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			    <title>Peer Forum | Peer Support | Health Peer Support | PeerForum.com</title> 
				<link>http://peerforum.com/</link> 
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			<title>National groups laud NAACP for national board decision in Miami to support ... - MiamiHerald.com (blog)</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/national-groups-laud-naacp-for-national-board-decision-in-miami-to-support-miamiheraldcom-blog</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The New Civil Rights MovementNational groups laud NAACP for national board decision in Miami to support ...MiamiHerald.com (blog)WASHINGTON, May 19 — The board of directors of the NAACP, the nation&#039;s oldest and largest civil rights organization, today voted to endorse marriage equality. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the NAACP have worked together on issues related ...NAACP backs same-sex marriageCNN (blog)NAACP backs same-sex marriage as civil rightSacramento BeeNAACP, Oldest US Civil Rights Group, Announces Gay Marriage SupportThe New Civil Rights MovementThe Inquisitr -KTVNall 317 news articles »]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 19:30:05 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>When single dads are victims - New Straits Times</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/when-single-dads-are-victims-new-straits-times</link>
			<description><![CDATA[When single dads are victimsNew Straits TimesMore want equal parenting rights as it benefits the children, writes Shanti Gunaratnam WHEN real estate negotiator Low Swee Siong was finally given full custody of his 13-year-old daughter Low Bi-Anne in February following a highly publicised four-year ...]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 19:00:04 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Sexuality and Marital Intimacy</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/sexuality-and-marital-intimacy</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A good marriage is best friends with passion. Without the passion, you just have a friendship. For some, being companions is sufficient. But for most, it is not. One of the major casualties of the harried pace of modern marriage is the loss of sexual intimacy. It is too steep a price to pay. While communication is the most frequently mentioned issue in troubled marriages (see April 2005 article on “Improving Marital Intimacy”), inevitably I find a diminished sexual relationship at the center of most troubled marriages.
What follows is a brief tour through the world of marital sexuality with a focus on how to understand the issues and strategies to repair the damage.
Gender and Physiology
Men and women are different. While these differences get debated in some circles, when it comes to sex, they are real and very clear. Unfortunately many couples fail to reflect on these differences and integrate them into an understanding of how to be successful partners.
Start with arousal patterns. Men are quick to be aroused and relatively quick to achieve orgasm. The “spike” rises sharply and drops off just as sharply. Men are especially aroused visually; brain research documents this. So looking at other women, at magazines, videos, and online pornography play a much bigger role in the sexual life of men.
Women are aroused more slowly and after achieving orgasm, tend to remain at a high plateau of arousal before dropping off. These are very different physiological patterns. No wonder it is a challenge for couples to really experience mutual satisfaction. These differences must not be ignored; instead they must be incorporated into the lovemaking process.
The simplest way to do this is, regardless of who initiates the foreplay, is for men to focus on pleasuring their wives, bringing them to an initial orgasm before focus is given to bringing the male to orgasm. It is also critical for men to understand what will help their wives achieve orgasm. While clitoral stimulation is usually a key component, many women still “get off” on intercourse, especially if the angle is such that it also stimulates the clitoris or that clitoral stimulation is being done manually by either partner during intercourse.
It is also important to understand the psychological implications of the different genital anatomies. For men, sexual intercourse is an external act. This has evolutionary implications about the need for prehistoric men to “seed” many partners in order to insure survival of the species. It is part of what allows men to more easily separate sex from love. But, for a woman, to have intercourse means allowing a man to enter her body. That is a deeply personal act and men need to appreciate this. It is why women complain about the need for emotional intimacy before they can be sexually active. Combine this with the difference in arousal patterns and it becomes much easier to understand why it is so important for women to experience meaningful foreplay.
Yet there is a trap here for women that becomes a key issue for so many of the couples who come to see me. When couples are struggling, women insist on emotional safety and closeness in order to be actively sexual. That creates a prohibitive barrier to improving the marital relationship, since the lack of sex, especially for men, but a lot more for women than they recognize, is one of the central underlying problems in not resolving their issues. Women act as if sex is still a process of servicing men and often deny that they are sexual beings who need to be serviced at least as much if not more. While some female readers may be dismissing this because it is being written by a male author, this concept is a central theme in books written by some of the best known female professionals in marital work such as Betty Carter, Ellen Wachtel, and Susan Scantling.
