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Today we’d like to share a song which some call fabulous, while for others it sounds “nothing special” and too “folkish” – “ Seven Mile Breakdown ” by Taylor Hicks, the winner of the fifth season of American Idol . Well, the music video to the song is one of the most viewed on various music sites. We’d like to show you this video that is loved by thousands, too. Below you’ll also find “ Seven Mile Breakdown” lyrics .

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TV superstars Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick and Leighton Meester were snapped by the paparazzi on the set of “Gossip Girl” filming season three, on the streets of Manhattan over the past few days in New York City.The CW has renewed Gossip Girl for a third season, which will start airing in on September 14, 2009. FOX 8 (Australia) is yet to make an announcement on dates the hit-television-show will dominate air-waves down under. See www.hollywoodtreatment.net for more articles.

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The Venezuelan Health Ministry announced yesterday that the new soft drink product Coke Zero would be withdrawn from national circulation while health authorities investigated its ingredients for potentially unsafe substances. The decision has generated a flurry of articles and television news reports that suggest that the measure is linked to a recent wave of nationalizations or sparked by anti-U.S. motivations. No mainstream news outlet, however, has sought to address the real health risks that may be posed by the new product despite the fact that consumer advocacy groups and medical experts have signaled that at least two of Coke Zeros ingredients aspartame and acesulfame potassium are potentially carcinogenic.
President Chavez held a meeting with Jean Ping, President of the African Union, yesterday afternoon, to discuss preparations for the Summit of African and South American leaders that will take place in Caracas at the end of September. The two leaders talked about building cooperation between both continents and discussed the implications of the global economic crisis. After the meeting, Ping told the press that he considered that President Chavez has become a spokesperson for the nations that do not have a voice especially in Africa.
The Washington Post once again focuses its attention on the Venezuelan governments alleged mistreatment of the opposition news channel Globovision in an article published today. The article cites the police search of the home of the channels CEO, Guillermo Zuloaga, without explaining that the measure didnt involve Globovision and was in fact part of an investigation of suspected illicit activities related to Zuloagas car dealerships. Interestingly, a spokesperson for the Committee to to Protect Journalists is at first quoted in the article excoriating President Chavez for a direct attack against freedom of expression but later recognizes the clear role the private media played in the [April, 2002]coup and laments that there are no judicial sentences against them.
In response to the many articles in the international media on the Venezuelan governments alleged attacks on free speech, the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) has posted a piece that suggests that the Chavez administration has legitimate reasons for holding politically motivated news channels accountable. The piece also considers that the foreign news media has promoted local distortions seeking to demonize the Chavez government rather than carefully examining the legal basis for the measures taken against Globovision.
Finally, the national soccer teams of Venezuela and Uruguay ended a World Cup qualifying match in a 2-2 draw in Puerto Ordaz last night. While Uruguay can no longer qualify as a participant in the 2010 FIFA Cup in South Africa, Venezuela is still in the running.

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Lucky enough to receive great support at work, the actress worked through both her pregnancies. Appearing on the television drama Third Watch when she became pregnant with Luke, the show was incredibly physical and required her to lift gurneys, among other things. Thankfully, I had an amazing producer, who knows the value of family and found ways to make it work, she recalls. Luckily, I was wearing a big paramedic coat, so I was pregnant until the last minute of shooting and then we were on hiatus. While expecting Leo, Kim was part of NBCs Lipstick Jungle and found them to be just as supportive as her previous show. Being in sample size clothing with a big belly was an interesting, tricky thing, remembers Kim. But I’ve never seen a group of people rally behind me and support me as much as our executive producer and everyone on that set. Not only during my pregnancy, but afterwards when I was nursing for 10 months.
Even though everyone was supportive of Kim, she admits that working motherhood is a real juggling act. I had a nursery on the set, so I had my children with me during the day, she admits. But it’s tricky managing 10 pages of dialogue, costume changes and then feeling stress because you want to be the parent and also do your job really well. So you learn to multitask and get things done in a shorter period of time.
To that end, Kim figured out a schedule that worked for her. I would memorize my lines on the way to work and get my emails done while I was in hair and makeup so I could go spend time with the kids, she explains. It’s a tough schedule; if I had to be up at 4 a.m., I’d go to sleep at 7 p.m. And I learned to sacrifice some things like watching TV. I wasn’t doing much for myself.
Making sure she is the one caring for her sons I love the little things like feeding them, bathing them and reading them stories   is important to Kim, 40 even when theyre making messes! On a recent flight with her boys and their babysitter, Leo became ill. He was throwing up all over me and, even though I had help, I was the one who was caring for my child, Kim notes.

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On Tuesday, March 31st, the last day of Women's History Month I got the unique chance to participate in a seminar at Decatur Correctional Center. Basically what happened is 40 successful career women were selected to be a mentor for the day to one of forty female offenders. The female offenders were identified by facility staff as offenders who had potential but were not utilizing it to their benefit. The career women were Chiefs, Deputy Directors, Wardens, Counselors, Assistant Wardens, ex-offenders who now have successful business's just to name a few. The female offenders who were chosen knew they would be participating in something they had been selected for but they did not know who was part of the group and what they would be doing for the day...I thought that was a pretty cool way to surprise them.

The women came in and sat in chairs that were open, when we came into the room we had spaced ourselves one chair apart so then the offenders had to chose somewhere to sit...so as mentors we had no idea who would choose to sit next to us...then they quickly found out that they would be spending the entire day with their mentor. I could tell they were a little overwhelmed and uneasy about what would be happening all day.

