tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68063074115029902122024-03-13T10:58:45.625-07:00True Health Is True Wealth!!True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.comBlogger1516125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-62800113012419358312015-03-19T23:50:00.001-07:002015-03-19T23:58:56.226-07:00Natural Cancer Cure? Man Cures Himself Then Thrown In Jail (YOU CAN'T CALL IT A CURE)<p> <p align="center"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WvKQrATZ6bU" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen></iframe> <p align="center"><font size="2"><strong>Video:</strong> </font><a href="https://youtu.be/WvKQrATZ6bU"><font size="2"><strong>Natural Cancer Cure? Man Cures Himself Then Thrown In Jail ( YOU CAN'T CALL IT A CURE )</strong></font></a></p> <h4 align="center"><u><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2015/01/beating-odds-part-one.html"><font size="2">Beating the Odds - Part One</font></a></u></h4> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-49085402399384997772015-03-18T21:54:00.001-07:002015-03-19T00:47:40.994-07:00Nevada Law Would Make 'Pot for Pets' Legal<p align="center"><sup><font size="3">Medical marijuana is dispensed at the Takoma Wellness Center, Oct. 10, 2014, in Takoma Park, DC.</font></sup></p> <p align="center"><sup><font size="1"> <img border="0" alt="PHOTO: Medical marijuana is dispensed at the Takoma Wellness Center, Oct. 10, 2014, in Takoma Park, DC. " src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/Health/GTY_medical_marijuana_jef_150318_16x9_992.jpg" width="524" height="295"></font></sup></p> <p align="center"><sup><font size="1"><font size="2">Evelyn Hockstein/The Washington Post/Getty Images</font> </font></sup> <p><sup><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/story?id=29730121#"><font size="3">ABC Health News</font></a><font size="3"> - Mar 18, 2015, 1:54 PM ET - By </font><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/author/liz_neporent"><font size="3">LIZ NEPORENT</font></a><font size="3"> – Cross-Posted at </font><a href="https://justonemorepet.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/nevada-law-would-make-pot-for-pets-legal/"><font size="3">Just One More Pet</font></a><font size="3"> (JOMP) and </font><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2015/03/nevada-law-would-make-for-pets-legal.html"><font size="3">True Health Is True Wealth</font></a><font size="3"> (THITW) </font></sup> <p><sup><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/" name="lpos=widget[sharepanel]&link[twitter]"><font size="3"></font></a></sup><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/" name="lpos=widget[sharepanel]&link[twitter]"> <p><sup><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/" name="lpos=widget[sharepanel]&link[twitter]"><font size="3"></font></a><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/" name="lpos=widget[sharepanel]&link[facebook]"></a></sup></a><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/" name="lpos=widget[sharepanel]&link[facebook]"> <p><sup><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/" name="lpos=widget[sharepanel]&link[facebook]"><font size="3"></font></a><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/" name="lpos=widget[sharepanel]&link[plusone]"></a></sup></a><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/" name="lpos=widget[sharepanel]&link[plusone]"> <p><sup><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/" name="lpos=widget[sharepanel]&link[plusone]"><font size="3"></font></a><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/" name="lpos=widget[sharepanel]&link[email]"></a></sup></a><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/" name="lpos=widget[sharepanel]&link[email]"> <p><sup><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nevada-law-make-pot-pets-legal/" name="lpos=widget[sharepanel]&link[email]"></a><font size="3">A new bill introduced in the </font><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/nevada.htm"><font size="3">Nevada</font></a><font size="3"> state legislature earlier this week would allow owners to give their ailing pets medical </font><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/topics/lifestyle/health/marijuana.htm"><font size="3">marijuana</font></a><font size="3">. Many owners across the country said it’s about time, and that “pot for pets” should be legal everywhere. </font></sup></a> <p><sup><font size="3">Becky Flowers, a </font><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/california.htm"><font size="3">California</font></a><font size="3"> ranch owner, said she gave her mare Phoenix regular doses of medical marijuana for several years to help ease the pain of a degenerative joint condition. The horse could barely walk due to extreme swelling in her front legs that traditional and herbal medications didn’t seem to help, Flowers said. </font></sup> <p><sup><font size="3">“She would lay there for days and she wouldn’t eat or drink,” Flowers told ABC News. </font></sup> <p><sup><font size="3" face="Calibri"><font face="Arial">Flowers said she considered having the animal euthanized but decided as a last ditch effort to give her some of marijuana legally prescribed to her husband who is a paraplegic. In less than an hour, the horse was up and moving, Flowers said.</font> </font></sup> <p align="center"><sup><font size="1" face="Calibri"><img style="float: none; margin-left: auto; display: block; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="PHOTO: Becky Flowers gave her horse Phoenix, right, medical marijuana to help ease the pain of a chronic joint condition. " src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/Health/HT_horses_jef_150318_4x3_992.jpg" width="519" height="389"> </font></sup> <p align="center"><sup><font size="1"><font size="2">PHOTO: Becky Flowers gave her horse Phoenix, right, medical marijuana to help ease the pain of a chronic joint condition.</font> </font></sup> <p><sup><font size="3">Flowers began giving Phoenix about a tablespoon of medical marijuana in oil every day, she said, noting that the horse lived largely pain-free for two more years before dying in her late twenties. Since then, Flowers has given marijuana to some of her other horses and has recommended it to other horse owners as well. </font></sup></p> <p><sup><font size="3">Medical marijuana does show some promise for easing the pain and suffering in animals, but veterinarians and owners should proceed with caution, said Dr. Robert Silver, president of the veterinary botanical medical association. </font></sup> <p><sup><font size="3">“There needs to be a lot more research and education taking place before we introduce this to pets,” Silver said, who is a veterinarian in </font><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/colorado.htm"><font size="3">Colorado</font></a><font size="3">, a state where both medical and recreational marijuana are legal for people. </font></sup> <p><sup><a href="http://cdn.theweedblog.com/wp-content/uploads/marijuana-dog1.jpg"><font size="3"><img title="medical marijuana dogs" style="float: right; display: inline" alt="medical marijuana dog" src="http://cdn.theweedblog.com/wp-content/uploads/marijuana-dog1.jpg" width="300" align="right"></font></a><font size="3">Studies show that dogs in particular react differently than humans to THC, one of marijuana’s active ingredients, Silver said. Because they have a high concentration of THC receptors in the back of their brains, they are susceptible to severe neurologic effects and toxic reactions, he added. States where medical or recreational use is legal have seen an increase in canine emergency room admissions associated with the drug, Silver said. </font></sup> <p><sup><font size="3">The American Veterinary Medical Association does not have an official stance on the use of medical marijuana with pets but suggests that vets make treatment decisions based on sound clinical judgment that stay in compliance with the law. They note that even in states where medical marijuana is legal, it is still a Class I narcotic under federal law which means vets are not legally allowed to prescribe it to their patients. </font></sup> <p><sup><font size="3">If passed, the Nevada law would allow animal owners to get marijuana for their pet if a veterinarian certifies the animal has an illness that might be helped by the drug. The proposal is in its earliest stages and faces numerous legislative hurdles before it could become law. It’s part of a larger bill that would refine the state’s existing medical marijuana law by clarifying penalties for drivers under the influence and allowing the resale of marijuana dispensaries. </font></sup> <p><font size="2">**My question is how about <big><strong><a href="https://cbdgum.networkofhemp.com/product-category/category/cbd-for-pets/"><font size="2">Hemp CBD Oil</font></a></strong><font size="2">, verses THC oils or marijuana.<strong> </strong></font></big><big><big><big><small><font size="2">CBD Hemp Oil (HCHO) is obtained from select strains of CBD rich hemp grown legally worldwide. But always consult your veterinarian.</font> </small></big></big></big></font></p> <p><big><big><big><small></small></big></big></big><font size="2">Interestingly, cannabis smoking is associated with a </font><a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/803983"><font size="2">45% reduced risk</font></a><font size="2"> of bladder cancer in humans and a </font><a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19638490"><font size="2">47-62%</font></a><font size="2"> reduced rate of head and neck cancer, regardless of whether or not they had been infected with HPV. And using hemp oils increases the survival success rate of treatments like chemotherapy and radiation by 25%. </font><font size="1"><big><big><big><small>JOMP~</small></big></big></big></font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.theweedblog.com/veterinarian-administers-medical-marijuana-to-dogs-says-it-works-wonders/"><font size="2">Veterinarian Administers Medical Marijuana To Dogs, Says It Works Wonders</font></a></p> <p align="center"><a href="https://justonemorepet.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/more-dogs-and-cats-getting-high-sick-and-fat-in-states-where-marijuana-is-legal/"><font size="2">More Dogs (and Cats) Getting High, Sick and Fat In States Where Marijuana Is Legal</font></a></p> <p align="center"><a href="https://justonemorepet.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/canada-marijuana-growers-use-wild-bears-to-guard-pot/"><font size="2">Canada marijuana growers use wild bears to guard pot</font></a></p> <p><font size="2">Medical marijuana and the positive effects of hemp oil are a great breakthrough, help and blessing for many… humans and animals with a large variety of illnesses, including Cancer. But widespread legal recreational marijuana use, perhaps not so much…</font></p> <h4 align="center"><a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/george-soros-latest-crusade-legalizing-marijuana-in-the-u-s/"><font style="font-weight: normal" size="2">George Soros’ Latest Crusade: Legalizing Marijuana in the U.S.</font></a></h4> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/marijuana/the-harmful-effects.html"><font size="2">THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF MARIJUANA</font></a></p> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-54260921609135358782015-03-14T22:47:00.001-07:002015-03-14T22:56:35.416-07:00Doctors Are Easily Offended…<p>By Marion Algier – <a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/">THITW</a>/<a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2015/03/15/doctors-are-easily-offended/">AskMarion</a></p> <p>I saw this in our local paper and laughed out loud while simultaneously feeling a twinge inside. I just asked my gynecological oncologist a few questions about what I thought was a scary ‘next phase’ of treatment for my Cancer. And after having missed by ‘big” next step appointment because of an emergency, she has not called, emailed or rescheduled my appointment. She had her NP respond to approximately 15 questions I had posed via email, since she missed my appointment, and her response was:</p> <blockquote> <p>It does not matter why your lymph nodes are swollen.</p> <p>If the goal is a cure then you need to have the proposed radiation treatment plan.</p> <p>And perhaps you should get a second opinion, which might help you in your discussion with the (her) hospital radiation oncologist teammate.</p> <p align="center">Saturday 3/14/2015 Pearls Before Swine Comic Strip</p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3DJgJk35DvY/VQUc1JC3IcI/AAAAAAAABzc/FOr_cvAlojc/s1600-h/Doctors%252520Are%252520Easily%252520Offended%25255B4%25255D.gif"><img title="Doctors Are Easily Offended" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Doctors Are Easily Offended" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-DhfKd1lKlTA/VQUc1-Hq4YI/AAAAAAAABzk/My7ei4trm5U/Doctors%252520Are%252520Easily%252520Offended_thumb%25255B2%25255D.gif?imgmax=800" width="521" height="190"></a></p> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-35498833904494062082015-03-10T23:19:00.001-07:002015-03-10T23:22:45.167-07:00America’s Drug Story and the Rockefeller Empire<p align="center"><em></em> <strong>“We Are Living Too Short and Dying Too Long”.</strong> </p> <p align="center">…Dr. Myron Wentz, founder, chairman, and CEO of USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: USNA) and <a href="http://www.sanoviv.com/">Sanoviv Medical Center</a>, honored with the Albert Einstein Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Life Sciences. <h6 align="center"><img alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/static.infowars.com/2012/03/i/general/rocsyringe.jpg" width="530" height="307"> </h6> <h5>By Marion Algier – <a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/">AskMarion</a>/<a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2015/03/americas-drug-story-and-rockefeller.html">THITW</a></h5> <h5 align="center"><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2008/11/drug-story.html"><font size="3"><font style="font-weight: bold">The Drug Story</font></font></a></h5> <p align="center">"The truth about cures without drugs is suppressed, unless it suits the purpose of the censor to garble it. Whether these cures are effected by chiropractors, Naturopaths, Naprapaths, Osteopaths, Faith Healers, Spiritualists, Herbalists, Christian Scientists, or MDs who use the brains they have, you never read about it in the big newspapers." ...Morris A. Bealle <p>In the 30's, <strong>Morris A. Bealle</strong>, a former city editor of the old Washington Times and Herald, was running a county seat newspaper, in which the local power company bought a large advertisement every week. This account took quite a lot of worry off Bealle' s shoulders when the bills came due. But according to Bealle's own story, one day the paper took up the cudgels for some of its readers that were being given poor service from the power company, and Morris Bealle received the dressing down of his life from the advertising agency which handled the power company' s account. They told him that any more such 'stepping out of line' would result in the immediate cancellation not only of the advertising contract, but also of the gas company and the telephone company. <p>That' s when Bealle' s eyes were opened to the meaning of a 'free press', and he decided to get out of the newspaper business. He could afford to do that because he belonged to the landed gentry of Maryland, but not all newspaper editors are that lucky. <p>Bealle used his professional experience to do some deep digging into the freedom-of-the-press situation and came up with two shattering exposes - <i>The Drug Story</i>, and <i>The House of Rockefeller</i>. The fact that in spite of his familiarity with the editorial world and many important personal contacts he couldn't get his revelations into print until he founded his own company, The Columbia Publishing House, Washington D.C., in 1949, was just a prime example of the silent but adamant censorship in force in 'the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave'. Although <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1258497662?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1258497662&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">The Drug Story</a> is one of the most important books on health and politics ever to appear in the USA, it has never been admitted to a major bookstore nor reviewed by any establishment paper, and was sold exclusively by mail until the 1970s, when we first got to read it. But nevertheless, it was already in its 33rd printing, under a different label - Biworld Publishers, Orem, Utah. <p>As Bealle pointed out, a business which makes 6% on its invested capital is considered a sound money maker. Sterling Drug, Inc., the main cog and largest holding company in <a href="http://educate-yourself.org/ga/RFcontents.shtml">the Rockefeller Drug Empire and its 68 subsidiaries</a>, showed operating profits in 1961 of $23,463,719 after taxes, on net assets of $43,108,106 - a <strong>54% profit</strong>. Squibb, another Rockefeller controlled company, in 1945 made not 6% but <strong>576%</strong> on the actual value of its property. <p>That was during the luscious war years when the Army Surgeon General's Office and the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery were not only acting as promoters for the Drug Trust, but were actually forcing drug trust poisons into the blood streams of American soldiers, sailors and marines, to the tune of over 200 million 'shots'. Is it any wonder, asked Bealle, that the Rockefellers, and their stooges in the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Public Health Service, the Federal Trade Commission, the Better Business Bureau, the Army Medical Corps, the Navy Bureau of Medicine, and thousands of health officers all over the country, should combine to put out of business all forms of therapy that discourage the use of drugs. <p>'The last annual report of the Rockefeller Foundation', reported Bealle (in the early 1970’s), 'itemizes the gifts [grants] it has made to colleges and public agencies in the past 44 years, and they total somewhat over half a billion dollars. <u>These colleges, of course, teach their students all the drug lore the Rockefeller pharmaceutical houses </u><em>want</em><u> </u><u>taught</u>. Otherwise there would be no more gifts, <u>just as there are no gifts to any of the 30 odd colleges in the United States that don't use therapies based on drugs</u>. <p>'Harvard, with its well publicized medical school, has received $8,764,433 of Rockefeller's Drug Trust money, Yale got $7 ,927,800, Johns Hopkins $10,418,531, Washington University in St. Louis $2,842,132, New York's Columbia University $5,424,371, Cornell University $1,709,072, ete., etc.' <p>And while 'giving away' those huge sums to drug propagandizing colleges, the Rockefeller interests were growing to a world-wide web that no one could entirely explore. Already well over 30 years ago it was large enough for Bealle to demonstrate that the Rockefeller interests had created, built up and developed the most far reaching industrial empire ever conceived in the mind of man. Standard Oil was of course the foundation upon which all of the other Rockefeller industries have been built. The story of Old John D., as ruthless an industrial pirate as ever came down the pike, is well known, but is being today conveniently ignored. The keystone of this mammoth industrial empire was the <strong>Chase NationaI Bank</strong>, now renamed the <strong>Chase Manhattan Bank</strong>. <p>Not the least of its holdings are in the drug business. <strong>The Rockefellers own the largest drug manufacturing combine in the world</strong>, and use all of their other interests to bring pressure to increase the sale of drugs. The fact that most of the 12,000 separate drug items on the market are harmful is of no concern to the Drug Trust... <p><a href="http://educate-yourself.org/ga/RF4chap1976.shtml">The Rockefeller Foundation</a> was first set up in 1904 and called the General Education Fund. An organization called the Rockefeller Foundation, ostensibly to supplement the General Education Fund, was formed in 1910 and through long finagling and lots of Rockefeller money got the New York legislature to issue a charter on May 14, 1913. <p>It is therefore not surprising that the House of Rockefeller has had its own 'nominees' planted in all Federal agencies that have to do with health. So the stage was set for the 'education' of the American public, with a view to turning it into a population of drug and medico dependents, with the early help of the parents and the schools, then with direct advertising and, last but not least, the influence the advertising revenues had on the media makers. <p>A compilation of the magazine <i>Advertising Age</i> showed that as far back as 1948 the larger companies in America spent for advertising the sum total of $1,104,224,374, when the dollar was still worth a dollar and not half a zloty. Of this staggering sum the interlocking Rockefeller-Morgan interests (gone over entirely to Rockefeller after Morgan' s death) controlled about 80 percent, and utilized it to manipulate public information on health and drug matters - then and even more recklessly now. <p>'Even the most independent newspapers are dependent on their press associations for their national news,' Bealle pointed out, 'and there is no reason for a news editor to suspect that a story coming over the wires of the Associated Press, the United Press or the International News Service is censored when it concerns health matters. Yet this is what happens constantly.' <p>In fact in the '50s the Drug Trust had one of its directors on the <strong>directorate of the Associated Press</strong>. He was no less than <strong>Arthur Hays Sulzberger</strong>, publisher of the <strong>New York Times</strong> and as such one of the most powerful Associated Press directors. <p>It was thus easy for the Rockefeller Trust to persuade the Associated Press Science Editor to adopt a policy which would not permit any medical news to clear that is not approved by the Drug Trust 'expert', and this censor is not going to approve any item that can in any way hurt the sale of drugs. <p>This accounts to this day for the many fake stories of serums and medical cures and just-around-the-corner breakthrough victories over cancer, AIDS, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, which go out brazenly over the wires to all daily newspapers in America and abroad. <p>Emanuel M. Josephson, M.D., whom the Drug Trust has been unable to intimidate despite many attempts, pointed out that the <strong>National Association of Science Writers</strong> was 'persuaded' to <strong>adopt as part of its code of ethics</strong> the following chestnut: <strong>'Science editors are incapable of judging the facts of phenomena involved in medical and scientific discovery. Therefore, they only report 'discoveries' approved by medical authorities, or those presented before a body of scientific peers.'</strong> <p>This explains why Bantam Books, America's biggest publisher, made a colossal mistake in its initial enthusiasm and optimism sending review copies of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0961001607?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0961001607&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENT</a> to the 3,500 'science writers' on its list, instead of addressing them to the literary book reviewers who are not subject to medical censorship. One single censor decreed NO and SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENT sank in silence. <p>Thus newspapers continue to be fed with propaganda about drugs and their alleged value, although according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 1.5 million people landed in hospitals in 1978 because of medication side effects in the U.S. alone, and despite recurrent statements by intelligent and courageous medical men that most pharmaceutical items on sale are useless at best, but more often harmful or deadly in the long run. <p>The truth about cures without drugs is suppressed, unless it suits the purpose of the censor to garble it. Whether these cures are effected by Chiropractors, Naturopaths, Naprapaths, Osteopaths, Faith Healers, Spiritualists, Herbalists, Christian Scientists, or MDs who use the brains they have, you never read about it in the big newspapers. <p>To teach the Rockefeller drug ideology, it is necessary to teach that Nature didn't know what she was doing when she made the human body. But statistics issued by the Children's Bureau of the Federal Security Agency show that since the all-out drive of the Drug Trust for drugging, vaccinating and serumizing the human system, the health of the American nation has sharply declined, especially among children. Children are now given 'shots' for this and 'shots' for that, when the only safeguard known to science is a pure bloodstream, which can be obtained only with clean air and wholesome food. Meaning by natural and inexpensive means. Just what the Drug Trust most objects to. <p>When the FDA, whose officials have to be acceptable to Rockefeller Center before they are appointed, has to put an independent operator out of business, it goes all out to execute those orders. But the orders do not come directly from Standard Oil or a drug house director. As Morris Bealle pointed out, the American Medical Association (AMA) is the front for the Drug Trust, and furnishes the quack doctors to testify that even when they know nothing of the product involved, it is their considered opinion that it has no therapeutic value. <p>Wrote Bealle:</p> <p>'Financed by the taxpayers, these Drug Trust persecutions leave no stone unturned to destroy the victim. If he is a small operator, the resulting attorney's fees and court costs put him out of business. In one case, a Dr. Adolphus Hohensee of Scranton, Pa., who had stated that vitamins (he used natural ones) were vital to good health, was taken to court for 'misbranding' his product. The American Medical Association furnished ten medicos who reversed all known medical theories by testifying that 'vitamins are not necessary to the human body'. Confronted with government bulletins to the contrary, the medicos wiggled out of that one by declaring that these standard publications were outdated!'</p> <p>In addition to the FDA, Bealle listed the following agencies having to do with 'health' - i.e., with the health of the Drug Trust to the detriment of the citizens - as being dependent on Rockefeller: U.S. Public Health Service, U.S. Veterans Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Surgeon General of the Air Force, Army Surgeon General' s Office, Navy Bureau of Medicine & Surgery, National Health Research Institute, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences. <p>The National Academy of Sciences in Washington is considered the all wise body which investigates everything under the sun, especially in the field of health, and gives to a palpitating public the last word in that science. To the important post at the head of this agency, the Drug Trust had one of their own appointed. He was none other than Alfred N. Richards, one of the directors and largest stockholders of Merck & Company, which was making huge profits from its drug traffic. <p>When Bealle revealed this fact, Richards resigned forthwith, and the Rockefellers appointed in his place the President of their own Rockefeller Institution, Detlev W. Bronk. <p>The medico drug cartel was summed up by <strong>J.W Hodge, M.D</strong>., of Niagara Falls, N.Y., in these words: 'The medical monopoly or medical trust, euphemistically called the American Medical Association, is not merely the meanest monopoly ever organized, but the most arrogant, dangerous and despotic organization which ever managed a free people in this or any other age. Any and all methods of healing the sick by means of safe, simple and natural remedies are sure to be assailed and denounced by the arrogant leaders of the AMA doctors' trust as fakes, frauds and humbugs. Every practitioner of the healing art who does not ally himself with the medical trust is denounced as a 'dangerous quack' and impostor by the predatory trust doctors. Every sanitarium who attempts to restore the sick to a state of health by natural means without resort to the knife or poisonous drugs, disease imparting serums, deadly toxins or vaccines, is at once pounced upon by these medical tyrants and fanatics, bitterly denounced, vilified and persecuted to the fullest extent.' <p>The Lincoln Chiropractic College in Indianapolis requires 4,496 hours, the Palmer Institute Chiropractic in Davenport a minimum of 4,000 60 minute classroom hours, the University of Natural Healing Arts in Denver five years of 1,000 hours each to qualify for a degree. The National College of Naprapathy in Chicago requires 4,326 classroom hours for graduation. Yet the medico drug cartel spreads the propaganda that the practitioners of these three 'heretic' sciences are poorly trained or not trained at all - the real reason being that they cure their patients without the use of drugs. In 1958, one of those 'ill trained' doctors, Nicholas P. Grimaldi, who had just graduated from the Lincoln Chiropractic College, took the basic science examination of the Connecticut State Board along with 63 medics and osteopaths. He made the highest mark (91.6) ever made by a doctor taking the Connecticut State Board examination. <p>Rockefeller' s various 'educational' activities had proved so profitable in the U S. that in 1927 the International Educational Board was launched, as Junior' s own, personal charity, and endowed with $21,000,000 for a starter, to be lavished on foreign universities and politicos, with all the usual strings attached. This Board undertook to export the 'new' Rockefeller image as a benefactor of mankind, as well as his business practices. Nobody informed the beneficiaries that every penny the Rockefellers seemed to be throwing out the window would come back, bearing substantial interest, through the front door. <p>Rockefeller had always had a particular interest in China, where Standard Oil was almost the sole supplier of kerosene and oil 'for the lamps of China'. So he put up money to establish the China Medical Board and to build the Peking Union Medical College, playing the role of the Great White Father who has come to dispense knowledge on his lowly children. The Rockefeller Foundation invested up to $45,000,000 into 'westernizing' (read corrupting) Chinese medicine. <p>Medical colleges were instructed that if they wished to benefit from the Rockefeller largesse they had better convince 500 million Chinese to throw into the ashcan the safe and useful but inexpensive herbal remedies of their barefoot doctors, which had withstood the test of centuries, in favor of the expensive carcinogenic and teratogenic 'miracle' drugs Made in USA, which had to be replaced constantly with new ones, when the fatal side effects could no longer be concealed; and if they couldn't 'demonstrate' through large-scale animal experiments the effectiveness of their ancient acupuncture, this could not be recognized as having any 'scientific value'. Its millenarian effectiveness proven on human beings was of no concern to the Western wizards. <p>But when the Communists came to power in China and it was no longer possible to trade, the Rockefellers suddenly lost interest in the health of the Chinese people and shifted their attention increasingly to Japan, India and Latin America. <p>'No candid study of his career can lead to other conclusion than that he is victim of perhaps the ugliest of all passions, that for money, money as an end. It is not a pleasant picture.... this money maniac secretly, patiently, eternally plotting how he may add to his wealth.... He has turned commerce to war, and honey-combed it with cruel and corrupt practices.... And he calls his great organization a <em>benefaction</em>, and points to his church-going and charities as proof of his righteousness. This is supreme wrong-doing cloaked by religion. There is but one name for it - hypocrisy. ' <p>This was the description Ida Tarbell made of John D. Rockefeller in her 'History of the Standard Oil Company', serialized in 1905 in the widely circulated McClure's Magazine. And that was several years before the 'Ludlow Massacre', so JDR was as yet far from having reached the apex of his disrepute. But after World War II it would have been hard to read, in America or abroad, a single criticism of JDR, nor of Junior, who had followed in his father' s footsteps, nor of Junior' s four sons who all endeavored to emulate their illustrious forbears. Today's various encyclopedias extant in public libraries of the Western world have nothing but praise for the Family. How was this achieved? <p>Ironically, the two apparently most NEGATIVE events in the career of JDR brought about a huge POSITIVE change in his favor, to a degree that he himself could not foresee. To wit: <p>In the year when according to the current Encyclopedia Britanica (long become a Rockefeller property and transferred from Oxford to Chicago), Rockefeller had 'retired from active business', namely in 1911, he had been convicted by a U.S. court