| Lesbian Army wife Ashley Broadway wins 2013 Fort Bragg Spouse of the Year, offered ABOS full membership Posted: 26 Jan 2013 11:27 AM PST Ashley Broadway, the lesbian Army wife of Lt. Col. Heather Mack of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, wins the 2013 Military Spouse of the Year. She also received an offer to be a full member of Association of Bragg Officers’ Spouses (ABOS), which earlier denied her application, prompting her to send them an open letter last December. 
Ashley Broadway (left), her spouse Lt. Col.
Heather Mack and their 2-year old son
Image Credit: Ashley Broadway via NBC News
As stated at the official website of ABOS on Friday, January 25, 2013, they recently reviewed their own constitution, by-laws, and internal procedures, and realized that a more comprehensive definition of spouse was needed to immediately support all the spouses of US military officers. With this, ABOS noted that all Army spouses with a valid marriage certificate from any state or district in the US is eligible for ABOS membership, which include same-sex Army wife like Ashley Broadway, who married Lt. Col. Heather Mack last November 30 after sharing a committed relationship since 1997. “ABOS does not discriminate based on race, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, creed, or sexual orientation. ABOS would like to publicly invite Ms. Broadway to apply for full membership to ABOS. It is and always has been our mission to support all military families.” A statement reads at FBABOS.org. “I will go ahead and submit my application. I need to educate some of the naysayers that are in that group and show them my family is just like their family.” Broadway was quoted in a statement at NBCNews.com, after declining an earlier offer from ABOS to be their “special guest member.” Incidentally, Ashley Broadway also won the Fort Bragg 2013 Military Spouse of the Year via online voting at MilitarySpouse.com, held last Tuesday, making her eligible to win the Military Spouse magazine’s overall 2013 Army Spouse of the Year. This award started in 2008 to honor the commitment of military spouses to the country and military community. “Considering the amount of hard work, volunteer time and invaluable assistance she’s given to help all military families over the years, nobody deserves this recognition more than Ashley Broadway.” American Military Partner Association (AMPA) executive director Stephen Peters told the NY Daily News. “However this award further highlights the fact that same-sex military spouses are treated differently from their heterosexual counterparts. Ashley Broadway as the new Fort Bragg military spouse is still denied military benefits and official recognition from the defense department.” Peters added. Meanwhile, the next round of online voting for the Spouse of the Year for each of the six branches will be on Tuesday, February 5 and the winner will be announced on Thursday, February 21. The branch winners will compete for the election of the overall 2013 Military Spouse of the Year, which will be announced on March 5. |
| Gatorade ingredient brominated vegetable oil to be removed by PepsiCo, Sarah Kavanagh online petition wins Posted: 26 Jan 2013 07:02 AM PST A Gatorade ingredient called brominated vegetable oil (BVO) will be removed, after an online petition that was launched last November by Sarah Kavanagh, 15, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, reached the attention of the company. The petition at Change.org, which called BVO a flame retardant chemical, has now 206,658 signatures. 
Gatorade logo
Credit: Gatorade.com
According to The New York Times on Friday, January 25, 2013, PepsiCo announced that day that it will remove the controversial Gatorade ingredient, which is being used in the said sports drink to prevent the flavorings from separating. However, some studies said that it may have some side effects. As noted in the report, Gatorade spokeswoman Molly Carter said that other alternatives for BVO are being tested for around a year, but noted that they initially did not find any risk on consumers’ health, despite studies saying that it could possibly cause neurological disorders and altered thyroid hormones. Carter cited sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB) will be replacement for the Gatorade ingredient in question; and customers will see the changes over the next few months, after the existing stocks will be sold out. SAIB is an emulsifier, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) called it as a “generally recognized as safe” food additive. “Thank you all for your support. When I went to Change.org to start my petition, I thought it might get a lot of support because no one wants to gulp down flame retardant, especially from a drink they associate with being healthy.” Sarah Kavanagh wrote on her petition, as an update to announce the victory. “Gatorade being as big as they are, sometimes it was hard to know if we’d ever win. This is so, so awesome. Companies like Gatorade put so much thought into marketing. As someone who loves to drink their products, I’m so glad they’re making strides to put as much consideration into their customers’ health.” Kavanagh added. On the other hand, Michael F. Jacobson, Executive Director of Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), was quoted at CSPInet.org, applauding PepsiCo for deciding to remove the questionable Gatorade ingredient, noting that “Gatorade without BVO is nutritionally no better than with it.” |
| Amazon page resume: Genius tech guy Philippe Dubost creates online resume like an Amazon page (Photo) Posted: 26 Jan 2013 12:19 AM PST A so-called Amazon page resume is now starting to get attention, as shown in the photos below, which could help jobseekers find a job easily. Besides having all the important details in a jobseeker’s resume, the jobseeker can also discover ways on how he can impress employers and eventually hire him. Apparently, this is what web product manager Philippe Dubost did, when he brilliantly created his own online resume that looked like an Amazon page and posted it on a website called Phildub.com. Mashable on its report on Friday, January 25, 2013, even dubbed it as the “best online resume ever.” “For the past 6 years I’ve put my energy towards growing and enhancing meaningful web products and services. I then went one step further when I created my own web company 2 years ago.” Dubost wrote on the Product Description on his Amazon page resume, with clickable links directing to his website. “What motivated me was the perspective of applying the different sets of professional & technical skills I had learnt so far to build a meaningful web product. I enjoy traveling and working in multicultural environments, as I have in the past in the US, Mexico and France.” Dubost added. For his past work experiences, Philippe Dubost used an Amazon.com product review pattern where his former employers wrote short but good reviews about him, along with the star rating. In case you will not notice, this genius tech guy received 121 five-star rates out of the total 223 star rating, and had 37 one-star rating. Amusingly, Dubost indicated that there is “Only 1 left in stock – Order soon” and to “Add to cart for pricing information and this item ships for Free with Super Saver Shipping,” which is probably for the salary negotiation. And not to mention, he encourages everyone to visit his Avocado Travel blog, which is in French. Nonetheless, he mentioned his personal information at the Product Details, where he detailed his educational attainment, including taking up Bachelor in Computer Science at the University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, in Nice, France and receiving MBA for Management Information Systems at the University of Dayton in Ohio, USA. And while this Amazon page resume may look weird to some, jobseekers will learn a lot from it, realizing that looking for a job also needs a little creativity. After all, employers do not only want their employees to be honest and action-driven, they also want them to possess ingenuity and have some sense of humor.
