www.lovelyparents.com SEPARATED parents are increasingly sharing the care of their children, but the wellbeing of children who spend equal time with their parents is no different to those who see their father just once a week, a new analysis suggests.But where parents share the care of children unequally — that is, the time with parents is split 30/70 instead of 50/50 — parents report that children fare worse.

The findings come from the biggest study of parents since changes to family law came into effect in 2006. Under the changes, the Family Court must consider shared care where it is deemed to be in the children's best interests.

Figures show that 17% of newly separated parents registered with the Child Support Agency were sharing the care of their children as of June this year, compared with 9% in 2003. Of all cases managed by the Child Support Agency, 12% now have shared care, compared with 7% five years ago. Children are deemed to be in shared care when they spend 30% to 70% of the time with each parent.

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www.petstabloid.com Drugs, jewellery, and a machete were also found at the properties on Dowry Street, Fitton Hill, on Tuesday. Officers found swarms of black beetles before removing "hundreds" of animals including four snakes, fourteen Gecko lizards, snapping turtles and chickens.

Sgt Rob Howarth, from Greater Manchester Police, said the house was "like a zoo". Officers also uncovered an 18ft (5m) long boa constrictor, Macaw parrots, rats, mice, lizards and hundreds of beetles and other insectsSgt Howarth said the boa constrictor was as thick as a "rolled up carpet".
He added: "There were thousands of insects, they were the worst.  All the insects were running around, large black beetles, big horrible things with antennas, two to three inches long.

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www.thepoetryworld.com Geraldine Monk was born in the county of Lancashire, in the northwest of England in 1952. Since the 1970s her poetry has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. Her major volumes of poetry include Interregnum, Creation Books (1995), Noctivagations (2001), and Escafeld Hangings (2005), both published by West House Books. Her Selected Poems was published by Salt Publishing in 2003. A collection of essays on her poetry, The Salt Companion to Geraldine Monk, edited by Scott Thurston, appeared in 2007.

Alan Halsey was born in London in 1949. He ran the Poetry Bookshop in Hay-on_Wye 1979-96. Since 1997 he has lived in Sheffield, continuing to work as a specialist bookseller and editor of West House Books. His own books include The Text of Shelley’s Death (Five Seasons, 1995), Marginalien, a collection of poems, prose texts & graphics (Five Seasons 2005) and Not Everything Remotely; Selected Poems 1978-2005 (Salt 2006). His several collaborations include Fit to Print with Karen Mac Cormack (Coach House 1998) and Days of ‘49 with Gavin Selerie (West House 1999). His text-graphic work Memory Screen was most shown at the Bury Text Festival 2005 and his graphic work includes a collaboration with Steve McCaffery, Paradigm of the Tinctures (Granary 2007).

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www.teensunderground.com In a darkened room, surrounded by half a dozen friends cheering him on, Nic Raimi maneuvers the course from a front-row seat in the theater room.  The hum of the Game Cube is overshadowed by excited screams from his friends and words of encouragement for moving on to the next level of play. The scene is interrupted by more friends entering the theater room and greeting each other with loud howls, high fives and a jab to the shoulder.

It's another typical day at the Howell Area Teen Center.Raimi, 14, is a student at the Howell High School Freshman Campus and one of many who come regularly to the teen center at 415 N. Barnard St. Catering to students between the ages of 11 and 17, the center is open 3-6 p.m., Monday-Friday, courtesy of an $8,600 grant by the Livingston County United Way. Kids can come to hang out with friends, get a jump on homework, play ping-pong or billiards, or just to have somewhere safe to go.

"My mom doesn't want me to stay home by myself," says 11-year-old Danielle Glass. After school, she rides a LETS bus from Highlander Way Middle School to the teen center, where Danielle stays until her mom can get her after work.

On a recent Monday afternoon, Danielle was one of two girls in the center surrounded by about 10 boys. "My friends do come here too," she says."It used to be all dudes," interrupts Tristan Pape, 16. He is there "gaming" with his friend John Barbara, also 16.