The day was broken into 3 focus groups, each group had a theme: Relationships, Self-Esteem, and Planning...there were 2 groups in the morning and then lunch ( they ate with us during lunch, which was a little tough) and then a last focus group in the afternoon and a closing ceremony where they got to speak about the experience and give thanks.

I mentored Wanda Norfleet who is 44 years old, mother of 7 and is incarcerated for her sixth time in her life all for drug charges. Wanda asked me what we would be doing for the day and I could tell she was trying to figure out how to get out of this program. We had to find out a little bit about each other and then introduce the other person. I told Wanda that I had worked for Corrections for 20 years, I was currently the Warden at Dwight, that I had a wonderful husband, and a dog named Lily. Wanda told me she had one son who was 29, she grew up in Chicago and loved to work. (notice the diffence in her reporting of kids, compared to what I wrote) The first and most revealing focus group was that of relationships which Wanda told me she did not have relationship issues...but of course I called her out on that because she does...her relationship with drugs and alcohol has impacted her life. This really opened up the door for her and all of a sudden she started crying and stated that she has 7 kids but she was ashamed to tell me because she only raised the one who is 29 and the others have all ended up in foster homes. So we spent a lot of time talking about this and some plans and goals.

Another thing I noticed is that she was animate about not liking school or any classes, said she is better at working and does not have the concentration to sit that long...I though this particularly odd since most women really like going to school and/or taking classes to help themselves...now I know she has been incarcerated 6 times, has 7 kids, denies having relationship issues and doesn't like school, but loves to work? So I got to the heart of this when she broke down and said she thought she was stupid and that everyone would judge her because she does not spell or write very good...ah hah... We had to do several projects where she had to write thing down on paper for me so I thought this was a good way to see what kinds of skills she did have. Through this exercises I learned that she does know more than she gives herself credit for, but she does not allow herself the time to work through the words she has trouble with and I encouraged her that she should go at her own pass and told her, "hey I have to use the dictionary and she should not be ashamed to sound things out or take a little longer when she is writing". She really did much better once she saw I did not judge her and was truly interested in her goals and methods of improvement. At one point she got brave enough to share with the class what she had told me with tears rolling down her face, which made me tear up.

We then had lunch and this was part of the focus, they actually ate lunch with us, which I must admit was the hardest thing for me all day. It was so easy for me to want to go talk to one of my other colleagues and visit because that is what is comfortable, but I did not do this, instead I really tried to focus on visiting about routine things that Wanda has experienced and what she likes, places she wants to travel. I was most amazed that she is very content and does not want for much, except to feel smart and accepted.

The last focus group went well and then we broke into the gym where we gathered in a circle and the women were allowed to get up and talk about what had changed for them, what today meant, and what they were going to do to change their behaviors. The mentors were also allowed to get up and talk about the experience as well, but most of us let the women have the floor because today was about them! I hugged Wanda told her I would periodically check up on her and that I would see about getting her the help she needs to complete her GED...and that was the main goal for now. I encouraged her to sign up for drug counseling and drug education and self-esteem classes that are offered at Decatur.

Most people would not understand how a day can change the way you view the world and what part you take in it...and mostly what you take away from it. I am sure I will blog more about Wanda as she progress's to her outdate which is about 26 months from now.

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anniversary of the U.S. Navys departure from Vieques. Editorial Vieques Libre offers a reprint of an editorial from May 1, 2003, still relevant six years later:
“The struggle for peace and justice in Vieques continues. The U.S. Navys May 2003 departure from Vieques is an admirable victory for the people of Vieques and for their many peace-loving allies who participated in that important struggle. However, the U.S. military still controls certain lands in Vieques -namely the Monte Pirata communications site and the ROTHR (Relocatable Over The Horizon Radar) site- on the Western part of the island. The federal government also controls several acres of land in the Western part of Vieques that used to be used as ammunition depot. And following the U.S. Navys departure from the eastern side of Vieques, the totality of the land will remain in the hands of the federal government, as the U.S. Navy has transferred it to the U.S. Department of Interior and not to the people of Vieques.
Thus, the demands of decontamination and clean up of the lands, of the return of the lands to the people of Vieques, and of sustainable development for Vieques, remain unmet and the struggle to achieve those goals continues. At the same time, the health crisis caused by more than 60 years of bombing in Vieques with everything from live bombs to napalm and depleted uranium, will still be felt in Vieques long after the Navys departure. There must be remediation, compensation and treatment for the many Viequenses who suffer as a result of the military activities on their island. On July 29, 2001, the people of Vieques were given the opportunity to cast a vote over the issue of the Navy presence on their island. In spite of all the money and influence of the Navy to try to influence the results, the people of Vieques spoke with a clear voice: 68 percent of the residents voted for the Immediate and permanent termination of the military exercises and bombings of the Navy in Vieques, withdrawal of the Navy from Vieques, and cleaning and return of Viequense lands to its citizens.
The cessation of bombing and the Navys departure from the eastern side of Vieques has been a huge victory, long overdue for a people who have suffered too much for too long. But the remaining demands are unmet.
The struggle for peace and justice in Vieques continues.”
Photograph from www.nyboricua.com/vieques.

