9/11: Case for the Prosecution?

Starting on May 18, 2010, a series of trials will be held to hear
the claims of a dozen 9/11 health cases, chosen out of 10,000 lawsuits
filed, who state they’ve been condemned to death by toxins,
incorporated within Ground Zero’s dust cloud, whilst working through
the debris.

These cases include some who have spent the greatest amount of time searching for remains, cleaning up. They are among the greatest heroes and they bear the brunt of illness because of those efforts. The dozen cases are a mix of
New York City firefighters, cops and transit workers, said Paul Napoli, a lead lawyer for many of the plaintiffs.
They were chosen from nearly 10,000 health lawsuits filed and will act as a road map for future settlements. All claim that their exposure to contaminates at Ground Zero in Manhattan or at the Fresh Kills Landfill left them chronically sick, or, in one case, killed them.

Have they got much of a case?

Let’s take a closer look........read more at 'Heroin and Cornflakes'

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Children in Need, Stay in Need

As the number of hungry and malnourished people passes one
billion, a new UNICEF report identifies lack of food as one of the
largest causes of death amongst children.

Tracking Progress on Child and Maternal Nutrition says that
under-nutrition in mothers and children is a factor in a third of all
deaths of children under five. 

Ethiopia could soon be contributing to these figures. After a
disastrous series of crop failures, the number of Ethiopians needing
emergency aid has jumped from 4.9 million to 6.2 million in the past 10
months.

Twenty-five years after Ethiopia’s famine killed a million people
and spurred a massive global aid effort, the government has appealed for help for more than six million facing starvation.

State Minister for Agriculture, Mitiku Kassa said the
drought-stricken country needed 159,000 tonnes of food aid worth 121
million dollars between now and year’s end for 6.2 million people.

“Since… January, the country continues to face several humanitarian
challenges in food and livelihood security, health, nutrition, and in
water and sanitation,” he said.Geda Shenu, a 50-year-old farmer says;

“We are between life and death.”.......read full article at Heroin and Cornflakes

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Circumcision, AIDS and Human Rights

Circumcision that is performed for any reason other than
physical clinical need is termed ‘non-therapeutic’ (or sometimes
‘ritual’) circumcision.

Some people ask for non-therapeutic circumcision for religious
reasons, some to incorporate a child into a community, and some want
their sons to be like their fathers.

Most circumcisions are performed during adolescence. In some countries, they are more commonly performed during infancy.  The United States circumcises a majority of its male infants. Circumcision is an American cultural value and is accepted as “normal.”

In Canada, statistics show more Canadian parents are not having
their infant sons circumcised. The rate for male infants in Canada has
dropped from about 50% in 1998, to about 20% in 2000. The overall
incidence of male circumcision for all of Canada declined to about 13.9
% for the year 2003.

It is the position of the Canadian Children’s Rights Council that
“circumcision” of male or female children is genital mutilation of
children........

............read more at Heroin and Cornflakes

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Climate Change: Time for the Fat Police?

Humankind – be it Australian, Argentinian, Belgian or Canadian – is getting steadily fatter. Globally, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults, at least 300 million of them obese.

In nearly every country in the world, average body mass index (BMI) is rising. Between 1994 and 2004, the average male BMI in England increased from 26 to 27.3, with the average female BMI rising from 25.8 to 26.9 (about 3 kg – or half a stone – heavier).

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines “overweight” as a BMI equal to or more than 25, and “obesity” as a BMI equal to or more than 30.

What’s this got to do with climate change?........find out at 'Heroin and Cornflakes' blog

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Culprits of Cancer

“…everybody seems to have given up hope of trying. I haven’t. It isn’t easy and it isn’t supposed to be, but I’m
accomplishing something. How many people give up a lot to do something good. I’m sure we would have ound a cure for cancer 20 years ago if we had really tried.” Terry Fox 1980.

Terry Fox became famous for the Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research, which Fox ran with one prosthetic leg. Born July 28, 1958 and, in his teenage years, won numerous medals in diving and swimming competitions. In 1977, after feeling pain in his right knee, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Very often the cancer starts at the knee, then works its way up into the muscles and tendons.

At the time, the only way to treat his condition was to amputate his right leg several inches above the knee. Three years after losing his leg, the young athlete decided to run from coast to coast in order to raise money for cancer research.
However, Fox was unable to complete his run, as his bone cancer had metastasized to his lungs. X-rays revealed that Fox’s right lung had a lump the size of a golf ball and his left lung had another lump the size of a lemon. He was forced to stop the run on September 1, 1980, after 143 days. He had run 5,373 km or 3,339 miles (roughly 23.3 miles per day).

Eight days after Terry Fox was forced to stop, the CTV television network organized a nationwide telethon in hopes of raising additional funds for the cause of cancer research; it proved so successful that $10.5 million was raised that day. The campaigns were so successful that by February 1981, $24.17 million had been raised.(iii)

In June 1981, Fox developed pneumonia, and on June 27, he went into a coma. He died on the 28th; a year after his legendary run, and exactly one month before his twenty-third birthday.

That was nearly 30 years ago.

How are we faring nowadays in the marathon against cancer?

