Diet Soda's Effect On Teeth Terrifyingly Similar To Effects Of Meth, Crack Cocaine -

Diet Soda's Effect On Teeth Terrifyingly Similar To Effects Of Meth, Crack Cocaine - 



Diet soda can have the same effect on your tooth enamel as methamphetamine or crack cocaine use -- and it's not pretty.

In a three-person case study published in the March/April 2013 issue of the journal General Dentistry, Dr. Mohamed Bassiouny studied the teeth of a diet soda drinker and two drug addicts and found similar dental erosion among all three.

"You look at it side-to-side with 'meth mouth' or 'coke mouth,' it is startling to see the intensity and extent of damage more or less the same," Bassiouny, a professor of restorative dentistry at Temple University's Kornberg School of Dentistry, told HealthDay.

The three participants included a woman in her thirties who drank two liters of diet soda daily for three to five years, a 29-year-old methamphetamine addict and a 51-year-old habitual crack cocaine addict, according to the case study. All three came from similar socioeconomic backgrounds and lived in urban areas with fluoridated public water.

According to an Academy of General Dentistry press release, the three people experienced severe erosion of their tooth enamel, a condition caused by acid. When the enamel is worn away, teeth become more susceptible to cavities and other problems. Diet soda, methamphetamine and crack cocaine are all highly acidic substances, the release notes.

The American Beverage Association disputed the study's claims, telling HealthDay in a statement that "the body of available science does not support that beverages are a unique factor in causing tooth decay or erosion," and to imply that diet soda consumption caused the woman's tooth erosion "is irresponsible."

However, in an interview with Business Insider, Bassiouny defended his comparison, adding that over a long dental career he had observed hundreds of similar soda-caused erosion cases.

"I was trying to make a parallel between drug abusers — and the usual neglect for themselves — and put this with the same traits of someone who drinks diet soda," Bassiouny said.

The idea that drinking diet soda might be bad for your teeth is not new, however, as evidenced by a 2011 Huffington Post blog written by New York City cosmetic dentist Dr. Thomas P. Connelly:

The problems with soda are twofold: first, the sugar content is bad for your teeth (but that fact is pretty obvious). The second bad part is the acidity, which is quite high in soda pop. Acidic content (aka pH) is measured on a scale of 0 (most acidic) to 14 (least). Battery acid is a 1 on the scale -- tap water is a 7 (this may seem backwards, but yes, the higher numbers are less acidic. Blame science.)

Read more -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/diet-soda-teeth-similar-to-meth-photos_n_3348158.html

JC Penney billboard with 'Hitler' teapot sparks social media storm -

JC Penney billboard with 'Hitler' teapot sparks social media storm - 



IT'S just a humble teapot, short and stout - but its comparison to a German dictator has got more than just water boiling.

American retailer JC Penney caused quite a stir after a billboard advertising its latest kettle set tongues wagging and social media users steaming.

The kettle, designed by American architect Michael Graves, is advertised on the retailers website as having " all the bells and whistles you'll need - a cool-touch handle, space-saving design and a delightful whistle to let you know when it's ready to pour."

Twitter users agreed the kettle looked like Adolf Hitler. Picture: Twitter@DorkmanScott

But it attracted plenty of controversy after it was spotted on a billboard along California's 405 Interstate highway, near Culver City.

The ad alos generated plenty of attention on social media with users comparing the kettle to Adolf Hitler.

A picture of the billboard first appeared on Reddit, but quickly spilled over to Twitter with most - except the retailer itself - agreeing it bore a passing resemblance to Hitler.

Read more -

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/home-garden/jc-penney-billboard-with-8216hitler8217-teapot-sparks-social-media-storm/story-fni0dlbq-1226652758709

Arctic Ice Melt Forces Evacuation Of Russian Research Station -

Arctic Ice Melt Forces Evacuation Of Russian Research Station - 



A Russian research station has found itself on thin ice. Literally.

Scientists at North Pole-40, a drifting ice floe station near Canada, are evacuating following a major split in the ice, the RT news network reports.

“A collapse of the station’s ice floe poses a threat to its continued work, the lives of the crew, the environment close to the Canadian Economic Zone and to equipment and supplies,” Russian minister Sergey Donskoya said in a press release.

Ice levels have reached record lows recently, according to the U.S.'s National Snow and Ice Data Center, with the Arctic losing 1.5 million square kilometers of ice in April alone.

