Learn

Watch Maude Barlow's talk the water of Earth

2010-05-10T09:25:00.001-07:00

Watch Maude Barlow's talk the water of Earth:
http://blip.tv/file/3273836/

Maude Barlow educates people all over the world about the crisis of water privatization, and documents how commodification of water results in soaring rate increases and severe water shortages. She says, "Life requires access to clean water; to deny the right to water is to deny the right to life." In her work she particularly advocates for the world's poor, who in some cases pay more for potable water than do wealthier people in the same communities. She travels and lectures widely, arguing that water is a basic right and should not be a commodity.

Ms. Barlow is the National Chairperson of The Council of Canadians, Canada's largest citizen's advocacy organization with over 100,000 members. She is also founder of the Blue Planet Project, which works to stop commodification of the world's water. She is also a Director with the International Forum on Globalization, a San Francisco based research and education institution opposed to economic globalization. Ms. Barlow is the recipient of numerous educational awards and has received honorary doctorates from four Canadian universities for her social justice work. She is the best-selling author or co-author of fourteen books. Her most recent publications are Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and The Coming Battle for the Right to Water, Blue Gold, The Fight to Stop Corporate Theft of the World's Water (with Tony Clarke), now published in 40 countries; Profit is Not the Cure, A Citizens' Guide to Saving Medicare; Making the Links: A Peoples' Guide to the WTO and the FTAA (with Tony Clarke); and The Canada We Want: A Citizen's Alternative to Deep Integration.

She was awarded a Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship in 2005. Ms. Barlow resides in Ottawa, Ontario.

You may learn more about this and other events on the Lannan website. 

Labels:
--

Subscribe to periodic emails from:
- Better World News
- Learning News: children learning, how mind works
- Health News
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world

or send a request for a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

Heart Transplants Impart Memories From Doner To Recipient

2010-04-08T18:25:00.001-07:00

[This article is about the heart not organs. The heart has neuro-networks similar to the brain. The brain and the heart are in direct connection.]

Transplanted organs impart memories onto recipients
Thursday, April 08, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Becoming an organ[heart] donor is a great way to help out a person in the event of one's death. A study has shown, however, that sometimes [heart] donor recipients take on certain characteristics or personality traits from the [heart] donor, a phenomenon that researchers are having a difficult time explaining.

Paul Pearsall, a neuropsychologist, wrote about this interesting topic in his book, The Heart's Code: Tapping the Wisdom and Power of Our Heart Energy. In it, he provides insight into his belief that the physical heart contains within it memories belonging to its person. Part of Pearsall's research for the book included tracking several real life cases of heart transplant recipients who mysteriously inherited some of their donors' traits.

In one case, a Spanish-speaking man began using words that he had not used prior to his transplant. He received his heart from a man named David who had died in a car accident. David's wife, Glenda, when meeting the recipient of her husband's heart for the first time, used the word "copacetic" to describe the situation. The recipient's mother quickly replied that her son had begun using that word for the first time and that it did not even have a Spanish equivalent, indicating that he had adopted the word from David.

The recipient's son, who had before been a vegetarian, began craving meat and greasy food after his transplant. His music preferences also changed from favoring heavy metal to preferring fifties rock 'n' roll. All of these preferences turned out to be David's preferences as well.

In another case, an 8-year-old girl who had received a heart transplant from a 10-year-old girl that had been murdered, began to have nightmares about the donor's murderer. After several consultations with a psychiatrist, it was decided that the police should be notified. The 8-year-old recipient was able to identify key clues about the murder, including who the murderer was, when and how it happened, and even the words spoken by the murderer to the victim. Amazingly, the entire testimony turned out to be true and the murderer was convicted for his crime.

Pearsall's 73 different case studies point to the fact that both the brain and the heart hold important information about a person. According to his analysis, cell communication that occurs throughout the body on a continual basis can continue to occur after an organ has been removed from one person and transplanted into another. Information from the donor seems to install into the recipient's memory.

Critics argue that such a phenomenon is not possible, but the proof is in the cases themselves. In one case, a 3-year-old Arab girl received a heart transplant from an 8-year-old Jewish boy who died in a car accident. After her surgery, the girl asked for a type of Jewish candy that, prior to the surgery, she did not even know existed.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/do...
Labels:
--

Subscribe to periodic emails from:
- Better World News
- Learning News: children learning, how mind works
- Health News
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world

or send a request for a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

Free Simple Eye Surgery Removes Cataracts In Nepal & Throughout The World

2010-03-30T08:45:00.001-07:00

For me, an area of moral clarity is: you're in front of someone who's suffering and you have the tools at your disposal to alleviate that suffering or even eradicate it, and you act. --Dr. Paul Farmer

Inspiration of the Day:
Raj Kaliya Dhanuk sits on a wooden bench, barefoot, with a tattered sari covering thin arms as rough as bark. Thick clear tears bleed from her eyes, milky saucers that stare at nothing. Dhanuk and more than 500 others - most of whom have never seen a doctor before - have traveled for days by bicycle, motorbike, bus and even on their relatives' backs to reach Dr. Sanduk Ruit's mobile eye camp. Each hopes for the miracle promised in radio ads by the Nepalese master surgeon: He is able to perform cataract surgery, without stitches, in about five minutes. Free of charge. [ more ]

Submitted by: Shwetha S.

Be The Change:
Identify a tool you possess and use it to make a difference in someone's life today.

Share A Reflection!				tell a friend \| archives \| unsubscribe a service of CharityFocus 104495 subscribers
Rate:

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

Happiness - Investing In Process Not Outcome

2010-03-25T19:11:00.001-07:00

Watch this:
http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4067

On happiness.

Not investing in the outcome.
Focus on outcome for direction.
Invest in process and have a nice day.

The example of a child learning how to walk is funny.

Is this a journey I want to take ...

---

Daily Good

It is my duty and privilege to be of service. I will do whatever I can to make life easier for all people who cross my path. --Srikumar Rao

Inspiration of the Day:
He teaches them to be grateful and he wants them to meditate. But Prof. Srikumar Rao's isn't a spiritual teacher: he teaches at some of the world's top business schools! In his gentle voice, he asks his students to stop living in a "me centered" world and start living in an "other centered" one. At a conference in Copenhagen, he spoke of breaking free of the "I'd be happy if ..." mental model, and embrace our hard-wired happiness. [ more ]

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

Details On Exercise To Improve Memory & Brain Health

2010-03-19T07:12:00.001-07:00

New Powerful Three Minute Exercise Improves Memory and Brain Health

Friday, February 19, 2010 by: Paul Fassa, citizen journalist
http://www.naturalnews.com/028207_brain_health_exercise.html

(NaturalNews) An unusual exercise to improve mental health and acuity has been going viral on the internet lately. It was featured in a Los Angeles CBS News report (source below) that has an MD, a Yale neurobiologist, an occupational therapist, educators, and parents endorsing it. It is a simple routine, and it has created positive results for learning disabled and autistic children as well as older Alzheimer`s victims.

And it`s useful for any kind of brain fog or dullness, even emotional instability. It can improve memory and focus, and it`s even made some a little smarter. It seems to work for everyone regardless of mental condition.

How to Do This Simple Exercise

With your feet pointing straight ahead, spread them apart about shoulder width. Grab your right earlobe with the thumb and finger of your left hand. Cross over your left arm and do the same using your right hand on the left earlobe. Then squat as fully as you can, breathing in. That`s a little counter intuitive, but that`s what you do. Breathe in as you squat.

Then breathe out as you stand. So the breathing needs to be synchronized with the squats. Continue this motion repetitively while holding both earlobes for three minutes. That may be too much at first, so start with one minute. One can go up to five minutes, but three is good enough. This can be done by anyone at any age and should be done on a daily basis until the fog lifts!

How It Works

Los Angeles physician Dr. Eric Robins says that the brain cells and neurons are energized with this simple exercise. He prescribes it to his patients and has had excellent results. One example of his is a youngster doing poorly in school. After being introduced to the exercise, that child went on to become an A student.

According to Yale neurobiologist Dr. Eugenius Ang, the earlobes grabbed are acupuncture points that stimulate neural pathways in the brain. The brain`s hemispheres are in opposite sides of the earlobes. Using opposite hands for pinching the earlobes may have something to do with the way our subtle energies are arranged.

Ang showed that the results from EEG (electroencephalography) readings after doing this exercise indicate the right and left hemispheres of the brain had become synchronized. EEG readings measure the neuron firings in the brain via electrodes on the scalp, and are used to determine brain wave normalcies and abnormalities.

As Dr. Ang states, "... in modern terms, the brain is actually lateralized. This is an ideal hemispheric arrangement, which is unusual these days. It is something that pricey brain technology CDs attempt to do by producing subliminal sounds to the brain attached to audible sounds through a headset. Dr. Ang also does this exercise daily.

How It Started

The exercise was introduced by pranic healing Master Koa Chok Sui`s book SuperBrain Yoga and taught by him personally on lecture tours. Of course, there are many other aspects of pranic healing that Master Sui taught.

Prana is another word for Chi, the subtle life force energy that surrounds and permeates the body. It is the stuff of acupuncture and Qi (Chi) Gong. In addition to the subtle energy aspects of prana or Chi, it seems that combining a mildly aerobic exercise also helps flood the brain cells with oxygen.

At any rate, it`s an easy and inexpensive way to improve memory, mental clarity and focus, as well as assist those with debilitating mental disorders. There are those who call it quackery. But you`d be smart to do it daily!

Sources for more information:

Main Source page with CBS News video (Click - See how it is done here)
http://homeopathyplus.com.au/hplus/...

EEG details
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electr...

Site for Master Koa Chok Sui
http://www.superbrainyoga.org/

A bit about neural pathways
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural...

