Weekly Universe

Starkbucks Goes Green -- To Shortchange Customers

2011-11-27T21:05:00.000-08:00

The November 2011 issue of the New Agey Natural Awakenings reports:

"Starbucks Corporation has taken it all a step further by designing a pre-certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) prototype store. It features recycled floor tiles, reduced lighting and lower water usage and air conditioning set three degrees higher than usual."

Sounds like Starbucks plans to use:

1. Cheaper floor tiles.

2. Less water.

3. Less lighting.

4. Less air conditioning.

Which means that Starbucks is about to get cheaper, dirtier, darker, and hotter. All to save money. (Disguised as "going green" for the gullible.) This trend fits right in with Starbucks's switch to smaller napkins.

But will Starbucks pass along any of these savings to consumers in the form of lower prices?

Didn't think so.

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Reading Books Helps Prevent Alzheimer's Disease

2011-11-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

Anna Ferguson Hall, of Georgia's The Brunswick News, reports that:

"Overwhelming research has shown that older citizens who keep their minds sharp and active are more likely to retain a higher level of brain power as they age.

"Keeping the brain active through exercises like reading regularly is vital to preventing memory loss and reduced brain function, said Janice Vickers, executive director of Alzheimer's of Glynn/Brunswick.

" 'There is no question that reading can maintain a healthy brain as you age,' Vickers said. 'The saying is true: If you don't use it, you lose it.'

"An estimated 5.4 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, according to the National Alzheimer's Association. That's one in eight older Americans.

"Vickers said the disease, though prevalent in aging citizens, can be avoided or, at the very least, delayed. Working to prevent the condition at an earlier age is key to ensuring a quick mind like Connell's, Vickers said.

"That means flexing the brain as often as possible in a variety of ways.

"Cracking a book or other printed work awakens many functions in the brain, including concentration, vision and comprehension, Vickers said."

Read the entire article.

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Miracle Blueberrys Battle Breast Cancer

2011-10-07T02:32:00.000-07:00

[PRNewswire.com] In several studies recently conducted at the Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope, Duarte, CA researchers found that feeding blueberry powder to mice significantly reduced the growth and spread of triple negative breast cancer cells, a very aggressive form of cancer!

Triple negative breast cancer accounts for 10 to 15% of all breast cancer cases and is highly resistant to traditional chemotherapy treatments. The results of this research led by Dr. Lynn Adams, in the laboratory of Dr. Shiuan Chen, are published in the October 2011 issue of The Journal of Nutrition.

In their research, the team fed groups of mice specially formulated diets containing 5% freeze-dried blueberry powder, 10% blueberry powder, or a control diet containing no blueberry powder.

All three diets had a similar nutrient composition and the animals ate and drank about the same amount regardless of group. The human equivalent of the 5% diet is about 2 cups of fresh highbush blueberries per day.

Researchers compared the size of the breast tumors that developed and discovered that on average, tumor size was 75% smaller in the 5% blueberry experimental group and 60% smaller in the 10% group as compared to the control group. The difference between the two blueberry groups was not significant.

Further confirmation of the results was obtained when the researchers conducted molecular studies on tumor tissue and found significant differences between the blueberry-fed and control groups in gene patterns known to be related to inflammatory diseases and the proliferation and spread of cancer cells.

In a second study that explored the effect of consuming blueberries on the spread of breast cancer (metastasis), the research team found that mice fed a diet containing 5% blueberry powder developed 70% fewer liver cancer tumors and 25% fewer lymph node tumors when compared to the control mice.

"Although these results were obtained with laboratory animals and cannot be applied directly to humans, we believe we have moved one step closer to ultimately finding a safe and effective diet strategy for controlling triple negative breast cancer, for which there are few therapy choices. Blueberries may well be part of that diet strategy," remarked Dr. Adams.

The research was funded by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and the National Institutes of Health.

The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council consists of growers and packers in North and South America who market their blueberries in the United States. The members of the USHBC work together to promote the growth and wellbeing of the entire industry.

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UFO Conspiracy Exposes Startling New Secrets!

2011-10-06T03:45:00.000-07:00

Author Carmen McLaren believes that UFOs are real -- and his new book, UFO Conspiracy, exposes how and why the US government has lied to hide the truth about UFOs!

* Take an in-depth look at the U.S. government's conspiracy to hide UFO phenomena from the public eye since 1947.

* Read more than 250 of the most startling alien encounters that the government never wanted you to know about.

