what internet

ONENESS, On truth connecting us all: https://patents.google.com/patent/US7421476B2

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

eAlert: Pandemic… Be ProActive and Take Some Steps to Feel Less Helpless

eAlert: Pandemic… Be ProActive and Take Some Steps to Feel Less Helpless: "But there is also little doubt that there is no reason to have declared a “Health Emergency” in the US for a disease which has impacted fewer than 20 people and killed none of them. What pandemic? Who pandemic? Could it be that this pandemic is a totally orchestrated event to make sure that there is an excuse for closing down those few liberties and constitutional rights which still exist after the last devastating 8 years? The “left neocons” continuing the process the “right neocons” started?"

SCAM SCAM SCAM - CREATE FEAR FEAR FEAR...

"Bear in mind that once a global pandemic is declared, just as the US assumes supreme dictatorial powers through Patriot I, II, III, BARDA and other legislation, Executive Orders and Homeland Security Directives, and as the States assume similar powers through the Emergency Medical Powers Acts, passed at the urging of the Homeland Security cabal, so the UN will, according to already prearranged agreement, become the supreme political governing force on the planet."

Monday, April 13, 2009

Publications — Compete.org

Publications — Compete.org: "Publications"

The Council on Competitiveness was founded in 1986 during a time when the United States was facing its most dire economic challenges since the end of World War II. The country had slid from being the world's largest creditor to its largest debtor, its position as a global leader in technology and innovation was declining and American industries were losing market share to international competitors. To meet these mounting challenges, two-dozen industrial, university and labor leaders joined together to found the Council, a forum for elevating national competitiveness to the forefront of national consciousness.

The 21st century poses new challenges to American competitiveness–globalization, high-speed communications, enterprise resilience and energy sustainability issues are forcing organizations at all levels to rethink and redefine how U.S. companies will remain competitive. After two decades, the Council on Competitiveness continues to set an action agenda to drive U.S. productivity and leadership in world markets and to raise the standard of living for all Americans.

Thursday, April 09, 2009

THE HAPPINESS STUDY

Use Your Mood to Improve the World

Good health can be both the cause and consequence of being happy. That's why two pioneering scientists wanted to see if they could actually measure how happiness works in groups. What they discovered took everyone by happy surprise -- the happiness of others, even those you don't know, has a direct influence on your happiness.


The coauthor of this novel study on happiness, James Fowler, PhD, told me how the research was done. First his team combed through the records of 5,000 participants in the Framingham Heart Study, many of whom had identified one another as spouses, friends or neighbors. His team established a happiness baseline for these participants by checking their periodic answers to questions regarding their happiness over the past 20 years (1983 to 2003). Then they used a sophisticated statistical analysis tool to create a map of social connections among the initial 5,000 and other participants within the Framingham study. It showed how one person's happiness rippled like a network, creating a cascade of happiness that increased the likelihood of others being happy too.


They discovered that there were various degrees of influence depending on the degree of social connection and that it was quite predictable. For example, within your social network, the happiness of someone with whom you have frequent and regular personal contact, called an immediate social contact (for instance, your spouse or closest nearby friend), increases the likelihood of your happiness by an average of 15%. The happiness of a second-degree contact (for instance, your closest friend's spouse) increases your chances for happiness by 10%, while the happiness of a third-degree contact (your closest friend's friend's friend) increases it by 6%. In other words, your happiness is directly influenced by strangers.


MORE SPECIFIC LEARNINGS FROM THE HAPPINESS STUDY

  • Proximity is key. The closer your happy friends and family live to you, the greater the probability that their happiness will affect you. For example, the happiness of your next door neighbor is more influential than the happiness of a neighbor who lives down the street.
  • More social connections adds to your happiness. The bigger your social network of nearby happy friends and family, the greater the likelihood of your happiness.
  • Unhappy people cluster together in unhappy networks. As the saying goes, misery loves company.
  • Whether or not you were happy in the past and whether your social contacts are happy are more important predictors of happiness than your income, gender or education.
  • Happiness is more powerful than unhappiness. The happiness of a friend increases the probability of your happiness by 9%... while his unhappiness decreases the chances of your happiness by only 7%.
  • It's not fleeting. The impact of another's happiness on your happiness lasts about a year, on average, before fading.

HAPPINESS 2.0: ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS

Dr. Fowler and his coauthor Nicholas Christakis, MD, PhD, MPH, are now looking at the question of whether happiness spreads the same way via the Internet, specifically using the Facebook network. They assumed that those who posted smiling pictures of themselves with smiling friends were happy. Since Facebook automatically tags or uploads your photos to those registered as your "friends," they were able to trace the paths of these happy pictures. They found that smiling friends had photos of other smiling friends and so on and so on. (People who didn't smile in their photos, didn't have photos with friends who smiled, who in turn also didn't have photos of smiling friends.) Again -- happiness begets happiness and the same goes for unhappiness. Next they'll study how contagious online happiness turns out to be.


REACH OUT AND TOUCH SOMEONE

Dr. Fowler himself has been moved by his findings. "I think our study shows that the best thing we can do for ourselves is to connect to friends and family," says Dr. Fowler. "I have been personally affected by the study -- I have now seen the evidence that my happiness potentially ripples out and touches the lives of dozens or even hundreds of other people. In this very challenging time, creating a ripple of happiness can result in a tidal wave of change."

Source(s):

James H. Fowler, PhD, professor of political science, University of California-San Diego.


Monday, March 30, 2009

PolitiFact | Sorting out the truth in politics

“I want you to hold our government accountable. I want you to hold me accountable.” — Barack Obama

“Okay, we will.” — PolitiFact

Tracking Obama’s promises

PolitiFact will be tracking Barack Obama’s promises during his presidency and will be rating the progress of each one. >>more

Caffeine: Health Benefits, Health Risks: Health Newsletter

Caffeine: Health Benefits, Health Risks

Date: 3/30/2009
Posted By: Jon Barron

Caffeine -- it's the world's most popular drug. People drink it with alcohol to ramp up the effect. They drink it after alcohol to sober up. They take it to get rid of headaches, cure cancer, and prevent Parkinson's. Then again, the state of California is looking to put warning labels on any product that contains added caffeine. So what gives; is caffeine saint or sinner, miracle drug or prenatal nightmare?

In truth, it's all of the above. The devil, as usual when it comes to natural substances, lies in the details. And that's what we're going to explore in this newsletter, the truth behind caffeine.

The world's most popular drug

Pure caffeine is a bitter-tasting white powder that looks a lot like cornstarch. It is moderately soluble in water at body temperature and readily soluble in boiling water. It was first isolated from coffee in 1820, after which it was quickly recognized that the mood-and-behavior-altering properties of both coffee and tea depended upon caffeine. Whether it's in the form of coffee, tea, chocolate, kola nut chewables, guarana, or yerba matte, hundreds of millions of people around the world (including 90% of Americans) start their days with a jolt of caffeine or use a jolt during the day to keep them "going." And yet, almost no one who consumes it knows much about it. As a point of clarification, not all forms of caffeine are the same. Depending on what other alkaloids and antioxidants come with it or how it's bound with fiber, the "caffeine experience" can be quite different from beverage to beverage. Each caffeine complex actually has a different name depending on its source such as guaranine as found in guarana, mateine as found in mate, and theine as found in tea. Another point of distinction is that not all caffeine is actually caffeine. Chocolate, for example, contains theobromine, a very close relative of caffeine -- but only 1/10 as stimulating.

caffeine crazed

Although caffeine is not addictive in the same sense that many hard drugs can be considered addictive, it definitely affects the brain and body and stimulates them in a manner similar to the amphetamines such as cocaine. They all work by blocking adenosine's ability to slow nerve cell activity in preparation for sleep, and instead increase the speed of nerve cell activity and of the neuron firing in the brain. (The caffeine molecule is structurally similar to adenosine, and binds to adenosine receptors on the surface of cells without activating them -- an "antagonist" mechanism of action.) And if this were not enough by itself to keep you awake, the increased neuron firing in the brain causes the pituitary glands to release hormones that tell the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline, which gives your body a boost, so it can remain active and alert.

