This Month's Articles     I Am A Girl! - Shannon Brame I am a girl! A woman! Proud! And absolutely not buying into feminism. At 25, I am satisfied knowing I will never make as much as a man with my position. In the grand scheme of things, no big deal. I can give birth and provide food for another human being. Who cares that the beast of burden with a third leg gets paid more? What I don't want is to get something because I am a woman or whatever. If you accept what you are and were, you can beat them at their own game.   All the Blood is Red - Kirk Henry & Troy Lopez “My work has been described as psychological mystery, and I think that fits. It attempts to unravel an emotional place; at the end the revelation is about understanding where all the pain came from.” Meet Leone Ross, a 31-year-old Jamaican author whose work - two novels and a growing body of anthologized short stories in the last four years - promises a stellar literary career. Ross was born in England to a Jamaican mother and Scottish father. She moved to Jamaica at six years old and began to work as a freelance journalist when she was sixteen. She graduated from the University of the West Indies and returned to England in 1990 to broaden the stage and scope of her writing career   Are You Dirty Handed? Among the observational findings from public restrooms, the dirtiest hands are in New York. Only 49 percent of the 2,283 people observed washed their hands after using a restroom in Grand Central/Penn Station. Conversely, Chicagoans washed their hands most often (83% of adults observed) after going to a public restroom, followed by adults in San Francisco (80%). New Orleans and Atlanta were tied at 64 percent.   Out of Many We Are One For visitors to the Caribbean, whichever island or mainland country they choose, wherever they stay or whatever they do, the heritage of Africa is a constant heartbeat. It was brought across the Atlantic centuries ago with the monstrous evil of slavery and has been fiercely protected ever since - preserved in songs and stories, rituals and speech patterns, food and folk medicine. Africa confronted Europeans who settled and fought over the Caribbean. It merged with them and changed but was never extinguished. A new music of life was created with what one Caribbean scholar has called "the melody of Europe, and the rhythm of Africa".   Are You Getting all the ZZZs You Need? Does it often take you more than 30 minutes to fall asleep at night? Or do you wake up frequently during the night - or too early in the morning - and have a hard time going back to sleep? When you awaken, do you feel groggy and lethargic? Do you feel drowsy during the day particularly during monotonous situations?   Economics 101 "The Big Picture is What Counts" For our economy, the system of wins, loses, and ties, is a host of so-called economic indicators. You may have heard about several of them used to measure the scope of our economic slowdown and ugly flirtation with a bear market. Any mention of these indicators can be a cause of alarm or the opposite. Nevertheless, they are the vital signs of the nation's economic health. Do you have an interesting article? Would you like to publish it here? E-mail me today!

____________ JULY'S RIDDLE ___________ A man and a woman were driving in their car when it broke down. The man decided to go for help at a gas station a few miles back. He made sure nobody was in the car, rolled all the windows up, and locked all of the sedan's doors. He went off, but when he came back, his wife was dead, and there was a stranger in the car. No physical damage was done to the car, so how did the stranger get in? Look for the answer next month...... or post it on YAD World.

When Will You Get Your Advance Payment Check?

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department will begin sending out advance payments later this summer under a new tax law passed by Congress and signed by President Bush.

The first checks will go out the week of July 23, and most of the mailings will be completed by the end of September.

Single taxpayers who paid Federal income taxes for 2000 could receive up to $300. Heads of households could get up to $500, and married couples could receive up to $600. Anyone who could have been claimed as a dependent on another person's 2000 tax return is not eligible for a check.

Taxpayers will learn by mid-July how much they will receive. The IRS will send taxpayers a letter describing the check amount and the week it will be sent. The agency will also send a letter of explanation for taxpayers not eligible for the advance payment.

If the last two digits of your Social Security number are:	You should receive your refund the week of:
00 - 09 10 - 19 20 - 29 30 - 39 40 - 49 50 - 59 60 - 69 70 - 79 80 - 89 90 - 99	July 23 July 30 August 6 August 13 August 20 August 27 September 3 September 10 September 17 September 24