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Here’s Lindsay Lohan hanging out (almost literally) in Hollywood wearing a flimsy dress and not wearing a bra… yet again. I know that most of you will probably be repulsed by her showing off that much, umm, side cleavage, but I think she looks drop dead sexy, and has looked drop dead sexy ever since breaking up with her lesser half.
Now before you start asking, I’ve censored the photos where you see the side of her bosom, even though there isn’t any actual nudity, because I know most you guys/girls get queasy at that much Lohan hotness. Cheers.

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Hottest bikini calendar girls of the year

They are high in sizzle quotient and they have just one mission turn on the heat and keep it up all year round. For these are not just mere calendar girls. You have seen the Kingfisher, Desiclub, Manish Chaturvedi, Gitaa and Daboo Ratnani avatars of these gorgeous gals. Now we pick and choose only the ultimate scorchers, with one aim in mind. To celebrate bikini week, we unveil a lineup of the hottest calendar pages that decked the walls in recent times. Coz this week, irrespective of where they come from, we put Hotties first!

Les start off with this sensuous siren swinging right into every mans heart and fantasies, from the Desiclub calendar. Rashi Stephens pauses a while before admitting she was nervous posing for her first bikini shoot.

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The solutions to the energy, food and climate change crises have to be integral and interdependent. We cannot resolve a problem creating others in the areas fundamental to life. For example, generalising the use of agro fuels can only impact negatively on the price of food and in the utilisation of essential resources such as water, land and forests.
9) We condemn discrimination against migrants in all its forms. Migration is a human right, not a crime. Therefore, we demand an urgent reform to the migration policies of the United States government, with the objective of detaining deportations and mass raids, allowing the reunification of families, and we demand the elimination of the wall that divides and separates us, rather than uniting us.
In this sense, we demand the repeal of the Cuban Adjustment Act and the elimination of the policies of Wetbacks-Drybacks, which has a discriminatory and selective character, and is the cause of loss of human lives.
Those that are truly to blame for the financial crisis are the bankers that steal money and the resources of our countries, not migrant workers. Human rights come first, particularly the human rights of the most unprotected and marginalised sectors of our society, as undocumented workers are.
For there to be integration there has to be free circulation of people, and equal human rights for all regardless of migratory status. Brain drain constitutes a form of looting of qualified human resources by the rich countries.
10) Basic services such as education, health, water, energy and telecommunications have to be declared human rights and cannot be the objects of private business nor be commodified by the World Trade Organisation. These services are and should be essential, universally accessible public services
11) We want a world where all countries, big and small, have the same rights and empires do not exist. We advocate against intervention. Strengthen, as the only legitimate channel for discussion and analysis of bilateral and multilateral agendas of the continent, the base of mutual respect between states and governments, under the principal of non-interference of one state over another and the inviolability of the sovereignty and self-determination of the peoples.
We demand that the new government of the United States, whose inauguration has generated some expectations in the region and the world, put an end to the long and nefarious tradition of interventionism and aggression that has characterised the actions of the governments of this country throughout its history, especially brutal during the government of George W. Bush.
In the same way, eliminate interventionist practices such as covert operations, parallel diplomacy, media wars aimed at destabilising states and governments, and the financing of destabilising groups. It is fundamental that we construct a world in which a diversity of economic, political, social and cultural approaches are recognised and respected.
12) Regarding the United States blockade against Cuba and the exclusion of this country from the Summit of the Americas, the countries of the Bolivarian Alternatives for the People of Our Americas reiterates the position that all the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean adopted last December 16, 2008, regarding the necessity of putting an end to the economic, trade and financial blockade imposed by the government of the United States of America against Cuba, including the application of the denominated Helms-Burton law and that among its paragraphs notes:
“CONSIDERING the resolutions approved by the United Nations General Assembly on the need to put an end to the economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba and the decisions on the latter approved at several international meetings,
“DECLARE that in defence of free trade and the transparent practice of international trade, it is unacceptable to apply unilateral coercive measures that will affect the well-being of nations and obstruct the processes of integration.
“WE REJECT the implementation of laws and measures that contradict International Law such as the Helms-Burton law and urge the U.S. Government to put an end to its implementation.
WE ASK the U.S. Government to comply with the 17 successive resolutions approved at the United Nations General Assembly and put an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo it has imposed on Cuba.”
Moreover, we believe that the attempts to impose an isolation on Cuba, which today is an integral part of the Latin American and Caribbean region, is a member of the Rio Group and other organisations and regional mechanisms, that carries out a policy of cooperation and solidarity with the people of the region, that promotes the full integration of the Latin American and Caribbean peoples, has failed, and that, therefore, no reason exists to justify its exclusion from the Summit of the Americas.
13) The developed countries have destined no less than $8 trillion towards rescuing the financial structure that has collapsed. They are the same ones that do not comply with spending a small sum to reach the Millennium Goals or 0.7% of GDP for Official Development Aid. Never before have we seen so nakedly the hypocrisy of the discourse of the rich countries. Cooperation has to be established without conditions and adjusted to the agendas of the receiving countries, simplifying the procedures, making resources accessible and privileging issues of social inclusion.
14) The legitimate struggle against narco-trafficking and organised crime, and any other manifestation of the denominated “new threats,” should not be utilised as excuses for carrying out acts of interference or intervention against our countries.
15) We are firmly convinced that change, which all the world is hoping for, can only come about through the organisation, mobilisation and unity of our peoples.
As the Liberator well stated:
“The unity of our peoples is not simply the chimera of men, but an inexorable fate”
Simón Bolívar.