Another effect of blocking adenosine is that it causes blood vessels in the brain to constrict, which also serves to prevent the brain and body from sleeping. (As a side note, it's probably worth mentioning that the ability of caffeine to close blood vessels in the brain is why many pain relievers contain caffeine. If you have a vascular headache, the caffeine in Anacin, for example, will shut down the blood vessels, thus easing the pain.) And finally, both caffeine and cocaine increase dopamine production in the brain, so you experience a temporary "high." Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that activates "pleasure centers" in the brain and, quite simply, makes you feel "good." Naturally, the pleasurable effect produced by dopamine manipulation plays a major role in caffeine addiction.

And speaking of addiction, as I mentioned in the last paragraph, caffeine is not an addictive drug in the same sense as cocaine and/or heroin. Nevertheless, because of caffeine's role as an adenosine antagonist, anyone who consumes as little as 300 mg of caffeine a day (the equivalent of just 3 cups of drip coffee) will suffer withdrawal symptoms if they abruptly cut off their caffeine supply. The problem is that the bodies of individuals who regularly consume caffeine adapt to the continual presence of the drug by substantially increasing the number of adenosine receptors in the central nervous system in an attempt to compensate. This is known as the "tolerance effect." This makes the body much more sensitive to adenosine -- and consequently less sensitive to caffeine. In effect, this forces you to consume more and more caffeine over time to get the same stimulatory effect. On the other hand, any reduction in caffeine intake will effectively increase the normal physiological effects of adenosine because there are now so many more receptor sites created by the caffeine in the first place. The problem is that as caffeine clears those sites, they will be free to take in adenosine, but at an accelerated rate because there are so many more of them. The net result is unwelcome withdrawal symptoms including fatigue, depression, irritability, tremors, jumpiness, not to mention deprivation of deep sleep, and, of course, headaches, as the blood vessels in the brain begin to once again dilate.

Caffeine facts

red bullThanks to the popularity of energy drinks, caffeine is now omnipresent, but its level of concentration can vary widely. A piece of chocolate may contain as little as 5mg, whereas some energy drinks may contain as much as 160 mg. And for that matter, some medications and diet pills can run as high as 200 mg of caffeine. Buzz city!!!

One of the major problems with caffeine is that it can severely impact sleep patterns. Yes, if you have a morning cup of coffee, 75% of it will clear your body by the time you go to bed. But if you have a couple of cups of drip coffee in the morning, that means you will still be going to sleep with some 50 mg still percolating in your veins -- more than enough to disrupt the depth and quality of your sleep. And if you drink coffee throughout the day, or as an afternoon pick-me-up, the level in your blood at bedtime will climb dramatically. So while, yes, you may yet fall asleep, it is likely the quality of that sleep will not be up to par.

Another problem is that caffeine is a diuretic and can dehydrate you. Some experts claim that the fluid you consume in drinking coffee or energy drinks more than compensates for the fluid you lose through extra urination, but the facts don't bear that out. Claims to the contrary are based on erroneous studies on dehydration and misleading sound bites.

Caffeine and alcohol don't mix -- either while drinking, or for sobering up after drinking. The problem is that caffeine is a stimulant, whereas alcohol is a depressant -- complete opposites. That means that caffeine doesn't negate the effects of alcohol; it only makes you "think" it does. Consuming caffeine creates the impression that you're getting sharper and more sober. But the truth is your reaction time and judgment are still impaired. Mixing alcohol and caffeine make you more likely to have accidents -- either in your car or while operating heavy machinery.

There is also the problem that there are at least 32 epidemiological studies of caffeine that have found an increased risk of adverse developmental or reproductive outcomes. To put that in layman's terms, studies have linked caffeine to both lowered birth weight and a significant increase in birth defects.
And caffeine is a growing problem for kids. The consumption of soft drinks by children has literally doubled in the past 35 years, with soda replacing milk. A 2003 study of Columbus, Ohio middle schoolers found some taking in an astounding 800 milligrams of caffeine a day -- more than twice the recommended maximum for adults of 300 milligrams. And that was in 2003, before the energy drink craze hit full bore. With the advent of energy drinks in the last five years, those numbers have only grown.

So how much caffeine is too much?

According to the Mayo Clinic, for most adults, moderate doses of caffeine -- 200 to 300 milligrams (mg), or about two to four cups of brewed coffee a day -- aren't harmful. But heavy use -- more than 500 to 600 mg a day, or about four to seven cups of coffee -- can cause a whole host of problems, including: coffee beans

  • Insomnia
  • Nervousness
  • Restlessness
  • Irritability
  • Nausea or other gastrointestinal problems
  • Fast or irregular heartbeat
  • Muscle tremors
  • Headaches
  • Anxiety

Caffeine and the law

There's a popular song from the last 40 years that goes, "I fought the law, and the law won." When it comes to caffeine and caffeine enhanced drinks, that may turn out to be remarkably prescient. A couple of years ago, the State of California announced that state environmental health officials were considering whether or not the caffeine found in soda and energy drinks was harmful to your health, especially for pregnant women. In addition, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is considering placing warning labels on caffeine enhanced drinks if California Health Officials actually conclude that caffeine is a harmful substance.

And if that were not enough, the State of Utah announced earlier this month that they are considering taxing caffeine as a new stream of revenue for the state.

Make no mistake -- whether either of these initiatives ever goes live or not is irrelevant. The bottom line is that caffeine is now in legislative crosshairs around the world. Europe already requires a warning label on high caffeine energy drinks, and France has actually banned Red Bull.

Caffeine -- the miracle drug?

So much for the negatives. Caffeine/coffee also has a bright side. At least six studies have shown that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's, with three studies showing the more they drink, the lower the risk. Other research has shown that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of colon and liver cancer by some 25%, slash the risk of skin cancer by some 40%, drop the risk of liver cirrhosis by 22%, and lower the risk of gallstones by nearly half.

Coffee might even offset some of the damage caused by other vices. Some research indicates that people who smoke and are heavy drinkers have less heart disease and liver damage when they regularly consume large amounts of coffee compared to those who don't.

There's also some evidence that the caffeine in coffee may help manage asthma and even control attacks when medication is unavailable, stop a headache, boost mood, and even prevent cavities.

And of course, caffeine is widely used for its stimulating and alertness properties, as well as its ability to enhance athletic performance.

Note: not all of the benefits associated with drinking coffee or tea can necessarily be attributed to caffeine. In many cases, they might be specific to the antioxidants found in those beverages (see below).

So, caffeine yes -- caffeine no?

As I mentioned at the top of the newsletter, when it comes to caffeine, the devil is in the details. With that in mind, let me offer my recommendations.

