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BIRTHDAY GUY: Journalist Anderson Cooper was born in New York City today in 1967. This birthday guy has won two Emmys for his news coverage and currently hosts the popular news show “Anderson Cooper 360.” He’s also anchored the news programs “American Morning” and “World News Now” and served as host of the reality series “The Mole.” Cooper is the son of writer and heiress Gloria Vanderbilt.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Creative ideas need to be expressed. During the coming month your imaginative ideas can blossom into reality, but first you must acquire the necessary tools or accoutrements. Be well-equipped.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): During the monthlong cycle ahead, your focus may turn to finances and spending. It could be that your spending habits are hit and miss. A small action taken now, such as starting a daily planner, can help.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The new moon in your sign presages a month ahead in which concerns revolve around you with a capital “Y.” You may be forced to defend your views or find you must fight to have it your way.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): A new monthlong cycle begins. You may prefer to work in serene surroundings and avoid the hustle and bustle of the public eye for the next several weeks. Friends could steer you in the wrong direction.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Learn how to delegate authority during the month ahead. One person can’t take care of all the details. Oversee
the things you value, but be willing to let go of the smaller things that are not crucial to success.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Quit biting your fingernails. Your attention shifts to your reputation and career for the next month. You may become more aware of the ways in which your habits and routines affect how others view you.

mercurynews.com

Of course, some products really walk the fine line of this definition. Would Diet Coke, for example, be considered food when it provides zero calories? Truth be told, the popular artificial sweetener Aspartame (known by the trade name Equal) actually does provide energy, but in such miniscule units that it doesn’t register in calorie-counting America. Head over to the rest of the metric world, however, and you’ll see cans of “Low-Joule Cola.” Sorry for bursting the bubble, but Diet Coke does have energy and is, therefore, food.
The second essential characteristic of food is the presence of nutrients. These include energy-containing macronutrients-carbs, protein, fat-as well as micronutrients-vitamins and minerals. Beer fits the bill with plenty of (empty) carbs derived from the barley and wheat used to produce the brew. A big, juicy steak gives meat eaters plenty of protein and fat. Fruits and vegetables provide carbs along with vitamins and minerals, and some plant products, like soybeans, give protein to boot.
Foods containing nutrients not only grace us with the aforementioned calories, but also keep our body structurally sound (for example, protein goes toward muscle turnover and calcium for bone remodeling and nerve function). Both deficiencies and excesses of nutrients can have significant consequences for the way our bodies function. Vitamin A is a great example: deficiency leads to poor vision, while toxicity can cause jaundice, muscle weakness, nausea and (ironically) blurred vision.
But by far the most intriguing aspect of food is the culture it embodies. Food absolutely cannot be food without culture.
The term “culture” is vague, perhaps more unclear than the definition of food itself. The word seems to inevitably draw associations with high culture, a grave misunderstanding indeed. Culture is certainly more than simply sampling fancy French dishes next to a pricey glass of wine. Take the opposite side of the spectrum: Big Macs, Whoppers and Famous Stars are all food because they collectively represent a very significant “burger and fries” culture that falls in line with the fast-paced and budget-conscious values of working and middle-class Americans. Conversely, the creation of Healthy Choice and South Beach Diet meal plans plays upon a concern over excess calories and obesity. The dinner table allows groups of people to share food and interact-and the bar stool and counter provide a social environment, too.

dailycal.org

Department of Revenue and Taxation Director Art Ilagan said tax rebate checks will be mailed out soon. He mentioned also that individuals who owe the Government of Guam money will have their rebates go toward their debts to the government.
I know that the government has been for years not returning excess tax deductions to individuals who owe the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority. This got me thinking. Maybe this concept can work both ways and be a win-win for all.
Some people owe GovGuam money and GovGuam owes a lot of people money. Govguam has not paid out all tax refunds for several years. (By the way, I don’t like the word “refund”. It should be replaced with “overpayment.” “Refund” sounds like the government is doing you a favor. “Overpayment” makes it very clear that the government is holding your money that you overpaid). Govguam also owes money to vendors and contractors.
If GovGuam can take your money and pay your hospital debt, maybe it could be made possible to pay your vehicle registration renewal fee and streetlight fund payment, your tipping fee, your utility bills, and for contractors/vendors their business license fees, their Gross Receipts Tax, and so on, by having the Treasurer of Guam subtract your fees from GovGuam’s debt to you.
Maybe this can be made possible by using vouchers or a process like gift cards or debit cards. For sure this will be an additional task if implemented and may (or may not) complicate revenue projections. It surely will reduce total revenue collection. However GovGuam will not have to borrow money and eliminate loan interest payments to the banks.
This is just an idea and of course a professional feasibility study and economic analysis are needed to determine if it would work.
BEN C. LEON GUERRERO
The government’s practices once again seem to be at odds with both common sense and the best interests of the people of Guam.

guampdn.com

The American public has always had a love-hate relationship with the media. At IU, the student newspaper has been referred to for decades as the Indiana Daily Stupid. You can make fun of us all you want, but we know there would be a gaping void in your life if we weren’t there to provide that daily crossword puzzle during your economics lecture.
It’s a tough time for the print news industry. Last week, the New York Times announced it will be eliminating 100 of its 1,330 newsroom jobs this year. The Washington Post is trying to scale back its 785-person staff by offering early retirement packages. What’s worse is that this is the third time the paper has done so since 2003. The L.A. Times is also scrambling to stay successful. It recently hired its fourth editor in only three years, and is planning on reducing the staff by 100 to 150.
You’ll be relieved to know that things are going just fine here at the IDS, and we’re not going anywhere (although some of you might wish that a few opinion columnists would accept “early retirement”). But the changing trends nationally in technology and consumer demand are causing us to pursue a variety of multimedia options.
You might say that desperate times call for “disparate” measures.
It’s no big secret that more and more people are spending lots of time online. With the prevalence of Web sites and blogs on every topic imaginable, traditional media outlets have much more competition than they’ve ever had before. We think this is healthy, and we’re excited about it. We know that increased competition will force the media to stay closely tuned to consumer demand.
Even if print newspapers go the way of the telegram, there will always be a place for media professionals. Consider the recent writer’s strike. Going a few months without new television shows didn’t cause the meltdown of American society, as was widely anticipated. Many people just went online to be entertained. On the other hand, now that the strike is over, people are eager to get “LOST” in television shows again. The Internet offers a nice change of pace, but at the end of the day, people still want the quality shows that are produced by people whose profession it is to make them. The middle-aged guys blogging from their moms’ basements might be able to provide enough of an alternative to keep the mainstream media on its toes, but they’ll never have the resources, training and professionalism of traditional media companies.
So at the risk of sounding shameless, we encourage you to go poke around at www.idsnews.com, and let us know what you think. Almost everything we offer has comments enabled so you can be as mean as you want when telling us how we’re not doing our jobs right. We’ve been working hard this semester to improve our online content. It’s pretty new for most of us, but we really want to be on the cutting edge of providing the types of content that our readers want.

idsnews.com