TheHNIC's blog: "Odd Shit"

The possibility seems real but don't drop your guy just yet By Brian Alexander |MSNBC contributor I normally don't spend a great deal of time thinking about my sperm. But recently a team of scientists announced they had made artificial sperm from human bone marrow, and media reports abounded with the dire news that my goodfellas (and by extension, me) had been rendered unnecessary. If a woman chose to do so, speculated tabloid journalists, she could make sperm from her own bone marrow, fertilize another woman's egg — and voila! "Men could be completely sidelined," according to Britain's Daily Mail. "Women to Self Create," blared the headline in Australia's Daily Telegraph. "Men beware!" began a story on one U.S. news Web site. There are at least half a dozen reasons why such speculation is silly, some scientific and some practical. For example, as long as sex feels good and remains no more expensive than dinner and a bottle of wine, most people will use natural-grown sperm. Still, suggests Gregory Stock, director of the program on medicine, society and technology at the UCLA School of Medicine and the CEO of a biotech company called Signum Biosciences, it is very interesting that there were any stories at all. Experiments have created eggs and sperm, so-called artificial gametes, from embryonic stem cells and other cell types for years now with limited success, so the bone marrow work does not represent a giant leap. And the stories are reminiscent of some that were printed 10 years ago when the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, was announced. We men were declared washed up then, too. Stock, author of the book "Redesigning Humans," believes there were so many stories recently because such experiments are as much symbol as science. "The importance is just the idea of two women having a child, one creating sperm and other having an oocyte [egg]. Well, what does that say about marriage laws? About whether men are needed? There are all sorts of ways that play into our psyche, who and what we are, what relationships are all about, the limits of the technological vision of ourselves." I just want to know why you women are in such a rush to get rid of us. Sci-fi and fantasy literature are full of all-female societies like Wonder Woman's home island. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd penned a friendly little book in 2005 called "Are Men Necessary?" Are you trying to give us a complex or something? A world without our sperm So permit me to run with the tabloid visionaries and see where men wind up in a world that does not need our sperm because you ladies are out there making them on your own. ..> ..> ..>..> Hmmm. In the near term, men may not be much different than the present. "The concept here that resonates with people is the idea of men not being necessary in some way," Stock suggests. "But men are not really necessary at this point either." Well, strictly in terms of keeping the human species alive, you women need some of us. You just don't need all that many of us (though we would prefer to keep that under our hats, if we wore hats). We make a glut of sperm, millions of them, so one man can spread a lot of seed. Sperm banking has long been an important part of in vitro fertilization, just as bull semen is integral to dairy production. Frankly, you only need a small tribe of us guys equipped with porn magazines and plastic cups. You could feed us, groom us and give us a little exercise — pretty much like you do now. ..> ..> Since sperm has already been made from embryonic stem cells, "it is easy to see how stem cells could go from just being used for research purposes to being used to have kids," suggests David Magnus, director of Stanford University's Center for Biomedical Ethics. "Of course you have the dilemma of needing human experiments but looking at the history [of IVF], that hasn't stopped people and so far it has worked out pretty well." So let's assume stem cells are used to treat couples lacking sperm, and then to provide lesbian couples with sperm that are genetically theirs, and then a few heterosexual women say, "Who needs men?" Once a worldwide network of stem cell banks is established (already starting, by the way), the raw material represented by the cells could be used to make any kind of cell in the body, including sperm. Catalogs could be produced the way listings of sperm donors are created now, outlining features and benefits. Women could make a toll-free call. Stag colonies of men eating Doritos? Being a man, I will assume that most women would prefer to give birth to female babies, girls being far more competent, intelligent and with less propensity to crash motorcycles. Two hundred years from now, a few isolated stag colonies are inhabited by men who have mutated to survive solely on Doritos. Male language has been reduced to a single word: "Wassup!" As a guy, I'm not sure that sounds all bad. I like Doritos, and I would no longer pay taxes or shout at my TV when I see certain politicians. The world's problems would be somebody else's burden. Have at it, ladies! Of course, I don't really expect to find myself living on Doritos in North Dakota, but someday soon, bone marrow or some other cell type may well be used to create usable sperm, something that could be a tremendous therapy for men suffering from azoospermia — and so lack sperm of their own. Other future technologies like synthetically created genomes, artificial chromosomes and manufactured cells also may be used as part of reproductive services. And if any of this ever comes to pass, we are going to have to make conceptual adjustments because such developments will further change an already changing outlook on culture and on what it means to reproduce. "The biggest development in reproductive biology is the birth-control pill," Stock says. "Nobody ever talks about it, but look at the consequences: demographics; aging populations; the sinking population of Europe, Japan; immigration. It's incredible." Women may not be so essential, either Men will likely stick around for a very long time, but Stanford's Magnus agrees that we will all have to adapt to new technologies, probably by divorcing sperm, egg and genes from the way we think of children. "I think what we really need is to do a better job of telling cultural stories to ourselves about what it means to be a family and have children. What does 'having children' mean in a technological age?" This is a real question for women, too. Eggs have been created in labs, and though we still need your wombs to make a baby, research into "exogenesis" — gestating a "baby in a bottle" — is in its infancy. Roger Gosden, an IVF pioneer, favors the research. ..> ..> "The arrival of exogenesis would probably herald a host of new opportunities for our species — social as well as biological," he declares in his book "Designing Babies." So ladies, laugh it up while you can because once those artificial eggs and the artificial womb hit the market, you'll be buying your own dinners at Chez Francoise. ----------------------------------------------- Ladies would you have a baby without using a man's sperm? What do you think fellas? Y are they researching this shit instead of shit they should be?

