XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World: 03/28/11

Monday, 28 March 2011

Sixth study in recent months links mercury in flu shots to brain damage, autism -

The toxic effects of the mercury, also known in vaccines as Thimerosal, have once again been confirmed, this time by researchers from the University of Brazil. Marking the sixth major study in recent months to condemn the use of mercury in medicine, the new study reveals that mercury causes serious brain damage, and is linked to autism and other developmental diseases in children and Alzheimer's disease in adults.

Dr. Jose Dorea and his colleagues conducted an extensive, peer-reviewed analysis of various studies and available information in major databases that address the effects of low-dose Thimerosal, or ethylmercury, on neural tissue and behavior. They found conclusively that Thimerosal accumulates in brain tissue, negatively affects brain development, and harms brain cells.

"Mercury is known to cause serious harm, especially to fetuses and children because of their smaller size," said Lisa Sykes, president of the Coalition for Mercury-free Drugs (CoMeD), a non-profit group dedicated to removing mercury from medicine. "Why remove Thimerosal from pediatric vaccines only to inject it into pregnant women and children with recommended flu shots? They removed Thimerosal from other vaccines, so it should also be removed from flu shots."

Several other recent studies confirm the numerous dangers posed by mercury, including one recently published in the Folia Neuropathologica that links the toxin directly to autism (http://www.naturalnews.com/031678_m...). Mercury is also known to disrupt proper immune function, damage DNA, inhibit healthy embryonic development, and cause cancer.

The vast majority of the flu shots administered in the US still contain Thimerosal, as they come from multi-dose vials that require a preservative in order to prevent contamination. However, CoMeD says there is no reason to continue using Thimerosal since safer alternative preservatives already exist and are currently in use in many pediatric vaccines that used to contain Thimerosal.

"Barefoot Contessa" star Ina Garten has somehow found the time to meet with a Make-A-Wish foundation kid Enzo" -

"Barefoot Contessa" star Ina Garten has somehow found the time to meet with a Make-A-Wish foundation kid Enzo" -
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It’s a MIRACLE!!!! "Barefoot Contessa" star Ina Garten has somehow found the time to meet with a Make-A-Wish foundation kid named Enzo … after TMZ reported she denied his request TWICE.

Garten’s rep released a statement explaining how the Food Network chef only "became aware of Enzo’s story this weekend" …. and insists she will be calling the 6-year-old later today.

The rep insists, "[Ina] looks forward to inviting him to spend some time with her at the Food Network studios."

Montana Radio Shack offers free gun or pizza with satellite TV purchase -

A Radio Shack owner in Montana has upped foot traffic at his Hamilton store by offering free guns for new satellite television subscribers, according to a local paper.

Fear not, those opposed to gun ownership and those who might fail background checks. You can have free pizza instead.

The sign says it all: “Protect yourself with Dish Network. Sign up now. Get free gun.” (The real marquee has no periods, so I took a little punctuative license.)

Owner Steve Strand told the Ravalli Republic that the promotion “really, really fits the Bitterroot Valley,” while manager Fabian Levy told the newspaper that the gimmick had “been really successful.”

Strand said the promotion, which began in October, has tripled his business and lured hundreds of people curious about the sign. Only one person who “didn’t understand how it works” has reacted negatively, he said.

“We have people literally stop in to take pictures of the sign,” Levy added.

Simply sign a contract, purchase certain equipment, set up an installation date and congratulations! You could be the proud owner of a Hi-Point .380-caliber handgun or a 20-gauge shotgun from Frontier Guns & Ammo, which is just north of town.

If you don’t want a gat or can’t pass the background check (which the Republic reports is also free with the satellite TV subscription), you can still have a $50 Pizza Hut gift card.

Strand told the newspaper that other Radio Shack owners in the state were too scared to follow his lead. Even Dish Network had its doubts but agreed to the idea after months of talks with Strand, the newspaper said.

“They've never had a gun promotion before, so they're a little nervous about it,” Strand said. “It's been an uphill battle with Dish.”

Donald Trump releases his birth certificate, and then asks - "Where is President Barack Obama's?" -

Donald Trump now sees himself as something of a patron saint for the birthers – and he's even released his own birth certificate as he steps up criticism of the president.

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Seeking to pump more energy into the birther movement and quirky chase for the White House, Trump on Monday provided a copy of his birth certificate to the conservative website Newsmax – which has played a leading role in trumpeting birther mythology.

And in an interview on Fox News, Trump cast himself as something akin to the rebel leader of the birther movement.

“Now, this guy either has a birth certificate or he doesn’t,” Trump said. “And I didn't think this was such a big deal, but I will tell you, it’s turning out to be a very big deal because people now are calling me from all over saying, please don't give up on this issue."

