Author: Serkadis

  • Democrats To Unveil New $100 Billion Jobs Bill That Will Only Save Government Jobs And Will Be Funded By The Deficit

    George MillerThat seems to be the message from this article in The Hill about a new jobs bill (AKA: stimulus) being proposed by Nancy Pelosi ally George Miller (D-CA).

    Miller’s bill would make $100 billion in grants available to localities over the next two years in the form of grant programs for funds to save or create local jobs, or to create work-training programs for city workers.

    The key House chairman said that while a decision would be made by leadership, he would prefer to see the program paid for by deficit spending, a potential violation of the pay-as-you-go, or pay-go, rules approved last month in Congress.

    “I think this should be funded out of the deficit,” Miller said on a conference call, framing his proposal as an extension of the Recovery Act. “We’re not going to continue this deficit if we continue to lay people off.”

    We suppose this money could be used for private sector job training, but we doubt that’s going to happen. Mainly this will be a boon to teachers, cops, and various other unionized, public-sector workers who will be in the first position to grab the cash.

    Join the conversation about this story »

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  • Photos from Texas III

    Starting a new post.

  • The FTC May Challenge Google's AdMob Acquisition

    Google’s ambitious, new wave of acquisitions may be hampered by the realities of being one of the largest companies on the web. Google already dominates in many areas and, with each new move, competitors and government regulators are getting more concerned and twitchy. The latest example is the AdMob acquisition, which Google announced last year,… (read more)

  • Editorial: Climate of fear, Nature.com

    Article Tags: Editorial

    The integrity of climate research has taken a very public battering in recent months. Scientists must now emphasize the science, while acknowledging that they are in a street fight.

    Climate scientists are on the defensive, knocked off balance by a re-energized community of global-warming deniers who, by dominating the media agenda, are sowing doubts about the fundamental science. Most researchers find themselves completely out of their league in this kind of battle because it’s only superficially about the science. The real goal is to stoke the angry fires of talk radio, cable news, the blogosphere and the like, all of which feed off of contrarian story lines and seldom make the time to assess facts and weigh evidence. Civility, honesty, fact and perspective are irrelevant.

    Worse, the onslaught seems to be working: some polls in the United States and abroad suggest that it is eroding public confidence in climate science at a time when the fundamental understanding of the climate system, although far from complete, is stronger than ever. Ecologist Paul Ehrlich at Stanford University in California says that his climate colleagues are at a loss about how to counter the attacks. “Everyone is scared shitless, but they don’t know what to do,” he says.

    Click to read more panic from nature.com and yes this time You Could Make It Up! These guys are seeing their life’s work taken from them as “Man Made Climate Change” is becoming a third rate joke, the trouble is not many see the funny side of it, OK I lied, some do see the funny side, but not at Nature.com!

    Source: nature.com

    Read in full with comments »   


  • Age Concern hosts cross-party care and support talks – Channel 4 News video

    Health Secretary Andy Burnham, shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley and Lib Dem health spokesperson Norman Lamb came together for cross-party talks on the funding of care and support at an event hosted by Age Concern and Help the Aged.

    Channel 4 News filmed the event and compiled this video report.

  • Railroading Toyota

    03.10.10 02:16 PM posted by scottspiegel

    According to the L.A. Times, federal officials report that there were 34 deaths in the past decade from Toyota vehicles suddenly and unintentionally accelerating.

    Then again, federal officials also report that there were 34 deaths from people not having health insurance while you were reading the last sentence.

    A sensationalistic crash that killed four occupants of a Lexus last year in San Diego resulted in nationwide media exposure regarding supposed Toyota design flaws.* Toyota investigated and found that the car’s floor mat had become stuck to the accelerator, preventing it from operating properly.* The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration backed up Toyota: as outlined in the inspection report, “The right clip was installed into the grommet of the carpeting but not installed into the mat.* The left clip was… not clipped to either the carpet or the rubber mat…* [T]he bottom edge of the accelerator pedal had melted to the upper right corner of the mat…* [W]hile it was a Lexus brand mat, it was not the correct application for the vehicle.”

    Nonetheless, the incident led to an accumulation of complaints about Toyota and high-profile recalls for problems ranging from Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) to brake problems to faulty steering.* The federal government butted in by holding hearings last month in which they grilled Toyota executives about alleged glitches in their vehicles’ electronic throttles; they also demanded to know when Japanese execs would commit hara-kiri to atone for their sins.

    As the Times noted, virtually all of the accident-related deaths reported this year took place before 2010, some as far back as 20 years.* In other words, motorists are jumping on the bandwagon, contributing horror stories to a ravenous media, and helping perpetuate an urban legend.* Or, as one agency spokeswoman diplomatically noted, “It is normal for NHTSA to receive an increase in consumer complaints after a recall is announced and the public learns of a safety defect.” read more »

    http://www.conservativeoutpost.com/railroading_toyota

  • Obama Advocates Domestic Violence

    03.10.10 02:38 PM posted by FMeekins

    Speaking to the perceived inequalities between the sexes in regards to domestic labor, President Obama said in an NBC interview that he thought men "need to be knocked across the head every once in a while."

    Many would brush the comments aside as the Chief Executive’s attempt at humor.* However, as the nation has learned as of result of Rush Limbaugh’s failure to acquire a stake in the ownership of the Rams, some thought are so vile that they cannot be enunciated according to the NFL officials that denied the famed broadcaster this economic opportunity.

    What if Obama had said every once in a while women need to be knocked across the head to be reminded of just how good they have it in this county?* Given that Michelle had never felt pride in America until this past election cycle, it seems this is a lesson he has failed to get across to his little woman.

    Radical feminists will respond that domestic violence against women is something its victims are so ashamed of that it can never be mentioned in a jocular manner.