of illegal practices and ordered to dissolve the Standard Oil Trust, which comprised 40 corporations. This imposed dissolution was to provide his Empire with added might, to a degree that was unprecedented in the history of modem business. Until then, the Trust had existed for all to see - an exposed target. After that, it went underground, and thereby its power was cloaked in security, and could keep expanding unseen and therefore unopposed. <p><strong>The Ludlow Massacre</strong> <p>The second apparently negative experience was a certain 1914 event that persuaded JDR, until then utterly contemptuous of public opinion, to gloss over his own image. <p>The United Mine Workers had asked for higher wages and better living conditions for the miners of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, one of the many Rockefeller owned companies. <p>The miners - mostly immigrants from Europe's poorest countries - lived in shacks provided by the company at exorbitant rent. Their low wages ($1.68 a day) were <strong>paid in</strong> <strong>script</strong> redeemable <strong>only at company stores</strong> charging high prices. The churches they attended were the pastorates of company-hired ministers; their children were taught in company-controlled schools; the company libraries excluded books that the Bible-thumping Rockefellers deemed 'subversive', such as 'Darwin's Origin of the Species.' The company maintained a force of detectives, mine guards, and spies whose job it was to keep the camp quarantined from the danger of unionization. <p>When the miners struck, JDR, Jr., then officially in command of the company, and his father's hatchet man, the Baptist <strong>Reverend Frederick T. Gates</strong>, who was a director of the Rockefeller Foundation, refused even to negotiate. They evicted the strikers from the company-owned shacks, hired a thousand strike-breakers from the Baldwin-Felts detective agency, and persuaded Governor Ammons to call out the <strong>National Guard</strong> to help break the strike. <p>Open warfare resulted. Guardsmen, miners, their women and children, who since their eviction <strong>were camping in tents</strong>, were ruthlessly killed, until the frightened Governor wired President Wilson for Federal Troops, who eventually crushed the strike, The New York Times, which then already could never be accused of being unfriendly to the Rockefeller interests, reported on April 21, 1914. <p>'A <strong>14 hour battle</strong> between striking coal miners and members of the Colorado National Guard in the Ludlow district today culminated in the killing of Louis Tikas, leader of the Greek strikers, and the destruction of the Ludlow tent colony by fire.' <p> And the following day. <p><strong>'Forty five dead (32 of them women and children)</strong>, a score missing and more than a score wounded is the known result of the 14 hour battle which raged between state troops and coal miners in the Ludlow district, on the property of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, the Rockefeller holding. The Ludlow is a mass of charred debris, and buried beneath it is a story of horror unparalleled in the history of industrial warfare. In the holes that had been dug for their protection against rifle fire, the women and children died like trapped rats as the flames swept over them. One pit uncovered this afternoon disclosed the bodies of ten children and two women.' <p>The worldwide revulsion that followed was such that JDR decided to hire the most talented press agent in the country, Ivy Lee, who got the tough assignment of whitewashing the tycoon' s bloodied image. <p>When Lee learned that the newly organized Rockefeller Foundation had $100 million lying around for promotional purposes without knowing what to do with it, he came with a plan to donate large sums - none less than a million- to well known colleges, hospitals, churches and benevolent organizations. The plan was accepted. So were the millions. And they made headlines all over the world, for in the days of the gold standard and the five cent cigar there was a maxim in every newspaper office that a million dollars was always news. <p>That was the beginning of the cleverly worded medical reports on new 'miracle' drugs and 'just-around-the-corner breakthroughs' planted in the leading news offices and press associations that continue to this day, and the flighty public soon forgot, or forgave, the massacre of foreign immigrants for the dazzling display of generosity and philanthropy financed by the ballooning Rockefeller fortune and going out, with thunderous press fanfare, to various 'worthy' institutions. <p>In the following years, not only newsmen, but whole newspapers were bought, financed or founded with Rockefeller money. So Time Magazine, which Henry Luce started in 1923, had been taken over by J.P. Morgan when the magazine got into financial difficulties. When Morgan died and his financial empire crumbled, the House of Rockefeller wasted no time in taking over this lush editorial plum also, together with its sisters Fortune and Life, and built for them an expensive 14 story home of their own in Rockefeller Center - the Time & Life Building. <p>Rockefeller was also co-owner of Time's 'rival' magazine, Newsweek, which had been established in the early days of the New Deal with money put up by Rockefeller, Vincent Astor, the Harrimann family and other members and allies of the House. <p>For all his innate cynicism, JDR must have been himself surprised to discover how easily the so-called intellectuals could be bought. Indeed, they turned out to be among his best investments. <p>By founding and lavishly endowing his Education Boards at home and abroad, Rockefeller won control not only of the governments and politicos but also of the intellectual and scientific community, starting with the Medical Power - the organization that forms those priests of the New Religion that are the modern medicine men. No Pulitzer or Nobel or any similar prize endowed with money and prestige has ever been awarded to a declared foe of the Rockefeller system. <p>Henry Luce, officially founder and editor of Time Magazine, but constantly dependent on House advertising, also distinguished himself in his adulation of his sponsors. JDR's son had been responsible for the Ludlow massacre, and an obedient partner in his father' s most unsavory actions. Nonetheless, in 1956 Henry Luce put Junior on the cover of Time, and the feature story, soberly titled 'The Good Man', included hyperbole like this: <p>'It is because John D. Rockefeller Junior's is a life of constructive social giving that he ranks as an authentic American hero, just as certainly as any general who ever won a victory for an American army or any statesman who triumphed in behalf of U.S. diplomacy.' <p>Clearly, Time's editorial board wasn't given the choice to change its tune even after the passing of Junior and Henry Luce, since it remained just as dependent on House of Rockefeller advertising. Thus, when in 1979 one of Junior's sons, Nelson A. Rockefeller died - who had been one of the loudest hawks in the Vietnam and other American wars, and was personally responsible for the massacre of prisoners and hostages at Attica prison - Time said of him in it obituary, without laughing: 'He was driven by a mission to serve, improve and uplift his country.' <p>Perhaps it was all this that Prof. Peter Singer had in mind when telling the judges in Italy that the Rockefeller Foundation was a humanitarian enterprise bent on doing good works. One of their best works seems to be sponsoring Prof. Peter Singer, the world's greatest animal friend and protector who claims that vivisection is indispensable for medical progress and for more than 20 years refuses to mention that legions of medical doctors are of the opposite view. <p>Another interesting revelation in the article of Time was that many years ago already Singer 'was pleasantly surprised when Britanica approached him to distill in about 30,000 words the discipline that is, at its heart, the systematic study of what we ought to do.' So now we touch the subject of sponsorship and patronage. They don't always mean immediate cash but, more important, long-term profits. <p>Many decades ago the Encyclopedia Britannica moved from Oxford to Chicago because Rockefeller had bought it to add much needed luster to the University of Chicago and its medical school, the first one he had founded. Peter Singer, 'the world's greatest animal defender' who keeps a door permanently open to vivisection and the lucrative medical swindle, gets millions of dollars free publicity thanks to the worldwide engagement of the Rockefeller Foundation and the media makers who are in no position to oppose it. <p>From the article in Time we also learned that Singer' s mother had been a medical doctor in the old country, which could mean that little Peter started assimilating all the Rockefeller superstition on vivisection with his mother's milk. <p>Taken from the CIVIS Foundation Report number 15, Fall-Winter 1993 <p>CIVIS: POB 152, Via Motta 51-CH 6900, Massagno/Lugano, Switzerland <p>Originally web posted at: http://www.eurosolve.com/charity/bava/story.htm <p> <h6 align="center"><font size="3"><font style="font-weight: bold"><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2010/12/truth-about-rockefeller-drug-empire.html"><font style="font-weight: bold">THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ROCKEFELLER DRUG EMPIRE</font></a> (Overview)</font></font></h6> <p>(Part II)</p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1258497662?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1258497662&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20"><strong>The Drug Story</strong></a><strong>: By Hans Ruesch, although an older publication is definitely worth a read if you haven’t read it or don’t know the history!)</strong> <p><b>Also, please beware that the Insurance Companies, the Drug Companies and the Progressives in our Government are all Behind ObamaCare!! Ask yourself why you (average Americans) should not be running the other way?!? Whenever the Federal Government and members of the Progressive movement are involved individuals and freedom lose!!</b> <p>As Bealle pointed out, in his piece ‘The Drug Story’ (above), a business which makes 6% on its invested capital is considered a sound money maker. Sterling Drug, Inc., the main cog and largest holding company in the Rockefeller Drug Empire and its 68 subsidiaries, showed operating profits in 1961 of $23,463,719 after taxes, on net assets of $43,108,106 - a 54% profit. Squibb, another Rockefeller-controlled company, in 1945 made not 6% but 576% on the actual value of its property. <blockquote> <p>That was during the luscious war years when the Army Surgeon General's Office and the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery were not only acting as promoters for the Drug Trust, but were actually forcing drug trust poisons into the blood streams of American soldiers, sailors and marines, to the tune of over 200 million 'shots'. Is it any wonder, asked Bealle, that the Rockefellers, and their stooges in the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S.</p></blockquote> <blockquote> <p>Public Health Service, the Federal Trade Commission, the Better Business Bureau, the Army Medical Corps, the Navy Bureau of Medicine, and thousands of health officers all over the country, should combine to put out of business all forms of therapy that discourage the use of drugs.</p></blockquote> <blockquote> <p>"The last annual report of the Rockefeller Foundation", reported Bealle, "itemizes the gifts it has made to colleges and public agencies in the past 44 years, and they total somewhat over half a billion dollars. These colleges, of course, teach their students all the drug lore the Rockefeller pharmaceutical houses want taught. Otherwise there would be no more gifts, just as there are no gifts to any of the 30 odd colleges in the United States that don't use therapies based on drugs.</p></blockquote> <blockquote> <p>"Harvard, with its well-publicized medical school, has received $8,764,433 of Rockefeller's Drug Trust money, Yale got $7 ,927,800, Johns Hopkins $10,418,531, Washington University in St. Louis $2,842,132, New York's Columbia University $5,424,371, Cornell University $1,709,072, etc., etc."</p></blockquote> <blockquote> <p>And while "giving away" those huge sums to drug-propagandizing colleges, the Rockefeller interests were growing to a world-wide web that no one could entirely explore. Already well over 30 years ago it was large enough for Bealle to demonstrate that the Rockefeller interests had created, built up and developed the most far reaching industrial empire ever conceived in the mind of man. Standard Oil was of course the foundation upon which all of the other Rockefeller industries have been built. The story of Old John D., as ruthless an industrial pirate as ever came down the pike, is well known, but is being today conveniently ignored. The keystone of this mammoth industrial empire was the Chase National Bank, now renamed the Chase Manhattan Bank.</p></blockquote> <blockquote> <p>Not the least of its holdings are in the drug business. The Rockefellers own the largest drug manufacturing combine in the world, and use all of their other interests to bring pressure to increase the sale of drugs. <strong>The fact that most of the 12,000 separate drug items on the market are harmful is of no concern to the Drug Trust...</strong></p></blockquote> <p><b>The Rockefeller Foundation</b> <p>The Rockefeller Foundation was first set up in 1904 and called the General Education Fund. An organization called the Rockefeller Foundation, ostensibly to supplement the General Education Fund, was formed in 1910 and through long finagling and lots of Rockefeller money got the New York legislature to issue a charter on May 14, 1913. <p>It is therefore not surprising that the House of Rockefeller has had its own "nominees" planted in all Federal agencies that have to do with health. So the stage was set for the "education" of the American public, with a view to turning it into a population of drug and medico dependents, with the early help of the parents and the schools, then with direct advertising and, last but not least, the influence the advertising revenues had on the media-makers. <p>A compilation of the magazine Advertising Age showed that as far back as 1948 the larger companies in America spent for advertising the sum total of $1,104,224,374, when the dollar was still worth a dollar and not half a zloty. Of this staggering sum the interlocking Rockefeller-Morgan interests (gone over entirely to Rockefeller after Morgan's death) controlled about 80 percent, and utilized it to manipulate public information on health and drug matters - then and even more recklessly now. <p><b>Censorship</b> <p>"Even the most independent newspapers are dependent on their press associations for their national news," Bealle pointed out, "and there is no reason for a news editor to suspect that a story coming over the wires of the Associated Press, the United Press or the International News Service is censored when it concerns health matters. Yet this is what happens constantly." <p>In fact in the 50s the Drug Trust had one of its directors on the directorate of the Associated Press. He was no less than Arthur Hays Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times and as such one of the most powerful Associated Press directors. <p>It was thus easy for the Rockefeller Trust to persuade the Associated Press Science Editor to adopt a policy which would not permit any medical news to clear that is not approved by the Drug Trust "expert", and this censor is not going to approve any item that can in any way hurt the sale of drugs. <p>This accounts to this day for the many fake stories of serums and medical cures and just-around-the-corner breakthrough victories over cancer, AIDS, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, which go out brazenly over the wires to all daily newspapers in America and abroad. <p>Emanuel M. Josephson, M.D., whom the Drug Trust has been unable to intimidate despite many attempts, pointed out that the National Association of Science Writers was "persuaded" to adopt as part of its code of ethics the following chestnut: "Science editors are incapable of judging the facts of phenomena involved in medical and scientific discovery. Therefore, they only report 'discoveries' approved by medical authorities, or those presented before a body of scientific peers." <p>This explains why Bantam Books, America's biggest publisher, made a colossal mistake in its initial enthusiasm and optimism sending review copies of SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENT to the 3,500 "science writers" on its list, instead of addressing them to the literary book reviewers who are not subject to medical censorship. One single censor decreed NO and SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENT sank in silence. <p>Thus newspapers continue to be fed with propaganda about drugs and their alleged value, although according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 1.5 million people landed in hospitals in 1978 because of medication side effects in the U.S. alone, and despite recurrent statements by intelligent and courageous medical men that most pharmaceutical items on sale are useless at best, but more often harmful or deadly in the long run. <p>The truth about cures without drugs is suppressed, unless it suits the purpose of the censor to garble it. Whether these cures are effected by Chiropractors, Naturopaths, Naprapaths, Osteopaths, Faith Healers, Spiritualists, Herbalists, Christian Scientists, or MDs who use the brains they have, you never read about it in the big newspapers. <p><strong>To teach the Rockefeller drug ideology, it is necessary to teach that Nature didn't know what she was doing when she made the human body.</strong> But statistics issued by the Children's Bureau of the Federal Security Agency show that since the all-out drive of the Drug Trust for drugging, vaccinating and serumizing the human system, the health of the American nation has sharply declined, especially among children. Children are now given "shots" for this and "shots" for that, when the only safeguard known to science is a pure bloodstream, which can be obtained only with clean air and wholesome food. Meaning by natural and inexpensive means. Just what the Drug Trust most objects to. <p>When the FDA, whose officials have to be acceptable to Rockefeller Center before they are appointed, has to put an independent operator out of business, it goes all out to execute those orders. But the orders do not come directly from Standard Oil or a drug house director. As Morris Bealle pointed out, the American Medical Association (AMA) is the front for the <a href="http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_industryweapons13.htm">Drug Trust</a>, and furnishes the quack doctors to testify that even when they know nothing of the product involved, it is their considered opinion that it has no therapeutic value. <p><b>Persecution</b> <p>Wrote Bealle: </p> <blockquote> <p>"Financed by the taxpayers, these Drug Trust persecutions leave no stone unturned to destroy the victim. If he is a small operator, the resulting attorney's fees and court costs put him out of business. In one case, a Dr. Adolphus Hohensee of Scranton, Pa., who had stated that vitamins (he used natural ones) were vital to good health, was taken to court for 'misbranding' his product. The American Medical Association furnished ten medicos who reversed all known medical theories by testifying that 'vitamins are not necessary to the human body'. Confronted with government bulletins to the contrary, the medicos wiggled out of that one by declaring that these standard publications were outdated!"</p></blockquote> <p>In addition to the FDA, Bealle listed the following agencies having to do with "health" - i.e., with the health of the Drug Trust to the detriment of the citizens - as being dependent on Rockefeller: U.S. Public Health Service, U.S. Veterans Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Surgeon General of the Air Force, Army Surgeon General's Office, Navy Bureau of Medicine & Surgery, National Health Research Institute, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences. <p>The National Academy of Sciences in Washington is considered the all-wise body which investigates everything under the sun, especially in the field of health, and gives to a palpitating public the last word in that science. To the important post at the head of this agency, the Drug Trust had one of their own appointed. He was none other than Alfred N. Richards, one of the directors and largest stockholders of Merck & Company, which was making huge profits from its drug traffic. <p>When Bealle revealed this fact, Richards resigned forthwith, and the Rockefellers appointed in his place the President of their own Rockefeller Institution, Detlev W. Bronk. <h6><font size="3"><font style="font-weight: bold">America's Medico-Drug Cartel</font></font></h6> <p>The medico-drug cartel was summed up by J.W Hodge, M.D., of Niagara Falls, N.Y., in these words: </p> <blockquote> <p>"The medical monopoly or medical trust, euphemistically called the American Medical Association, is not merely the meanest monopoly ever organized, but the most arrogant, dangerous and despotic organization which ever managed a free people in this or any other age. Any and all methods of healing the sick by means of safe, simple and natural remedies are sure to be assailed and denounced by the arrogant leaders of the AMA doctors' trust as fakes, frauds and humbugs. </p></blockquote> <p>Every practitioner of the healing art who does not ally himself with the medical trust is denounced as a 'dangerous quack' and impostor by the predatory trust doctors. Every sanitarian who attempts to restore the sick to a state of health by natural means without resort to the knife or poisonous drugs, disease imparting serums, deadly toxins or vaccines, is at once pounced upon by these medical tyrants and fanatics, bitterly denounced, vilified and persecuted to the fullest extent." <p>The Lincoln Chiropractic College in Indianapolis requires 4,496 hours, the Palmer Institute Chiropractic in Davenport a minimum of 4,000 60-minute classroom hours, the University of Natural Healing Arts in Denver five years of 1,000 hours each to qualify for a degree. The National College of Nephropathy in Chicago requires 4,326 classroom hours for graduation. Yet the medico-drug cartel spreads the propaganda that the practitioners of these three "heretic" sciences are poorly trained or not trained at all - the real reason being that they cure their patients without the use of drugs. In 1958, one of those "ill-trained" doctors, Nicholas P. Grimaldi, who had just graduated from the Lincoln Chiropractic College, took the basic science examination of the Connecticut State Board along with 63 medics and osteopaths. He made the highest mark (91.6) ever made by a doctor taking the Connecticut State Board examination. <p><b>Colonization</b> <p>Rockefeller's various "educational" activities had proved so profitable in the U S. that in 1927 the International Educational Board was launched, as Junior's own, personal charity, and endowed with $21,000,000 for a starter, to be lavished on foreign universities and politicos, with all the usual strings attached. This Board undertook to export the "new" Rockefeller image as a benefactor of mankind, as well as his business practices. Nobody informed the beneficiaries that every penny the Rockefellers seemed to be throwing out the window would come back, bearing substantial interest, through the front door. <p>Rockefeller had always had a particular interest in China, where Standard Oil was almost the sole supplier of kerosene and oil "for the lamps of China". So he put up money to establish the China Medical Board and to build the Peking Union Medical College, playing the role of the Great White Father who has come to dispense knowledge on his lowly children. The Rockefeller Foundation invested up to $45,000,000 into "westernizing" (read corrupting) Chinese medicine. </p> <p>Medical colleges were instructed that if they wished to benefit from the Rockefeller largesse they had better convince 500 million Chinese to throw into the ashcan the safe and useful but inexpensive herbal remedies of their barefoot doctors, which had withstood the test of centuries, in favor of the expensive carcinogenic and teratogenic "miracle" drugs Made in USA, which had to be replaced constantly with new ones, when the fatal side-effects could no longer be concealed; and if they couldn't "demonstrate" through large- scale animal experiments the effectiveness of their ancient acupuncture, this could not be recognized as having any "scientific value". Its millenarian effectiveness proven on human beings was of no concern to the Western wizards. </p> <p>But when the Communists came to power in China and it was no longer possible to trade, the Rockefellers suddenly lost interest in the health of the Chinese people and shifted their attention increasingly to Japan, India and Latin America. <p><b>The Image</b> <p>"No candid study of his career can lead to other conclusion than that he is victim of perhaps the ugliest of all passions, that for money, money as an end. It is not a pleasant picture.... this money-maniac secretly, patiently, eternally plotting how he may add to his wealth.... He has turned commerce to war, and honey-combed it with cruel and corrupt practices.... And he calls his great organization a benefaction, and points to his church-going and charities as proof of his righteousness. This is supreme wrong-doing cloaked by religion. There is but one name for it - hypocrisy." <p>This was the description Ida Tarbell made of John D. Rockefeller in her "History of the Standard Oil Company", serialized in 1905 in the widely circulated McClure's Magazine. And that was several years before the "Ludlow Massacre", so JDR was as yet far from having reached the apex of his disrepute. But after World War II it would have been hard to read, in America or abroad, a single criticism of JDR, nor of Junior, who had followed in his father's footsteps, nor of Junior's four sons who all endeavored to emulate their illustrious forbears. Today's various encyclopedias extant in public libraries of the Western world have nothing but praise for the Family. How was this achieved? <p>Ironically, the two apparently most NEGATIVE events in the career of JDR brought about a huge POSITIVE change in his favor, to a degree that he himself could not foresee. To wit: <p>In the year when according to the current Encyclopedia Britannica (long become a Rockefeller property and transferred from Oxford to Chicago), Rockefeller had "retired from active business", namely in 1911, he had been convicted by a U.S. court of illegal practices and ordered to dissolve the Standard Oil Trust, which comprised 40 corporations. This imposed dissolution was to provide his Empire with added might, to a degree that was unprecedented in the history of modem business. Until then, the Trust had existed for all to see - an exposed target. After that, it went underground, and thereby its power was cloaked in security, and could keep expanding unseen and therefore unopposed. <p>The second apparently negative experience was a certain 1914 event that persuaded JDR, until then utterly contemptuous of public opinion, to gloss over his own image. <p><b>"The Ludlow Massacre"</b> <p>The United Mine Workers had asked for higher wages and better living conditions for the miners of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, one of the many Rockefeller-owned companies. <br>The miners - mostly immigrants from Europe's poorest countries - lived in shacks provided by the company at exorbitant rent. Their low wages ($1,68 a day) were paid in script redeemable only at company stores charging high prices. The churches they attended were the pastorates of company-hired ministers; their children were taught in company-controlled schools; the company libraries excluded books that the Bible-thumping Rockefellers deemed "subversive", such as "Darwin's Origin of the Species." The company maintained a force of detectives, mine guards, and spies whose job it was to keep the camp quarantined from the danger of unionization. <p>When the miners struck, JDR, Jr., then officially in command of the company, and his father's hatchet man, the Baptist Reverend Frederick T. Gates, who was a director of the Rockefeller Foundation, refused even to negotiate. They evicted the strikers from the company-owned shacks, hired a thousand strike-breakers from the Baldwin-Felts detective agency, and persuaded Governor Ammons to call out the National Guard to help break the strike. </p> <p>Open warfare resulted. Guardsmen, miners, their women and children, who since their eviction were camping in tents, were ruthlessly killed, until the frightened Governor wired President Wilson for Federal Troops, who eventually crushed the strike, The New York Times, which then already could never be accused of being unfriendly to the Rockefeller interests, reported on April 21, 1914. <br>"A 14-hour battle between striking coal miners and members of the Colorado National Guard in the Ludlow district today culminated in the killing of Louis Tikas, leader of the Greek strikers, and the destruction of the Ludlow tent colony by fire." </p> <p>And the following day: </p> <p>"Forty-five dead (32 of them women and children), a score missing and more than a score wounded is the known result of the 14- hour battle which raged between state troops and coal miners in the Ludlow district, on the property of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, the Rockefeller holding. The Ludlow is a mass of charred debris, and buried beneath it is a story of horror unparalleled in the history of industrial warfare. In the holes that had been dug for their protection against rifle fire, the women and children died like trapped rats as the flames swept over them. One pit uncovered this afternoon disclosed the bodies of ten children and two women." <p><b><font size="3">Thorough Facelift</font></b> <p>The worldwide revulsion that followed was such that JDR decided to hire the most talented press agent in the country, Ivy Lee, who got the tough assignment of whitewashing the tycoon's bloodied image. </p> <p>When Lee learned that the newly organized Rockefeller Foundation had $100 million lying around for promotional purposes without knowing what to do with it, he came with a plan to donate large sums - none less than a million - to well-known colleges, hospitals, churches and benevolent organizations. The plan was accepted. So were the millions. And they made headlines all over the world, for in the days of the gold standard and the five cent cigar there was a maxim in every newspaper office that a million dollars was always news. </p> <p>That was the beginning of the cleverly worded medical reports on new "miracle" drugs and "just-around-the-corner breakthroughs" planted in the leading news offices and press associations that continue to this day, and the flighty public soon forgot, or forgave, the massacre of foreign immigrants for the dazzling display of generosity and philanthropy financed by the ballooning Rockefeller fortune and going out, with thunderous press fanfare, to various "worthy" institutions. <h6><font size="3"><font style="font-weight: bold">The Purchase of Public Opinion</font></font></h6> <p>In the following years, not only newsmen, but whole newspapers were bought, financed or founded with Rockefeller money. So Time Magazine, which Henry Luce started in 1923, had been taken over by J.P. Morgan when the magazine got into financial difficulties. When Morgan died and his financial empire crumbled, the House of Rockefeller wasted no time in taking over this lush editorial plum also, together with its sisters Fortune and Life, and built for them an expensive 14-story home of their own in Rockefeller Center - the Time & Life Building. <p>Rockefeller was also co-owner of Time's "rival" magazine, Newsweek, which had been established in the early days of the New Deal with money put up by Rockefeller, Vincent Astor, the Harrimann family and other members and allies of the House. <p><b>The Intellectuals - A Bargain</b> <p>For all his innate cynicism, JDR must have been himself surprised to discover how easily the so-called intellectuals could be bought. Indeed, they turned out to be among his best investments. <br>By founding and lavishly endowing his Education Boards at home and abroad, Rockefeller won control not only of the governments and politicos but also of the intellectual and scientific community, starting with the Medical Power - the organization that forms those priests of the New Religion that are the modern medicine men. No Pulitzer or Nobel or any similar prize endowed with money and prestige has ever been awarded to a declared foe of the Rockefeller system. <p>Henry Luce, officially founder and editor of Time Magazine, but constantly dependent on House advertising, also distinguished himself in his adulation of his sponsors. JDR's son had been responsible for the Ludlow massacre, and an obedient partner in his father's most unsavory actions. Nonetheless, in 1956 Henry Luce put Junior on the cover of Time, and the feature story, soberly titled "The Good Man", included hyperboles like this: </p> <blockquote> <p>"It is because John D. Rockefeller Junior's is a life of constructive social giving that he ranks as an authentic American hero, just as certainly as any general who ever won a victory for an American army or any statesman who triumphed in behalf of U.S. diplomacy." </p></blockquote> <p>Clearly, Time's editorial board wasn't given the choice to change its tune even after the passing of Junior and Henry Luce, since it remained just as dependent on House of Rockefeller advertising. Thus, when in 1979 one of Junior's sons, Nelson A. Rockefeller died - who had been one of the loudest hawks in the Vietnam and other American wars, and was personally responsible for the massacre of prisoners and hostages at Atticia prison - Time said of him in it obituary, without laughing:</p> <blockquote> <p>"He was driven by a mission to serve, improve and uplift his country." </p> <p>Perhaps it was all this that Prof. Peter Singer had in mind when telling the judges in Italy that the Rockefeller Foundation was a humanitarian enterprise bent on doing good works. One of their best works seems to be sponsoring Prof. Peter Singer, the world's greatest animal friend and protector who claims that vivisection is indispensable for medical progress and for more than 20 years refuses to mention that legions of medical doctors are of the opposite view.