Ted Kennedy died of cancer. Cancers are most common in modern westernized countries and less common in the remaining un-westernized reaches of the planet. Historic records of doctors and others show that incidences of "diseases of civilization" including heart disease, cancer and diabetes were much less common prior to arrival of the foodstuffs of the European and other westerners. These foodstuffs include sugar and highly processed flour.
Beginning in the 1950's the medical establishment was becoming convinced that fats may be the root of the evil causing among other things heart disease and cancers. Investigations of the hypothesis however, failed to reliably confirm their belief.
Flash forward to the mid and late 1970's. Senator George McGovern chaired the Senate Select Committee that drafted guidelines that led to a change in the American diet that still holds in effect today. The USDA food pyramid reflects the "expert" testimonies heard by this committee and the resulting guidance. Ted Kennedy was a member of this committee.
The recommendations were for increased consumption of carbohydrates and decreased consumption of fats (bottom of the food pyramid for carbs - hence, most calories, and top of the food pyramid for fats and oils with "use sparingly" noted)....the very diet that undid the health of other populations.
So, in a very real sense, they guided the population of the US to a diet that had already proven itself to be the bane of native populations that switched from their historic local foods (generaly higher in fat and protein) to the western diet rich in processed carbs - being high sugar and flour consumption.
I do not have a clue as to how Ted Kennedy ate...maybe he ate a healthy diet. But, maybe the guidelines that he helped implement led his dining patterns since the 1970's and led to the development of the cancer that ultimately consumed him. Food for thought.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Profiting Under the Guise of Philanthropy
Profiting under the guise of Philanthropy (PUGP) is a phenomenon that I have made more notice of over the last year or so. There may be, or probably is, a scholarly term for this, but I haven't run across it yet. But, the more you look for it, the more you see it.
Just this morning I was watching CNBC and they were interviewing the CEO of Toys R Us, and that corporation is beginning a program to have customers bring in a list of items such as car seats, cribs, walkers, etc that may be unsafe, had been stored incorrectly, or maybe have been recalled, or not, and the person bringing in the items would be entitled to a discount on new purchases. On the surface it seems like a reasonable program. But, is it only a manifestation of PUGP? Toys R Us is a for profit venture and only looking to expand their sales, right?
Some other examples:
1) J. D. Rockefeller and Carnegie effectively taking over the AMA and its Board of Directors, and then moving on to changing the face of the American medical establishment by getting his members on the Boards at most medical schools. He contributed huge sums of cash to the AMA and the medical schools, but to what end? He had been smacked down for his oil monopoly and had to make a living somehow, poor guy. Huge investments in pharmaceutical companies could surely use a boost by encouraging the medical schools to teach allopathic phamaceutical based medicine instead of naturopthic medicine. And the is effectively what he accomplished, driving the naturopathic schools out and taking over the allopathic schools....using philanthropy to make the US medical establishment "better"...for profit.
2) Al Gore donating his share of the Nobel Prize...very Philanthropic indeed. The charity getting this largesse is one that he chairs...promoting Climate Change nee global warming. Following the trail of money back in time we know of Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth", an alarmist accounting of climate change meant to shock us into submission to grossly government actions. But how many are aware of Generation Investment Management, a company Gore cofounded that invests in businesses that would stand to profit with government policy implementation favoring such things as cap and trade:
3) My local Wildlife Management Association. We received a nice sized Federal grant to do some wildlife habitat restoration. Most of the work to be done consists of prescribed burning of overgrown and neglected areas and letting the native grasses become reestablished. To that end a company that specializes in conducting the burns was hired to perform the work. The members of the association that applied for the grant asked for $100 per acre for the work and its follow up over a five year time frame. The members "assisted" the fire crew in the burns. The fire crew only charged $20-30 per acres for their services. So, where do you think all the additional funds were channeled? Because they wrote the grant and assisted with the burns...their philanthropic moment netted them a tidy sum.
4) A General One...have you noticed any type of ad that indicates "buy our product and we will donate" language. They are quite common. You buy wares and do good for some named cause, but "they" profit.
There are many more out there, the more you are aware of PUGP.
Just this morning I was watching CNBC and they were interviewing the CEO of Toys R Us, and that corporation is beginning a program to have customers bring in a list of items such as car seats, cribs, walkers, etc that may be unsafe, had been stored incorrectly, or maybe have been recalled, or not, and the person bringing in the items would be entitled to a discount on new purchases. On the surface it seems like a reasonable program. But, is it only a manifestation of PUGP? Toys R Us is a for profit venture and only looking to expand their sales, right?
