J. Holcombe - Saying Good-Bye to Fear of the 1918 Flu

Salem News (Oregon), Apr-01-2011

By J. Holcombe for Salem-News.com

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/april012011/1918-flu-jh.php

And as with 9/11, most of what we have been told about the 1918 flu is untrue.

(LONDON) - The fear of pandemics provided the basis on which Bush set up medical martial laws in each state, a huge apparatus intersecting with the military and DHS, and opened the door to the unheard of - military on the ground in the US for a flu.

They are still here, based on Sebelius "extending" the flu until 2012.

We have had a pandemic run-through already.  By now the country's knows the H1N1 pandemic was a dud.  Many even know it was fake. 

The whole thing was so bizarre that the Eu Parliament investigated as did the British Medical journal, condemning ties between the pharmaceutical industry and flu "experts."

A man at the WHO named Osterhaus has been the main person at the WHO saying that pandemics - SARS, Ebola, Avian flu, swine flu -  were going to kill millions.  

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Robert Scheer - Thirty Years of Unleashed Greed

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/thirty_years_of_unleashed_greed_20111026/

Posted on Oct 26, 2011

By Robert Scheer

It is class warfare. But it was begun not by the tear-gassed, rain-soaked protesters asserting their constitutionally guaranteed right of peaceful assembly but rather the financial overlords who control all of the major levers of power in what passes for our democracy. It is they who subverted the American ideal of a nation of stakeholders in control of their economic and political destiny.

Between 1979 and 2007, as the Congressional Budget Office reported this week, the average real income of the top 1 percent grew by an astounding 275 percent. And that is after payment of the taxes that the superrich and their Republican apologists find so onerous.

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EJ Dionne - The Vatican Meets the Occupiers

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_vatican_meets_the_occupiers_20111026/

Posted on Oct 26, 2011

By E.J. Dionne, Jr.

Will we soon see a distinguished-looking older man in long white robes walking among the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators in New York’s Zuccotti Park? Is Pope Benedict XVI joining the protest movement?

Well, yes, and no. Yes, the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issued a strong and thoughtful critique of the global financial system this week that paralleled many of the criticisms of unchecked capitalism that are echoing through lower Manhattan and cities around the world.

The report spoke of “the primacy of being over having” and of “ethics over the economy,” plus “embracing the logic of the global common good.”

In a knock against those who oppose government economic regulation, the council emphasized “the primacy of politics—which is responsible for the common good—over the economy and finance.” It commented favorably on a financial transactions tax and supported an international authority to oversee the global economy.

But Vatican officials were careful to say that their report was not a direct response to the worldwide demonstrations. “It is a coincidence that we share some views,” said Bishop Mario Toso, secretary of the council. “But after all, these are proposals that are based on reasonableness.”

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Henry Giroux - Occupy Wall Street's Battle Against American-Style Authoritarianism

Wednesday 26 October 2011

by: Henry A. Giroux, Truthout | News Analysis

http://www.truth-out.org/occupy-wall-streets-battle-against-american-style-authoritarianism/1319570241

Only a humanity to whom death has become as indifferent as its members, that has itself died, can inflict it administratively on innumerable people.

        -Theodor Adorno

The Occupy Wall Street movement is raising new questions about an emerging form of authoritarianism in the United States, one that threatens the collective survival of vast numbers of people, not through overt physical injury or worse, but through an aggressive assault on social provisions that millions of Americans depend on. For those pondering the meaning of the pedagogical and political challenges being addressed by the protesters, it might be wise to revisit a classic essay by German sociologist and philosopher Theodor Adorno titled "Education After Auschwitz," in which he tries to grapple with the relationship between education and morality in light of the horrors perpetrated in the name of authoritarianism and its industrialization of death.[1]

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AFTAU.ORG - Growing Something out of Nothing

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=15427

Tel Aviv Uuniversity researchers nurture innovative biofuel crops to reduce our carbon footprint

Fears of global warming and its impact on our environment have left scientists scrambling to decrease levels of atmospheric carbon we humans produce. Now, Tel Aviv Universityresearchers are doing their part to reduce humanity's carbon footprint by successfully growing forests in the most unlikely place — deep in Israel's Aravah Desert.

With environmental "extras" such as a local plant species, recycled sewage water unsuitable for agriculture, and arid lands unusable for crops, a group of researchers including Profs. Amram Eshel and Aviah Zilberstein of TAU's Department of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plants at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciencesand the university's new Renewable Energy Center have discovered a winning combination.

