Stay Slim, Eat Right

More than working out three times a week, staying slim involves eating the right food. Everyone knows that it is really important to exercise to stay fit, but eating right is as important, too. You cannot exercise and continue eating the wrong kinds of food if you want to stay fit. Lifestyle changes should be made that will result in better health. Healthy eating means that you don’t just minimize your calorie intake but also eat the right kinds of food to maintain good cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

 

One of the problems people face these days is the time needed to prepare and eat healthy food. The fast paced lifestyle means that they cannot prepare their salad and instead just take out a burger. However, they do not realize that they can still choose to eat healthy while still maintaining their busy schedule.

Here are some tips to eat healthy and maintain your fit body:

• Eating right means consuming enough fruits and vegetables. For variety, you might choose to select from all the five vegetable groups: dark green, legumes, orange, leafy, and starchy vegetables.

• When buying poultry, meat, beans, or milk products, choose the lean part (for meat) and the low-fat or fat-free (for milk). This minimizes your fat intake.

• When on the go or when traveling, consume three cups of fat-free or low fat-milk or add their equivalent to your beverages such as sugar-free coffee or tea.

• Eat three or more ounces of whole grain products a day or its equivalent. Just remember that half the grains you eat should be whole.

• Keep your calories from saturated fat to less than 10% of the total calories and consume less than 300 mg per day of cholesterol. Try to keep your trans-fat consumption to as low as you can.

• Make sure to keep your total fat intake to between 20 and 35 % of your total calories.

• If you really have limited time, cook your food for several days and freeze it. This allows you to allocate less time for cooking your healthy meals.

• If you like to snack, try eating fruits instead of chocolate bars, and vegetables instead of chips.

No matter how busy your schedule might be, you should find time to eat the right food. Do this with regular exercise to stay fit and healthy.

Don Van Vliet, best known as 'Captain Beefheart', dies aged 69

 

Beefheart in 1974.

Image: "Jean-Luc".

 

US avant-garde musician and painter Don Van Vliet - better known by the stage name Captain Beefheart - died Friday aged 69. New York's Michael Werner Gallery confirmed the cause of death as complications with multiple sclerosis, a condition Van Vliet suffered from for many years.

Born in Glendale, California on January 15, 1941, the highly experimental musician created several unique and influential albums from 1967 through to 1982, backed by a frequently changing group of musicians known as The Magic Band. His most famous album, Trout Mask Replica (1969) melded free jazz, blues-rock, and avant-garde styles to create a critically acclaimed (albeit commercially unsuccessful) work. He retired from music in 1982 to focus on painting.

Whilst none of the albums released by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, including 1967 debut album Safe as Milk, were commercially successful, his work is regularly cited as highly influential. Groups such as The Sex Pistols, Jethro Tull, Hawkwind, and Roxy Music all mention Beefheart as influencing their music.

A childhood friend of Frank Zappa, Beefheart was christened Don Glen Viet, later changing this; and, adopting the stage name of Captain Beefheart at Zappa's suggestion. Of the dozen albums produced under various lineups of the Magic Band, Trout Mask Replica is placed at number 58 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Despite no formal training, it was under his own name and as a painter, that Van Vliet experienced his greatest commercial success. His first exhibition was in Liverpool, in 1972. In the wake of this he was advised that as a painter he would be unlikely to be taken seriously unless he abandoned his musical career.

He is survived by his wife of over 40 years, Jan Van Vliet.

Canadian-born actor Leslie Nielsen dies aged 84

Leslie Nielsen, a Canadian-born US actor, has died at the age of 84. Nielsen appeared in over 100 films in which he played several different roles ranging from romance and drama to comedy. The cause of death was announced as pneumonia. His death was announced by his agent, John S. Kelly. Nielsen was in Fort Lauderdale being treated for the illness at the time of his death.

Born February 11, 1926 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Nielsen started his film career in the 1950s. He starred in the science fiction film Forbidden Planet in 1956 and went to on gain several other roles including the captain in The Poseidon Adventure in 1972. One of his biggest appearances was in the 1980s disaster-parody Airplane!. After that appearance he gained more of a reputation as a comic actor.

One of his most notable roles came in 1988 when he played Lt. Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad. He also appeared in the The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear in 1991 and The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult in 1994.

