Loving Lipton

French Fries, pizza, hamburgers, cookies, soda and coffee. All of these food options are available to college students every day at every single meal. Is it any wonder that the average student gains fifteen pounds during their first year away at school?
According to www.freshmanfifteen.com there are many reasons for this weight gain. Students are leaving home and gaining independence for the first time. They are free to make their own choices to eat what they want, when they want. For many students there is no one to guide their diets and no one to make them eat vegetables and fruits.
Many students are aware of the danger or have already experienced the wrath of the Freshman Fifteen and desire to make appropriate lifestyle changes. Positive lifestyle changes can be hard to put into action on a college campus – but not all changes need to be major or difficult to implement.
Caffeine addiction is also a major problem among college students. Drinking intense energy drinks and multiple espresso shots become a daily habit. A healthy alternative in place of over the top calorie filled espresso drinks is to drink Lipton Green Tea. Green tea has amazing health benefits and is a great way to start a healthier life style. Lipton offers many different varieties of tea to appeal to every different palates. The flavors include: 100% Natural, Decaf Honey Lemon, Cranberry Pomegranate, Orange, Passion fruit & Jasmine, Lemon Ginseng, Honey, Mixed Berry and Mint.
Www.benefitsofgreentea.info/ cites the health benefits of green tea. They include a reduced risk of cancer, lower cholesterol, prevention of cavities and the calming of stomach ailments. Lipton Green Tea is 100% natural and when used on a regular basis assists in weight loss.
Once you have replaced your synthetic caffeine addiction with your favorite all natural Lipton Green Tea flavor you are well on your way to a happier and healthier lifestyle. However, green tea is not enough, you need to also begin exercising and monitoring your diet.

5 Quick Tips for a Healthier, Happier Lifestyle

* Drink Lipton Green Tea every morning for a healthy wake-up.
* Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
* Choose raw vegetables instead of French fries.
* Skip the late night fast food binges.
* Stock low-fat snack options such as carrots, yogurt and granola in your room

Taking a Serious Look: Religious Practices

“ They will not stop us...we support circumcision”, shouts Saad Yehiah, a teashop owner in Kafr Al Manshi Abou Hamar, Egypt. Yehiah is responding to the government shutdown of a medical clinic that performs genital mutilation on young girls.
Michael Slackman wrote an article titled, In Egypt, Shielding Girls From an Old Practice, which was featured on the front page of the New York Times on Thursday, September 20, 2007. The article begins with a story about a 13-year-old girl who recently died as a result of a clitoral removal surgery.
In 1996 Egyptian’s Health Ministry ordered an end to this practice, however allowing it to occur in cases of emergency. Unfortunately, this exception was broad enough that it still continues to happen on a regular basis. A survey in 2005 discovered that 96 percent of women had undergone the procedure.
The Egyptian government is attempting to end this practice by banning health care workers from performing the procedure, many official religious leaders have deemed it ‘harmful’ and ‘prohibited’, television advertisements have been shown to discourage it, a national hotline has been set up to answer questions and pamphlets have been published that say genital cutting is not necessary for the Islamic religion.
Unfortunately these measures are not enough. The tradition runs deep in the culture and in the religious practices of the Egyptian people. The men of the village especially seem to be protesting.
It is frustrating that the women in Egypt, and many other countries, have little voice. Their family members mutilate the women and they in turn pass the tradition on to their offspring. For many people they do not know anything different. However the procedure is very dangerous, many times there is no use of anesthetics or sanitary materials, and has serious consequences later in life. According to Britannica Online Encyclopedia, the consequences include severe bleeding, tetanus, urethral closure, long delays during childbirth, psychological trauma and many other unpleasant consequences.
UNICEF is also becoming involved in this cause. They have reported that globally 130 million women have undergone this procedure. Erma Manoncourt, UNICEF representative in Egypt, is very firm on the fact that there is, “no evidence in religious texts either in the Muslim tradition nor in the Christian tradition that promotes this practice”.
This is the frustrating aspect of religion. It doesn’t matter whether you are Christian or Muslim or Buddhist you still encounter legalism and misinformation. I realize that genital mutilation is a very extreme form of legalism, but I think it is an excellent reminder. Our views of religion and how that correlates with our faith can easily be skewed without even realizing it.
I would encourage you to look at your faith critically and truly understand where your basis of living is. Are you advocating issues that aren’t necessarily Biblically based? Are there areas of your life that are habit or that you have adopted because your parents did? Find out what you believe. Search for the Truth. Live the Truth.

I'll tap mine, if you tap yours

Tap, tap, tap. Just out of curiosity...who doesn't tap their foot at some point in a bathroom stall? Who wouldn't find it a bit odd that someone taps back? Who wouldn't have their curiosity piqued enough to perhaps investigate this strange behavior?
Idaho Senator, Larry E. Craig, was charged with disorderly conduct after being accused of sexually soliciting an undercover police officer. The only evidence the policeman had was a few foot taps and gesturing under the stall. Craig pleaded guilty, however, and he claims that in retrospect he made the wrong decision because he actually had done nothing and was, in fact, not gay.
Did Craig do something wrong. Was he aware of the foot tapping code and were his intentions less than honorable? Or was merely a victim of wrong place, wrong time syndrome. In the August 29th edition of the New York Times, William Yardley reports that there have been numerous arrests in this specific Minneapolis public restroom regarding sexual activity. Yardley describes a Web site that "lists places for gay sex world wide". Next to the post about the Minneapolis airport there was a warning, "Airport police sting here in progress. Four arrests so far this week." A short time later another post appeared saying, "Twenty people were arrested within the past week". Undercover police were obviously staking out this specific place and perhaps even over observing or over reading actions. Perhaps we will never know if Craig is truly telling the truth, but would it hurt to give him the benefit of the doubt?
Lynne Duke and DeNeen L. Brown, Washington Post, quote John Davidson (legal director at Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund) as saying, " Don't the police at the airport have better things to do than sit in the bathroom? They're sitting there waiting to catch men trying to have sex with men...I thought we had reasons to be concerned about things going on in the airport other than that".
Does this issue really warrant enough attention to be on the front page of New York Times, to have thousands of Google News articles and to be the major topic of every blog? Is this fairly insignificant and unsubstantial accusation enough to destroy a man's career, destroy the faith of the Idahoans and to again shake up the Republican party with scandal and grief?