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www.thepovertycentral.com Poverty is something college students at IU don’t have at the forefront of their minds.  But with the economy in demise, this issue is growing across the nation, including Bloomington.About 40 percent of citizens in Bloomington are living in poverty, according to the United States Census Bureau. The middle class is falling into this category because of low income, and it is expanding every day.

Although this includes a portion of the student body at IU, this is a topic that organizations in the community would like to address to all.Bloomington resident Tamyra d’Ippolito is one of the many people trying to inform and educate the community about the issue of poverty in the area.  She is an active member in the community, co-owner of the Ragazzi Arte Café and recent founder of the Poor Club in Bloomington.

“I want the community not to give solely in money, I want them to be aware and educated on ending poverty,” she said.She said she would like to share knowledge and awareness about poverty to IU students and the Bloomington community.

She said she believes that by understanding the issue, volunteers and members of the community can act as a precedent for other cities in solving this crisis.D’Ippolito first addressed the poverty crisis by researching the issue on a national level, and then local.“Every day I’m learning something new,” she said. “People always like to blame it (poverty) on the students, but I’ve seen this all my life.”

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www.wax101.com/ One-of-a-kind Crystal Candle Gardens created by Jennifer Morse have been selected for the 2008 Best of Scottsdale Award in the Gift Baskets and Parcels category by the U. S. Local Business Association.

The association's Best of Local Business Award program annually recognizes outstanding businesses throughout the country. The USLBA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their community and business category. The 2008 awards focus on quality. Winners are determined based on information gathered internally by Washington, D.C.,-based USLBA and data provided by third parities.  

Crystal Candle Gardens bring together the shimmer of natural gems with the aromatherapy of scented candles and lavender.No two of these conversation pieces are alike, and Morse includes a message with each explaining the properties of the gems and their meanings. They come in as many colors as there are natural crystals.

Crystal Candle Gardens can be used as the focal point at dinner parties, on wedding tables and at special occasions throughout the holidays. As a gift, the gardens are appropriate anywhere inside or outside of the house from the kitchen or bath to the family room or the patio. Crystal Candle Gardens cost between $45 and $350, depending on the size. They actually may be a good investment, as they appreciate in value as the cost of the gems increase.

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www.worldtous.com The Americans have eventually elected their first African American Barack Obama on 4 Nov 2008, which have written a new chapter to the US history. Obama represents not only an important symbol of the change in the US history, but he is of great significance to the world. The US is great because it has numerous innovative people who have the courage to make numerous changes. Back to the US journey of democracy, it was still practising apartheid in 1958 when it launched satellites into space for the first time. The society
In 1963, when African American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous speech "I Have A Dream" at Lincoln Square, African Americans were still struggling against racial discrimination.
45 years later, earth-shaking changes in terms of political equality and racial harmony have at last taken place in the US. This has allowed Obama to make Martin Luther King's dream come true. Also, he has become the world's hope to break the shackles of race and change the world's situation.

Obama parents' "black and white marriage" was forbidden at that time. However, they divorced when Obama was three. Obama became low self-esteem and self-degradation. During high school, he used to be a bully and a drug user. He had been drinking and smoking cannabis. He played all the day unmotivated.

Who would ever think that this young man, who had no goal in his life, could one day become a state senator, the US senator and eventually, the first African American President-elect of the US and the world's model?Obama's victory has brought us inspiration and historical significance. The subvert meaning brought by his black lineage gives the world food for thought.

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www.basesciences.com/ Laboratories have for the first time sequenced the full genetic code of an African and an Asian in what amounts to a major step towards the goal of a tailor-made profile of one's DNA.Until now, the genomes of only two individuals -- James Watson, who co-determined DNA's double-helix structure, and maverick biotech entrepreneur Craig Venter -- have been unravelled.