Nielsen was the younger brother of Erik Nielsen, who was deputy prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1986. Erik died in 2008. Leslie Nielsen is survived by his fourth wife Barbaree Earl, and his two daughters from his second marriage, Maura Nielsen Kaplan and Thea Nielsen Disney.

Poker's all about luck, says Swiss Supreme Court

he Supreme Court in Lausanne, Switzerland has ruled that Texas hold 'em poker is a game of luck, rather than a game of skill. As a result, only casinos can host poker tournaments in Switzerland. Private games with friends, even where money is at stake, are still permitted under the ruling.

Poker tournaments had been growing in popularity in the country, with many events held in hotels and bars. Such venues do not have to pay the 50% tax on profits levied on licensed casinos, nor comply with regulations combating money laundering and gambling addiction. Poker is now categorised alongside roulette and slot machines, which as games of luck can only be played inside casinos. Mathematics, strategy, and bluffing were less important in determining the result than chance, said the judges, overturning a lower court ruling to the opposite effect, and disagreeing with the stance of the country's Federal Gaming Commission.

Before the ruling, it had been estimated by the Swiss Federation of Casinos that there were about 100 unlicensed poker tournaments every weekend. A Swiss poker website, SwissPokerTour.ch, has described the result as "a black day for all amateur poker players in Switzerland."

Probiotics Health Information – Benefits Of Probiotics

 

Did you know that other cultures have been aware of and using probiotics for many generations? It is only in the last fifteen years that countries like America have started to believe in the power of probiotics health. If you’re wondering about the interactions of probiotics and health, and whether you could live a happier life with probiotics health supplements, it’s important to learn a little bit more about what they are and how they work. With some research, it’s likely you’ll agree that taking probiotics on a daily basis is one of the best 

You Are What You Eat

It might seem like that this simple saying is only useful for getting little kids to eat their vegetables, but when you start to investigate the issues of probiotics and health, you start to see that your digestive system is one of your body’s most violent battle grounds.

• Harmful toxins, bacteria, and other organisms try to get into your digestive tract and make trouble for your body.
• If you’ve had trouble with stomach pains, irritable bowels, or indigestion, there’s a good chance it’s because of what you’re eating.
• Probiotics health advocates know that a daily probiotics health supplement can help improve the balance of good bacteria against bad bacteria.

What Are Probiotics For Health?

Did you know that there are some foods that just naturally contain probiotics for health? Yogurt, miso soup, tempeh, and other similar foods are chock full of probiotics for health. The only problem is that for most people, these are foods eaten once or twice a month, and maybe even less. If you want to understand how powerful probiotics and health can be, it’s important to think about drastically changing your diet, or purchasing a probiotics health supplement.

What Are The Probiotics Health Benefits?

If you’re starting to be pretty convinced that probiotics could change the way you feel and digest food, you’re probably excited to try a probiotic supplement. But did you know the benefits of probiotics don’t stop with a better digestive system? Taking a probiotics supplement can actually help you to get more nutrients out of the food you eat, resulting in healthier bowels, immune booster, and less risk of digestive upsets. Who knew that the secret to staying young and living longer was located in the supplement aisle of you local grocery store? If you’re tired of feeling sluggish and ill, try probiotics for health today.

Are There Probiotics Health Risks?

Although some people assume that because a supplement claims to be “natural” there can’t possibly be any negative effects, it’s important to point out that in very rare cases, individuals can experience negative results when using probiotics for health. However, unlike conventional pharmaceuticals, these side effects minimal and go away within a few days as you’re body gets used to probiotic bacteria. Instead, the most common complaint of people who are new to using probiotics for health is that they experience extra gas and possibly some bloating when they first begin the regimen.

Public international law

 

 

The United Nations is responsible for much of the current framework of international law of the United Nations which is responsible for more than the current international legal framework

Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of states and intergovernmental organizations. Public international law regarding the structure and conduct of states and intergovernmental organizations. To a Lesser degree, international law May Also affect multinational corporations and individuals, an increasingly evolving beyond the domestic impact of legal interpretation and enforcement. For smaller, international law may also affect multinational companies and individuals, the growing impact overseas legal interpretation and enforcement. Public international law has increased in use and importance vastly over the Twentieth Century, all due to the Increase in global trade, Armed conflict, environmental deterioration on a worldwide scale, awareness of human rights violations, Vast and rapid increases in international transportation and a boom in global communications. Increased use of public international law and is very important during the twentieth century, because of all to increase global trade, armed conflict, environmental degradation on a global scale, awareness of human rights violations, rapid and large increase in international transport and the boom in global communications.