  • coffee manNatural caffeine is preferable to "added" caffeine. Natural caffeine comes packaged with a number of powerful antioxidants such as:
    • Chocolate: flavonoids, procyanidins, epicatechin, cocoa phenols.
    • Tea: epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epicatechin. Not to mention theanine, which is not an antioxidant, but rather, a profoundly beneficial amino acid.
    • Coffee: chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and melanoidins.
  • The Mayo Clinic says under 300 mg a day is fine. I set the figure much lower -- at about 100 mg a day. That still allows for 3 cups of green tea a day. The exception to this guideline is that if you take your caffeine bound to fiber, as in guarana (not guarana extract), the caffeine releases over time rather than in powerful bursts, which allows you to consume more without the negative side effects.
  • Don't use caffeine as part of a daily ritual such as "every morning" to start the day. Use it selectively, if possible, to get a boost only when needed. And take at least two days off each week -- totally caffeine free -- to allow all caffeine to clear from your body on a weekly basis.
  • And as much as possible avoid consuming caffeine while pregnant.
Incidentally, one of the reasons for this newsletter is that this past month has been Caffeine Awareness Month. And speaking of caffeine awareness, check out the caffeine calculator at CaffeineAwareness.org, which will calculate how much caffeine you personally are consuming each day.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress)

13. H.R.1148 : To establish the Food Safety Administration to protect the public health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from intentional contamination, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3] (introduced 2/16/2007) Cosponsors (22)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Agriculture
Latest Major Action: 2/27/2007 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Monsanto's dream bill, HR 875

To begin reversing GM contamination will require ending the power biotech companies such as Monsanto exert over our government and through that, over our food.

HR 875, was introduced by Rosa DeLauro whose husband Stanley Greenburg works for Monsanto.

The bill is monstrous on level after level - the power it would give to Monsanto, the criminalization of seed banking, the prison terms and confiscatory fines for farmers, the 24 hours GPS tracking of their animals, the easements on their property to allow for warrantless government entry, the stripping away of their property rights, the imposition by the filthy, greedy industrial side of anti-farming international "industrial" standards to independent farms - the only part of our food system that still works, the planned elimination of farmers through all these means.

The corporations want the land, they want more intensive industrialization, they want the end of normal animals so they can substitute patented genetically engineered ones they own, they want the end of normal seeds and thus of seed banking by farmers or individuals. They want control over all seeds, animals, water, and land.

Our farmers are good stewards. That is who is threatened by Rosa DeLauro's bill (and because of that, we all are). At a time in this country when wise stewardship and the production of anything real - especially good food - is what is most needed, it is our best stewards whom Rosa DeLauro threatens, under the cruelly false name of "food safety."

And now Monsanto wants its own employee, Michael Taylor back in government, this time to act with massive police power as a "food safety tsar" from inside the White House. This is the man who forced genetically engineered rBGH on us (unlabeled, and without warning) when the Clintons placed him over "food safety" in the 90s. HR 875 would give him immense power over what is done on every single farm in the country and massive police state power to wield over farmers and punishments to break them at will.

The following quotes show Monsanto and its biotech ilk are not "stewards" at all. Their inhuman focus on profit has led to inhuman, insane, sickening products that require intense corruption of democracy and science institutes and media, to foist them on country after country which don't want them.

It is our farmers who stand between us and this outrage which masquerades as science, as food, as normal business, as government. And it is our farmers who need not only protecting but actual freeing from government intrusion, control and harm.

Vegetarians and vegans do not identify with farmers who raise animals but what is at stake here is critical for all of us. "First they came for the Jews" is an apt reminder of what matters in standing with each other because the overwhelming bureaucratic burdens, the record requirements, the warrantless inspections, the end of farmers' markets, the criminalization of seed banking, the ten years in prison for stepping out of line in any way -- this will next be applied not to animals breaking out of fence onto a neighbor's farm, but for such things as not spraying pesticides on an organic farm to eradicate earthworms (now listed as an invasive species) because the government's "food safety tsar" has deemed it necessary.

HR 875 is the beginning. This time, it is about handing over control of our food supply to enhance profits of the chemical industry. This time it is aimed with ferocity at farmers who keep animals. Next time it will be totalitarian control.

Rosa DeLauro and Stanley Greenburg have a great deal to account for in attempting through a mislabeled bill with hidden intent to wipe out our farmers and harm all of us. HR 875 gives Monsanto greater power and opens doors wider to the following ...

News for a Synergic Earth : Thinking Globally and Acting Locally

Thinking Globally and Acting Locally

This class is over, but the slides and handouts are still available for downloading.


Future Positive: Humanity's Synergic Alternativeon March 31, 2005: Future Positive Slides
The Games of Life: Adversity, Neutrality, and Synergy on March 24, 2005: Games of Life Slides
Mastering Calmness on March 10, 2005: Calmness Exercise Outline, Mastering Calmness Exercise
Beyond Blame, Guilt & Punishment on March 03, 2005: Beyond Blame, Guilt & Punishment Slides

The World of "IS" and "Ought to Be" on February 24, 2005: The World of "IS" and "Ought to Be" Slides
A Manual for the Dual Mind on February 17, 2005: Dual Mind Manual Slides
Self & Other: A Relationship on February 10, 2005: Self & Other Slides
Reality Rules! on February 3, 2005: Reality Rules! Slides
Understanding Cancer on January 27, 2005: Understanding Cancer Slides
Controlling Anger in Self & Other on January 20, 2005: Controlling Anger Slides & Handout
Understanding Anger & Fear on January 13, 2005: Understanding Anger & Fear Slides, Mastering Calmness Exercise
Understanding Stress on January 6th, 2005: Understanding Stress Slides, Understanding Stress Handout

Use natural substances such as spring water, whole fresh foods and spices to strengthen your body

Scientists Tracking Path Between Emotions and Health

It's interesting to see that the concepts of Chinese medicine -- in particular the interplay of mind, body and spirit (emotion) and their role in health as well as disease -- are beginning to seep into mainstream medicine. Here in the Western world, physicians have been trained to separate mental, physical and emotional symptoms. In contrast, Chinese medicine views the patient as a whole, with each part intimately connected. Now, here in the US, an increasing number of studies tie emotional health with physical ailments, in particular heart disease, cancer and autoimmune disorders... a step in the right direction, even though the scientific community continues to focus on finding the physiological "root" of illness as they apply their cause-effect mentality in an attempt to identify, isolate and manage "the problem." But the Chinese take a very different approach, looking to the whole body system and the concept of balance in every aspect, including between emotions and the physical self.


THE CHINESE VIEW OF THE WORLD

I spoke with Jeffrey Zimmerman, OMD, doctor of Chinese medicine, practitioner of acupuncture and founder of the OptiMotion system of body alignment, who explained that in Chinese medicine, feeling any emotions intensely is considered an imbalance. When there is balance among the mind, body and spirit, everything that happens, good and bad, is processed naturally, in a fluid way. It's all experienced as normal, without great intensity. Getting "stuck" in emotions is what blocks energy, inviting or creating an opportunity for illness and unrest.


Chinese medicine asserts that each organ has an emotional spectrum. A Chinese medicine practitioner asks a patient about his/her state of mind and identifies relationships between the responses and the internal organs. The concept is that when one emotional state dominates, smooth flow of energy (known as qi) to specific organs is impeded, so the emotion and the organ must be treated concurrently.

  • FEAR: The kidneys and the work they do, including elimination of waste, are associated with strength and willpower -- and on the negative end of the spectrum, with fear.
  • GRIEF: The lungs and respiratory system are connected to our sense of order and can move along to perfectionism and, at the opposite end, grief.
  • ANGER: The liver, which filters toxins, supports planning and decision-making -- the skills needed to manage life well. At the far end of the spectrum, the liver is connected to anger.
  • SADNESS/JOY: The heart is the center of the body and soul and not surprisingly, is connected to sadness as well as to joy.
  • WORRY: The stomach/spleen, responsible for digestion, can be the source of sympathy on one end, worry on the other.


