“Lisa Guisbond” - How Standardized Testing is Being Expanded

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/27-9

Published on Monday, June 27, 2011 by The Washington Post

by Lisa Guisbond

Parents, teachers, and students: Raise your hands if you think what our schools need is more new tests and a greater emphasis on testing. If not, listen up, because this is exactly what our students and teachers face because of the reactions of Massachusetts, Maryland, Virgina, New York, North Carolina and other state policy makers to the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) program. These states have all marched to the RTTT beat, quickly passing laws that, among other things, insist that teacher evaluations must be linked to student outcomes. 

A focus on tests will undermine much of the most important work that teachers do. Good teachers do not simply convey information. They identify the diverse needs of their students, engage student interests and build students’ confidence. They also help develop team interaction and cooperation, while challenging and assisting students to overcome barriers. Unfortunately, a proposal with standardized testing at its center will likely rupture the essential relationships between teachers and students that make this work possible. Now we are seeing all the devilish details emerge, as state departments of education devise the regulations for how school districts must march to the RTTT beat.

In Maryland, for example, the Council for Educator Effectiveness voted to tie 50 percent of each assessment to student growth on standardized exams, despite vehement objections from teachers on the panel. Similar battles have erupted in New York and Charlotte, N.C., over proposed teacher evaluation systems that rely heavily on student test scores and use flawed methods to judge teacher quality.

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FoxNews: Migraines Eased After Ginger and Herb Treatment

FoxNews, Published June 17, 2011 | Reuters

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/06/17/migraines-eased-after-ginger-and-herb-treatment/#ixzz1QU9xgsq6

Migraine sufferers treated with a homeopathic preparation of ginger and the herb feverfew may find some pain relief, according to a preliminary study.

Feverfew, which is derived from a flowering plant, has long been thought to be a remedy for headaches. It might offer an alternative to standard migraine medications, which are costly, have side effects and don't always work, according the new report.

About 12 percent of Americans get migraines, and the problem has been estimated to cost the U.S. some $20 billion annually in lost productivity and medical care.

In the new study, researchers funded by PuraMed Bioscience, which makes the feverfew/ginger treatment, randomly assigned patients to take a preparation containing miniscule amounts of the two plants or a dummy treatment.

The patients were asked to treat themselves–—by putting a little sachet with the preparations under their tongue—as soon as they recognized the signs of an approaching migraine.

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"Kaitlyn Moore" - Monsanto trying to take over world seed supply, nation by nation

by Kaitlyn Moore

http://www.naturalnews.com/032826_Monsanto_seed_supply.html

(NaturalNews) He who controls the seed controls the food supply; and he who controls the food supply controls the world. There is no question that Monsanto is on a mission to monopolize the conventional seed market. In fact, they are steadfastly working towards the goal of creating a world where 100% of all commercial seeds are genetically modified and patented- basically a world where natural seeds are extinct.(http://www.naturalnews.com/029325_M...)

Unfortunately for the global community Monsanto is accomplishing their purpose. They currently own 90% of the world's patents for GMO seed including cotton, soybeans, corn, sugar beets and canola. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environme...)

Yep, the creators of chemicals that will go down in history for their toxicity and horrific side effects, is attempting to take over the world's seed supply. Ask yourself- do you really want companies such as BASF, Bayer, DuPont, Syngenta, and Dow involved with your food? Sadly, to a large extent they already are. These Monsanto chemical and GMO cronies all share genetically engineered traits and create the patented herbicides and pesticides that GMO crops require to thrive.

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"Barbara Demick" - China wrestles with food safety problems

latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-food-20110627,0,7413678.story

From steroid-spiked pork to glow-in-the-dark meat to recycled cooking oil collected from sewers, a series of illnesses and scandals linked to tainted food has put officials on guard. But tougher measures have had little effect amid an official culture of secrecy.

By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times

5:35 PM PDT, June 26, 2011

It was a wedding the guests would never forget. Everybody of consequence in the village had been invited to a banquet to celebrate the marriage of the son of one of the wealthiest families. Fifty tables groaned under a lavish spread of dumplings, steamed chickens, pork ribs, meatballs, stir fries, all of it exceptionally delicious, guests would later recall.