Public international law is Sometimes Called the "law of nations". Public international law which is sometimes called the "law of nations". It Should not be confused with "private international law", Which Is Concerned with the resolution of conflict of laws. It should not be confused with "private international law", relating to the resolution of legal conflicts. In its most general sense, international law "consists of rules and principles of general application dealing with the conduct of states and of intergovernmental organizations and with on their relations inter se, as well as with Some of on their relations with persons, whether natural or Juridical. " [1] In the most general sense, international law "consists of rules and principles of general application relating to the conduct of states and intergovernmental organizations and relationships with the inter se, as well as with several people with their relationships, whether natural or juridical.

US World War II veteran Leonard Lomell dies aged 91

Lomell as a Second Lieutenant

 

Former United States soldier and World War II veteran Leonard Lomell died on Tuesday at the age of 91, his family revealed on Thursday. Lomell was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions on June 6th, 1944, also known as D-Day. As a platoon leader in the US Army's 2nd Ranger Battalion, Lomell and other men climbed sheer cliffs to destroy German artillery.

J. Mark Mutter, a historian from Lomell's hometown of Toms River, said, "He was one of the greatest men of the greatest generation. He was so typical of that generation and put his medals and uniform in the attic after the war and built a whole new world".

Lomell was in charge of his platoon when they were set the task of destroying five German coastal guns based at the top of Pointe du Hoc between two of the landing beaches. To get to the guns they had to climb up 100-foot cliffs, with covering fire from troops based on the ground for protection. Many of Lomell's men were either shot and killed or fell to their deaths.

After Lomell and others reached the top of the cliff and fought back the Germans, it became clear that the artillery was not where it was previously believed to be. Lomell and two other Rangers found the guns unprotected in an orchard and destroyed them using grenades and explosives. For his actions historian Stephen Ambrose said that, other than future U.S President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lomell was the one individual most responsible for the success of D-Day.

Funeral arrangements are being planned and have not yet been released.

Constitutional law

 

The French Declaration of the Rights of the Man and of the Citizen , whose principles still have constitutional value Perancis Deklarasi Hak-hak Manusia dan Warga Negara pada,  prinsip-prinsip yang masih memiliki nilai konstitusional

Constitutional law is the study of foundational or basic laws of nation states and other political organizations. Konstitusional hukum adalah ilmu dasar atau dasar hukum dari negara dan organisasi politik lainnya.

Constitutions are the framework for government and may limit or define the authority and procedure of political bodies to execute new laws and regulations. Konstitusi adalah kerangka kerja bagi pemerintah dan dapat membatasi atau menetapkan wewenang dan prosedur dari badan politik baru untuk melaksanakan undang-undang dan peraturan yang berlaku.

Healthy Food – Three Food Groups

Have you read some of the food labels from your local supermarket today? Some of these labels are downright deceitful. A can of yogurt can be labeled “low-fat” when it contains tones of sugar, and so can “energy drinks” be just 90% sugar water. The consumption of all these foods sum up to where the majority of where the average American citizen is now: Overweight.

Healthy Food

Its time to boycott these food labels and really make good food choices by yourself. If you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle and a healthy weight, try consuming these three kinds of healthy foods:

1. Whole Grains: There are several choices you can choose from in this category. This category of healthy food is perfect for the weight watcher, because you can really use this to fill your stomach, and yet not put on a lot of pounds. Grains like oatmeal, rye and barley contains so much fiber in them that most of the time, you body simply passes them out.

2. Fresh Fruits: Most fruits are packed full with great nutrients and vitamins. When your body is fed with great nutrients and vitamins, it does not crave for those “sinful” foods! In fact, fruits can be used as a total meal replacer on days that you don’t want to cook – using carbohydrate rich fruits like bananas and mangoes, or be used as a dessert (remember to leave time between your main meal and fruits) after your meal. High fiber foods like papayas, apples and pears can also be used as snacks!

3. Low Carbohydrate Vegetables: Contrary to popular belief, some types of vegetables might be misleading. For example, stuff like corn and potatoes are just packed with unhealthy carbohydrates and should really be taken in moderation. When choosing vegetables, a great guideline to stick to is this: go for something that is green and leafy, like spinach or lettuce. These vegetables not only make great ingredients as part of a quick stir fried or steamed dish, but can also be great for salads as well.