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LEF.ORG - Vitamins and Minerals Lower Risk of Mortality - Study Confirms

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=11800&Section=Vitamins

10-26-11

PRNewswire

ORANGE, Calif., Oct. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine entitled "Dietary Supplements and Mortality Rate in Older Women," it was found that Vitamin B complex was associated with a 7 percent reduction in mortality, Vitamin C was associated with a 4 percent reduction in mortality, Vitamin D was associated with an 8 percent reduction in mortality, and Magnesium was associated with a 3 percent reduction in mortality, with a similar reduction rate associated with Selenium and Zinc.

According to Robert G. Smith, Research Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Neuroscience, and member of the Institute for Neurological Sciences, "This study showed a benefit from taking B-complex, C, D, and E vitamins, and calcium and magnesium. Therefore, if those wanting better health would take appropriate doses of supplements regularly, they would likely continue to achieve better health and longer life."

Professor Smith adds that "iron and copper supplements, which are known to be potentially inflammatory and toxic when taken by older people, because they tend to accumulate in the body, should not be generalized to imply that all vitamin and nutrient supplements are harmful."

Noting that vitamins and minerals work with each other, Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, magnesium expert and medical director of the nonprofit Nutritional Magnesium Association, says, "Most people can benefit from magnesium supplementation because this vital mineral is sorely lacking in our standard American diet. Over 75 percent of Americans don't get their recommended daily allowance of this multi-tasking mineral. Additionally, many people may not be getting the full benefits from vitamin D without also supplementing their diets with magnesium, which is a vital nutrient that works synergistically with vitamin D.

"Adequate levels of magnesium in the body are essential for the absorption and metabolism of calcium as well," Dr. Dean states. "Magnesium converts vitamin D into its active form so that it can help calcium absorption. Magnesium stimulates a particular hormone, calcitonin, which helps to preserve bone structure and draws calcium out of the blood and soft tissues back into the bones, which can help prevent osteoporosis, some forms of arthritis and kidney stones."

The National Institutes of Health says, "Magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps bones strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. There is an increased interest in the role of magnesium in preventing and managing disorders such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes." Inadequate magnesium intake has also been associated with cancer, asthma, allergies, arthritis, osteoporosis, kidney stones, migraine headaches, menstrual cramps, PMS, cramps, and other conditions as well.

Safety Record of Dietary Supplements

A new analysis of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' annual report data indicates that there have, in fact, been no deaths whatsoever from vitamins - none at all - in the 27 years that such reports have been available, according to Jagan N. Vaman, MD.

Andrew W. Saul, PhD, in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine states, "Vitamin therapy is tens of thousands of times safer than drug therapy."

According to a 2010 study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control, in 2008 prescription painkillers like oxycodone and hydrocodone, the main ingredients in Oxycontin and Vicodin, landed 305,885 Americans in emergency rooms - more than double the 144,644 visits in 2004.

According to ABC News, drugs are now causing more deaths than motor vehicle accidents. Dr. Leonard Paulozzi, medical epidemiologist at the CDC's division of unintentional injury prevention, said prescription drugs were driving up the death toll.

"There has been a dramatic increase in use of prescription drugs as physicians have become more liberal in prescribing them," said Paulozzi, adding that the bulk of drug-related deaths stems from accidental opioid painkiller overdoses.

LEF.ORG" - Seven ways to stay healthy at work: What you need to know so you don't catch your co-worker's cold

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=11801&Section=Nutrition

10-26-11  Chicago Tribune

While it might feel like summer, cold and flu season are just around the corner. Stocking up on vitamins may seem like the smart thing to do, but are your wellness methods up to date? We asked Dr. Yael Halaas, an ear, nose and throat doctor based in New York City, to clarify fact and fiction when it comes to fending off those co-worker cooties.

"We can't get rid of the common cold entirely, but there are ways to shorten its duration," Halaas said.

Here are Halaas' tips for staying healthy.

Think zinc. Rather than grabbing the vitamin C or echinacea, Halaas said zinc is a more proven way to fight germs.

"Studies show that zinc, particularly zinc gluconate, will shorten the duration (of a cold) by about 42 percent," Halaas said.

Halaas recommends you take it by mouth. She said you can get zinc from oysters, but if those aren't handy, there are many forms available over the counter.

"Just be sure it says 'zinc gluconate' on the packaging and not just 'zinc,' " she said.

Treat it right. Halaas said that people often confuse allergies for a cold and mistreat their symptoms.

"Antihistamines are for allergies, not for congestion from a cold," Halaas said. "When fall comes around people start to sniffle, they often take the antihistamines thinking it's just an allergy kicking in but those which won't help with cold congestion. You need a decongestant that contains pseudoephedrine, but be cautious taking these if you have high blood pressure."