Labels:
--

Subscribe to periodic newsletter emails from:
- Better World News
- Learning News: children learning, how mind works
- Health News
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world

or send a request for a subscription to any of these lists here.

View these newsletters:
Better World Learning Health Good Morning World

Needleman Interview: Panoraic View Of Undestimating What Human Nature Can Be Connecting To The Greater Than The Ordinary For GoodAnd

2010-01-14T14:27:00.001-08:00

The universal human yearning, desire, for great ideas and the higher possibilities of human nature.
The self within the self (not the ego self). The spiritual understandings, practices, listening to what others are saying and to respond from one's heart. Touching the essence of all religions.

Needleman article continued below after this brief announcement.
---

This list and the other lists are being upgraded.
To continue receiving these periodic emails please subscribe to the upgraded list(s).
Without subscribing to the upgraded list here this will be the last article emailed.

Subscribe here:
- Better World News
- Learning News: children learning, how mind works
- Health News
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world

---
Needleman continued from above.

The universal human yearning, desire, for great ideas and the higher possibilities of human nature.
The self within the self (not the ego self). The spiritual understandings, practices, listening to what others are saying and to respond from one's heart. Touching the essence of all religions.

Listen to the interview here:
http://www.garynull.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/GaryNullShow011210.mp3

It starts a couple minutes in, runs about 30 minutes of the first half of the hour show.

Jacob Needleman's website:
http://www.jacobneedleman.com/

The website includes addition interviews, audio and video:
http://www.jacobneedleman.com/questions.htm

His lectures include:

Click on a topic to learn more:

The American Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Founding Fathers
Money and the Meaning of Life: Spiritual Search in a Material World
Time and the Soul: Searching for Time in a Time Deprived World
What Do We Mean by Healing?
Science and the Spiritual
Philosophy and the Great Questions of Life: Philosophy's Role in Modern Life
The Cultivation of Ethics in America’s Adolescents

The American Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Founding Fathers

Based on Jacob Needleman's most recent book, The American Soul, Needleman delves into the question of America. He looks at some of the beliefs and values that have shaped our culture, but separates the political, sociological, and economic aspects of "Americanism" that separates us, and repositions the purely metaphysical and psychological ideas that can bring us together. What, for example, is the spiritual, metaphysical meaning of democracy, or independence, or self-reliance? Although released in February 2002, Needleman spent over a decade researching and writing The American Soul. He has much to offer those of us seeking a deeper understanding of our culture, especially at this crucial time in our history.

Money and the Meaning of Life: Spiritual Search in a Material World

What is the the role and meaning of money in our lives? Money is the raw material out of which we build our lives. But because we don't take money more seriously, we have come to know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Jacob Needleman raises a number of questions about how money influences our emotional and spiritual lives. He draws on the experiences of mythic figures, historians, psychologists, economists, and poets to guide us in our search. This lecture topic is based on Needleman's book, Money and the Meaning of Life.

Time and the Soul: Searching for Time in a Time Deprived World

One of the most esoteric of all subjects, yet we experience time most intimately. Many of us feel we do not have enough time, or that time is moving too quickly. Needleman explores the agonizing paradox of time; two centuries of inventions designed to save time have actually had the effect of destroying time. We have material things, but little or no humanly meaningful time in our lives. Needleman looks to the great wisdom teachings for guidance in how to recover the fullness of meaningful time in the conditions of the modern world. This lecture topic is based on Needleman's book, Time and the Soul.

What Do We Mean by Healing?

Based on Jacob Needleman's book, The Way of the Physician, Needleman explores the science, practice, and spirituality of medicine. What does it mean to be a healer, and what are the responsibilities of healers? At a time when the financial considerations are taking precedence over the welfare of patients, Needleman sheds light on the great importance and responsibilities of healers.

Science and the Spiritual

This lecture topic aims to reach a contemporary redefinition of the spiritual search in the light of the latest speculations of science, including the science of chaos, the theories of quantum physicists, and the psychological implications of the computer. Needleman brings the perspectives of philosophy, psychology, and the great wisdom teachings to bear as he considers such questions as these: Is consciousness a fundamental aspect of reality? Does humanity have a special place and destiny in the cosmic scheme? Is the planet Earth a living organism? Are there truths about nature and the human mind that science cannot answer? This lecture topic is based on Needleman's book, a Sense of the Cosmos.

Philosophy and the Great Questions of Life: Philosophy's Role in Modern Life

Philosophy is the art of pondering the great questions of life, questions which the mind alone cannot answer, nor the heart can cease asking. Why do we suffer? How should we live? What can we hope for? Why is it essential that we go on pondering these questions of the heart, and how have great philosophers throughout the ages responded to them? This lecture topic explores the role of the great philosophical ideas as necessary allies in the rough-and-tumble of everyday life. Ideas presented in this lecture topic can also be found in Needleman's books, Heart of Philosophy, and Real Philosophy.

The Cultivation of Ethics in America’s Adolescents

Nowhere is the ethical crisis of our culture more poignant than in the minds and hearts of America’s young people. What do boys and girls of high-school age need to hear about morality and the development of character—beyond all the futile moralizing and the commercially driven and often degrading psychological “advice” and “tips” found everywhere in the omnipresent media of our time? What do they need to hear in order to help them think well and truly about the meaning of their lives with each other?

Labels:
--
Subscribe to periodic emails from:
- Better World News
- Learning News: children learning, how mind works
- Health News
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world

or send a request for a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

[Learn] v2 - Upgrade Requires New Subscription

2010-01-12T20:10:00.001-08:00

Learn News has been upgraded and requires a new subscription.

You can subscribe here.

An invitation to join this list will also be sent shortly.

AT7 Learn News
Nurturing Learning For Everyone

Science Shows More Vaccine Harms - Newsweek & Council On Foreign Relations Denounce Vaccine Critics

2009-12-24T13:17:00.001-08:00

The Council of Foreign Relations Enters the Vaccine Biz
Desperate Attempts to Salvage a Corrupt Science with Sound-bites

Richard Gale and Dr. Gary Null Progressive Radio Network, December 23, 2009
PDF Version

[Excerpts from full article below]
Physicians, scientists and journalists began to ask fundamental questions.
What if the pro-vaccine advocates, the World Health Organization (WHO) and government authorities at the CDC, FDA and HHS are wrong?
What hard proof is there that it was a pandemic?
And what might happen if the H1N1 vaccine has not been tested thoroughly under sound, scientific protocol by the vaccine makers?

evidence that there was no pandemic in the southern hemisphere

not only were the H1N1 flu and seasonal flu vaccines not shown to be effective and safe by any reliable gold standard, but rather
suspicions arose that the H1N1 scare was an intentionally designed hoax.

New York health officials and policy makers were wrong about the efficacy and safety of the swine flu vaccine.

Adults and parents,
are not just saying no to the swine flu vaccine, but to all vaccines in general.

the vaccine industry and its supporter are starting their counter-charge.
in a recent Newsweek article to denounce vaccine critics.
turned Newsweek into a national platform for the vaccine industrial complex

even the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) has publicly come to the defense of the vaccine manufacturers.
This undoubtedly raises the question, why in the world is the CFR getting involved in the vaccine biz?

The CFR, co-chaired by Robert Rubin from the 2008-2010 Great Recession fame, has a strong interest in promoting Rockefeller’s global health program to usurp the sovereignty of individual countries’ national health policies. Besides the CFR’s commitment to the WHO’s global health agenda, among the Council’s corporate members are three of the five largest pharmaceutical companies, each a major force in the vaccine industry: GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Pfizer.

the pro-vaccine community create and launch clear sound-bites to denounce anti-vaccine advocates and organizations in order to convince people to be vaccinated.
This summarizes quite well the content of Laurie Garrett’s article, “The Long Term Evidence for Vaccines,” subsequently appearing in the December 7th issue of Newsweek.

There is not a single instance where Garrett mentions even a slight possibility that a vaccine might perhaps contribute to any one of a number of growing health epidemics in American children: asthma, compromised immune systems, neuro-degenerative disorders such as autism, cancers, diabetes, gastrointestinal complications, etc.

citizens should be reminded that no vaccination has ever been proven to provide lifelong immunity for any infectious disease.

outbreaks of whooping cough (pertussis) where many of those infected were fully vaccinated. Therefore, how much of a miracle has the MMR really played in reducing infection from these pathogens?

sound-bites are dangerous weapons of mind manipulation for a population unfamiliar with the background and knowledge in the pros and cons of the subject being propagated.

subversive political marketing

vaccines administered by doctors and clinicians are highly contaminated with known and unknown disease-causing genetic fragments and viral agents. These include carcinogenic prions, oncogenes, and many viral fragments such as avian leukemia virus (ALV). Vaccines that require culturing of animal tissues—especially the influenza and measles vaccines—to produce the targeted virus are still too primitive to filter out these many unwanted contaminants that have yet to be studied in order to determine their long-term consequence on vaccinated people

It is our opinon that Garrett has been unduly selective in her choice of information given the thousands of peer-reviewed studies showing vaccines’ dangerous side effects. Having personally interviewed hundreds of parents of autistic children, they all share a familiar story: their children were developing normally until they received a particular or series of vaccines followed by severe reactions leading to a diagnosis of ASD.

What is surprising to us is the long legacy of white collar crime committed by pharmaceutical and vaccine companies, especially the three large pharmaceutical firms in the Council of Foreign Relations’ who have accumulated many years civil lawsuits, medical cover-ups on adverse drug effects, falsification of medical data, and a trail of pseudo-scientific nonsense to expedite their revenues from drug and vaccine sales.

ask Garrett to investigate the pharmaceutical companies in the CFR that have been found guilty of multiple offenses, and have her ask herself whether she has a problem supporting their interests and profits.