Has anyone heeded Terry Fox’s words and really tried to find a cure? Have raised funds resulting from his heroic effort and other subsequent fund raising activities proved fruitful, or have they merely been used to proliferate a ‘cancer industry’?......

read more at 'Heroin and Cornflakes' blog

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Road to Terrorism

“……The goal must be to pursue al-Qaeda to every hiding place, to
continue to disrupt their operations, and continue ultimately to work
towards their destruction so that they do not represent a threat to
this country….” Director of Central Intelligence Agency, Leon E. Panetta.

“Terrorism is the greatest threat of the 21st century”, a phrase often uttered by our leading politicians.

But does this statement hold true?

First, what is ‘terrorism’?

In modern times, ‘terrorism’ usually refers to the killing of
innocent people by a private group in such a way as to create a media
spectacle. 

However, many news sources (such as Reuters) avoid using this term,
opting instead for less accusatory words like ‘bombers’, ‘militants’,
‘high-jackers’ etc.

At present, there is no internationally agreed definition of
‘terrorism’. Common definitions of ‘terrorism’ refer only to those
violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror) and
deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians).

The ‘car crash’is a violent act that disregards the safety of civilians.

Should the perpetrator of this act be considered a ‘terrorist’?

........read full article at Heroin and Cornflakes blog

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Autism: Hidden Truths?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a range of complex
neurodevelopment disorders characterized by social impairments,
communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped
patterns of behavior.

New research adds to evidence that autism is a brain ‘connectivity’
disorder. Scientists speculate that in autism, wiring may be abnormal
in the areas of the brain involved in social cognition.

In February, 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), issued an autism prevalence report. The report, which looked at
a sample of 8 year old’s in 2000 and 2002, concluded that the
prevalence of autism had risen to 1 in every 150 American children, and
almost 1 in 94 boys.

So what’s going on? Who, or what, is to blame for this dramatic increase?

Read full article at Heroin and Cornflakes blog.......

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Mystery of the 'Lurking Death'

Dame Agatha Christie DBE (1890 – 1976), was an English crime writer of novels, short stories and plays. Almost all of her books are ‘whodunits’ where the detective either stumbles across the murder, or is called upon by an old acquaintance, who is somehow involved.

Gradually, the detective interrogates each suspect, examines the scene of the crime and makes a note of each clue, so readers can analyze it and be allowed a fair chance of solving the mystery themselves.

A preferred means of murder in Christie’s books was poisoning using arsenic. Easy accessibility of the poison and the possibility of avoiding detection if the victim ingested small amounts at a time, made it a popular choice.

This was exemplified in her 1929 publication of a short story collection Partners in Crime. This included ‘The House of the Lurking Death’, whose story line featured a box of chocolates laced with arsenic at old maid Lois Hargreaves’ home. Not liking chocolates, she was the only one in the house who didn’t sample the unexpected gift and consequently, she was the only one who wasn’t taken ill afterwards making her the number one suspect.

That story was written 80 years ago.

We have a present day mystery on our hands that is not fictional. And the majority of deaths involve females.

The mystery we are talking about is breast cancer.

To unravel the mystery, it may well help if we employ the techniques used in Christie’s prose.

In 2009, there were an estimated 192,370 (female); 1,910 (male) new cases and 40, 170 (female); 440 (male) deaths from breast cancer in the United States. Except for skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women. African American women are more likely than all other women to die from breast cancer.

Why is it a mystery?........read more at Heroin and Cornflakes blog

 

 

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Why not put Heroin in our Cornflakes?

Another substance found to be every bit as addictive as heroin, is sugar.
Recently scientists have discovered that rats which have become
addicted to sugar act the same and have the same brain chemistry as
rats addicted to heroin........read full article  

Heroin and Cornflakes Blog

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Legacy from Space: Teflon and Infertility

So what’s the problem?

At 680°F, Teflon pans release at least six toxic gases.
These include two carcinogens (any substance or agent that tends to
produce a cancer), two global pollutants, and MFA; a chemical lethal to
humans at low doses. At temperatures that are reached on stovetop drip
pans (1000°F), non-stick coatings break down to a chemical warfare
agent known as PFIB, and a chemical analog of the WWII nerve gas,
phosgene.

Let’s take a closer look at Teflon and the risk it poses to humans.....read the full article at

Heroin and Cornflakes Blog

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Aroclor 1248: Taking a Shower can Damage your Health

Aroclor 1248 is ranked as one of the most hazardous compounds to ecosystems.

The chemicals, which take many years to biodegrade, pass easily through the lipid portions of cell membranes. The highest concentrations of PCB’s are usually found in the liver, fatty tissue, brain, and skin.

They are also present in the blood. In mothers, PCB’s have been found to pass into umbilical cord blood, the placenta and breast milk....... read more at Heroin and Cornflakes Blog

 

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The End of Doctors in the U.S. Healthcare System?

“The equivalent of 390 jumbo jets full of people are dying each year due to likely preventable, in-hospital medical errors, making this one of the leading killers in the U.S.” .......read full article at Heroin and Cornflakes

Posted via email from ann's posterous