Author: Personal Liberty News Desk

As the dispute continues between the United States and China over the latter’s alleged attempts to keep its currency undervalued, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will visit Beijing April 8 for talks with the Chinese vice premier for economic affairs.

Although details of the talks have not been released, media reports suggests the meeting with Wang Qishan will focus on settling the currency dispute, which has threatened to overshadow economic cooperation between the two countries.

The U.S. government has complained that the artificially low exchange rate is giving China’s exporters an unfair advantage and has led a huge trade surplus with the U.S. In fact, some lawmakers have called for the imposition of punitive tariffs on Chinese imports, if Beijing fails to make the yuan more flexible.

However, not everyone is happy with the administration’s approach. For example, the National Inflation Association (NIA) recently said that America should not "upset" China, since the domestic consumption has been made possible by China’s weak currency that has artificially boosted the dollar’s value. NIA experts have expressed their fear that the appreciation of the yuan would lead to a hyperinflation in the U.S.

"It’s absurd for Congress to say they are going to penalize China, when China has the power to make the U.S. dollar collapse overnight," NIA has said.

Those searching for a healthy diet regimen may try Mediterranean cuisine, as Spanish scientists have determined that spices used in that region have powerful antioxidant properties.

Researchers from Miguel Hernandez University (UMH) in Catalonia determined that cloves contain high levels of phenolic compounds, which give them the highest capacity to give off hydrogen and allow them to reduce lipid peroxidation well. In addition, cloves were found to be among the best iron reducers.

"The results show that use of the natural oxidants occurring in spices used in the Mediterranean diet, or their extracts, is a viable option for the food industry, as long as their characteristics of the food product are not affected," Juana Fernandez-Lopez, an author of the study and a researcher at the UMH.

"These substances exhibit high antioxidant capacity, and could have beneficial effects for health," says the researcher," she added.

Essential oils from other spices used in the Mediterranean diet, including oregano, thyme, rosemary and sage, were also evaluated by the team, and found to be valuable natural sources of antioxidants.

For busy individuals who may not be getting enough nutrients from their food, dietary supplements may be a great option.

Embattled Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele has been trying to reassure party members that the GOP will be ready for the midterm elections, but he is increasingly facing calls to resign.

Rocked by scandals—including allegations that young members of the party entertained guests at the party’s expense at a strip club—the GOP leadership appears to be increasingly shaky. This was exemplified by the recent resignation of a committee member Sean Mahoney, who accused Steele of spending donor’s money with "reckless disregard."

Mahoney’s resignation followed that of RNC Chief of Staff Ken McKay.

And although Steel has tried to reassure the party and its followers that he took the responsibility seriously and would not tolerate misuse of funds, voices calling for him to vacate his job have been growing.

Among those calling for Steele to step aside was Republican strategist Alex Castellanos, who questioned the chairman’s ability to lead the party into November’s elections in a commentary on CNN.

"I think a change in the direction now, at this point, would do the party good," Castellanos said.

However, former New York Mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani was among those supporting Steele.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) kicked off his re-election campaign in his home state on April 5 by making a joke at the expense of Sarah Palin, who rallied voters in his hometown of Searchlight a few weeks ago.

At that event, the former Alaska governor said she hoped that the big government politics and the big spending promoted by the Democratic leaders in Congress will come to an end in November, and that Nevada voters will "fire" Reid.

As he was opening his speech on Monday, Reid said he "was going to give a few remarks on the people who were over here a week ago Saturday … but I couldn’t write it all on my hand."

Repeating Palin’s now-famous catch phrase, he added "You betcha!" to general laughter from the audience.

However, despite a rare display of a sense of humor, most commentators believe Reid may face an uphill battle as he campaigns for a fifth term in office.

A new Rasmussen Poll found that Reid has just 39 to 42 precent of the Nevada vote when matched against three Republican opponents. Two of his potential opponents now top the 50 percent level of support.

Just days after officially closing their doors in the face of stern criticism and overwhelming financial concerns, officials with Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) plan to release a letter this week stating that the controversial anti-poverty group is alive and well.

"You will continue to hear from ACORN—in the mail, on the web and in the media," says the letter, which was provided to The New York Times. "And we need your continued support to counter the vicious antifamily, anti-minority, anti-immigrant attacks of the Republican right."

The message, which will be emailed out to more than 120,000 members of the organization, states that 16 new allied organizations have already been formed around the country and employees of the now defunct nonprofit group will continue to fight for healthcare reform, affordable housing and immigration reform.

The news of ACORN’s resurgence comes to no surprise to Republicans, who have insisted over the last few weeks that the decision to shut down operations was a scheme to evade its deteriorating reputation and receive taxpayer money, Fox News reports.