Women need to have sex! For themselves! So it is important to overcome the excuse of emotional disconnection and have sex with your husbands as frequently as possible. It will allow BOTH partners to feel closer and create a more intimate context in which to resolve other issues. I am, of course, not suggesting that this can happen in relationships that are verbally and, especially, physically abusive.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 19:00:04 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>How Victoria College has changed my life - Victoria Advocate</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/how-victoria-college-has-changed-my-life-victoria-advocate</link>
			<description><![CDATA[How Victoria College has changed my lifeVictoria AdvocateAfter I graduated from high school, I tried a career in customer service while going to school for early childhood education. While going to school, I made a career change and began working for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 18:30:03 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>NAACP backs same-sex marriage - CNN (blog)</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/naacp-backs-samesex-marriage-cnn-blog</link>
			<description><![CDATA[NAACP backs same-sex marriageCNN (blog)(CNN) - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Saturday announced its backing of same-sex marriage, more than a week after President Barack Obama also expressed support for the issue. &quot;The mission of the NAACP has always been ...]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 18:30:03 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Legal highs making the drug war obsolete</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/legal-highs-making-the-drug-war-obsolete</link>
			<description><![CDATA[If you want any evidence that drugs have won the drug war, you just need to read the scientific studies on legal highs.
If you’re not keeping track of the ‘legal high’ scene it’s important to remember that the first examples, synthetic cannabinoids sold as ‘Spice’ and ‘K2′ incense, were only detected in 2009.
Shortly after amphetamine-a-like stimulant drugs, largely based on variations on pipradrol and the cathinones appeared, and now ketamine-like drugs such as methoxetamine have become widespread.
Since 1997, 150 new psychoactive substances were reported. Almost a third of those appeared in 2010. 
Last year, the US government banned several of these drugs although the effect has been minimal as the legal high laboratories have over-run the trenches of the drug warriors.
A new study just published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology tracked the chemical composition of legal highs as the bans were introduced.
A key question was whether the legal high firms would just try and use the same banned chemicals and sell them under a different name.
The research team found that since the ban only 4.9% of the products contained any trace of the recently banned drugs. The remaining 95.1% of products contained drugs not covered by the law.
The chemicals in legal highs have fundamentally changed since the 2011 ban and the labs have outrun the authorities in less than a year.
Another new study has looked at legal highs derived from pipradrol – a drug developed in 1940s for treating obesity, depression, ADHD and narcolepsy.
It was made illegal in made countries during the 70s due to its potential for abuse because it gives an amphetamine-like high.
The study found that legal high labs have just been running through variations of the banned drug using simple modifications of the original molecule to make new unregulated versions.
The following paragraph is from this study and even if you’re not a chemist, you can get an impression of how the drug is been tweaked in the most minor ways to create new legal versions.

Modifications include: addition of halogen, alkyl or alkoxy groups on one or both of the phenyl rings or addition of alkyl, alkenyl, haloalkyl and hydroxyalkyl groups on the nitrogen atom. Other modifications that have been reported include the substitution of a piperidine ring with an azepane ring (7-membered ring), a morpholine ring or a pyridine ring or the fusion of a piperidine ring with a benzene ring. These molecules, producing amphetamine-like effects, increase the choice of new stimulants to be used as legal highs in the coming years.

New, unknown and poorly understand psychoactive chemicals are appearing faster than they can be regulated.
The market is being driven by a demand for drugs that have the same effects as existing  legal highs but won’t get you thrown in prison.
The drug war isn’t only being lost, it’s being made obsolete.