Up until the 1980s, ice floe stations were expected to last around three years, New Scientist reports. But since 2003, the labs have hardly been lasting a year.

"Russian high-latitude ocean measurements are fundamental to our knowledge of the Arctic Ocean," Sheldon Bacon of the UK's National Oceanography Centre told New Scientist.

In recent years, Arctic scientists have been fighting to keep up with disappearing sea ice, he added.

Read more - 

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/05/28/arctic-ice-melt-russian-station_n_3346711.html

China Builds EU Beachhead With $5 Billion City in Belarus -

China Builds EU Beachhead With $5 Billion City in Belarus - 



China is building an entire city in the forests near the Belarusian capital Minsk to create a manufacturing springboard between the European Union and Russia.

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko allotted an area 40 percent larger than Manhattan around Minsk’s international airport for the $5 billion development, which will include enough housing to accommodate 155,000 people, according to Chinese and Belarusian officials.

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko is turning to China to help revive a $60 billion economy that’s needed $6.5 billion of bailouts from the International Monetary Fund and Russia since 2009.
Lukashenko, who’s led his former Soviet state of 9.5 million for two decades, is turning to China to help revive a $60 billion economy that’s needed $6.5 billion of bailouts from the International Monetary Fund and Russia since 2009. The hub will put Chinese exporters within 170 miles of EU members Poland and Lithuania and give them tax-free entry into Russia and Kazakhstan, which share a customs union. It will also let them draw from a workforce that’s 99.6 percent literate and makes $560 a month on average, half the Polish wage.

“This is a unique project,” Gong Jianwei, China’s ambassador to Belarus, said on state television May 17, after the project won regulatory approval. “Nobody will be able to build anything like this industrial park anywhere else in Europe anymore. The infrastructure is so powerful.”

Read more - 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-26/china-builds-eu-beachhead-with-5-billion-city-in-belarus.html

Syria Goes Hot: Russia To Deliver Weapons, Deploys Air Defense; Israel Warns Russia; Obama Demands No Fly Zone -

Syria Goes Hot: Russia To Deliver Weapons, Deploys Air Defense; Israel Warns Russia; Obama Demands No Fly Zone - 



Those who were intently following the USDJPY pair formerly known as the stock market today missed the biggest news of the day: the proxy war in Syria just went hot, following a confluence of news, first that Russia insisted "it would deliver anti-aircraft missiles to Syria despite international criticism, as fears of spillover from the conflict grew" and in logical retaliation to yesterday's decision by Europe to lift an arms embargo to the Al Qaeda-supported, Qatari mercenaries operating in Syria, also known as "rebels.

This lead Israel's defense minister Moshe Yaalon to immediately signal that "its military is prepared to strike shipments of advanced Russian weapons to Syria."

Meanwhile back in the US "the White House has asked the Pentagon to draw up plans for a no-fly zone inside Syria that would be enforced by the U.S. and other countries such as France and Great Britain, two administration officials told The Daily Beast."

And just to make it very clear that Russia is not bluffing, it announced overnight that its four regiments of S-300 air defense systems have been deployed at the Ashuluk firing range in southern Russia as part of another snap combat readiness check of the Russian armed forces "The missions will be carried out in conditions of heavy electronic warfare to test the capabilities of the air defense units to the highest limit."

And to think: yet another threat of a global war over some natgas pipelines from Qatar to Europe, and a threat to Gazprom's monopoly.

From AFP:

Russia insisted Tuesday it would deliver anti-aircraft missiles to Syria despite international criticism, as fears of spillover from the conflict grew after three Lebanese soldiers were killed in a border-area attack.

Israel warned Russia it would "know what to do" if the delivery went ahead, and Syria's top rebel commander gave Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement, a 24-hour ultimatum to stop fighting alongside regime forces.

The developments stoked tensions after the European Union decided to lift an embargo on weapons to Syria's rebels, in a move the opposition reacted to with caution.

Syria's regime joined its ally Russia in condemning the EU decision as an "obstruction" to peace efforts, while accusing the bloc of supporting and encouraging "terrorists".

Moscow said it would go ahead with its plans to deliver the S-300 missiles to Syria, despite international concerns, saying the weapons were part of existing contracts.

"We consider these supplies a stabilising factor," deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said, adding they could act as a deterrence against foreign intervention.
Israel's immediate response via the Guardian:

Israel quickly issued a thinly veiled warning that it would bomb the Russian S-300 missiles if they were sent to Syria, as such a move would bring the advanced guided missiles within range of civilian and military planes over Israel. Israel has conducted three sets of air strikes on Syria this year, aimed at preventing missiles being brought close to its border by the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah.