Of course, diet is just one part of the healthy weight loss plan. The other main component is your regular exercise. If you keep 80% of your meals to these three fruit groups and do some form of regular exercise everyday, coupled with sufficient fresh water and sleep, you can be assured that your pounds will come off the scales quickly! Start today!

International Law and Politics

Professor Hilary Charlesworth

Professor of International Law and Director of the Centre for International and Public Law in the Faculty of Law, ANU

“Is the War on Terror Compatible with Human Rights?: An International Law Perspective” [View paper (PDF, 180KB)]

 

Abstract: The paper will consider the particular challenges raised for the international human rights system by the 'war on terror' declared in the wake of the events of 11 September 2001. 

 

Taking an international focus, it will argue that a human rights framework is critical for the success of such an enterprise and will examine the practical and legal implications of acting otherwise.

 

Bio: Hilary Charlesworth is Professor and Director of the Centre for International and Public Law at the Australian National University. She was educated at the University of Melbourne and Harvard Law School. 

 

She has taught at the universities of Melbourne and Adelaide and has been a visiting professor at Washington & Lee School of Law, Harvard Law School and the Global Law Faculty at New York University.

Principles of Public International Law

Principles of Public International Law has been shaping the study and application of international law for over 40 years. Written by a world-renowned expert, this book was the first to bring human rights into the mainstream of international law.

This seventh edition, fully updated since 2003, continues to provide the balance, clarity and expertise expected by Brownlie readers. The depth of knowledge displayed by the author, along with the detailed referencing and logical structure, make this title an indispensible resource for students, scholars and practitioners working in or studying international law.

* The most well established and authoritative textbook on international law on the market - readers know that they will be accessing unequalled expertise and knowledge in this book

* Gives readers a carefully balanced perspective on international issues from the point of view of someone who has had substantial experience as Counsel and Advocate in international tribunals and also as Arbitrator. The book has appeared in local language editions in countries including China, Japan, Korea, Portugal and Russia.

* Superb coverage of jurisprudence and historical materials allowing readers to follow and gain a deeper understanding of the development of international law, which is essential to its comprehension

* Includes rigorously detailed references and a particularly thorough and comprehensive index, making it the ideal reference text or stand alone resource

7 Things You Didn't Know About HSUS

1) The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a “humane society” in name only. It isn’t affiliated with any hands-on “humane society” organizations, and it doesn’t operate a single pet shelter or pet adoption facility anywhere. During 2008, HSUS contributed barely $450,000— less than one-half of one percent of its budget—in grants to dog and cat shelters. By comparison, that same year it gave $2.25 million to a political campaign committee behind an anti-meat ballot initiative in California, and put $2.5 million into HSUS’s executive pension plan. HSUS is the wealthiest animal-rights lobbying organization on earth. It agitates for the same goals as PETA and other radical groups, but uses fewer naked interns.

2) Beginning on the day of NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s 2007 dogfighting indictment, HSUS raised money online with the false promise that it would “care for the dogs seized in the Michael Vick case.” The New York Times later reported that HSUS wasn’t caring for Vick’s dogs at all. And HSUS President Wayne Pacelle told the Times that his group urged government officials to “put down” (that is, kill) the dogs rather than adopt them out to suitable homes. HSUS later quietly altered its Internet fundraising pitch. Vick now gives HSUS “sponsored” speeches. And most of his dogs have been rehabilitated—without any help from HSUS.

3) HSUS’s senior management includes a former spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a criminal group designated as “terrorists” by the FBI. HSUS president Wayne Pacelle hired John “J.P.” Goodwin in 1997, the same year Goodwin described himself as “spokesperson for the ALF” while he fielded media calls in the wake of an ALF arson attack at a California veal processing plant. In 1997, when asked by reporters for a reaction to an ALF arson fire at a farmer’s feed co-op in Utah (which nearly killed a family sleeping on the premises), Goodwin replied, “We’re ecstatic.” That same year, Goodwin was arrested at a UC Davis protest celebrating the 10-year anniversary of an ALF arson at the university that caused $5 million in damage.