* See how authorities have created a ministry of misinformation by setting up pseudo-investigatory groups to discredit witnesses and fool the public, while creating military regulations on how UFO sightings/interceptions would be handled.

* Find out about the millions of taxpayer's dollars being spent on investigating objects the government claims do not exist.

* Be there with two presidents, many scientists, and hundreds of military/civilian pilots, military personnel, police officers, and others who have had incredible, often frightening, encounters with UFOs.

* Stand at the threshold of the unknown.

Will you have the courage to walk through that door into a larger universe? It's time you learned the truth about UFOs!

In addition to writing UFO Conspiracy, author McLaren has researched UFOs for thirty years. He is a past member of the Center for UFO Studies, the (now defunct) Aerial Phenomenon Research Organization, and for the last 12 years, the Mutual UFO Network.

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Ron Paul Predicted 9/11 -- And So Did Denzel Washington!

2011-08-25T23:32:00.000-07:00

Pro-peace Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul predicted that America's interventionist foreign policy would incite hatred for America -- resulting in 9/11!

And shockingly, Hollywood film star Denzel Washington also predicted that America's pro-torture policy would incite hatred -- and result in more terrorism!

The below scene is excerpted from Washington's 1998 film, The Siege:

And as has been previously reported by the Weekly Universe, back in the 1990s TV's The X-Files predicted 9/11.

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Caffeine Prevents Skin Cancer

2011-08-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

The Weekly Universe has previously reported on coffee's miraculous ability to fight Alzheimer's disease. Now it appears that a cup of Joe can also help you battle skin cancer!

According to The Herald:

"Caffeine could be a useful addition to sunscreens since it both absorbs ultraviolet light and protects against skin cancer, say scientists.

A new study has shown how the coffee stimulant acts at the molecular level to prevent sunlight triggering tumour development in the skin.

The findings suggest that caffeine in creams or lotions could help prevent sun-induced skin cancer.

Previous studies had already shown that coffee and tea consumption reduced the risk of less serious, non-melanoma, skin cancers caused by exposure to ultraviolet rays.

Read the entire article.

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The X-Files Predicted U.S. Response to 9/11

2011-08-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a bizzaro piece of conspiracy fodder to ponder: It seems that TV's The X-Files predicted 9/11 -- or at least the government's lucrative "War on Terror" response to it!

What does the above clip -- shot in the 1990s -- mean?! Is X-Files creator Chris Carter psychic -- or did he have inside information?!

Most likely neither. Chris Carter is merely politically savvy.

One needn't believe that the U.S. government instigated a terror attack on New York in order predict that the government -- and U.S. weapons and security industry -- would take advantage of such a terror attack should it occur.

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Miraculous Vitamin D Helps Prevent Macular Degeneration

2011-07-15T01:28:00.000-07:00

United Press International reports:

"Dr. Johanna M. Seddon, director of the Epidemiology and Genetics Service at Tufts Medical Center and professor of ophthalmology at Tufts University School of Medicine ... says vitamin D may reduce the risk of macular degeneration because of its anti-inflammatory properties or it may block the formation of new blood vessels that can grow under the macula, leaking blood and causing vision loss during the more severe stages of the disease."

Read the full UPI news report.

Also read this Weeky Universe report about the miraculous cataract cure!

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"Miracle Cure" Coffee Prevents Alzheimer's Disease

2011-07-13T02:46:00.000-07:00

Next time you drop by Starbucks, be sure to ask for a "triple" or even a "quadruple" (i.e., extra shots of espresso) -- because those additional java jolts could keep your noggin thinking straight in later years!

Life Extension reports:

"A yet unidentified component of coffee interacts with the beverage's caffeine, which could be a surprising reason why daily coffee intake protects against Alzheimer's disease. A new Alzheimer's mouse study by researchers at the University of South Florida found that this interaction boosts blood levels of a critical growth factor that seems to fight off the Alzheimer's disease process (see also Clinical Trials Research).

"The findings appear in the early online version of an article to be published June 28 in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. Using mice bred to develop symptoms mimicking Alzheimer's disease, the USF team presents the first evidence that caffeinated coffee offers protection against the memory-robbing disease that is not possible with other caffeine-containing drinks or decaffeinated coffee.

"Previous observational studies in humans reported that daily coffee/caffeine intake during mid-life and in older age decreases the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The USF researchers' earlier studies in Alzheimer's mice indicated that caffeine was likely the ingredient in coffee that provides this protection because it decreases brain production of the abnormal protein beta-amyloid, which is thought to cause the disease...."