The military’s own health officials suspect vaccine mercury as one possible cause, but more likely it may be the ever-increasing number of vaccines being administered simultaneously or in short duration.

the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology acknowledges that exposure to vaccine mercury “in utero and children may cause mild to severe mental retardation and mild to severe motor coordination impairment.”

there is every indication that the biological and chemical slurry injected into a child’s blood stream during his first five years of life can create a “cytokine storm,” a hyper-reaction of a healthy immune system resulting in an abnormal outburst of inflammatory molecules (cytokines, oxygen free radicals, tumor necrosis factor and coagulation factors) that severely compromise the child’s immunological defenses.

decades of evidence proving methylmercury’s toxicity on the brain should be equally applied to thimerosal.[14] Federal health officials have been criminally negligent in looking at the thimerosal-autism connection, aside from relying on disputable and fallible cohort and epidemiological studies as a means to cover their backs.

similar argument used by the deniers of an autism-vaccine relationship in order to legitimize thimerosal’s continued use in vaccines. However, Prof. Agin continues, “Only later was it discovered that during prenatal development the placenta sequesters any methylmercury in maternal blood and passes it directly to the fetus. The astounding fact is that a developing fetus can have a high concentration of methylmercury without it being detectable in maternal blood.”[15] In other words, while a mother may be in perfect health without any signs of toxicity from mercury-laced vaccines, the infant in her womb may be relentlessly poisoned and develop severe neurological damage later in life.

four groundbreaking studies have been published that should give us all a moment’s pause before rushing our kids out the door to their next vaccination appointment.

National Children’s Survey Report noting that ASD rates have jumped to 1 in 91 children, a dramatic increase from previous figures of 1 in 120/150 ratio.

hepatitis B vaccine with thimerosal, when given to primates according to the CDC’s childhood vaccine schedule and adjusted to the animals’ weight, resulted in all the vaccinated primates developing critical brain delays corresponding to their brainstems.

The vaccinated animals showed “significant neurodevelopmental deficits” similar to children with regressive autism.
vaccine-damaged animals exhibited chronic inflammation and variations in their gastrointestinal gene expression.

SurveyUSA, completed a survey of 11,817 households, representing over 17,600 children to compare the rates of various neurological disorders, as well as asthma and childhood diabetes in vaccinated and unvaccinated children.
boys from 4-17 years, there were increases of 155 percent for neurological disorders,
224 percent for ADHD,
61 percent for autism among the vaccinated.
For all boys and girls, there was a 120 percent increase in asthma among those vaccinated.[18]

There was once a time when vaccine research held integrity and sincerely strived to be honest, legitimate scientific inquiries into the causes of disease, infections and the effectiveness and safety of drugs and vaccines to protect us

During the past ten years, the rates of diabetes have nearly doubled and are now estimated to affect nine in every hundred Americans.

Newsweek should not be left off the hook but rather reprimanded for in our opinion one of the most biased, pro-vaccine industry articles we have ever read.

it is no accident Garrett’s article should appear in Newsweek.
two of Newsweek’s largest advertisers in its health section are Merck and Pfizer, the very same CFR corporate members noted above.

a popular growing reluctance to accept health officials’ vaccine efficacy and safety rhetoric.
+++

The Council of Foreign Relations Enters the Vaccine Biz
Desperate Attempts to Salvage a Corrupt Science with Sound-bites

Richard Gale and Dr. Gary Null Progressive Radio Network, December 23, 2009
PDF Version

The closure of 2009 marks a unique moment in the history of America’s healthcare and national health policies. First we were told that a pandemic of swine flu was upon us, which would make us all susceptible to a ravishing tide of medical complications and death. We were told pregnant women, young children and senior citizens should be first in line to receive the H1N1 vaccine, although no studies provided credible evidence of either the vaccine’s efficacy or safety for these groups. We were also persuaded repeatedly by the CDC and the media to place our faith in the heroic attempts of the vaccine industrial complex, our federal health officials and the Obama administration to bring these vaccines to market as quickly as possible. In our state of New York, both the swine flu and seasonal flu vaccines were made mandatory to tens of thousands of healthcare workers. Indeed, as a nation, we rose to the occasion. One of the most prolific and expensive public health initiatives in American history was undertaken, and every major media outlet daily encouraged people to get vaccinated. So far, so good.

Then something odd happened. Physicians, scientists and journalists began to ask fundamental questions. What if the pro-vaccine advocates, the World Health Organization (WHO) and government authorities at the CDC, FDA and HHS are wrong? What hard proof is there that it was a pandemic? And what might happen if the H1N1 vaccine has not been tested thoroughly under sound, scientific protocol by the vaccine makers? Reports started to drift in from Australia, New Zealand and South America from the middle to the end of their flu season. Their data provided evidence that there was no pandemic in the southern hemisphere. In fact, the H1N1 flu virus was milder than their normal seasonal flues. That led to a more fundamental challenge to the universally accepted truth by the medical orthodoxy that vaccines are effective and safe. Once the investigational process was underway, dozens and then hundreds of learned voices from responsible scientists, journalists and activists began a pushback, a counter argument that not only were the H1N1 flu and seasonal flu vaccines not shown to be effective and safe by any reliable gold standard, but rather suspicions arose that the H1N1 scare was an intentionally designed hoax. Numerous articles and critiques appeared to deconstruct the influenza vaccine myths, parceling them into fragments of delusional data that had been paraded as dogma by the government and media.

The sad part of the story, with a few notable exceptions such as Sharry Attkinsson’s CBS investigative report, is that the major media refused and continues to refuse to report about this. Instead, a counter-campaign has been launched that posits that anyone who questions the efficacy and safety of vaccines is irresponsible. People have been brought forth from the CDC, FDA, pharmaceutically funded think tanks, and researchers and university professors, many of whom receive consultant fees from vaccine makers, to convince the public in the political correctness of the vaccine hypothesis. Moreover, as the New York Times reports, our government’s entire vaccine advisory committee has for years been stacked with medical lackeys invested heavily in the private vaccine industry through a variety of conflicting affiliations.

Later during the autumn months another turn events occurred. Demonstrations in Albany, New York, with over a thousand healthcare workers, concerned parents and physicians at the steps of the capitol brought forth documentation and testimonials showing the New York health officials and policy makers were wrong about the efficacy and safety of the swine flu vaccine. Articles and commentaries challenging the vaccines filled thousands of blogs and websites. The activists were working together, each was filling in pieces of the puzzle. Countless emails and phone calls flooded the governor’s and health commisioner’s offices. Finally New York State blinked. Citing the excuse of a shortage in flu vaccines, state officials rescinded their mandatory vaccine requirement.

We are now at a critical turn of events when citizens are being exposed to the alternative science to vaccines. Adults and parents, not just in the US, but throughout the developed world, are not just saying no to the swine flu vaccine, but to all vaccines in general. Consequently, the vaccine industry and its supporter are starting their counter-charge. This strategy is perhaps best observed in a recent Newsweek article to denounce vaccine critics. This shrill piece of yellow journalism, which we will deconstruct below, turned Newsweek into a national platform for the vaccine industrial complex to salvage what remaining credible evidence there is to validate vaccine campaigns.

Much of contemporary pharmaceutical science and its supporting policies are built upon myths masquerading as facts. Hitler’s close confidant in charge of the Nazi propaganda machine, Joseph Goebbels stated, “If you tell a lie long enough eventually it will be believed as truth, and the greater the lie, the more people will believe it.” After eight years of lies about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and Sadaam’s involvement in 911, and now the false economic recovery being promulgated by bankers in the Treasury and Fed, Americans are becoming accustomed to the truth behind Goebbels’ marketing schemes. And there is perhaps no other area of so-called scientific progress that has relied more on deceptive research and a distortion of facts and statistics than in modern medicine’s religious belief in vaccines as a miracle to protect the world’s population from infectious diseases. The fabrication, cherry picking and blatant corruption behind the vaccine research relied upon by the medical health complex to further its campaigns and launch inquisitorial assaults on the hundreds of thousands of families with children who have been injured by vaccination and the voices of reason who demand that government settle the heated debates concerning vaccine safety and efficacy with sound science has turned into a media war. And now even the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) has publicly come to the defense of the vaccine manufacturers. This undoubtedly raises the question, why in the world is the CFR getting involved in the vaccine biz?

The CFR, co-chaired by Robert Rubin from the 2008-2010 Great Recession fame, has a strong interest in promoting Rockefeller’s global health program to usurp the sovereignty of individual countries’ national health policies. Besides the CFR’s commitment to the WHO’s global health agenda, among the Council’s corporate members are three of the five largest pharmaceutical companies, each a major force in the vaccine industry: GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Pfizer. GlaxoSmithKline is now on the ropes after it’s swine flu vaccine had been found responsible for dozens of deaths in Canada and Mexico with additional untold numbers suffering from further injuries[1]

In mid-October of 2009, the CFR convened an extended symposium moderated by CFR Senior Fellow for Global Health, Laurie Garrett, entitled “Pandemic Influenza: Science, Economics and Foreign Policy.” The subtitle reflects what may appear to be an incongruent chain for addressing infectious pandemics. But it can be better appreciated when we realize the Council combines terrorism, nuclear weapon proliferation and infectious diseases under one of its strategic global divisions, “countering transnational threats.” Moreover, the CFR is the perfect incubator for forging alliances between large multinational corporations and governmental and multilateral agencies, such as the WHO. After their public relations are swept away from public view, this remains the CRF’s ultimate mission. In an interview with British epidemiologist Dr. Tom Jefferson from the prestigious Cochrane Database Collaboration in Rome, he worried about the close alliance between the WHO and vaccine executives who compulsively predict erroneous “apocalyptic forecasts” during every flu season. He noted that there exists a mysterious “swine flu committee of 12 who apparently advises the WHO Director General.[2] The great accommodator for such collaborations and strategic planning is none other than the CFR.