Amazon page resume
Image Credit: Philippe Dubost/Phildub.com
Continuation of Amazon page resume
Image Credit: Philippe Dubost/Phildub.com
Continuation of Amazon page resume
Image Credit: Philippe Dubost/Phildub.com
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| Texting woman falls into canal caught on camera, Laura Safe thought ice was pavement (Video) Posted: 25 Jan 2013 10:16 PM PST A texting woman falls into a canal in Birmingham, England and the incident was caught on camera, as shown in the video below. But no worries, she is safe…not only literally, but also by name. This is because the texting woman is Laura Safe, a newsreader for Capital FM‘s “Breakfast Show.” 
Laura Safe (in circle), the texting woman,
about to fall into the canal in Birmingham
Image Credit: Telegraph UK video
As noted at Telegraph UK on Thursday, January 24, 2013, Ms Safe was busy texting her boyfriend while walking down the stairs in the Mailbox shopping district, but did not notice the freezing cold water a few steps ahead. So instead of turning left, she walked straight and CCTV caught her falling into the canal. As shown in the CCTV video, the incident happened on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at around 1:40 p.m. (local time). Although the video ended showing Laura Safe swimming to safety, her most embarrassing moment was witnessed by a lot of passers-by and a man came running towards her and pulled her up. “Oh dear. I should really be called Laura UNsafe after the day I’ve had! Lol,” Laura Safe (@laura_safe) tweeted the next day, joking about the incident, telling to one Twitter follower that the experience “was bloody traumatic” and that she has “never been so embarrassed in all my life.” “I thought ice on the canal was pavement because it looked dark in the corner of my eye. I heard a man called out ‘stop’ to me and I looked up at him, but it was too late by that point.” Laura Safe was quoted telling to The Sun UK last Thursday. The man who helped her was identified as Neil Edginton, a 34-year-old businessman. “I tried to get my balance and ended up slipping into the canal. But not before I’d saved my handbag and mobile phone. This man came running up Baywatch style, grabbed my hand, and pulled me up. He was a hero and saved my life.” Ms Safe added.
Texting woman falls into canal
Video Credit: Telegraphtv/YouTube
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| Bigfoot in Oregon? Mysterious Noises Frighten Residents Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:28 PM PST Is it Bigfoot? This is the question people in Oregon are asking after hearing mysterious noises at night. According to a report from the Daily Mail on Friday, January 25, 2013, eerie sounds of roars and screeches coming from a nearby swamp have been waking up people living on Umatilla Indian Reservation east of Pendleton. The Oregonian reported that the eerie sounds started in November, with sounds ranging from high-pitched screams to basso profundo roars. Some people are speculating that the sound is from Bigfoot. “It’s kind of spooky. Some say it’s foxes, some say it’s a female coyote and some say it’s Sasquatch. I don’t know what it is,” Colleen Chance, a tribal housing authority employee was quoted as saying by The Oregonian. She reportedly keeps a recording of the howls on her iPhone, which you can listen below. According to reports, rumors quickly circulated that the noise came from a young Bigfoot that had got separated from the rest of its clan. Listen to the audio recording below:
Bigfoot In Oregon?
Credit: Sasquatch Watch Canada
What do you think? Is it really coming from Bigfoot? Or just an animal noise? Share your thoughts on the comment box below. |
| Menu with $110 dirt: Ne Quittez Pas French cuisine uses high-quality black dirt Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:10 PM PST A menu with $110 dirt was unveiled by a French restaurant in the Gotanda district of Tokyo, Japan. 
Organic soil
Image Credit: Wikipedia Rocketnews24 reported that Ne Quittez Pas now offers a French cuisine that uses actual dirt as a key ingredient. Reports say that the unique ingredient is a special black soil taken from the Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture. The French restaurant reportedly assures its customers that the high-quality black dirt, supplied by Protoleaf, has been tested for safety and do not really taste like dirt. Ne Quittez Pas‘ idea of using dirt in their menu started when Chef Toshio Tanabe won a TV cooking contest with his signature dirt sauce. Tanabe, a former professional boxer, trained in France and worked at several Michelin-starred restaurants. He reportedly opened Ne Quittez Pas in 1994. The $110 dirt menu is made up of three courses and a dessert that include the following: - First course: potato starch and dirt soup
- Second course: salad with “vegetables like eggplant, tomato and turnips grilled and served with a dressing made from dirt and a fine powder made from ground popcorn”
- Main course: aspic made with oriental clams and the top layer of sediment, and a dirt risotto with sauteed sea bass and burdock root
- Dessert: dirt ice cream and dirt gratin followed by dirt mint tea
To avail of the Ne Quittez Pas's dirt course, reservations must be made at least one week in advance. |