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After a Little black dress parade, we need something a little more casual, something that shows off celebrity legs curves. I know! Jeans!
4 celebs, 4 different pairs of jeans, paired with boots or with heels, with casual or cleavagey tops.
Above: Curvy girl Beyonce in tight jeans and Katherine McPhee looking a little curvier than usually (maybe a little weight gain?)
Below: Slim girl Anna Faris in a casual outfit and Kendra Wilkinson with narrow hips and mega cleavage.

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Authorized Vendor for Herbal Hair Oil. This ancient Ayurvedic recipe combines 10 different herbs in a rich plant oil base to soothe protect and strengthen both hair and scalp. An intensive revitalizing treatment it is great for all hair types - although it is particularly effective at improving the condition of dry/damaged and brittle hair. Use weekly for scalp massage and/or as a hot oil treatment. Results: strong lustrous hair..

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Authorized Vendor for Herbal Armor Lotion. Herbal Armor Lotion offers a time released insect repellant containing five essential oils in a pleasant smelling non greasy formula without petrochemicals or animal products. 4 hour protection. Laboratory and field tested. Herbal Armors patented Time Released system delivers natural protection from biting insects for up to 4 hours or more. It is the safest most effective delivery system available. Herbal Armour is biodegradable cruelty - free. All Terrain donate a portion of profits to environmental projects.. (Herbal Armor Lotion by All Terrain).

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Authorized Vendor for Flower Essence Cerato. We have large selection of floral essences. All our essences are cold processed from the highest quality flowers into distilled water and grain spirits. No expense has been spared to provide the finest nature has to offer. The Bach Flower Essences is a system of 38 Flower Essences that corrects emotional imbalances: negative emotions are being restored with positive.The Bach Flower Essences are 100% safe and natural also in conjunction with herbs homeopathy and medications; safe for everyone also children pregnant women pets etc.

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was the most successful airplay-only single in history. It also reached number one in eleven other countries amd earned all four performers a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Aguilera's appearance in the music video was compared to that of Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider. The video won two MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year in 2001, where Aguilera accepted the award saying, "I guess the big hair paid off."
That year a single emerged into record stores called "Just Be Free", one of the demos Aguilera recorded when she was around fifteen years old. When RCA Records discovered the single, they advised fans not to purchase it. Months later, Warlock Records was set to release Just Be Free, an album which contains the demo tracks. Aguilera filed a breach of contract and unfair competition suit against Warlock and the album's producers to block the release. Instead, the two parties came to a settlement to release the album. Aguilera lent out her name, likeness and image for an unspecified amount of damages. Many of the details of the lawsuit remain confidential. When the album was released in August 2001, it had a photograph of Aguilera when she was fifteen years old.
Although Aguilera's debut album was very well received, she was dissatisfied with the music and image her management had created for her. Aguilera was marketed as a bubblegum pop singer because of the genre's upward financial trend. She mentioned plans of her next album to have much more depth, both musically and lyrically. Aguilera's views of Steve Kurtz's influence in matters of the singer's creative direction, the role of being her exclusive personal manager and overscheduling had in part caused her to seek legal means of terminating their management contract.
In October 2000, Aguilera filed a Breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit against Kurtz for improper, undue and inappropriate influence over her professional activities, as well as fraud. According to legal documents, Kurtz did not protect her rights and interests. Instead, he took action that was for his own interest, at the cost of hers. The lawsuit came about when Aguilera discovered Kurtz used more of her commissionable income than he was allotted, and had paid other managers to assist him. She also petitioned the California State Labor Commission to nullify the contract. After terminating Kurtz's services, Irving Azoff was hired as her new manager.
Kurtz countersued later that month for breach of contract, claiming that the singer violated the same agreement she had sued to void. In the lawsuit, he included others close to Aguilera, alleging their intent to sabotage his business relationship with her. He also singled out Azoff for being in violation of the terms of Kurtz's contract. During this time, while she was also working on her second album, she later revealed that she was betrayed by several friends, and hit rock bottom. She used her then-upcoming album as therapy, saying "this record saved me from insanity".

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Approximately 1.5 million Native Americans and Alaskan Natives live on designated reservations in the United States today. All but a few of these reservations are plagued with poverty, unemployment, homelessness, lack of medical care, and insufficient educational resources.
The per capita earning averages $4,500, with unemployment approaching 70 percent. 50% of Native American reservation homes have no phones and 1/5 of the homes lack complete kitchen facilities.
In 1907, Susan La Fleshe Picotte, the first Native American woman doctor, wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Her letter described the health conditions and needs of her tribe, the Omahas.
She began her letter with, If you knew the conditions
Imagine how it would sadden Dr. Picotte to know that, in over 100 years, things have not changed.

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When you think about summer time, what comes to mind? Maybe you want to finally shed some pounds to achieve the body you've always wanted? Well, spring is here, so what are you waiting for? Follow these simple tips to cleaning out your home environment in order to make it conducive to weight loss.

1. Target your goal: Are you serious this time? Is weight loss really what you want? Be committed and write it down! Tape it up somewhere visible so you never forget (your fridge door would be a good start).

2. Examine your fridge. Better yet, take everything out! Throw out anything and everything that is expired or beyond recognition. Re-stock your fridge with healthy choices that are easy to grab when you're feeling hungry.