CONNECTING THE DOTS:

EMOTIONS AND ILLNESS

The emotional-physical ties are not as direct and simplistic as Westerners would like them to be, but the dots can indeed be connected. To better understand how, I spoke with Kathryn White, PhD, LAc, a practicing psychologist and acupuncturist who is the president and chief academic officer, American University of Complementary Medicine (Beverly Hills, California), which focuses on what she calls Chinese Classical Medicine (CCM), one of many different forms of practicing the ancient art. She told me that at the heart of CCM is the concept that all disease has roots in a need to change in one of three basic aspects of life -- physical, emotional or lifestyle -- that comes up against an inability or unwillingness to do so. Sickness can be an expression of these conflicts.


One simple illustration: Chinese medicine respects the body's natural ability to expel toxins by vomiting them up, sneezing them out or through urination or defecation. Medicine that treats the symptoms gets in the way of this natural process, sending the toxins from the now-suppressed symptoms into the body's energy channels where ultimately they can get stuck and cause serious disease. Treatment must address the entire person, not just the symptoms.


LESSONS FROM CCM

Both Dr. White and Dr. Zimmerman have suggestions for using these basic concepts to promote personal health and well-being and eliminate toxicity that intrudes on our mind, body or spirit. Here are some of their tips...

  • Live in harmony with the seasons. The winter months can be valuable for rest and rejuvenation... in the spring, you can ramp up activity. Summer is the time to expand and expend the most energy in many activities, while in autumn we can benefit by slowing down and retreating from all that busyness.
  • Follow the light. "In the old days people got up with the sun and went to bed soon after it set," says Dr. White. "The instinct to follow light is a good one -- it both increases longevity and protects health." One idea she suggests is to become aware of your mental and physical posture throughout the day and learn to use it consciously. To gear up for productivity at work in the morning, for example, many people strike the type-A jutting-chin, fast-talking, vigorous-thinker posture... which can be physically, mentally and spiritually exhausting if maintained all day. Make an effort to ease into a more relaxed posture, slowing down your speech, thoughts and pace when you go home at night. By the time you are ready for bed, you should have relaxed and slowed to the point that you are truly ready for sleep... if so, it will come easily to you.
  • When illness sets in, respect your body and mind -- take time off to heal. Within reason, it's a good idea to "tough it out" if you have a cold, for instance -- let the cough and congestion run their course untreated by drugs, so your body can rid itself of the pathogen. Use natural substances such as spring water, whole fresh foods and spices to strengthen your body and provide the resources required for recovery.
  • Recognize that your disease may be happening for a reason. Perhaps you are working or playing too hard (or both) which is putting your body out of balance or maybe you are not taking proper care of yourself. Review and readjust for a better balance.
  • Remember, true healing always involves increasing your awareness. Any illness is a call and an opportunity to evaluate your internal state. Are you heartsick about something... suffering from anxiety... in a troubled relationship? This is your chance to sort through the problems that are creating toxicity for you and figure out what might help you heal, in every way.
  • Use daily reflection as a conscious tool for balancing your energy. "Think about what things are truly important to you and how you are using your chi (spiritual and physical energy) to work toward those goals," suggests Dr. White. "Ask if you are getting caught up in a spiral of need for things that don't really matter."

The principles of Chinese medicine should not be understood to mean that having physical, emotional or lifestyle problems indicates you are doing something wrong. Life, it teaches, is school and it gives all of us the lessons we need to learn. Deal regularly with your issues and be willing to confront whatever comes your way. This will make you less likely to have pathology and more likely to obtain real and deep meaning from your life.

Source(s):

Kathryn White, PhD, LAc, a psychologist and acupuncturist, is the president and chief academic officer, American University of Complementary Medicine, Beverly Hills, California. 


Jeffrey Zimmerman, OMD, once a classical musician and now a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, acupuncturist, martial artist and Qigong master in Westport, Connecticut. www.jeffreyczimmerman.wordpress.com/.


Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Master Cleanse Recipe

Master Cleanse Recipe: "For a single or a glass of the master cleanse, the recipe require that you have 10 ounces of filtered water, two table spoon of maple syrup, two tablespoon of lemon juice and 1/10 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. If you wish to make a daily servings of 60 ounces at one go then you will need 60 ounces of filtered water, 12 tablespoon of maple syrup, 12 tablespoon of lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper. But remember when you are preparing the master cleanse, you must use freshly squeezed lemon juice. This is because canned or processed juice already has lost much of its benefits.

Another factor to note is that you must use organic grade B maple syrup and not sugar filled syrup. And although the Cayenne pepper looks as if it can be excluded, it is actually very important. The cayenne actually helps to break down the mucus and promote a healthy blood flow. Beside this, it is also a rich source of Vitamins B and C. If you wish to add flavor to the lemonade, just use decaffeinated tea because caffeine constrict the blood vessels. During the master cleanse, we actually wishes to promote a good flow of the blood so that the waste and toxin can be easily removed from the body."

Death In The Air

Death In The Air: "HIV/AIDS may have been man-made, a concern currently being considered by the U.S. General Accounting Office in response to requests made by Ohio attorney Boyd Ed Graves and Democratic Congressman, James A. Traficant, Jr. His investigation involves the theory that HIV emerged from laboratory experiments conducted during the 1960s and early 1970s when biological weapons contractors intermingled immune-suppressive viruses during a “Special Virus Cancer Program” administered by the National Cancer Institute."

Leonard Horowitz

Leonard Horowitz: "Ebola-Nature, Accident or Intentional?, Viruses: AIDS and Learn about the ancient, newly discovered 'healing codes' that can repair DNA. Find out who hid these codes in the Bible and using them today for good and evil. Rejoice in the discovery of the electro-magnetic sound frequencies for creation, destruction and miracles. Learn everything you need to know about vaccines that could have given rise to cancer, chronic fatigue, MS, ADD, Autism and other immune system disorders. Learn about the documented evidence from a leading vaccine developer who states that vaccines had been heavily contaminated with cancer viruses. Learn what you can do to protect yourself and your family."

Namaste March 09 | Chopra Center

Namaste March 09 | Chopra Center:

In addition, here are 7 empowering steps you can take in your life right now:

  1. Develop a meditation practice today. Start with one of our guided meditations or find a PSM teacher in your town. Or you can learn to meditate at a Chopra Center workshop or retreat.
  2. Take the dosha quiz and understand your mind-body constitution to bring balance into your life.
  3. Experience nature – touch a natural body of water, walk on grass, sit under a tree, stand in the rain.
  4. Write a poem about how great you are.
  5. Commit one act of love today – make amends to someone you’ve hurt; forgive someone who hurt you (in person, on the phone, or in writing).
  6. Take a step toward clarity by making one powerful decision right now – it can be a baby step . . . throw something out that no longer serves you, wash your car, get rid of paper congestion, clean a closet, a room, or even a drawer. Give away an item of clothing.
  7. Perform a vital physical practice – go to a yoga class, learn pilates, go for a vigorous walk, practice deep breathing for 15 minutes, nourish yourself with a massage treatment.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Compassion Meditation Research

The Power of Compassion

Can good thoughts for the well-being of others also keep you healthy? For centuries people have turned to various forms of meditation to quiet their minds, improve their concentration, decrease anxiety, soothe pain and facilitate healing. Research led by a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and an American physician adds yet another benefit to that already impressive list -- their study found evidence that practicing a particular kind, called compassion meditation, may help reduce the type of inflammatory responses to stressful interpersonal situations that have been linked to the development of both mental and physical diseases. People who practiced compassion meditation regularly also had less distress and anger in response to stress.