Read the rest of the article!

Also be sure to check out these 100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer's and Age-Related Memory Loss!

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Obnoxious "Educated" Woman from Kicked Off New York Train

2011-06-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a video that's gone viral.

Some "educated" yuppie New Yorker was behaving like street trash, cursing loudly on her cell phone. When she was confronted by a conductor about her behavior, she became belligerent, bragging about how educated she was, and what great schools she went to. (They certainly didn't teach her how to behave like a lady.)

This educated woman finally demanded her money back. Apparently, she's also threatening to sue.

Thank God if you don't live in New York City.

(How viral has this video gone? Los Angeles's Tim Conway Show, on KFI-AM, did a whole segment on this woman, playing back the video's audio portion while mocking this "educated" woman.)

And a response...

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UFOs Invade Missouri

2011-06-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

Missouri is a hotbed of UFO activity and paranormal phenomena -- from time slips and vortexes, to extraterrestrials and interdimensional travelers, to all things supernatural -- according to Lee Prosser's startling new book, UFOs in Missouri: True Tales of Extraterrestrial and Related Phenomena!

Prosser's book reveals shocking true-life accounts of Missourians who have had terrifying contacts with extraterrestrials, been "implanted" by aliens, or experienced "missing time."

UFO investigators will learn what to say to an extraterrestrial -- and how to "call down" a UFO if you want to chat!

The book also takes you on a virtual tour of the many shocking sites of UFO sightings -- and to Missouri's own astonishing Bermuda Triangle (an area between the points of Joplin, Springfield, and Branson)!

UFOs in Missouri offers astounding new perspectives on UFOs, mysterious phenomena, intriguing tales, and scary UFO revelations -- just waiting to be explored as the extraterrestrials beckon.

Will you answer their call?!

Author Lee Prosser is a lifelong Vedantist (i.e., a Paranormal Sensitive who investigates the paranormal). In addition to UFOs, he has extensively researched ghosts! His books include: Missouri Hauntings, Branson Hauntings, and Midwest Hauntings. He lives in the Missouri Ozarks with his wife, Debra.

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Ghost Hunters Converge on Tennessee

2011-03-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

Submitted to the Weekly Universe:

Join us at the Ghosthunt Weekends and have the Ultimate Paranormal Experience with Steve Gonsalves and Amy Bruni from the Syfy Channel's Ghost Hunters.

Join the stars for autographs, meet & greets, lectures, Q&A Sessions and a ghost hunt at the Thomas House Hotel in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee.

Limited to 100 attendees!

Special Event Package includes:

* One night hotel stay at the Thomas House
* Ghost hunt with the stars of Ghost Hunters
* Meet & greet
* Free autographs
* Photos with the stars
* Q & A panels
* Ghost Hunting 101 class
* event t-shirt
* Collector's 8x10 photo
* Signed certificate
* Collectors' laminate event pass
* Free dinner and breakfast with the stars

For details see Ghost Hunt Weekends or call 866-556-474.

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Horror Film Aesthetics Will Cheer Your Post-Halloween Blues

2010-11-08T00:28:00.000-08:00

Horror fans are always a bit bummed when Halloween is over -- but not to worry! If you're still hungry for horror, check out this interview in Theofantastique, in which Thomas M. Sipos discusses his book, Horror Film Aesthetics.

Theofantastique is a blog that reports on matters where horror meets the metaphysical.

Read the interview for a peek into Sipos's views on the subject.

Or go directly to Amazon.com to buy the book!

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Robert Bauval Reveals The Egypt Code

2010-08-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

Egyptology is "hot" once again, with museum exhibitions and TV specials being announced one after the other, led by the ubiquitous Zahi Hawass, the all-powerful, swashbuckling guardian of Eqyptian antiquities -- a man so recognizable in his field that his trademark hat is a major item sold in the Discovery Times Square Exposition gift shop, where a flashy Tutankhamun exhibition is drawing large crowds.

Pushing past the showmanship, Dr. Hawass's nemesis, rogue Egyptologist Robert Bauval, asks questions whose answers you won't find in Times Square or in one of the coffee table books in the gift shops.

Why did the ancients align their monuments so precisely with the stars? What were the practical and symbolic reasons behind these mysterious configurations?