A top female politician ín Holland wants Dutch prostitutes sent abroad with the troops to help them relax. Annemarie Jorritsma, a politician for the centre-right People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the mayor of the town of Almere, went on national Dutch TV to demand the 'extra benefits' for soldiers. She added: "The army must think about how their soldiers can let off some steam." The ideas has been backed by the Dutch sex workers union which said it thought the idea had some merit. But an unnamed military spokesman, quoted in the 'Volkskrant' newspaper, expressed reservations. He said: "I don't think my wife would like the idea very much." There are currently around 2,000 Dutch soldiers stationed outside of the Netherlands, the majority in either Afghanistan and Bosnia.

*really very true........ ........... Girls r surely going to read it *Believe it or not....... 1. Guys don't actually look after good-looking girls. they prefer neat and presentable girls. 2. Guys hate flirts. 3.When a guy says he doesn't understand you, it simply means you're not thinking the way he is. 4. Guys may be flirting around all day but before they go to sleep, they always think about the girl they truly care about .. 5. When a guy really likes you, he'll disregard all your bad characteristics. 6. Guys go crazy over a girl's smile. 7. Guys will do anything just to get the girl's attention. 8. When you touch a guy's heart, there's no turning back. 9. When a girl says "no", a guy hears it as "try again tomorrow". .... so true. 10. You have to tell a guy what you really want before he gets the message clearly. 11. Guys love their moms. 12. A guy would sacrifice his money for lunch just to get you a couple of roses. 13. A guy often thinks about the girl who likes him. But this doesn't mean that the guy likes her. 14. You can never understand him unless you listen to him. 15. If a guy tells you he loves you once in a lifetime. He does. 16. Beware. Guys can make gossips scatter through half of the face of the earth faster than girls can. 17. Like Eve, girls are guys' weaknesses. 18. Guys are very open about themselves. 19. It's good to test a guy first before you believe him. But don't let him wait that long. 20. Guys hate it when their clothes get dirty. Even a small dot. 21. Guys really admire girls that they like even if they're not that much pretty. 22. If a guy tells you about his problems, he just needs someone to listen to him. You don't need to give advice ... very true. 23. A usual act that proves that the guy likes you is when he teases you. 24. Guys keep secrets that girls tell them. 25. Guys think too much. 26. Guys fantasies are unlimited. 27. Girls' height doesn't really matter to a guy but her weight does! ... very true. 28. Guys tend to get serious with their relationship and become too possessive. So watch out girls!!! 29. Guys are more talkative than girls are especially when the topic is about girls. 30. You can truly say that a guy has good intentions if you see him praying sometimes. 31. If a guy says you're beautiful, that guy likes you. 32. Guys hate girls who overreact. 33. Guys love you more than you love them IF they are serious in your relationships.

MIAMI, United States (AFP) - A North Carolina woman was arrested after she complained to a police officer about a batch of "bad" crack cocaine she bought, authorities said. Eloise Reaves, 50, approached a police officer Friday in the parking lot of a convenience store in Putnam County and told him she had been sold poor quality crack and wanted his help getting her money back, police said in a statement. "She then took the crack from out of her mouth and placed it on the trunk of Deputy Pedrick's patrol car," the police said. The sheriff's deputy, Jeffery Pedrick, warned Reaves that if the substance tested positive, she would be arrested. After a test came back positive, Reaves said the crack was a poor mix of wax and cocaine and that the man who sold it to her should give her money back. She was arrested and booked into the local jail on 1,504 dollars bond, and has since been released. Police also searched the man Reaves accused of selling her the crack, but found no drugs or money on him, they said.