3. Purge your pantry. Uh oh - if you're like most people, this is where all the 'goodies' are hidden. Throw it all out. You know you want to lose weight so why would you keep anything in there that is essentially designed to make you fat? Plus if it can live on the shelf for that long, you know it's full of preservatives! Chuck those chips, crackers and cookies. Re-stock with rice cakes, organic granola bars, low-fat soups and whole grains. If you're feeling a 'junk food' craving come along, you'll have to physically leave the house and seek them out. This takes a lot of effort and you most likely won't do it (unless you're ravenous!!). If they were easily accessible, they'd already be in your mouth.

4. Make healthy choices easily accessible. Load up on fruits and veg! Just as above, if they're easy to grab, you're more likely to eat them. Plus with the huge variety of choices you will have, you won't get bored. Crunchy, crisp, colourful, sweet, savoury, soft - the possibilities are endless!

5. Stock up on spices. Adding spices to your food will make it more flavourful and will satisfy your soul! Think: cinnamon in your oatmeal, basil and oregano in your pasta...my mouth is already watering! If you've got spices kicking around, check that they still resemble the name on the label; if not, chuck 'em!

6. Stock up on healthy fats. What? Fats? Aren't we trying to lose weight? Yes, indeed, but if you give your body the right kind of fats, you'll not only have a tighter tummy, but you'll also have shiny hair, skin and nails! Load up on olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds. Just remember that all you need is about 2 tablespoons a day of these babies, because at 9 calories/gram, fats pack the highest caloric punch of any nutrient.

7. Liquids have calories, too. Yep, juices, sodas, and alcohol, just to name a few, can pack a whopping number of calories that you might just drink down without any thought. If you must have them, just be aware of what you're consuming. Alcohol, for example, packs 7 calories/gram - almost as much as fats! One shot, glass of wine or beer has about 150 calories. That's as much as a whole banana and a closed handful of almonds. Which one is more filling, nutritious and conducive to weight loss?

Bottom line - you've got to think of yourself as a high-performance race car from now on. Only the top fuels will do. Anything less and you're due in for service.

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Authorized Vendor for Organics Skin Care. Light a candle put on some meditative music and relax your mind and body by indulging in a moisture-rich bath or massage. The key to this pampering process is choosing the perfect skin care oil. Jojoba sweet almond sesame or apricot kernel. Extracted from the finest natural plant and botanical sources Aura Cacia oils are luxurious enriching and 100% organicyet each has its own subtleties. Good on their owneven better when combined with a few aromatic essential oils. Simply massage into skin or add a few drops to your bath water.

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Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970 in Huntington, New York) is an American pop and RB singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Making her debut in 1990, she became the most successful and best-selling artist of the decade, according to Billboard magazine and the World Music Awards. In 2000, the World Music Awards show named her the best-selling female recording artist of all time.
Noted for her distinctive singing style, Carey possesses a five-octave vocal range, and her vocals make frequent use of melismas and other ornamentation. During the 1990s, she released fifteen U.S. number-one hits on Columbia Records, run by then-husband Tommy Mottola, several of which broke chart records. By the turn of the millennium, Careys popularity with critics and the public had entered decline, and she was dropped from her new record label following a highly-publicised physical breakdown and an unsuccessful foray into film. In 2005, Carey returned to the forefront of RB music with her multi-platinum album The Emancipation of Mimi, which spawned her sixteenth number-one single, We Belong Together
Biography and music career