    Than isn’t it even more so when the victims are men?* For the last time I checked, there were not entire cable networks and television programming blocks dedicated to stories of the struggles of battered men or entire charities established supposedly to address the needs of battered men which quietly toss their daughters into the streets for having reached an arbitrary age still well below the age of majority and irrespective of whether or not these youngsters are capable of providing for themselves.

    It’s doubtful that Michelle Obama has done much housework her entire married life.* For even though the First Lady has feigned an interest in puttering around in the dirt with vegetables, she probably didn’t do much with the bounty beyond the initial photo-op.* For you see, the Obama’s brought their private chef with them to the White House, indicating Michelle has been neglecting this wifely and motherly obligation for quite some time.

    From the way Barack framed the issue, Michelle does not really enjoy being a mother all that much.* The Benevolent Father (a title applied to Ming the Merciless on the SciFi channel’s adaptation of Flash Gordon and now just as applicable to the President of the United States since he thinks he is qualified to speak on how to run our families* when he can’t even keep the country on track) said in the interview, “Michelle was trying to figure out, OK, if the kids get sick why is it that she’s the one who has to take time off of her job to pick them up from school as opposed to me?* If…the girls need to shop for clothes…why is it her burden and not mine?”

    Well because, as to the clothes bit, if Barack (or any other man for that matter) brought the wrong thing home, it is going to be his rear that is going to get chewed out.* As to the more serious matter of a sick child, even though it is an individual family matter to work out, if Michelle Obama is going to cop such an attitude about the matter, perhaps she should have not gotten married or had children.

    If this is how the First Lady feels about things, perhaps the Obama’s are not the ideal parents the media makes them out to be to which the rest of us fail to measure up to.* For parents (especially mothers) that really do put their children above everything else don’t go around complaining about it when called upon to perform the most basic parental functions.* So instead of lecturing the rest of us about the glories of mandatory voluntarism, perhaps someone ought to giver her an earful about how parents truly dedicated to their children don’t go around complaining about those times when their children really do need them.

    Often when certain people feel guilty about something from their past or that of their family, they become fanatic to the other extreme and make it their mission to ferret out less significant shortcomings in those around them.* The world is going to Hades in a handbasket, yet Obama thinks one of the pressing concerns needing to be addressed is the occasional absentmindedness of fathers who otherwise provide and care for their families.

    Obama told NBC, "There’s no doubt that our family, like a lot of families out there, were ones in which the men are still a little obtuse about this stuff."* That is putting it mildly and frankly an insult to American fathers if they are to be judged by what passed as male parenting in the Obama family.* And frankly, the way Barack’s mother went pining after Third World deadbeats and abandoned her son to pursue anthropological studies in the area of Indonesian blacksmithing, according to Jerome Corsi, she’s hardly a role model worthy of praise or emulation either.

    Obama praised his father up one end and down the other in his Inaugural address.** In his memoir “Dreams Of My Father”, Obama attempts to excuse his father’s behavior.

    What is it exactly that Barack’s pappy is suppose to have done?* For starters, when he married Obama’s mother, he had another wife in Kenya he conveniently failed to mention. *

    As shameful as that is, I Timothy 5:18 teaches that the person that doesn’t take care of their family is worse than an infidel.* And it seems Pappy Obama refused to take advantage of the fresh starts America is renowned for and that draw people here from around the world.* Obama’s father eventually* essentially abandoned young Barack as well.

    Pappy Obama just wasn’t a sappy provider and nurturer.* Barack’s half-brother Mark Okoth Obama Ndesandjo in the book "Nairobi To Shenzen" contends that their father was actually a wife beater.

    No family is perfect.* Both parents (that includes mothers as well fathers) often fail to live up to the perfect ideal.* However, short of profound negligence, it is not really the place of the federal government in the personage of its highest official to comment in an almost ex-cathedra fashion as to what goes on in our homes as to household banalities such as the division of domestic labor.

    by Frederick Meekins

    http://www.conservativeoutpost.com/o…tic_violence_0

  • Governor Announces Partnership with Microsoft to Provide Free Technology Job Training

    Governor Schwarzenegger announced that California will join forces with Microsoft to provide free technology training to thousands of Californians through Elevate America, Microsoft’s innovative program to enhance the technical job skills of individuals across the country.

