AMANDA KNOX

It's a nightmare -- jailed for four years, finally set free, and now this 25-year old girl must return to Italy and be on trial again for murder -- what would I do if I were Amanda?

She can't run and hide, change her name, her looks, and disappear. That she's got a book to sell right now is oddly, I thInk, wrong timing. The thought crosses my mind that the book keeps her name hot -- keeps her crime, her dilemma big news. Amanda Knox will make a lot of money because of the re-trial. The bad news about this, is also good news for author Amanda.

Her guilt or utter innocence in the death of her roommate (I remember the victim's name was Kercher, and the sexual implications of the way the girl was murdered) -- all that is still in my mind. Oh yes, I have read, nodded, agreed with reliable sources that prove that Amanda is innocent, but the media's huge, full-blown, detailed, repetitious focus on what happened keeps this crime very vivid, very real.

Do I think she was (is) in some way involved in the murder? 

No, but I wonder again what I wondered about before -- why she and the boy (also tried and jailed for the murder) were kissing, celebrating -- the loving sexual overtones in the "kiss" photos that were taken the day after the murder. It made me uneasy -- that so soon after the murder, they were so involved with their feelings for each other. And there were other photos that bothered me -- expressions on her face, in her eyes, the tilt of her head -- her general demeanor -- that suggested a capacity for lust? evil?  There's an I come first, I get what I want element in her that I've seen. Could it transform an otherwise very intelligent, creative, young girl into a murderess?

Oh no!  Oh yes!  Yes -- it's possible.

I hope Amanda and her family and lawyers and her connections can somehow change the ruling of the Italian courts that demand she return for another trial. I don't know how she's managing to handle what's hanging over her now -- returning to a foreign country -- speaking their language -- convincing a jury again that she is innocent.

Maybe, because I couldn't handle it -- because I am amazed at her courage, I am packing up my questions, my uneasy feelings about how and why she was involved in the murder of her roommate. I'm.just airing my thoughts, because ... because if I'm thinking them, I know other people think them too.  

CAROLINE KENNEDY

A photo of a young Caroline Kennedy with Macaroni, her  pony, inspired singer-songwriter Neil Diamond to write his hit song "Sweet Caroline," a fact he revealed only when performing it for her 50th birthday, in November 2007.

Rich little girl, Caroline Kennedy, was never a poor little rich girl,
even though we thought that, when her father was assassinated.  

We have the Bush Dynasty brewing, stewing, and reminding us they are there -- ready, willing and able  to run the county. We had the Kennedys -- Caroline and John, Jr. -- brought up carefully, not to be brewing, stewing, or reminding us of their marvelous, perfect heritage, but that's how we thought of both these two children.

All the right, good, important things were done for Caroline to connect her to the Kennedy family and its traditions -- the good manners and graceful ways, as she learned to play in the sand and on the lawns with her cousins -- all the right games, and all the right schools --  Brearley (private grade school), Sacred Heart Convent School, Radcliffe, Harvard, and Columbia.

Grandma Rose Kennedy, summing up Caroline's growing up years said, "She probably thought it was natural for children to go off in their own airplanes. But she was with her cousins, and some of them dance and swim better than she. They did not allow her to take special precedence. Little children accept things."

As Caroline got her BA and JD degrees, she had her first jobs, on the Daily News, at the Metropolitan Museum, where met Edwin Scholossberg, whom she married -- with whom she has had three children, and lived a good life, while participating with and helping many, many charities and not-for-profit foundations that are doing good things for the country -- for the poor and for the under-privileged. She also has co-authored, and authored three books, and almost ran for senator of New York --  backed out -- it wasn't clear why -- perhaps because her uncle Ted was dying. 

Yes, Caroline has been in the news -- at her mother Jackie's funeral, at brother John, Jr.'s funeral, and Uncle Ted's funeral -- in the news when she supported Obama running for president in 2008. And she herself, is a remarkably rich, important woman -- she owns her mother's 375-acre farm on the  island of Martha's Vineyard; her fortune's estimated at more than $100 million.