During a question and answer period, Tom Wilson, a self-proclaimed freelance hunter against AIDS dissidents and now scientists, researchers and public interest groups challenging vaccines, called those who refuse vaccination “crazies.” Wilson recommended the pro-vaccine community create and launch clear sound-bites to denounce anti-vaccine advocates and organizations in order to convince people to be vaccinated. This summarizes quite well the content of Laurie Garrett’s article, “The Long Term Evidence for Vaccines,” subsequently appearing in the December 7th issue of Newsweek. The article is a litany of sound-bites, void of substantiating scientific references to support its statements, which the reader is expected to accept faithfully. There is not a single instance where Garrett mentions even a slight possibility that a vaccine might perhaps contribute to any one of a number of growing health epidemics in American children: asthma, compromised immune systems, neuro-degenerative disorders such as autism, cancers, diabetes, gastrointestinal complications, etc. In Garrett’s universe, vaccines are sacred. They are divine gifts of human ingenuity to protect the world’s population; therefore nothing sacred can be flawed because the CFR and the World Health Organization take humanity’s best interests and vital health to heart. Or so the legend goes.

We may never know the full extent to which the CFR has acted behind the scenes to influence governments’ and the World Health Organization’s lies about a swine flu pandemic and the false figures of H1N1 infection and morbidity, nor whatever role it may have played in creating strategies to induce public fear as a means to enforce flu vaccination. Yet during the CFR’s symposium as the US embarked on its herd inoculation of the American public with a potentially unsafe, fast-tracked H1N1 vaccine, questions were raised about how to best counterattack the citizenry’s increasing disregard for health officials’ warnings and the media’s pro-vaccine assurances. The discussions included the idea of creating “an artificial shortage of the vaccine” because “that should cause people to want to get it.” A respondent noted, much to the pleasure of the audience, that that had been tried “before with the flu vaccine and people lined up all night to get it.” Was it just coincidence that this is what was to follow? It is not completely unreasonable to suspect the CFR has a role in steering some of the Obama administration’s health policies. His cabinet is packed with CFR members, and his first selection for General Surgeon, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is not only a member of the CFR but an unquestioning supporter of vaccination’s war on public health. Even amidst the healthcare bill debate, there is clear evidence the CFR is representing its strong alliances with Big Pharma’s financial interests. Only days before the vote in the Senate, an article appeared by CFR staff member Toni Johnson, “Generic Drugs: The Other Drug War,” which categorically denounced more affordable generic and imported drugs as being a direct threat to the financial growth and well-being of the pharmaceutical industry.

Garrett calls her vaccines “precious.” We could not help but think of the seemingly lost and meandering Golem in Tolkein’s Ring Trilogy searching for an object that he was never meant to possess. Such is the history of vaccine efficacy and safety, a quest for a magic bullet to save humanity from infectious diseases. One can twist, turn and trump up the truth of vaccine efficacy and safety all one wishes, but still the statistics, which the pro-vaccine community continuously distorts through sound-bites, show that vaccines have done little to decrease rates of infections.

According to mortality figures from the British Office of National Statistics, measles and pertussis (whooping cough) began their rapid decline at the end of the nineteenth century. Both were down 99 percent from 1838 to the year the vaccines were introduced (pertussis in 1950 and measles in 1968). There is another example of an infectious disease that was far more deadly than smallpox that never had a widely accepted vaccine and yet eventually fell into obscurity. During the nineteenth century, scarlet fever was responsible for more deaths than measles, pertussis and smallpox. An ineffective vaccine was created in 1924 but disappeared after the introduction of penicillin.[2] What is important in the example of scarlet fever is that infectious diseases declined not because of vaccine miracles, but because of many other factors including improved health, cleaner water and sanitation, public utilities, better living and working conditions, improved nutrition and other medical advancements. This is the same for just about every infectious disease during the first half of the twentieth century that was already in rapid decline before the advent of their respective vaccines.

Garrett’s vision of a world dominated vaccine dystopia is truly amazing. She is correct to sound-bite a potential relationship between prenatal and infant exposure to influenza and a sharp increase in later cognitive disorders, including schizophrenia. Yet her quip only presents an image of a glass half full. What is missing is another body of research showing that the flu vaccine elevates inflammatory cytokines in the mother’s maternal and infant’s fetal immune systems, especially IL-1 beta and IL-6, similar to infection by a wild virus. Both of these cytokines have been associated with abnormal brain development, including schizophrenia. Furthermore, IL-1 beta increases are not limited to flu infection or the flu vaccine, but also to hepatitis B, a vaccine that is given immediately after birth frequently when a new born’s brain is most vulnerable to viral and contaminant toxicity.[3]

Perhaps one of the earlier studies Garrett is referring to as evidence of an influenza- schizophrenia relationship is a 2004 study at Columbia University (the co-author of Garrett’s Newsweek article, Dana March, is a doctoral student also at Columbia). What is not mentioned in the Newsweek article is that Dr. Alan S. Brown, the head researcher of the study, also stated, “it’s possible that vaccination during pregnancy could have a harmful effect.” This leaves pregnant moms at the roulette wheel. Are your odds better against catching a wild flu virus, or submitting willfully to the syringe? Dr. Brown recommends that pregnant women only receive the flu vaccine after delivery in order to minimize the risk of the child developing schizophrenia.[4] Later studies, however, suggest that a genetic or an “additional environmental factor” associated with schizophrenia may be necessary for a fetal brain to be vulnerable to influenza’s effects.[5] While it would be negligent to deny possible psychotic complications due to wild flu infection—so far only associated with Type B flu strains—this should not discount similar dangers when influenza is being introduced via vaccination.

Garrett wants us to believe that “the still developing immune system of babies and infants is ripe for the vaccine-induced programming that can confer decades—in some cases, lifelong—protection.” Contrary to her beliefs, citizens should be reminded that no vaccination has ever been proven to provide lifelong immunity for any infectious disease. This is one reason why outbreaks of these same infectious pathogens are reappearing. Rather vaccines are being shown to provide much less protection than what is touted by journalists on behalf of Big Pharma and Big Government.

For example, in this December 1st issue of the Jewish Weekly, a mumps outbreak occurred at a summer camp attended by many of New York City’s Jewish youth. What alarmed the article’s author was that 83 percent of the children infected were fully vaccinated against mumps.[6] Not only in the industrial world are vaccines being shown ineffective. In the Kimberly region of Western Australia, there was a major mumps outbreak among the Aboriginal people. According to West Australia’s Infectious Disease Database, 67 percent of those infected had received a single shot while 52 percent were fully vaccinated.[7] Even a recent study conducted by the CDC has raised serious questions whether the mumps vaccine in the MMR is still effective[8] and earlier studies

in Denmark before the introduction of the MMR vaccine determined through ELISA testing that 90 percent of Danish children before 15 years had natural antibodies to mumps, and 98 percent of all 9 year olds had IgG antibodies to measles.[9] Similar statistics have been reported in recent outbreaks of whooping cough (pertussis) where many of those infected were fully vaccinated. Therefore, how much of a miracle has the MMR really played in reducing infection from these pathogens?

As innocent as they may appear on the surface, sound-bites are dangerous weapons of mind manipulation for a population unfamiliar with the background and knowledge in the pros and cons of the subject being propagated. Garrett restates a familiar indictment commonly found in subversive political marketing, “The unimmunized few are a threat to all, as they may harbor viruses and pass them onto others whose vaccine-induced immunity is waning due to HIV, cancer or simply the passing of time.” It is a repeat of the Bush rhetoric of being either for or against us. The truth is, if vaccines are in fact effectively protective then only unvaccinated persons would be placing themselves at risk. But this kind of common sense logic has no role in vaccine propaganda.

But let us look at the question of cancer and HIV since Garrett finds a need to raise it. As we reported elsewhere, based on transcripts from a couple of high level vaccine inquiries involving the WHO, CDC, FDA, British health ministry and vaccine makers. we find all these parties know very well that the vaccines administered by doctors and clinicians are highly contaminated with known and unknown disease-causing genetic fragments and viral agents. These include carcinogenic prions, oncogenes, and many viral fragments such as avian leukemia virus (ALV). Vaccines that require culturing of animal tissues—especially the influenza and measles vaccines—to produce the targeted virus are still too primitive to filter out these many unwanted contaminants that have yet to be studied in order to determine their long-term consequence on vaccinated people. In fact, according to an article published by Canada’s Vaccine Risk Awareness Network, “Serious Questions Regarding the Safety and Efficacy of the Influenza Vaccine,” there are reports that some studies, and even some vaccine package inserts, “indicate that vaccinations increase HIV viral replication.”[10] Nevertheless, the participants at these meetings decided to keep these warnings away from the public until the day arises when further research into the carcinogenic and autoimmune risks from these genetic contaminants are more fully researched.

It is our opinon that Garrett has been unduly selective in her choice of information given the thousands of peer-reviewed studies showing vaccines’ dangerous side effects. Having personally interviewed hundreds of parents of autistic children, they all share a familiar story: their children were developing normally until they received a particular or series of vaccines followed by severe reactions leading to a diagnosis of ASD. I am concerned when propaganda journalists refuse to acknowledge the true face of the dark side of vaccines. It is for that reason that hit-journalists are so valuable to health officials and drug executives and are repeatedly called upon to bombard our brains with junk science.