Trump’s insistence that he’s being encouraged to continue on his birther crusade has led to what he says is the startling revelation that, “all of a sudden, a lot of facts are emerging and I’m starting to wonder myself whether or not [Obama] was born in this country."

Trump also called for Hawaii Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie to be investigated for stating that he – as a friend of the president’s parents – remembers Obama’s birth.

"I think this guy should be investigated," Trump said. "I doubt it. He remembers when Obama was born? Give me a break! He's just trying to do something for his party."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/52064.html#ixzz1HvcnuApP

Royal wedding: Prince William slips off for a secret country stag -

When Prince William chose his brother Prince Harry to be his best man, he may have expected he would spend his stag party downing cocktails in the public eye at some of London's fashionable nightspots.

Instead, at the weekend he marked the end of his bachelor days with a low-key private party, thought to have been held at a friend's country estate outside London.

The party was attended by about 20 of the Prince's closest friends including James Meade, whom he met at Eton, and Thomas van Straubenzee who attended Ludgrove Prep School in Berkshire with the Prince

Hugh van Cutsem, one of Prince Charles's godsons, was also present.

His father owns a large estate in Norfolk, leading to speculation that it could have provided the perfect bolt-hole for a low-key event.

Guy Pelly, a nightclub owner renowned for his love of partying, is understood to have planned the stag weekend with Prince Harry. But as with all good stag nights it appears the details of what went on are unlikely to emerge. All guests were sworn to secrecy.

Mr Straubenzee yesterday declined to comment. He said: "I'm very sorry but I have got to keep it a secret. I hope you understand."

The Prince, who will marry Kate Middleton next month, had initially planned to spend the weekend taking part in a variety of watersports in Exmouth, Devon, including racing speedboats and water-skiing. The plans were cancelled, however, after they were leaked to the press.

Journalists had flocked to the River Exe hoping for a glimpse of the royal party. It was rumoured that Prince Harry had chosen the Turf Locks pub as the venue for part of the party.

Yesterday, as Prince William and his friends returned from the weekend, a source at St James's Palace confirmed that the event had taken place but refused to discuss any details. The source said: "I can confirm that Prince William's stag party happened this weekend. It was an entirely private event and we don't intend to make any further comment."

The Prince's desire for a low-key party was similar to that of his father, Prince Charles, who held his stag night within the confines of a suite at Whites, a gentleman's club, before marrying Lady Diana Spencer.

Shortly before his wedding the Duke of Edinburgh entertained some of his naval friends at a stag party at the Dorchester. The Duke and his friends famously smashed the flash bulbs of press photographers to ensure privacy. In 1986 the Duke of York thought he had escaped public attention by holding his stag at the Notting Hill home of Lord Lascelles, only to be gatecrashed by his future wife and her friends dressed as police officers.

Prince William's stag weekend was in marked contrast to that of Peter Phillips, his cousin and the son of the Princess Royal, in April 2009. The Prince arrived at the event by RAF helicopter with his brother before enjoying several drinking games in which he reportedly downed pints and dropped his trousers.

His own party would have been organised closer to the wedding on April 29, but pressing royal engagements meant it had to be held earlier.

Prince Harry is due to join a trek to the North Pole for disabled servicemen tomorrow, while Prince William has to return to RAF Valley in Anglesey, where he is serving as a sea rescue helicopter pilot.

Fruit could make cars stronger, more fuel-efficient, scientists say - use the fruits to make strong, lightweight plastics -

Get ready for a bananamobile or a pineapple wagon.

Scientists in Brazil say they've developed a way to use fibers from the fruits to make strong, lightweight plastics that could be used to form car parts.

"The properties of these plastics are incredible," the leader of the project, Alcides Leão of Sao Paulo State University, said in a press release. "They are light, but very strong — 30 per cent lighter and three to four times stronger. We believe that a lot of car parts, including dashboards, bumpers, side panels, will be made of nano-sized fruit fibers in the future. For one thing, they will help reduce the weight of cars and that will improve fuel economy."

The product is almost as strong as Kevlar, used in bulletproof vests, Leão said in presenting his team's work to the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim, California, over the weekend.

Among the plant products that could provide raw material for the fibers are pineapple leaves and stems, bananas, coconut shells, agave, and cattails, the scientists say.

Besides their light weight and high strength, the new plastics are more resistant to heat, water and spilled gasoline than conventional plastics, the researchers say.

They could find their way into vehicles within two years, Leão said.

Funding for the research came from Brazil's government, Pematec, Toro Industria, Comercio Ltd. and other companies, the scientists said.