But about an hour into the meal, something seemed to be wrong. A pregnant woman collapsed. Old men clutched their chests. Children vomited.

Out of about 500 people at the April 23 banquet in Wufeng, 286 went to the hospital. Doctors at the No. 3 Xiangya Hospital in nearby Changsha, capital of Hunan province, blamed pork contaminated with clenbuterol, a steroid that makes pigs grow faster and leaner. Consumed by humans in excess quantity, it can cause heart palpitations, nausea, convulsions, dizziness and vomiting.

"It was as though he was poisoned," said a villager named Dai, whose husband was hospitalized for five days.

To eat, drink and be merry in China is done at a risk

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ANH: Herbal Medicinal Products Directive is “a protectionist tool”

Nutraingredients.com, 27-Jun-2011

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Regulation/ANH-Herbal-Medicinal-Products-Directive-is-a-protectionist-tool

The Alliance for Natural Health International has slammed the European Commission’s Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive as “a protectionist tool.”

Traditional Chinese Medicines, based on plants such as ginkgo biloba, face unfair discrimination, claims Alliance for Natural Health International.

In an open letter to European commissioner John Dalli, Robert Verkerk, the alliance’s founder and scientific director wrote: “It seems that the criticism you now face in some quarters is down to the creation by the EU of what is effectively a protectionist tool; one which favours certain products of the European phytopharmaceutical system and discriminates against those of non-European traditional systems of medicine.”

Verkerk’s letter follows a forum in the European Parliament on 21 June to consider the challenges posed by the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive (THMPD Directive 2004/24/EC) to traditional systems of medicine; particularly those of non-European origin.

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Life Extension: Increased consumption of cruciferous vegetables linked with lower risk of dying over a decade

Life Extension, June 24, 2011

http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2011_06.htm#Increased-consumption-of-cruciferous-vegetables-linked-with-lower-risk-of-dying-over-a-decade

A report published in the July, 2011 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals that men and women who consume a greater amount of cruciferous vegetables, which include broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, have a lower risk of dying over 4.6 to 10.2 years of follow-up. 

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Stephen Barrett and Medical McCarthyism

By S.L & R.A

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(Concerned that those who engage in uncontested attacks against supporters of alternative health would misconstrue me and my co-author as such, we mean to clarify the following: we are not advocates of the alternative health movement, rather, we are advocates and supporters of truth. - S.L & R.A)

Introduction

Dr. Stephen Barrett is a ubiquitous figure in the world of health and medicine with a unique talent. A talent, described by Health and Human Services official, Dr. Thomas R. Eng, as a gift for widely "[influencing] behavior change" via interactive media. Elaborating, Eng states that "[Barrett] tailors information and interactions to the individual," adding, "In print media, there is some kind of vetting. In interactive, anyone or their brother can slap a Web page together."

One assumes that Barrett, in his efforts and opinions, is authoritative and correct, speaking as a retired physician / psychiatrist who's been interviewed on innumerable occasions by CNN, The New York Times, has testified as an expert before congress, and, in a larger sense, has been adopted by mainstream media as the "consumer watchdog" du jour within the field of medicine.

Well, alternative medicine, more specifically.

He has authored reports on many of the most accomplished practitioners and experts in the alternative health movement and in doing so, has generated a fair amount of controversy and mixed media attention. So much, in fact, that the reports on his site have come to dominate web search engine results, and in effect, preemptively tainting the reputations of hundreds of legitimate, well credentialed alternative health practitioners. Upon discovering this, my curiosity was piqued and I felt compelled to conduct some independent research on the matter, and hopefully, reach a conclusion as to whether Barrett was, indeed, an expert, or guilty of what Dr. Eng describes as "medical McCarthyism".