CHANGING THE WAY WE SEE OTHERS

At Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, 61 healthy students were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group participated in six weeks of twice-weekly classroom training in a non-religious version of compassion meditation while the other group (the control group) spent a similar amount of time in health discussions. Meditation teacher Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD, director of the Emory-Tibet Partnership and a study author, explained that lojong (as the meditation practice is called) means training or transforming the mind. Where we're all conditioned to identify certain people as friends and others as enemies, lojong teaches us to challenge those assumptions. "It helps us see that others are no different from ourselves, that all people have the same problems and common aspirations," he explained. "It has a cognitive component that teaches us to reshape our relationships with ourselves and others to better connect each of us to all of humanity."


To perform lojong meditation, students first learned how to do "meditative concentration" on their breathing, which helps stabilize the mind and refines their attention. Next they practiced mindfulness and meditation, to train them to increase their non-judgmental awareness of thoughts and bodily sensations and were instructed to focus on the universal desire of all people to be happy and avoid suffering. Finally, the students sent out their desire for happiness in a circle that expanded outward... first on themselves... then on loved ones... then to strangers... and finally, to those whom they disliked. They were instructed to concentrate on generating compassion for all people. These students were also given a CD to use to help them practice compassion meditation at home daily, keeping online records of when they meditated and for how long.


A control group spent classroom time in group discussion about issues related to the physical and mental health of college students. Topics included stress management, substance abuse, sexual behavior and health, and depression and anxiety. This group also participated in role-playing exercises and mock debates on the topics they studied. As a way to maintain an equal time requirement with the meditation group for at-home participation, students in the control group were asked to write weekly opinion papers, two to three pages in length, on self-improvement topics. Study participants were recruited from their Emory University health education class and randomly assigned to either the meditation or the control (health discussion) group.


A SURPRISING OUTCOME

At the end of the study, students in both groups were asked to participate in a "stressful task" based on a widely used laboratory psychosocial stress test. Researchers measured their biological responses, including blood levels of the stress hormones cortisol and  interleukin 6 (IL-6), which is a marker of inflammation. The researchers anticipated a difference between the meditators and the control group, but that actually turned out to be insignificant, said Charles Raison, MD, assistant professor in Emory's department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and senior author of the study. What was significant, however, was a reduction in inflammatory markers that correlated with how frequently subjects meditated. The more often subjects practiced compassion meditation, the lower the levels of inflammation in their blood after the stress test.


WHY THE RESULTS MATTER

We know that inflammation puts wear and tear on the body and that has a cumulative negative effect on health. Dr. Raison called it "promising" to see that engaging in a discipline that helps retrain the mind to be more compassionate not only makes people kinder, but also healthier. His co-author Dr. Negi agrees, noting that by teaching a broader acceptance of others, this type of compassion meditation can be "an instrument of health that might be of benefit to people in all walks of life."


For more information on how to do a lojong practice, look for books including Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living (Shambhala Library), by Pema Chödrön... Emotional Awareness: Overcoming the Obstacles to Psychological Balance and Compassion (Times), by the Dalai Lama and Paul Ekman, PhD... and Quiet Mind: A Beginner's Guide to Meditation compiled by Susan Piver (Shambhala).

Source(s):

Charles Raison, MD, is an assistant professor, department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Emory University School of Medicine.

Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD, (also known as Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi) is senior lecturer in religion and director, Emory-Tibet Partnership.


Sunday, March 01, 2009

Don't Believe Everything the Media Says

Medical Studies: Don't Believe Everything the Media Says

JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH
Harvard Medical School

W hen the media reports on medical news, complex research gets reduced to sound bites -- which may be misleading. Find a full account of the study (try www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus) and ask...

Are this study's results consistent with other evidence? Accuracy usually involves consistent results from different researchers... using different types of studies... and involving different people. Example: The link between smoking and lung cancer that has been seen in so many studies.


Is it an observational study or a randomized clinical trial? An observational study tracks behavior and health outcomes without intervening in participants' lives. This can uncover "associations" but cannot prove a cause-and-effect link. Example: The apparent health benefits of vitamin supplements seen in observational studies simply may reflect that people who choose to use such supplements tend to have more healthful habits overall.


In a randomized clinical trial, researchers actively intervene by assigning participants at random to receive treatment or a placebo -- making this the "gold standard" of research.


Is it an animal study? Animal studies allow far greater control than human studies -- but results from other species may not apply directly to people.


How many participants were there? The larger the study, the less likely its findings are due to chance.


How long did the study last? A long-term study may detect risks or benefits that go unnoticed in shorter studies. Example: Hormone therapy using estrogen plus progestin increases risk for breast cancer -- but only after four to five years. A two-year study would not uncover this relationship.


Did the study look at actual disease outcomes? Because it takes years for certain diseases to develop, many studies examine "markers" of disease. Example: Lower cholesterol levels suggest a reduced risk for heart disease -- though cholesterol reductions do not always lead to actual decreases in heart disease risk. Research looking at concrete outcomes, such as the occurrence of heart attacks, is more reliable.


Who were the participants? A study is less valid if participants are not typical of the people who use the therapy. Example: The first clinical trial of estrogen therapy to reduce heart disease was done on men, not women!


What does increased risk really mean? It is scary to hear that a risk factor (such as exposure to a toxin) increases risk for a certain disease by, say, 50%. But suppose that two cases of disease normally occur per 10,000 women who haven't been exposed to the toxin. In that case, a 50% increase would mean that toxic exposure leads to three cases per 10,000 women -- which isn't so scary.


E-mail this Article

Bottom Line/Women's Health interviewed JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH, a professor of medicine and women's health at Harvard Medical School and chief of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, both in Boston. She is one of the lead investigators for two highly influential studies on women's health -- the Harvard Nurses' Health Study and the Women's Health Initiative. Dr. Manson is the author, with Shari Bassuk, ScD, of Hot Flashes, Hormones & Your Health (McGraw-Hill).


Simple elixir called a 'miracle liquid' - Los Angeles Times

Electrolyzed water cleans, degreases -- and treats athlete's foot. The solution is replacing toxic chemicals.

By Marla Dickerson
February 23, 2009
It's a kitchen degreaser. It's a window cleaner. It kills athlete's foot. Oh, and you can drink it.

Sounds like the old "Saturday Night Live" gag for Shimmer, the faux floor polish plugged by Gilda Radner. But the elixir is real. It has been approved by U.S. regulators. And it's starting to replace the toxic chemicals Americans use at home and on the job.

  • Miracle liquid
  • Creating magic water.

    Creating magic water.


    The stuff is a simple mixture of table salt and tap water whose ions have been scrambled with an electric current. Researchers have dubbed it electrolyzed water -- hardly as catchy as Mr. Clean. But at the Sheraton Delfina in Santa Monica, some hotel workers are calling it el liquido milagroso -- the miracle liquid.

    That's as good a name as any for a substance that scientists say is powerful enough to kill anthrax spores without harming people or the environment.

    Used as a sanitizer for decades in Russia and Japan, it's slowly winning acceptance in the United States. A New York poultry processor uses it to kill salmonella on chicken carcasses. Minnesota grocery clerks spray sticky conveyors in the checkout lanes. Michigan jailers mop with electrolyzed water to keep potentially lethal cleaners out of the hands of inmates.
In Santa Monica, the once-skeptical Sheraton housekeeping staff has ditched skin-chapping bleach and pungent ammonia for spray bottles filled with electrolyzed water to clean toilets and sinks.