Some other examples:
1) J. D. Rockefeller and Carnegie effectively taking over the AMA and its Board of Directors, and then moving on to changing the face of the American medical establishment by getting his members on the Boards at most medical schools. He contributed huge sums of cash to the AMA and the medical schools, but to what end? He had been smacked down for his oil monopoly and had to make a living somehow, poor guy. Huge investments in pharmaceutical companies could surely use a boost by encouraging the medical schools to teach allopathic phamaceutical based medicine instead of naturopthic medicine. And the is effectively what he accomplished, driving the naturopathic schools out and taking over the allopathic schools....using philanthropy to make the US medical establishment "better"...for profit.
2) Al Gore donating his share of the Nobel Prize...very Philanthropic indeed. The charity getting this largesse is one that he chairs...promoting Climate Change nee global warming. Following the trail of money back in time we know of Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth", an alarmist accounting of climate change meant to shock us into submission to grossly government actions. But how many are aware of Generation Investment Management, a company Gore cofounded that invests in businesses that would stand to profit with government policy implementation favoring such things as cap and trade:
GIM also owns a 10% stake in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), CCX in turn owns half of European Climate Exchange. This gives Al Gore a financial bias towards promoting global warming control through the issuing of carbon credits. Link and LinkSo, Al's philanthropy may be based in goodness, but it is most definitely self-serving as well.
3) My local Wildlife Management Association. We received a nice sized Federal grant to do some wildlife habitat restoration. Most of the work to be done consists of prescribed burning of overgrown and neglected areas and letting the native grasses become reestablished. To that end a company that specializes in conducting the burns was hired to perform the work. The members of the association that applied for the grant asked for $100 per acre for the work and its follow up over a five year time frame. The members "assisted" the fire crew in the burns. The fire crew only charged $20-30 per acres for their services. So, where do you think all the additional funds were channeled? Because they wrote the grant and assisted with the burns...their philanthropic moment netted them a tidy sum.
4) A General One...have you noticed any type of ad that indicates "buy our product and we will donate" language. They are quite common. You buy wares and do good for some named cause, but "they" profit.
There are many more out there, the more you are aware of PUGP.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
How to prepare for upcoming flu season
First, I am not a doctor. Second, I read a lot about this stuff and am mostly comfortable with what I do in looking out for my own health, but, investigate this yourself and don't rely on me to give you advice. That said, there are several good ways to prepare for the possibility of a bad upcoming flu season.
1) EpiCor - an immune system enhancer. It is outstanding from everything I have read. My wife and I started taking it the last part of last winter, and will resume taking it September 1st. Read about it...you will be glad you did. I buy my supply through Vitacost.
2) Vitamin D - Read this article, it is good. We take 5000 IU of vitamin D daily during the short daylight months per Vitamin D Council's recommendation.
3) Fish Oil - take a good fish oil supplement and avoid consuming too many vegetable oils. Read about this here.
Also, limit sugar and HFCS intake as they are known to be immune system suppressors.
We also prefer to avoid the flu shots as they tend to be beneficial to very few, and have issues with side effects...especially the vaccine for the H1N1...possibly unsafe and untested.
1) EpiCor - an immune system enhancer. It is outstanding from everything I have read. My wife and I started taking it the last part of last winter, and will resume taking it September 1st. Read about it...you will be glad you did. I buy my supply through Vitacost.
2) Vitamin D - Read this article, it is good. We take 5000 IU of vitamin D daily during the short daylight months per Vitamin D Council's recommendation.
3) Fish Oil - take a good fish oil supplement and avoid consuming too many vegetable oils. Read about this here.
Also, limit sugar and HFCS intake as they are known to be immune system suppressors.
We also prefer to avoid the flu shots as they tend to be beneficial to very few, and have issues with side effects...especially the vaccine for the H1N1...possibly unsafe and untested.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Why I Won't Be a Cooperative Consumer
Today's consumer confidence number showed a decline. We are still very wary. We are still not consuming as evidenced by the retail sector's earning reports. The obvious reason is the high unemployment and the threat of losing the jobs that are still out there.
I, on the other hand, am self-employed and derive my income from two main sources. First, being a petroleum geologist, I have (had) a fair income from natural gas production. But, being that we have been too good at finding and producing NG in unconventional sources the last several years, making for a high supply versus demand, the price of NG has fallen to where my income now suffers.