4) A 2008 Los Angeles Times investigation found that HSUS receives less than 12 percent of the money raised on its behalf by California telemarketers. Professional fundraisers keep the rest. If you exclude two campaigns run for HSUS by the “Builda-Bear Workshop” retail chain—which consisted of the sale of surplus stuffed animals (not really “fundraising”)—HSUS’s yield shrinks to just three percent. This is typical. In 2004, HSUS ran a telemarketing campaign in Connecticut with fundraisers who promised a return of “zero percent” of the proceeds. The campaign raised over $1.4 million. Not only did none of that money go to HSUS, but the group paid $175,000 for the telemarketing work. Similar filings exist in Massachusetts, New York, and other states. In 2008 HSUS collected more than $86 million in contributions, but spent more than $24 million on fundraising.

5) HSUS’s heavily promoted U.S. “boycott” of Canadian seafood—announced in 2005 as a protest against Canada’s annual seal hunt—is a phony exercise in media manipulation. A 2006 investigation found that 78 percent of the restaurants and seafood distributors described by HSUS as “boycotters” weren’t participating at all. Nearly two-thirds of them told surveyors they were completely unaware HSUS was using their names in connection with an international boycott campaign. Canada’s federal government is on record about this deception, saying: “Some animal rights groups have been misleading the public for years … it’s no surprise at all that the richest of them would mislead the public with a phony seafood boycott.” A documentary director also caught an HSUS film crew abusing a dying seal while they shot a 2007 fundraising video on the ice floes of Atlantic Canada.

6) HSUS raised $34 million in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, supposedly to help reunite lost pets with their owners. But comparatively little of that money was spent for its intended purpose. Louisiana’s Attorney General shuttered his 18-month-long investigation into where most of these millions went, shortly after HSUS announced its plan to contribute $600,000 toward the construction of an animal shelter on the grounds of a state prison.  In 2009, Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB-TV reported that public disclosures of the disposition of the $34 million in Katrina-related donations added up to less than $7 million.

7) After gathering undercover video footage of improper animal handling at a Chino, CA slaughterhouse during November of 2007, HSUS sat on its video evidence for three months, even refusing to share it with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. HSUS’s Dr. Michael Greger may have perjured himself before Congress, testifying that the San Bernardino County (CA) District Attorney’s office asked the group “to hold on to the information while they completed their investigation.” The District Attorney’s office quickly denied that account, declaring that HSUS refused to make its undercover spy available to investigators if the USDA were present. Ultimately, HSUS chose to release its video footage at a politically opportune time, as it prepared to launch a livestock-related ballot campaign in California. Meanwhile, meat from the slaughterhouse continued to flow into the U.S. food supply for months.

Ten Essential Mercury Facts

  

1. The Food and Drug Administration writes that its dietary mercury guidelines were “established to limit consumers’ methyl mercury exposure to levels 10 times lower than the lowest levels associated with adverse effects.” Americans who consume twice as much mercury as the FDA recommends are still protected by a 500-percent cushion. The same generous safety margin applies to the Environmental Protection Agency’s mercury “Reference Dose.” And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that zero percent of American children exceed the EPA’s hyper-cautionary guideline.


2. The U.S. government’s Institute of Medicine (a division of the National Academies of Science) warned in a major 2006 report that a “spillover effect” from one-size-fits-all fish warnings could deny most consumers the health benefits of seafood consumption. This report demonstrates a severe disagreement between serious scientists and activists who demand “warning” signs (aimed at all consumers) on grocery-store fish counters.

3. There are no scientifically documented cases of Americans developing mercury poisoning from eating commercially available fish. The only documented cases in the medical literature are from Japan in the 1950s and 1960s, following a massive industrial spill of mercury into fishing waters. Mercury levels today (in both fish and people) are nowhere near the levels measured during this tragic episode.

4. The federal government’s mercury-in-fish recommendations are based largely on a single study whose participants were exposed to mercury by eating whale meat—not fish. The study was conducted in Denmark’s Faroe Islands. Unlike fish, whale meat is contaminated with a variety of pollutants, so isolating mercury’s effects is practically impossible. In 2004 the lead Faroe researcher acknowledged in The Boston Herald that “fish consumption does not harm Faroese children … the fish consumption most likely is beneficial to their health.”

5. A twelve-year study conducted in the Seychelles Islands (in the Indian Ocean) recently found no negative health effects from exposure to mercury through heavy fish consumption. On average, people in the Seychelles eat between 12 and 14 fish meals every week, and the mercury levels measured in the island natives are higher than those measured in the United States. But they suffered no ill effects from mercury in fish, and they received a significant health benefit from eating fish in the first place.