Garrett is eager to go on the offensive against what she calls Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s “thoroughly refuted evidence” for a link between vaccines and autism. No Ms. Garrett, Wakefield’s studies have not been thoroughly refuted. In fact, we spent over six months investigating the charges against Dr. Wakefield. From our original investigation, not only is Dr. Wakefield innocent of all charges but he is to be commended for having the courage to stand up against the entire power and might of the pharmaceutical industrial complex. In addition, his findings have been further substantiated by later independent research, most notably by researchers at New York University, New Jersey Medical School, and Utah State University.[11] It would be wise for Garrett and her colleagues to catch up on twenty-first century medical research that is amassing evidence to support a molecular relationship between the gut and the brain. And here the role of vaccination’s aggravation of inflammatory activities related to cytokines again becomes an important yet all too often neglected factor.

What is surprising to us is the long legacy of white collar crime committed by pharmaceutical and vaccine companies, especially the three large pharmaceutical firms in the Council of Foreign Relations’ who have accumulated many years civil lawsuits, medical cover-ups on adverse drug effects, falsification of medical data, and a trail of pseudo-scientific nonsense to expedite their revenues from drug and vaccine sales.

Therefore we would ask Garrett to investigate the pharmaceutical companies in the CFR that have been found guilty of multiple offenses, and have her ask herself whether she has a problem supporting their interests and profits.

The CFR symposium concluded in favor of mandatory vaccination, such as the recent attempts in Massachusetts and New York. By making reference to the military’s mandatory vaccination requirement, Garrett notes her support in denying medical freedom of choice. Unknowingly, here she leaves herself most vulnerable for sharp rebuttal. The military is the only entity in the US where the majority of vaccinations are mandatory, and military families have a long record of being loyal to the military’s health regimens. Given that military personnel and their families are the most heavily vaccinated group in the US, one would expect to find rates of ASD and neuro- degenerative disorders at the national average if vaccines are not a causal factor. However, the rate of ASD is much higher in active duty military families compared to the general population. It is now approximately 1 in 67 according to the calculations of Angela Warren.[12] The military’s own health officials suspect vaccine mercury as one possible cause, but more likely it may be the ever-increasing number of vaccines being administered simultaneously or in short duration. Since the Department of Defense is not obliged to serve any lordships in the pharmaceutical industry, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology acknowledges that exposure to vaccine mercury “in utero and children may cause mild to severe mental retardation and mild to severe motor coordination impairment.” According to Dr. Frank Anders, former Command Surgeon of the US Army Special Operations Command in Africa, “the power and money these pharmaceutical companies wield [on the FDA and CDC] is awesome.”[13]

The pro-vaccine contingent prefers to focus on individual vaccines while ignoring the common practice in pediatric clinics of administering multiple vaccines during a single visit. However, there is every indication that the biological and chemical slurry injected into a child’s blood stream during his first five years of life can create a “cytokine storm,” a hyper-reaction of a healthy immune system resulting in an abnormal outburst of inflammatory molecules (cytokines, oxygen free radicals, tumor necrosis factor and coagulation factors) that severely compromise the child’s immunological defenses.

Research conducted into the health risks of environmental methylmercury is far greater than that which has been performed on the ethymercury or thimerosal used in vaccines. Following a three year investigation into the vaccine-autism controversy, including testimonials from many of the nation’s leading experts in neuroscience and toxicology, the Congressional Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness came to the conclusion that decades of evidence proving methylmercury’s toxicity on the brain should be equally applied to thimerosal.[14] Federal health officials have been criminally negligent in looking at the thimerosal-autism connection, aside from relying on disputable and fallible cohort and epidemiological studies as a means to cover their backs. Data from these kinds of studies provide valuable fodder for pro-vaccine campaigns and have been shown to be an effective way to avoid paying vaccine injury compensation to parents with permanently damaged children.

The pro-vaccine agencies are very satisfied to sponsor, fund and propagandize cohort studies to discredit any one of hundreds of various adverse effects that have been associated with one or more vaccines. Cohort studies are relatively cheap to perform, provide instant results, and do not involve real clinical science to observe and measure actual biomolecular activity in the subjects. A good analogy would be vaccination cohort studies are to gold standard methodology as astrology is to astro-physical observation with the Hubble telescope. The medical literature is absolutely riddled with this kind of inaccurate science and Garrett and the rulers she represents at the CFR, the vaccine makers and our health officials, are all too happy that she rely on crap data of cohort and epidemiological calculations to sustain the vaccine miracle myth. It basically boils down to if you fear the results of undertaking a gold standard clinical trial, then resort to a cohort study.

There are important lessons to be learned from the extremely well-documented Minamata disaster in Japan several decades ago when methylmercury poisoning was responsible for over 1700 deaths and many of the very same diseases and conditions that Garrett attributes to wild viral infections among non-vaccinated people. These include cerebral palsy, low birth weight, encephalitis and microcephaly, profound developmental delays, deafness and blindness. Prof. Dan Agin, an emeritus faculty member in genetic biology at the University of Chicago noted a curious finding that our health officials should be funding critical studies without delay. The Minamata mothers of the children with these horrendous medical conditions “showed no symptoms of methylmercury poisoning and no methylmercury was detected in their blood.” This is a similar argument used by the deniers of an autism-vaccine relationship in order to legitimize thimerosal’s continued use in vaccines. However, Prof. Agin continues, “Only later was it discovered that during prenatal development the placenta sequesters any methylmercury in maternal blood and passes it directly to the fetus. The astounding fact is that a developing fetus can have a high concentration of methylmercury without it being detectable in maternal blood.”[15] In other words, while a mother may be in perfect health without any signs of toxicity from mercury-laced vaccines, the infant in her womb may be relentlessly poisoned and develop severe neurological damage later in life.

Recently, four groundbreaking studies have been published that should give us all a moment’s pause before rushing our kids out the door to their next vaccination appointment.

First, this past October, Harvard University released its National Children’s Survey Report noting that ASD rates have jumped to 1 in 91 children, a dramatic increase from previous figures of 1 in 120/150 ratio. Pissing away millions of dollars to find a genetic cause for such a dramatic increase will never be found. While Harvard’s new figures could be used by pro-vaccine advocates to try to convince us that this shows vaccine mercury cannot contribute to ASD, because thimerosal amounts have been reduced and/or eliminated in some vaccines, two other studies coming out of the University of Pittsburgh bring this new ASD ratio into clearer perspective.

A 2009 study published in the peer-reviewed journal NeuroToxicology discovered that hepatitis B vaccine with thimerosal, when given to primates according to the CDC’s childhood vaccine schedule and adjusted to the animals’ weight, resulted in all the vaccinated primates developing critical brain delays corresponding to their brainstems.[16] The second Pittsburgh study compared macaque primates submitted to the vaccine series in the US recommended immunization schedule, including the MMR vaccine, with unvaccinated animals. The vaccinated animals showed “significant neurodevelopmental deficits” similar to children with regressive autism. Furthermore, the vaccine-damaged animals exhibited chronic inflammation and variations in their gastrointestinal gene expression. This study provides additional support to Dr. Wakefield’s thesis of a gastrointestinal-brain connection aggravated by the MMR vaccine in autistic children.[17]

Finally it should be noted that the CDC has never commissioned nor funded a survey to look at the rates of autism among unvaccinated populations. Well, this survey has now been performed with some frightening results. The independent non-profit group Generation Rescue in collaboration with the notable opinion poll organization, SurveyUSA, completed a survey of 11,817 households, representing over 17,600 children to compare the rates of various neurological disorders, as well as asthma and childhood diabetes in vaccinated and unvaccinated children. For all vaccinated boys from 4-17 years, there were increases of 155 percent for neurological disorders, 224 percent for ADHD, and 61 percent for autism among the vaccinated. For all boys and girls, there was a 120 percent increase in asthma among those vaccinated.[18]

Garrett also lists other illnesses and diseases that she claims vaccines will protect children from, including: cerebral palsy from chickenpox and pertussis; small brains and hearts from rubella infection; deafness, blindness and optic nerve damage from chickenpox, measles, mumps, pertussis and rubella; and later adult cardiovascular disease from influenza. Garrett makes no mention of any studies to confirm these claims; but then, if there were they would no longer be sound-bites.

There was once a time when vaccine research held integrity and sincerely strived to be honest, legitimate scientific inquiries into the causes of disease, infections and the effectiveness and safety of drugs and vaccines to protect us. It was also a time when the most prestigious medical journals such as The Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Association were not afraid to publish strong, unbiased studies that challenged the day’s medical orthodoxy. Those days may be over now that Big Pharma dictates what will, can and should be printed in medical literature.

If we glance back upon the medical studies during those forgotten days before university departments and professional scientists became subverted to the persuasion and money of Big Pharma, we uncover a rich body of research showing that independent vaccine research, without corporate conflicts of interest, were almost prophetic in their selection of conditions to investigate. We find studies showing measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus and polio vaccines causing deafness, cardiovascular disease from the flu shot, encephalitis and meningitis from just about every vaccine at the time. Hepatitis B vaccine was shown to cause cerebral palsy and nerve atrophy and blindness due the MMR vaccination. Anyone who wishes to mine this well-documented body of literature will discover numerous studies associating vaccines as causal agents for not only the conditions listed by Garrett but also leukemia, chromosomal mutation, demyelation of the nervous system, fontanel swelling, neurological damage, diabetes, and the development of the very same infections the vaccines are meant to prevent. A bibliography of these studies would fill hundreds of pages.

One important example of this kind of inquiry that has been totally ignored for almost fifteen years but now urgently needs to be revisited is the relationship between vaccination and diabetes.

During the past ten years, the rates of diabetes have nearly doubled and are now estimated to affect nine in every hundred Americans. Forty-five percent of new cases are children, and for the first time we are witnessing a dramatic rise in adult Type 2 diabetes in kids. Again, as with ASD, sole genetic causes will never account for such rapid increases. Nevertheless, earlier peer-reviewed studies have noted Type 1 diabetes as an adverse effect of mumps[19] , smallpox, and hepatitis B[20] vaccinations.

