Emory Swine flu vaccine tested on 100 kids

Emory University and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta are vaccinating 100 children against the H1N1 "swine flu" virus. The vaccinations are part of a national pediatric study that began last week.

Federal health officials approved H1N1 vaccine studies on children after similar adult trials raised no major safety concerns.

"It may be even more important to do these studies in children," said Mark Mulligan, MD, associate director for clinical trials at the Emory Vaccine Center.  "Children are infected more often, and with more serious consequences, than are healthy adults."

"We think that seniors might have seen a virus like this a long time ago and might have some residual protection or immunity," said Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. "Young people, with all (their social interactions), and never having encountered this virus before, seem to be the ones with the very high attack rates."

Emory is one of six locations around the nation conducting a "combination trial" Up to 650 children nationwide will receive both the H1N1 vaccine and seasonal flu vaccine at the same time to determine whether simultaneous vaccinations will safely protect them from infection.

Another trial, taking place at five other locations around the country, will help determine the proper dosage -- whether children require injections of 15 or 30 micrograms of vaccine to build up immunity.

Because it has been generations since Americans have been exposed to a flu virus of this type, researchers expect most people -- especially children -- will require a second H1N1 vaccination three weeks after they receive their first dose. Even then, it may take an additional two weeks for their bodies to develop full immunity.

That five week lag time would mean most Americans might not be protected until late November, at the earliest, since the vaccine is not expected to become publicly available until mid-October.

Early vaccination is one fringe benefit of participating in the trials. For one family's story, read my related blog.

Eagles Vs Jaguars on the spotlight

Jacksonville Jaguars vs Philadelphia Eagles Live Stream. If you are looking to watch how Michael Vick will play as a starting quarterback, you can watch the preseason game today.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs Philadelphia Eagles live stream

NFL Preseason Week 3

Date:August 27, 2009

Time:7:00pm ET

You can watch the Jacksonville Jaguars vs Philadelphia Eagles live stream on US Stream or in Just In TV if they are streaming it. Or you can watch it in your local channel. Watch the Jacksonville Jaguars vs Philadelphia Eagles Live.

Watch live on: http://watchsportschannel.com/

Crash Course debut

Two local couples have been living in a bubble of secrecy since July as contestants on ABC's one-hour extreme driving reality show "Crash Course," which premieres tonight. "It was so hard," says Mariam Cicarella 24, of keeping quiet. "I am so close to my sister and couldn't say anything to her, my mom or my dad."

Her husband and teammate Gino says it was equally tough for him. 

"It has been really hard to avoid the subject," says Gino, 31. "Friends and family were like 'Come on, you can tell me.'"

Fellow contestants Jennifer and Ralph Bryant of Farmington Hills also struggled with keeping mum about the show.

"A few people have been trying to get it out of us," says Jennifer, 36, "but absolutely no one knows."

Filmed at Belle Isle, the show is a hybrid pinball machine and amusement park, where cars go airborne trying to knock down 15-foot-tall bowling pins, land on the flatbed of a moving truck, drive in reverse with a boat attached to the car or flip and slide on the roof in hopes of winning $50,000. Hosts Orlando Jones ("MadTV") and Dan Cortese ("Veronica's Closet") will provide humorous and pithy commentary as the five teams of two compete.

The Cicarellas say they plan on having a party when they appear on the show. But revealing that date would reveal how far they went in the competition.

Sorry, no spoilers here!

In addition to possibly being the winners of $50,000, the Royal Oak couple, who are parents of a 2-year-old son, say they are happy that a bit of Hollywood has come to Motown.

"It was such a great experience to be a part of a huge production, and it is great for the city," says Gino, who is a student at Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts and has an interest in TV production. He is so ready for the big time that he has even selected an industry name, Gino Bicci.

Like the Cicarellas, the Bryants found being on the show an opportunity for adventure.

"I wanted to take a chance and do something different," says Jennifer of auditioning for the show. "I didn't think they would call us."

Filming of the show doubled as a stay-cation because during the experience, they were put up in a hotel, only going to the set, and were totally separated from the world.

"We didn't have to look at e-mail or the stock market. We had fun," says Jennifer, a mother of an 8-year-old, 15-year-old and 18-year-old, who describes herself as a silly girl who enjoys doing silly things.

Ralph, 50, whose wife describes him as the more low-key, workaholic of the two, agrees the experience was a fun change of pace.

"We haven't had a multi-day vacation alone," says Ralph, "because we always take the kids on vacation with us."

When asked if being on a show where she executed hair-raising stunts has changed her driving habits, Jennifer Bryant says definitely.

"We found out I loved using cars as toys," she says. "If I am ever reincarnated, I want to come back as a stuntman."

Update on tropical storm Danny

As of 11:00 a.m. ET, August 27, 2009, Tropical Storm Danny continues on its path towards the New England coast. The eye of the storm, or the center of Tropical Storm Danny was approximately 320 miles northeast of Nassau and approximately 550 miles south to southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Those in the area should monitor their local weather forecasts and heed to any tropical storm warnings or advisories recommended by their local weather bureau.

Tropical Storm Danny is moving at a speed of approximately 13 miles per hour. The pat is erratic and is not expected to change until Friday. At that point, it is possible that Tropical Storm Danny will pick up more speed, and possibly strengthen to a category 1, then it would become Hurricane Danny. Currently, maximum wind speeds are 60 miles per hour, to become Hurricane Danny, those winds need to increase another 15 miles per hour that could very well happen overnight or tomorrow.