Early life and discovery
Carey is the third and youngest child of Patricia Hickey, an opera singer and voice coach of Irish-American-Catholic ethnicity, and Alfred Roy Carey (n Nez), an aeronautical engineer of Afro-Venezuelan descent. She was named after the song And They Call the Wind Maria, from the musical Paint Your Wagon. Careys maternal grandparents disowned Mariahs mother for having married a non-white man. Mariahs siblings include her older sister Alison, and her older brother Morgan. As a multiracial family, the Carey household was met with racial slurs, hostility, and sometimes violence, causing the family to move frequently around the New York area. The strain on the family led to the divorce of Careys parents when she was three years old. Carey had little contact with her father, and her mother worked several jobs to support the family.
Spending much of her time at home alone, Carey turned to music as an outlet. She began singing at the age of four, and first performed in public at the age of six. She began writing songs while in grade school, and her mother and the members of her opera company were impressed with her talents when Carey hit a cue note that her mother had missed. Carey attended and graduated from Oldfield Middle School and Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, New York, although she was frequently absent due to efforts to break into the music business. After moving to New York City, she eventually landed a role as a backup singer for singer Brenda K. Starr.
In 1988, Carey met Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola at a party, where Starr gave him a demo tape. Mottola played the tape while leaving the party and was very impressed by what he heard. He returned to the party to find Carey, but she was already gone. Nevertheless, Mottola tracked her down and signed her to a recording contract. This Cinderella-like story became part of the standard publicity surrounding Careys entrance into the industry.
1992: Early commercial success
Careys professional music career began with the release of her eponymous debut album, Mariah Carey, in 1990. Carey co-wrote all of the compositions on her debut album with songwriter-producers such as Ric Wake and Rhett Lawrence, and would continue to co-write nearly all of her material for the rest of her career. The album debuted low on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, but ascended to number one a year after its release, where it remained for eleven weeks. It produced four number-one singles, making Carey a star in the United States. The albums international success, however, was limited. In 1991, Carey won two Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her debut single Vision of Love.
Carey performing on MTV Unplugged, her first widely-seen concert appearance.Emotions, Careys second album, was released in the fall of 1991 to critical and commercial success. Its first single, the title track , was another U.S. number-one hit giving Carey the distinction of being the only recording act in history to have their first five singles reach number-one on the Hot 100 chart. Carey had been fighting for the ability to produce her own songs, and beginning with Emotions, would co-produce most of her material. She would also begin writing and producing for other artists, such as Trey Lorenz and Daryl Hall, within the coming year.
For the first two years of her career, Carey did not embark on any major public tours. Her first widely-seen concert performance was her appearance on MTV Unplugged in May 1992, and her performance proved that her vocal abilities were not, as some believed, simulated using studio techniques. Carey premiered a cover of The Jackson 5s ll Be There, performed as a duet with Trey Lorenz, on the special; released as a single, it became Careys sixth number-one hit in the U.S. Careys critically acclaimed performance was later released by Columbia on album as the MTV Unplugged EP.
1996: Worldwide success
Carey, then 23, and Tommy Mottola, 43, had become romantically involved, and in June 1993 they were married in an Episcopalian ceremony in Manhattan. Her next studio album, Music Box, was released later that year, and became her most successful album worldwide. Lead single was her longest stayer yet at the number-one spot (eight weeks), became her first Christmas number-one single in the U.S., and Without You (a remake of the Harry Nillson song) went to number-one in the UK. However, Careys attempt at a mellower work than her previous efforts raised eyebrows with some critics; Ron Wynn said Carey blended into the background and let the tracks guide her, instead of pushing and exploding through them, and Stephen Holden criticised s lyrics, which are made up entirely of pop and soul clich.
Carey and Boyz II Men recording One Sweet Day (1995), one of Careys most successful singles.Following a popular duet with Luther Vandross of Diana Ross Endless Love, Carey released the album Merry Christmas in late 1994. In addition to covers of traditional Christmas songs, it contained a very successful original holiday song, All I Want for Christmas Is You, which became her first number-one single in Japan and was described as a well-crafted Phil Spector tribute by Roch Parisien, who dismissed the album as an otherwise vanilla set.
In 1995, Carey released Daydream, which combined the pop sensibilities of her previous album with modern RB/hip-hop influences, and became her largest-selling LP in the U.S., receiving Diamond RIAA status. Its singles achieved similar success: became only the second single to debut at number-one, One Sweet Day (a duet with Boyz II Men) spent a still-record sixteen weeks at number-one, and Always Be My Baby topped the Hot 100 year-end airplay charts in 1996. Critics such as Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Bill Lamb embraced Daydream as her finest album yet at the time, and it was named one of the best albums of the year by publications such as the New York Times and TIME magazine. Carey was the recipient of several awards following the success of the album, including a World Music Award for Worlds Best-Selling Pop Artist of the Year, and she also received six Grammy nominations, but lost in all categories.
2000: Independence and a new image
Carey and Mottola separated in 1997; although she had often projected the image of a happy marriage to the public, in reality she had felt emotionally and psychologically abused by Mottola, whom she often described as possessive. Their divorce became final the following year.
The album Butterfly (1997) and its lead single (above) presented a more overtly sexual image of Carey than had been previously seen.Careys 1997 album, Butterfly, saw her continuing to move in an RB/hip-hop direction, while lead single displayed a much more sexual Carey than before in both its lyrics and music video. My All, another single from the album, became her thirteenth number-one hit, an unprecedented feat for a female artist. J.R. Reynolds said Butterfly pushes the envelope, a move that he thought may prove disconcerting to more conservative fans, but Reynolds still praised the album as a welcome change. Another reviewer felt Butterfly illustrated that Carey is continuing to improve and refine her music, which makes her a rarity among her 90s peers. 1997 also marked the year that Carey became a major songwriter and producer for other artists, contributing to the debut albums of Allure, 7 Mile and Blaque. She also wrote songs for the soundtracks to the films Men in Black (1997) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), and began to develop her own film/soundtrack project, All That Glitters. Towards the turn of the millenium, Carey became a prominent figure in hip-hop music, and collaborated with both new and established rappers, including Jay-Z.
During 1998, Carey had a romance with New York Yankees baseball player Derek Jeter, who was also biracial. She would state later that while the timing was not right for their relationship, it did teach her that multiracial families could function well. That year, the album #1s, a collection of her U.S. number-one singles up to that point, was released. It included four new songs, one of which was When You Believe, a duet with Whitney Houston recorded for the soundtrack to The Prince of Egypt that won an Academy Award for Best Song. The album sold well, but critic Amy Linden said while these may be the tracks that sold the most and charted the highest, these arent necessarily Mariahs best songs. Also that year, she appeared on the first televised VH1 Divas program, a joint benefit concert appearance with singers such as Aretha Franklin and Shania Twain, though Careys alleged prima donna behavior had already led many to consider her a diva. By the following year, she had begun a relationship with singer Luis Miguel.
Rainbow, Careys sixth studio album, was released in 1999. Like Butterfly, it was comprised of pop and more RB/hip hop oriented songs; Carey intended them to express her feelings about her divorce two years previously. Lead single (featuring Jay-Z) was another number-one success for Carey, but despite several other collaborations with artists such as Joe, 98 Degrees and Snoop Dogg, the album was her lowest seller up to that point. There were also complaints in reviews that Carey was suffering a case of repetition; words such as and came up from several critics. Although the recipient of several awards in recognition of her decade-spanning career, including Billboards Artist of the Decade Award and the World Music Award for the worlds Best-Selling Female Artist of the Millennium, a further sign of decline appeared when her final release from Rainbow, the double A-side t Take That Away (Mariahs Theme), became her first song not to make the U.S. top twenty. Carey (via her website) publicly accused Sony of mishandling the release of the single.
20012004: Personal and career struggles
Following a successful decade in music, Carey finally ended her contract with Sony and signed a five-album contract with EMIs Virgin Records worth a reported US$80 million; however, things took a sudden downward turn for her. Just a few months later, in July 2001, it was widely reported that Carey had suffered a physical and emotional breakdown. She had left voicemail messages on her website (which were quickly removed) to her fans complaining of being overworked, and her relationship with Luis Miguel was ending. Carey made a notorious appearance on MTVs Total Request Live, where she handed out popsicles to the teen-aged audience and began a strip tease. By the months end, Carey had checked into a psychiatric hospital, and her publicist announced that she would be taking a break from public appearances.
A scene from Careys poorly-received star vehicle Glitter (2001).Her delayed semi-autobiographical film Glitter was panned by most critics upon its release and became a box office failure (see below). Carey was unable to do much promotion for the soundtrack album Glitter due to her ill health; it peaked in the U.S. at number-seven (her weakest showing to date). Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone noted that while the album was a big step forward in terms of maturity, it had zero melodic or emotional punch, while E! thought that even the most serious tracks on the album were as glossy as her latest publicity shot. Lead single reached number two on the Hot 100 thanks to a price cut, but the albums follow-up singles all failed to chart.
Shortly after the disastrous release of Glitter, Sony released a second compilation album, the 2-CD Greatest Hits, just before Christmas. In early 2002, EMI decided to part ways with Carey and they bought out her contract for $28 million, as an addition to the $21 million paid the previous year when singing, giving her another round of bad publicity. Later that year, she signed a three-album contract with Island Records Def Jam. To add further to Careys emotional burdens, her father died of cancer that same year.
Following a well-received supporting role in the independent film WiseGirls (see below), Carey released a new album, Charmbracelet, in which she expressed an interest in writing music that is more profoundly meaningful to her and her fans. Charmbracelet sold poorly, and the quality of Careys vocals, which had previously been perceived as the singers strong point, came under severe criticism. s voice is shot, sounding in tatters declared one review, and theres not a moment where it sounds strong or inviting. s once glorious voice is all over the place said another, while Barry Walters commented, s lead vocals blend into choruses of overdubbed Mariahs cooing overlapping phrases. Singles such as Through the Rain failed both on the charts and with pop radio, whose playlists had become less open to maturing stylists such as Carey, Whitney Houston and Cline Dion.
Her 2003 duet with Busta Rhymes, I Know What You Want, fared considerably better, reaching the top five in the U.S.; Columbia Records later included it on the double CD The Remixes. That year, Carey was awarded the Diamond Award by the World Music Awards show in honour of selling over 150 million albums worldwide. She was featured on rapper Jadakiss single U Make Me Wanna in 2004, which reached the top ten on Billboards RB/Hip-Hop Singles chart and the top thirty of the Hot 100.
the present: Return of the Voice
Careys fourteenth album, The Emancipation of Mimi, was released in 2005, and was advertised as The Return of the Voice, though Carey maintained that the voice has always been there. Todd Burns called Mimi easily the strongest album that shes made in this millennium, and Caroline Sullivan said the album contained the first Mariah Carey tunes in years I wouldnt have to be paid to listen to again. It debuted at number one in the U.S. with the highest first week sales of Careys career, and remained in the top five of the Billboard 200 album chart for twenty-one weeks. The single s Like That, which preceded the album, reached the top twenty, while We Belong Together (Careys first U.S. number-one single in five years) became her biggest hit, reaching number one in several countries and being named the worlds most-played single of the year by the World Music Awards. Another single, Shake It Off, reached the U.S. top five, and t Forget About Us the top twenty.
Carey continues to collaborate with hip-hop artists, and is a featured artist on singles by Damizza, N.O.R.E. and Da Brat.