Representative Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) concluded that "ACORN is attempting to rebrand itself without instituting real reforms or removing senior leadership figures that need to be held accountable for wrongdoing."

According to a recent study published in the April issue of the journal Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, Chinese acupuncture may be a safe and effective treatment option for those afflicted with persistent post-viral olfactory dysfunction (PVOD), a condition commonly linked to an upper respiratory tract infection.

Currently, there is no validated pharmacotherapy option for PVOD, which affects approximately 2 million Americans each year and often leads to a temporary loss of the sense of smell and permanent damage to the olfactory system.

In the study, the research team recruited 15 patients with PVOD and treated them with 10 weekly 30-minute sessions of acupuncture. Following the therapy the participants had their sense of smell analyzed with the Sniffin’ Sticks test set, and their data was compared to a group of control patients also suffering from PVOD who did not undergo acupuncture.

The investigators found that eight patients in the acupuncture group significantly improved their sense of smell, while only two participants in the control group achieved the same result.

The study’s authors concluded that "the observed high response rate of about 50 percent under [acupuncture] was superior to that of spontaneous remission, and offers a possible new therapeutic regimen in postviral dysosmia."

As the fight continues to preserve students’ and faculty’s rights to carry hidden weapons on United States campuses, an organization supporting gun rights is planning a protest rally against laws and policies banning licensed concealed guns on school premises.

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) is sponsoring the event, which begins today and will last until April 9. It comes in response to some colleges’ refusal to allow students to discuss the issue and others imposing such bans, the organization has said.

"Colleges aren’t content to ban the right to self-defense anymore," said David Burnett, a spokesman for SCCC. "Now they’re trying to suspend the right to freedom of speech."

Burnett also stated that schools that are banning weapons have yet to implement proper security measures, such as metal detectors, to ensure their students’ safety.

"Until they can take responsibility for our safety and guarantee our protection, colleges can’t be allowed to deny us the right to self-defense," he stressed.

According to SCCC, during the five-day-long event college students across America will strap on empty holsters in an act of silent protest.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has praised the signing into law of legislation that will end Oregon’s ban on teachers wearing Islamic head scarves or the religious attire of other faiths.

The lifting of the 87-year-long ban will go into effect after the 2010-11 school year and follows a February vote of 51-8 in the Oregon House of Representatives. To become law, the bill had to be signed by Governor Ted Kulongoski.

"This change in the law protects the rights of educators of all faiths," said CAIR national communications director Ibrahim Hooper.

He added that his organization has consistently defended the right of Americans of all faiths to wear religious attire in the workplace, in schools, in courtrooms and as customers in public venues such as banks.

Currently only Nebraska and Pennsylvania prohibit their teachers from wearing religious clothing at work, and CAIR has called on their legislators to "follow Oregon’s example of respect for religious freedom and diversity."

In addition to the Muslim organization, a number of interfaith groups, civil rights groups and bar association organizations, including The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, have joined in the appeal.

Patients who are suffering from depression or anxiety disorders and who are not interested in traditional therapy options may be in luck. According to a recent analysis of numerous published studies, exercise may be a viable treatment alternative for those looking to improve their mental health.

Jasper Smits, director of the Anxiety Research and Treatment Program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and lead author of the review, found that patients who exercise on a regular basis report significantly lower levels of anger and stress as well as fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Specifically, Smits and his colleagues found that exercise positively affects neurotransmitter systems in the brain and reduces feelings of a racing heart or rapid breathing—two symptoms commonly reported by those suffering from severe anxiety.

"Exercise can fill the gap for people who can’t receive traditional therapies because of cost or lack of access, or who don’t want to because of the perceived social stigma associated with these treatments," said Smits.

"Exercise also can supplement traditional treatments, helping patients become more focused and engaged," he added.

For most patients, the researchers recommend a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week.

A Florida doctor who strongly condemns the recently passed healthcare reform bill is encouraging Obama supporters to seek medical care at another physician’s office. Dr. Jack Cassell, a Mount Dora urologist and registered Republican, posted a message on his office door late last week stating, "If you voted for Obama…seek urologic healthcare elsewhere."

Despite Representative Alan Grayson’s (D-Fla.) threats to file a formal ethics complaint against the urologist, Cassell is standing by his political statement, and is encouraging doctors around the country to take a stand against a piece of legislation that he thinks will adversely affect patient care.

"I got a little discouraged when I found that most of the ancillary services and nursing homes and diagnostic imaging, all these things start to fade away," he told Fox News.

Specifically, Cassell objects to the Medicare cuts in the current bill that will effectively put a stop to hospice services and end of life care.

"Not only do they want you to die at a younger age, but they want you to die a slow and painful death as well," he noted.

Cassell said he will not take the sign down despite mounting opposition from liberals around the country.