My second source of income is from interest and dividends. The FEDs zero interest rate policies have effectively driven us interest income folks to zero income. CD rates are only around one percent out to a year...and with the possibility of inflation creeping in it doesn't seem wise to tie money up for more than one year.
Other options for income drives us toward more risky investments like bonds or bond funds, or higher dividend equities or equity funds. Though some still have an attractive yield they come with the risk of loss of principal...not good for those of us intending to live off that money for a while, and not a great option on the tails of the capital losses that most of us have sustained over the last year.
So, Bernanke and Obama, etc, have bailed out the banks, and the bankers are fat and happy. They are reporting huge profits, huge salaries and raises all while offering near 0 percent interest to depositors. But, bounce a check and get hit with a huge fee that is another source of their record profits. We non-Banksters, on the other hand, have lowered confidence, lower personal income, lower property values and huge losses of jobs.
So, until you "bail out" us commoners instead of creating a gravy train for those parties largely responsible for creating this mess, I will be on the sideline making do with what I have. Wearing clothing a few extra years, driving a vehicle that is a little older, growing my own veggies and fruit, going out to eat less...and paying less in taxes to boot.
I, on the other hand, am self-employed and derive my income from two main sources. First, being a petroleum geologist, I have (had) a fair income from natural gas production. But, being that we have been too good at finding and producing NG in unconventional sources the last several years, making for a high supply versus demand, the price of NG has fallen to where my income now suffers.
My second source of income is from interest and dividends. The FEDs zero interest rate policies have effectively driven us interest income folks to zero income. CD rates are only around one percent out to a year...and with the possibility of inflation creeping in it doesn't seem wise to tie money up for more than one year.
Other options for income drives us toward more risky investments like bonds or bond funds, or higher dividend equities or equity funds. Though some still have an attractive yield they come with the risk of loss of principal...not good for those of us intending to live off that money for a while, and not a great option on the tails of the capital losses that most of us have sustained over the last year.
So, Bernanke and Obama, etc, have bailed out the banks, and the bankers are fat and happy. They are reporting huge profits, huge salaries and raises all while offering near 0 percent interest to depositors. But, bounce a check and get hit with a huge fee that is another source of their record profits. We non-Banksters, on the other hand, have lowered confidence, lower personal income, lower property values and huge losses of jobs.
So, until you "bail out" us commoners instead of creating a gravy train for those parties largely responsible for creating this mess, I will be on the sideline making do with what I have. Wearing clothing a few extra years, driving a vehicle that is a little older, growing my own veggies and fruit, going out to eat less...and paying less in taxes to boot.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Buying Obamacare is UnAmerican
Asshat Pelosi offers that those that dare to speak out against Obamacare are unAmerican, and the White House puts up a website to have citizens rat-out anyone distributing "fishy" data on Obamacare.
But it is indeed AssHat Pelosi's American way to pay people to demonstrate and carry your message?
Or, what about the other AssHat Pelosi American way of doing politics...buying your way into something. Obama buys the AMA's approval (though many doctors within AMA and state chapters did NOT approve of AMA's endorsement), and buys Big Pharma's vote and now, who is coming out with a multimillion dollar ad campaign?:
Why is it like this...some endorsements of Obamacare by these strange bedfellows? Could it be, as the Dems capably do each election cycle, buying the votes? Bingo!
But it is indeed AssHat Pelosi's American way to pay people to demonstrate and carry your message?
"Work to Pass Obama's Healthcare Plan and Get Paid to Do it! $10-15 hr!"The title of the article includes the word "volunteers"...ummm, volunteers don't make $10-15 per hour...these are paid shills.
It's a web ad on Craigslist: "You can work for change. Join motivated staff around the country working to make change happen. You can make great friends and money along the way. Earn $400-$600 a week."
Or, what about the other AssHat Pelosi American way of doing politics...buying your way into something. Obama buys the AMA's approval (though many doctors within AMA and state chapters did NOT approve of AMA's endorsement), and buys Big Pharma's vote and now, who is coming out with a multimillion dollar ad campaign?:
A new coalition on Thursday is launching $12 million in television ads to support President Barack Obama’s health-reform plan, in the opening wave of a planned tens of millions of dollars this fall.
The new group, funded largely by the pharmaceutical industry, is called Americans for Stable Quality Care. It includes some odd bedfellows: the American Medical Association, FamiliesUSA, the Federation of American Hospitals, PhRMA and SEIU, the service employees’ union. Link
Why is it like this...some endorsements of Obamacare by these strange bedfellows? Could it be, as the Dems capably do each election cycle, buying the votes? Bingo!
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