6. In February 2007, The Lancet (The United Kingdom’s most prestigious medical journal) published U.S. government-funded research demonstrating a clear health benefit to children whose mothers ate large amounts of fish while pregnant. Researchers wrote that they could find “no evidence to lend support to the warnings of the U.S. advisory that pregnant women should limit their seafood consumption.” Of the more than 9,000 pregnant women in this study, those who ate the most fish—regardless of mercury levels—had children with the highest IQ’s.

7. Studies published in 2005 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that even eating small amounts of fish each week can result in a 17 percent lower risk of heart disease, a 12 percent lower risk of stroke, and (when eaten by pregnant women) a modest increase in children’s IQ. The Omega-3 fats found in fish can also protect against Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, breast andprostate cancer, and many other conditions.

8. Researchers at Harvard University concluded that the health benefits of fish “greatly outweigh the risks,” including those from trace amounts of mercury. Their study was published in JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association) in October 2006.

9. Over forty years of scientific research has established that selenium, a plentiful nutrient in fish, can effectively neutralize the toxicity of trace amounts of mercury in seafood. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 16 of the 25 best sources of dietary selenium are ocean fish.

10. There’s solid scientific evidence that the amount of mercury in fish has remained the same (or even decreased) during the past century. Researchers from Princeton University, Duke University, and the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum have all compared specimens of ocean fish preserved between 25 and 120 years ago with current samples of the same species. In these studies, mercury levels in the fish stayed the same or declined.

The Naturopathy Movement

Naturopathy refers to a doctrine of “natural medicine” that teaches that the body’s “vital force” is the most important factor in healing and maintaining health. The approach has been criticized as largely pseudo-scientific, relying on dogma rather than data. One doctor describes the difference between naturopathy and medical science:

Scientific research has identified measurable, causative factors and specific methods of preventing and/or treating hundreds of health problems. Naturopaths have done little more than create glib generalities. [Their] theories are simplistic and/or clash with science-based knowledge of body physiology and pathology.

Naturopathy’s claims that abstract ideas of “balance” and “vitality” can help the body fight disease have been widely criticized. (For example, some diseases have a genetic link—something that abstractions can’t fight.)
Naturopathy also promotes the belief that “natural” foods are inherently better than so-called “processed” foods that are common in our diets. Some naturopaths claim that sugars like table sugar or HFCS raise the risk of obesity and diabetes. Naturopathic recommendations on an alternative medicine website include advice to completely avoid sugar in order to prevent or treat health problems, including diabetes, premenstrual syndrome, arthritis, and ear infections. Kimball C. Atwood, M.D., debunks anti-sugar scare tactics by naturopaths, writing:

When a naturopath claims that "toxins" or "food allergies" or dietary sugar or "candidiasis" are the underlying causes of ear infections, learning disorders, fatigue, arthritis or numerous other problems, it is a misrepresentation of facts.

In 2003 Dr. Kimball conducted a review for Medscape and found that naturopaths have less training than primary care medical doctors. A review of naturopathic literature “reveals that it is replete with pseudoscientific, ineffective, unethical, and potentially dangerous practices.” Atwood also presented testimony to a Massachusetts state legislative healthcare committee about the “bizarre, irrational, and unsafe” practices of naturopathy.
Dr. Barry L. Beyerstein and Susan Downie concluded in a review of the field that naturopathy does not hold up to medical science:

Throughout, we found underestimation of the power of the placebo. At the same time, our own bibliographic searches failed to discover any properly controlled clinical trials that supported claims of naturopathy, except in a few limited areas where naturopaths' advice concurs with that of orthodox medical science. Where naturopathy and biomedicine disagree, the evidence is uniformly to the detriment of the former. We therefore conclude that clients drawn to naturopaths are either unaware of the scientific deficiencies of naturopathic practice or choose to disregard them on ideological grounds.

In other words, naturopathy has a lengthy history of being rejected by the scientific community. The U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare said as much in 1968:

Naturopathic theory and practice are not based on the body of basic knowledge related to health, disease, and healthcare that has been widely accepted by the scientific community. Moreover, irrespective of its theory, the scope and quality of naturopathic education do not prepare the practitioner to make an adequate diagnosis and provide appropriate treatment.

Saluting Scott Walker

With Comrade Obama in the White House, standing up to union thugs means taking on the federal behemoth. Kudos to Scott Walker for his courage.