Tropical Storm Danny’s projected path has it placed along the East coast, and targeting states such as North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and Maine. Whether Tropical Storm Danny will develop into a major hurricane remains to be seen, at this point, however, it is a Tropical Storm and those who are in the area will receive storms inherent with the system.

Tropical storm force winds associated with Danny extend outwards to a radius of 205 miles from the center. Tropical Storm Danny is the fourth named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane season. The next update will be released by the National Hurricane Center at 5:00 p.m. AST.

Jaycee Lee Dugard: Kidnapper Phillip Garrido has blog ‘Voices Revealed’ watch press conference live

Jaycee Lee Dugard stunned the nation when she walked into a Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department in California and revealed her true identity. Now, two people (Phillip Garrido, alleged kidnapper of Jaycee Lee Dugard, and Phillip’s wife, Nancy) are being held in connection with her kidnapping. Full details will be released at 3:00 p.m. CT and 6:00 p.m. ET, when the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department holds a press conference, but already, information has surfaced regarding Jaycee Lee Dugard’s alleged kidnapper, and the information is frightening.

Phillip Garrido operates a blog titled “Voices Revealed” located here: Voices Revealed: Blog by Phillip Garrido his last entry was posted on Friday, August 14, 2009. In addition to his blog, Garrido operated a ‘home church’ where he espoused his ranting doctrines.

The first post from Garrido’s blog reads, “During the month of July 2009 JM's Enterprises, 1215 Willow Pass Road * Pittsburg CA,(925) 439-8118 was the host to a powerful demonstration, the Creator has given me the ability to speak in the tongue of angels in order to provide a wake-up call that will in time include the salvation of the entire world.

You too can witness what the world believe's is impossible to produce! email: godsdesire@rocketmail.com. 

Another post is titled, “The U.S. Federal Government is not the source of Mind Control.” Further on in his bible he twists Scriptures to purport his view of what he calls “Cultural Trance.”

Both Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy are being held on 1,000,000 bond in Martinez.  The couple are being held on suspicion of rape by force, lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, sexual penetration, and kidnapping.  Garrido's wife faces conspiracy and kidnapping charges.  Phillip Garrido is a registered sex offender and you can see his listing here: Phillip Garrido Registered Sex Offender  

Jaycee Lee Dugard's mother stated that she remembers everything and is 100% certain that she is in fact her missing and kidnapped daughter.

Jaycee Lee Dugard Case

Two suspects, James Anthony Daveggio and Michelle Lyn Michaud, are supsected in the disappearances of Amber Jean Swartz-Garcia, Micheala Joy Garecht and Ilene Beth Mishelhoff. However, an FBI-generated timeline of their whereabouts in the 1980's and 1990's made their involvement unlikely. On the other hand, if they are indeed the suspects in Dugard's case, I hope it brings resolution in the cases of Swartz-Garcia, Garect, and Mishelhoff.

I guess this goes to show that maintaining even the faintest glimmer of hope when your loved one goes missing, no matter how long they're missing for, isn't false hope. Anything can happen.

Madonna booed as she defended Roma gypsies in Bucharest concert

Madonna was booed onstage when she defended some Roma Gypsies.

The touring singer noted some of her dancers and musicians were part of the often despised Gypsy people, and she rushed to their defense saying that no one should be discriminated against.

Romanians felt otherwise.

Access Hollywood reported that during this Romanian concert, Madonna spoke out against the discrimination of Gypsies in Eastern Europe, saying that Gypsies, also known as Roma, were still being discriminated against in the region.

Later she said that made her “sad” because no one should be discriminated against.

Roma Gypsies are believed by academics to hail from India and that the Romani language is one of the Indo-Aryan languages sharing a close tie to Hindi.

According to the books by Barna Mezey, László Pomogyi and István Tauber (Budapest, 1985) entitled A magyarországi cigánykérdés dokumentumokban, 1422-1985 (The Gypsy question in Hungary: Documents, 1422-1985) - Gypsies originally came from northern India and parts of Pakistan.

Their culture was infused with Greek, Persian, and Armenian - and the Mongol invasion of parts of Central Asia prompted their westward migration.

According to these historians, during the fourteenth century some Gypsies reached the Carpathian basin, but most of these groups (kumpanias) continued their move farther west.

It was then that incidents of western countries' distrust and dislike for the nomadic Gypsies was recorded, and soon enough, according to these historians, the authorities made it impossible for Gypsies to remain. Accoding to these accounts, Gypsies retreated en masse to medieval Hungary and Romania.

István Tauber's book claims that the Turkish occupation created a new wave of immigration coming from Eastern Romania, the areas known as Moldavia and Wallachia. Oláh Gypsies were nomadic and completely unfamiliar with the accepted norms of the Hungarian population around them. Soon enough troubles began, according to the academics. The authors contends that the differences between the Hungarian populace and the nomadic Gypsy "kumpanias" were dramatic, and the relations between the two groups went south.

The scholars cite the neighboring Romanian allegations that Gypsies would often camp close to a village, steal the villagers blind, and then move on.

Gypsies were accused of theft and even killing in Romanian villages, according to these historians.

The Romanians that Madonna played to apparently knew some of this history, and booed her, 60,000 people reportedly.

Access Hollywood claims that Madonna did not react to the crowd.

The actual number of Roma Gypsies is up for debate, but allegedly they continue to face prejudice and discrimination in Romania and other Eastern European nations, according to varied news reports.