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			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 17:30:07 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Bill George: Speaking out against the marriage amendment - Minneapolis Star Tribune</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/bill-george-speaking-out-against-the-marriage-amendment-minneapolis-star-tribune</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Minneapolis Star TribuneBill George: Speaking out against the marriage amendmentMinneapolis Star TribuneNow that the debate over the Vikings stadium is settled, taking center stage is an issue that has far graver consequences for Minnesota&#039;s future: the marriage amendment. President Obama&#039;s unqualified support for same-sex marriage came on the heels of ...Minnesota Same-Sex Marriage Fight Re-Energized -- On Both SidesKVIA El Pasoall 5 news articles »]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 17:30:07 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Afghan security issues weighed at NATO summit - KCAU</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/afghan-security-issues-weighed-at-nato-summit-kcau</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Afghan security issues weighed at NATO summitKCAUThe NAACP has passed a resolution endorsing same-sex marriage as a civil right and opposing any efforts &quot;to codify discrimination or hatred into the law.&quot;More&gt;&gt; The NAACP has passed a resolution endorsing same-sex marriage as a civil right and opposing ...and more »]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 17:30:07 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Mapping the Mind: Revised and Updated Edition</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/mapping-the-mind-revised-and-updated-edition</link>
			<description><![CDATA[


Today a brain scan reveals our thoughts and moods as clearly as an X-ray reveals our bones. We can actually observe a person’s brain registering a joke or experiencing a painful memory. In Mapping the Mind, award-winning journalist Rita Carter draws on the latest imaging technology and science to chart how human behavior and personality reflect the biological mechanisms behind thought and emotion. This acclaimed book, a complete visual guide to the coconut-sized, wrinkled gray mass we carry around inside our heads, has now been completely revised and updated throughout. Among many other topics, Carter explores obsessions and addictions, the differences between men’s and women’s brains, and memory.• Comprehensively updated for this edition with the latest research, case studies, and contributions from distinguished scientists• Addresses recent controversies over behavior prediction and prevention• Includes new information on mirror neurons, unconscious cognition, and abnormalities in attention spans
List price: $29.95
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			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 17:00:05 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Same-Sex Marriage Remains A Hot Issue - KMGH Denver</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/samesex-marriage-remains-a-hot-issue-kmgh-denver</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Chattanooga Times Free PressSame-Sex Marriage Remains A Hot IssueKMGH DenverMark Ferrandino, a gay lawmaker who co-sponsored the civil unions legislation and said that its supporters would be &quot;very active&quot; in the fall on the issue. Since 2008, equal rights for same-sex couples -- either through civil unions or gay marriage ...Evolution of Obama: Critics won&#039;t buy his flip-flop on same-sex marriageCalgary SunGay marriage spawns big spike in online videosStamford AdvocateMay 19 Talk Back lettersContra Costa Timesall 545 news articles »]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 17:00:05 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Other Voices: Same-sex marriage less an issue than it seemed - Times Herald-Record</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/other-voices-samesex-marriage-less-an-issue-than-it-seemed-times-heraldrecord</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Other Voices: Same-sex marriage less an issue than it seemedTimes Herald-RecordHe favors a deliberate, nuanced approach to issues, especially the politically sticky ones, and his position on same-sex marriage was said to be &quot;evolving.&quot; But it had been evolving for nearly two years, more than enough time for his followers, ...]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 16:00:20 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/organize-your-mind-organize-your-life</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A wonderfully executed book which sets out with the lofty objective of organizing and taming our society’s fast-paced lifestyle, Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life is a true prize in its class of literature.  It’s extremely thoughtful in its prose, giving the reader countless images and examples to better understand the relevance of the scientific information presented.
The authors — an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard’s Medical School and assistant psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry and “Coach Meg,” the founder and CEO of a leading corporation which focuses on building international standards for professional health and wellness coaches — offer a very holistic approach to decreasing the frenzy that so many of us encounter in our daily lives.  They complement each other wonderfully. Dr. Hammerness (the professor) usually approaches the reader head-on, lobbing out new tidbits of scientific research and trying to get the reader up to speed on the ever-evolving field of neuroscience.  Coach Meg, on the other hand, greets us at the end of each chapter in a more “nitty-gritty” manner, giving us practical steps to take on our journey toward less chaos.
Each chapter walks the reader through a clear and concise look at one “Rule of Order,” as the authors term these guidelines to gaining control and order in our every day.  They typically illustrate where so many of us go wrong and help us pinpoint the moment or moments that lead to disarray.  Many of the cases highlight individuals who have made it into adulthood with varying levels of ADD or ADHD, often through acquisition of coping skills that unfortunately have their limits.  When these people or those coping skills have met their limits, Dr. Hammerness conveys to the reader, he often sees them in his office, eager for their first appointment.