Eat yogurt. "Some recent data says that probiotics can help keep you well," she said. "Probiotics interfere with toxin and cell-binding sites, which prevents germs from invading the GI tract as much."

Buy a humidifier. "One of the reasons we don't get as many colds in the summer is because hot, humid air bogs down the transmission of the virus," she said. "The humidifier will moisten the membranes and loosen the mucus. It's soothing."

Flush your nose with saline solution. An over-the-counter saline spray can help, Halaas said. "This is good for cleaning out and moving things around," she said. "But don't get nasal (decongestant) spray. Your nose can get addicted to those. You want to be flushing things out, not medicating. You can also use a neti pot, which are available at most pharmacies."

Bring in chicken soup for lunch. As cliched as this may sound, Halaas said there is some truth to grandma's old standby. "There has been some evidence that chicken soup does help boost part of the immune system," she said. "Plus it has some protein and it's soothing to eat."

Be happy. "Studies have shown that having a positive attitude will help you stay well," she said. "If you have good stress release mechanisms, this will help tremendously."

"Progressive Radio Network Host Glen Ford, Black Agenda Radio, Mondays @ 4pm(EDT) - Occupy Wall Street: What You Can Demand versus What You Must DO

by BAR executive editor Glen Ford

Occupy Wall Street activists are under some pressures to come up with demands to make of the powerful. However, “in many cases, there is no point in demanding anything from your enemy, except that he drop dead in a hurry.” If Wall Street is an unadulterated evil as many OWS folks claim – and they are right – then what is to be demanded of the banksters and their friends? That they commit suicide, forthwith? And how do you reform a cancer away? “Well before 1999, Wall Street power had passed the point where it could be controlled by conventional regulation.”

“What does a movement of the 99% versus the 1% mean by democracy, when measured against the privileges of money?”

If the signage at the Wall Street occupation site and its thousands of satellites around the country tells the tale, the dominant sentiment in the nascent movement is that finance capital be ejected from the commanding heights of power. True, there are myriad other issues in the churning mix of leaderless people power, but this is the tie that binds, without which centrifugal forces would have hurled the small, founding band of organizers into oblivion. Washington, DC’s Freedom Plaza, the other pole of the occupation force field, was established by significantly older, veteran activists, some of whom have wished Wall Street dead since the days before the bankers murdered and cannibalized (liquidated!) the last Titan of Industry.

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Progressive Radio Host Mitchell J. Rabin, Mondays @ 6pm(EDT) - We Meet at the Crossroads of History

I didn't hear him but I heard that Einstein said that "Time was Nature's way of keeping everything but happening at once..." That is time in its garb as linear, sequential. But there is another sense of time, several as I experience it. Another one is synchronistic, a fine term coined by Dr. Carl G. Jung, to describe a series of events occurring at pretty much one and the same time, or in fairly rapid succession, all of which seem inter-related and inter-connected in some ways that appear to defy probability or ordinary logic, as though everything in the Universe is mysteriously and finely connected in ways that ordinary consciousness cannot fathom on that very same level.

Then there is the idea of multi-dimensionality of time, that it exists with different sensibilities in different, respective dimensions, suggesting the notion of parallel universes. While we're making a God-awful mess of this one, there exists another one, at least a probable one, parallel to this one, into which we could likely hop if we could gather enough metaphysical momentum in one moment.

Of course there's geological time which, according to our subjective experience, seems very slow to us, and then, even if we compare the speed of time to five years ago, it seems now, lightening-quick. How do we account for these different rhythms, feelings and cycles of time? Some Hopi and traditional people live as they have for hundreds of thousands of years, even without running water in a faucet or electricity. Others live in an abstracted, techno-world where Earth is experienced mostly as the cement on a sidewalk.

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HealthDay News - Flu Vaccine Isn't Foolproof

Analysis found it only protected healthy adults 60 percent of the time

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_117946.html (*this news item will not be available after 01/23/2012)

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 

TUESDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- The most widely used flu vaccine in the United States is only about 60 percent effective in healthy adults, new research indicates.

That vaccine is the trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV), which accounts for about 90 percent of flu shots in this country, according to a report in the Oct. 25 issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The less common live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) is 83 percent protective in children aged 7 and younger, but it's not recommended for everyone in this age group.

The findings are in line with other recent reviews and don't mean that people shouldn't get their annual flu shot, said Dr. Joseph Bresee, chief of the epidemiology and prevention branch in the influenza division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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