</p></blockquote> <p>Compare <a href="http://www.healingcancernaturally.com/why_alternatives12.html">Animal-based toxicity testing of drugs and other chemicals and animal experimentation in cancer research: flawed science costing human lives?</a> <h6><font size="3"><font style="font-weight: bold">Millions of Dollars Free Publicity</font></font></h6> <p>Another interesting revelation in the article of <i>Time</i> was that many years ago already Singer "was pleasantly surprised when Britannica approached him to distill in about 30,000 words the discipline that is, at its heart, the systematic study of what we ought to do." So now we touch the subject of sponsorisation and patronage. They don't always mean immediate cash but, more important, long-term profits. </p> <p>Many decades ago the Encyclopedia Britannica moved from Oxford to Chicago because Rockefeller had bought it to add much needed luster to the University of Chicago and its medical school, the first one he had founded. Peter Singer, "the world's greatest animal defender" who keeps a door permanently open to vivisection and the lucrative medical swindle, gets millions of dollars free publicity thanks to the worldwide engagement of the Rockefeller Foundation and the media-makers who are in no position to oppose it. </p> <p>From the article in Time we also learned that Singer's mother had been a medical doctor in the old country, which could mean that little Peter started assimilating all the Rockefeller superstition on vivisection with his mother's milk.</p> <p>Taken from the CIVIS Foundation Report number 15, Fall-Winter 1993 <br>CIVIS: POB 152, Via Motta 51-CH 6900, Massagno/Lugano, Switzerland <p>Related Articles: <ul> <li><a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/for-the-record-rockefeller-soft-kill-depopulation-plans-exposed/">For The Record: Rockefeller Soft Kill Depopulation Plans Exposed</a> <li><a href="http://www.mercola.com/2000/jul/30/doctors_death.htm">Doctors Are The Third Leading Cause of Death in the US, Causing 250,000 Deaths Every Year</a> <li><a href="http://joshuapundit.blogspot.com/2014/09/breakthrough-have-israelis-developed.html">Breakthrough! Have The Israelis Developed A Cure For Cancer?</a> <li><a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Scientists_cure_cancer__but_no_one_takes_notice">Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice</a> <li><a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/dr-mercola-bill-gates-one-of-the-worlds-most-destructive-do-gooders-plus-monsanto-and-gmo-foods/">Dr Mercola: Bill Gates: One of the World’s Most Destructive Do-Gooders? (Plus: Monsanto and GMO Foods)</a></li></ul> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-49236135128270396342015-03-05T21:46:00.001-08:002015-03-05T21:50:07.915-08:00New WHO guidelines advise lowering sugar intake<p><em>By <a href="https://plus.google.com/100878760580260688055?rel=author">Sally Robertson</a>, BSc - <a href="http://www.news-medical.net/news/20150305/New-WHO-guidelines-advise-lowering-sugar-intake.aspx">Medical News</a></em> <p>New World Health Organization guidelines recommend that people reduce their daily free sugar intake to less than 10% of their total calorie intake, with a reduction to 5% representing a further target. <p>“Making policy changes to support this will be key if countries are to live up to their commitments to reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases,” says Dr Francesco Branca, Director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development. <p><img title="" style="float: none; margin-left: auto; display: block; margin-right: auto" alt="" src="http://www.news-medical.net/image.axd?picture=2015%2f3%2fshutterstock_77491957.jpg" width="510" height="343"> <p><em>Gayvoronskaya_Yana / Shutterstock.com</em> <p>Free sugars are the monosaccharides and disaccharides added to food and drink by manufacturers, cooks or consumers, as well as the sugars that occur naturally in fruit juice or honey, for example. The WHO guideline does not refer to the sugars found in fresh fruit and vegetables or milk, as no evidence exists to suggest that those sugars adversely affect our health. <p>Alison Tedstone, Director of the Diet and Obesity team, Public Health England, says surveys show that the average current daily free sugar intake among adults in the UK accounts for 11.6% of the total calorie intake, while among children it accounts for 15.2%. <p>The recommendation of less than 10% is based on a review of scientific evidence showing that a lower sugar intake among adults is associated with lower body weight and, among children, it is associated with a reduced likelihood of overweight and obesity. Furthermore, the evidence supports that an intake higher than 10% is associated with increased rates of tooth decay. <p>Dr Branca says: <blockquote> <p>We have solid evidence that keeping intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake reduces the risk of overweight, obesity and tooth decay</p></blockquote> <p>The quality of the evidence reviewed means that WHO can rank the recommendation as “strong” and therefore suitable for implementation as policy in most situations. The plans will now be subjected to public consultation, with firm recommendations expected to be put in place this summer and translated into food-based dietary guidelines and public health interventions to reduce sugar intake. Examples of such interventions include a reduction in the marketing of sugary food to children and the introduction of nutrition labeling for food products. <p>However, due to obesity rates rising worldwide, many experts believe that a goal of less than 10% is still too high and campaign group “Action for Sugar” is pressing for 5% to become the new target. Although the WHO now acknowledge that further health benefits can be achieved if the 5% goal is implemented, only three nationwide studies have demonstrated those health benefits. The WHO can therefore only make a “conditional” rather than “strong” recommendation for issuing this 5% goal for implementation. <p>A conditional recommendation refers to one that would probably be beneficial if adhered to but where the associated trade-offs between the desirable and undesirable effects still need to be clarified before the recommendation can be adopted as policy. <p>UK campaigners say it is a "tragedy" that it has taken 10 years for the WHO to think about changing its advice on sugar intake. <p>“We should aim for 5% if we can,” says Branca. <p>The update to the WHO guideline is part of the organization’s efforts to improve current dietary guidelines about preventing non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. The guidelines on sugar intake should be used in combination with other nutrition recommendations and goals, particularly those related to the intake of fats and fatty acids such as trans-fat and saturated fat. <p>Sources:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26449497">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26449497</a> <li><a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/">http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/</a></li></ul> <p>Related:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2010/04/76-dangers-of-sugar.html">The 76 Dangers of Sugar</a></li> <li>Agave: <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/02/Agave-A-Triumph-of-Marketing-over-Truth.aspx">A Triumph of Marketing over Truth</a></li></ul> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-69270054119326261172015-02-26T23:07:00.001-08:002015-02-26T23:07:52.189-08:00FULL BODY TRANSPLANT Dr Sergio Canavero Claims He Can Perform FULL Body Transplant In 2 Years<p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7fzlPdmJ-LI" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p align="center"><font color="#ffc000">Video:</font> <a href="http://youtu.be/7fzlPdmJ-LI">FULL BODY TRANSPLANT Dr Sergio Canavero Claims He Can Perform FULL Body Transplant In 2 Years</a></p> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-83896611591610594152015-02-18T20:34:00.001-08:002015-02-18T20:39:45.445-08:00Ella institute for melanoma - Dr. Gal Markel<p><iframe style="height: 282px; width: 555px" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hnkh6bCn6Io" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p align="center"><font color="#ffc000">Video:</font> <a href="http://youtu.be/Hnkh6bCn6Io">Ella institute for melanoma - Dr. Gal Markel</a></p> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-84838928421109721602015-01-20T17:34:00.001-08:002015-01-20T17:34:17.534-08:00Over 80 percent of Americans support “mandatory labels on foods containing DNA”<p>By <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/ilya-somin">Ilya Somin</a> January 17, 2015 - <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/01/17/over-80-percent-of-americans-support-mandatory-labels-on-foods-containing-dna/">Washington Post</a>:</p> <p>A <a href="http://agecon.okstate.edu/faculty/publications/4975.pdf">recent survey</a> by the Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Economics finds that over 80 percent of Americans support “mandatory labels on foods containing DNA,” about the same number as support mandatory labeling of GMO foods “produced with genetic engineering.” Oklahoma State economist Jayson Lusk has <a href="http://jaysonlusk.com/blog/2015/1/15/food-demand-survey-foods-january-2015">some additional details on the survey</a>. If the government does impose mandatory labeling on foods containing DNA, perhaps the label might look something like this: <blockquote> <p>WARNING: This product contains deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The Surgeon General has determined that DNA is linked to a variety of diseases in both animals and humans. In some configurations, it is a risk factor for cancer and heart disease. Pregnant women are at very high risk of passing on DNA to their children. </p></blockquote> <p>The Oklahoma State survey result is probably an example of the intersection between scientific ignorance and political ignorance, both of which are widespread.The most obvious explanation for the data is that most of these people don’t really understand what DNA is, and don’t realize that it is contained in almost all food. When they read that a strange substance called “DNA” might be included in their food, they might suspect that this is some dangerous chemical inserted by greedy corporations for their own nefarious purposes. <p>Polls repeatedly show that much of the public is often ignorant of both <a href="http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/04/22/science-ignorance-is-pervasive-in-our-society-poll-finds-majority-of-americans-question-big-bang-theory/">basic scientific facts</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Democracy-Political-Ignorance-Smaller-Government/dp/0804786615">basic facts about government and public policy</a>. Just before the 2014 elections, which determined control of Congress, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/11/03/what-no-one-talks-about-during-election-season-voter-ignorance/">only 38 percent realized that the Republicans controlled the House of Representatives before the election, and the same number knew that the Democrats control the Senate</a>. The public’s scientific knowledge isn’t much better. A 2012 National Science Foundation survey even <a href="http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/1-in-4-americans-dont-know-earth-orbits-the-sun-yes-really-140214.htm">found that about 25% of Americans don’t know that the Earth revolves around the sun rather than vice versa</a>. Issues like food labeling bring together political and scientific knowledge, and it is not surprising that public opinion on these subjects is very poorly informed. <p>It would be a mistake to assume that widespread political and scientific ignorance are the result of <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/11/11/key-architect-of-obamacare-admitted-that-it-was-passed-by-exploiting-political-ignorance/">“the stupidity of the American voter,” </a>as Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber put it. Political ignorance <a href="http://www.volokh.com/posts/1184642389.shtml">is not primarily the result of stupidity</a>. For most people, it is <a href="http://www.cato-unbound.org/2013/10/11/ilya-somin/democracy-political-ignorance">a rational reaction to the enormous size and complexity of government and the reality that the chance that their vote will have an impact on electoral outcomes is extremely low</a>. The same is true of much scientific ignorance. For many people, there is little benefit to understanding much about genetics or DNA. Most Americans can even go about their daily business perfectly well without knowing that the Earth revolves around the sun. Even the smartest people are inevitably ignorant of the vast majority of information out there. We all have to focus our time and energy on learning that information which is most likely to be instrumentally useful, or at least provide entertainment value. For large numbers of people, much basic political and scientific information doesn’t make the cut. <p>Unfortunately, this is a case where <a href="http://www.volokh.com/posts/1202019183.shtml">individually rational behavior leads to potentially dangerous collective outcomes</a>. While it doesn’t much matter whether any individual voter is ignorant about science or public policy, when a majority (or even a large minority) of the electorate is ignorant in these ways, it can lead to the adoption of dangerous and counterproductive government policies. In this case, <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/05/10/152450464/californias-genetically-engineered-food-label-may-confuse-more-than-inform">excessive and unnecessary warning labels on food products could confuse consumers</a>, and divert their limited attention from real dangers. <p>Although Jonathan Gruber was wrong to believe that American voters are necessarily stupid, he was <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/12/12/jonathan-gruber-was-right-about-political-ignorance/">right about the pervasiveness of public ignorance</a>, and the dangers it poses. <p>UPDATE: In the initial version of this post, I forgot to include a link to <a href="http://jaysonlusk.com/blog/2015/1/15/food-demand-survey-foods-january-2015">economist Jayson Lusk’s post</a> on the Oklahoma State survey. I apologize for the oversight, which has now been corrected. <p align="center"><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2014/07/how-gmo-farming-and-food-is-making-our.html">How GMO Farming and Food Is Making Our Gut Flora UNFRIENDLY</a> <p><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2012/03/boycott-pepsico-here-is-why-and-why-you.html">Boycott PepsiCo… Here Is Why and Why You Should Be Concerned For More Than One Reason!</a> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-30549050743623110362015-01-02T20:53:00.000-08:002015-03-20T20:16:07.330-07:00Beating the Odds - Part One<p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-U6MJlOK9k4Y/VQj_3UbtREI/AAAAAAAABz0/tTBshk4fU9w/s1600-h/Beating%252520the%252520Odds%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Beating the Odds" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Beating the Odds" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-jJmMn0Fyi6A/VQj_4D-Z7CI/AAAAAAAABz4/ZVzhCgwK7jo/Beating%252520the%252520Odds_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="475" height="475"></a></p> <p>By Marion Algier - <a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2015/01/03/beating-the-odds-part-one/">Ask Marion</a> - Cross-Posted at <a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2015/01/beating-odds-part-one.html">THITW</a></p> <p>1600+ Americans die every day of Cancer. At the turn of the 20th Century 1 in 200 Americans developed Cancer… today (2015) 1 out of 3 Americans will have Cancer during their lifetime.</p> <p>I have been blessed to have been amazingly healthy all my life. I was days short of turning 62-years-old, had never been in a hospital for anything related to myself and had probably only ever been to see a doctor 20 times in my entire life when I was diagnosed with Uterine Cancer. And although my father, who had been just as healthy all his life as I’ve been until he was stricken with Colon Cancer at age 62… and died at age 63, it never really occurred to me that I would ever have Cancer. After our dad died, the doctor told us that chances were very high that one of us 3 kids would develop Colon Cancer and it was something we should watch out for and be tested for. My brother died at age 21 so my sister and I jokingly said more than once, “Well, since Rick is no longer with us, let us hope that it would have been him that was destined to come down with the Cancer.”</p> <p>After closing our business as a result of the tough economy, my husband and I had moved in with his 80 plus year old parents to get back on our feet and to help take care of them. His father was in late stage Alzheimer’s and his then 82-year-old mother was overwhelmed, suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis, had failing hearing, and as I call them, suffered from senior related conditions and ailments. And after inheriting a substantial amount of money from their parents and a couple aunts, they made a number of unwise purchases and unguaranteed loans and then got scammed by a Jamaican ring that prays on the elderly and uninformed. Before anyone realized it, they not only bankrupted themselves but scavenged their grandchildren’s college funds as well as opened a reverse mortgage that they overdrew once the housing bubble burst, so their house was essentially gone too! I have been an unpaid caregiver for over two years in a stressful environment, and still am, and my architect husband an unpaid handyman and part-time caregiver while applying for and trying countless part-time and commission jobs that went nowhere and sometimes cost us money. Then he got a lead and went to truck driving school which gave us medical coverage after 3-months.</p> <p>I had known for several months that something was wrong; I was sick. But even though insurance companies can no longer deny you coverage due to pre-existing conditions, they can charge you high premiums because of them. So I waited to go to the doctor until I knew we had coverage and could go without having costly pre-existing conditions. As it was we had had 12k family co-pay.</p> <p>On October 1st, a week before my 62nd birthday, I was diagnosed with stage 3 inoperable (because of the location of the tumor and the outlying ribbons from the tumor) Uterine Cancer. And from the looks in their eyes and little innuendoes, I could see that nobody other than my husband and our new GP thought I was going beat the disease.</p> <p>At some point you start feeling alone unless you make contact with other Cancer patients or Cancer survivors because nobody understands what the disease or the treatments are like unless they have gone through it. And even with a support group of family, friends and Cancer survivors, get used to feeling both lonely and alone. For me it was probably worse because my husband got a job where he was gone weeks, sometimes nearly two months without coming home for usually 4 or 5 days. He gave up being home for any of the major holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and even his birthday in order to be there for my chemo treatments. At first that seemed like a fair trade but after the first couple of treatments, the company stopped making the effort to get him home. </p> <p align="left"><iframe height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/VPx3-Qq_0pI" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p align="center"><font color="#ff0000">Video:</font> <a href="http://youtu.be/VPx3-Qq_0pI">How the American Cancer Society spins survival data</a> </p> <blockquote> <p><a href="http://naturalsociety.com/no-cancer-not-result-bad-luck/">Natural Society</a>: Recently, the results <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6217/78">of a study</a> claiming that most Cancers are caused by “bad luck” have been floating around in the mainstream media. This sounds like we should all just give up and accept our likely fates of cancer, chemo, and death, right? <strong>However, there is a mountain of evidence showing that cancer is in fact preventable, partly because tumor development is a bit too complex to be bad luck.</strong> </p> <p><strong>Most Cancers are “Beyond Your Control’ Due to Mutations</strong> </p> <p>For many years, the “Mutational Theory” has been the dominant explanation for cancer’s origin. The story goes <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/has-cancer-been-completely-misunderstood">like this</a>: accumulated mutation in all the right places lead to the affected cell going “crazy,” and instead of destroying itself after this damage, it grows out of control until vital processes are obstructed. Then, the heroic oncologists attempt to wage war against this monster with one or more of the standard trio of chemo, radiation, and surgery…with often disappointing results. </p> <p>One <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.burzynskimovie.com/images/stories/Understanding/RoyalCollegeChemoStudy.pdf">2004 study</a> of thousands of patients <strong>found that chemo is less than 10% effective at saving lives, contributing only 2.1-2.3% of the 5 year survival rate. </strong>This was deemed to be the upper limit of effectiveness. </p> <p><a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/fda-approves-cancer-drugs-without-proof-theyre-extending-lives-b99348000z1-280437692.html">More recently</a>, it was reported that out of 54 cancer drugs released since 2004, <strong>three quarters of them did not extend life</strong>. Unfortunately, chemotherapy is often forced on young people who refuse it, such as in <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/01/08/connecticut-supreme-court-upholds-ruling-that-teen-must-undergo-chemo/">a recent case</a> involving a Connecticut teenager, meaning it could be considered as a tool or form of oppression. Therefore, it’s wonderful that in actuality, cancer is not the result of chance or luck, as well as being unlikely; and the theories behind the development of cancer drugs are most likely incorrect. </p> <p><strong>Read: <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://naturalsociety.com/cancer-fighting-foods-4-anti-cancer-edibles/">4 Cancer-Fighting Foods</a></strong> </p> <p>What is the nature of a tumor? Tumors express organized behaviors including building their own blood supply; silencing some genes and activating others; secreting corrosive enzymes; altering their metabolism for low oxygen and high sugar, acidic environments; as well as removing surface proteins to escape the immune system. </p> <p><a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/has-cancer-been-completely-misunderstood">A new theory</a>, however, states that cancer is actually a highly efficient, pre-programmed stress response. According to the author’s research, cancer is an evolutionary throwback from a genetic “tool kit” over a billion years old that is normally buried dormant deep within the genome, called Metazoa 1.0. </p> <p>Cells with the genetics of Metazoa 1.0 would have favored traits that enable them to survive a much harsher environment with features such as extremely low oxygen. The trait of incessant proliferation was the default state of these primitive cells, when simply not dying was the first priority of individual cells. </p> <p>There was no tissue specialization that organisms could use to protect themselves, so genes providing extreme resilience against assault and creating a highly “selfish” form of behavior was necessary. While the mutation theory is partially true, genetic damage is responsible for unmasking a primitive set of genes instead of being solely responsible for tumor development. </p> <p>Additionally, <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://jmcb.oxfordjournals.org/content/4/3/174.extract">an analysis</a> of gene expression patterns has indicated that when the level of oxygen decreases, the rate of glycolysis (a pathway of cellular energy production that does not require oxygen) increases, and this leads to a vicious cycle of accelerated tumor growth and further reductions in oxygen. The production of new blood vessels to ensure a supply of glucose only gives temporary breaks from this cycle. </p> <p>The current understanding of this is that glycolysis is not only faster at generating energy when glucose is abundant, but also that glycolysis provides some of the raw materials needed for rapid cell proliferation. A key driver of this process was found to be reduced energy efficiency caused by factors such as hypoxia, which triggers a dramatically increased glucose uptake and a switch to glycolysis. This can also allow the tumor to select “positive” mutations such as those that upregulate Cancer promoting genes and silence or delete suppressor genes, no random mutations required. </p> <p><strong>Read: <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://naturalsociety.com/artemesinin-iron-causes-98-reduction-breast-cancer/">Little Known Chinese Herb and Iron Kill Crazy Amount of Cancer Cells</a></strong> </p> <p>When seven cancer types were tested, expression of genes turned on only during replication increased as oxygen levels dropped. <strong>Therefore, cancer is not a time bomb or a result of bad luck, but instead caused by an ancient survival response to a toxic environment, unnatural diet and compromised immunity.</strong> </p> <p>So what can we do to prevent Cancer, besides reducing excessive dietary sugar? </p> <p><strong>6 Tips for Preventing Cancer</strong> </p> <ul> <li>1. Regular coffee consumption <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17484871">can reduce</a> the incidence of some Cancers, but watch the acidity levels of your body. Book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0757003931?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0757003931&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">The Acid-Alkaline Food Guide - Second Edition: A Quick Reference to Foods & Their Efffect on pH Levels</a></li></ul> <ul> <li>2. A review <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22213311">from 2012</a> found that sun exposure may also lower the risk of Cancers such as breast, colon, and pancreatic cancer, because of vitamin D synthesis (getting burnt will remove the benefits), and prolonged or excessive sun exposure can cause skin Cancer.</li></ul> <ul> <li>3. A study of <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.greenmedinfo.com/article/antioxidant-supplementation-associated-reductions-all-cause-mortality-and-cancers">almost 24,000</a> participants showed that those taking antioxidant supplements from the beginning had a 48% reduced risk of cancer. This can mean that increased antioxidant intake from food or supplements can reduce cancer incidence, as <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.greenmedinfo.com/disease/cancers-all">many other</a> studies show that certain foods high in antioxidants and other nutrients have the ability to protect against Cancer. </li></ul> <ul> <li>4. Quit smoking. Cigarette smoking, which depletes antioxidants, <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15552776">is responsible</a> for a third of all Cancer deaths in many countries. </li></ul> <ul> <li>5. Reduce or eliminate, if possible, the use of pharmaceutical drugs. Statins, the contraceptive pill and many others are associated with a higher risk of Cancer. </li></ul> <ul> <li>6. Interestingly, cannabis smoking is associated with a <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/803983">45% reduced risk</a> of bladder cancer and a <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19638490">47-62%</a> reduced rate of head and neck cancer, regardless of whether or not they had been infected with HPV. And using hemp oils increases the survival success rate of treatments like chemo and radiation by 25%. </li></ul> <p>Despite what the mainstream media tries to make people believe, Cancer is indeed preventable and not caused by “bad luck.” This is good news, because not only are Cancer and its conventional treatments very debilitating and distressing, but they hinder control over one’s life – which is a natural psychological need, as described by self-determination theory. </p> <p>So what can you do if you are diagnosed with Cancer?</p> <p>After you are diagnosed: </p> <ul> <li>Take control of your destiny. <li>Do your homework. <li>Question the treatments the doctors suggest. <li>Look for alternatives. <li>Add natural cures and aids to the traditional western medical treatments even if you decide to go that route. <li>Have a back-up plan. <li>Keep up your attitude. <li>Cut your stress. <li>Pray. <li>Be positive. <li>Stay out of the doldrums and away from pity parties as much as possible. <li>Surround yourself with things that make you happy… pets, photos, music, etc. </li></ul> <ul> <li>Limit your exposure and dealings (as much as you can) to negative people and situations. <li>Make plans for the future. <!--EndFragment--></li></ul> <p>Because my husband was gone regularly through my entire treatment time, and my father-in-law was in the late stages of Alzheimer’s at home and died during the first four months of my treatment, I had no choice but to rely on myself for my attitude, research and to be prepared for any and all side affects from the treatments. </p> <p>I think I did a pretty good job through the chemo process and with each check-up my oncologist was shocked at my progress. </p> <ul> <li>I never questioned that I would beat my Cancer <li>I prayed and talked to God daily, throughout the day, in a positive manner; thanking Him for curing me and making me completely Cancer free. <li>I moved 600 photos that made me happy onto my phone and kept adding to it. <li>Our four furkids, a Chihuahua and three Chiweenies, never left my side. <li>I visualized my tumor and the outlying ribbons shrinking and being gone daily. <li>I only ever allowed myself one 10-minute pity party. <li>I drank a teaspoon of baking soda in water every morning, sometimes twice a day. <li>I ingested 4 squirts of food grade hydrogen peroxide daily. <li>I used the oxygen machine provided by hospice for my father-in-law every evening for 5 to 10 minutes and inhaled the pure oxygen. <li>I got a vitamin B Complex shot weekly. <li>I took vitamins, iron, probiotics, krill oil and phytoplankton daily. <li>I researched every option from hemp oils and immunotherapy to alternative health centers like <a href="http://www.sanoviv.com/">Sanoviv</a>. <li>I added things like raw sauerkraut fermented with whey, extra protein and more organic veggies, fruit and meat to my diet. </li></ul> <p>Sources: </p> <p><a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/r2/?url=http://time.com/3650194/most-cancer-is-beyond-your-control-breakthrough-study-finds/">Time</a> </p> <p><a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/experimental-treatment-uses-immune-system-to-fight-cancer-immunotherpy-coming-in-us-in-2015/">Experimental treatment uses immune system to fight Cancer – Immunotherpy coming to US in 2015</a></p> <p><a href="http://joshuapundit.blogspot.com/2014/09/breakthrough-have-israelis-developed.html">Breakthrough! Have The Israelis Developed A Cure For Cancer?</a></p> <p><a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/a-natural-herb-that-fights-cancer-or-chemotherapy-for-your-sick-pet-which-would-you-choose/">A Natural Herb That Fights Cancer, or Chemotherapy for Your Sick Pet… Which Would You Choose?