"I didn't believe in it at first because it didn't have foam or any scent," said housekeeper Flor Corona. "But I can tell you it works. My rooms are clean."

Management likes it too. The mixture costs less than a penny a gallon. It cuts down on employee injuries from chemicals. It reduces shipping costs and waste because hotel staffers prepare the elixir on site. And it's helping the Sheraton Delfina tout its environmental credentials to guests.

The hotel's kitchen staff recently began disinfecting produce with electrolyzed water. They say the lettuce lasts longer. They're hoping to replace detergent in the dishwasher. Management figures the payback time for the $10,000 electrolysis machine will be less than a year.

"It's green. It saves money. And it's the right thing to do," said Glenn Epstein, executive assistant at the Sheraton Delfina. "It's almost like fantasy."

Actually, it's chemistry. For more than two centuries, scientists have tinkered with electrolysis, the use of an electric current to bring about a chemical reaction (not the hair-removal technique of the same name that's popular in Beverly Hills). That's how we got metal electroplating and large-scale production of chlorine, used to bleach and sanitize.

It turns out that zapping salt water with low-voltage electricity creates a couple of powerful yet nontoxic cleaning agents. Sodium ions are converted into sodium hydroxide, an alkaline liquid that cleans and degreases like detergent, but without the scrubbing bubbles. Chloride ions become hypochlorous acid, a potent disinfectant known as acid water.

"It's 10 times more effective than bleach in killing bacteria," said Yen-Con Hung, a professor of food science at the University of Georgia-Griffin, who has been researching electrolyzed water for more than a decade. "And it's safe."

There are drawbacks.

Electrolyzed water loses its potency fairly quickly, so it can't be stored long. Machines are pricey and geared mainly for industrial use. The process also needs to be monitored frequently for the right strength.

Then there's the "magic water" hype that has accompanied electrolyzed drinking water. A number of companies sell so-called ionizers for home use that can range from about $600 to more than $3,000. The alkaline water, proponents say, provides health benefits.

But Richard Wullaert, a Santa Barbara consultant, said consumers should be careful.

"Some of these people are making claims that will get everybody in trouble," said Wullaert, whose nonprofit Functional Water Society is spreading the word about electrolyzed water. "It's time for some serious conferences with serious scientists to give this credibility."

Most of the growth has happened outside the United States.

Russians are putting electrolyzed water down oil wells to kill pesky microbes. Europeans use it to treat burn victims. Electrolyzing equipment is helping to sanitize drinking water in parts of Latin American and Africa.

The stuff is a simple mixture of table salt and tap water whose ions have been scrambled with an electric current. Researchers have dubbed it electrolyzed water -- hardly as catchy as Mr. Clean. But at the Sheraton Delfina in Santa Monica, some hotel workers are calling it el liquido milagroso -- the miracle liquid.

That's as good a name as any for a substance that scientists say is powerful enough to kill anthrax spores without harming people or the environment.

Used as a sanitizer for decades in Russia and Japan, it's slowly winning acceptance in the United States. A New York poultry processor uses it to kill salmonella on chicken

It's big in Japan. People there spray it on sushi to kill bacteria and fill their swimming pools with it, eliminating the need for harsh chlorine. Doctors use it to sterilize equipment and treat foot fungus and bedsores. It's the secret weapon in Sanyo Electric Corp.'s "soap-less" washing machine.

Now Sanyo is bent on cleaning up Japan's taxis with a tiny air purifier that fits into a car's cup holder. The device uses electrolyzed water to shield passengers from an unwelcome byproduct of Japan's binge-drinking business culture: vomit.

"There was some concern about the spreading of viruses and bacteria via the taxi, not to mention the . . . stinky smells," Sanyo spokesman Aaron Fowles said.

Sanyo's taxi air washer isn't yet available in the U.S.; commuters will have to hold their noses for now. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have approved electrolyzed water for a variety of uses.

PuriCore of Malvern, Pa., and Oculus Innovative Sciences of Petaluma, Calif., have developed treatments for chronic wounds. Albuquerque, N.M.-based MIOX Corp. sells municipal water-purifying systems. EAU Technologies Inc. of Kennesaw, Ga., caters to both ends of a dairy cow, with alkaline water to aid the animal's digestion and acid water to clean up its manure.

Integrated Environmental Technologies Inc. of Little River, S.C., is working with oil companies to keep wells free of bacteria and with high schools to sanitize sweaty wrestling mats and grungy football equipment that spread skin infections.

Electrolyzer Corp. of Woburn, Mass., is going after the hospitality market. The Sheraton Delfina purchased one of its machines. So has the Hyatt Regency Chicago and the Trump International Beach Resort near Miami.

Patrick Lucci, Electrolyzer's vice president of marketing, likes to bombard prospects with scientific studies, then give 'em the old razzle-dazzle. He'll swig the processed salt water before he mops the floor with it.

"Try that with bleach," he said.

The unit in Santa Monica looks a little like an oversized water heater, with two tanks side by side -- one for making the hypochlorous acid sanitizer, the other for the sodium hydroxide cleanser.

Rebecca Jimenez, director of housekeeping, heard grumbling from the cleaning staff when the hotel brought the machine in last fall. Housekeepers doubted that the flat, virtually odorless liquids were really doing the job. Some poured the guest shampoos into their bottles to work up a lather.

"If it doesn't suds up, it doesn't work," Jimenez said. "That's the mentality."

Still, she said, most have come around and are enjoying working without fumes and peeling skin.

Minnesota food scientist Joellen Feirtag said she was similarly skeptical. So she installed an electrolysis unit in her laboratory and began researching the technology. She found that the acid water killed E. coli, salmonella, listeria and other nasty pathogens. Yet it was gentle enough to soothe her children's sunburns and acne.

She's now encouraging food processors to take a look at electrolyzed water to help combat the disease outbreaks that have roiled the industry. Most are dubious.

"This sounds too good to be true, which is really the biggest problem," said Feirtag, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota. "But it's only a matter of time before this becomes mainstream."

marla.dickerson@latimes.com

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Sustainable Future: Search results for water

Trees for Water

Forests play a major role in the water cycle and help stabilize water tables and maintain freshwater supplies. They do this by promoting precipitation, providing shade and mulch to reduce surface evaporation, and slowing down rain run-off (giving it time to soak into the soil).

"Trees regulate water supply, keeping it available for their own needs and for those of other plants, for humans and other animals. The roots of the great forest trees penetrate deeply into the earth and draw up great quantities of water which pass through the trees and out through the leaves to create "oceans of the air". Thus the water is kept available for rain. Trees may deprive plants grown immediately beneath but help those at a distance. Forest height and the cooling effect of the water transpired by the leaves can promote rain in the same way as mountain ranges that force the rain clouds to rise and cool. Paul Schreiber, the meteorologist, estimated that a region covered with forest increased rainfall to the same degree as elevating it 350ft.

When rain falls on forest canopies, its force is broken by the leaves and branches so that it seeps gently through the forest debris to replenish the water tables below. Sinking wells where there are no tree belts in the area to maintain water tables can be a dangerous living off capital. Water running off of bared hillsides carries away the soil, not only depriving the uplands but also silting up dams and reservoirs and causing rivers to flood." -- from the essay Trees for a Future

Daily Kos: State of the Nation

There are alleged "food safety" bills in Congress right now (HB 875, HB 814, SF 425 and possibly soon, HB 759) which are - to put it plainly and truthfullly - the death of organic farming and independent farming in America.

