Labels: Culture/Society, Health
The sad thing is that very few doctors are in the business of healing people. Their hands are tied by pharmaceutical and insurance companies, not to mention the government. That's why when you go to a doctor for treatment, the main course of action is to either give you a drug or cut off some part of your bodyand that's modern medicine in a nutshell.
Keep in mind that doctors do not have a monopoly on knowledge and common sense. They fall for medical and dietary fads just like everyone else.
Case in point: Do you slather gallons of sunscreen on your kids before sending them outside to play? If you do, it's probably because your doctor warned you of the risks of skin cancer. He or she may have even shown you disgusting pictures of what melanoma can do to your skin.
Unfortunately, that sunscreen you were told was absolutely necessary just may be doing more harm than good. Consider this article from The Independent:A growing body of evidence in recent years has shown that lack of vitamin D may have lethal effects. Heart disease, lung disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis are among the conditions in which it is believed to play a vital role. The vitamin is also essential for bone health and protects against rickets in children and osteoporosis in the elderly.
Believe it or not, this medical "discovery" is old news to those who operate outside the mainstream. There are some who have known this for years.
Vitamin D is made by the action of sunlight on the skin, which accounts for 90 per cent of the body's supply. But the increasing use of sunscreens and the reduced time spent outdoors, especially by children, has contributed to what many scientists believe is an increasing problem of vitamin D deficiency.
Dr. Joseph Mercola points out that sunblock might actually increase your risk for skin cancer: "Although most sunblocking agents seem to prevent burning, they are not very good at blocking the UVA that causes skin cancer. Unfortunately, they are effective at blocking UVB, the wavelengths our bodies need to produce vitamin D."
Dr. William Campbell Douglass agrees. He notes: "A deficiencynot an excessof full-spectrum sunlight is what's clearly linked to melanoma."
Naturally, doctors like Mercola and Douglass are considered quacks by the medical establishment. They are fringe extremists who are just using scare tactics to sell more books.
But are mainstream doctors any better? Remember, they graduated from the same schools of higher learning that teach that we humans evolved from single-cell organisms purely by chance, that global warming is a scientific fact and that pumping toxic chemicals into our water supply is vital for good health.
I'm not saying that doctors don't know what they're talking about or that we should never listen to them. What I am saying is that you should keep an open mind when it comes to your health. Don't just assume your doctor knows everything. When you consider that nearly 100,000 people die every year as a result of medical errors, a small dose of skepticism might actually be good for you.
12/28/2005 |
12/22/2005 |
Labels: Nanny State
The public are to be told not to smoke in their own homes as part of plans to protect public sector workers from the effect of passive smoking.
The Scots used to have heroes like William Wallace. Now, they are led by pasty milquetoasts like Health Minister Andy Kerr.
The move is the latest part of the Scottish Executive's ban on smoking in public places, which will come into force on 26 March next year.
Ministers have told councils, health boards and social work departments that they should compile a "smokers' map" of Scotland, focusing on those who regularly receive visits from officials and carers. This would identify individual households where a smoker is resident.
The smokers would then be sent letters asking them not to smoke for one hour before a council worker or health worker called round. ...
Perhaps a brief lesson in Scottish history will help put things into perspective...
Scotland, circa 1305:
Scotland, circa 2005:
"They may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom!"
My, how times have changed.
"But we recognise there are instances where people will have to visit a residential property to do their joband this guidance will help ensure that workers are exposed to passive smoke as little as possible."
12/21/2005 |
Labels: Imperialism, War
Labels: Party Politics, War
Religious Parties Deal Blow to U.S. Hopes for Iraq
I suppose only time will tell what impact the recent elections in Iraq will have on the Middle East. But if we end up with another anti-American, Islamic fundamentalist regime in the country we just "liberated," can we expect to hear an apology from the president? I wouldn't hold my breath.
The Bush administration's hopes for a government of national unity in Iraq, led by its favoured candidate, Ayad Allawi, the secular and pro-Western former prime minister, received a setback on Tuesday night.
Preliminary results showed that most voters opted for Sunni and Shi'ite religious parties in a Parliament in which nationalists who want an early timetable for a withdrawal of United States and British troops will have a stronger voice. ...
... Washington and London had been hoping Allawi would emerge as a compromise candidate for the top post. During his years in exile in the Saddam Hussein period, he had close links with the CIA and MI6. As prime minister for nine months until April this year, his tough law-and-order image chimed well with U.S. policy.
The U.S. and British governments, which praised last week's poll as a triumph, are likely to paint the hung Parliament, the complaints of fraud and the bargaining over portfolios as further signs of healthy competition. But there was no disguising Washington's disappointment on Tuesday.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, said: "It seems sectarian identity and ethnic identity have played the dominant role." ...
... Estimates are that the Kurds will have slightly more seats than the two main Sunni blocs combined, which is why the Sunnis are crying foul. They say their population easily exceeds that of the Kurds.
12/14/2005 |
Labels: Liberty, Technology
It was only a decade ago that the Clinton Administration had decided that Microsoft was an Enemy of the People and tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to litigate the company into oblivion. While the principals in that set of lawsuits have gone on to other things, the "anti-monopoly" propaganda machines are turning their sights elsewhere. It seems that Google, the powerful and innovative Internet search engine, now enjoys the title of "Most Hated Company" ...
Such is life in the land of the free.
... In the libertarian view of things, Google has (and should have) the right to run those things they wish to run and extend its right of refusal to whatever it chooses. The politics of Google, its CEO, and its employees are irrelevant in the larger scheme of things and are private matters. However, politicians are not the sort of people to permit individuals to live and work as their conscience dictates, and I would not be surprised if the Bush Administration decides to use antitrust law (a term that in my view is an oxymoron) to punish the company.
12/07/2005 |
Labels: Environment
Record Low Temperatures in Parts of U.S.
Damn global warming.
DENVER - Bitterly cold air poured southward across the nation's midsection Wednesday, dropping temperatures below zero to record lows from Montana to Illinois. The cold even extended south to the Texas Panhandle, where Lubbock shivered at 9 above zero, toppling a record for Dec. 7 that had stood since 1942, the National Weather Service said. ...