</a></p> <p><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2012/08/this-new-drug-appears-to-cause-cancer.html">This New Drug Appears to Cause Cancer Cells to Self-Destruct</a></p> <p><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-starve-cancer-out-of-your-body.html">How to Stave the Cancer Out of Your Body</a></p> <p><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2009/04/beat-prostate-cancer-naturally.html">Beat Prostate Cancer Naturally</a> </p> <p><a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/americas-drug-story-and-the-rockefeller-empire-2/">America’s Drug Story and the Rockefeller Empire</a> </p> <p><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2015/02/ella-institute-for-melanoma-dr-gal.html">Ella institute for melanoma - Dr. Gal Markel</a></p> <p align="center">Books</p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0988745615?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0988745615&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">The Ultimate Anti-Cancer Cookbook: A Cookbook and Eating Plan Developed by a Late-Stage Cancer Survivor with 225 Delicious Recipes for Everyday Meals, Using Everyday Foods</a></p> <p align="center"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0757003931?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0757003931&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">The Acid-Alkaline Food Guide - Second Edition: A Quick Reference to Foods & Their Efffect on pH Levels</a></p></blockquote> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-62334300779055567782015-01-01T16:57:00.001-08:002015-01-01T16:57:31.245-08:00Happy New Year 2015 From True Health Is True Wealth<p align="center"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-JiXbZyjLfzw/VKXs93uELBI/AAAAAAAAByg/lyWbCIV0Ajc/s1600-h/happy_new_year_2015%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img title="happy_new_year_2015" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="happy_new_year_2015" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-puxmA1jSmmw/VKXs-XrIM8I/AAAAAAAAByo/buvH6GzyRis/happy_new_year_2015_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="376" height="320"></a></p> <h6 align="center"><strong><font size="2">Take a moment to enjoy the beautiful photographic train ride and the accompanying words: </font></strong><a href="http://www.openmyeyeslord.net/Train%20Ride.swf"><strong><font size="2">HERE</font></strong></a><strong><font size="2">. <–</font></strong></h6> <p><img style="float: none; margin-left: auto; display: block; margin-right: auto" src="http://www.bestbullysticks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/dognewyears.jpg" width="396" height="298"> </p> <p><img style="float: none; margin-left: auto; display: block; margin-right: auto" alt="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/39/a8/30/39a8300a4ef19b4e4d7ea2e4b675f9de.jpg" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/39/a8/30/39a8300a4ef19b4e4d7ea2e4b675f9de.jpg" width="410" height="275"> </p> <p>At the end of the year it has become a journalistic tradition to recap the year’s top stories, to recall the highlights and low points of the months and to remember those who have left us. It is also a time to look forward with hope… This year that reach for hope and improvement seems more difficult than at anytime in my memory. </p> <p>“It’s Auld Lang Syne time again. Robert Burns is credited with ‘collecting’ the lyrics for the old Scots’ drinking and dancing ballad that’s become a traditional part of New Year festivities. The most memorable verses: "Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?" and the chorus, "For auld Lang Syne, my dear, for auld Lang Syne, we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld Lang Syne," are oft’ described as reminders of "the good old times" amidst new beginnings. That’s a tough task this year. Saying goodbye to 2013 won’t be hard. But looking forward with hope for a better year in 2014 is a bit of a challenge!” </p> <p><strong>Happy New Year! </strong></p> <p><a href="http://askmarion.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/b-day-card-chi-martinis.jpg"><img title="B-Day Card - Chi Martinis" style="float: none; margin-left: auto; display: block; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="B-Day Card - Chi Martinis" src="http://askmarion.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/b-day-card-chi-martinis_thumb.jpg?w=551&h=756" width="391" height="535"></a> </p> <p align="center"><strong>Angel and Annabelle Celebrating… Happy New Year 2012~</strong> </p> <p align="center"><strong>(And it is water in that glass… Please no alcohol for your pets!!</strong> </p> <p><strong>And if you possible can… adopt just one more pet (or two) in 2015 or become a pet foster parent and donate to your local shelter. Our shelters are over-flowing and your help will save a life or perhaps many lives</strong></p> <p align="center"><strong>Wishing you all health, wealth and happiness in 2015 and wishing America the kind of leadership she deserves!</strong></p> <p><strong>Thanks to our sister site <a href="http://justonemorepet.wordpress.com/2015/01/02/happy-new-year-2015-from-just-one-more-pet/">Just One More Pet</a></strong></p> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-42092367605766749112014-12-29T15:09:00.001-08:002014-12-29T15:11:24.822-08:00Experimental treatment uses immune system to fight Cancer - Immunotherpy coming in US in 2015<p>Experimental treatment uses immune system to fight cancer - Immunotherpy finally coming to US. Clinical trials coming in 2015 through Avaxis for metastatic Cancers. </p> <p><img style="float: none; margin-left: auto; display: block; margin-right: auto" alt="" src="http://www.cancer.gov/PublishedContent/Images/images/research/science/healthy-human-t-cell.jpg" width="516" height="392">Scanning electron micrograph of a human T lymphocyte (also called a T cell) from the immune system of a healthy donor. Source: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). <p>The immune system’s natural capacity to detect and destroy abnormal cells may prevent the development of many cancers. However, some cancers are able to avoid detection and destruction by the immune system. They may produce signals that reduce the immune system’s ability to detect and kill tumor cells, or they may have changes that make it harder for the immune system to recognize and target them. <p>Immunotherapies are treatments that restore or enhance the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. In just the past few years, the rapidly advancing field of cancer immunology has produced several new methods of treating cancer that increase the strength of immune responses against tumors. These therapies either stimulate the activities of specific components of the immune system or counteract signals produced by cancer cells that suppress immune responses. <p>The journal <i>Science</i> designated "immunotherapy of cancer" as its Breakthrough of the Year in 2013 to recognize the progress made in this area. These advances are the result of long-term basic scientific research on the immune system. <p>Additional research is underway to: <ul> <li>increase our understanding of what enables immunotherapy to work in some patients but not in others who have the same cancer <li>expand the use of immunotherapy to more types of cancer <li>better understand how to use immunotherapies in combination with <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000270742&version=Patient&language=English">targeted therapies</a> and other standard treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy</li></ul> <h4>Immune Checkpoint Modulators</h4> <p>One immunotherapy approach is to block the activity of certain proteins that limit the strength of immune responses. These proteins normally keep immune responses in check to prevent overly strong responses that might damage normal cells as well as abnormal cells. In cancer cells, these "checkpoint" proteins may be abnormal and may help tumors to evade the immune response. <p>Blocking one of these checkpoint proteins could lift the brakes on the immune system, enabling it to destroy cancer cells. The first immune checkpoint modulator to gain Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval is called <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/druginfo/ipilimumab">ipilimumab</a> (Yervoy). This immunotherapy drug, a <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000046066&version=Patient&language=English">monoclonal antibody</a>, blocks the activity of a checkpoint protein called CTLA4 and has been approved to treat advanced melanoma. <h4>Immune Cell Therapy</h4> <p>An experimental form of immunotherapy is adoptive cell transfer (ACT). In one form of ACT, cytotoxic T cells that have invaded a patient’s tumor, called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), are harvested. The cells with the greatest antitumor activity are selected, and large populations of these cells are grown in the laboratory and activated with <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000046130&version=Patient&language=English">cytokines</a>. The cells are then infused back into the patient. <p>The idea is that TILs already have the ability to target tumor cells but may not be present in sufficient amounts to exert an antitumor effect. If the activity of the TILs is being suppressed by the tumor cells, it may be possible to overcome that suppression by exposing the tumor to massive amounts of activated TILs. <p>In another form of ACT, often referred to as CAR therapy, a patient’s T cells are collected from their blood and genetically modified to express hybrid proteins called <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000613507&version=Patient&language=English">chimeric</a> antigen receptors (CARs) before they are expanded and infused into the patient. The CAR allows the cells to attach to specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells, which activates the T cells to attack those cells. <h4>Cancer Treatment Vaccines</h4> <p>The use of cancer treatment (or therapeutic) vaccines is another approach to immunotherapy. These vaccines are usually made from a patient’s own tumor cells or from substances taken from tumor cells. They are designed to treat cancers that have already developed by strengthening the body’s natural defenses against the cancer. Treatment vaccines may act in any of several ways: <ul> <li>to delay or stop the growth of cancer cells <li>to cause tumor shrinkage <li>to prevent cancer from coming back <li>to eliminate cancer cells that have not been killed by other forms of treatment</li></ul> <p>Developing effective cancer treatment vaccines requires a detailed understanding of how immune system cells and cancer cells interact. To be effective, cancer treatment vaccines must stimulate specific immune responses against the correct target. The immune responses must also be powerful enough to overcome the barriers that cancer cells use to protect themselves from attack by <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000045611&version=Patient&language=English">B cells</a> and <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000634810&version=Patient&language=English">killer T cells</a>. <p>Recent advances in understanding how cancer cells escape recognition and attack by the immune system are now giving researchers the knowledge required to design cancer treatment vaccines that can accomplish both goals. <p>In 2010, the FDA approved the first cancer treatment vaccine, <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/druginfo/sipuleucel-T">sipuleucel-T</a> (Provenge), for use in some men with metastatic prostate cancer. <h4>Immune-Modifying Agents</h4> <p>Yet another type of immunotherapy uses immune-modifying agents, such as cytokines, antibodies, and growth factors, to enhance the body’s immune response against cancer. Cytokines are signaling <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000046092&version=Patient&language=English">proteins</a> that are produced by <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000045993&version=Patient&language=English">white blood cells</a>, and they help regulate immune responses. Two types of cytokines are used to treat patients with cancer: <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000045324&version=Patient&language=English">interferons</a> and <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000046069&version=Patient&language=English">interleukins</a>. <p><img style="float: none; margin-left: auto; display: block; margin-right: auto" alt="" src="http://www.cancer.gov/PublishedContent/Images/images/nci/people/rosenberg.jpg" width="483" height="367"> <p>Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg, Chief of Surgery at the National Cancer Institute, developed the first effective immunotherapies and gene therapies for patients with advanced cancer. <p>Immune-modifying agents may work through different mechanisms. A type of interferon, for example, enhances a patient’s immune response to cancer cells by activating certain white blood cells, such as <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000044062&version=Patient&language=English">natural killer cells</a> and <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000044948&version=Patient&language=English">dendritic cells</a>. Recent advances in understanding how cytokines stimulate immune cells could enable the development of more effective immunotherapies and combinations of these agents. <p><strong>Research at NCI</strong> <p>Immunotherapy research at NCI is done across the institute and spans the continuum from basic science discoveries to clinical research applications. <p>The <a href="https://ccrod.cancer.gov/confluence/display/COEI/Home">Center of Excellence in Immunology</a> (CEI) brings together researchers from across NCI and other NIH institutes to foster the discovery, development, and delivery of immunotherapy approaches to prevent and treat cancer and cancer-associated viral diseases. <p>See More at Fox Heath News: <a title="http://video.foxnews.com/v/3963227537001/experimental-treatment-uses-immune-system-to-fight-cancer/?playlist_id=930909749001#sp=show-clips" href="http://video.foxnews.com/v/3963227537001/experimental-treatment-uses-immune-system-to-fight-cancer/?playlist_id=930909749001#sp=show-clips">http://video.foxnews.com/v/3963227537001/experimental-treatment-uses-immune-system-to-fight-cancer/?playlist_id=930909749001#sp=show-clips</a> <p>Also See: <ul> <li><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2014/12/cannabis-oil-is-highly-efficient.html">Cannabis Oil is a Highly Efficient Natural Cancer Cure - Natural News</a></li> <li><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2014/12/breakthrough-have-israelis-developed.html">Breakthrough! Have The Israelis Developed A Cure For Cancer?</a></li></ul> <p>Related Resources <ul> <li><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/biological">Biological Therapies for Cancer</a> <li><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/research/immune-cells-to-treat-cancer">A Transfer of Power: Harnessing Patients' Immune Cells to Treat Their Cancer</a> <li><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/research-updates/2013/CAR-T-Cells">CAR T-Cell Therapy: Engineering Patients’ Immune Cells to Treat Their Cancers</a> <li><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/newsfromnci/2013/PediatricImmunotherapy">Cancer immunotherapy in children: How does it differ from approaches in adults?</a> <li><a href="http://home.ccr.cancer.gov/connections/2014/Vol8_No1/intheclinic.asp">Adopting Bodily Defenses to Cure Cancer</a> <li><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/featured/trials/NCI-10-C-0021">First-in-Humans Study of New Immunotherapy Agent</a> <li><a href="https://storify.com/NCIMedia/nci-participation-in-cimchat-twitter-chat">Twitter Chat on Immunotherapy - June 18, 2014</a> <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/global/web/policies/exit"><img title="Exit Disclaimer" alt="Exit Disclaimer" src="http://www.cancer.gov/publishedcontent/images/images/exit_small.png"></a></li></ul> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-11375271842846153182014-12-24T17:18:00.001-08:002014-12-24T17:18:16.770-08:00Simpler Times, A Groetzmeier Christmas – 2014<p>The 1950’s and early 1960’s were simpler times allowing holidays, family traditions and faith to take their full and proper place in the hearts and minds of children, leaving fond and enduring memories for a lifetime. </p> <p>Although we had a small extended family that we would see for an American style Christmas Day Dinner of ham or turkey and fixings (from where I still make my Grandmother’s (Oma’s) meat stuffing to this day), when we were young, holidays for us were primarily built around our small nuclear family… first the three of us, then four of us after a couple of years in America and ultimately the five of us. </p> <p>December 24<sup>th</sup> and 25<sup>th</sup> are obviously special days for Christians and for Christian children of all ages as well as for most children in America and the western world, no matter what their faith. The traditions and heritage wrapped around those days and the Christmas Season have been interwoven into the fabric of the United States and a good part of the world. Yet each family and person has their own special memories and traditions attached to that festive season. And so it was with us. Our parents tried to combine their old world ways and traditions with the new ones of this land we now called home plus those of their European Catholic upbringing. </p> <p>Putting lights up on the outside of your house was something that wasn’t done in Germany and Austria before we left there, but going to see the lighted houses in the evening after dinner was a new tradition we all enjoyed and that we built into our Christmas Holiday ritual. By the mid to late 1950’s the displays of lights and other decorations had reached their zenith having become bigger and greater every year. Whole neighborhoods would decorate in themes while others would compete between neighbors. Some neighborhoods had such spectacular decorations that there would be lines of cars for blocks or more just to drive past the houses or to find parking to walk the neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods were even sponsored like one of the favorites in the Los Angeles area where each home had Disney displays; agreeing to take part yearly was part of the real estate agreement when purchasing a house there. </p> <p>A few miles from our house was an oversized corner lot with a ranch style home that went all out. It had seemingly endless lights everywhere, moving elves and reindeer, a playhouse turned into Santa’s workshop and a huge sleigh filled with wrapped presents. There were two large pine trees dripping with painted glass globes and other shaped ornaments, icicles and branches thick with snow. You could hear the Christmas music at least a block away and Santa would be out every night for the entire month between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve to talk to the children after which Mrs. Santa handed out candy canes to all who came by. It really was something to see and we never tired of going by there, throughout the season, year after year. It was always part of our last light viewing tour each Christmas Season. </p> <p>Most children think their memories and their parents were the greatest, as it should be. But I have to say that my parents did an amazing job of making the holidays, especially Christmas, and other traditions like trips to yearly regular vacation spots and trips to <a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2005/07/18/wish-upon-a-star/">amusement parks</a> something very very special… much more magical than I hear in recounts from others or than I managed to create with my own children, even though I tried. </p> <p><a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/happy-101st-birthday-daddy/">My father</a> worked for Pacific Bell, part of the largest utility company in America at the time before the government broke it up, and my mother was a stay at home mom, like most moms in those days. On Christmas Eve my father would always come home from work early after a half day. Traditionally half of the employees would work a half day, but were paid in full, which consisted primarily of a company paid Christmas party on Christmas Eve and the other half would work half day on New Year’s Eve. People with children usually got Christmas Eve off and the young and single people tended to want New Year’s Eve. </p> <p>By the time our dad got home, we were all more than anxious for the Christmas Festivities to begin. We, the kids, would have wrapped our gifts for our parents and put them under the tree; the only packages that were ever set under the live Christmas tree in our living room before Christmas Eve when Santa came. It wasn’t until sometime in the 1960’s that artificial trees popped up, and by the mid-60’s a few of the modernists were putting up silver trees made out of the same material that tinsel is made of, usually decorated with all one color round ornaments and using a color wheel to light the tree instead of strings of lights. We only ever knew one family that had one. In fact they were the only people we ever knew, growing up, that had a fake tree. We preferred the stories of trees with real candles, homemade and traditional ornaments with meaning told from our parents’ upbringing, over the idea of a futuristic Christmas. </p> <p>Going to get our Christmas tree was always a family event, as were most Christmas related activities, but since we were city kids we did go to a tree lot which was attached to a nursery and garden shop covered with a permanent canopy in aviary fashion. Once inside the sounds and smells of Christmas were everywhere. They played non-stop carols and had somehow piped in the smell of gingerbread. Yet we were almost overcome with the smell of fresh wreaths and rows of trees which seemed to go on forever. We always seemed to look at each and every one of them in our size range before choosing, in the ultimate search for the perfect tree. About the time I turned ten or eleven, flocked trees became popular; for a few years some were even flocked in pink and light blue. We always got an unflocked Noble that our father had to trim down after we got home, because somehow it always ended up being just a bit too tall for the room. And each year on our way to the register to pay for the tree, we got to pick one new ornament from the racks where they had them individually displayed. Years later, after I was already out of the house, the family made it out to the wild a few times to actually chop down a tree, like my parents did in the old country. </p> <p>Getting a tree and putting it up several weeks before Christmas was one of the changes that our folks made. In Germany, the Christ Child (das Christkindl) comes on Christmas Eve and brings the tree already decorated for the children to see for the first time the next morning. In Austria, the family puts it up, but not on until Christmas Eve Day. In Germany and Austria, Santa (<a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2013/12/06/st-nickolas-day-woc-2013/">St. Nicholas</a>) comes on December 6<sup>th</sup> and brings slippers, fruit, nuts and candy. In the country areas he often brings a dark character with him, der Krampus, who threatens to take the bad children and stick them into his sack, or he leaves them just a lump of coal. My dad grew up after World War I in a small town in Austria without a father. They got lots of snow and used cross country skis to get to school. Many of the women raised four, five , six or more children on their own with very little money or help after losing their husbands in the war. My father said he remembered more than once, knowing of a pre-teenage boy that was giving his mother a hard time that was picked up by the Krampus and taken on a scary ski ride at night in a big sack. Those are among the traditions and memories my parents left behind, but kept alive by telling stories of their childhood and having an Advent Calendar that included a story or telling of a memory with each day’s opening. </p> <blockquote> <p>One of our favorite stories was always about the Kaufladen. It was a homemade storefront or kiosk type set-up made completely out of wood for my mother and her sister to play store. It was made with dozens of small apothecary type drawers that were filled every year with new dried beans, peas and lentils, candies, and other items that they could sell, taking turns being the merchant and the customer. It actually survived and went on to our cousins in Germany, and then to their children.</p></blockquote> <p>Getting the tree and decorating it was always a special day. Although my parents left pretty much everything behind when we moved here after having already lost virtually everything they had from their childhoods during the destruction of the war (WWII), they managed to pick up some European style decorations here and there that were interspersed between those purchased primarily at Sears and Roebuck, whose Christmas Wishbook was tattered and tagged throughout by us kids for months before Christmas. I remember going to a German store or special exhibit a couple of times that had handmade wooden and glass German ornaments; each crafted and painted by hand, so they were special, but not cookie cutter perfect like those that came out of the boxes here. I remember buying a little skier and a couple brightly colored mushrooms. They were always my favorites. In Germany many people still put real candles on their trees or the spritzers, where the colored water bubbles in the middle of each light; both only impressions in my memory from the stories my parents told. </p> <p>As we decorated we would play both German and English Christmas carols on my parents hi-fi on vinyl singles or 45’s, as they were called, that you constantly had to change. We sang along enthusiastically to White Christmas by Bing Crosby and Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer by Gene Autry, the singing cowboy, as well as to Silent Night and O Tannenbaum in both English and German. My mom always had a batch of her homemade spiked egg nog made-up that we were allowed a sip of and there were always a few special German chocolates and marzipan piglets, as well as <a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2013/12/19/christmas-baking-woc-2013/">cookies and stolen</a> from the German butcher shop. And some years there were goodies out from our Aunt Lisbeth and family in Frechen, Germany, like Printen or Speculatius, plus a fresh homemade batch of American style chocolate chip and sugar cookies. My dad would have a variety of shelled nuts out, that always included walnuts, that he would open for us with his nutcracker. There would also always be a platter of figs and dates, persimmons, pomegranates, tangerines and some type of fruit cake, rum cake or special bread, which he and his brothers and sister considered special treats as they grew up. Those were the days of the strings of lights that would not work if one or more were burned out, so sometimes it could be a huge project just to get the lights working. And after all the ornaments and garland were hung, the tinsel would go on last one strand at a time, so it would shine and sparkle without unsightly lumps scattered about the tree. We always had a big star as the topper with a spot in the middle for a light. Placing the topper was <a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/happy-101st-birthday-daddy/">Daddy’s job</a>. Tinsel duty and later supervision as we became older and helped to put it on, was Mom’s. We would end the day with a light German style meal and then go for a <a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/christmas-lights-woc-2013/">Christmas light viewing drive</a> after dinner, as we would several more times during the season and one last time on Christmas Eve. </p> <p>On Christmas Eve we would all be dressed up a bit more than usual for dinner. And dinner would always be traditional German or Austrian fare. Many years it was a variety of sausages: Bratwurst, Weisswurst, and Blutwurst, mashed potatoes and red and white cabbage (rot kohl and sauerkraut) or cucumbers in vinegar and oil. Some years it would be Weiner Schnitzel with white asparagus instead of the sausages and kraut. We kids, of course, would be squirming around in our seats, much too excited to eat. </p> <p>As soon as we were done eating, my father would say, “How about we get into the car and go look at the lights one last time? And who knows, maybe Santa will stop by while we are gone?” …same exact words every year, even when we were teenagers. At the last minute, as we were putting on our sweaters, my mom would always say, “You know, maybe I won’t go and get this kitchen cleaned up?” We would always protest and Dad would say, “Yah Maria, that is probably a good idea and we won’t be gone long anyway!” </p> <p>We would pile into the car. I would get to sit in front because I was the oldest and we would head out. We would basically take a tour of our favorite lighted houses, which normally ended way too soon for us. But on Christmas Eve, it always seemed like we were gone forever, even though I’m sure it wasn’t nearly long enough for Santa! <img alt=";-)" src="https://s1.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif?m=1305848327g"> </p> <p>We would get back and run to the back door where we entered from the garage. My mom would be changed from what she was wearing at dinner, have the kitchen completely cleaned up and as we entered the kitchen we’d all be asking, “Was he here? Was he here?” She would always respond with, “No I don’t think so. I didn’t hear a thing in there!” We lived in a small two bedroom duplex until I was a junior in high school and she certainly would have heard!! We would open the sliding door into the living room and in that short span of a time it had been transformed into what seemed to us like Santa’s workshop: packages everywhere, with at least one or more items that had to be assembled ready to go, platters of homemade goodies and goodies sent from Europe with Christmas Carols playing in the background. To us it was a miracle!! And now looking back it was even more of a miracle than we realized, that our mom could have done all of that in such a short time! My sister and I tried to duplicate all of that with our kids and pass those traditions along. And with two of us playing Santa and usually not having a whole kitchen to clean, we were barely able to get it done! And then there is the question of where was all that stored before that night in that little place?!? </p> <p>Our parents wrapped every pair of socks separately and we loved every gift (no electronics then). After all, we had spent months leafing through the Sears Christmas Wishbook Catalog hoping and making out our lists and letters to Santa. By the time we were through unwrapping and sampling the goodies it seemed like there was barely enough time to put on our new outfits, that were part of our gifts, and head to mid-night mass where we met up with family friends whose kids were all wearing their newly unwrapped Christmas outfits as well. </p> <blockquote> <p>Both our parents grew up poor in a one parent home between World War 1 and World War II and although their parents did their best, their childhoods were tough and their Christmases and holidays were scant with gifts so they went out of their way to make ours extra special. </p> <p>My mother grew up living in a small apartment with just her mother, until she remarried, above the town movie theatre where our mom fell asleep listening to the soundtrack seep up through the floorboards. She had a doll with a porcelain face and a real hair wig. Each year the doll would get a new head for Christmas because every year our mother would take the doll downstairs to play with other kids from the neighborhood and invariably she would allow someone to hold the doll after endless prompting, and the next thing she knew someone would drop and break her, after which the doll (one of her main gifts) was put away until next Christmas.</p></blockquote> <p>By the time we got home from church it was always very late so after another look at our stash we all went to bed and everybody could get up as early or as late as they wanted to play with and organize their gifts. Then by noon or so we’d head off to Oma and Opa’s (Grandma and Grandpa’s) each year, until they moved up North, for Christmas dinner with our cousins and family. After that our mom would fix a Christmas goose at home each year since we had turkey for Thanksgiving. </p> <p>Now that my kids and nieces and nephews are grown and my Christmas experience is made up of generations of tradition and varied experiences intertwined, I realize that those growing up years and then the ‘early years’ with my own children and nieces and nephews, who are all about the same age, were the best and are the years that come to mind first when Christmas and Christmas Eve are mentioned. I am grateful for the love my parents put into those holidays and other special events and occasions, and although I tried my best to pass on those special traditions and create new ones along side them, I can only say, “Thanks, Mom and Dad, I wish I could have done as well…” </p> <p>By Marion Groetzmeier Algier from her book in progress (Working title: The Groeztmeiers) – Originally Posted at Ask Marion in 2010. </p> <p><strong>That was then… And this is now:</strong> </p> <p><strong>The Digital Story of the Nativity</strong> – Video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHNNPM7pJA">The Digital Story of the Nativity</a> and Video: <a href="http://youtu.be/7NmrSRa_m_o">The History of Christmas Tree Lights on the Internet</a> </p> <p><strong>Plus NORAD Tracks Santa on Christmas Eve</strong> </p> <p>For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s flight. </p> <p>The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/noradsanta">LINK: NORAD tracks Santa on Facebook</a> </p> <p>In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command for North America called the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, which then took on the tradition of tracking Santa. </p> <p>Since that time, NORAD men, women, family and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to phone calls and emails from children all around the world. In addition, we now track Santa using the internet. Millions of people who want to know Santa’s whereabouts now visit the NORAD Tracks Santa website. </p> <p>Finally, media from all over the world rely on NORAD as a trusted source to provide updates on Santa’s journey. </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AHZZ3VO?