"Science Daily" - Omega-3 Fatty Acids Shown to Prevent or Slow Progression of Osteoarthritis

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111017111600.htm

ScienceDaily (Oct. 17, 2011) — New research has shown for the first time that omega-3 in fish oil could "substantially and significantly" reduce the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis.

According to the University of Bristol study, funded by Arthritis Research UK and published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, omega-3-rich diets fed to guinea pigs, which naturally develop osteoarthritis, reduced disease by 50 per cent compared to a standard diet.

The research is a major step forward in showing that omega-3 fatty acids, either sourced from fish oil or flax oil, may help to slow down the progression of osteoarthritis, or even prevent it occurring, confirming anecdotal reports and "old wives' tales" about the benefits of fish oil for joint health.

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“Steven Jonas” - The Coming Second Civil War in the United States, Will We be Enslaved by Corporate Governance?

October 17, 2011

By Steven Jonas

History never repeats itself exactly. But it makes some pretty decent copies. As I write this we are winding down to the end of the so-called "debt-limit crisis," or the possible end, or the continuation of it, or what have you. Of course what is going on is not really about the debt-limit. It is about the future of the federal government in the United States and its appropriate role. As I wrote in my BuzzFlash@Truthout Commentary on Grover Norquist's wet dream (http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/12601 [1]), his 25-year campaign is focused only at the secondary level on taxation. It is primarily about his stated goal of "shrinking the federal government to the size of a bathtub and then drowning it in the bathtub," or as he used to more simply state it: "starve the beast."

The "beast" for Norquist is of course not the whole of federal functions. His "beast to be starved" does not include the support of the military-industrial complex, the so-called "drug war" and its off-spring the prison-industrial complex, financial support of the investment and banking industries when needed, and the subsidies for the extractive industries and corporate farming. It is, rather, national domestic spending on support of the elderly, the health care delivery system, education, infra-structure, and at the top of his enemies list, environmental and financial regulation.

This is what the current struggle is about. The GOP and its wholly-owned and most convenient subsidiary/front organization the "Tea Party," serving solely the interest of their single master, the corporate power (a tiny oligarchy, leading their mass support by a clever combination of racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, and political religiosity), are simply using the current so-called "debt crisis" as a means to force down the throat of the nation its view of what the Federal government should and should not be doing which it would be extremely unlikely to achieve through the legislative process. Of course no one over there ever reads the statement of purpose of the US Constitution, the Preamble. But that's another story (see my BF Commentary on it at http://blog.buzzflash.com/jonas/185 [2]).

Of course President Obama, if he were an old-line Democratic President like FDR, or Harry Truman, or JFK, or LBJ before he was swallowed up his perceived need to polish his "anti-Communist" credentials and expand the War on Vietnam, or even if he were Dwight David Eisenhower, who firmly believed that the New Deal was settled policy and need only to be buffed around the edges, would have made the issue very plain, would have clearly laid it before the nation, would have said something like:

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“Eugene Elander” - That New Bank Debit Card Fee Is Probably Worse than You Think!

http://www.opednews.com/articles/That-New-Bank-Debit-Card-F-by-Eugene-Elander-111017-336.html

October 17, 2011

By Eugene Elander

That new bank debit card fee is  probably worse than you think, judging from a letter I finally received by regular mail, in a torn undersize envelope, from Wells Fargo Bank's "ATM Executive Office", after weeks of emailing top Wells Fargo executives, including CEO John G. Stumpf, to protest the bank's attempt to get around the will of Congress by imposing an atrocious new fee to replace some which were banned.

Wells Fargo seems to hide away that new fee in tiny type on the last page of our bank statements -- the page nobody bothers to read, as Wells Fargo is probably well aware.    And, from the copies of account statements sent with the Wells Fargo letter, it is clear that their new so-called Monthly Debit Card Activity Fee is far worse than it seemed originally -- as this fee applies not only to making one-time purchases on a WF debit card, but also "for purchases or payments(including recurring payments)".  It will thus be very hard to avoid.

Any payments for which one previously subscribed by using a debit card number (ex.: routine bills for utilities, monthly credit card payments, and similar common items) will automatically incur this new, unwarranted, excessive, and abusive ultra vires Monthly Debit Card Activity Fee!   That is why it is called an ACTIVITY FEE rather than merely a PURCHASE FEE!   And it takes a $25,000 banking relationship With Wells Fargo to avoid the fee, so while heavy hitters are likely to escape, we average customers will be saddled with this extra charge.