One, at least, merges the USDA and FDA, immensely corrupted agencies, into a more powerful, centralized agency [how soon we forget the danger of centralizing intelligence agencies] that gives even more power to Monsanto and other corporations which already have control over those agencies. These bills merging the of USDA and FDA were introduced one week after Vilsack in a press conference said they weren't thinking of doing that yet.

With great excitement, Merrigan is seen as a victory for progressives who have been waiting way too long for any. The great shame, the danger even, is they aren't noticing what is happening off to the side that is the very thing they should most fear.

HB 875, which is the larger and appears to be the central one, looks innocuous. It is that surface we are encouraged to concentrate on. The surface is "food safety" and the hope is government finally acting to protect us. Below that surface are two things - that those who cause the dangerous food are running this show, and that "food safety" has been used before and is being used here again to destroy the only people who actually provide it.

Wanting food safety and more muscle behind that seems logical, until you look at the agencies being given more power.

"The thing that bugs me is that people think the FDA is protecting them. It isn't. What the FDA is doing and what the public thinks it's doing are as different as night and day.”
Dr. Herbert Ley, Commissioner of the FDA. (San Francisco Chronicle, 1-2-70).

What is the FDA doing?

"First, it is providing a means whereby key individuals on its payroll are able to obtain both power and wealth through granting special favors to certain politically influential groups that are subject to its regulation. This activity is similar to the 'protection racket' of organized crime: for a price, one can induce FDA administrators to provide 'protection' from the FDA itself.

"Secondly, as a result of this political favoritism, the FDA has become a primary factor in that formula whereby cartel-oriented companies in the food and drug industry are able to use the police powers of government to harass or destroy their free-market competitors.

"And thirdly, the FDA occasionally does some genuine public good with whatever energies it has left over after serving the vested political and commercial interest of its first two activities." - G. Edward Griffin, World Without Cancer.

FDA tactics.

"The hearings have revealed police-state tactics...possibly perjured testimony to gain a conviction,...intimidation and gross disregard for the Constitutional Rights...(of) First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, (by the FDA)

"Instance after instance of FDA raids on small vitamin and food supplement manufacturers. These small, defenseless businesses were guilty of producing products which FDA officials claimed were unnecessary."

"If the FDA would spend a little less time and effort on small manufacturers of vitamins...and a little more on the large manufacturers of...dangerous drugs..., the public would be better served." - Senator Long from various Senate hearings.

As late as November of 2008, scientists at the FDA revolted against its corrupt managers, submitting a letter to Congress.

Dingel charged FDA bureaucrats with "gross violation of laws and regulations..."

FDA and drugs.

FDA is at the center of "a national controversy over [its] ability to protect the public against unsafe medicines. As associate director for science and medicine in the FDA's Office of Drug Safety, Graham told Congress last month that FDA's problems with ensuring drug safety were "immense in scope" and left the nation "virtually defenseless" against the chance that unsafe drugs will reach consumers.

FDA - in regard to food, both as they relate to harming safe local farming and actually greatly decreasing safety to the sole advantage of industry and immense risk to the public :

  1. FDA instituted HACCP [coming in through Carol Tucker Forman, representing Monsanto at the same time] wiped out 72 local meat processors in Kansas (please imagine the loss of jobs, of food security, of community in those places, and then multiplied across state after state) who had had no problems with e-coli, while creating a vastly more centralized "industrial" (corporate) system in which inspections fell and food safety problems increased.

"HACCP [was] the keystone of President Clinton's globalization strategy to restrict the ability of Congress and of citizens at risk of health to make safety a political, or policy issue." FDA's HACCP made "feces" an approved part of the American diet."

  1. American cherry growers got money from the the USDA for an independent study which showed that cherries were potentially ten times stronger than aspirin and ibuprofen for controlling pain (separate from being incredibly high in anti-oxidants). FDA, exceeding its regulatory authority immediately forbade them from even putting a link on their websites to the peer reveiwed study) while allowing NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: aspirin, tylenol, aleve ...) which cause thousands of deaths a year and well over a hundred thousand hospitalizations and those figures do not even include over the counter deaths and serious illnesses. Yet there appear to be no deaths by cherry.

And the USDA?

"The organic food industry made the mistake of asking the USDA to regulate it, since there were many unscrupulous "organic" farmers who sold food that was not really organic, as organic. In 1998, there was a major consumer effort to stop an agribusiness takeover of the industry, and the battle is not finished. [My emphasis.]

" ...organic” is a misnomer, as the movement is more of an effort to counter the agribusiness mentality, with its artificial fertilizers, genetically engineered life, radiating food, and so on, and get back to natural methods.

"Agribusiness companies control the USDA, just as the drug companies control the FDA. ... An internal USDA memo that Mother Jones obtained in 1998 showed that the USDA was influenced by the biotech companies, which was why its original standard classified genetically engineered food as organic."

"The USDA's originally proposed standard would have eliminated organic food as it is known today. ... It is as if Lucifer himself is writing the law. Is the USDA really that blind, or do they know exactly what they are doing?"

The examples of both the USDA and FDA favoring industry to the literal destruction of small farmers or small businesses though their products are safer, are many and continuing. The USDA and FDA have worked to eliminate all non-corporate, less expensive, more healthy, green, and local alternatives to industrial food and industrial drugs under the aegis of food or drug safety, while passing and protecting and promoting dangerous corporate products such as rBGH and Vioxx.

The innocuous looking HB 875 brings these two corrupt agencies together, and with immensely more power. In recognizing the large international corporate moves being made to take over food , one can begin to appreciate where this and the other bills fit in.

Hillary Clinton ran on a platform to create this centralized "food safety-actually-the-opposite" department (just as Bill Clinton wanted an "organic" label that would absurdly include genetically engineered and irradiated food and sewage sludge as fertilizer). Both promoted a twisting of reality - dangers with a positive label slapped on top. Her long-time advisor (and perhaps his) has been Mark Penn, head of Burson-Masteller, one of the largest and most reviled PR firms in the world which represents Monsanto, Blackwater, ExxonMobil (they helped cover up the spill), Union Carbide after Bhopal (minimizing the disaster there), the Argentinian junta, and more.

We all know what PR firms do. They stage things, they time things just right for the introduction of something, they create atmosphere they want, they dress things up to look good for the camera which are in fact rotten or dangerous. And they can make people and things which are good, look bad. In short, they manipulate public opinion by manipulating the truth. And when they work for one of the most evil corporations on earth, Monsanto, the degree to which they can pull that off is the degree to which we are all subjected to extreme dangers.

HB 875 is called a "food safety" bill and it looks "nice." But it includes coded words that make other very "not nice" things become suddenly operative, things that are not mentioned directly in the bill but are buried in multiple other places, as simple lists or as regulations which have never been debated by law makers or voted on by the public, but inserted into agency documents, frequently by industries which are supposed to be regulated by those very industries.

The coded words around "tracing" trigger NAIS [please watch this video by the Organic Consumers Association] and any words around "best farming practices" would unleash a slew of absolute government controls over (but not limited to) things such as what the farmers must feed their animals (one assumes it will be GMO feed from Monsanto Bt-corn and Bt-soy) and when, what medical regimen they must follow (one assumes it will be the drugs Big PHARM and Big PHARMA sell), what kind of spray (one assumes it will be the pesticides Monsanto sells) and when and where farmers must apply it.

It is clear from those three items alone (what the animals eat, what drugs they are subject to, what is done to the soil and plants) that "best farming practices" and many more anti-farming practices) would industrialize every farm and destroying all organic farms.