The United States government has announced a new security screening system designed to improve on the controversial directive to conduct mandatory screening of travelers from 14 countries, which was implemented following the failed Christmas Day bombing in Detroit.

The new system will rely on an intelligence-based approach to stop suspected terrorists from entering the country by airliners, and was announced after the completion of a three-month security review ordered by President Obama.

Officials have said security screeners will now determine which passengers require a secondary screening based on traits of known terror suspects, including name, physical description and travel patterns, according to Voice of America (VOA).

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley was quoted by the news source as saying that airport screenings will also incorporate multiple random layers of security, such as explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams and pat downs.

The new approach has received praise from many quarters, including the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), whose national executive director Nihad Awad said that "we applaud the [new] policy because it does what security experts and civil libertarians have always asked for — it screens passengers based on actual suspicious behaviors or actions, not on national origin or religion."

As the Democrats are turning their sights towards immigration reform, a prominent advocacy organization has warned that an amnesty for illegal immigrants would be detrimental to American workers’ prospects.

According to the report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) entitled Amnesty and the American Worker, record levels of immigration during the 2000s have added new workers to the labor force faster than the economy has been able to create new jobs.

That is why the organization has criticized the amnesty idea supported by many Democrats, saying that at a time when some 25 million Americans are either unemployed or involuntarily working part-time, amnesty would entitle the estimated 7.5 million illegal aliens to keep their current jobs, and compete with American workers for any new jobs.

"It is unconscionable that at a time of devastatingly high unemployment, our nation’s leaders seem determined to forge ahead with legislation without even considering the harm it might cause," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR.

He also disputed assertions that the move would boost the U.S. economy, saying the benefits would accrue almost entirely to the amnestied aliens and their direct employers.

The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest the unemployment rate in March remained unchanged at 9.7 percent.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown issued a report on Thursday stating that he will not prosecute employees from the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or the conservative activists who posed as a prostitute and pimp on a notorious videotape that incriminated the controversial anti-poverty group last year.

Brown’s office launched the investigation in September after the release of video evidence showing two ACORN employees allegedly giving financial advice to the couple and helping them evade taxation.

While announcing that his office will not press charges against the organization, Brown, the leading Democratic candidate for governor in California, said the ACORN employees engaged in "highly inappropriate behavior" and that their organization was "disorganized and very poorly managed."

"A few ACORN members exhibited terrible judgment in videotapes obtained in the investigation," Brown said. "But they didn’t commit prosecutable crimes in California."

However, the report also indicated that the organization probably violated several civil laws, including dumping 500 pages of confidential information into the trash, failing to file a state tax return and possibly engaging in voter registration fraud in San Diego, The Los Angeles Times reports.

According to a new Kansas State University study, routinely consuming Chinese wolfberries may lower the oxidative stress that the eye often undergoes in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes.

A wolfberry is a bright orange fruit that has been used for years as an alternative remedy to help boost the immune system, rebalance homeostasis and support the liver and kidneys.

In an effort to better understand the medicinal properties contained in wolfberries, the study’s lead author Daniel Lin, an assistant professor of human nutrition at the university, and his colleagues found that the fruit contains high levels of zeaxanthin, lutein, polysaccharides and polyphenolics, which have all shown to help prevent age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

"I would not say that wolfberries are a medicine, but they can be used as a dietary supplement to traditional treatments to improve vision," Lin said.

"Wolfberries have high antioxidant activity and are very beneficial to protect against oxidative stress caused by environmental stimuli and genetic mutations," he added.

Although wolfberries cannot be found in traditional United States food stores, they can be purchased at most Chinese markets or found in dietary supplements.

The bipartisan immigration reform proposal unveiled recently in a Washington Post editorial has been applauded by minority groups, but despite pledged support for the system’s overhaul Republicans remain unimpressed.

Drawn up by Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the framework proposes four pillars for comprehensive immigration reform, including strengthening the country’s border security and interior enforcement; implementing a tough but fair path to legalization for those who work in the United States illegally and pay back taxes; creating a process for admitting temporary workers and requiring biometric Social Security cards to hold employers accountable for legal hiring and employment practices.

Among the supporters of the proposals was the Hispanic National Bar Association, which stressed its commitment to a comprehensive reform.

However, Republicans are divided over the issue, with many fiercely opposed to any program to give legal status to illegal immigrants. Workers’ rights advocates have also declared themselves unhappy, saying the third pillar would make it easy for those who earn graduate degrees in technical fields to get green cards, but would exclude low-skilled workers from the program.

Last month, more than 200,000 people from across the country gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to demand comprehensive immigration reform during the 111th Congress.

As American legislators are pushing for China to raise the value of its currency, the National Inflation Association (NIA) has criticized this policy, citing America’s weak bargaining position.

Administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, have been calling on China to make its yuan currency more flexible in an effort to help trim United States trade deficit with China and reduce the jobless rate, according to Reuters.