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"Thomas Ferguson" - Congressional Leadership Positions for Sale to the Highest Bidder

By Thomas Ferguson, The Washington Spectator

Posted on October 17, 2011, Printed on October 18, 2011
http://www.washingtonspectator.org/articles/20111015postedprices.cfm

Under the new rules for the 2008 election cycle, the DCCC [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee] asked rank-and-file members to contribute $125,000 in dues and to raise an additional $75,000 for the party. Subcommittee chairpersons must contribute $150,000 in dues and raise an additional $100,000. Members who sit on the most powerful committees … must contribute $200,000 and raise an additional $250,000. Subcommittee chairs on power committees and committee chairs of non-power committees must contribute $250,000 and raise $250,000. The five chairs of the power committees must contribute $500,000 and raise an additional $1 million. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip James Clyburn, and Democratic Caucus Chair Rahm Emanuel must contribute $800,000 and raise $2.5 million. The four Democrats who serve as part of the extended leadership must contribute $450,000 and raise $500,000, and the nine Chief Deputy Whips must contribute $300,000 and raise $500,000. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi must contribute a staggering $800,000 and raise an additional $25 million. 

—Marian Currinder, Money in the House (2008)

THE YEAR IS 1909. The U.S. income distribution is about as lopsided as it is today. J. P. Morgan is fine-tuning a tariff bill by telegraph from his yacht. Morgan and his fellow robber barons have for years reliably tied Congress up in knots whenever anyone proposes regulating trusts, railroad rates, financial speculation, or labor disputes. A notoriously corrupt ring of U.S. senators, the so-called "Millionaires Club," is on hand to bury in committee any measures that the corporate titans frown upon.

Fast-forward to 2011. Being a millionaire in Congress is nothing special — just about half of all members are one. The legislative process works less operatically, but the result is pretty much the same: legislative gridlock punctuated by occasional blatant special-interest legislation. Banks are rescued; the unemployed are left to their own devices. The housing market is left in free fall, with the bailed-out banks mostly still left to call the tune on foreclosures.

As national income stagnates, financiers submerge financial reforms and derivatives regulation under waves of campaign contributions. Meanwhile, a vast array of interested firms and investors dispatch armies of lobbyists to stymie Congressional action on climate change, block the government from bargaining down prices of drugs paid for by federal health programs, and keep tax increases forever off the national agenda.

We watch the news to see if Congressional stalemates over deficits will lead to a government default that would throw world financial markets into turmoil or force draconian, across-the-board budget cuts at Thanksgiving time. But while we hold our breath, popular discussions about Congress have taken a curious turn. Pundits talk nostalgically about the good old days, when representatives from the two parties regularly played golf together and compromised their differences in the name of the larger national interest. Today such outcomes are said to be impossible. But why, exactly?

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“Terra Daily” - Examining the impact of green politics on recent national elections

Terra Daily

Stanford CA (SPX) Oct 17, 2011

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Examining_the_impact_of_green_politics_on_recent_national_elections_999.html

A political candidate's electoral victory or defeat is influenced by his or her stance on climate change policy, according to new Stanford University studies of the most recent presidential and congressional elections.

"These studies are a coordinated effort looking at whether candidates' statements on climate change translated into real votes," said Jon Krosnick, professor of communication and of political science at Stanford, who led two new studies - one of the 2008 presidential election and one of the 2010 congressional elections.

"All this suggests that votes can be gained by taking 'green' positions on climate change and votes will be lost by taking 'not-green' positions."

The findings are consistent with Krosnick's previous research on voters' preferences in a hypothetical election.

Taken together, the studies make a strong case that for candidates of any party, saying climate change is real and supporting policies aimed at tackling the issue is a good way to woo voters, said Krosnick, a senior fellow, by courtesy, at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

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“Terra Daily” - Severe drought, other changes can cause permanent ecosystem disruption

Terra Daily

Corvallis, OR (SPX) Oct 17, 2011

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Severe_drought_other_changes_can_cause_permanent_ecosystem_disruption_999.html

An eight-year study has concluded that increasingly frequent and severe drought, dropping water tables and dried-up springs have pushed some aquatic desert ecosystems into "catastrophic regime change," from which many species will not recover.

The findings, just published in the journal Freshwater Biology, raise concerns that climate change, over-pumping of aquifers for urban water use, and land management may permanently affect which species can survive. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation.

"Populations that have persisted for hundreds or thousands of years are now dying out," said David Lytle, an associate professor of zoology at Oregon State University. "Springs that used to be permanent are drying up. Streams that used to be perennial are now intermittent. And species that used to rise and fall in their populations are now disappearing."

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"Lucas Hixson" - Japan Contamination Maps: Radiation is Spreading....

By Lucas W Hixson
Global Research, October 14, 2011
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=27082
Seven months after a triple meltdown at the coastal nuclear plant, as Japan is still trying to get a sense of the radioactive fallout, regulators, operators, and investors in the nuclear industry face the toughest daily battle in 30 years.  Numerous hot spots well outside the 20 km exclusion zone keep popping up. Elevated levels of radioactive cesium have been recently found more than 240 kilometers from the plant.  Concerned residents who doubt the accuracy of the government’s monitoring now perform their own tests. Japans Citizen/Patriots Show Contamination Problems Accumulating Recently updated contamination maps provided to Japanese citizens have shown that the contamination is spreading, but the government and TEPCO are still not releasing analysis of all of the data required to ensure public safety, most notably a full analysis of radioactive isotopes released from the 4 crippled reactor buildings at Fukushima Daiichi. A recent soil sample in Yokohama, analyzed earlier this week near Tokyo, was found to contain strontium-90, an isotope that can accumulate in bones and cause cancer. According to a TBS report, the level of radioactive strontium was 195 becquerels, which is 95 becquerels per kilogram above the government standard.

