.”

But, as intended by the McCain campaign, the video ads took on a life of their own, being picked up by television networks, sent around as links on the Internet and written about by bloggers and mainstream print media.

The costs of producing the Web-only videos were a fraction of the costs of a traditional television or radio advertising buy.

YouTube has not only been used as a vehicle for free campaign advertising, it’s also allowed the candidates to get their message directly to the public.

Both candidates have their own channels on YouTube—youtube.com/barackobama and youtube.com/johnmccain. (READ MORE)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said a Web search advertising deal with Yahoo Inc makes economic sense and may still be possible, though the two sides are not in any discussions.

Shares of Yahoo jumped as much as 17 percent as investors hoped Ballmer's comments could lead to the two sides returning to the negotiating table. But gains were pared back to about 12 percent after Microsoft issued a statement saying it had no interest in buying Yahoo. (READ MORE)

Shock waves from the global financial crisis are now being felt in almost every corner of working America as companies press the eject button on increasing numbers of employees.

While the ax has been falling for months in the financial and home-building industries -- where the current economic downturn started -- as well as the Detroit auto industry, makers of everything from soft drinks to water filtration systems have unveiled hefty rounds of job cuts in recent weeks as they brace for what some predict could become a long and deep recession. (READ MORE)

The Eiffel Tower is cutting down on its display of sparkling lights to set an example of energy saving, its management said Friday.

The Eiffel Tower has twinkled for 10 minutes every hour on the hour during the evening since January 2000.

Now, to reinforce the message that energy must be saved for environmental reasons, the tower will sparkle for just five minutes every hour.

The tower's managers said the measure was mostly symbolic, as the 20,000 flashing light bulbs that produce the twinkling effect consume relatively little energy.

The 300-meter (984-foot) tower is France's most recognizable monument. It has become a popular activity for tourists to gather during the evening on bridges and squares to watch the spectacle.

"Joe the Plumber" -- Joe Wurzelbacher of Toledo, Ohio -- was the surprise star of the third and final presidential debate, getting no less than 13 mentions.

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama met Wurzelbacher on the campaign trail in Holland, Ohio.

"Joe the Plumber" asked Obama about his tax plan, saying he is about to buy a company that makes a little over $250,000 a year, and under Obama's proposal, that would put him into a higher tax bracket. Obama told Joe that he wasn't trying to punish his success, only to "spread the wealth around."

McCain criticised Obama's proposal to raise taxes on those who make more than $250,000 a year, saying it would hurt small business owners like "Joe the Plumber." Obama responded that "Joe the Plumber" needed a tax cut five years ago, and he wants to "make sure that the plumber, the nurse, the firefighter, the teacher, the young entrepreneur who doesn't yet have money, I want to give them a tax break now."

A Lebanese car enthusiast his hoping the design of his high speed supercar will catch on.

David Frem's 90, 000-dollar supercar creation has turned a childhood dream into reality and he is now hoping to develop his design and submit it to the North American Auto Show next year. (SEE VIDEO)

Marking a visit from British Queen Elizabeth to their London offices, Google includes a doodle of the monarch on their website.

The British monarch has had a long relationship with technology, in 1976 the Queen sent an email during a visit to an army base, and last year a Royal Channel on You Tube was launched. (SEE VIDEO)

Mazda denied Saturday that a decision had been made by troubled Ford Motor Co. to sell its stake in the Japanese automaker but it didn't rule out a possible deal.

Japanese media reported Saturday that Ford was considering selling its one-third stake in Hiroshima-based Mazda Motor Corp. Public broadcaster NHK TV, without citing sources, reported that Ford would maintain some of its stake in Mazda and management ties.
"Nothing has been decided," Mazda said in a statement received Saturday by The Associated Press. "Any important decision will be disclosed."

The move, should it happen, would be a symbolic retreat for U.S. automakers in Japan. General Motors Corp. similarly sold off its stakes in Japanese automakers in recent years.

Selling shares of Mazda, which makes the RX-8 sports car and Miata roadster, would furnish Ford with cash as it tries to turn around its business.

Ford has struggled amid a drastic downturn in U.S. auto sales, burning through nearly $11 billion of its cash stockpile in the past year. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker reported its worst-ever quarterly loss of $8.7 billion in the second quarter.
(READ MORE)

TOKYO (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F - News) is considering selling its stake in Japan's Mazda Motor Co (Tokyo:7261.T - News), a source familiar with the matter said, as debt-laden U.S. automakers struggle with weakening auto sales and the global credit crunch.

Japanese broadcaster NHK said earlier that Ford, which has 33.4 percent of Mazda, was considering selling about 20 percent and had already approached Japanese companies for the sale, adding Mazda would likely buy some of the shares.

The source did not specify how many shares Ford wanted to sell. Mazda has a market capitalization of about 408.5 billion yen ($4.1 billion), which would value Ford's entire stake at around $1.36 billion.

In a statement, Mazda said no specific decision has been made. Ford also said it had nothing to announce and did not want to comment on speculation.

"Our relationship with Mazda has not changed," Ford said.

(READ MORE)

Many people assume they aren't rich because they don't earn enough money. If I only earned a little more, I could save and invest better, they say.


The problem with that theory is they were probably making exactly the same argument before their last several raises. Becoming a millionaire has less to do with how much you make, it's how you treat money in your daily life.