Finally, Newsweek should not be left off the hook but rather reprimanded for in our opinion one of the most biased, pro-vaccine industry articles we have ever read. How could this have slipped past its editors? By publishing Garrett’s piece, the magazine hasvoted on the side of the vaccine industrial complex and to hell with the rest of this. It would be inexcusable except for the fact that it is no accident Garrett’s article should appear in Newsweek. Is it a coincidence that two of Newsweek’s largest advertisers in its health section are Merck and Pfizer, the very same CFR corporate members noted above.

A year ago the majority of Americans and healthcare workers, including physicians, in the US and around the world supported vaccination. Today, according to all polls, those numbers are dwindling rapidly. There is also a popular growing reluctance to accept health officials’ vaccine efficacy and safety rhetoric. Now that the flu season is coming to an end, and the truth of the actual number of flu deaths has been grossly overstated, and more respected critics sharing their truth with others, we will see that next season an even larger number of Americans will be questioning the pseudo-science behind vaccination.

Richard Gale is the Executive Producer of the Progressive Radio Network and a former Senior Research Analyst in the genomic industry. Dr. Gary Null is the host of the nation’s longest running public radio program on nutrition and natural health and a multi- award-winning director of progressive documentary films, including Vaccine Nation and Autism: Made in the USA. The are both co-authors of the exhaustive study Vaccines: A Second Opinion.

[1] Belkenir. “Vaccines against swine flu: a cure or an injection of death.” Ennahar (Algiers) December 20, 2009.

[2] “Scientist addresses global swine flu conspiracy” RIA Novosti (Moscow), December 15, 2009.

[3]Vucesoy B. IL-1 beta gene polymorphisms influence hepatitis B vaccination. Vaccine. 2002 August 19; 20(25-26): 3193-6

[4] “Maternal infections and flu during pregnancy associated with increased risk of schizophrenia” Schizophrenia.com http://www.schizophrenia.com/prevention/maternal.html

[5] “Flu during pregnancy may increase risk of schizophrenia in certain offspring.” Science Daily. June 11, 2009.

[6] Sharon Udasin. “Not immune from mumps.” Jewish Weekly. December 1, 2009

[7] Bangor-Jones R, Dowse G, Giele C, van Buynder P, Hodge M, Whitty M. A prolonged mumps outbreak among highly vaccinated Aboriginal people in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Med J Aust. 2009 Oct 5;191(7):398-401.

[8] Marin M, Quinlisk P, Shimabukuro T, Sawhney C, Brown C, LeBaron C. Mumps vaccination coverage and vaccine effectiveness in a large outbreak among college students—Iowa, 2006 Vaccine. July 2008. Vol. 26: 29-30, 3601-3607

[9] Gikmann G, Petersen I, Mordhorst C. Prevalence of IgG antibodies to mumps and measles virus in non vaccinated children. Dan Med. Bulletin 1988 April. 35(2): 185-7

[10] Gale R, Null G. “Vaccines Dark Inferno: What is not on insert labels” Global Research. September 29, 2009.

[11] Krigsman A, Boris M, Goldblatt A, Stott C. Clinical Presentation and Histologic Findings at Ileocolonoscopy in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Chronic Gastrointestinal Symptoms. Autism Insights 2009:1 1-11. Jyonouchi H, Geng L, Ruby A, Reddy C. Zimmerman-Bier B. Evaluation of an Association between Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Cytokine Production Against Common Dietary Proteins in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Pediatrics. May 2005. Singh V, Lin S, Newell E, Nelson C. Abnormal measles-mumps-rubella antibodies and CNS autoimmunity in Children with Autism. J. Biomed Science 2002; 9 359-64. Singh V, Jensen R. Elevated levels of measles antibodies in Children with autism. Measles Serology in Autism. October 2002.

[12] Warner, Angela. “Autism in the military” Age of Autism. July 8, 2008.

[13] see Gale R, Null G “Vaccination: Federal Health Agencies Continue to Deceive Americans” Global Research. November 13, 2009

[14] Ibid.

[15] Agin, Dan. More Than Genes: What Science Can Tell Us About Toxic Chemicals, Development, and the Risk to Our Children. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2009 p. 112.

[16] “Groundbreaking primate study links mercury vaccine preservative to brain injury.” Medical News Today, October 3, 2009.

[17] “Primate model for autism.” The Medical News. May 22, 2008.

[18] Generation Rescue, “Vaccinated Children Two and a Half Times More Likely to Have Neurological Disorders Like ADHD and Autism, New Survey in California and Oregon Finds.” September 25, 2009 http://www.generationrescue.org/survey_pr.html

[19] Sinaniotis et al. “Diabetes mellitus after mumps vaccination” Arc Dis Child, 1975, 50: 749-66

[20] Classen J. “The diabetes epidemic and the hepatitis B vaccines” New Zealand Med Journal 109 (1030): 366 1996

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

Did You Know? The Speed Of Information Technology - China To Be Largest English Speaking Country ...

2009-10-30T11:45:00.001-07:00


Oct 30, 2009
		Did You Know? In this fascinating video about the progression of information technology, we find the research of Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod and Jeff Bronman remixed with some upbeat music -- all of which makes you go hmmmm. Top 10 in-demands job of 2010 did not exist in 2004. In the US alone, 1 out of 8 couples married last year met online. Bermuda is the #1 ranked country in Broadband Internet pentration; US is ranked 19th and Japan is 22nd. Today we Google 31 billion times every month; in 2006, that was 2.7 billion for the whole year. First commercial text message was sent in December of 1992; today, the number of text message sent and received everyday exceeds the total population of the planet. Did you know?

KarmaTube is a repository of inspiring online videos coupled with small, be-the-change actions that everyone can engage in. Our weekly videos reach 28588 active subscribers. about us \| more videos

Bolivia's Massive Public Health Campaign - Washing Hands - Significantly Reduces Common Disease

2009-10-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

Bolivia ... massive campaign by the country's public-health officials ... millions of other Bolivian schoolchildren have been washing their hands a lot more than usual — after recess, before meals and every time the animated dancing hands pop up in public-service announcements on TV.

increase in hand-washing ... reduce ... spread of other common diseases in Bolivia.

10% to 15% drop in the rate of incidence of acute diarrheal diseases

prevention and educational campaigns."

promoting hand-washing on billboards, at soccer games, in classrooms and on TV.

Diligent washing, especially at critical times (like after going to the bathroom and before meals, for example), helps reduce the rate of diarrheal disease by more than 40%.

led to a sharp reduction of pinkeye cases in Korea
+++

H1N1: Swine Flu's Collateral Health Benefits in Bolivia

By Jean Friedman-Rudovsky / La Paz, Bolivia Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1931223,00.html

If any good has come of the global H1N1 flu pandemic, it may have started with a child like Nayeli Quispe, 7, a second-grader from the impoverished hillsides of La Paz, Bolivia. Prompted by a massive campaign by the country's public-health officials to contain the spread of the new flu virus, Nayeli and millions of other Bolivian schoolchildren have been washing their hands a lot more than usual — after recess, before meals and every time the animated dancing hands pop up in public-service announcements on TV. "First you wet them really well, then you rub the soap all around and then you dry them with a clean towel," says Nayeli.

Public-health experts now say the increase in hand-washing across the country may have had some collateral benefits, not only in helping to reduce H1N1 infections, but also the spread of other common diseases in Bolivia. "We see a steady 10% to 15% drop in the rate of incidence of acute diarrheal diseases in all age groups, compared with last year's numbers at this time," says Dr. René Lenis, Bolivia's director of epidemiology, referring to data collected on the number of weekly cases of diarrheal disease reported in medical centers nationwide in 2008 and 2009. (See how not to get the H1N1 flu.)

Although the new statistics, and the apparent link between hand-washing practices and disease reduction, need further investigation, "this certainly raises our attention," says Lenis. Diarrheal diseases are the biggest killer of children under age 5 worldwide; in Bolivia, 30,000 children die each year from such illnesses. Swine flu, as H1N1 is still referred to there, has hit Bolivia hard as well, with more than 2,000 infections and 55 deaths in a country of 9 million, most having occurred during the southern hemisphere's winter (June through August). (Read "Child-Care Centers and Parents Brace for Flu Season.")

When the virus first appeared, say government officials, the country reacted the only way it could. "You can combat these outbreaks in two ways — medically and nonmedically," says Lenis. "Bolivia doesn't have the medical resources that other countries do, so we rely on prevention and educational campaigns."

Starting in April, sudsy cartoon hands were everywhere, promoting hand-washing on billboards, at soccer games, in classrooms and on TV. "[Nayeli] was taught at school, and then would remind us to do it at home," says Claudia Quispe, Nayeli's mom. It's not that she and her family didn't wash their hands before, explains Quispe, an indigenous Aymara shop owner, but they didn't do it as much or as thoroughly as they should have. Within her family, Quispe thinks the public-health campaign has been a success: "Normally both Nayeli and my 3-year-old son have constant stomachaches or diarrhea. But in the last few months, they just haven't had those issues," she says.

That's exactly how the program is supposed to work, says Therese Doley, a senior adviser for UNICEF's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project. "Kids are the key because they are great at carrying messages," Doley tells TIME. For years, WASH has been trying to educate people, particularly in developing countries, about the benefits of a simple action like washing hands with soap. Diligent washing, especially at critical times (like after going to the bathroom and before meals, for example), helps reduce the rate of diarrheal disease by more than 40%.

Often, though, the problem is not just about good habits or bad ones but about access to clean water or the ability to afford soap. In Bolivia, 25% of the country still doesn't have access to water in the home. Health officials recognize that every citizen must have a sink to wash their hands in before they can expect significant reduction in disease. But when more than half the population is already living with some sort of bacterial or parasitic stomach infection, it's crucial to encourage those who can wash their hands to do so.