"The shipments haven't set out yet and I hope they won't," Moshe Ya'alon, the Israeli defence minister, said. "If they do arrive in Syria, God forbid, we'll know what to do."

Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergey Ryabkov, argued that the delivery of the S-300 system had been previously agreed with Damascus and would be a stabilising factor that could dissuade "some hotheads" from entering the conflict. That appeared to be a reference to the UK and France, who pushed through the lifting of the EU embargo on Monday night and are the only European countries considering arming the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA).
After much deliberations, and unable to find the much needed "weapons of mass destruction" to justify intervention, the US is nonetheless escalating next and Obama is now said to demand plans for a No Fly Zone over Syria from the Pentagon. From the Daily Beast:

Along with no-fly zone plans, the White House is considering arming parts of the Syrian opposition and formally recognizing the Syrian opposition council.

The White House has asked the Pentagon to draw up plans for a no-fly zone inside Syria that would be enforced by the U.S. and other countries such as France and Great Britain, two administration officials told The Daily Beast.

The request was made shortly before Secretary of State John Kerry toured the Middle East last week to try and finalize plans for an early June conference between the Syrian regime and rebel leaders in Geneva. The opposition, however, has yet to confirm its attendance and is demanding that the end of Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s rule be a precondition for negotiations, a condition Assad is unlikely to accept.

In April, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense that the military was planning for a range of options in Syria but that he did not necessarily support using those options.

"We're prepared with options, should military force be called upon and assuming it can be effectively used to secure our interests without making matters worse,” he said. “We must also be ready for options for an uncertain and dangerous future. That is a future we have not yet identified."
And finally going back full circle, Russia announced overnight that its four regiments of S-300 air defense systems have been deployed at the Ashuluk firing range in southern Russia as part of another snap combat readiness check of the Russian armed forces, the Defense Ministry said. From RIA:

The regiments were airlifted on Thursday by military transport planes to designated drop zones where they will carry out a variety of missions simulating the defense of the Russian airspace from massive attacks by “enemy” missiles and aircraft.

“The missions will be carried out in conditions of heavy electronic warfare to test the capabilities of the air defense units to the highest limit,” the ministry said.

A total of 8,700 personnel, 185 warplanes and 240 armored vehicles are involved in the three-day exercise, overseen by Col. Gen. Vladimir Zarudnitsky, head of Russian General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate.
Surely all of the above is very beneficial for future global GDP prospects.

Finally, here is the Russian S-300 system causing Qatar gas pipeline plans global democracies so much consternation:




Read more - 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-28/syria-goes-hot-russia-deliver-weapons-deploys-air-defense-israel-warns-russia-obama-

Canadians complain their new $100 bills smell like maple syrup... -

Canadians complain their new $100 bills smell like maple syrup... - 



The smell of success is particularly sweet in Canada as an unending stream of residents swear that the new $100 bill is the scent of maple syrup.

The national treasury released a new plastic bank note in November 2011, and they have received hundreds of emails from residents who are convinced that the bills have an added fragrance.

'They all have a scent which I’d say smells like maple? Please advise if this is normal?' wrote one concerned citizen.

Media liaisons for the Bank of Canada have repeatedly denied that there is any particular scent to the money, but that didn't stop concerned citizens.
The Canadian Press submitted a request for all of the emails the bank received from the public in regards to the issue, and there are enough to fill a maple syrup vat. 

'I would like to know...once and for all if these bills are in fact scented, as I do detect a hint of maple when smelling the bill,' another such email read.
While some of the emails were focused on the question of whether or not they were scented, others were more concerned that their notes were defective since they had lost 'the scent'.

'The note...lost its maple smell. I strongly suggest the Bank increases the strength of the... maple smell,' one person wrote.
The smell isn't the only maple-related complaint about the notes, as other emails reveal that the Bank received a number of emails about the fact that the maple leaf that is drawn on the bill looks more like a Norway Maple than a Canadian one.
Adding insult to injury, the Norway Maple is an invasive species that is doing damage to the Canadian environment.
The Bank says that there is no truth to the claims about the different species.


Read more: - 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2331770/New-Canadian-100-dollar-bills-reek-like-maple-syrup-national-bank-says-notes-fragrance-free.html