  • US Economy Falters as Obama Fiddles with Healthcare





    Eighteen months have passed since the market break of 2008 got under way and it became necessary to provide emergency support for the large banks.  During this period, we have seen a progression of patchwork fixes to keep the global and American economies turning over.  This will continue and even the PIGS will have their own EU IMF to lean on.  To some degree it appears to be working in those jurisdictions outside the USA largely because their internal retail lending businesses were either weak to begin with or largely untouched.  Once recapitalized, they were eager to go back to lending and earn back their lost capital.
    It is still a nervous recovery and this must last for a long time.  Institutions must digest their losses.  This must take several years and will often need recapitalization.  The large developing economies of India and China are having a period of welcome consolidation in which the huge internal markets can possibly be optimized for the next seven years.  They will surely emerge the better for it.
    It is correct to suggest that global demand for goods and services outside of the USA is either stable or beginning to grow again.  This is a welcome development that will provide the capacity to fully repair the global banking system overseen by a newly chastened regulatory regime. It all looks sort of fixable even if certain basket cases like the PIGS will spend years in credit purgatory.
    So time will fix it all and internal expansion will slowly sponge up exposed weaknesses. The developing world has discovered that while they were not looking, that their own economies had been modernizing and creating massive internal consumer markets able to carry things when the international banking system went into cardiac arrest.
    The problem though is that the US economy remains anemic.  There are a number of reasons, both structural and fallout from the collapse of the mortgage industry.
    1                    The mortgage industry has yet to be repaired.  On its own this will take several years and will impoverish US consumers for the duration.  It can be fixed in two years with proactive policies.
    2                    The US needs to establish a VAT based tax system in order to level the playing field with all its trading partners.  This should be split between federal and state in order to refinance governments and displace less progressive taxes.
    If nothing else is done such as providing loan guarantees to all alternate energy, the smart grid and high speed rail, the economy will still recover smartly with these two steps in place.
    What make me terribly unhappy is that the contraction in financial liquidity is awful and internal demand is not good.  US economic contraction is presently still underway.  This suggests that a multi year slump could get underway coinciding with the looming collapse in local and State government revenues.  I see nothing to assure me that this can be averted.
    And worse, I see political leadership that lacks any comprehension that this is the problem.  Herbert Hoover had the wits to be nervous as the contraction took hold of the 1931 economy.
    So the question is whether or not the banks can keep all these balls in the air during a seven year contraction of the nation’s stock of wealth?
    The USA has entered the zone in which a major depression is possible.  We even have a handful of morons in congress attempting to float a beggar thy neighbor tariff policy.  They must think that we need another twelve million unemployed.  And Obama is no where to be seen unless you think the healthcare bill will inspire new capital spending.
  • Google Reader Play, a New Way of Discovering Great Content

    Google isn’t afraid of experimenting, even if it’s the biggest thing online. And when it does it in the safety of a ‘lab,’ there’s nothing really holding it back. The latest experiment is Google Reader Play, which, in reality, has less in common with Google Reader and more with Fast Flip, yet another Google experiment. Reader Play … (read more)

  • Visualizing the Issues behind Food Dependence: How to Feed the World?

    how_to_feed_world.jpg
    If you appreciated the depth and level of detail of the now classic infographically animated The Credit of Crisis – Visualized, you will probably also like the following! “How to Feed the World?” [dvanw.com] explains in more than 8 minutes the intrinsic issues involved with international food dependence and the existing regional differences of food intake, in both quantity as quality.

    For instance, in Europe, people have access to a varied, large diet, while the available (affordable?) food in Africa does not cover the normal human needs, causing African people to die about 20 years younger on average. What are the reasons for this injustice? You can watch the answer in the movie below.

    The movie even discusses the feasibility of some potential solutions, such as increasing the cultivated land area, increasing the yield of a given agricultural area, increasing the use of organic products, introducing innovative watering techniques, and so on, and finishes with a concrete recommendation of where you have the ability to make a difference.


  • Resolute In Athens: ‘We Won’t Pay For The Crisis’

    Greece Greek Rioter

    Anti-austerity protests are raging right now in Athens, with public transport idle, flights grounded and hospitals left with emergency staff according to the Associated Press.

    Worse yet, it’s pretty clear that nobody wants to take responsibility for their country’s financial situation. The union certainly doesn’t:

    Reuters:

    The private sector union GSEE and its public sector sister ADEDY, which together represent half of the country’s 5 million workforce, say the EU-backed austerity plan will hurt the poor and aggravate the recession-hit country’s economic problems.

    “Workers will raise their fist and shout with one voice: We won’t pay for the crisis,” GSEE said in a statement. “No one, nothing is going to terrorise workers.”

    By this they mean that they want to continue receiving income and benefits that are ultimately financed by unsustainable debt growth for their country. So if they aren’t willing to pay, who should finance their current level of income and benefits? What if their current level isn’t justified by their output?

    Join the conversation about this story »

    See Also:

  • The Courage of avoiding their Convictions

    The Ratzinger Brothers set off on a career of upward mobility and being zombies

    In addition to parts of the American Catholic Church’s own interesting interpretation of fellowship, the lack of leadership (as opposed to orders) comes from the top.

    The guy who enforced silence on allegations of child abuse for the last Pope and then was rewarded by being made Pope has yet another connection to an embarrassment to the Church.

    …the liaison between Roman Catholic bishops and the German government, also praised the pope’s brother, the Rev. Georg Ratzinger, for apologizing to victims on Tuesday for doing nothing decades ago to stop the beating of students.

    The Ratzinger Brothers were there together at that place for a time.  So, now the laundry list of being present during moral outrages includes serving in Hitler’s Wehrmacht, allowing the beating of children, prostitution, and covering up child abuse. They’ve always taken the BRAVE and MORAL position no matter the risks … as soon as it is convenient and if they get caught.

    Are they responsible for all these things? Of course not. Are they to some extent the prisoner of circumstance? Of course. Have they ever actually risked anything to take a moral and upright stand? Not that we know of.

    Please begin the canonization process early, so they can catch up to Pius XII.

    They can be the Patron Saints of Convenience.

    That’s the moral leadership you expect out of a religious leader, y’know like Jimmy Swaggart, John Hagee, or Ali Khamenei.

  • The PS Move Subcontroller is NOT the Nunchuk

    Here’s something you gotta know about the PlayStation Move’s sidekick, the “Nunchuk”, otherwise officiall known as the Move Subcontroller. Truth is, while it may generally function “like” the Wii’s Nunchuk, it’s not exactly like it. No, really.

  • Skin Cancer Treatment



    This is another sad story of the abuse of the legal system by government employees.  The victim here is a businessman who has advanced a useful herbal potion that reacts on skin cancers to effectively remove them.  I doubt it actually cures the cancer which may well be involving other tissues.  However, it does accomplish the same thing that surgery does.  No more and no less.  A quick review of these letters inform us that a battery of simple double blind tests will postpone the effect of the cancer on those treated while likely killing off those given the placebo.  Imagine signing up for this.