Lenis and Doley are still wary of the short-term data on Bolivia's descending rates of diarrheal disease; it remains to be seen whether the trend will hold up. But the findings "make a lot of sense, because behavior change like increased hand-washing happens quicker when there is a perceived threat," says Doley. She says she has not seen similar data regarding a drop in rates of diarrheal or other diseases on an H1N1 timeline from other countries (though at least one news report suggests that increased hand-washing due to H1N1 has led to a sharp reduction of pinkeye cases in Korea). They may trickle in, however, if other countries are also looking for these correlations, says Doley.

Bolivia's challenge now is to maintain the good numbers. The last time Bolivia witnessed a plummet in diarrheal-disease rates was during the cholera outbreak of 1992 and 1993, when better personal-hygiene habits led to a reduction in the spread of infection. But as the threat of the disease died down, so too did people's standards of cleanliness. Lenis says that the Bolivian government is committed to continuing its media campaigns and that ongoing potable-water and sewage-system expansion projects will help make Bolivians healthier. Most important, however, is keeping up the education, says Lenis. "Adults forget or think [hand-washing is] not necessary anymore, but kids get into it as an activity," he says, adding that he's lobbying to make hand-washing education part of the basic public-school curriculum. It may thus be up to little Nayeli and all her friends to keep their country on track.

BWN - Health - Learn v2

2009-10-16T07:04:00.001-07:00

http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1761


Oct 16, 2009
		The Fun Theory: Piano Stairs If stairs played musical notes when you walked on them, would you be more likely to take them? Volkswagen has launched a popular new campaign called "The Fun Theory" which is "dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people's behavior for the better." It turns out that 66% more commuters opted for stairs over the escalators! Take a look at this utterly clever (and fun!) idea.

Red Meat Linked To Early Death & Increased Risk Of Prostate Cancer

2009-10-08T11:50:00.001-07:00

Red and Processed Meat Increases Risk of Prostate Cancer

Meat consumption increases the risk of prostate cancer, according to a recent study looking at more than 175,000 men as part of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. The men who consumed the most red meat had a 30 percent increased risk of cancer, compared with those who consumed the least. Processed red meat was associated with a 10 percent increased risk of prostate cancer with every 10 grams (about one-third of an ounce) of increased intake. Researchers also investigated cooking method and content of heme iron and nitrites and nitrates for the various types of meat consumed. Heme iron intake, nitrite and nitrate consumption, and grilling and barbecuing all were associated with higher risk.

Sinha R, Park Y, Graubard BI, et al. Meat and meat-related compounds and risk of prostate cancer in a large prospective cohort study in the United States. Am J Epidemiol. Advance access published October 6, 2009. DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwp280.

For information about nutrition and health, please visit www.pcrm.org/.

Breaking Medical News is a service of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine,
5100 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20016.
===

Red Meat Linked to Early Death

http://www.pcrm.org/news/commentary090402.html

Another large study has shown that eating meat increases your risk of mortality. Red meat, long associated with cancer and heart disease, is now linked to increased risk of death from all causes.

In this new study, National Cancer Institute researchers looked at the diets of more than half a million people aged 50 to 71 and found that those who ate 4 ounces of red meat a day—about the size of a small hamburger—were the most likely to die from heart disease, cancer, and all causes over the next 10 years. Beef, pork, bacon, sausage, cold cuts, hot dogs, and other red or processed meats all increased the odds of premature death.

The study authors also noted that the increased death rates found in study participants may be “conservative estimates because red and processed meat consumption may be higher in the general population.”

White meat intake was similarly associated with increased cardiovascular disease mortality in men overall. Among both male and female nonsmokers, higher white meat intake was associated with increased cardiovascular disease mortality but with slightly reduced cancer mortality.

While risks are, in some cases, higher for red meat consumption, compared with white meat, there is no evidence that risks associated with white meat intake are outweighed by benefits.

Science continues to confirm the benefits of plant-based diets. This is a great time to start a meat-free diet—and to bring friends and family along to enjoy good health and longevity.

You can find thousands of recipes on www.NutritionMD.org, and can tune in to Food for Life TV for live webcasts about healthy eating, including cooking demonstrations by chefs and nutritionists. Also, sign up to receive PCRM's Breaking Medical News to be the first to hear about other landmark studies.

Sincerely,
Susan Levin, M.S., R.D.
Staff Dietitian

Higher Education -12 Things You Might Not Have Learned in a Classroom

2009-10-01T11:15:00.001-07:00

Higher Education -12 Things You Might Not Have Learned in a Classroom

by John Taylor Gatto

posted Aug 14, 2009

You won’t find “takes honors classes,” “gets good grades,” or “attends only Ivy League schools” on John Taylor Gatto’s list of qualities of an educated person. Gatto taught in New York City schools for 30 years and was named New York State’s Teacher of the Year, but his experiences convinced him that what students need is less time in classrooms and more time out in the world. Building character and community, Gatto argues, is more valuable than learning from tired textbooks and rigid lesson plans.

Really educated people ...

Establish an individual set of values but recognize those of the surrounding community and of the various cultures of the world.

Explore their own ancestry, culture, and place.

Are comfortable being alone, yet understand dynamics between people and form healthy relationships.

Accept mortality, knowing that every choice affects the generations to come.

Create new things and find new experiences.

Think for themselves; observe, analyze, and discover truth without relying on the opinions of others.

Favor love, curiosity, reverence, and empathy rather than material wealth.

Choose a vocation that contributes to the common good.

Enjoy a variety of new places and experiences but identify and cherish a place to call home.

Express their own voice with confidence.

Add value to every encounter and every group of which they are a part.

Always ask: “Who am I? Where are my limits? What are my possibilities?”

This list was adapted from John Taylor Gatto latest book, Weapons of Mass Instruction (New Society Publishers, 2009) for Learn as You Go, the Fall 2009 issue of YES! Magazine. Gatto was a New York State Teacher of the Year. An advocate for school reform, his books also include Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling.

Vaccine Facts - Charts-Ineffective-Harmful-...

2009-08-30T23:04:00.001-07:00

HISTORICAL FACTS EXPOSING THE DANGERS AND INEFFECTIVENESS OF VACCINES
http://www.vaccinationdebate.com/web2.html

- In 1871-2, England, with 98% of the population aged between 2 and 50 vaccinated against smallpox, it experienced its worst ever smallpox outbreak with 45,000 deaths. During the same period in Germany, with a vaccination rate of 96%, there were over 125,000 deaths from smallpox. (The Hadwen Documents)

- In Germany, compulsory mass vaccination against diphtheria commenced in 1940 and by 1945 diphtheria cases were up from 40,000 to 250,000. (Don't Get Stuck, Hannah Allen)

- In the USA in 1960, two virologists discovered that both polio vaccines were contaminated with the SV 40 virus which causes cancer in animals as well as changes in human cell tissue cultures. Millions of children had been injected with these vaccines. (Med Jnl of Australia 17/3/1973 p555)

- In 1967, Ghana was declared measles free by the World Health Organisation after 96% of its population was vaccinated. In 1972, Ghana experienced one of its worst measles outbreaks with its highest ever mortality rate. (Dr H Albonico, MMR Vaccine Campaign in Switzerland, March 1990)

- In the UK between 1970 and 1990, over 200,000 cases of whooping cough occurred in fully vaccinated children. (Community Disease Surveillance Centre, UK)

- In the 1970's a tuberculosis vaccine trial in India involving 260,000 people revealed that more cases of TB occurred in the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. (The Lancet 12/1/80 p73)

- In 1977, Dr Jonas Salk who developed the first polio vaccine, testified along with other scientists, that mass inoculation against polio was the cause of most polio cases throughout the USA since 1961. (Science 4/4/77 "Abstracts" )

- In 1978, a survey of 30 States in the US revealed that more than half of the children who contracted measles had been adequately vaccinated. (The People's Doctor, Dr R Mendelsohn)

- In 1979, Sweden abandoned the whooping cough vaccine due to its ineffectiveness. Out of 5,140 cases in 1978, it was found that 84% had been vaccinated three times! (BMJ 283:696-697, 1981)

-The February 1981 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 90% of obstetricians and 66% of pediatricians refused to take the rubella vaccine.

- In the USA, the cost of a single DPT shot had risen from 11 cents in 1982 to $11.40 in 1987. The manufacturers of the vaccine were putting aside $8 per shot to cover legal costs and damages they were paying out to parents of brain damaged children and children who died after vaccination. (The Vine, Issue 7, January 1994, Nambour, Qld)

- In Oman between 1988 and 1989, a polio outbreak occurred amongst thousands of fully vaccinated children. The region with the highest attack rate had the highest vaccine coverage. The region with the lowest attack rate had the lowest vaccine coverage. (The Lancet, 21/9/91)

- In 1990, a UK survey involving 598 doctors revealed that over 50% of them refused to have the Hepatitis B vaccine despite belonging to the high risk group urged to be vaccinated. (British Med Jnl, 27/1/1990)

- In 1990, the Journal of the American Medical Association had an article on measles which stated " Although more than 95% of school-aged children in the US are vaccinated against measles, large measles outbreaks continue to occur in schools and most cases in this setting occur among previously vaccinated children." (JAMA, 21/11/90)

- In the USA, from July 1990 to November 1993, the US Food and Drug Administration counted a total of 54,072 adverse reactions following vaccination. The FDA admitted that this number represented only 10% of the real total, because most doctors were refusing to report vaccine injuries. In other words, adverse reactions for this period exceeded half a million! (National Vaccine Information Centre, March 2, 1994)

- In the New England Journal of Medicine July 1994 issue a study found that over 80% of children under 5 years of age who had contracted whooping cough had been fully vaccinated.