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00AHZZ3VO&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">Santa Tracker Christmas</a> or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0069819UW?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0069819UW&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">Santa Tracker</a> </p> <p><a href="http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/no-christmas-for-millions-of-american-families-this-year"></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0674003187/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=truhea-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0674003187&adid=1QNHT4HVD79Z7XD72R6J&"><img align="left" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51RyYycWZML._SL110_.jpg"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0674003187/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=truhea-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0674003187&adid=1QNHT4HVD79Z7XD72R6J&">Merry Christmas!</a> : Celebrating America’s Greatest Holiday </p> <p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1439173168?tag=truhea-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1439173168&adid=156YJFJVKZE7VSX523EN&"><img align="left" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51BI9AaHRTL._SL110_.jpg"></a>A great book on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1439173168?tag=truhea-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1439173168&adid=156YJFJVKZE7VSX523EN&">Losing Our Religion</a> by atheist S. E. Cupp, who says she is he perfect person for this book because she has no dog in the hunt, takes on the all too often avoided question and discussion of religion in America… </p> <p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0679740384/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=truhea-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0679740384&adid=08E2FPM5QEFZHCFV65C9&"><img align="left" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51JJEA2WQRL._SL110_.jpg"></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679740384?ie=UTF8&tag=truhea-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0679740384"><em>The Battle for Christmas</em></a> & <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001G8WXF0/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=truhea-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B001G8WXF0&adid=0YXZZCTMVV6ECVEZ49Q1&">The War on Christmas</a> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439187207/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=truhea-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=1439187207"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61LR-43VZ2L._SL110_.jpg"></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1439187207/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=truhea-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1439187207&adid=0HQFDQXWWBQ74SBH6YQG&">The Snow Angel</a> </p> <p align="center">Also check out: </p> <p align="center"><a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/nativity-the-reason-for-the-season/">The Reason For the Season</a> </p> <p align="center"><a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/ben-stein-on-christmas/">Ben Stein on Christmas</a> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="http://justonemorepet.wordpress.com/2014/12/24/merry-christmas-2014-from-just-one-more-pet/">Merry Christmas 2014 From Just One More Pet</a></p> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-8966744977001156362014-12-18T16:36:00.001-08:002014-12-18T16:36:11.664-08:00Cannabis Oil is a Highly Efficient Natural Cancer Cure - Natural News<p>(<a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/033757_cannabis_oil_cancer_cure.html#">NaturalNews</a>) Ever since the mid 70s, medical scientists have been well aware of the beneficial effects of cannabinoid compounds over cancerous cells. Thanks to modern science, over a dozen studies conducted during recent years have been able to partially reveal just how it works. Yet cannabis is still not endorsed by pharmaceutical companies as a cancer cure, and since it is not promoted through mainstream channels, very few people are aware of its benefits. Consequently, it is not sought after as an alternative to disfiguring chemotherapy and other harmful drugs.</p> <p>Laboratory tests conducted in 2008 by a team of scientists formed as a joint research effort between Spain, France and Italy, and published in <i>The Journal Of Clinical Investigation</i>, showed that the active ingredient in marijuana, known as tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, can function as a cure for brain cancer by inducing human glioma cell death through stimulation of autophagy.<br>The study concluded that via the same biochemical process THC could terminate multiple types of cancers, affecting various cells in the body. Other studies have shown that cannabinoids may work by various mechanisms, including inhibiting cell growth, inducing cell death, and inhibiting tumor metastasis.</p> <p>What is amazing is that while cannabinoids effectively target and kill cancerous cells, they do not affect healthy, normal cells and may actually protect them against cellular death. Moreover, cannabinoids are also researched for their pain-modulation and anti-inflammatory abilities as they bind to special receptors in the brain, much like opioid derivatives that are commonly prescribed today.</p> <p>Further evidence to support the effects of cannabis extract on malignant cells comes from the real life experience of individuals who have successfully overcome cancer by using <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/cannabis_oil.html">cannabis oil</a>. Examples include a patient, who managed to completely cure his skin cancer by simply applying cannabis oil onto the affected areas of the skin, as well as another, who recovered from a severe head injury with the aid of hemp <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/oil.html">oil</a>.</p> <p>One of the cannabinoids that has displayed amazing medical properties is cannabidiol, or CBD - a non-psychoactive compound that is regarded by some as the medical discovery of the 21st century, and with good reason. Research indicates that CBD can relieve convulsions, reduce inflammation, lower anxiety and suppress nausea, while also inhibiting <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/cancer.html">cancer</a> development. In addition, CBD has exhibited neuroprotective properties, relieving symptoms of dystonia and proving just as effective as regular antipsychotics in the treatment of schizophrenia.</p> <p>What stands out is that from the vast amount of research and data available, as well as the personal experiences of cancer survivors, is that no chemotherapy currently being used medically can match the non-toxic anti-carcinogenic and anti-tumorigenic effects of these <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/natural.html">natural</a> plant compounds.</p> <p><b>Sources for this article include:</b><br><a href="http://safeaccess.ca/research/cancer.htm">http://safeaccess.ca/research/cancer.htm</a><br><a href="http://www.jci.org/articles/view/37948">http://www.jci.org/articles/view/37948</a><br><a href="http://dotsub.com/media/fc4e051a-1709-4e63-8a2c-912b09486c9f/e/m">http://dotsub.com/media/fc4e051a-1709-4e63-8...</a><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabidiol">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabidiol</a></p> <p><b>About the author:</b><br>Raw Michelle is a natural health blogger and researcher, sharing her passions with others, using the Internet as her medium. She discusses topics in a straight forward way in hopes to help people from all walks of life achieve optimal health and well-being. She has authored and published hundreds of articles on topics such as the raw food diet and green living in general. </p> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-52231746991705917722014-12-05T20:33:00.001-08:002014-12-05T20:33:55.748-08:00Breakthrough! Have The Israelis Developed A Cure For Cancer?<p>By Rob Miller – Originally posted at <a href="http://joshuapundit.blogspot.com/2014/09/breakthrough-have-israelis-developed.html">Joshua Pundit</a> – Cross-Posted at <a href="https://askmarion.wordpress.com/2014/12/06/breakthrough-have-the-israelis-developed-a-cure-for-cancer/">Ask Marion</a></p> <p><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" alt="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f5/Lymph_node_with_almost_complete_replacement_by_metastatic_melanoma.jpg/1280px-Lymph_node_with_almost_complete_replacement_by_metastatic_melanoma.jpg" src="https://i0.wp.com/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f5/Lymph_node_with_almost_complete_replacement_by_metastatic_melanoma.jpg/1280px-Lymph_node_with_almost_complete_replacement_by_metastatic_melanoma.jpg" width="400" height="265"></p> <p>Israeli researchers have developed<a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4571367,00.html"> an entirely new approach</a> towards fighting cancer – and a brand new drug that uses this approach with what appears to be amazing success.</p> <p>The new approach is called immunotherapy and involves enhancing the body’s natural immune systems to destroy the cancer cells. This is a 180 degree turn from contemporary methods like chemotherapy and radiation therapy,that seek to destroy the cancer cells and unfortunately usually end up destroying useful cells and even damaging organs, and producing harmful side effects as well. <p><i>Known as Keytruda, the drug that halted Ben-Shabbat’s aggressive cancer is viewed today as the great hope for patients with metastatic melanoma, and just recently received US Food and Drug Administration approval. According to many experts in the field, Keytruda is likely to lead to a significant breakthrough in the treatment of cancer.</i> <p><i> <p>Unlike in the past, the innovative treatment does not focus on trying to destroy the malignant tumor by means of dangerous chemical drugs that come with serious side-effects. Instead, it serves to initiate gentle and sophisticated manipulations of the body’s natural immune system, with the purpose of spurring it on to attack and destroy the cancerous cells itself. If the new treatment mechanism, known as immunotherapy, lives up to expectations, the world of oncology could undergo a real revolution within just a few years. <p>“The new drug creates real potential for curing one of the deadliest forms of cancer, at the negligible cost of light and tolerable side-effects,” says Prof. Jacob Schachter, head of Sheba Medical Center’s Ella Institute for Melanoma. “Moreover, it completely alters the working assumptions in oncology treatment, as its working mechanism is effective in the war against other types of cancer too. There’s no doubt today that the holy grail of oncology lies in immunotherapy, which helps the body’s immune system to destroy the tumor’s cells itself. <p></i> <p><i>“At this stage, we can only imagine the therapeutic potential of a combination of a number of such drugs, each acting on a different system, and some of which are already at an advanced stage of development. Among doctors, too, the scope of the breakthrough has yet to be digested.” </i> <p>And it’s a breakthrough that is likely to revolutionize oncology: <p><i>Unlike chemotherapy, which is designed to destroy the malignant cells by means of chemical drugs, immunotherapy does not go to work on the tumor itself, but rather the healthy cells of our immune system. The new therapy centers on the knowledge that cancer cells are produced in our bodies all the time, and are immediately destroyed by the immune system. In other words, our bodies have the ability to destroy such cells, but sometimes lose this ability for some reason. Immunotherapy is designed to act in various ways to restore this lost ability.</i> <p><i><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="" hspace="5" alt="" vspace="5" src="https://i0.wp.com/talpiot.sheba.co.il/sites/shebatalpiot/_media/mediabank/48_mb_file_6cdd6.jpg"> </i></p> <p><i>“Every second, our bodies produce defective cells that do not follow the regular rules of the body,” says Dr. Gal Markel, chief scientist at Sheba’s Ella Institute. “One of the jobs of the immune system is to locate these defective cells and to destroy them. This process occurs on a daily basis in each and every one of us, but sometimes things go wrong. For various reasons – genetic or environmental – irregular cells that are a little more durable can be produced.”</i></p> <p><i> <p>According to Dr. Markel, the immune system studies the new cell and adapts itself in an attempt to destroy it, but the cells, too, respond accordingly, and thus survive. This process, in which cancerous cells remain under the control of the immune system in some kind of mutual balance of terror, can continue for years. <p></i> <p><i>This means that when I, as a doctor, see a patient who has just been diagnosed, his immune system has already lost the ability to control the cancer. When a woman feels a lump in her breast, it’s a sign that her cancer cells have already defeated her immune system, and that the delicate balance between the system and the rogue cells has been upset. The moment this happens, the cancer begins to run rampant.” </i> <p>Cancer research up until now has always focused on trying to destroy the cancerous cells and/or find out what causes the immune system stop destroying the dangerous cells. <p>What the Israelis found out is how to overcome the immune system’s natural restraint mechanism and get it to focus on the cancer cells that have managed to fool the immune system into not attacking them as it would a virus or infection. <p><i>“The efforts to activate the immune system by force failed because the fundamental problem does not lie with the system itself, but in the fact that the cancer can withstand it,” says Dr. Markel, who delivered an address on the subject last week at the TEDMED conference on innovativeness in the field of medicine. “An instance in which a cancerous tumor develops is not an instance in which the immune system has stopped functioning, as was thought in the past, but rather a case of the cancer managing to effectively avoid it. The big revolution offered by the new drugs, some of which are still in the developmental stage, is that they help the immune system in various ways to snare the cancerous cells that try to slip under the radar.” </i> <p>Keytruda, the drug that was recently FDA approves has the ability to neutralize the immune system’s natural brakes and rev up its cancer fighting ability. <p><i>“There are other elements that help the cancer cells to survive in the body, but the brakes are a critical element,” Prof. Schachter explains. “Once they are out the way, the system begins to function like crazy. The new drug is more effective than the old one; it has fewer side-effects; and it works very quickly. Within weeks, the tumors shrink and the patients go back to living normal lives.” </i> <p>Not the end of the tunnel, as Dr. Markel says, but the light at the end can already be seen. <p>I demand that every BDS screecher, every Hamas and ‘Palestine groupie’ and every ‘anti-Zionist’ avoid this drug. Just boycott it, along with all the other innovations that have come out of this amazing country. <p>What a paradox – that a nation that has brought so much good to the world and humanity is the one that is regarded as illegitimate and worthy of destruction by so many people. <p>Selah.</p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:ba03efe8-3700-438d-a09c-df4e5022f0e2" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cancer" rel="tag">Cancer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Israel" rel="tag">Israel</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Breakthroughs" rel="tag">Breakthroughs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Immunotherapy" rel="tag">Immunotherapy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Keytruda" rel="tag">Keytruda</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDA" rel="tag">FDA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Drugs" rel="tag">Drugs</a></div> <p> <img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu3uT-TY4AClN1JlvDpSHQi5gHa2EeexL7p1adXQ5IF3CPQ0Lx4p3S106HGn0338WfeErMS9K6iLbCjkhEuCFI2Abp3rcjgDkyT8SFe43wLJ6UygAS_0xpAZRiDQGn7n4rHF9g4dveg4A/s1600/IMG_4343-13%23vibeisrael_.jpg" src="https://askmarion.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/70012-img_4343-1323vibeisrael_.jpg?w=400&h=267" width="400" height="267"></p> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-58941214026463448232014-09-22T19:33:00.001-07:002014-09-22T23:18:55.335-07:00Republican-Controlled House Passes Continued Complete Funding for ObamaCare and Planned Parenthood<p>God help us!!</p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.tpnn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Boehner-McCarthy-Scalise.jpg"><img alt="Republican House Leaders John Boehner, Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise" src="http://www.tpnn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Boehner-McCarthy-Scalise.jpg" width="494" height="324"></a></p> <p align="center"><strong>Republican House Leaders John Boehner, Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise</strong> </p> <p><a href="http://www.tpnn.com/2014/09/18/republican-controlled-house-passes-continued-complete-funding-for-obamacare-and-planned-parenthood/">TPNN</a>: September 18, 2014 By <a href="http://www.tpnn.com/author/matthewb/">Matthew Burke</a>: </p> <p>House Republicans, led by Speaker of the House John Boehner, joined with Democrats to pass a continuing resolution late Wednesday that will continue to fully fund Obamacare, which has never had majority support in any poll since its passage, as well as funding Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion factory which also <a href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/planned-parenthood-staff-promotes-sadomasochism-to-teens-live-action-video">teaches sadomasochism to girls as young as 15-years-old</a>. </p> <p><ins><ins><ins></ins></ins></ins></p> <p>Additionally, the bill to fund the government through December 11, provides funding for Obama’s request to “train and equip appropriately vetted elements of the Syrian opposition,” i.e., “Syrian rebels.”</p> <p>Democrat Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi joined Republicans in voting for the bill, which <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2014/roll509.xml">passed 319 to 108</a>. Four members did not vote. </p> <p>Among Republicans who voted against the bill included Trey Gowdy, Louie Gohmert, Jim Jordan, Michele Bachmann, Dana Rohrabacher, and John Fleming, while several far-left Marxist Democrats voted in favor of the Republican leadership sponsored bill, including John Conyers and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. <br>“The truth is that, if you look back under this president as commander-in-chief, we trained people in Libya,” said Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX). “We provided weapons to Libya that were then used against us in Benghazi. There are Americans dead because this administration felt compelled to go in and take out Qadhafi.”</p> <p>“One of the big problems, too, when we go in and train, as this President wants to do for the Syrians, they learn our tradecraft,” said Rep. Gohmert. “They use it against us, as they did at Benghazi,” Gohmert predicted. </p> <p>“If we are going to degrade and destroy them [ISIS] it will not happen through an indecisive strategy that relies on unreliable and largely unknown help from Syrian rebels, whose own motivations and goals are mixed, and almost impossible to be certain of,” said Rep. John Fleming (R-LA).</p> <p>Republican currently hold a majority in the House of Representatives and are led by Speaker of the House John Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and new House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://askmarion.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/palin-i-do-not-want-to-leave-the-republican-party-but-if-they-leave-me/">Palin: I Do Not Want to Leave the Republican Party, But If They Leave Me…</a> </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.tpnn.com/2014/08/27/exclusive-chris-mcdaniel-people-need-to-see-the-ugly-under-belly-of-some-elements-of-the-republican-party/">EXCLUSIVE: Chris McDaniel: ‘People Need to See the Ugly Under Belly of Some Elements of the Republican Party’</a></p> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-7033705092573152592014-09-02T22:11:00.001-07:002014-09-02T22:21:16.206-07:00Gluten, Celiac Disease and the Bigger Picture<p align="center"><strong>“Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world.” - Henry Kissinger</strong> <p align="center">In 1974, Henry Kissinger suggested using food as a weapon to induce targeted population reduction in a previously classified 200-page report, National Security Study Memorandum 200: Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas Interests. <p>By Marion Algier </p> <p>The American food supply has been tainted with genetically modified corn, wheat and soy; antibiotics and steroids given to our meat supply, chemical fertilizers, frightening food additives and flavor enhancers and the list goes on. Many countries around the world will not by our agricultural products or package foods because of it. But many Americans are just finding out about what affect Big Agri and Big Business are having on their food and in turn their health.</p> <p>10-years ago virtually nobody had heard for gluten, <a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2010/05/genetically-modified-food-to-make.html">GMO’s</a> or Celiac Disease. Now it seems to be the health topic of the year. So where did this come from and what really is Celiac Disease?</p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-1-dKinTh46M/VAai2JwCP8I/AAAAAAAABxo/vhrZUa6t9RA/s1600-h/celiac_disease_related_diseases3.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="celiac_disease_related_diseases" border="0" alt="celiac_disease_related_diseases" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-yfz0v3cPn3Y/VAai26vCkhI/AAAAAAAABxs/ZsYqCw7-u9g/celiac_disease_related_diseases_thum.jpg?imgmax=800" width="548" height="227"></a> </p> <p>Through the process of creating genetically modified wheat, the protein gluten has increased 10 fold. Our bodies are good a adapting but not to such large quantities in such a short time.</p> <p>Celiac disease, also known as coeliac disease, is an autoimmune disorder that affects around 1 in 100 Americans. The disease is caused by gluten intolerance. Gliadin, a protein in wheat, causes the afflicted persons immune system to attack its own bowel tissue. This causes villous atrophy, or the erosion of the nutrient absorbing villi that line the small intestine. Other grains, like barley and rye, have similarly shaped proteins which can cause the same reaction in sensitive individuals. <p>Celiac disease can cause irreversible damage. <p>Testing for celiac disease is done through blood tests and endoscopy. It is important for the afflicted person to continue eating gluten while they are tested for celiac disease. When they remove gluten from their diet, their body starts to repair itself, giving a false negative for the tests. <p>Celiac disease can cause a multitude of problems. The major ones come from malabsorption of nutrients. This can lead to osteoporosis, anemia, and stunted growth in children. Those who suffer from celiac disease are also more likely to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma when compared to the general population. The best way to protect yourself and minimize your risk is early diagnosis and strict diet. <p>The symptoms can range from no symptoms at all to excruciating pain, chronic fatigue and deterioration of the sufferers body in many areas including the development of various cancers. <p><strong><a href="http://www.activebeat.com/health-news/10-symptoms-of-celiac-disease-do-you-have-it-2/">!0 major symptoms of Celiac Disease</a>:</strong> <blockquote> <p><strong>1. No Symptoms</strong> <p>Unfortunately, many people who suffer from celiac disease have no symptoms. This is particularly dangerous as intestinal damage can occur even when no symptoms are present. With new screening techniques, people are being diagnosed without ever suspecting they have the disease. It is important for people with no symptoms but a positive diagnosis to eat properly, as they are still at risk for serious complications of celiac disease, such as cancer.</p></blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>2. Bloating</strong> <p><strong><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-kfeDHki9G1Q/VAai3SusbAI/AAAAAAAABx0/B0CxOx4rwYM/s1600-h/CeliacDisease2.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="Celiac Disease" border="0" alt="Celiac Disease" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-RD7SurIN8vw/VAai3_RyGRI/AAAAAAAABx8/9o7rvGmpCe0/CeliacDisease_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="225" height="244"></a></strong>Many people who have celiac disease suffer from painful bloating. For days after consuming gluten, the stomach may be distended and filled with gas. This can be quite painful. Many people complain of intestinal pain and the feeling of being “6 months pregnant”. They may also suffer from excessive gas and flatulence. Bloating can be symptoms of other dietary conditions, so look for it in conjunction with the consumption of gluten. The pain can radiate to other organs and down the extremities making diagnosis difficult without testing. <p><strong>3. Diarrhea</strong> <p>Chronic diarrhea is a common symptom of those afflicted with celiac disease. The episodes may be smelly, explosive, and painful. The color of the stool may be pale or white, and typically floats on the surface of the water. Even solid stools may present these conditions. Related symptoms to chronic diarrhea include hemorrhoids. These can occur when there is not enough substance in the stools. <p><strong>4. Constipation</strong> <p>While diarrhea is common in celiac sufferers, some people may be afflicted with constipation. This if from the body sluggishly moving the contents of the bowels. The body may be trying to pull all the nutrients possible from the food as the damaged villi will not work as efficiently. The constipation may be marked by periods of heavy diarrhea as the person consumes gluten. The constipation may cause pain and bloating. <p><strong>5. Weight Loss or Gain</strong> <p>Many people who suffer from celiac disease lose weight as their body reacts to the missing nutrients. The diarrhea caused by gluten may stall the absorption of calories from the food, purging the body from its fuel. Conversely, a sufferer may in fact gain weight instead of lose it. Their bodies may be screaming for nutrients, so they eat in excess to achieve proper nutrition. They may have a hard time losing weight until they restrict gluten from their diet. <p><strong>6. Fatigue</strong> <p>Fatigue is a common complaint of those affected by celiac disease. Undiagnosed celiac suffers may have their bodies suffer from malnutrition caused by absorption issues. Their body will respond with extreme fatigue and malaise in response. They may crave sugary foods and drink excessive caffeine just to stay energized. After diagnosis and the removal of gluten from the diet, fatigue may be the first symptom to be eliminated</p></blockquote> <blockquote> <p><strong>7. Trouble Concentrating</strong> <p>People who suffer from celiac disease may experience something called a “brain fog” in relation to the consumption of gluten. This symptom exhibits immediately after eating gluten and can persist for days. The feeling that it gives is confusion, trouble concentrating, and short term memory loss. A sufferer may forget to pick your children up from school, or even forget what they are writing mid sentence. Thankfully, this symptom does not persist as a person removes gluten from their diet. It may even make them feel finally awake after years of fogginess. <p><strong>8. Problems Falling and Staying Asleep</strong> <p>Recent studies have found that patients with celiac disease commonly suffer from disordered sleeping, regardless of if the rest of their diet is healthy or not. Sleep disorders are more common to those suffering from celiac disease vs. the rest of the general population. The disordered sleeping can be shown through an inability to fall asleep, and being unable to stay asleep. The study found that the causes of the inability to sleep well include depression, fatigue, and anxiety. <p><strong>9. Numbness and Tingling </strong> <p>Many celiac sufferers exhibit neuropathic symptoms. Problems with the neuropathic system can affect gross and fine motor control and sensory nerves. An undiagnosed celiac disease sufferer my find their extremities exhibit nerve problems. This can include a tingling sensation in the hands and feet, ranging from mild to “fallen asleep”. Conversely, they may not feel anything in their hands and feet, as numbness is a common complaint. Other parts of the body may be affected, such as the facial muscles and body nerves. <p><strong>10. Depression</strong> <p>Unfortunately, depression and suicide rates are higher in people with celiac disease. Studies have found that even eating a gluten free diet, the rates of depression are much higher than the general population. One study found a connection between disordered eating and depression in women who suffer from celiac disease. As they closely monitor their foods for gluten, disordered and restrictive eating can develop. For suicide risk, it seems that once diagnosed and with dietary changes, the suicide risk is greatly reduced.</p></blockquote> <p><strong>Other symptoms include:</strong> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-iZBPC07AA-8/VAai4_6pMlI/AAAAAAAAByE/e15YDcGbLzQ/s1600-h/CeliacSymptons4.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Celiac Symptons" border="0" alt="Celiac Symptons" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-sAauNjpf74I/VAai6IGSO-I/AAAAAAAAByM/B8qFzgATAk4/CeliacSymptons_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="393" height="686"></a> <p><strong><a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/488120-foods-to-eat-with-gluten-intolerance-but-not-celiac-disease/">Celiac Disease vs. Gluten Intolerance</a></strong></p> <p>More people have undiagnosed gluten intolerance than any other disorder, according to the nonprofit support organization Gluten Intolerance Group. It is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061728160?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0061728160&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">a hidden epidemic</a>. The symptoms of celiac disease, which affects an estimated 2 million Americans, and gluten intolerance are similar but vary from person to person. Many experience abdominal discomfort, nausea and diarrhea. If you suspect you are gluten intolerant, ask your doctor to do blood work and a diagnostic analysis to rule out celiac disease. Always follow your doctor's dietary recommendations and restrictions. <p>Although celiac disease and gluten intolerance have similar symptoms, the primary difference between the two conditions is that celiac disease involves your immune system and causes long-term damage to the villi that line your small intestine, according to the National Institutes of Health. In contrast, gluten intolerance is a digestive tract reaction that causes you to experience a variety of gastrointestinal discomforts. Your doctor will likely run an antibody test to determine whether you have celiac disease. If the test results are negative, it is likely that you have a gluten intolerance rather than celiac disease. As with celiac, removing gluten from your diet can ease the uncomfortable symptoms often associated with gluten intolerance. <p><strong>Foods to Avoid:</strong> <p>Celiac disease involves a systemic reaction to gluten. For patients diagnosed with Celiac disease, the ingestion of any product that contains gluten causes immediate harm to the intestines. The warning includes not only food, but anything that may have come into contact with gluten: utensils, bowls, toasters, storage contains, shared knives, cutting boards and even crumbs for products that contain gluten.