Stuff to Blog About and More: In the News; April 22, 2008

The Good News on this Tuesday is that it is Earth Day. The 38th celebration of our great planet. What can you do to celebrate this day. Simple things like waste prevention, reducing the amount of waste you are responsible for, reusing what you can, donating what you no longer need, and just being smart about everything you use.

Also in the news- it's finally the Penn. primary day. The mudslinging may soon end.

Oil hit $118/barrel. Not good news for our struggling dollar and everything related to gas prices- which is pretty much everything.

So, what do you think about the new items on this page?
Thank you Barry for the neat message board.

See you later.
-Shakespere-

Over the past weekend there was some disturbing news out of Chicago. There were a reported 36 shootings and 9 homicides . The victims? You guessed it. Mainly minors. In one case in someone used an AK-47 to shoot up a plumbing supply store. Then on Monday evening, a man was shot to death and three other people were wounded in a robbery attempt at a McDonald's, police said.

Are you sick of this yet? Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama questioned each other's character and readiness to be commander in chief in last-minute television ads as the six-week Pennsylvania primary campaign steams ahead.

While vacationing at Disney, a man accidentally threw away his wife's rings. While he was tidying up their villa as they prepared to leave the park late last week, he dumped a cardboard bowl, not knowing the container inside it held his wife engagement, wedding and five-year-anniversary rings. Disney made good. They were able to locate the missing items and thus, bail him out of the dog house.

I am not making this up. There is new research to report. Researchers find that men who masturbate frequently are at a reduced risk of cancer. Frequent masturbation may help men cut their risk of contracting prostate cancer, Australian researchers have found. It is believed that carcinogens may build up in the prostate if men do not ejaculate regularly, BBC News reported on Wednesday. The researchers surveyed more than 1,000 men who had developed prostate cancer, and 1,250 men who had not. So much for going blind.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

FTC: Your Rights: Credit Reporting

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has prepared a brochure, Your Access to Free Credit Reports, explaining your rights under the FCRA and how to order a free annual credit report.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

How do I order my free report?

You can order your free annual credit report online at annualcreditreport.com, by calling 1-877-322-8228, or by completing the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

When you order, you need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may need to provide some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

A Warning About "Imposter" Sites

The FTC advises consumers who order their free annual credit reports online to be sure to correctly spell annualcreditreport.com, or link to it from the FTC's website to avoid being misdirected to other websites that offer supposedly free reports,but only with the purchase of other products. While consumers may be offered additional products or services while on the authorized website, they are not required to make a purchase to receive their free annual credit reports.

For more information on free annual credit reports, read Your Access to Free Credit Reports.