Simpsons' nuclear episodes pulled? - several European countries are reportedly reviewing episodes of "The Simpsons" -

Japan’s nuclear power plant crisis is no laughing matter in Springfield: Networks in several European countries are reportedly reviewing episodes of The Simpsons for any “unsuitable” references to nuclear disaster. An Austrian network has apparently pulled two eps, 1992’s “Marge Gets a Job” and 2005’s “On a Clear Day I Can’t See My Sister,” which include jokes about radiation poisoning and nuclear meltdowns, respectively. Al Jean — exec producer of the animated Fox comedy featuring inept family man/nuclear power plant worker Homer Simpson — tells EW that he can appreciate the concern. “We have 480 episodes, and if there are a few that they don’t want to air for awhile in light of the terrible thing going on, I completely understand that,” says Jean, citing the previous example of the 1997 episode “Homer Versus the City of New York” that was pulled after 9/11 because it included key scenes at the World Trade Center. “We would never make light of what’s happening in Japan.”

Twentieth Television, the syndication division of Fox Television, has provided U.S. stations that air The Simpsons in syndication with a list of episodes that contain potentially sensitive material given the unfolding disaster in Japan, so those stations can decide whether or not to pull them. (This isn’t an uncommon practice in such situations.) Jean assures that no upcoming Simpsons episodes “even approach” the subject. “Some of them are workplace shows, but they are just about Homer being at work,” he says. “They’re not about nuclear power.” And in case you were wondering, there are no plans to have Homer leave his job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. “He’s still going to work there,” says Jean. “We have a rich universe in which we can do a million things and not touch on that.”

Doctors Warn About ‘Facebook Depression’ In Teens - may affect troubled teens who obsess over the online site -

Add “Facebook depression” to potential harms linked with social media, an influential doctors’ group warns, referring to a condition it says may affect troubled teens who obsess over the online site.

A NEW CONDITION?

Researchers disagree on whether it’s simply an extension of depression some kids feel in other circumstances, or a distinct condition linked with using the online site.

But there are unique aspects of Facebook that can make it a particularly tough social landscape to navigate for kids already dealing with poor self-esteem, saidDr. Gwenn O’Keeffe, a Boston-area pediatrician and lead author of newAmerican Academy of Pediatrics social media guidelines.

With in-your-face friends’ tallies, status updates and photos of happy-looking people having great times, Facebook pages can make some kids feel even worse if they think they don’t measure up.

SKEWED VIEW OF LIFE

It can be more painful than sitting alone in a crowded school cafeteria or other real-life encounters that can make kids feel down, O’Keeffe said, because Facebook provides a skewed view of what’s really going on. Online, there’s no way to see facial expressions or read body language that provide context.

The guidelines urge pediatricians to encourage parents to talk with their kids about online use and to be aware of Facebook depression, cyberbullying, sexting and other online risks.

They were published online Monday in Pediatrics.

‘IT’S LIKE A BIG POPULARITY CONTEST’

Abby Abolt, 16, a Chicago high school sophomore and frequent Facebook user, says the site has never made her feel depressed, but that she can understand how it might affect some kids.

“If you really didn’t have that many friends and weren’t really doing much with your life, and saw other peoples’ status updates and pictures and what they were doing with friends, I could see how that would make them upset,” she said.

“It’s like a big popularity contest — who can get the most friend requests or get the most pictures tagged,” she said.

Also, it’s common among some teens to post snotty or judgmental messages on the Facebook walls of people they don’t like, said Gaby Navarro, 18, a senior from Grayslake, Ill. It’s happened to her friends, and she said she could imagine how that could make some teens feel depressed.

“Parents should definitely know” about these practices,” Navarro said. “It’s good to raise awareness about it.”

The academy guidelines note that online harassment “can cause profound psychosocial outcomes,” including suicide. The widely publicized suicide of a 15-year-old Massachusetts girl last year occurred after she’d been bullied and harassed, in person and on Facebook.

“Facebook is where all the teens are hanging out now. It’s their corner store,” O’Keeffe said.

She said the benefits of kids using social media sites like Facebook shouldn’t be overlooked, however, such as connecting with friends and family, sharing pictures and exchanging ideas.

‘IT CAN GO TOO FAR’

“A lot of what’s happening is actually very healthy, but it can go too far,” she said.

Dr. Megan Moreno, a University of Wisconsin adolescent medicine specialist who has studied online social networking among college students, said using Facebook can enhance feelings of social connectedness among well-adjusted kids, and have the opposite effect on those prone to depression.

Parents shouldn’t get the idea that using Facebook “is going to somehow infect their kids with depression,” she said.