</p> <p>The number 1 rule for sufferers of celiac disease and gluten intolerance is no wheat products and rye and barley also contain higher levels of gluten.</p> <p>Gluten is most commonly found in both white and wheat flour and is therefore used in a lot of different food products including breads, baked goods, cereals, pastas, and pizza dough. You will need to begin a habit of reading all labels to ensure that it is gluten-free. Just because something is packaged as wheat-free, does not necessarily mean it is gluten-free. You can substitute all of the above mentioned food items with any that are made with rice or almond flour.</p> <p>You can substitute all of the above mentioned food items with any that are made with rice or almond flour. <p>Other food items that you need to avoid include: barley (including malt), rye, bulgur and spelt. Substitutions in your diet can include: rice, corn, buckwheat, amaranth, millet, tapioca and quinoa. Many dairy products contain gluten, so again, read the labels for consuming. Almond Breeze is a good substitute for milk. If you enjoy the occasional beer, you need to be extra careful because many beers and spirits are made with rye and malt. Look for those that are gluten-free. <p>If you enjoy gravies, condiments and dressings, examine the label for contents and instead use oils, vinegars and any gluten-free substitutes. When it comes to the topics of meats, stay as far away from any processed meats as possible. Substitute with fresh meats that include, chicken, turkey, pork, fresh fish, lamp and shellfish. <p>Don’t be drawn in by the healthy look of granola and energy bars, they also are packed with gluten. <p><strong>Manufactured FOODS List generated by Fox Valley Celiacs (FVC); is intended for the benefit of its members and other interested parties. Some celiacs may have other sensitivities (e.g. corn or soy). </strong></p> <p><em>(This a safe list for sufferers of celiac disease and gluten intolerance but some of the products below may contain ingredients not good for other conditions or general health.)</em></p> <p>Bacon― Oscar Meyer, Hormel<br>Baked Beans― B & M, Bush’s <br>Baking Chips― Nestle, Hershey’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips<br>Baking Powder― Calumet, Rumford <br>Barbecue Sauce― Saz’s, Sweet Baby Rays (all) <br>Beans― Bush’s (not chili beans or chili starter)<br>Beef Stew― Dinty Moore<br>Broth/Soup Base― Kitchen Basics, Progresso, Swanson’s <br>Cold Cuts (packaged) ― Boar’s Head (Bologna, Ham, Roast Beef, Turkey), Buddig Sandwich Meats, Oscar Mayer, Hormel Natural Choice Deli meats<br>Bouillon Cubes― Herb-Ox <br>Candy Bars― Snickers, Almond Joy, Mounds, Payday, M & M’s - plain & peanut, Baby Ruth, Reese�s Peanut Butter Cups (except when in holiday shapes), Hershey Kisses, Butterfinger<br>Catsup― Heinz & Del Monte <br>Cheese― Frigo String, Hard Cheeses<br>Chili― Hormel with Beans<br>Chips― Cheetos, Cool Ranch Doritos, Corn Tostitos, Fritos (except Chili Cheese), Ruffles, Lundgren, <br>Coffee & Tea― (flavored may contain gluten, check labels)<br>Cottage Cheese― Morning Glory, Kemps<br>Crab― Leg-A-Sea Imitation <br>Cream Cheese― Philadelphia Cream Cheese<br>Cream Style Corn― Green Giant<br>Dips― Okedoke Chili Con Queso, Kemps, Simply Organic Ranch<br>Dry Cereal― Erewhon’s Crispy Brown Rice; Health Valley Rice Crunch Ems, Corn Crunch Ems; General Mills Rice Chex (12.8-oz. only); Nature’s Path Cornflakes, Amaranth Flakes; Envirokidz Peanut Butter Panda Puffs, Amazon Frosted Flakes, Koala Crisp, Gorilla Munch; Perky O’s<br>Dry Soup Mix― Lipton Dry Onion <br>Eggs<br>Fruit― Canned, fresh<br>Gelatin― Jell-O, Knox<br>Gluten-Free Frozen Dinners― Amy’s Enchilada<br>Ground Beef ― 100% Pure <br>Ham Slices― Cook’s, Oscar Meyer<br>Hot Dogs― Hillshire, Oscar Meyer <br>Ice Cream (no cookie dough) ― Blue Bunny, Edy’s, Breyers<br>Jams, Jellies & Preserves― Smucker’s, Welch’s<br>Mayonnaise― Hellmann's Real, Kraft<br>Mustard― French’s, Gulden’s, Grey Poupon <br>Nuts― Plain <br>Oil― Olive, Peanut, Canola, Safflower, Corn<br>Olives<br>Pasta― Tinkyada, De Boles, Lundgren <br>Peanut Butter― Jif, Peter Pan, Skippy <br>Pepperoni― Hormel <br>Powdered Drink Mixes― Country Time, Crystal Light <br>Pudding― Jell-O Instant, Cook & Serve <br>Pasta Sauces― Prego, Ragu, & Pace are being tested for gluten-free certification. Check labels.<br>Pickles― Vlasic <br>Pie Fillings― Comstock & Wilderness<br>Pizza Sauce― Contadina, Dei Fratelli <br>Popcorn― Plain <br>Raisins― Dole, Sun Maid<br>Rice― (plain) Basmati, Jasmine, white, brown, wild<br>Rice Cakes― Lundgren<br>Rice Noodles― Thai Kitchen Instant <br>Salad Dressings― Kraft (label will state allergens)<br>Salads in a Bag― (with no croutons or dressing)<br>Seasoned Salt― Lawry’s<br>Seasoning Packet― Original Chex Mix <br>Soda― Barq’s Root Beer, Coke & Pepsi Products<br>Soft Serve Ice Cream (in a cup) ― McDonald’s (all flavors), Dairy Queen (vanilla and chocolate)<br>Soups― Progresso (many are gluten-free. Ingredient label will state allergens), Thai Kitchen Soups<br>Sour Cream― Daisy, Kemps, Morning Glory<br>Soy Sauce― La Choy <br>Spices― McCormick Pure <br>Spreads― *Butter, (the best option unless you can’t eat butter for another reason) Brummel & Brown, Blue Bonnet, Country Crock, Fleischmann’s, Imperial <br>Summer Sausage― Johnsonville, Old Wisconsin, Hillshire <br>Syrups― Karo <br>Taco Sauce― Chi Chi <br>Taco Shells― Ortega Tostada, White Corn <br>Tomato Products― Red Gold<br>Tuna― Chicken of the Sea, StarKist (but watch out for the mercury)<br>Vegetables― Fresh, canned (plain)<br>Waffles― Van’s Gluten-Free Frozen<br>Worcestershire Sauce― French’s<br>Yogurt― Yoplait, Stonyfield Farms, Dannon (plain), several of the Greek yogurts are gluten free <br>Wal-Mart Great Value brand items produced in a gluten-free facility will be labeled gluten free.</p> <p>NON-FOOD ITEMS<br>Toothpaste― Colgate, Crest<br>Lip Balm― Blistex, Burt�s Bees, ChapStick<br>Lipstick― Burt’s Bees</p> <p>There is a great cookbook by Elizabeth Hasselbeck: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345529391?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0345529391&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">Deliciously G-Free: Food So Flavorful They'll Never Believe It's Gluten-Free</a></p> <p>Also see: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1605537233?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1605537233&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">The Gluten-Free Bible</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936303639?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1936303639&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">Celiac Disease, Second Edition: A Guide to Living with Gluten Intolerance</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1603560084?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1603560084&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">Real Life with Celiac Disease</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470160365?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0470160365&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">Celiac Disease For Dummies</a>.</p> <p><strong>Reproduction of this material is allowed</strong> to facilitate the exchange of celiac information. Food manufacturers' products are subject to formula change at any time. If you cannot confirm, by the label, that a product is gluten free, call the company's toll-free number. Many company websites will list their gluten-free products. A more inclusive list of gluten-free items can be found at www.glutenfreeinsd.com , which is also associated with CSA. <strong>ALWAYS read labels.</strong></p> <p>Jennifer Espisito from the TV show Blue Bloods was fired because she suffered from Celiac Disease. She wrote: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738217107?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0738217107&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">Jennifer's Way: My Journey with Celiac Disease -- What Doctors Don’t Tell You and How You Can Learn to Live Again</a> </p> <p>It is also becoming ever clearer that gluten, GMO’s and vaccines are part of <a href="http://askmarion.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/the-ad-add-adhd-autism-aging-inflammation-and-nutrition-connection/">the AD, ADD, ADHD, Autism, Aging… Inflammation and Nutrition Connection</a></p> <p>Related: </p> <p><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2010/11/monsanto-battle-continues-after-suing.html">Monsanto Battle Continues After Suing Midwest Farmers for Saving Seeds</a> </p> <p><a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2013/03/whole-foods-market-takes-huge-stand.html">Whole Foods Market Takes Huge Stand Against GMOs: Mandatory Labeling by 2018</a></p> <p><a href="http://nwoobserver.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/gmo-scandal-the-long-term-effects-of-genetically-modified-food-on-humans/">GMO Scandal: The Long Term Effects of Genetically Modified Food on Humans</a></p> <p><a href="http://nwoobserver.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/codex-alimentarius-how-the-global-elite-will-control-your-food-supply/">Codex Alimentarius – How The Global Elite Will Control Your Food Supply…</a></p> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-44480916411601270252014-08-22T19:29:00.001-07:002014-08-22T19:29:56.906-07:00My Dear Girl… Please Remember<p> </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-XlRw_ch6BSE/U_f8m7XfT3I/AAAAAAAABxQ/hB-37ZljTLk/s1600-h/Cycle%252520of%252520Life%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Cycle of Life" border="0" alt="Cycle of Life" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-KqVdb1iNG1o/U_f8n9DstiI/AAAAAAAABxY/znNwObywaEM/Cycle%252520of%252520Life_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="478" height="328"></a> </p> <p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AARP?fref=photo">AARP</a> - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AARP/photos/a.87332378959.82367.57259033959/10151335986868960/?type=1&permPage=1"><abbr>January 9, 2013</abbr></a> <p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AARP/photos/a.87332378959.82367.57259033959/10151335986868960/?type=1&theater#"><i></i></a> <p>My dear girl, the day you see I'm getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I'm going through. If when we talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don't interrupt to say: "You said the same thing a minute ago"... Just listen, please. Try to remember the times when you were little and I would read the same story night after night until you would fall asleep.</p> <p>When I don't want to take a bath, don't be mad and don't embarrass me. Remember when I had to run after you making excuses and trying to get you to take a shower when you were just a girl?<br>When you see how ignorant I am when it comes to new technology, give me the time to learn and don't look at me that way ... remember, honey, I patiently taught you how to do many things like eating appropriately, getting dressed, combing your hair and dealing with life's issues every day... the day you see I'm getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I'm going through.</p> <p>If I occasionally lose track of what we're talking about, give me the time to remember, and if I can't, don't be nervous, impatient or arrogant. Just know in your heart that the most important thing for me is to be with you.</p> <p>And when my old, tired legs don't let me move as quickly as before, give me your hand the same way that I offered mine to you when you first walked. When those days come, don't feel sad... just be with me, and understand me while I get to the end of my life with love. I'll cherish and thank you for the gift of time and joy we shared. With a big smile and the huge love I've always had for you, I just want to say, I love you ... my darling daughter.</p> <p>Original text in Spanish and photo by Guillermo Peña. Translation to English by Sergio Cadena</p> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-59756241143710283882014-08-14T11:14:00.001-07:002014-08-14T16:08:44.785-07:00Depression and Suicide Re-Visited in the Aftermath of the Death of Robin Williams<h4 align="center"><a href="http://askmarion.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/robin-williams-humble-hero-and-comic-virtuoso-dead-at-63/"><strong>Robin Williams… Humble Hero and Comic Virtuoso Dead at 63</strong></a></h4> <blockquote> <p align="left"><strong>Goodbye Robin Williams… May you rest in peace!! Thank you for all the joy and laughter you brought into all our lives!! For the talent you shared and for all your good works!! May you find the joy, peace and laughter that you were looking for in the next life!! Read more <a href="http://askmarion.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/robin-williams-humble-hero-and-comic-virtuoso-dead-at-63/">here</a></strong></p></blockquote> <p align="center"><img title="Robin Williams" border="0" alt="Robin Williams" src="http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2012612/634.robin2.cm.71212.jpg" width="455" height="727"> </p> <p>By Marion Algier - True Health Is True Wealth (THITW) - Cross-Posted at <a href="http://askmarion.wordpress.com/2014/08/14/depression-and-suicide-re-visited-in-the-aftermath-of-the-death-of-robin-williams/">AskMarion</a></p> <p>The world was shocked to hear of the death of Robin Williams and even more shocked to hear about the details of his death… his suicide after a life of depression.</p> <p>Two movies that Williams made come to mind when thinking about the events surrounding his death: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6305144168?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6305144168&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">Dead Poets Society</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007GZR5?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00007GZR5&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">What Dreams May Come</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2014/08/13/how-the-lessons-of-dead-poets-society-can-help-us-understand-suicide-and-depression/"><strong>How the lessons of ‘Dead Poets Society’ can help us understand suicide and depression</strong></a><strong>:</strong></p> <blockquote> <p>By Alyssa Rosenberg – <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2014/08/13/how-the-lessons-of-dead-poets-society-can-help-us-understand-suicide-and-depression/">Washington Post</a>: As we have absorbed the news that Robin Williams committed suicide at the age of 63, the conversation about his life and legacy has starfished in any number of directions, some of them outrageously ghoulish, many of them thoughtful. I have been struck by many of the pieces that focus on two ideas: the greatness of Williams’ performance in the period private school drama “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6305144168?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6305144168&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">Dead Poets Society</a>” and attempts to render suicide and depression more comprehensible. <p align="center"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" alt="(Credit: Buena Vista Pictures)" src="http://img.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2014/08/Dead-Poets-Society.jpg"><br>(Buena Vista Pictures) <p>“I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way,” John Keating (Williams) told the boys in his high school English class in “Dead Poets Society.” <p>But poetry does more than give us unique perspectives on familiar subjects. It can be a powerful pathway into the mind-sets of profound depression and suicidal ideation that are difficult to render rational to people who are trying to understand them from the outside, and that are flattened by all but <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679736395/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0679736395&linkCode=as2&tag=thewaspos09-20&linkId=JEQP7PECD67VWCO2">the most incandescent prose writers</a>. If we are to truly take Keating’s advice, we ought to examine the same medium that explains to us why we live for insight into why some people choose to die. <p>Keating teaches his boys Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses,” with its injunction from the Greek hero, “How dull it is to pause, to make an end, / To rust unburnish’d, not to shine in use!” <p>He might have reached back to Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” and the story of Ajax’s suicide. In <a href="http://classics.mit.edu/Ovid/metam.13.thirteenth.html">Sir Samuel Garth and John Dryden’s translation</a>, the mighty fighter, furious that Odysseus has been awarded a prize that Ajax believed rightly his, and unable to understand the logic that permits such a decision, commits suicide. “He who cou’d often, and alone, withstand / The foe, the fire, and Jove’s own partial hand, / Now cannot his unmaster’d grief sustain, / But yields to rage, to madness, and disdain.” <p>Or what about the “Aeneid,” which gains so much of its power from a seeming contradiction. When Aeneas meets Queen Dido, he is in awe of her. In Robert Fitzgerald’s marvelous translation, Aeneas marvels “What age so happy / Brought you to birth? How splendid were your parents / To have conceived a being like yourself!” <p>But Aeneas’s hope that “your name and your distinction / Go with me, whatever lands may call me” carries with it the promise that he will leave. When he does, Dido’s understanding of the laws that are meant to govern gods and men cracks and she becomes fixated on a vision of her own death. Virgil captures the moment before her suicide in stunning verse: “Dido’s heart / Beat wildly at the enormous thing afoot. / She rolled her bloodshot eyes, her quivering cheeks / Were flecked with red as her sick pallor grew / Before her coming death. Into the court / She burst her way, then at her passion’s height / She climbed the pyre and bared the Dardan sword– / A gift desired once, for no such need.” <p>I sometimes wonder if Keating read the work of Weldon Kees, <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/07/04/the-disappearing-poet">who disappeared in 1955.</a> Kees’s fate is a mystery, but even if he did not kill himself, his vanishing act is a kind of self-murder. <p>Kees’s work captures the flatness of depression beautifully. In a series of poems about a character named Robinson, <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177049">Kees describes</a> the man’s “sad and usual heart, dry as a winter leaf.” Ultimately, Robinson vanishes, his absence throwing a pall over the world: “The mirror from Mexico, stuck to the wall,” Kees writes, “Reflects nothing at all. The glass is black. / Robinson alone provides the image Robinsonian.” <p>Many of Kees’s other poems seem to suffer from infections similar to the ones that ravage Robinson’s spirit. <p>In “<a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177037">For My Daughter</a>,” he darkly speculates about the fates that a woman can meet, “Parched years that I have seen / That may be hers appear: foul, lingering / Death in certain war, the slim legs green. / Or, fed on hate, she relishes the sting / Of others’ agony; perhaps the cruel / Bride of a syphilitic or a fool.” The poem ends in a surprising place. “These speculations sour in the sun,” Kees admits. “I have no daughter. I desire none.” <p>In “<a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse/72/5#%21/20590553">The Upstairs Room</a>,” he uses that same sense of surprise to talk cruelly about “The floor my father stained,” not with varnish but with “The new blood streaming from his head.” The characters in “<a href="http://inwardboundpoetry.blogspot.com/2008/07/700-five-villanelles-weldon-kees.html">Five Villanelles</a>” are paralyzed, prevented even from acting to protect themselves: “Here in the kitchen, drinking gin, / We can accept the damndest laws. / We must remain until the roof falls in.” <p>“Dead Poets Society” is set in 1959, at the same moment that the <a href="http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-confessional-poetry">confessional poets</a> were emerging as a significant force in American letters. <p>If Keating’s teaching took, I can imagine the young men of that film encountering Anne Sexton’s sharp observation in “<a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171275">Wanting to Die</a>” that “But suicides have a special language. / Like carpenters they want to know <em>which tools</em>. / They never ask <em>why build</em>.” Or maybe they would be touched by Robert Lowell’s report of his stay in a mental health facility in “<a href="http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/waking-blue">Waking in the Blue</a>” that “We are all old-timers, / each of us holds a locked razor.” Lowell himself recalled Dido in “<a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178940">Falling Asleep over the Aeneid</a>.” His character dreams that he is Aeneas, holding the sword that Dido used to kill herself, when he is visited by a bird who counsels him “Brother, try, / O Child of Aphrodite, try to die: / To die is life.” <p>Sexton and Sylvia Plath captured the grinding drive towards annihilation in “<a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/238184">The Double Image</a>” and “<a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178961">Lady Lazarus</a>.” In the former, Sexton watches leaves fall off the trees with the daughter she has failed to parent because of her suicide attempts and stays in institutions. “I tell you what you’ll never really know,” she tells the little girl, “all the medical hypothesis / that explained my brain will never be as true as these / struck leaves letting go.” <p>“This is Number Three. / What a trash / To annihilate each decade,” Plath writes in an expression of extreme weariness. <p>In Elizabeth Bishop’s “<a href="http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/one-art">One Art</a>,” she counsels readers that ” It’s evident / the art of losing’s not too hard to master / though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.” It is good advice. But poetry can help us see that while we are supposed to recover from losses like Bishop’s, or John Keating’s loss of a student and a job, not all of our brains work the same way.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007GZR5?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00007GZR5&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">What Dreams May Come</a> also deals with depression, death and suicide and attacks the religious stance that there is not escape from suicide, that once you go down that path you will spend all eternity in Hell.</p> <p align="center"><img alt="What Dreams May Come - Special Edition" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519WV0P0QSL.jpg" width="313" height="445"></p> <blockquote> <p>There is such a profound sense of drama, magic and emotion behind the story in "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007GZR5?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00007GZR5&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">What Dreams May Come</a>," a film based on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765308703?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0765308703&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">the novel</a> by Richard Matheson. There is a strong story with which anyone who loves someone else can identify, as well as an ostentatious and elegant scope of visual and auditory imagery that jumps right for your eyes onscreen. Matheson's visions of heaven and hell are magnificently realized here, as well as the love between two people that is unbreakable, even after death. </p> <p>The movie begins with the chance meeting of two American tourists traveling in Switzerland. Soon after, Chris and Annie become inseparable, and after their wedding, they bear two children. Many years later, Ian and Marie are killed in a car collision, leaving their parents distraught yet overcoming. Another couple of years later, Chris dies in a car accident as well, on his way to celebrate the "Double D" anniversary of his wife's emotional recovery from their childrens' deaths. This begins his trip into heaven, which is rocky at first during his attempts to console his living wife, then graduating into his acceptance of his immortality and ascemding into heaven, which turns out to be the creation of his own thoughts and settings. When he realizes that he is not completely happy without Annie, he becomes depressed, so it is no surprise that when Annie commits suicide and is sent to hell, he readies himself to rescue his wife from her emotional confines that keep her in her prison of eternal darkness.</p> <p><br>The story for this movie is very ambitious, as are the filmmakers who bring it to life. There is an abundance of vivid memories in the form of flashbacks, many of which are precisely used to move the plot along and keep the story moving. Instead of becoming bored with the ongoing story of Annie and Chris's married and parental life, I found myself becoming more and more entranced as their lives unfolded, and say what you will, but the only way to tell a story like this is through flashbacks. If you were to take all of the memories and place them in order at the beginning of the movie, the audience would forget about the important moments that have an effects on the actions and events that take place in later instances of the film. Each one is a separate piece of the puzzle, and they all fit together quite well.</p> <p>This film is one of those movies that showcases the possibilities for filmmaking in the future. Really, when you think about it, there is no way that the movie could have been made thirty years ago and still have the same impact as it does now. The settings and scenery play the most important role of the movie, for they provide the reason for the emotion and action that affects our characters. The beginning shots in Switzerland show us beautiful vistas of mountains and lakes, which will later become the inspiration for Chris's heaven, as well as many of the paintings Annie creates. Their home bursts forth with color and brightness, proving that color plays a big role in the film. When everyone is alive, everything seems light and airy. After Chris's death, all is dark, and the walls of the home seem dismal and gray. One scene in particular is a scene in which Chris watches his children being driven away in their van down a long line of lilac trees, a slight fog covering the scene. Their is that brilliance of color, yet the dark fog makes us uneasy, hence the accident that kills their children.</p> <p>Heaven is elegantly portrayed in this film, and is done so with a new twist: that each person has their own private heaven created in the image of their own personal desires and thoughts. Chris's heaven is based on the paintings of his wife, from the mountains of Switzerland to a small island in the middle of a mountain lake with an opulent, airy house. The filmmakers give each scene the precise look of a painting, even after the special effects fade, using vivid colors, lots of flowers and mountainous backdrops, to transport us into Chris's new world. This is one of the most incredible film achievements ever, taking us to a special place that is warm, inviting, and personifies every thought we, as an audience, have ever had for beauty and vision.</p> <p><br>Hell is given a truly horrifying and intense treatment, displaying visions of suffering as well as the personal and emotional pain of life that haunts us all. Somewhat like the way in which Heaven is created, Hell is seen as a persons's "life gone wrong," which allows for the creation of their pain-driven eternity. The gateway to hell is a stunning visual image, a vast, smoky graveyard of smoldering shipwrecks that creak and groan. There is also a dismal, endless sea of decrepit faces of hell's inhabitants, that groan and scream at one another. The most striking of all the settings is the overturned cathedral, where Annie resides. The columns rise from the ceiling and go on forever into the darkness, which gives the whole place a sense of the neverending.</p> <p>There is a unique chemistry between the two leads that carries on the film's emotion and power. Robin Williams is charming, humorous and bold as Chris Nielsen, and through his acting and talent, he is able to make us believe in the love that Chris holds for Annie. Annabella Sciorra is moving as Annie, embodying all of the emotions and grief that set the stage for the second half of the story. When the two are together onscreen, they are happy and in love, and we buy it because they make it appear very authentic. Cuba Gooding, Jr. plays the angel that brings Chris to heaven, doing well in his performance of helping Chris through his struggle to realize his death. Max von Sydow, whose part is not as big as others he has had, is the tracker who takes them all to hell, and his words of wisdom keep the film's informative angle moving.</p> <p>"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007GZR5?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00007GZR5&linkCode=xm2&tag=truhea-20">What Dreams May Come</a>" will go down in history as one of the most innovative and spectacular films ever made, full of ambition and inspiration. In its story, we are taken on a journey of the human heart, as well as a striking vision of what may lie in store for everyone under God's eye.</p></blockquote> <p>When I hear ridiculous statements from people like '”Robin Williams’ suicide or any suicide was a cowardly act,” it shows me how little progress we have made in this realm and how uninformed people really are.</p> <p>I lost my Mother to suicide after a long bout with depression that also involved the shooting of My 21-year-old brother; all ultimately caused by the untimely death of my father from colon cancer and the events that followed. It is a story for another time. But as Dennis Miller said on the O’Reilly Factor, “If a gentle and cool cat like Robin Williams could be lost to this disease, we all can!” </p> <p>Who should you be calling today that can use your help?</p> <p align="center"><img alt="" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/10537374_10154463770045416_4399221117729986692_n.jpg" width="527" height="413"></p> <p><a href="http://www.howmanyarethere.us/how-many-people-suffer-from-depression/">Depression</a>: Approximately 21.5 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder. Nearly twice as many women (12.0 percent) as men (6.6 percent) are affected by a depressive disorder each year. These figures translate to 13.7 million women and 7.8 million men in the U.S. <ul> <li>Pre-schoolers represent the fastest-growing market for antidepressants. At least four percent of preschoolers—more than one million—are clinically depressed. <li>The rate of increase of depression among children is 23%. <li>In most developed countries, 15% of the population suffers from severe depression. <li>An estimated 30% of women are depressed. <li>41% of depressed women are too embarrassed to seek help. <li>80% of depressed people are not currently receiving any treatment. <li>An estimated 15% of depressed people commit suicide. <li>By 2020, depression will be the second largest killer after heart disease. Furthermore, studies indicate that depression is a contributing factor to fatal coronary disease. </li></ul> <p><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="how-many-people-suffer-from-depression" alt="" src="http://www.howmanyarethere.us/wp-content/uploads/how-many-people-suffer-from-depression.jpg" width="511" height="383"> <p>340 million people in the world suffer from depression and rising. 1 in 4 women will suffer from depression. Postnatal depression affects 14 per cent of new mothers. 1 in 10 men will suffer from depression (this statistic is not absolutely correct because more women are apt to see their doctor for depression than men do.) Depression strikes all races, rich and poor. <p>The World Health Organization estimates that about 121 million people worldwide have some form of depression, although less than 25 percent have access to effective treatment [source: WHO]. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 14.8 million adult Americans experience clinical depression in any given year — or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population over 18 [source: NIH Depressive]. Women are more likely to have major depression than are men, and the average age for a bout of clinical depression to set in is 32 years old. Older adults also are depressed, however. In fact, people 65 years and older commit suicide at a higher rate than the national average [source: Senior Health]. The good news is that NIH statistics show that the percentage of all adults in the U.S. who are depressed went down a full percentage point from 2007 to 2008… but something tells me that the figures from 2008 to 2014 will have gone in the other direction!!