LONDON (Reuters) - A devout Christian who said an accident at work boosted his libido and wrecked his marriage as he turned to prostitutes and pornography was awarded more than 3 million pounds in damages on Tuesday. Stephen Tame, 29, from Suffolk, suffered severe head injuries in a fall, transforming him from a loyal newlywed into a "disinhibited" character who had two affairs. He was in a coma for two months after falling from a gantry while working at a bicycle warehouse shortly after his marriage in January 2002. Doctors said it was a miracle he survived. Awarding him 3.1 million pounds in compensation at London's High Court, Judge Michael Harris said: "His life and the life of his young wife were shattered". His former employer, Professional Cycle Marketing, of Essex, had argued through their lawyers that his injuries were not as bad as suggested in court.

A Romanian woman was sent the body of her dead father in the post after a cemetery was sold to developers. Aurelia Cenusa, from Severin, says clergy in her father's hometown of Darvari, 300 miles away, told her the graveyard his body had been buried in was to be sold and his body exhumed. She said she thought the priest was joking when he told her to come and collect her father Rafaila Cojocaru's remains - or receive them in the post. Cenusa said: "I had entered a lottery a few weeks ago and when I got the large parcel I thought I had won something. "Instead I opened it up to find a banana crate containing the bones of my dead father. You could still even see bits of his funeral suit even though he died 16 years ago. "I told the priest to sell my father's grave and I expected the Church would bury him somewhere else. I had no idea he was being serious when he told me I would be getting the skeleton through the post if I didn't come. It's outrageous." She added that she intended to sue church officials. Local police have launched an investigation.

An Illinois man is suing a marriage guidance counsellor for having an affair with his wife. Scott Buetow, 35, of McHenry County, had hired the therapist to improve his marriage, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. But he claims that instead Dan Blair began an affair with his wife that caused the couple to divorce. His lawsuit seeks more than £100,000 in damages from Mr Blair and the counselling centre where he works. "He [Blair] had an obligation to provide services, and he willfully abused that for his own benefit," said attorney Hans Mast, who represents Mr Buetow. Mr Buetow and his wife began seeing the counselor in April 2004 to 'strengthen and stabilise' their 10-year marriage. While providing both joint counseling and individual therapy sessions, Blair allegedly started a secret romantic relationship with Buetow's wife. Buetow filed the suit because he believes "he got a raw deal from the person he trusted and confided in," Mast said. Buetow and his 36-year-old wife, who have four children, were granted a divorce earlier this year.

A frustrated German housewife called police because her husband would not stop watching porn movies. The 44-year-old woman, from Aachen, dialled the emergency police number and told the dispatcher in a weepy voice there was an emergency. But when officers arrived at the scene they found her pacing the apartment while her husband, 46, sat in front of the TV watching a blue movie. She told the police: "Nothing will move him, not even if I offer him the real thing, and he has the TV on so loud I'm sure the neighbours can hear it." She was told however that there was nothing the police could do in such a case, but refer her to a counsellor for help.

A Florida man is fighting to stop paying maintenance to his ex-wife - because she's now a man. Lawrence Roach, of Seminole, says his ex-wife has had a sex swap op and is now living as a man. He says he should be allowed stop paying his £650 monthly alimony payments, reports Bay News 9. "This isn't right. It's humiliating to me and degrading," he said. "You know, I'm a man and I don't want to be paying alimony to a man. If you can't be married to a man legally, how can you legally pay alimony to a man?" Roach and his ex-wife, who Bay News 9 did not identify, divorced 18 months ago after being married for more than 17 years.

A US man was arrested after a teenage girl saw him staring up at her from a cesspit below a toilet seat. Police pulled the 45-year-old from the waste tank under a public toilet at a beauty spot in Albany, New Hampshire. Captain Jon Hebert, of the Carroll County Sheriff's Department, said firefighters hosed the man down before police handcuffed him. "We had to decontaminate him. We treated him as if he were hazardous material," he told the Union Leader. "I started this business in 1980, and I have never in my career encountered anybody in this type of situation." The man, from Gardiner, Maine, was arrested in the White Mountain National Forest after the 14-year-old girl's parents called the police. Police said the door to the waste tank was locked so he must have gone in through the toilet. He was wearing waders. Police charged the man with criminal trespass, and say he could face more charges.