Why Food and Drink Bans Won't Solve Childhood Obesity

Despite the fact that almost all the research on in-school nutrition indicates that food bans are ineffective (and sometimes counterproductive), the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and food activists from groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest are pushing government regulations on everything from chewing gum to potato chips.

The IOM's narrow standards for foods that should be available in schools effectively squeeze everything but fruit juice, nuts, and a small assortment of produce out of the cafeteria snack bar. And the guidelines outline where and when "permissible" foods can be sold, which athletic teams can have sports drinks like Gatorade or Powerade, and whether fundraisers and bake sales qualify as "nutritionally beneficial." Food provided at booster clubs, PTA meetings, parent-teacher nights, and other adult activities held on school grounds would also be subject to government scrutiny.

Dietary decrees like these may seem surreal, but many schools have already taken things to their absurd conclusion. School birthday celebrations are nearly a thing of the past, with cupcakes banned in classrooms across the country. Some schools forbid parents from bringing fast food to their kids. And in October a British boy was sent to the principal's office because the lunch his parents packed for him did not meet the school's guidelines.

DHS Rolls Out Portable DNA Scanners

 

The Department of Homeland Security doesn't want to overreach its authority by doing anything serious about the revolving door that serves as our southern border. But it doesn't hesitate to ogle nude images of us at the airport — or even scan our DNA:

This summer, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to begin testing a portable DNA scanner, The Daily has learned.

The device, which has not yet been unveiled but reportedly resembles a desktop printer, is expected to make genetic tests far more common…

With nothing more than a swab of saliva, security officials can use the device to obtain genetic intel in less than an hour. …

Jim Harper, the director of information policy studies at the Cato Institute and a member of the DHS privacy committee, called the technology a game-changer, and one that officials are rolling out too hastily.

"There's going to be a rapid migration into collecting more DNA from more people," he said. "We're plunging into the unknown here."

Can the sort of people who are running our monstrously power-hungry government be trusted to use this technology in good faith? Hardly:

Harper, for one, is concerned that the DHS didn't consult their privacy advisory committee, of which he is a member, as it prepared to test the scanners.

"I'm frustrated that I'm learning about this from a reporter," he said. "This is exactly the kind of thing our committee should be reviewing."

As pointed out at Right Wing News, Obama et al. "sure seem determined to build themselves one heck of a database with all this info they're capturing."

San Fransicko Moonbats Enraged by Coca-Cola Sign

 

How much liberty would be left if a city were completely run and almost completely populated by progressives? San Francisco again proves that the answer is none:

A vintage Coca-Cola sign decorating the side of a San Francisco house is falling flat with some residents.

City officials say the painted sign in the Bernal Heights neighborhood violates anti-billboard laws and must come down.

And that's not the only offensive thing about Richard Modolo's sign. Some residents also want it removed, saying it promotes obesity by advertising a sugary drink.

Modolo has left the sign up for historic reasons. It dates back to the 1930s, the last time Americans saw their liberties go up in flames at such an alarming rate. It will no doubt please his neighbors that he could face a $100/day fine for his crime.
If he had put up a giant picture of homosexuals spreading AIDS with some appalling act of depravity, no one would have complained. Neighbors would have walked past smiling smugly, pleased with their own tolerance. But a good liberal only tolerates what the ruling class tells us to tolerate, and currently that does not include soda pop.

Low-Flow Toilets Cause San Franfreakshow Sewers to Back Up

 

 

When it comes to the fundamentals of civilized life — plumbing, for example — eco-moonbattery doesn't come cheap:

San Francisco's big push for low-flow toilets has turned into a multimillion-dollar plumbing stink.

Skimping on toilet water has resulted in more sludge backing up inside the sewer pipes, said Tyrone Jue, spokesman for the city Public Utilities Commission. That has created a rotten-egg stench near AT&T Park and elsewhere, especially during the dry summer months.

The city has already spent $100 million over the past five years to upgrade its sewer system and sewage plants, in part to combat the odor problem.

Now officials are stocking up on a $14 million, three-year supply of highly concentrated sodium hypochlorite — better known as bleach — to act as an odor eater and to disinfect the city's treated water before it's dumped into the bay. It will also be used to sanitize drinking water.

That translates into 8.5 million pounds of bleach either being poured down city drains or into the drinking water supply every year.

That's okay — so long as it allows eco-totalitarians to save the environment with their Al Gore toilets.