Acting career
Carey, who had participated in theatre workshops as a child, made her big screen debut as an opera singer and one of the ex-girlfriends of Jimmie (Chris ODonnell) in The Bachelor (1999), a romantic comedy starring ODonnell and Rene Zellweger. Critical response to Careys cameo appearance, which reportedly took over thirty takes to film, was lukewarm: Paul Tatara from CNN derisively said Careys casting as a talentless diva was , and Tony Lee simply stated no, she cant acts first starring role was in Glitter, a 2001 film that had been in development as a vehicle for Carey since 1997. In it, she played Billie Frank, a struggling singer and songwriter who breaks into the music industry after she meets DJ Julian Dice (Max Beesley). Reviews were scathing; while Roger Ebert gave mild praise for Careys performance, saying, Her acting ranges from dutiful flirtatiousness to intense sincerity, most other critics panned it: Stephanie Zacharek called Carey numbingly bland in her role, and Michael Atkinson observed, when she tries for an emotionany emotionshe looks as if shes lost her car keys. Glitter was a box office failure, and Carey, who a Worst Actress Razzie Award for her role, has since referred to the film as a diva moment.
Carey, with Melora Walters and Mira Sorvino, in WiseGirls (2002).Carey next appeared co-starring with Mira Sorvino and Melora Walters as a tough-talking waitress in the independent film WiseGirls, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002. Critics who saw the film lauded Carey for her efforts: Kirk Honeycutt of the Hollywood Reporter predicted Those scathing notices for Glitter will be a forgotten memory for the singer once people warm up to Raychel, and Roger Freidman, referring to her as a Thelma Ritter for the new millennium, said her line delivery is sharp and she manages to get the right laughs. WiseGirls producer Anthony Esposito cast Carey in another film, The Sweet Science, about an unknown but talented boxer who is recruited by a determined female boxing manager. However, the project later fell into development hell, while WiseGirls was not given a theatrical release and went straight-to-cable in the United States. Subsequent cameo appearances in the Damon Dash films Death of a Dynasty (2003) and State Property 2 (2005) went largely unnoticed by the ticket-buying public.