As a younger professional in the sciences who has been diagnosed with ADHD, I can easily empathize and readily understand these individuals. Throughout the book, we see myriad cases in which people struggle to keep their heads afloat in a world that seems to never stop picking up the pace around them.  The authors relay tales of mothers who allow themselves to obsessively get roped into cleaning a garage, while the rest of the world spins out of control, and contractors who forget pertinent details needed to keep business booming in a subpar economy.
Within this book we gradually move with the authors through the all of the Rules of Order: “Taming the Frenzy;” “Sustaining Attention;” “Applying the Brakes;” “Molding Information;” “Shift Setting” and “Connecting the Dots” (where we learn to put together each one of these valuable tenets to form a practical design with which to newly approach our lives).  If ever, during the course of the narrative, we doubt the real need for adjusting our turbulent lifestyles, the authors rein us back in with new understandings in neuroscience and another example of someone burning the proverbial candle at both ends.
At one point the authors even lure us into a few examples of people “multi-tasking,” goading us into momentarily believing that those people who seem adept in this supposedly coveted ability to handle more than one task at a time are superior.  But quickly we see that multitasking is akin to seeing a snapshot of a juggler with a dozen balls in the air.  We don’t see the juggler drop all of the balls in the next snapshot, so don’t truly have an accurate depiction of the ability or limitations of the juggler.  
Similarly, when we see the person in the office next door texting, typing and listening in on a conference call, we should understand that each of those tasks will be of poor quality and many likely will not be completed at all.  There are, Dr. Hammerness assures us, limitations with any human brain.
For anyone who has sought this title out in a bookstore, there will likely be no disappointment with the content.  Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life is an extremely well-constructed and astutely interesting mix of science and recipe book, arming the modern-day person with countless tasks consistently scheduled, a more productive and less stressful manner with which to approach life.  By the end of the last chapter the authors seem like two dear friends with whom we have learned invaluable skills, like stepping back from each situation and assessing before acting.  With them we learn to welcome an interruption and flex with the changing nature of the world around us.  Surely if we follow these two recommendations alone, we can thank both authors for a few added years!
As the book claimed from the beginning, Coach Meg and Dr. Hammerness offer us tools with which “to tap into our embedded organizational skills, improve focus and attention and better structure our life.”  As someone who has at times struggled with the challenges of ADHD, I practice mindfulness meditation, engage in regular physical activity (which the authors strongly urge) and attempt to eat well.  This book is a priceless addition to my library in terms of very tangible life skills that will certainly improve my ability to organize and manage my hectic schedule.
In addition, I look forward to pursuing some of the websites and citations found within this gem.  For these two gifted authors to utilize them, it will certainly be worth my time and effort to follow up on all extraneous information offered.  I cannot recommend Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life enough, as it truly does just what it sets out to do:  educates and empowers the reader to “train your brain to get more done in less time.”  It would hard to begin to put a cost on that.
Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life: Train Your Brain to Get More Done in Less Time
By Paul Hammerness, MD and Margaret Moore
Harlequin: December 27, 2011
Paperback, 272 pages
$16.95]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 15:30:10 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Husband files petition seeking separation from alcoholic wife - Deccan Chronicle</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/husband-files-petition-seeking-separation-from-alcoholic-wife-deccan-chronicle</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Deccan ChronicleHusband files petition seeking separation from alcoholic wifeDeccan ChronicleShe also added that alcohol problems related to women are very few. Another counsellor with the family court said,&quot; There are cases where men as young as 27 are addicted to alcohol. Once addicted to alcohol they might have problems with sexual ...and more »]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 15:00:05 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Growing Faulkner scholarship program bolstering fortunes of single parents - Log Cabin Democrat</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/growing-faulkner-scholarship-program-bolstering-fortunes-of-single-parents-log-cabin-democrat</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Growing Faulkner scholarship program bolstering fortunes of single parentsLog Cabin DemocratThese women represent only a tiny percentage of people who have prospered in the past 21 years through the Single Parent Scholarship program in Faulkner County. The program&#039;s blueprint has played a significant, if not unique, role in the lives of many, ...]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 14:30:04 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Curémonos Celebrates Three Years of Guiding Latinas, Women in Need, to Breast ... - TheAlternativePress.com (press release) (blog)</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/curemonos-celebrates-three-years-of-guiding-latinas-women-in-need-to-breast-thealternativepresscom-press-release-blog</link>
			<description><![CDATA[TheAlternativePress.com (press release) (blog)Curémonos Celebrates Three Years of Guiding Latinas, Women in Need, to Breast ...TheAlternativePress.com (press release) (blog)Curémonos engages Latina breast cancer survivors to provide education, advocacy, peer support, patient navigation and interpretation services to other Latinas affected by cancer. Curémonos helps ensure seamless, coordinated care and services, ...]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 14:30:04 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Noted psychiatrist Robert Spitzer apologizes for study on gay &#039;cure&#039; - Tampabay.com</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/noted-psychiatrist-robert-spitzer-apologizes-for-study-on-gay-cure-tampabaycom</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The GuardianNoted psychiatrist Robert Spitzer apologizes for study on gay &#039;cure&#039;Tampabay.comPRINCETON, NJ — The simple fact was that he had done something wrong, and at the end of a long and revolutionary career it didn&#039;t matter how often he had been right, how powerful he once was, or what it would mean for his legacy. Dr. Robert L. Spitzer ...Noted psychiatrist apologizes for study on &#039;gay cure&#039;Austin American-Statesman&#039;Gay Cure&#039; Researcher Robert Spitzer Is Trying to Do RightThe Atlantic WireDoctor recants claim that reparative therapy can &quot;cure&quot; homosexualityDenver Postall 201 news articles »]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 14:00:03 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Gay marriage could be big voting issue in Colorado - Fox News</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/gay-marriage-could-be-big-voting-issue-in-colorado-fox-news</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Associated PressGay marriage could be big voting issue in ColoradoFox NewsNorth Carolina recently took the opposite stance, voting to strengthen its ban against gay marriage. But the fight in Colorado has proved especially bitter, and feelings on both sides are raw. So Republicans and Democrats are bracing for social issues ...In Colorado, same-sex marriage remains a hot issueSan Francisco Chronicleall 545 news articles »]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 14:00:03 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>HLN&#039;s Jane Velez-Mitchell Is Still an Addict and Has &quot;Issues&quot; With John Edwards - Huffington Post</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/hlns-jane-velezmitchell-is-still-an-addict-and-has-issues-with-john-edwards-huffington-post</link>
			<description><![CDATA[HLN&#039;s Jane Velez-Mitchell Is Still an Addict and Has &quot;Issues&quot; With John EdwardsHuffington PostShe said that her &quot;obsession to alcohol was immediately lifted... In that moment when I realized that I was powerless to my addiction to alcohol, I suddenly became aware that I didn&#039;t need to have a drink.&quot; Yet, after speaking with Jane Velez-Mitchell ...and more »]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 13:30:04 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>10 Career Tips For 20-Something-Year-Olds - Business Insider</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/10-career-tips-for-20somethingyearolds-business-insider</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Business Insider10 Career Tips For 20-Something-Year-OldsBusiness InsiderThe recession will drastically change career plans; everyone will flock to graduate school at once. Job opportunities won&#039;t always be so forthcoming as they were in early 2003. After college, many of your classmates land jobs almost immediately after ...]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 13:30:04 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Rotary members honored with &#039;Best of Branchburg&#039; award - NJ.com</title>
			<link>http://peerforum.com/news/rotary-members-honored-with-best-of-branchburg-award-njcom</link>
			<description><![CDATA[NJ.comRotary members honored with &#039;Best of Branchburg&#039; awardNJ.comThey appropriate funding for the following programs: STOP (Students Tackling Ordinary Problems); Peer Leadership; Red Ribbon Week; DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education); Community-Wide Substance Abuse Education/Prevention; and the Willow Tree Alcohol ...]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 13:00:04 CDT</pubDate>
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