    However, that is not the problem here.  The problem is the pursuit of the victim.   What is the crime that justifies this attack on a single individual?  Selling an herbal remedy is accepted practice.  This herbal remedy is even applied topically and this requires much less testing.  He only has to call it a cosmetic and he is likely to get FDA approval.  It may already have it.

    Hell, call it a cosmetic and advertise it as an agent for covering unsightly skin cancer blemishes.  The customers and doctors will see to getting the rest of the story out.

    The problem here is the level of effort been used to attack this individual.  No individual has the resources to properly defend himself against a government willing to manipulate the facts to extract a desired result.
    The problem shown here calls for a full independent judicial inquiry into the facts to discover if justice is been done.  It is needed because the face of these events calls exactly this into question.
    It is necessary to our legal system that justice be seen to be done.  There are many examples of process abuse occurring in the USA and it is perhaps time to establish an organization similar to NAACP to fund and pursue cases of process abuse against citizens.  It will not help that many, but cases like this are the low hanging fruit.  A single public success can inform government folks who think they are above the law that they are not.
    I am not sure what other solution we have for this abuse of the legal system by government employees with unlimited access to cash and a burr in their saddle however acquired.  It certainly is a cheap way to suppress competition.  You locate the correct employee with the correct authority and you pay him to pursue the necessary path.  It will be much cheaper than hiring a lawyer and it is untraceable.

    One other quick comment.  I am sure a friend of mine with skin cancer used this method to eliminate the skin problem.  It did not stop the eventual metastasis of the disease which either became lung cancer or was in fact a derivative of lung cancer.  It is never so simple.  Yet here we at least have a handy way to eliminate the skin aspect of the disease without bothering with invasive surgery just as incomplete in its action.
    Free Greg Caton from FDA tyranny; your help needed

    Friday, March 05, 2010
    by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

    Editor of NaturalNews.com 
    Herbalist Greg Caton remains under arrest in the United States after having been illegally kidnapped and extradited from Ecuador by the FDA
    He faces a hearing on March 17th in a Louisiana court, and he needs your help.

    To support Greg Caton’s bid for freedom, NaturalNews is organizing a letter-writing campaign that seeks to inform the presiding Judge of just how many people support Greg Caton’s work and website (www.AltCancer.com).

    This letter-writing campaign is being initiated as a courteous, supportive effort to lend support to Greg Caton during his hearing. It is not some sort of effort to bombard the Judge with hate mail or anything resembling that. In fact, if you choose to participate in helping Greg Caton, please keep your letters polite and professional. I’ve included my own letter to the presiding Judge below as an example.


    Background information on Greg Caton – What you need to know

    Why does Greg Caton deserve to be freed from being held by U.S. authorities? For years, he sold an anti-cancer salve that has helped thousands of people treat their own skin cancers. Using a recipe made with powerful anti-cancer herbs, Caton created the Cansema product line and marketed it to customers around the world using honest and truthful descriptions of the anti-cancer properties of its herbal ingredients.

    The FDA, not surprisingly, couldn’t tolerate this. The profitability of the conventional cancer industry depends entirely on preventing consumers from having free access to competing products like Cansema. So the FDA declared Greg Caton a criminal and turned his case over to their Office of Criminal Investigations which launched a witch hunt to put Greg Caton out of business and throw him in prison.

    They succeeded in forcing him to serve three years of prison time in the U.S., after which he was released on probation. During that probationary period, Caton learned through a source that he was about to be targeted for yet another trumped-up criminal charge brought on by the FDA, so he did the only thing a reasonable person could do: He decided to move out of the country and pursue his business in another nation where selling anti-cancer medicinal herbs is openly accepted (and even welcomed).

    As it turns out, herbal medicine is perfectly legal to sell in most countries — including Ecuador, where medicinal herbs have been an important part of cultural healing traditions for as long as anyone can remember. The idea of criminalizing someone who sells medicinal herbs would be considered absolutely loony in Ecuador.

    So Caton set up a legitimate business buying medicinal herbs from a variety of sources (including local farmers), manufacturing his Cansema product, and exporting it to customers all over the world, including the USA. His product is still sold online at: http://www.altcancer.com/cansema.htm

    The FDA, once again, couldn’t tolerate this. So the agency arranged for Caton to be placed in the 
    Interpol “red notice” alert list along with a description accusing him of crimes related to “drugs” and “fraud.” The drugs, of course, were only medicinal herbs that the FDA deceptively calls drugs. And the so-called fraud stems from nothing more than Caton’s decision to not kow-tow to the FDA’s tyrannical attempts to flag him as a criminal.

    With the help of this Interpol listing, the FDA managed to get Greg Caton arrested in Ecuador. From there, a team of operatives from the U.S. State Department pulled Caton out of an Ecuadorian jail and placed him on an American Airlines passenger jet flying from Guayaquil to Miami. Despite the orders of a local Ecuadorian Judge who demanded Caton be released from the airplane while still on Ecuadorian soil, the American Airlines pilot refused to release Caton and proceeded to fly him to Miami, in violation of international law. 
    This is how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pulled off the illegal kidnapping of a U.S. citizen living legally (and running a legal business) in another country.
    Caton was guilty of just one actual crime: Violating his probation by leaving the USA and seeking freedom elsewhere. But even that probation was only part of a sentence stemming from the FDA’s deceitful attempt to destroy Greg Caton in the first place.
    Now, Caton is facing a hearing on March 17th to determine his punishment for violating his probation. As you might suspect, Caton only seeks to return to Ecuador where he can join his family and resume his legal, legitimate business of selling medicinal herbs to satisfied customers.
    What to write

    If you wish to help support Greg Caton’s bid for freedom, you may write a physical (paper) letter and mail it to the address below. Simply state your support for Caton’s natural products while expressing your strong disagreement with the way the FDA has violated international law in its illegal kidnapping and expatriation of Caton.