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“Amnesty International” - Canada urged to arrest and prosecute George W. Bush

By Amnesty International
Global Research, October 14, 2011 http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=27080
Overview Amnesty International today urged Canadian authorities to arrest and either prosecute or extradite former US President George W. Bush for his role in torture, ahead of his expected visit to Canada on 20 October. Canada is required by its international obligations to arrest and prosecute former President Bush given his responsibility for crimes under international law including torture. Amnesty International submitted a memorandum to the Canadian authorities on 21 September 2011 outlining the case for his legal responsibilty. The violations took place during the CIA's secret detention program between 2002 and 2009 – and include torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading-treatment and enforced disappearances. While President, George W. Bush authorized the use of a number of “enhanced interrogation techniques” against detainees held in the secret CIA program. Full Text Amnesty International today urged Canadian authorities to arrest and either prosecute or extradite former US President George W. Bush for his role in torture, ahead of his expected visit to Canada on 20 October. “Canada is required by its international obligations to arrest and prosecute former President Bush given his responsibility for crimes under international law including torture,” said Susan Lee, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

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“David Fogarty” - Plants take in more CO2 than thought, study finds

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/28/us-carbon-plants-idUSTRE78R43E20110928

By David Fogarty, Reuters   

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Scientists might be able to predict climate change with more accuracy after discovering that plants consume carbon dioxide 25 percent faster than previously thought.

The finding, by an international team of researchers, could help refine efforts to fight global warming just at a time when U.N. talks are struggling to agree on a broader climate pact that will be the focus of a major meeting in December in South Africa.

Scientists say climate change will cause more extreme droughts and floods and rising sea levels and that nations must curb carbon pollution blamed for heating up the globe. Better and more accurate climate science can help change energy policies.

Lisa Welp-Smith of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, California, and her team came up with a new method for measuring how much CO2 is absorbed and released by plants.

The team used oxygen isotope markers in CO2 and more than 30 years of data from a global network that analyses air samples to measure changes in greenhouse gases, pollution and other factors.

"What this (finding) means is that plants are working faster than we thought they did," said Colin Allison, an atmospheric chemist and one of the study's authors, told Reuters from Australia.

The study was published on Thursday in the journal Nature.

CARBON CYCLE

Plants form a major part of the global carbon cycle in which carbon is continuously recycled and reused by plants and animals, the oceans and land. Carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels and burning forests adds to the CO2 in the air, disrupting the balance that keeps the planet warm.

The team's finding suggests plants absorb 16 to 19 times mankind's total CO2 emissions, underscoring the powerful role they can play in regulating the climate.

Welp-Smith and Allison said it was too early to say how the new finding would affect climate change projections, in which supercomputer programs model how the climate will change.

"If we are right, and GPP needs to be revised upward by about 25 percent, it means that our fundamental understanding of how land plants function on the global scale is still a bit fluid," Welp-Smith told Reuters in an email, referring to gross primary production, a measure of photosynthesis.

But she cautioned that it doesn't mean more carbon is being locked away by plants. "It means more CO2 is passing through plants, not that it actually stays there very long."

Allison, of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Melbourne, said the study gives a better estimate of what's really happening in the atmosphere.

"It's still too early to tell what the final impact of this will be on estimates of future climate change. But by tying this down, it means that from now we will have a better constraint that might modify our understanding of what those future impacts could be."

“Michael Busch” - Links Between Climate Change and Increased Social Unrest Unacknowledged

Friday 14 October 2011

by: Michael Busch, Truthout | Interview

http://www.truth-out.org/climate-change-often-unacknowledged-contributor-increased-violence-and-authoritarianism/1318276701

In many respects, 2011 has been marked as much by the mayhem of nature as it has by the upheavals of men. Although challenges to political authority have captured the imaginations of millions and produced exciting tremors of revolution across the continents, Mother Nature's increasingly ferocious response to the heavy environmental footprint of industrial production will likely be judged the most profound source of social change around the world in the years to come.

From the Japanese tsunami, which triggered the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl, and the extreme drought that currently threatens the lives of millions in the Eastern Horn of Africa to the wildfires, hurricanes and periodic flooding that have decimated both coasts of the richest country in the world, anthropogenic climate change is increasingly - and undeniably - at the core of politics and society everywhere in the world.

"Tropic of Chaos," Christian Parenti's excellent new book examining the intersections among climate change, neoliberal economic policy and the spread of political violence, argues that the convergence of these threats to international security has set our world along a course that will result in a broken planet characterized by catastrophe, conflict and xenophobic distrust. That is, unless meaningful action is taken immediately to reorient international relations away from this disastrous trajectory.

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