NEW YORK (AP) -- If you're looking for an extra bargain before the holidays, you may only have to ask.

With holiday sales shaping up to be the lowest in years, possibly the worst since the industry began annual comparisons in 1969, retailers say they're taking consumers' demands for good deals seriously. Some are extending return policies, while others are matching competitors' prices. Many are volunteering on-the-spot discounts and even letting customers haggle prices well down from what's marked in a desperate bid to make the cash register ring.

ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2008) — The virus behind cold sores is a major cause of the insoluble protein plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease sufferers, University of Manchester researchers have revealed.

They believe the herpes simplex virus is a significant factor in developing the debilitating disease and could be treated by antiviral agents such as acyclovir, which is already used to treat cold sores and other diseases caused by the herpes virus. Another future possibility is vaccination against the virus to prevent the development of the disease in the first place.

Survivalist business booms as economy flails

The Armchair Survivalist offers practical advice for surviving global economic meltdown

December 01, 2008: 12:13 PM EST

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - The Armchair Survivalist believes the nation is falling into chaos, and he wants to help.

He offers practical advice for dealing with riots, wars, natural disasters and food shortages, which he says are imminent because of the worldwide economic meltdown and the incoming Obama administration.

Israeli soldiers terrorise villagers in Zawata
November 8th, 2008

Three households were terrorised by Israeli soldiers in the village of Zawata on Friday night, 7th November.

At least twenty Israeli soldiers from the nearby military base at Shave Shomron stormed through the upper parts of the village on foot - throwing sound bombs and firing at family homes; surrounding houses and forcing families out into the night. Soldiers advised the invasion and terror tactics were a response to the discovery of a few small children burning a tyre on the nearby military road.

October 02, 2008

Companies Hit Hardest By Credit Crisis (AAPL)(SIRI)(CC)(DIS)(WMT)(MCD)

Not all companies and industries will be hit equally hard by the consumer credit crisis. Operations such as Procter & Gamble (PG), McDonald's (MCD), and Wal-Mart (WMT) may be safe. They either sell things people can't do without or offer inexpensive goods and services that consumers can afford during a tough period.

The most telling thing about McCain happened at the end. We were appalled at his childish behavior, certainly he is not fit to be President under any circumstances.

NOTE: This was written over two years ago...

Is Cheney betting on Economic Collapse?

By Mike Whitney

07/04/06 "Information Clearing House" -- -- Wouldn’t you like to know where Dick Cheney puts his money? Then you’d know whether his “deficits don’t matter” claim is just baloney or not.

Well, as it turns out, Kiplinger Magazine ran an article based on Cheney’s financial disclosure statement and, sure enough, found out that the VP is lying to the American people for the umpteenth time. Deficits do matter and Cheney has invested his money accordingly.

A banking system in crisis after the collapse of a housing bubble. An economy hemorrhaging jobs. A market-oriented government struggling to stem the panic. Sound familiar?

It does to Sweden. The country was so far in the hole in 1992 — after years of imprudent regulation, short-sighted economic policy and the end of its property boom — that its banking system was, for all practical purposes, insolvent.

Since foreclosure mess, homeless advocates report rise in encampments

Thurs., Sept. 18, 2008
RENO, Nev. - A few tents cropped up hard by the railroad tracks, pitched by men left with nowhere to go once the emergency winter shelter closed for the summer.

Then others appeared — people who had lost their jobs to the ailing economy, or newcomers who had moved to Reno for work and discovered no one was hiring.