My focus would be the history and relationship between Barrett and Dr. Gary Null. Null is arguably the most respected, prolific advocate and high-profile voice in the alternative heath movement, influencing a massively wide spectrum of people throughout a varied host of philanthropic efforts and causes. The purpose of this paper is to not to bring direct challenge to Barrett's work or ideology, but rather to present facts and convey reasoned, journalistic interrogation into the heart of this debate. To that end, we can look to Null's extensive work and research on the negative effects of fluoride, mercury, vaccines, sugar and caffeine, all of which, Barrett has called in to question. Research will demonstrate that science firmly supports all of Null's conclusions and solutions on these topics. Fact checking and research is the cornerstone of the journalistic process, yet, Barrett and those media outlets who would employ his subjective opinion as scientific fact, quite simply, have not done their homework here.

Click here to download the full paper

"David McRaney" - Why Do People Believe Stupid Stuff, Even When They're Confronted With the Truth?

By David McRaney, AlterNet
Posted on June 26, 2011, Printed on June 27, 2011
http://www.alternet.org/media/151426/why_do_people_believe_stupid_stuff%2C_even_when_they%27re_confronted_with_the_truth/

The Misconception: When your beliefs are challenged with facts, you alter your opinions and incorporate the new information into your thinking.

The Truth: When your deepest convictions are challenged by contradictory evidence, your beliefs get stronger.

Wired, The New York Times, Backyard Poultry Magazine – they all do it. Sometimes, they screw up and get the facts wrong. In ink or in electrons, a reputable news source takes the time to say “my bad.”

If you are in the news business and want to maintain your reputation for accuracy, you publish corrections. For most topics this works just fine, but what most news organizations don’t realize is a correction can further push readers away from the facts if the issue at hand is close to the heart. In fact, those pithy blurbs hidden on a deep page in every newspaper point to one of the most powerful forces shaping the way you think, feel and decide – a behavior keeping you from accepting the truth.

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"Jeff Donn" - Populations Around US Nuke Plants Soar

Published on Monday, June 27, 2011 by Associated Press

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/27

by Jeff Donn

BUCHANAN, N.Y. – As America's nuclear power plants have aged, the once-rural areas around them have become far more crowded and much more difficult to evacuate. Yet government and industry have paid little heed, even as plants are running at higher power and posing more danger in the event of an accident, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Populations around the facilities have swelled as much as 4 1/2 times since 1980, a computer-assisted population analysis shows.

But some estimates of evacuation times have not been updated in decades, even as the population has increased more than ever imagined. Emergency plans would direct residents to flee on antiquated, two-lane roads that clog hopelessly at rush hour.

And evacuation zones have remained frozen at a 10-mile radius from each plant since they were set in 1978 — despite all that has happened since, including the accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima Dai-ichi in Japan.

Meanwhile, the dangers have increased.

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Michael Klare: The Global Energy Crisis Deepens

Three Energy Developments That Are Changing Your Life
By Michael T. Klare

Posted on June 5, 2011, Printed on June 27, 2011
http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175400/

Here’s the good news about energy: thanks to rising oil prices and deteriorating economic conditions worldwide, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that global oil demand will not grow this year as much as once assumed, which may provide some temporary price relief at the gas pump.  In its May Oil Market Report, the IEA reduced its 2011 estimate for global oil consumption by 190,000 barrels per day, pegging it at 89.2 million barrels daily.  As a result, retail prices may not reach the stratospheric levels predicted earlier this year, though they will undoubtedly remain higher than at any time since the peak months of 2008, just before the global economic meltdown.  Keep in mind that this is the good news.

As for the bad news: the world faces an array of intractable energy problems that, if anything, have only worsened in recent weeks.  These problems are multiplying on either side of energy’s key geological divide: below ground, once-abundant reserves of easy-to-get “conventional” oil, natural gas, and coal are drying up; above ground, human miscalculation and geopolitics are limiting the production and availability of specific energy supplies.  With troubles mounting in both arenas, our energy prospects are only growing dimmer.

Here’s one simple fact without which our deepening energy crisis makes no sense: the world economy is structured in such a way that standing still in energy production is not an option.  In order to satisfy the staggering needs of older industrial powers like the United States along with the voracious thirst of rising powers like China, global energy must grow substantially every year.

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