</p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:3ad1191e-731d-4c5a-82a0-ceb84f5ecdad" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Robin+Williams" rel="tag">Robin Williams</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Movies" rel="tag">Movies</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Depression" rel="tag">Depression</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Suicide" rel="tag">Suicide</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mental+Illness" rel="tag">Mental Illness</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Substance+Abuse" rel="tag">Substance Abuse</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Warnings" rel="tag">Warnings</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hollywood" rel="tag">Hollywood</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Stigma" rel="tag">Stigma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Drugs" rel="tag">Drugs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Dennis+Miller" rel="tag">Dennis Miller</a></div> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-38080855287754975722014-08-08T19:23:00.001-07:002014-08-08T19:27:32.838-07:00Obama Administration Lied About Insurance Company Bailouts<h4 align="center">A Damning Report</h4> <p>By: <a href="http://www.redstate.com/users/dan_mclaughlin/"></a><a href="http://www.redstate.com/users/dan_mclaughlin/">Dan McLaughlin</a> (<a href="http://www.redstate.com/diary/dan_mclaughlin/">Diary</a>) | August 5th, 2014 at 02:00 PM – <a href="http://www.redstate.com/2014/08/05/obama-administration-lied-insurance-company-bailouts/">RedState</a> <p><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" alt="Ocare Age Mix" src="http://www.redstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Ocare-Age-Mix.jpg" width="492" height="286"></p> <p>It can be difficult to keep track of all the untruths the Obama Administration has told in the process of selling Obamacare to a disbelieving public, and it is tempting to write these all off as history, more than four years later. But the untruths have never stopped coming. <a href="http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/WH-Involvement-in-ObamaCare-Taxpayer-Bailout-with-Appendix.pdf">A House oversight report released last week</a> reveals that the Administration has been misleading the public about the likelihood that it will have to bail out insurance companies that sold policies under Obamacare. I highly recommend you read both the report and <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/emails-show-cozy-government-insurer-alliance-expectation-bailout_800331.html?nopager=1">Jeffrey Anderson’s excellent story in the Weekly Standard summarizing it</a>, as well as <a href="http://thefederalist.com/2014/07/31/valerie-jarrett-delivers-insurance-company-bailouts/">Phil Kerpen’s blow-by-blow of the emails over at The Federalist</a>. The upshot is that, even after the Administration’s hard sell and coercive mandates forced millions of Americans to buy policies from the big health insurance companies, we should expect a billion-dollar bailout of those companies because the mix of people buying them is older and sicker than projected (unexpectedly!), and we should expect going forward to face a choice between premium increases and even bigger bailouts. <p>The Oversight Report covers a variety of close contacts between the Administration and the insurance companies, which in and of themselves are an eye-opening up-close look at <a href="http://baseballcrank.com/archives2/2012/10/politics_barack_6.php">corporatism</a> in action and the sheer hypocrisy of an Administration that <a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/496304858845048832">loves to bash insurers publicly</a> while working hand in glove with them and catering to their needs behind the scenes – an Administration where, <a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-08-04/obama-to-business-you-re-so-phony">by President Obama’s own account, he commonly asks CEOs why they aren’t spending more of their shareholders’ money lobbying for his policies on immigration, the environment and education</a>. The <em>quid pro quo</em> in that arrangement is that Administration carrot-and-stick control over the big insurers has kept many of them publicly on the reservation, parroting pro-Obamacare talking points and shying away from public criticism, all so that the Administration can tout their silence as proof the program’s critics are all wet. There’s only so much you can blame the insurers, who after all are for-profit companies that by now have no real choice but to do business with Leviathan. But we’ve come a long way from the idealistic “new politics” rhetoric of 2008 to the grubby details of bailing out big corporations from a mess entirely of this President’s own making. <p> </p> <p>The bailouts are at the heart of this web of deceit. Pre-Obamacare, insurers had to price their policies mainly by reference to market forces (albeit in an already heavily-regulated market): charge enough to cover the actuarial cost expected for each enrollee, but not too much to lose business. Guess wrong and you lost money. But under Obamacare, consumers no longer have the choice whether or not to buy policies, and insurance companies no longer face any risk of losing money, because they’ve been promised a bailout. Money will still be lost, but it will be taxpayer money, and you never run out of that, do you? <p><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" alt="obama.thismuch" src="http://www.redstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/obama.thismuch.jpg" width="556" height="336"> <ul><strong>Obamacare Enrollees Older and Sicker Than Projected</strong></ul> <p>Obamacare has three separate programs (the “3Rs”) that make up this bailout: Reinsurance, which pays companies to subsidize particular policies; the Risk Corridor program, which taxes companies that end up with less-expensive mixes of policyholders and subsidizes those that have more-expensive mixes; and the Risk Adjustment program, which does the same at the insurance plan level. The mechanics of these are all more complex than that (but trust them, they have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoy4_h7Pb3M">top men</a> working on all these details), but the general idea is that, if Obamacare works as projected, the Reinsurance program will provide a subsidy of up to $20 billion over the next three years, but the other two programs will be budget-neutral. In other words, there will be an equal balance of winners and losers subsidizing their fellow comrades in glorious workers’ paradise without pestering the taxpayers. <p>But the data provided by the insurers – insurance companies and co-ops covering about 80% of the market, from which the overall numbers are extrapolated* – makes clear that the Administration’s public stance of no-net-bailouts is at odds with what those insurers expect and have been telling the White House: <blockquote> <p><strong>As of May 2014, twelve of the 15 traditional health insurers expect to receive payments from the Risk Corridor program, one of the insurers expects to make payments into the Risk Corridor program, and two insurers expect no net payments</strong>. These 15 insurers project they will receive approximately $640 million in net payments through the Risk Corridor program for the 2014 plan year. <p>As of May 2014, of the 23 co-ops, seven expect to receive payments from the Risk Corridor program, two expect to make payments into the Risk Corridor program, and 14 expect no net payments. These 23 co-ops expect to receive approximately $86 million in net payments through the Risk Corridor program for the 2014 plan year. <p>…<strong>Although the Risk Adjustment program is required to be budget neutral, many more insurers expect to receive payments than make payments</strong>. As of May 2014, the companies surveyed by the Committee expect net payments through the Risk Adjustment program of about $346 million. <strong>Moreover, insurers expect to receive nearly twice as much in net Risk Adjustment payments than they did on October 1, 2013. This provides additional evidence that insurers expect enrollees in ObamaCare-compliant plans to be less healthy than originally anticipated. In fact, enrollment information provided by insurers show that insurers enrolled a much older risk pool, on average, in their ObamaCare-compliant plans than they anticipated</strong>. <p>While the exchange plans were always susceptible to adverse selection because of how expensive the law made insurance for younger and healthier individuals, several delays and modifications to the law by the Obama Administration worsened the adverse selection problem….<strong>Insurers directly lobbied the White House for the Administration to make the 3R programs more generous to insurers, and the Administration obliged. Insurers and co-ops now expect a third more from the Risk Corridor taxpayer bailout than they did on October 1, 2013</strong>. It is impossible to know how much of the increase in the industries’ expectation for the size of the bailouts is the result of a less healthy exchange population than originally anticipated and how much of the increase is from the Administration’s rule changes to make the bailouts more generous…</p></blockquote> <p>This is, as the Oversight Report notes, dramatically different from the February 2014 CBO analysis that Democrats uniformly trumpeted as evidence that there would be no net bailout; the House went straight to the insurers because “the CBO estimates were inconsistent with widespread sentiment among actuaries and health policy experts”. The actual insurance company data paints a picture quite different from the CBO’s report, in part because (as set forth in the graph at the top of this post), the mix of enrollees has turned out to be older and likely sicker than projected, mainly due to a drastic shortfall in the enrollment of families with children (always a demographic overlooked by this Administration). In other words, as usual, reality has failed to conform to the assumptions provided to the CBO. As the report notes: <blockquote> <p>The large increase in insurers’ expectations for Risk Corridor payments and Risk Adjustment payments between October 1, 2013, and the present are consistent with recent media reports about a high degree of adverse selection in exchange plans. An April report from Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefits manager, showed that early exchange plan enrollees were spending much more money on drugs than individuals in group plans. On June 24, 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that exchange enrollees are about 70 percent more likely to have significant health issues than people enrolled in the individual market in 2013. According to an analysis of the early claims data, healthy individuals largely chose to keep their existing non-ObamaCare-compliant plans while those with greater health concerns have opted for exchange coverage. Patrick Getzen, chief actuary for Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina, told the Wall Street Journal, “[i]t’s even worse than what we thought. … We’re seeing more chronic conditions than we would have expected.” <p>The Committee has obtained two pieces of information that further demonstrate that people enrolled in exchange plans are significantly older and less healthy than initially expected by insurers. The first is that insurers anticipate much larger payments through ObamaCare’s Risk Adjustment program than they did on October 1, 2013. The second is that <strong>insurers have reported to the Committee that they have enrolled a substantially older population in their exchange plans than they projected prior to October 1, 2013</strong>.</p></blockquote> <p><strong></strong> <p><strong> <ul>Obama White House Is Warned But Downplays The Risk</ul></strong> <p><strong></strong> <p>The Oversight Report details the communications between insurance company executives concerned about potential mounting losses and Valerie Jarrett and other White House officials who were eager to keep them singing from their script, and who eventually agreed to a more generous bailout package in order to tamp down pressure to raise rates even further than planned. Anderson summarizes a key exchange: <blockquote> <p>[T]he administration declared that the risk-corridor program would be budget-neutral. In reply, according to the Oversight report, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield CEO Chet Burrell emailed Jarrett and then talked on the phone with her later that same day. The next day, he emailed her again, attaching a memo that said, “Until very recently, the position of the Administration had been that the law requires the Federal government to <strong>fully fund the Risk Corridor payments if amounts paid in by the ‘winners’ turn out to be inadequate — as they likely will</strong>.’” Otherwise, he added, “carriers will have to increase rates substantially (i.e., as much as 20% or more beyond what they would otherwise file) to make sure that premiums adequately reflect expected costs.” In other words, the administration had a choice: provide a bailout, or face the unpleasant prospect of having insurers price their products honestly. <p>…Soon thereafter, the Obama administration abandoned the claim of budget-neutrality, writing in a release from Health and Human Services (HHS), “<strong>In the unlikely event of a shortfall</strong> for the 2015 program year, HHS recognizes that the [Patient Protection and] Affordable Care Act requires the Secretary to make full payments to issuers. In that event, HHS will use other sources of funding for the risk corridors payments, subject to the availability of appropriations.”</p></blockquote> <p>So, the Administration was continuing to call a bailout “unlikely” as insurance company CEOs were warning the White House that the industry believed it was in fact “likely,” and were pressuring the White House to guarantee a bailout precisely for that reason. As the Oversight Report details, the expected bailout has increased significantly since the October 2013 launch of Obamacare, and now tops $1 billion. And as Anderson details, there is no way Congress will appropriate money for such a bailout, and the Administration’s basis for claiming it can be funded without an appropriation is exceptionally shaky. But then, this White House won’t be stopped by such minutuae as Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution. <ul><strong>Rate Hikes A-Comin’</strong></ul> <p>All of this matters because rate hikes are on their way, and the bailout appears to be the only thing holding them back from getting even worse. We just saw the Florida insurance regulators project <a href="http://hotair.com/archives/2014/08/05/florida-premiums-to-jump-13-for-2015/">a 13% increase in premiums for 2015</a>, some of which will hit policyholders and the rest of which will – like the bailout – be absorbed by taxpayers. <a href="http://thelibreinitiative.com/press/california-nation-see-huge-increases-insurance-costs">This is in line with other states as well</a>: <blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-insurance-rates-20140730-story.html">According to officials in the State of California</a>, insurance premium increases in the first year of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, ranged from 22 percent to 88 percent….According to press reports, they will rise by an average of <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/07/13/5-states-facing-huge-obamacare-rate-hikes.aspx">15 percent</a> in Indiana, <a href="http://nypost.com/2014/07/03/insurers-seeking-double-digit-increase-in-obamacare-premiums-in-ny/">12 percent</a> in New York, <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/07/13/5-states-facing-huge-obamacare-rate-hikes.aspx">11 percent or more</a> in Arizona, <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/07/13/5-states-facing-huge-obamacare-rate-hikes.aspx">11 percent</a> in Iowa, <a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/health/2014/07/15/rate-hikes-sought-obamacare-plans/12676465/">5 percent</a> in Delaware…by <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/07/16/tennessee-louisiana-added-to-the-list-of-states-getting-double-digit-obamacare-premium-hikes/">double digits</a> in Tennessee and Louisiana, and as much as <a href="http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=24438">15 percent</a> in Virginia. More and more states are likely to announce rate increases in the weeks ahead.</p></blockquote> <p>The Administration’s fear of unpopular rate hikes seems to have motivated the bailout, as the insurers were pointedly warning Jarrett that she needed to move to reassure them on bailouts before the next set of deadlines for publicly filing their next year’s rates. There’s an election coming, after all. <p>As the Oversight Report notes, even with all of this governmental support, a number of the co-ops and at least a few insurance companies seem to be underpricing policies in a way that will be unsustainable and lead to ever-growing demands for bigger bailouts down the road, creating a fiscal death spiral for the program: <blockquote> <p>[T]axpayers appear to be on the hook for bailing out co-ops that significantly underpriced their plans in 2014. Moreover, <strong>policyholders with coverage through these co-ops should expect large premium increases in future years when the co-ops can no longer rely on taxpayers to heavily subsidize their revenues</strong>. <p>In addition to the co-ops, <strong>many other insurers also appear to have underpriced exchange plans for the 2014 plan year, likely due to their expectation of receiving a taxpayer bailout</strong>. The Committee has learned that, as of October 1, 2013, many large insurers expected to receive payments through the Risk Corridor program. Of the 15 insurers, six expected payments through the Risk Corridor program prior to the start of open enrollment while none expected to make payments into the Risk Corridor program.</p></blockquote> <p>Obamacare is the gift that keeps on giving – from you to a big industry that President Obama only pretends to hate. <p><em>* – The Oversight Report’s estimates are based on the White House’s frequently touted figure of seven million Obamacare enrollees, although it expresses skepticism about that as well, see page 15 of the Report.</em> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-76506847424110362602014-08-08T16:18:00.001-07:002014-08-08T17:01:16.570-07:00Ebola – Don’t Panic But Don’t Underestimate The Virus<p><a href="http://www.therazor.org/?p=7588">The Razor</a>: Originally Posted: 4th August 2014, 05:39 pm <p>As someone who is married to a doctor who spends her vacations in Africa treating rural villagers I take Ebola very seriously, especially since quite a few medical personnel have died from the virus. Although this virus has been infecting people since the 1970s we know very little about it. In the past it has burned itself out by pretty much killing everyone who came into contact with it in the African bush. This time around it has made it to the cities, and news stories are circulating that it has left Africa and made it to Europe and perhaps the US. <p>The crazies are beginning to take notice. Michael Savage<a href="http://www.wnd.com/2014/08/ebola-madness-is-epidemic/"> has slammed the CDC</a> for bringing two Ebola victims, an American doctor and nurse, to the US for treatment. He asks, “Why have they brought an infected doctor and another patient from the area of contagion to Emory University in the U.S. when these individuals could treated just as well in Africa? Perhaps they are using these two patients as guinea pigs in a trial for a new vaccine from which billions are to be made if successful.” <p>Evidently Savage has never spent time in an African hospital. I have seen my share, and if your idea of a hospital is an American public high school nurse’s office except with fewer drugs, then you have a pretty good idea of what constitutes the average African hospital. They simply do not have the resources that Emory does. Could we bring Emory over there? Perhaps in a few months sure, but the Americans had hours to live. Was there a risk to bringing them here? Absolutely, but that risk had to be weighed against the likely outcomes for the two Americans. A few weeks ago someone found a stash of <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/smallpox-vials-discovered-lab-storage-room-cdc-says-n150806">old smallpox vials</a> that had been forgotten. We’ve been experimenting with dangerous biological organisms here in the US for decades; it’s not like this is the first time a virus as notorious as Ebola has been brought to US shores. So the risk was miniscule compared to the odds against the two Americans suffering from the virus. In my view it was the right decision. Oh, and Michael, the gist of your argument makes you sound as wackadoodle as the anti-corporate progressives. <p>Ebola is a frightening virus, but the way forward is to combat the virus with scientific research, not throwing up the walls and cowering in fear. And it certainly isn’t by using one’s favorite whipping boy to stifle a vaccine.</p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:6b6d9a9c-73b8-46d5-b20b-c0830165af29" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ebola" rel="tag">Ebola</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Africa" rel="tag">Africa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Epidemics" rel="tag">Epidemics</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Knowledge" rel="tag">Knowledge</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Choices" rel="tag">Choices</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Vaccines" rel="tag">Vaccines</a></div> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-49466474886505261712014-07-31T23:20:00.001-07:002014-08-03T04:55:01.030-07:00The Absence of Obamacare Credits in Federal Exchanges WAS INTENTIONAL – Designed to Force Compliance<p align="center"><img alt="Health Care Exchange" src="http://0.tqn.com/d/politicalhumor/1/7/n/9/6/Health-Care-Exchange.jpg"> <p>By Tom White – <a href="http://www.varight.com/news/the-absence-of-obamacare-credits-in-federal-exchanges-was-intentional-designed-to-force-compliance/">VA Right</a> - Cross-Posted at <a href="http://askmarion.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/the-absence-of-obamacare-credits-in-federal-exchanges-was-intentional-designed-to-force-compliance/">Ask Marion</a>:Two recent court cases came to two different conclusions in the battle against Obamacare. The question was concerning the language of the bill when it comes to credits in Health Care Exchanges set up by the Federal Government when states decide not to set up State Health Care Exchanges. <p>The language is pretty clear in the fact that it <em>does</em> create credits for Exchanges set up by the states. These credits are substantial and are the only part of the entire Affordable Care Act that actually addresses affordability. Sadly, this is done by redistributing the wealth. By taxing the productive earners in order to subsidize non-productive earners. <p>Monthly premiums for silver plans – the standard insurance policy sold on the exchanges – cost an average of $345 a month this year for people who did not qualify for subsidies, a new analysis from the administration shows. – See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2014/06/18/Average-Obamacare-Subsidy-3312-Paid-Date-47-Billion#sthash.OQTugto5.dpuf <p>According to <a href="http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2014/06/18/Average-Obamacare-Subsidy-3312-Paid-Date-47-Billion">The Fiscal Times</a>: <blockquote> <p>Monthly premiums for silver plans – the standard insurance policy sold on the exchanges – cost an average of $345 a month this year for people who did not qualify for subsidies, a new analysis from the administration shows. <p>However, for the overwhelming majority of Obamacare enrollees (87 percent) who <em>did</em> qualify for financial assistance, the average monthly premium on the silver plan costs about $69. That’s an average tax credit of about $276 a month, or $3,312 a year. The administration’s report broke down the average monthly premium for each of the four plans offered on the federal marketplace – before and after tax credits. It also detailed the percentage of enrollees selecting each plan, with or without tax credits. Data was not available for the state exchanges, which make up about one third of the total 8 million enrollees.</p></blockquote> <p><strong>On average, monthly premiums after subsidies run about $69.00. But without the subsidy, $345.00. And 87% of enrollees qualify for these huge subsidies.</strong> <p>So with all the mandates for coverage, mandates on what must be covered and what can be charged, it is the subsidies and the subsidies alone that make the product affordable. Without them, the cost of Health Insurance rises considerably due to mandatory expanded coverages. <p>The Affordable Care Act depends on states setting up Exchanges as called for in the law. However, when much of the law was in the process of being written, it was done in secret. No one knew exactly what was going into the mix and the authors were as yet unaware of the massive resistance the bill was about to encounter. But they anticipated at least some token resistance from the rascally Republican controlled states. And this expected resistance was addressed in the bill with various sneaky political weapons and landmines designed to nudge resistive states into setting up the exchanges. <p>One political weapon the Democrats love to use is abortion. Republicans are outraged when tax dollars are confiscated to pay for a procedure they consider infanticide. So one of the booby traps the architects of Obamacare used was abortion. This would be the first of several “lesser of two evils” options resistive Republican states would face in deciding to implement Obamacare. You may recall the Stupak Amendment that extended the Hyde Amendment wording that prevents the Federal Government from paying for abortions. There was a big argument in House over abortion and several pro life Democrats insisted that the ACA not pay for abortions as a condition of casting their vote for the bill. However, that was the House Bill which was scrapped after Scott Brown’s victory effectively cut off the Democrat’s super majority in the Senate. <p>The Conservative Intelligence Briefing <a href="http://www.conservativeintel.com/the-briefing-vol-ii-issue-25/?utm_source=Intel&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=House">put it this way</a>: <p>Recall that after the special election of Sen. <strong>Scott Brown</strong>, R-Mass., in January 2010, Democrats were suddenly deprived of the flexibility they had expected to have in drafting the law’s provisions. They had expected a House-Senate conference committee in which they could iron out the kinks in the law and then pass it again through both the House and Senate. But suddenly, after Brown won, they realized they would never be able to pass any version of Obamacare through the Senate again. They no longer had the 60 votes they needed. <p>So the Democrats did the only thing they could: They took the version of the law they had already passed through the Senate on Christmas Eve 2009, and rammed it back through the House, warts and all. There was no second chance to consider this issue or any others in detail. In any event, most members had only a vague idea of what the bill did anyway. <p>- See more at: http://www.conservativeintel.com/the-briefing-vol-ii-issue-25/?utm_source=Intel&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=House#sthash.tC38djHj.dpuf <p>Recall that after the special election of Sen. <strong>Scott Brown</strong>, R-Mass., in January 2010, Democrats were suddenly deprived of the flexibility they had expected to have in drafting the law’s provisions. They had expected a House-Senate conference committee in which they could iron out the kinks in the law and then pass it again through both the House and Senate. But suddenly, after Brown won, they realized they would never be able to pass any version of Obamacare through the Senate again. They no longer had the 60 votes they needed. <p>So the Democrats did the only thing they could: They took the version of the law they had already passed through the Senate on Christmas Eve 2009, and rammed it back through the House, warts and all. There was no second chance to consider this issue or any others in detail. In any event, most members had only a vague idea of what the bill did anyway. <p>- See more at: http://www.conservativeintel.com/the-briefing-vol-ii-issue-25/?utm_source=Intel&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=House#sthash.tC38djHj.dpuf <blockquote> <p>Recall that after the special election of Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., in January 2010, Democrats were suddenly deprived of the flexibility they had expected to have in drafting the law’s provisions. They had expected a House-Senate conference committee in which they could iron out the kinks in the law and then pass it again through both the House and Senate. But suddenly, after Brown won, they realized they would never be able to pass any version of Obamacare through the Senate again. They no longer had the 60 votes they needed. <p>So the Democrats did the only thing they could: They took the version of the law they had already passed through the Senate on Christmas Eve 2009, and rammed it back through the House, warts and all. There was no second chance to consider this issue or any others in detail. In any event, most members had only a vague idea of what the bill did anyway.</p></blockquote> <p>So the truth is, there is no language in the Senate Bill itself that prevents the Federal Government from paying for abortions. And in order to get the pro life Democrats to vote for the Senate version of Obamacare, Obama issues an executive order #13535 that pretends to forbid Federal payment of abortion. None of the pro life groups were fooled, nor were the voters in Stupak’s District in Michigan. Stupak “retired” and the voters put a Republican in the seat. <p>But according to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act#Insurance_exchanges_and_the_individual_mandate">Wiki</a>, there are incentives to entice states into setting up these Exchanges: <blockquote> <p>Under the law, setting up an exchange gives a state partial discretion on standards and prices of insurance, aside from those specifics set-out in the ACA. For example, those administering the exchange will be able to determine which plans are sold on or excluded from the exchanges, and adjust (through limits on and negotiations with private insurers) the prices on offer. They will also be able to impose higher or state-specific coverage requirements—including whether plans offered in the state are prohibited from covering abortion (making the procedure an out-of-pocket expense) or mandated to cover abortions that a physician determines is medically necessary; in either case, federal subsidies are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Amendment">prohibited from being used to fund the procedure</a>. If a state does not set up an exchange itself, they lose that discretion, and the responsibility to set up exchanges for such states defaults to the federal government, whereby the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Health_and_Human_Services">Department of Health and Human Services</a> assumes the authority and legal obligation to operate all functions in these federally facilitated exchanges.</p></blockquote> <p>And if having more control and discretion on the policies offered in each state isn’t enough to convince states to implement Obamacare, the Democrats added a big hammer. The Federal Government will come in and run things, leaving the states no say in how health care policies are sold in the state. Take that, you Republicans. <p>This Youtube video is a recording of the chief architect of the Senate Obamacare bill. The guy who put the political plums and hemlock in the bill, Jonathan Gruber. It is clear from listening to him speak that the intent was to use the lack of subsidies in the Federally run Exchanges as a mechanism to force states into compliance. <p align="center"><font color="#ff8040">Video:</font> J<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=LbMmWhfZyEI">onathan Gruber Once Again Says Subsidies Are Tied to State-Based Exchanges </a> <p><ins><ins><ins></ins></ins></ins> <p>But Gruber said that this was a mistake. A speak-o (as opposed to a typo). The intent was always to have the Federally run Exchanges give out the subsidies! <p>There is a<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtnEmPXEpr0&hd=1"> video here</a> that is nearly an hour long that has been making the rounds on the internet. I edited the same video down to about 5 minutes with the important parts being about the first 2 minutes. The rest of this is some pretty revealing comments Gruber made on the longer version. <p align="center"><font color="#ff8040">Video:</font> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SFfdDsJsTzk">Jon Gruber Condense Version</a> <p>So it is abundantly clear that the intent was to use the lack of subsidies in the Federally run exchanges to pressure states into compliance. <p>So in the two recent court decisions in direct opposition to one another as <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/22/federal-appeals-court-invalidates-some-obamacare-subsidies-in-blow-to-health/">FoxNews explains</a>: <blockquote> <p>WASHINGTON – Two federal appeals court rulings put the issue of ObamaCare subsidies in limbo Tuesday, with one court invalidating some of them and the other upholding all of them. <p>The first decision came Tuesday morning from a <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2014/07/22/federal-appeals-court-decision-on-obamacare-subsidies/">three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia</a>. The panel, in a major blow to the law, ruled 2-1 that the IRS went too far in extending subsidies to those who buy insurance through the federally run exchange, known as HealthCare.gov. <p>A separate federal appeals court — the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals — <a href="http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Published/141158.P.pdf">hours later issued its own ruling</a> on a similar case that upheld the subsidies in their entirety. <p>The conflicting rulings would typically fast-track the matter to the Supreme Court. However, it is likely that the administration will ask the D.C. appeals court to first convene all 11 judges to re-hear that case.