    If you are a customer of Caton’s, you might also wish to add that to your letter. Conclude your letter by asking for his release so that he may return to Ecuador and rejoin his family there.

    These letters can make a real difference. They will be presented to the Judge for consideration. (I’m also sending a letter.)
    Where to send your letter of support

    When you write your letter, address it at the top to The Honorable Judge Tucker Melancon.

    Mail your letter to this street address:


    Randal P. McCann, Attorney At Law
    1005 Lafayette Street
    P.O. Box 3685
    Lafayette, LA 70502
    The letter written by Dr. Brian O’Leary

    Former U.S. astronaut Dr. Brian O’Leary wrote the following letter to Judge Tucker Melancon:

    To Judge Tucker Melancon:


    Greg Caton is an extraordinary healer whose product Cansema healed my skin cancer which made it unnecessary for me to go under surgery to remove it. He is a legal resident of Ecuador and conducts a legal alternative health product group here. I thoroughly support his work in healing untold thousands of people of cancer and other serious diseases.

    My own healing happened when Greg arrived at our home two years ago with Cansema. I had just been diagnosed with basal cell skin cancer after a biopsy had been taken from a very large and deep lesion on my back. I was scheduled for surgery the following week. I cancelled the surgery and Greg applied the Cansema (a black salve consisting of a mixture of herbs and a bit of zinc chloride), and, in 3-4 weeks, a black scab formed that subsequently fell off. After three applications of the salve over 2-3 months, the cancer disappeared, leaving only a slight discoloration where the cancer had been. An examination by a dermatologist at the St. Agustin clinic in Loja, Ecuador, showed that the cancer was completely gone. No new lesions have formed anywhere on my body, and diagnostic blood tests for any systemic cancers recently showed negatives, i.e., no cancer in my body.

    On the larger issue of the suppression of alternative possibilities in the health, environmental and technology fields, we see a pattern emerging that the true geniuses of innovation are all too often violently suppressed by authorities who illegally, unethically and immorally punish these true pioneers of our time — solely because of powerful vested interests that are far less effective in solving the problems presented. This is an outrage, and I ask that, if justice has any meaning left, that Greg be released immediately from his current detention and flown back to his residence in Ecuador. This plea represents one of many coming from those of us who strongly feel that justice can only be served by supporting rather than condemning those of us willing and able to move humanity into a new paradigm of healing and sustainability.
    Yours sincerely,
    Brian O’Leary, Ph.D.
    former U.S. astronaut
    Letter of support from Mike Adams

    From: Mike Adams, editor of NaturalNews.com
    To: the Honorable Judge Tucker Melancon

    As the editor of one of the largest natural health news websites in the world, now reaching over two million unique readers each month, I’ve covered issues of health freedom, FDA regulation and natural remedies for many years. In those years, I have never seen such an egregious violation of ethics (and law) as what I’ve witnessed in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s attempts to criminalize the work of Greg Caton.

    In my opinion, the FDA has engaged in an illegal and highly unethical “witch hunt” against Greg Caton that appears to have the sole purpose of destroying Caton’s products which compete with the more conventional (and profitable) products offered by pharmaceutical companies.

    As a permanent resident of Ecuador, I have access to local knowledge about how Greg Caton was arrested and illegally transported out of Ecuador by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Based on the information I have acquired first-hand, I believe 
    the U.S. FDA illegally and with great malice plotted to submit false information about Greg Caton to Interpol via the U.S. Dept. of Justice office that interfaces with Interpol.

    This false information apparently resulted in Interpol listing Greg Caton under a “red notice” — a designation normally reserved for international war criminals, serial murderers, drug lords and other serious criminals. To my knowledge, in the entire history of Interpol no herbalist has ever been subjected to such aggressive and blatantly deceptive law enforcement tactics.


    Should Caton be granted his freedom, his sole intention is to return to Ecuador to be with his family and continue his work with healing herbs. Greg Caton’s work is of tremendous value to people all over the world. His business is an important and well-accepted part of the local economy of Ecuador, and through his sourcing of raw materials, he is providing income and jobs for a significant number of family farms.

    Whatever you decide in this case, I hope to cover your decision in upcoming articles on NaturalNews.com, as this is a story that is being closely watched by advocates of health freedom and civil liberties. I also hope that your decision will involve finding a way to allow Caton to freely leave the United States and return to Ecuador where his products, efforts and business operations are accepted and welcomed rather than vilified.

    Although I don’t know the details of your jurisdiction vs. the FDA, you may also have an opportunity to slap the FDA on the wrist and send a message that the illegal kidnapping of U.S. citizens from foreign countries will not be tolerated by U.S. courts.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration acts as if it believes it is above the law. You have the chance to remind the decision makers of this agency that we are a nation of law and that even the FDA must abide by that body of law.

    Thank you,

    Mike Adams
    Editor, NaturalNews.com
    About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health researcher and author with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a maker of super bright LED light bulbs that are 1000% more energy efficient than incandescent lights. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He’s also the CEO of a highly successful email newsletter software company that develops software used to send permission email campaigns to subscribers. Adams is currently the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, Pilates and organic gardening. 
  • Asma Pada Kehamilan

    Kode ICD-10 : J45 : Asthma

    BERNAFAS UNTUK DIRI SENDIRI DAN SI KECIL DALAM KANDUNGAN

    Asthma and Pregnancy Sebagian penderita asma yang sedang hamil kadang masih ragu-ragu untuk berobat ketika asma-nya mulai kambuh dikarenakan ketakutan yang berlebihan untuk minum obat. Hal ini dapat dimaklumi lantaran minimnya informasi dari sumber terpercaya. Bagi penderita asma ( asthma bronchiale ) yang sedang hamil, hendaknya segera berobat ke dokter terdekat ketika merasakan asma yang dideritanya mulai menampakkan tanda-tanda kambuh. Tujuannya untuk menghindari hipoksia (kekurangan oksigen) pada janin di dalam kandungan. Lagipula, rata-rata obat asma aman bagi kehamilan dan aman bagi janin, sama amannya dengan vitamin yang diminum selama kehamilan.