Bauval's latest book, The Egypt Code, reveals an amazing Grand Unified Plan behind the legendary temples of Upper Egypt. The book revisits the Pyramid Age and the Old Kingdom, demonstrating a vast sky-ground correlation for the Memphite-Heliopolis region, and presenting the possibility of a grand plan spanning 3,000 years of pharaonic civilization involving pyramids and major temple sites along the Nile.

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The Weekly Universe Is Now an Urban Fantasy Satire

2010-06-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

You've read the tabloid -- now read the novel!

Hollywood says it loves equal opportunity and multicultural diversity. Development executive Diana Däagen thinks the studio's hiring is based more on ageism, sexism, and nepotism.

And so, surrounded by followers of Wicca, astrology, Native American shamans, telephone psychics, UFO prophets, a channeled warlord from Atlantis, and the alchemy of Hermes Trismegistus, Diana's coven of New Age witches hatch a plot to infiltrate and diversify the entertainment industry until Hollywood "looks like America" -- no matter how many eggs must be broken along the way.

Only the intrepid supermarket tabloid reporters of the Hollywood Investigator and Weekly Universe family of family publications can stop Diana's path toward world media domination.

Hollywood Witches is an urban fantasy/satire, available on both paper and on Amazon Kindle.

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Mysterious Marching Soldiers in Lakemont, Roswell

2010-03-29T00:53:00.000-07:00

The following was submitted to the Weekly Universe from Lorraine Christie:

I live in the Lakemont area of Roswell.

This evening [February 22, 2010], at around 9 p.m., I was sitting on my back porch with my dogs. Suddenly, the dogs and I could hear what at first sounded like lone footsteps walking through the leaves in my back yard.

My yard is fenced.

The noise became more intense, and grew into what seemed like a group of soldiers marching (if wearily) through my yard. My lab was especially spooked and growled like crazy. I froze and simply listened for a while.

The sound kept coming, then fading out periodically. I didn't hear any voices, just weary trudging of boots on leaves and mud.

I walked down into the yard and saw nothing, but still heard the sound of marching men. My dogs were very spooked by something, but didn't seem to want to rush out and chase after anyone. They seemed confused by the sound.

Can anyone explain what this might have been? It was so bizarre and unexpected.

Do YOU know what Lorraine Christie heard? Her email is studiolc at bellsouth dot net.

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Stop Washington From Regulating YOUR Vitamins!

2010-03-08T20:32:00.000-08:00

Senator John McCain has introduced S. 3002, the Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA).

This bill will . . .

* control your ability to use vitamins,
* for the benefit of the major sports leagues

The following welfare queens endorsed McCain's bill within hours of its introduction . . .

* The National Football League
* The National Basketball Association
* Major League Baseball
* National Hockey League
* The NCAA
* The Professional Golf Association
* The U.S. Olympic Committee

Nearly all of these entities receive tax funding to build the stadiums they play in. Now they want to make your supplements more expensive so that none of their rich athletes will accidentally ingest anything banned by league rules. But you can take action to kill this bill.

It's crucial to understand that most vitamins and supplements aren't drugs. Your food that grows in the ground, or on the hoof, is full of these substances. That's one reason why previous government attempts to label these nutritional supplements as drugs, and regulate them, have met with fierce public opposition. Indeed . . .

Prior to the Internet, one such government power grab generated what may have been the biggest barrage of letters to Congress in American history. That power grab failed, because public pressure works!

Instead of regulating supplements Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 DSHEA).

That law states that most nutritional substances do not require FDA pre-approval before going to market, and cannot be re-classified as drugs.

Now, John McCain seeks to repeal key provisions of the DSHEA. Yet in his remarks introducing S.3002 . . .

* he provides no evidence that the relatively free-market approach of the DHSEA has failed

* he cites no evidence that dietary supplements, consumed by 150 million Americans, are unsafe or a threat to public health

And the DSSA is completely unnecessary to address the (minor) steroid problem. In fact, the problems McCain does cite were already addressed by current law, which has not been competently enforced by the FDA!

* the FDA already has authority to ban any substance containing anabolic steroids

* and products are already required to list all their ingredients

To make matters worse, ". . . the bill reverses common law, which assumes all is legal unless restricted. DSSA would allow only what is permitted to be legal."

The DSSA is nothing but regulatory "corporate welfare" for major sports leagues (and multi-national drug companies). It will put the FDA in the business of helping the NFL, Major League Baseball, etc. enforce their substance policies -- at your expense.