Now Caroline is 55. Obama has put forth her name as the country's ambassador to Japan.  What will this mean to Edwin, and to her kids, to the various posts that she currently holds?

It means, I think, that Caroline Kennedy is now truly entering the arena of public office and politics -- the Kennedy Dynasty hopefully -- like the other dynasty, is going to be part of our lives in the future.

Golly I hope so.

CANCER NEWS

Time Magazine's recent cover story, "The Conspiracy to End Cancer," starts with a headline, "The Hero Scientist Who Defeats Cancer Will Likely Never Exist."

'Conspiracy' suggested a bunch of spies. The headline sounded like bad news for cancer victims. 

The author, Bill Saporito, with facts and quotes, tells us that cancer "dream" teams -- 28 of them -- are collaborating and sharing information. Each team, consisting of top scientists and the very latest equipment, is digging deeply into what causes various cancers, and they are already curing cancers, even some which were incurable.

The six page article detailed the important work that was being done right now on pancreatic cancer and deadly forms of leukemia. Though the article didn't promise us anything or promote any specific advice, if you or members of your family have had cancer -- if you fear that it's in your genes -- perhaps you'll be a bit more hopeful, after you read "The Conspiracy to End Cancer." (This is a link, but read it later.)

I certainly wasn't thrilled, nor was I very impressed by what I read.

Browsing the Internet to see if there were other reactions to the article, or other more major cancer news -- WHAM -- I bumped into newsmax.com -- a video --"YOU." 

Wow! After a startling scary, beginning, I met David Brownstein, a doctor with impressive credits, with strong straightforward advice -- specifics on how to avoid getting cancer.

You can look at the "YOU" video later. I was very interested in what he said -- somewhat irritated when Brownstein mentioned his free magazine, and newsletter, but I grabbed a pencil and started making notes. Brownstein stated there were "seven things to do" if you wanted to avoid getting cancer, and again, mentioned his magazine and newsletter that cost 15 cents a month.

Though I was hooked, as he talked about sugars, I couldn't' helping wondering if he was a quack, but I liked the way he explained why white rice, white bread, anything made with white flour was dangerous, and declared, "If you don't want to get cancer you need iodine"

As Brownstein spoke about it,there was another mention of the magazine, and the 15 cent newsletter. My quack bell was ringing. My husband's brother -- before his wife Jeanie died of colon cancer, frantically, desperately pursued the magic cures of the 1970's -- the apricot-pit extract Laetrile, that didn't save Jeanie's life.

But I didn't turn off the video. Balancing what I know from my doctor and what I've heard and read, I wanted to know the "seven things"  to avoid, and Brownstein also said there were five things you had to do to prevent cancer.

Brownstein clearly stated that you have to avoid obesity, smoking, drugs. excess sugar, white flour. refined oils, and refined carbohydrates. You can prevent cancer if you increase your intake of iodine; you need to eat unsweetened yogurt, goats milk or goats cheese, strawberries, cranberries, navy beans, potatoes (with their skin). and use grey salt or Himalayan salt.

I hit the off switch after watching "YOU" for 22 minutes. (it's a 32-minute video). I learned that I ought to eat potatoes and cranberries and find out more about How to get Iodine. (That's another link to look at later after you look at the "YOU" Video.)

Time told me that a cure for cancer hasn't been found yet, but the teams are working on it. (On Facebook, Time has 75,661 likes, and mentions it has 24 million readers per month.) The NewMax Website told me about Brownstein -- it's got 246.00 likes on FB; it's been booming in Florida since 1998; it's praised by conservatives like Jeb Bush, President Reagan's son Mike.

Trust the 28 teams? Trust Brownstein?    

The only thing I really trust is me. I count on myself not to go overboard on any opinions. just to keep gathering information and things I can do. realistically without messing up my life.

Click and read the Time article; click and listen to the YOU video (for about five minutes); visit the Iodine link. And figure out what makes sense to you.