    Wanita hamil dan janin yang dikandungnya memerlukan oksigen dalam jumlah cukup untuk kelangsungan kehamilan dan tumbuh kembang janin. Itu sebabnya wanita hamil penderita asma dianjurkan segera mengggunakan obat asma atau berobat manakala merasakan tanda-tanda asma mulai kambuh.

    Pada umumnya, penderita asma mengenali penyakitnya dengan sangat baik. Demikian pula jenis obat-obat yang biasa digunakan, dosis dan tatacara penggunaannya. Andai belum mengenal obat-obat asma, hendaknya penderita asma bertanya kepada dokter tentang fungsi dan khasiat masing-masing obat agar setidaknya dapat menggunakannya sebagai pertolongan pertama ketika kambuh.

    Penderita asma yang sedang hamil seyogyanya memberikan perhatian lebih pada asma yang dideritanya agar terhindar dari resiko yang dapat mempengaruhi kehamilan dan janin.

    Dengan pengobatan asma yang benar dan terkontrol serta senantiasa berkonsultasi kepada dokter, niscaya kehamilan dan janin akan tumbuh sehat hingga tiba saat melahirkan dan menyusui.

    PENTING DIPERHATIKAN PENDERITA ASMA SAAT HAMIL DAN MENYUSUI

    1. Melanjutkan obat asma selama hamil sesuai saran dokter
    2. Berkonsultasi kepada dokter untuk mengendalikan asma
    3. Tetap memberikan ASI selama menggunakan obat asma

    PILIHAN OBAT ASMA PADA KEHAMILAN

    Pada dasarnya pemilihan obat untuk mengendalikan asma pada kehamilan tidak berbeda dengan obat bagi penderita asma pada umumnya.

    Perlu dipahami bahwa obat asma (seperti halnya sebagian besar obat lain) bersifat individual. Artinya, obat yang nyaman (cocok) bagi penderita yang satu belum tentu nyaman digunakan oleh penderita lain. Sebagai contoh, seorang penderita asma merasa cocok dan nyaman menggunakan salbutamol 2  mg generik seharga 2000 perak per blister dibanding menggunakan obat asma inhaler berharga ratusan ribu. Karenanya, masing-masing penderita asma seyogyanya mengenali obat-obat yang diberikan dokter dan nyaman digunakan untuk mengendalikan asma yang dideritanya.

    Obat-obat yang lazim digunakan untuk mengendalikan ataupun mengobati asma, diantaranya:

    A. Anti Inflamasi Golongan Steroid:

    1. Obat inhalasi ( MDI, Nebulisasi ), antara lain: Budesonide, Beclomethasone dipropionate, Fluticasone, Flunisolide, dll.
    2. Obat minum (oral), antara lain: Prednison, Prednisolon, Methylprednisolon, dll.
    3. Obat injeksi (parenteral): methylprednisolon, dll.

    B. Bronkodilator (melonggarkan saluran pernafasan):

    1. Obat inhalasi (MDI, DPI, nebulisasi), antara lain: Salbutamol MDI, Fenoterol, Formoterol, Salmeterol, kombinasi Formoterol dan budesonide, kombinasi Salmeterol dan fluticasone, dll.
    2. Obat minum (oral), antara lain: Salbutamol, Terbutalin sulfat, Aminophyllin, Theophyllin, dll.
    3. Obat injeksi (parenteral): Terbutalin sulfat, Aminophyllin, dll.

    C. Obat lain: obat antikolinergik: Ipratropium bromide.

    D. Obat Pencair Dahak:

    Jika asma disertai batuk, dapat ditambahkan obat batuk pencair dahak (expectorant), diantaranya: Ambroxol, Bromhexine, GG (Glyceryl guaiacolate), dll.

    EFEK SAMPING OBAT

    Obat asma golongan Bronkodilator (melonggarkan nafas) kerap menimbulkan efek samping: berdebar, lemas, gemetar, otot seperti dilucuti, keringat dingin. Jika mengalami keluhan berdebar, lemas, setelah minum obat asma golongan bronkodilator, maka dosis dapat diturunkan menjadi setengahnya. Jika masih berdebar, lemas, gemetar, dosis obat dapat diturunkan lagi hingga seperempat dari dosis normal. Jika dengan dosis seperempat dari dosis normal masih mengalami berdebar, lemas, gemetar, seyogyanya melaporkan ke dokter agar dipilihkan obat bronkodilator yang lain.

    Hendaknya penderita asma mencatat obat-obat asma yang menimbulkan efek samping: berdebar, lemas, gemetar, kemudian memberitahukan kepada dokter agar tidak diberikan obat yang sama dan menggantinya dengan obat jenis lain.