This bill will deny you freedom of choice, place expensive burdens on small enterprises, and do nothing to protect your health. It will actually make you less healthy, by causing nutritional substances to be less available and more expensive.

Please use these talking points to tell your Representative and your two Senators to oppose S. 3002, John McCain's Dietary Supplement Safety Act.

And if you're excited about DownsizeDC.org's work, please do one or both of the following:

1) Start a monthly pledge or make a one-time donation.

2) Commit to sharing this campaign with ten other people who would be interested in this issue.

Both methods will help grow the Downsize DC Army,

Jim Babka, President, DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

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Conspiracy Channel to Release Ufologist LP

2010-02-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

In fall 2010, industrial/dance group the Conspiracy Channel will release their debut studio LP. It's a ufology spoken word record, featuring an artist roster of the world's leading experts in the field of extra-terrestrial study.

Featured artists include Coast to Coast AM host George Noory; UFO researcher/nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman, a Roswell investigator and author of Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience: The True Story of the World's First Documented Alien Abduction and Top Secret/Majic: Operation Majestic-12 and the United States Government's UFO Cover-Up, co-written with Whitley Strieber; filmmaker James C. Fox, whose documentary I Know What I Saw was praised by Apollo 14 astonaut Edgar Mitchell as "The most compelling film on the subject to date," and Nick Pope, former British Ministry of Defense Officer in Charge of Official British Government UFO Investigations for the Secretariat (Air Staff); Roswell expert Don Schmidt (protege of late ufologist J. Allen Hynek, and others to be announced.

Set to astral rhythmic soundscapes, the Conspiracy Channel's record offers a modern dialogue on ufology.

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Ghosts Haunt Southeast Michigan

2010-02-01T23:36:00.001-08:00

Southeast Michigan holds some of the most cultural and diverse areas in the United States, along with rolling farmlands, quaint towns -- and ghosts!

Ghosts of Southeast Michigan is a new book that invites YOU to visit spooky southeast Michigan ghost -- while offering YOU a glossary and equipment list to conduct YOUR own investigation!

Read about Blanche, a ghost that still haunts Kellogg Park! See spirits who roam the land where a mental hospital stood! Learn about a ghost who refuses to punch out permanently! Meet a winged creature, fairies in the cemetery, and demons who throw dishes!

The stories come from homeowners, paranormal investigators, psychics, and even those who call their spirits coworkers. Do you believe? You will!

Author Kristy Robinett is a professional psychic medium and author who began speaking with spirits at the age of three. She is an internationally renowned psychic medium and psychic detective, donating her time assisting law enforcement agencies.

She also performs psychic home inspections for home buyers, haunted house investigations, lecturer at special events, and owner of Encharming Events and Michigan Ghost Tours; Haunted Hideaways.

To contact her, visit Tangled Wishes or Haunted Hideaways.

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Save "Merry Christmas"

2007-11-06T22:53:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again, when all the grinches and Scrooges try to put an end to Merry Christmas.

Fortunately, the Weekly Universe has a solution! Our Merry Christmas buttons and other items will encourage storekeepers and others to say "Merry Christmas"! (It's not illegal, and it doesn't bite!)

Merry Christmas -- use it or lose it!

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Orbs ... What Are They?!

2007-11-03T03:02:00.000-07:00

You read about orbs in the Weekly Universe. Now here's a video which explores this mystery!

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Fifty Writers Question Religion

2007-08-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

The Weekly Universe received the following today:

Think You Know God? Disinformation Takes on Religion as Only It Can!

Dispensing with theory and dogma, Everything You Know About God Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide To Religion, goes where wise men have often feared to tread for fear of lightning bolts, stoning, or the tortures of the Inquisition. One thing’s for sure: after reading this book you’ll never look at religion in the same way again.

This massive book systematically reveals the distortions, myths, and utter weirdness that have been shoved down our throats by organized religions of all stripes, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, new religions, and others who want to keep their lucrative franchises intact.

Russ Kick has assembled an unprecedented arsenal of writers, reporters, and researchers to invade the inner sanctum for an unrestrained look at the wild and wooly world of organized belief.

Contributors include: Richard Dawkins, Neil Gaiman, Douglas Rushkoff, Erik Davis, H.G. Wells, Greta Christina, Paul Krassner, Nasrin Alavi and more!

Russ has been dubbed an “information archaeologist” by The New York Times, recognizing his work as one of the most effective independent researchers alive today.

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