But it is worse than that because we are looking at the actual industrial enslavement of our once free farmers by government. They would be forced into a system in which they would not only be ordered what to do and when, but become "captives" to purchasing mandated products from the very industry that has taken over our tax-payer-funded agencies and is imposing this farm-and-health-destructive regime. The only farmers producing safe food would be paying taxes to be personally destroyed by the centralized USDA/FDA "food safety" department.

Monsanto influences both agencies. It gets more power and more control. It gets data banks to oversee all farmers and even to take DNA from their animals. It gets mandated purchase of its products. It gets to kill organic farming and food.

"Best farming practices" also include not having animals and crops on the same farm. Could these farming regulations get any more bureaucratically distant from real farming or thus more insane?

As tricky and corrupt as it seemed Bill Clinton's proposal to label Monsanto's genetically engineered crops and animals "organic," the centralized "food safety" department proposed by Hillary Clinton leaves such single layered, transparent wrong-doing in the dust. For now now it is not a fake label being proposed, but an entire fake (as to providing "food safety") agency being called for and timed to seem "in response to" deaths and with all its threats hidden in multiple places.

So while Bill Clinton's proposal would have only hidden what we eat under a lying label, removing all voluntary choice and trapping us into their dangers through enforced ignorance, these "food safety" bills hide the hand of and the greatly multiplied power of Monsanto, hide the death of all independent (non-corporate) and organic farming, and hide the literal take over the entire US food supply.

Hard to get more clever than that.

It is also hard not to notice both Bill and Hillary Clinton's long standing connections to Monsanto, how much Monsanto already influences both agencies to its own advantage and how much it gains from these bills.

Buried many layers deep within "best farming practices" are a list of "sources of seed contamination."

Agricultural water
manure (not chemical fertilizers and pesticides)
transporting, harvesting and seed cleaning equipment
seed storage facilities

Seed cleaning equipment, I understand, has already been made illegal this year though there have been no illnesses related to it. A farmers said he may still clean seed but he would need a million to a million and a half dollar building and equipment to do so now.

Seed storage facilities are also listed. One sees the direction this is going.

Seed storage facilities would be declared illegal as well, as sources of "seed contamination." All the wonderful seed banks around the country put together by devoted and hard working people to preserve biodiversity for all of us, threaten the absolute monopoly over seeds and food that Monsanto seeks. Oh, one could still have a seed bank but they'd need a million or two million or five million dollar "facility" to meet "food safety" requirements.

Monsanto and the biotech industry want no more farm-saved seed (or individual saved seed). In the EU, seeds not on the official seed list (which costs thousands of pounds to be on) may not be sold to the public.

Seeds are life to all of us. Seeds are freedom to survive.

Yet Monsanto is aggressively doing all it can to put normal seeds out of reach , (making it a crime for farmers in Iraq to use their own seeds, for instance) and attempting to make saving of normal seed illegal here. The insertion of harmless seed cleaning equipment and seed storage - both essential to organic and independent farming - as a threat to "food safety" is a tip-off to Monsanto's hand in this and its sleight of hand in destroying organic farming in these kinds of unanticipated ways.

The left is being massively played. Even if this appointee would be good, there will be no organic farming to oversee. All the laws coming out of HB 875 and the other bills will already have destroyed it.

Good bye seed banks. Good bye biodiversity which is critical to survival. Good bye human control over seeds which are the basis of all life ... which are our biologic inheritance and most fundamental human right. Good bye to a country full of independent farmers ... the floor under any democracy,

Instead, we have illusion. Burson-Marsteller, a major, major PR firm, works for corporations to cover up the literal deadly harm they do. We are being encouraged to watch a show. Look behind the curtain. Monsanto is there.

"We need the World Bank, we need the International Monetary Fund, we need all the big foundations, we need all the governments to admit that for 30 years we all blew it, including me, when I was President. We blew it. We were wrong to believe that food is like some other product in international trade. And we all have to go back to a more environmentally responsible, sustainable form of agriculture."
Former US President Bill Clinton, in a keynote address for World Food Day on 23 October 2008

Monsanto now is talking "sustainable." It's PR . They also used Bollywood actors to sell Bt-cotton to Indian farmers but non-PR reality flowed from that. 182,000 Indian farmers have committed suicidesince Bill Clinton and the IMF and the World Bank forced India's door open to Monsanto and Big Ag.

The bills in Congress, dressed up as "food safety," are in fact the death of organic and independent farming in our country and a vast intensification of globalization as part of a plan for tight international corporate control over our food.

Progressive rejoicing at Kathleen A. Merrigan's appointment to the USDA as a major win is surely making Monsanto and Big Ag cronies in their boardrooms laugh and pass around cigars over their well-crafted plan to thoroughly deceive and distract the left so HB 875, HB 814, SF 425 and (later) HB 759 can move ahead in Congress just as planned.

Tags: Obama USDA appointment, Merrigan, Monsanto, faking out the left, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, organic farming, HACCP, HB 875, HB 814, SB 425, HB 759, sleight of hand (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Here’s Your Chance to Change the FDA - I Need Your Help on This One - articles - articles.mercola.com

“FDA Science and Mission at Risk” was released by the FDA. In this report, the agency admitted that it lacks the competency and capacity to keep up with scientific advances.

The FDA now admits that Americans are suffering and dying because the FDA does not have the scientific ability to ascertain if new drugs are safe or effective or to evaluate scientific claims.

These failures affect the health of all Americans. Good drugs are not approved or approved after interminable delays. Even after new drugs are shown to be safe, doctors cannot use them with terminally ill patients whose cases are otherwise hopeless. Bad drugs are approved -- often on the basis of a recommendation by panels whose members include drug company consultants.

The record with the food supply is almost as bad as with drugs. When fresh food turns out to be contaminated, the only solution the Agency can come up with is to "nuke" it with radiation. What does this do to food? The FDA certainly does not know.

The FDA pushes forward, approving faulty and dangerous drugs and medical devices by the thousands and approving toxic chemicals for use in baby formula, baby bottles, and prescription drugs. Meanwhile, the FDA pursues what can only be described as a harassment campaign against those who want to rely on wholesome foods, dietary supplements, and lifestyle changes to achieve natural good health.

A veritable revolution is taking place in the science of food, food extracts, and food supplements. Food producers would like to tell the American public about it. Millions of lives could be saved as a result. But the FDA will not permit it. The Agency ignores first amendment protections and censors the communication of valid scientific information.

The epidemics currently plaguing this country -- cancer, obesity, diabetes, asthma and allergies, and many other debilitating disorders -- are linked to manmade products and processes that the FDA has approved and promoted. These failures have resulted in the sickest generation in the history of this country. The agency seems to have lost sight of its mandate to protect the public and has instead come to see itself as the guardian of corporate interests. It is time to end the many conflicts of interest linking the FDA to the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, conflicts of interest that betray the public and harm so many American consumers.

It is time to reform the FDA!

10 Ways to Speed Up Your Computer Now - Switched

10 Ways to Speed Up Your Computer Now - Switched: "There is nothing more frustrating on this Earth than a slow computer -- especially in these tough economic times, when running out and buying a new high-end PC is not necessarily an option. But here's the good news: There is plenty you can do yourself, right now, that'll speed up your computer. We've compiled a list of 10 tips and tricks you can easily implement on your existing computer. Some involve just a few quick steps, while others are more involved, but rest easy: We've included directions for everything. Take a look by clicking on 'Next' below, and get ready for the fast times!"