    TIPS MENCEGAH KEKAMBUHAN

    • Kenali dan hindari faktor pencetus kekambuhan asma, diantaranya: alergen (bahan atau kondisi pemicu timbulnya kekambuhan asma), polusi udara, perubahan cuaca, faktor psikis (emosi yang berlebihan), aktifitas yang berlebihan, infeksi saluran pernafasan, rhinitis (pilek-bersin-hidung mampet), makanan dan obat-obat tertentu, dan lain-lain.
    • Kenali obat-obat yang digunakan, meliputi: nama obat (dan kandungannya), dosis dan cara penggunaannya, obat-obat yang paling nyaman digunakan dan efek samping obat.
    • Istirahat yang cukup, makan makanan bergizi seimbang.
    • Olah raga teratur sesuai kemampuan dan selalu aktif beraktifitas (asalkan tidaj berlebihan) atau senam hamil sesuai petunjuk instruktur. Olah raga teratur pada kehamilan disebutkan dapat mengurangi resiko kekambuhan. Namun, jika asma malah kambuh dengan berolah raga (exercise induced asthma), hendaknya berkonsultasi kepada dokter untuk memilih jenis olah raga yang tepat dan sesuai dengan kondisi masing-masing.
    • Konsultasi kepada dokter tentang ciri-ciri serangan asma, tatacara penanggulangan asma di rumah dan tatacara pertolongan pertama tatkala asma kambuh.

    LEARN MORE ! BREATHE BETTER !

    Semoga bermanfaat.

    :: :: :: posting menggunakan WLW :: :: ::

    Up date: saran memasukkan olah raga dari mas Cahya. Thanks Mas :)

    Tag Technorati: {grup-tag},,,,

    Filed under: Artikel, Gaya Hidup, Health, Informasi, Kedokteran, Kesehatan Tagged: Asma, Asthma Bronchiale, Hamil, Obat, Penyakit, Sesak

  • Diabetes and Soda Drinks




    For one century, sugar consumption has risen in the USA.  The consequences were well known and fully anticipated.  The fix is just as easy.  Displace sugar with glucose as actually needed for nutritional requirements and use stevia when sweetening is necessary.

    It is really no big trick and has been done in Japan for decades.

    The USA sugar lobby fought of the use of stevia for decades, but that ended only last year.  It is no trick to manufacture a glucose based energy drink using stevia as a sweetener that can replace sugar in present soda formulations.

    We are not going to stop the demand for a soft drink but we can tax sugar itself until stevia and glucose are simply cheaper.  Industry will do the rest and apply the sugar minimizing protocol to everything else on the shelf.

    Besides, we barely produce sugar ourselves and could easily become a factor in the stevia market.  Stevia is a shrub native to Brazil that has a history as long as sugar cane.


    Over 130,000 cases of diabetes now linked to soda consumption, HFCS
    Wednesday, March 10, 2010
    by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
    Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles…)
    (NaturalNews) For years, advocates of natural health have been hammering away at the message that soda causes diabetes and obesity. The soda industry, meanwhile, has remained in denial mode, mirroring the ridiculous position of the tobacco industry that “nicotine is not addictive.” Soda doesn’t cause diabetes, the industry claims, and it’s perfectly safe to consume in essentially unlimited quantities.

    The Corn Refiners Association has joined the denial with its own spin campaign that seeks to convince people High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is totally natural and completely harmless. HFCS is, of course, the primary sweetener used in sodas and soft drinks.

    Now comes new research presented at the American Heart Association’s Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention annual conference in San Francisco. This new research reveals that over the last decade, soda consumption has conservatively caused:

    • 130,000 new cases of diabetes
    • 14,000 new cases of heart disease
    • 50,000 more “life years” with heart disease over the last decade

    “The finding suggests that any kind of policy that reduces consumption might have a dramatic health benefit,” said senior study author Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo (associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco).
    The American Beverage Association, meanwhile, says this study hasn’t been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal yet and therefore it doesn’t count. Soda consumption doesn’t cause diabetes or heart disease, they claim, because “…both heart disease and diabetes are complex conditions with no single cause and no single solution.”
    It’s silly logic, of course: Diabetes obviously has a cause. It’s not some spontaneous disease that appears out of nowhere. And when you go looking for the cause, you obviously have to look at dietary factors since diabetes is a disease related to the consumption and metabolism ofdietary sugars. Once you do that, sodas immediately raise a red flag because they’re liquid sugar in a highly-concentrated form that does not exist naturally in nature.

    HFCS doesn’t grow on trees, in other words. Nature provides sugars locked into insoluble fibers that slow digestion and lower the effective glycemic index of sugars that are consumed. In nature, sugars are always combined with minerals, too, and many of those minerals help prevent diabetes and heart disease. But High-Fructose Corn Syrup is stripped of virtually all those minerals. It contains no fiber and no healing phytonutrients that you might encounter in plants. As a result, HFCS — sometimes dubbed “liquid Satan” — might be called a dietary poison that causes disease while contributing to nutritional deficiencies that accelerate disease.
    Bone loss
    Interestingly, this new study did not look at loss of bone density, which is another side effect of drinking soda. Due to the extremely high acidity of the HFCS sweetener combined with the phosphoric acid used in sodas, people who drink sodas often lose bone minerals and end up being diagnosed with osteoporosis (even at a relatively young age).

    Other people end up with kidney stones due to all these minerals passing through the kidneys and contributing to the built up of mineral deposits there. Long-term soda consumers may even suffer from pancreatic cancer due to the extreme stress placed on the pancreas following the consumption of liquid sugars.

    In all, soda consumption is linked to at least six serious diseases:

    #1) Diabetes
    #2) Obesity
    #3) Heart disease
    #4) Cancer
    #5) Osteoporosis
    #6) Kidney stones

    That’s why 
    taxing sodas is more than merely a way to raise money through soda sales; it’s also a way to dramatically reduce the cost of treating these diseases. It’s no surprise that several U.S. states are now starting to seriously consider slapping new taxes on sodas and other “junk” beverages.

    That’s not the way I would prefer to see the situation handled, actually. The better option, in my view, would be to 
    ban all soda advertising by effectively stripping Free Speech rights from corporations. Such rights belong only to individuals, not multi-billion-dollar corporations. Corporations whose products physically harm the health of the population at large should not be allowed to openly advertise and promote those products to the public. They can still sell them, they just can’t advertise them.