Other activities
Carey is a philanthropist who has donated both time and millions of dollars to organizations such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the National Adoption Center, VH1s Save the Music Foundation, and the Fresh Air Fund among many others. Carey is well-known nationally for her work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation in granting the wishes of the terminally ill Caleb Boulter, who called her a very real person who overflows with compassion and love for others. As part of her involvement with the Fresh Air Fund, she is the co-founder of a camp located in Fishkill, New York that enables inner-city youth to embrace the arts, be introduced to career opportunities, and build self-esteem. The camp was named Camp Mariah in honour of Careys work with the Fresh Air Fund, and she received a Congressional Award titled the Horizon Award for her charity work on behalf of children.
Carey performed as part of the America: A Tribute to Heroes nationally televised fundraiser in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and in December 2001 she performed before U.S. peacekeeping troops in Kosovo. She hosted the CBS television special At Home for the Holidays with Mariah Carey, which documented real-life stories of adopted children and foster families. In July 2005, Carey performed for Live 8 at the Live 8 concert, London with the African Childrens Choir. She was also a participant in relief efforts following Hurricane Katrinas damage to the U.S. Gulf Coast later that year, performing on the Shelter from the Storm telethon and collaborating with Michael Jackson and other artists on an upcoming hurricane-relief single titled From the Bottom of My Heart.
Carey, who considered writing her autobiography with David Ritz, has instead chosen to fictionalize her life story and adapt it into a series of illustrated childrens books titled Automatic Princess, about an orphaned young girl who is biracial. Also forthcoming is a clothing and accessories line known as Automatic Princess, as well as a lingerie line, Kiss Kiss, which will be available for women in all sizes. However, Careys fashion sense has itself often been criticized for being overly exposing or just poorly put together.

Voice
Carey is credited as having a five-octave vocal range; she can cover all the notes from the alto range leading to those of a coloratura soprano, and her vocal trademark is her ability to sing in the whistle register. She has often been incorrectly credited as having a six or even seven-octave vocal range. It has been suggested that Careys publicists falsely claimed this at the start of her career, although it may also be a misstatement of the fact that Carey frequently accesses the notes situated in the seventh octave, her highest so far being a G#7, hit in two live performances of in 1991.
Careys voice has come under minor scrutiny from some critics who believe that she does not effectively communicate the message of her songs. Rolling Stone, in a negative review of the album Emotions, wrote Carey has a remarkable vocal gift, but to date, unfortunately, her singing has been far more impressive than expressiveat full speed her range is so superhuman that each excessive note erodes the believability of the lyric she is singing, while others have referred to her high notes as dog whistles. In comparison, criticisms were levelled at what Carey herself described as vocals in some of her later songs on albums such as Charmbracelet. Said Carey, Some people are of the opinion that if you have a big voice you should use it all the time[but] I dont want to hear someone scream at me all the times voice, which is a continual subject of both positive and negative debate, was voted as the greatest voice in music in MTV and Blender Magazines countdown of The 22 Greatest Voices In Music, and is believed to have influenced singers such as Christina Aguilera and Kelly Clarkson. In Cove Magazines poll of the 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalists, she placed second behind Aguilera.

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New Yorks Broadway theaters dimmed their lights last night in a minute-long tribute to Tony-winning actress Natasha Richardson, who died in a freak skiing accident Wednesday, the Associated Press reports.
Richardsons husband actor Liam Neeson, her mother (famous stage actress Vanessa Redgrave), as well as actors Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker were among those who had gathered for the tribute.
The Telegraph.co.uk reports that Richardson and Neeson actually met on Broadway in 1992, when they appeared on stage together.
According to TMZ.com, Richardson (who appeared in about 25 films, but was best known for her stage work) fell while taking a private lesson on a beginners trail at a ski resort in Quebec, Canada, Monday. After the fall she was reportedly both conscious and smiling, but about one hour later she started to complain of a headache and was taken to the hospital. She died two days later.
The New York medical examiner has reportedly said that the cause of Natasha Richardsons death was an epidural hematoma caused by a blunt impact, according to Reuters.

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Latin Name--Quercus alba. White Oak Bark was used extensively by the American Indians and early American settlers because of it's astringent qualities. Teas were taken internally and used as body washes. It is used in the treatment of hemorrhoids, PMS, varicose veins, goiter, gallstones, kidney stones, fever, sores, wounds, sore throat, canker sores, menstrual problems, gonorrhea, leucorrhea, stomach troubles and bladder problems. It is also beneficial to teeth. White Oak bark tea is used in enemas and douches, while additional benefits include the treatment of chronic diarrhea, dysentery, ringworm, chronic mucous discharge, poison-ivy rash, burns, pinworms, hemostatic, hemorrhages in the lungs, stomach, scrofula, and bowels, spitting of blood, vomiting, inflammations, boils, and sores. It has widely been considered a folk cancer remedy and since it contains tannin, experimentally, tannic acid is antiviral, antiseptic, anti-tumor and carcinogenic.

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