Both men are of European descent, which leaves gaps in knowledge about how people of different ethnic backgrounds could be susceptible, or alternatively immune, to inherited diseases or respond to medicine.Two studies, released on Wednesday by the British-based journal Nature, aim to fill in some of those blanks, with the genomes of a Han Chinese male and a man from the Yoruba ethnic group in West Africa.

 The two teams describe the methods they used to expose the three billion base pairs of code in the anonymous individuals' DNA.Later work, analysing the genomes of the four men, will compare and contrast changes in the code that could be linked to disease.

The two new genomes were compiled using sequencers made by Illumina Inc., a San Diego, California, biotech firm, which with rival firms 454 Life Sciences and Applied Biosystems has been credited with slashing the cost of genomics.The first complete human genome was published in 2003, by the Human Genome Project, at an estimated cost of around 300 million dollars.

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www.techastronomy.com The world's leading designer and manufacturer of telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes and related accessories, announced that their award winning SkyScout Personal Planetarium has been declared the "Official Product" of International Year of Astronomy 2009 by the IYA organization. "Celestron's SkyScout is a must-have tool for astronomy beginners. Its high-quality features and educational value make it the perfect instrument to explore the sky during 2009, the International Year of Astronomy," said Pedro Russo, International Year of Astronomy Coordinator.

About the size of a camcorder and weighing less than 16 ounces, the SkyScout utilizes a consumer-friendly "point and shoot" GPS technology that enables stargazers to instantly identify and/or locate over 50,000 celestial objects in the sky with the press of a button and listen to commentary on the object and its history. The SkyScout also has a "locate" feature that allows users to select an object they wish to view (i.e. Mars) and the SkyScout, using illuminated arrows in the viewfinder, will point the user to the object. "After 400 years of telescopes comes another product that is bound to revolutionize educational astronomy. The sky will never be the same with Celestron's SkyScout," said Dr. Salim Ansari, Head of Information Systems and Education Support Service with the European Space Agency.

Celestron invites you to be a part of the IYA2009 global celebration. Worldwide events and activities are being planned to celebrate IYA2009; such as sidewalk astronomy events, planetarium shows, documentaries and traveling exhibits. "Celestron is proud to be a global sponsor of IYA2009. It is imperative that we increase scientific awareness to the general public and generate excitement for astronomy and the science community to our younger generation," said Joseph A. Lupica Jr, President and CEO of Celestron. "We need to increase knowledge and concern for the preservation of our dark skies and our historical astronomical sites. The International Year of Astronomy gives the citizens of the world a way to better understand how the impact of science and astronomy affects their daily lives and how they can help contribute to a more peaceful, knowledgeable society."

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/www.cricketislife.com/ Pakistan's senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf is having second thoughts on joining the 'rebel' Indian Cricket League (ICL) after threats from the Indian Premier League to take him to court for breach of contract with it.Sources said that Yousuf was recieved by former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq in New Delhi last evening and the duo consulted legal experts on Yousuf's problems with

One does not know what the legal experts exactly told Yousuf but the official announcement of his signing with the ICL could be delayed as he is having a second thought to the whole issue now," one source said.He said Yousuf was aware that he could find himself totally out in the cold if the IPL also lodged a legal case against him for rejoining the ICL."Obviously if Yousuf does play in the ICL it would be a coup for the organisers of the rebel league as the Pakistani batsman is a big name. So it would not be surprising if the IPL decide to spoil the party for him," the source added.

Indian board officials have made it clear that Yousuf was contracted to play in the IPL and had also been given an advance payment on the insistence of the Pakistan board and if he signs again for the ICL they would take him to court.

To make matters worse, Yousuf is already embroiled in a legal battle with the ICL over a breach of contract case.PCB legal counsel, Tafazzul Rizvi who was representing Yousuf in his legal battle against the ICL before the Indian arbitrator and the Mumbai High Court said he was shocked by reports that the senior batsman had flown to India to join the 'rebel' league.

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