The list of reasons you may not be rich doesn't end at 10. Caring what your neighbors think, not being patient, having bad habits, not having goals, not being prepared, trying to make a quick buck, relying on others to handle your money, investing in things you don't understand, being financially afraid and ignoring your finances.


Here are 10 more possible reasons you aren't rich:

You care what your car looks like: A car is a means of transportation to get from one place to another, but many people don't view it that way. Instead, they consider it a reflection of themselves and spend money every two years or so to impress others instead of driving the car for its entire useful life and investing the money saved. (READ MORE)

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp., Chrysler LLC and Cerberus Capital Management LP have held preliminary talks about a merger or an acquisition of Chrysler by GM, according to a person familiar with the talks.

Chrysler, which is 80.1 percent owned by Cerberus, already has a joint venture with GM making a hybrid gas-electric powertrain, and has discussed a full merger or acquisition with GM, said the person, who did not want to be identified because the talks have not been made public.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people it described as familiar with the discussions, reported that Cerberus, a private equity firm that also owns 51 percent of GMAC Financial Services, proposed trading Chrysler's automotive operations to GM in exchange for GM's remaining 49 percent stake in GMAC.

The New York Times, also citing people familiar with the talks, reported that the automakers were discussing a merger.

(READ MORE)

YouTube said Friday it is adding full-length television shows to the menu at its globally popular website famous for snack-sized video snippets.

Episodes of classic television programs including "Star Trek," "MacGyver" and "Beverly Hills 90210" will be available in a "theater view" format unveiled at YouTube earlier this week.

"We are starting to test full-length programming on YouTube, beginning with some fan favorites requested by you," the Google-owned website said in a message posted online.
(READ MORE)

For all of you on Main Street who have been watching the turmoil on Wall Street for the last few weeks, Monday's shockwaves rattled even the most steadfast.

The day began with the announcement that another big bank -- Wachovia -- had been taken over, just days after Washington Mutual collapsed and was sold. In early afternoon, the House rejected the bailout package for the financial industry. Stocks plunged, with the Dow ending the day down nearly 778 points in the worst single-day drop in two decades.

What is a regular investor to make of it all? What about people who have money in bank accounts? Below are some answers to questions that are probably on your mind.

Q. Why did the stock market fall so far so fast on Monday?

Q. What's likely to happen in the markets over the next few days?

Q. Is any investment truly safe right now?

(READ MORE)

It's time to make adjustments to your daily spending.

Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chairman, said last weekend on ABC This Week that this is the worst economy he has ever seen and the decline "still has a way to go." Things will get worse before they get better, so make adjustments to your finances.
When it comes to saving money and getting your personal finances in order, it's often little changes that can add up to big savings. (However, you can also save a lot of money quickly the hard way.

Here are some simple daily changes that you can make right now:

Get up an hour earlier

Many costs you incur on a daily basis stem from disorganization. If you are rushing out the door, you're going to end up forgetting something that will cost you. Rising earlier in the morning will mean you have enough time to do everything that needs to be done properly.

Use less

Once you get up in the morning, you head to the bathroom to get ready for the day. You likely use a lot of health-care products such as toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, shampoo, conditioner and deodorant, to name just a few. Chances are you use a lot more than you really need to. Commercials encourage consumption because companies make more money if you buy another bottle, tube or container of their product. Try using half (or less) and find the least amount that still gets the job done. If you pay half as much for all your products, you will save several hundred dollars a year at a minimum.

MANNY PACQUIAO AND OSCAR DE LA HOYA may not be fighting for any alphabet title, but their projected $100-million fight has caught the attention of the current welterweight title holders.

Two of them, Antonio Margarito and Paul Williams, both predicted a knockout victory in favor of the taller, bigger and older De La Hoya, reported cable giant ESPN.

Margarito, jilted by De La Hoya in favor of Pacquiao for the Dec. 6 megafight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, sounded like a spurned suitor when asked for his opinion.

“Now Oscar is getting brave with a 135-pound fighter and is trying to convince everyone that it’s a tough fight,” Margarito was quoted by ESPN.com.

Pacquiao, who took the WBC lightweight crown at the expense of David Diaz in June, will be jumping two weight classes to meet De La Hoya, who has fought in the light middleweight territory the past seven years.

“He wants to show the world that he can pull the trigger against a 135-pounder,” added Margarito.

The 5-foot-11 holder of the IBF and the WBA titles was trying to hinge a career-turning fight with De La Hoya but the Golden Boy pointed him to the direction of current WBO champ Paul Williams.

Margarito felt that his sensational 11th round KO of Miguel Cotto, whom De La Hoya initially wanted to fight, gave him a ticket to a super-rich fight against boxing’s biggest star.

But De La Hoya, the 10-time world champion in six weight classes and Olympic gold medalist thought otherwise.

“We believe that there’s still a score to settle between Margarito and Williams,” Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schafer said.

Williams, a 6-foot-1 KO artist, defeated Margarito in July last year for the WBO belt.

“Oscar will stop Manny within three rounds,” Williams told ESPN.

“I don’t want to take anything away from Pacquiao, but his punches won’t hurt De La Hoya. Manny is just too small, and Oscar is just too big.”

Tofu factory waste is being turned into energy in Indonesia.

Indonesians in a central Java village are turning tofu factory waste into energy, reducing both air and water pollution and offering an alternative to fossil fuels. Soy-rich wastewater is left to ferment, and the biogas produced is used by two tofu factories and 20 households in the area. (SEE VIDEO)