    This is the real solution to the problem: Take away the advertising of sodas and consumer consumption immediately plummets. It’s all the advertising that keeps the soft drink sales machine churning out disease and suffering in the name of corporate profits. Soda companies, of course, will argue that they have a Free Speech right to advertise their products even if they do promote disease. That’s an argument to be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, of course. But let there be no mistake about it: The continued tolerance of soda advertising is creating a nation of diabetes, obesity and heart disease.


    There will be a price to be paid for all this, and I fear it will be a price far beyond what society is able to pay. To raise a nation on sodas and processed foods is to ultimately doom that nation because 
    failed health will ultimately lead to a failed nation. You cannot built a healthy nation upon the backs of a diseased population, and thanks to the soda companies and junk food companies, the United States of America is now a nation of diseased, diabetic, obese consumers who continue to poison themselves every single day with the dangerous chemicals found in heavily advertised food, beverage and personal care products.

    If I were the health advisor for a country, I would outright ban all advertising of harmful consumer products (foods, beverages, personal care, cleaning products, etc.), and in their place I’d run public service announcements teaching people about nutrition, disease prevention, vitamin D and commonsense self-care. Within one generation, that nation would be the healthiest in the world, with the lowest rates of disease and affordable health care coverage for all.

    The junk food and soda companies, of course, would go broke, and the economy would rearrange itself to open up new jobs in healthier and more productive industries rather than the “disease industries” that dominate America today.

    Sugary beverages, you see, aren’t just a disease upon those who regularly consume them; they are a disease upon the very nation that threatens its economy and compromises its future.

    Sources for this story include:

    About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a maker of super bright LED light bulbs that are 1000% more energy efficient than incandescent lights. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products(BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He’s also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, Pilates and organic gardening. 
  • Microsoft Bing replaces Google on Motorola Android devices – Android business case dealt a blow

    bing-logo Motorola, today announced a global alliance with Microsoft Corp to deploy Bing services on Motorola devices powered by Android.  This new offering, launching in China on smartphones in Q1, will provide consumers a choice when using search and map functions on their Android-based devices.

    The collaboration with bring a pre-loaded Bing bookmark and a search widget.

    "We believe that consumer choice is one of the most critical components to ensuring a rich and seamless client experience," said Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services, Motorola Mobile Devices. "Motorola and Microsoft have enjoyed a longstanding collaboration and the addition of Bing services to our Android-based smartphones in China is another important step in empowering our end-users."

    "Mobile devices continue to be a critical place for customers to access location-based services such as local search and mapping," said Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of the Online Services Division at Microsoft. "We are pleased to expand our long-standing relationship with Motorola to bring powerful Bing location-based services to Motorola’s innovative new mobile devices, providing consumers with more choice and flexibility in mobile search."

    The collaboration will start with Motorola Android handsets in China, where Google is having issues with the Chinese Government, but is likely set to spread to many other countries.  The move undermines Google’s business model, where the Android operating system was being given away for free to funnel search and website ad clicks to their services.

    Some also speculate that this may indicate a warming up of relationships towards Microsoft’s mobile operating system offerings by Motorola, increasing the possibility of a Windows Phone 7 handset from the company next year.

    Via Engadget.com

  • More Bloggers Suing For Gov’t Press Passes

    We recently wrote about how a lawsuit filed by three alternative publication reporters against NYC for denying them press passes to NY Police press conferences ended in a settlement with NY setting up new rules for getting press credentials. There was a fair amount of back and forth in the comments, with some still believing the lawsuit was sound, even though we had trouble with the idea that the lawsuit had any merit at all. However, it looks like that result may have inspired others as well. A blogger in Maryland is now suing the state for denying him a press pass. The article is long and detailed — and it does sound (yet again) like the government should have issued the guy a press pass, but does that make the lawsuit sound?

    Let’s take an extreme example. I write for an “alternative publication,” but if I requested a press pass from the White House, I would totally expect to get turned down. There is limited room in such press conferences, and the White House has every right to determine who gets that access. Same with the NYC police and the Maryland General Assembly. I agree that perhaps these gov’t organizations should have a clear process and clear standards for who gets let in, but I can’t see how it’s a free speech violation to deny press credentials under these circumstances. They’re not saying these people aren’t press, or that they can’t publish whatever they want. They’re just saying they don’t get to enter the building as press.

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  • Lord Rees, President of Royal Society criticized for ‘surrender to politically driven Climate Change dogma’ by Piers Corbyn

    Article Tags: Audio, Headline Story, Piers Corbyn

    The feeble defence today (BBC Radio4*) of the failed science of Man-made climate change by Lord Martin Rees President of the Royal Society is a “dereliction of his duty to defend the integrity of science and a surrender to the politically driven agenda of the UN which is mounting a ‘Custer’s last stand’ review of IPCC procedures in a desperate bid to save its credibility”, said Piers Corbyn astrophysicist and founder of WeatherAction long range weather and climate forecasters.

    Piers (speaking on his birthday March 10th) further said: “Martin Rees is a great scientist but his support today of failed science over evidence-based factual observations is a betrayal of the scientific method in favour of anti-scientific dogma. One wonders at what point should political expediency ever over-rule evidence-based science?”

    “His defence of the refuted** theory of man-made climate change on the grounds that ‘CO2 has been rising recently at an unprecedented rate and very simple physics’ is without foundation.

    “Firstly the claim that current rates of rise of CO2 are unprecedented is neither relevant nor justifiable

    Recognized published peer-reviewed work shows:

    Source: Twitter Feed

    Read in full with comments »