Moreover, pressure is building on the administration to name China a "currency manipulator" in a mid-April report, and lawmakers are threatening to impose tariffs on Chinese goods to counteract the effects of the country’s cheap currency, the news source further reported.

However, many economists disagree that the appreciation of the yuan would have this beneficial effect on the U.S. economy. NIA goes even further, stressing that it is China’s artificially low yuan that allows the U.S. to import cheap goods and Americans to live beyond their means.

"We should be kissing China’s feet and thanking them for allowing us to consume the goods they produce in return for a worthless piece of paper that we print," the organization’s representatives stated.

"Instead, we are blaming them for the problems that our politicians created," they added.

Drinking orange juice during or following a fast-food-style meal may help neutralize the oxidative and inflammatory stress often generated by high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods, a new study has found.

Orange juice contains a large amount of flavonoids known as naringenin and hesperidin, which are two of the most powerful antioxidants. Researchers from the University of Buffalo found that these compounds help reduce the accumulation of oxygen-free radicals contained in fast-food meals that are known to increase inflammation in blood vessel lining and contribute to the risk of heart disease.

"This did not happen when participants drank water or a sugary drink with the meal," said lead author Husam Ghanim "These issues of inflammation following a meal are important because the resultant high glucose and high triglycerides are known to be related to the development of cardiovascular events."

In the study, the researchers had three groups of participants consume a 900-calorie breakfast high in carbohydrates and fats. They discovered that respondents who drank either water or a glucose beverage had 63 percent more oxygen-free radicals in their blood after eating the meal. In contrast, those who drank orange juice only experienced a 47 percent increase after consuming the breakfast.

Just days after announcing a proposal to expand offshore oil and gas development in a veiled effort to garner bipartisan support, President Obama was taking heavy criticism from both sides of the aisle.

The plan, which Obama said will help the nation minimize its dependence on foreign energy sources, will lift the 20-year moratorium on exploration and drilling off the Atlantic coastline, a new section in the Gulf of Mexico and the Cook Inlet in Alaska.

While receiving mild support from a handful of Washington conservatives, the proposal is being viewed as a half-hearted effort by the majority of Republicans, as no drilling will be permitted anywhere along the west coast of the continental U.S. and most parts of Alaska—two areas that were approved for exploration by Congress in 2008.

Representative Mike Pence (R-Iowa) referred to the proposal as a "smokescreen," due to the fact that it will delay new exploration until at least 2012 and is far less aggressive than the plan that was approved under the previous administration, according to Fox News.

"Unfortunately, this is yet another feeble attempt to gain votes for the president’s national energy tax bill that is languishing in the Senate," said Pence.

Meanwhile, Obama’s decision has been blasted by liberals and environmentalists alike, including Greenpeace, which called his announcement a "betrayal" of those who voted for him.

As conservatives across the country are gearing up for the November elections they are looking for the most effective strategies to defeat the Democrats. For one activist, the Tea Party movement represents the best hope to revitalize and energize ordinary people across America who are tired of Washington’s excesses.

Richard A. Viguerie, chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, delivered a speech late last month at a conference sponsored by the Virginia-based Restore the Founders Vision. During the event he said that the movement has the potential to make the Republican Party more responsive to grassroots citizens.

"The populist Tea Party activists add an important fourth leg of the conservative coalition, to go with the social, economic and defense components," Vaguerie said.

He also stressed that the movement is not part of the mainstream political establishment, and therefore its members do not care whether conservative principles hurt some Republican incumbents.

"The Tea Party people are unfettered to the political establishment and are not part of the old network of lobbyists and special interests," he added.

ConservativeHQ.com is a web portal providing news and reviews, discussion forums, as well as free newsletters and conservative mail.

The recently passed healthcare reform bill has received tremendous criticism from the conservatives for many of its provisions, but the negotiation process that led up to the vote also disappointed many.

One of those entities that expressed its disillusionment with the politics of healthcare was the organization called Get Out of Our House (GOOOH)—pronounced "go"—whose self-proclaimed goal is to "evict" career politicians from the House of Representatives.

Organization founder Tim Cox said that the process of passing the legislation was "full of deceit," and he pointed to the backroom deals and arm twisting as proof that America’s political system is broken and corrupt. In his view, the debate was divisive and lacked civility.

"Whether you are for or against the healthcare bill passed by Congress, almost every person in America is disgusted with the politics in Washington and politicians in general," Cox said.

"It is time for the politicians to go!" he added.

GOOOH representatives say that the fact the organization received endorsements from Lou Dobbs, Dennis Miller and Kimberly Fletcher, founder of the Abigail Adams Project who gave a keynote address at The Tea Party Convention last month, shows the depth of public dissatisfaction.