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...rise of social-networking sites led to the addition of Twitter (the noun) and twitter (the verb), while the kind of dashed-off writing that appears in posts on that site has given new permanence to words such as hmm, heh, and mwah (the sound of an exaggerated kiss) that were previously considered mere sounds. "Had Twitter and Facebook not become so popular, there's no doubt these terms would not have been included," says Duncan Black, editor of the dictionary. "They're part of the language of microblogging." (See 10 ways Twitter will change American business...
...Given their hostility to abortion and their insistence that abstinence is the only legitimate way of avoiding pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, it isn't surprising that some American conservative and Evangelical groups have reacted angrily to the UNESCO document. "U.N. Report Advocates Teaching Masturbation to 5-Year-Olds" read the headline of FoxNews.com's Aug. 26 story. "New UNESCO Sex Education Guidelines Call on Children to Promote Abortions," a LifeNews.com article announced on Sept. 1, the same day conservative news site CNSNews.com warned that "U.S. Funds U.N. Group That Supports Teaching 5-to-8-Year Olds about Masturbation...
...obsession with onanism is a bit curious, given that the 102-page document mentions masturbation only five times: twice to explain to 5-to-8-year-olds what the term means, saying teachers should note that it's "not harmful, but should be done in private," and the other three times in a section referring to 9-to-15-year-olds, pointing out that these kids should be told it "does not cause physical or emotional harm" and is "often a person's first experience of sexual pleasure...
...governor Mike Huckabee won last year's presidential caucuses there. Opposition groups have been running ads in the state criticizing Grassley for his role in the health-care negotiations, and back in Washington, Senate GOP leaders have made no secret of their anxiety about it. "Senator Grassley has been given no authority to negotiate anything by all of us Republicans on that committee," said Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Senate GOP whip. What's more, Grassley's term as ranking Republican on the powerful tax-writing panel will expire at the end of 2010; he stands to assume that spot...
...bill," says Senate majority leader Harry Reid. That may be harder than it looks. Though Democrats control Congress, it takes 60 votes to get past a filibuster in the Senate; with the death of Ted Kennedy, they have only 59. And holding the Democrats' own ranks is getting dicier, given the sinking poll numbers for both Obama and his health-reform effort - particularly among women and voters over 65, who worry that Washington's fixes will only hurt the quality of the care they've got. (See more about health care...