</p></blockquote> <p>In both instances the government argued that it is obvious that the intent was to include federal subsidies in the Federally run Exchanges if the states refused to do so. But listening to the guy that wrote the bill, the exact opposite is the case. The subsidies were left out on Federally run Exchanges to use as a weapon to either force Republican governors to implement a state exchange or face the voters to explain why they are paying more for health insurance and get no subsidies. The hope of this Democratic bill was to force Republicans to do something they did not want to do. <p>Now one of the arguments I have not heard made is that on the issue of abortion on Federally run Exchanges. One of the incentives for the Liberal states to jump in and implement exchanges is the ability to mandate expanded coverages such as 100% payment for abortions. And if we follow the same logic the government argued in the two conflicting ruling cases, that the Federal Government steps in and is essentially considered the state for all intents and purposes – something I find preposterous – then what is to stop the Federal government who suddenly finds itself a surrogate for the state from mandating abortion coverage (from Wiki linked above): <blockquote> <p>Under the law, setting up an exchange gives a state partial discretion on standards and prices of insurance, aside from those specifics set-out in the ACA. For example, those administering the exchange will be able to determine which plans are sold on or excluded from the exchanges, and adjust (through limits on and negotiations with private insurers) the prices on offer. They will also be able to impose higher or state-specific coverage requirements—including whether plans offered in the state are prohibited from covering abortion (making the procedure an out-of-pocket expense) or mandated to cover abortions that a physician determines is medically necessary;</p></blockquote> <p>So if the federal government can come in and replace the state in every way, then the same argued consideration as far as subsidies would extend to the other areas of “partial discretion” of the states. And the law could then go around the Obama executive order prohibiting federal funds from paying for abortion. <p>This must go to the Supreme Court and the 36 states without state run subsidies must stop receiving federal subsidies. <p>And as Gruber says in the long version of the video, repeal is unlikely to get rid of Obamacare. But neglect in the form of non compliance will cause it to implode in on itself. He uses a 3 legged as an example. The legs are eliminate pre existing conditions, insurance mandates and subsidies. Take away one of the legs and the law collapses. No one is fighting the pre existing condition elimination and the horrific Supreme Court ruling that held the mandates were a tax (and thus constitutional) is gone as a possible tool to kill the law. The last remaining leg is the subsidies. Without them, the law cannot survive. And since 36 states refused to set up exchanges, this is a huge threat to Obamacare’s survival. <p>With more and more information being unearthed every day about this bill, this is an important battle in the war on healthcare being prosecuted by the Obama Administration.</p> <p>Update: </p> <p><em>My theory is that if the Court rules that Federal Exchanges are essentially State Exchanges for the purpose of the subsidies, then the Feds are, essentially, the state. States are free to mandate abortion coverage, the Feds are not by Executive order. So if the Federal Government becomes a state for subsidies, then the Feds can mandate abortion coverage and also get around the Exec. Order.</em> Tom White</p> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-55189308047949069422014-07-28T01:40:00.001-07:002014-07-28T01:40:42.563-07:00Carrier: warrant issued for possible illegal alien with deadly strain of tuberculosis<p align="left"><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" alt="illegal alien with deadly strain of tuberculosis" align="right" src="http://usfinancepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/illegal-alien-with-deadly-strain-of-tuberculosis.jpg" width="250" height="184"><a href="http://usfinancepost.com/carrier-warrant-issued-for-possible-illegal-alien-with-deadly-strain-of-tuberculosis-21767.html#0Kizszbx5URYPJlA.99">USFinanceReport</a>: Like a scene out of a Hollywood disaster movie, prosecutors in California have issued an arrest warrant for a possible illegal alien who may be carrying a strain of tuberculosis that is highly drug resistant and has the opportunity to affect large numbers of people.</p> <p>Prosecutors with the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s office have said they are looking for 25 year old Eduardo Rosas Cruz, a transient who is known to have come from a part of Mexico that is known to be a possess a drug resistant strain of Tuberculosis. The disease is easily spread through the air whenever infected people cough or sneeze. Left untreated the disease can be deadly, however the drug resistant strains are even more deadlier. <p>According to prosecutors, Rosas was first diagnosed with the disease in March after he went to a hospital for a severe cough. He was instructed to remain in a motel room so a health care worker could bring him his medication and keep him away from the general public. However, Rosas has since disappeared. <p>Opponents of President’s Obama lack of enforcement towards border security have long sounded the alarm about the danger posted by illegal aliens allowed with impunity to walk among the American people without being screened for potentially fatal diseases. <p>Border Patrol agents and health care whistleblowers have been warning that the Obama administration has been shipping illegal aliens around the country without proper medical treatment or screening. <p>In the 20th century antibiotics were developed which resulted in the disease being virtually eradicated in America in the 1960s. However, in recent years the disease has been making a comeback with new strains that are resistant to most antibiotics. <p>Last year Los Angeles suffered from a persistent strain of tuberculosis that may have been exposed to over 4,500 people. Police officers were advised to wear protective masks while dealing with members of the public who may have been exposed to the disease. <p>Besides California and Florida, the states with the greatest number of multi-drug resistant TB are Texas and New York. All of these states have large numbers of illegal aliens within their borders. Florida was recently ranked as having the third largest illegal alien population by the Department of Homeland Security. Many of the illegals in Florida come from the Caribbean and other countries in the Southern hemisphere. Some of these countries have widespread problems with tuberculosis. True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-2624777497895934252014-07-19T14:37:00.001-07:002014-07-19T15:18:00.235-07:00VA Hospital Officials Placed on Leave<h5>Story at-a-glance </h5> <ul> <li>Veterans Affair (VA) hospital patients are supposed to be seen by a physician within 14 days of their request for care, and waiting times any longer than this must be documented <li>VA hospitals in North Carolina, Wyoming, Texas, Arizona, and Colorado are being investigated amid allegations that some patients waited months for care while the wait times were intentionally covered up <li>At a Phoenix VA hospital, a whistleblower alleges the staff had a secret wait list intended to hide delays in care, and up to 40 patients may have died as a result… (and additional information is coming out showing in could be 1,000 around the country.) <li>Many of the same foundational flaws in health care – medical errors, poor care, fraud, and mismanagement – exist at both VA and private-sector hospitals</li></ul> <p><img alt="Health Care System" src="http://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/Public/2014/May/health-care-issues.jpg" width="508" height="347"></p> <p><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/21/va-hospitals-health-care-issues.aspx">Dr. Mercola</a>: </p> <blockquote> <p>Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals across the US are supposed to provide quality health care for veterans who have served the country. <p>As the population, and especially the veteran population, ages, there has been an influx of people needing care, including veterans from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, not to mention younger generations who have fought in wars during the last 10 years. <p>Increasingly, VA hospitals are struggling to keep up with the need for care, but instead of coming up with solutions to ensure patients receive timely health care there are allegations of poor oversight, secret waiting lists, and even falsification and destruction of appointment records at several VA hospitals.</p></blockquote> <h4>VA Hospitals Under Investigation, Officials Placed on Leave Over Inappropriate Scheduling</h4> <blockquote> <p>There are 151 VA hospitals, and 820 clinics, in the US. Each is required to keep records of how long each patient waits to be seen by a doctor so that the Department of Veterans Affairs can monitor and ensure that timely health care is being given. <p>Generally, a VA patient is required to be seen by a physician within 14 days of their request for care, and waiting times any longer than this must be documented. However, VA hospitals in North Carolina, Wyoming, Texas, Arizona, and Colorado are being investigated amid allegations that some patients waited <em>months </em>for care and, in some cases, the wait times were intentionally covered up. So far: <ul> <li>In Durham, North Carolina, an employee came forward claiming that workers had falsified appointment records from 2009 to 2012. Four officials from the hospital have already been placed on leave while the delays in care are investigated. <li>In Phoenix, Arizona, a retired physician said a local VA hospital had a secret wait list intended to hide delays in care. He claimed that up to 40 patients may have died because they didn’t receive timely medical care. Three executives have been placed on leave amid allegations of corruption and unnecessary deaths. <li>In Wyoming, a VA employee was placed on leave following a leaked email in which he directed staff to “fix” the appointments system.<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/21/va-hospitals-health-care-issues.aspx#_edn1" name="_ednref1">1</a></sup> <li>At the San Antonio, Texas VA hospital, workers scheduling appointments said they were “cooking the books” at their bosses’ requests in order to hide wait times of several weeks or months.<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/21/va-hospitals-health-care-issues.aspx#_edn2" name="_ednref2">2</a></sup></li></ul> <p>The widespread allegations of misconduct and poor care have prompted some groups, including the American Legion, to call for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to step down, but so far he has responded that he will take “swift and appropriate” action if the investigations find any wrongdoing has occurred.<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/21/va-hospitals-health-care-issues.aspx#_edn3" name="_ednref3">3</a></sup></p></blockquote> <h4>Are VA Hospitals Any Different from Private-Sector Hospitals?</h4> <blockquote> <p>VA hospitals and medical centers, which represent the largest health care system in the US, have long had a reputation for being the bottom-of-the-barrel for health care. In reality, customer-satisfaction surveys suggest that VA hospitals are on par with, if not better than, private-sector hospitals for patient satisfaction.<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/21/va-hospitals-health-care-issues.aspx#_edn4" name="_ednref4">4</a></sup> <p>Mortality rates are also similar, although VA hospitals have a longer average length of stay.<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/21/va-hospitals-health-care-issues.aspx#_edn5" name="_ednref5">5</a></sup> Across the board, however, we see many of the same problems with health care at both VA hospitals and those in the private sector. For instance: <ul> <li>The VA consistently gives executives cash bonuses, even in the midst of allegations of poor patient care and preventable deaths<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/21/va-hospitals-health-care-issues.aspx#_edn6" name="_ednref6">6</a></sup> <li>The VA has been criticized for putting too much money toward administration at the expense of nursing and patient care. In one example, Dean Billik, former director of the VA in Charleston, South Carolina, allegedly spent $200,000 of taxpayer money to renovate his office and $1.8 million to renovate a building for his own offices after it had already been renovated for patient care<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/21/va-hospitals-health-care-issues.aspx#_edn7" name="_ednref7">7</a></sup> <li>Medical errors and poor practice abound at both VA and private-sector hospitals. At the VA, recent high-profile cases include mismanagement of an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, patient overdoses and suicides, and the reuse of disposable insulin pens that infected at least 18 veterans with hepatitis<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/21/va-hospitals-health-care-issues.aspx#_edn8" name="_ednref8">8</a></sup></li></ul></blockquote> <h4>Major Health Care Problems Persist in All Hospitals, VA or Otherwise</h4> <blockquote> <p>There's no shortage of evidence that the US health care system is in need of urgent reform, for veterans and civilians alike. It can be argued that <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/24/modern-medical-errors.aspx">medical errors</a> are a leading cause of death in the US—higher than heart disease, higher than cancer. <p>The latest review shows that about 1,000 people die EVERY DAY from hospital mistakes alone.<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/21/va-hospitals-health-care-issues.aspx#_edn9" name="_ednref9">9</a></sup> This equates to four jumbo jets' worth of passengers every week, but the death toll is largely ignored. Types of errors include inappropriate medical treatments, hospital-acquired infections, unnecessary surgeries, adverse drug reactions, and operating on the wrong body part—or even on the wrong patient! <p>One in four hospital patients are harmed by <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/10/27/medical-errors-kill.aspx">preventable medical mistakes</a> in the US, and 800,000 people die every year as a result. Of those 800,000, 250,000 die as a result of medication errors. <p>In short, the US does not have a health care system. We have a disease-management system overly reliant on expensive drugs and invasive surgeries. It's a system with a mission to <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/09/unnecessary-procedures-hospitalizations-drugs-drive-up-health-care-costs.aspx">maximize profits</a>, as opposed to helping people maintain or regain their health. <p>The <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/22/healthcare-system.aspx">Affordable Health Care Act</a> is likely to make matters worse rather than better, as the Act does not include any illness-prevention strategies. Nor does it contain any measures to rein in out-of-control health care costs related to overcharges. Instead, it expands an already flawed model of "care" that is one of the leading causes of both death and bankruptcy for Americans.</p></blockquote> <h4>Even Non-Profit Hospitals Make Major Profits</h4> <blockquote> <p>Most people are aware that VA hospitals are funded with taxpayer money. But you may be under the mistaken impression that non-profit hospitals are somehow in the business of charity rather than profit. Don’t be misled, even non-profit hospitals are businesses interested in increasing their bottom line. For example, at Montefiore Medical Center, a large nonprofit hospital system in the Bronx, its <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/16/high-health-care-costs.aspx">chief executive has a salary of $4,065,000</a>, the chief financial officer of the hospital makes $3,243,000, the executive vice president rakes in $2,220,000, and the head of the dental department makes a not-so-shabby $1,798,000 per year. <p>Similarly, 14 administrators at New York City’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center are paid over $500,000 a year, including six who make over $1 million. Most hospitals end up receiving just 35 percent of what they bill, yet they <em>still </em>manage to make tens of millions of dollars in operating profits each year. Some hospitals, including Sloan-Kettering and MD Anderson, who are tougher in their negotiations with insurance companies, end up getting around 50 percent of their total billings, which quite literally amounts to a fortune. <p>Stamford Hospital reported $63 million in operating profits in 2011, even though about half of their patient base is highly discounted Medicare and Medicaid patients. The actual revenue received was $495 million. As reported by <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/16/high-health-care-costs.aspx">journalist and author Steven Brill</a>: <blockquote> <p><em>“…there is the jaw-dropping difference between those list prices and the hospitals’ costs, which enables these ostensibly nonprofit institutions to produce high profits even after all the discounts,”</em> Brill writes. <em>“...[N]o matter how steep the discounts, the chargemaster prices are so high and so devoid of any calculation related to cost that the result is uniquely American: thousands of nonprofit institutions have morphed into high-profit, high-profile businesses that have the best of both worlds. They have become entities akin to low-risk, must-have public utilities that nonetheless pay their operators as if they were high-risk entrepreneurs.</em> <p><em>As with the local electric company, customers must have the product and can’t go elsewhere to buy it. They are steered to a hospital by their insurance companies or doctors (whose practices may have a business alliance with the hospital or even be owned by it). Or they end up there because there isn’t any local competition. But unlike with the electric company, no regulator caps hospital profits.”</em></p></blockquote></blockquote> <h4>Stay Out of the Hospital by Taking Control of Your Health</h4> <blockquote> <p>If the idea of succumbing to a medical error, hospital-acquired infection, adverse drug reaction, surgery complication, or condition that progressed because you weren’t able to see a physician in a timely manner scares you, it should. Hundreds of thousands are killed by medical care itself, while others are walking around with far less than stellar health due to conventional treatments. Rates of chronic diseases are through the roof, and we're facing epidemics of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, depression, and other mental health problems, and too many others to list. As a whole, Americans are not healthy – they're tired, depressed, stressed out, and often in pain. <p>Out of sheer desperation, many people have taken their health into their own hands by abandoning this fatally flawed medical model and embracing natural modalities that address the cause of the disease, not merely the symptoms. It is through their many success stories that we can discern a clear way out of this flawed and outright deadly paradigm. <p>One of the reasons I am so passionate about sharing the information on this site about healthy eating, exercise, and stress management with you is because it can help keep you and your family OUT of the hospital. But if you do have to go there, you need to know how to play the game. My primary recommendation is to avoid hospitals unless it's an absolute emergency and you need life-saving medical attention. In such cases, it's advisable to bring a personal advocate -- a relative or friend who can speak up for you and ensure you're given proper care if you can't do so yourself. If you're having an elective medical procedure done, remember that this gives you greater leeway and personal choice—use it! <p>In the event you do need medical care, seek out a health care practitioner who will help you move toward complete wellness by helping you discover and understand the hidden causes of your health challenges, and create a customized and comprehensive – i.e. holistic – treatment plan for you. Knowing how to prevent disease so you can avoid hospitals in the first place is clearly your best bet, however. One of the best strategies toward that end is to optimize your diet, which you can learn how to do by reviewing my comprehensive <a href="http://www.mercola.com/nutritionplan/index.htm">Nutrition Plan</a>. <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:77518f81-30a4-4f29-8ef0-a824bbe63646" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Veterans+Affairs" rel="tag">Veterans Affairs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/VA" rel="tag">VA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Veterans+Hospitals" rel="tag">Veterans Hospitals</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Wake-Up+Veterans+Benefits" rel="tag">Wake-Up Veterans Benefits</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Dr.+Mercola" rel="tag">Dr. Mercola</a></div></blockquote> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-51422823327476800452014-07-19T03:25:00.001-07:002014-07-19T03:25:05.189-07:00The 10 Best Foods For Energy<p>The following ten super-charged foods will give you a lot of benefits to your overall health as well as temporary immediate energy. Eating smaller healthier meals is also a key <p><strong><u>10 best foods for energy:</u></strong> <ul> <li><strong></strong><strong>Oatmeal:</strong> Don’t forget the oatmeal ever! Start your day with oatmeal. This is an excellent healthy food that not only makes digestion easier but also stabilizes blood glucose level (because of its complex carbohydrates and fibre content). Fiber content in the oatmeal helps you to get a steady stream of energy. <strong>Oats</strong> also contain Vitamin B which helps transform carbohydrates into usable energy. </li></ul> <ul> <li><strong>Peanut Butter:</strong> Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein and good source of fiber. The soluble fiber in peanut butter prevents dietary fat and helps to control blood glucose. Peanut butter also rich with the amino acid arginine that helps to relax blood vessels and better blood pressure control. (<a href="http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com/2011/07/perils-of-peanuts-and-peanut-butter.html">Peanuts and peanut butter</a> do carry with them some perils.)</li></ul> <ul> <li><strong></strong><strong>Avocado:</strong> Like peanut butter, avocado is also rich with unsaturated fats. It also contains other nutrients such as Vitamin B6, Vitamin C and folate. Avocado is also good for heart as it reduces the chances of heart attack. Avocadoes are very good for the skin as well. </li></ul> <ul> <li><strong></strong><strong>Blueberries: </strong>Blueberries are high in manganese, fiber and Vitamin K. All these are great to reduce blood cholesterol level and improve condition of the heart. Blueberries are the number one antioxidants fruit. Antioxidants help to get rid of free radicals and balance the protein level. </li></ul> <ul> <li><strong>Citrus Fruits: </strong>Vitamin C is extremely important for gaining energy. Also, the minerals and dietary fibre that present in the citrus fruits are necessary for the growth of the body. Besides these, citrus fruits contain fructose, glucose and sucrose and citric acid. Oranges, grapefruit and lemon are the best citrus fruits for good health. Although drinking OJ will give you a quick shot of energy, it is very high in sugar. Normally eating the fruits in moderation, rather than drinking juice, is the better option for overall health.</li></ul> <ul> <li><strong>Watermelo<font color="#ffffff">n</font>: </strong>A refreshing fruit- contains fatigue fighters like, Vitamin C, lycopene, iron, and potassium. Great source of water that keeps you hydrated for a long time. ( Melon of all kinds should be eaten alone, at least 15 minutes to half an hour before other foods.</li></ul> <ul> <li><strong>Yogurt: </strong>A highly nutritious food which contains Vitamins B2, B5 and B12. Plus, a great source of protein, calcium, zinc, phosphorous, iodine. <strong>Yogurt</strong> is a very good health food, especially Greek-style yogurt. </li></ul> <ul> <li><strong>Apples: </strong>Another great fruit, rich with Vitamin C and many antioxidant compounds. <strong>Apples</strong> are fantastic health food and benefit us in many ways. Another fruit that is good for energy boosting is banana. Rich with carbohydrate and potassium- it’s a great energizing snack. </li></ul> <ul> <li><strong>Sardines: </strong>A lean protein food-contains an amino acid called tyrosine. This helps to improve mental function. Besides sardines, salmon (rich with omega 3 fatty acids) is also very good for health. </li></ul> <ul> <li><strong>Spinach: </strong>Good source of Vitamin B and folic acid. It’s a high energy food along with sprouts, broccoli, and asparagus. <strong></strong>Sweet potatoes are also very energy-boosting. Rich with copper, dietary fibre, iron, potassium, manganese. But that’s not all sweet potatoes are also good sources of Vitamin A, B6 and C. An excellent energy food rich with a lot of valuable nutrients. </li></ul> <p>Figs, beans, lentils etc. are also good energy-boosting foods. And don’t forget the coffee. <p>Vitamin B energy drinks can also be helpful, but should only be taken when really needed. <p>Carbs, sugar and gluten should be eaten in moderation. <p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:a38d54ea-b70e-42e3-9b66-3077361644a5" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/energy" rel="tag">energy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/energy+food" rel="tag">energy food</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/healthy+eating" rel="tag">healthy eating</a></div> True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6806307411502990212.post-66324439936933159272014-07-18T00:00:00.001-07:002014-07-18T00:03:37.447-07:00Employers ordered to notify workers of cuts to birth-control coverage<p>Wake-Up people… once ObamaCare is really in effect, nobody is going to get half the services or free stuff they were promised!!! There are no free rides in this world and all you have to do to verify that is ask anyone who has lived under socialized medicine, which is what ObamaCare is! </p> <p>This ‘order’ is just another ploy to make the Republicans look bad.</p> <p>By <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/staff/tom-howell-jr/">Tom Howell Jr.</a> - <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/17/employers-order-to-notify-workers-of-cuts-to-birth/">The Washington Times</a> <p>The <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/barack-obama/">Obama administration</a> ordered employers Thursday to notify their workers if they plan to cut birth-control coverage from their health plans in the wake of the <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/supreme-court/">Supreme Court</a>’s “<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/hobby-lobby/">Hobby Lobby</a>” decision. <p><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/united-states-department-of-labor/">Labor Department</a> officials announced the policy just a day after <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/senate/">Senate</a> Republicans filibustered a bill that would have overturned the justices’ ruling, which said closely held corporations can refuse to insure contraceptives they object to on moral grounds. <p>Congressional Democrats cheered the <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/barack-obama/">administration</a>’s move as an important step to give workers a chance to know what obstacles they may face in obtaining free contraception. <p>Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, introduced a bill to go even further and require for-profit companies to disclose their policies to job applicants, too. <p>“Workers should be informed if their employers are restricting the availability of coverage for contraception or any other health care service guaranteed under law,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Dick Durbin, Illinois Democrat. <p><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/multimedia/image/ap_3cfc2aa4c118101b5a0f6a7067002c75jpg/"><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" align="left" src="http://media.washtimes.com/media/image/2014/07/16/3cfc2aa4c118101b5a0f6a7067002c75_s220x191.jpg?f8e332258ea6d7a0caf603c9944f455c2971bd92" width="220" height="191"></a>The <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/united-states-department-of-labor/">Labor Department</a>’s move marked a quiet change in course for Democrats who are trying to use the court-mandated change to Obamacare to their political advantage. <p>“For plans that reduce or eliminate coverage of contraceptive services after having provided such coverage, expedited disclosure requirements for material reductions in covered services or benefits apply,” the <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/united-states-department-of-labor/">Labor Department</a> said in its posting. <p>The contraception debate stems from an administrative rule that mandated for-profit companies to cover 20 forms of birth control as part of their company health plans. Dozens of employers objected on religious grounds, particularly to morning-after pills they equate with abortion, resulting in litigation. <p>Houses of worship are exempt from the mandate, and the <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/barack-obama/">administration</a> extended a compromise to faith-based nonprofits that would allow them to waive responsibility for covering contraception. The accommodation has been rejected by some religious colleges and charities and is being contested in court. <p><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/hobby-lobby/">Hobby Lobby</a>’s employee health coverage includes 16 of the 20 birth-control methods mandated under Obamacare, including both female and male condoms, along with birth-control pills, diaphragms and spermicides. <p>Republicans welcomed the <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/supreme-court/">Supreme Court</a>’s decision last month to let for-profit employers duck the contraception mandate tied to Obamacare, calling it a win for religious liberty. <p>But Democrats seized on the adverse ruling to raise campaign funds and whip up progressive fervor ahead of November’s congressional elections. Their efforts seemed to stall Wednesday, when a <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/senate/">Senate</a> bill that would require corporations to cover contraception failed to get the 60 votes need to overcome a procedural hurdle. <p>Sen. Mark Udall, Colorado Democrat, authored the bill to reverse the ruling and is using the issue in his race against his Republican challenger, Rep. Cory Gardner. Mr. Gardner has said contraceptives should be offered without a prescription, and <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/senate/">Senate</a> Republicans have proposed a bill to study over-the-counter birth control. <p>The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said Thursday it strongly supports Obamacare’s approach because it provides birth control without cost-sharing, while over-the-counter contraceptives may remain out of reach for many women. <p>“Cost is a major factor in a woman’s consistent use of contraception,” the group said, “and many women simply cannot afford the out of pocket costs of contraceptives without health insurance coverage.” True Health Is True Wealthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00896661192537326188noreply@blogger.com0