- On November 2nd, 2000, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) announced that its members voted at their 57th annual meeting in St Louis to pass a resolution calling for an end to mandatory childhood vaccines. The resolution passed without a single "no" vote. (Report by Michael Devitt)

GRAPHICAL EVIDENCE SHOWS VACCINES DIDN'T SAVE US

HISTORICAL FACTS EXPOSING THE DANGERS AND INEFFECTIVENESS OF VACCINES

DOCTORS AND SCIENTISTS CONDEMN VACCINATION

WHY VACCINES ARE INEFFECTIVE

WHY VACCINES ARE HARMFUL

WHY VACCINATION CONTINUES

THE BENEFICIAL NATURE OF CHILDHOOD INFECTION

HEALTH - THE ONLY IMMUNITY

THE HOPEWOOD CHILDREN - AUSTRALIA'S HEALTHIEST KIDS

Become a Google Earth Explorer! Explore The World With Google Earth

2009-08-19T07:42:00.001-07:00

Become a Google Earth Explorer!
Learn tips and tricks to explore the world, find interesting places and share content with others. Follow this hands-on learning game at your own pace until you complete each level and become a true explorer!

More about this game

This self-paced game will get you familiar with both the basics and more advanced features of Google Earth. Once you complete the course, you'll be able to:

Fly to your home
Explore the oceans
See sights around the world
Explore street-level imagery
View 3D buildings
See 3D terrain
View user-submitted images
Explore historical images of the Earth
Mark places, draw paths and measure distances
Get driving directions
Tour any location

Ready to begin? Use the links on the left side of this page (at this link: learning game) to navigate through the levels.

If you don't have Google Earth on your computer, visit http://earth.google.com/ to download it.

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

Using Regular Health Tips, Health Reminders, And Awareness Improves Ones Health Dramatically

2009-08-09T08:35:00.001-07:00

[Here's a study showing how people who want to improve their health can do so by
- eating more fruits and vegetables,
- eating less saturated fats, and by
- getting more exercise.

To do this they received weekly emails encouraging them to considers specific ways along with periodic email reminders.

Of course these basic 'behavioral techniques' have been turned into a mega 'for-profit' program.

There is no need to turn this into another 'for-profit' enterprise.
This can be done freely by any media group, groups interested in health and individuals on their own.

There is no need to make a big deal of the tips or have grand 'explanations'
- just let people know specific ways they can make things better - their lives, where they live ...

What is important is tips and reminders and awareness and actually choosing to take steps for better health.

One of the tips that can be repeated in many different ways is to keep track of your progress, what you have done and notice if it is helping - if it is keep doing it, if it is not try something else.

Simply sending out on a regular basis, tips that are short, brief, to the point reminders of what individuals can do.
People that want to have better health simply need to be reminded on a regular basis they can have better health and there are plenty of simple things they can do or stop doing that can help them.]
===

Americans have a high prevalence of “unhealthy” diets

77% have fewer than five servings of fruits and vegetables each day
77% have a fat intake greater than 30% of calories

Americans have a low level of physical activity

51% fail to meet the recommended activity levels
24% are at the “sedentary” level

the majority of Americans eat poorly and fail to exercise enough

daily diet for about three-quarters of the population
consists of more than 30 percent fat,
a percentage that's generally considered too high.

recommended 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week.

for people who want to improve their diet and physical activity

changing behavior:
small goals tailored for the individual,
reinforcement, and
tracking

regular email reminders appears successful in producing healthier diet and exercise habits

small health-improvement goals for themselves.
Once per week, they received an email containing individualized suggestions on ways to get closer to that goal.

suggestions were simple --
such as walking for 10 minutes each day during lunch,
walking to the store, or
eating three extra fruits per week

In between weekly suggestions, participants also received reminder emails.

Results:
more physically active,
eating more fruits and vegetables, and
reducing their intake of saturated fats and trans fats,
significantly more than those in the control group.

increased their participation in moderate intensity physical activities by almost an hour a week
decreased the amount of time they spent in sedentary activities,
like watching TV and videos, by about two hours a week.

a lasting effect

helping people move more, sit less, and make healthier food choices,

weekly e-mails in their work or home accounts for four months

The e-mails linked to a personal home page with tips for achieving the small-step goals the respondent had selected, educational materials and tracking and simulation tools. Reminder messages were sent between each intervention message.

Before the program began, participants were evaluated on their eating and exercise habits
received immediate feedback.

filled out the online questionnaire twice more,
end of the program and four months later.
+++

Workplace Email Intervention Program Helps People Sit Less and Eat Better

Saturday, August 08, 2009 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer

(NaturalNews) A simple intervention program featuring regular email reminders appears successful in producing healthier diet and exercise habits, according to a study conducted by health insurance firm Kaiser Permanente and funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The takeaway message here for people who want to improve their diet and physical activity, and for employers who want a healthier workforce, is that email intervention programs are a very cost-effective way to get healthy," said lead researcher Barbara Sternfeld. "A tailored email program includes all the things that behavioral scientists have said for years about changing behavior: small goals tailored for the individual, reinforcement, and tracking but delivered in a mass, cost-effective way."

Kaiser researchers conducted a 16-week trial of the A Lifestyle Intervention Via E-mail (ALIVE) program on 787 employees, 351 of them in the email intervention group and 436 in a control group. All participants took a short, online questionnaire at the beginning of the study and received immediate feedback on their diet and exercise habits.

Participants in the intervention group then set small health-improvement goals for themselves. Once per week, they received an email containing individualized suggestions on ways to get closer to that goal. All the suggestions were simple -- such as walking for 10 minutes each day during lunch, walking to the store, or eating three extra fruits per week -- and were tailored to be realistic for each person's life (such as whether they had kids or a busy schedule). Each email contained a link to a Web site where participants could get extra tips, learn more and track their progress.

In between weekly suggestions, participants also received reminder emails.

According a survey completed at the end of the study and another four months later, the people in the email intervention group had increased their exercise level and fruit and vegetable intake and decreased their saturated and trans fat intake significantly more than those in the control group.

Sources for this story include: www.eurekalert.org.
===

Public release date: 19-May-2009
[ Print | E-mail | Share ] [ Close Window ]

Contact: Danielle Cass
danielle.x.cass@kp.org
510-267-5354
Kaiser Permanente

Workplace e-mail intervention program helps people sit less and eat better

Tailored e-mails suggest fruit snacks and 10-minute walks

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-05/kp-wei051109.php

May 19, 2009 (OAKLAND, Calif.) – An e-mail intervention program is an effective way to significantly improve diet and physical activity by helping people move more, sit less, and make healthier food choices, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The study was a randomized controlled trial of the ALIVE (A Lifestyle Intervention Via E-mail) program conducted among 787 Kaiser Permanente Northern California employees at their worksites. Through the ALIVE program, developed by NutritionQuest, (www.nutritionquest.com) weekly e-mails were sent to the 351 employees randomized to the intervention group; the 436 employees in the control group received only immediate e-mail feedback at the start of the intervention indicating whether or not their reported physical activity and diet met national guidelines. The messages to the participants in the intervention group suggested small, practical, individually tailored goals, such as eating fruit for a snack three times a week, walking for 10 minutes a day at lunch time, or walking to the store instead of driving.

At the end of the 16-week trial, the participants in the intervention group were more physically active, eating more fruits and vegetables, and reducing their intake of saturated fats and trans fats, compared to the control group. The biggest changes occurred among those in the intervention group, who did not meet behavioral recommendations at the start of the trial. For example, employees who were not regularly active before receiving the intervention increased their participation in moderate intensity physical activities by almost an hour a week and decreased the amount of time they spent in sedentary activities, like watching TV and videos, by about two hours a week. These changes had a lasting effect four months after the intervention ended, the study found.

"The takeaway message here for people who want to improve their diet and physical activity, and for employers who want a healthier workforce, is that e-mail intervention programs are a very cost-effective way to get healthy," said study lead investigator Barbara Sternfeld, Ph.D., senior research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research and the study's lead investigator. "A tailored e-mail program includes all the things that behavioral scientists have said for years about changing behavior: small goals tailored for the individual, reinforcement, and tracking but delivered in a mass, cost-effective way."

Funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this study offers additional support for the effectiveness of the Internet and e-mail to reach large segments of the population to inspire healthier lifestyle choices. It is one of the first studies to send messages directly into individuals' e-mail inboxes, rather than requiring individuals to actively access messages via the World Wide Web.

Given that the majority of Americans eat poorly and fail to exercise enough, effective e-mail programs could be a useful way to improve health, researchers say. According to the CDC, 55 percent don't perform the recommended 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week. Additionally, the daily diet for about three-quarters of the population consists of more than 30 percent fat, a percentage that's generally considered too high.

Participants received weekly e-mails in their work or home accounts for four months that were tailored to their individual needs and life situation (for example, whether they had small children at home or busy schedules that posed barriers to exercise and diet improvement.) The e-mails linked to a personal home page with tips for achieving the small-step goals the respondent had selected, educational materials and tracking and simulation tools. Reminder messages were sent between each intervention message.

The study cohort was composed of employees who worked in the regional offices of Kaiser Permanente Northern California. The employees worked in administrative, financial, regulatory, technical and professional services and were not involved with direct patient care. They tend to use computers for much of their work. Participation had no bearing on job performance, employment status, or health benefits. The participants' information was kept confidential and did not appear on medical records or employee files.

Before the program began, participants were evaluated on their eating and exercise habits by answering a short, online questionnaire, to which they received immediate feedback. They filled out the online questionnaire twice more, at the end of the program and four months later.

Another paper published in January in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that the ALIVE e-mail program reduced presenteeism among the trial participants and reduced bodily pain. Presenteeism is lost productivity that occurs when employees come to work but perform below par due to any kind of illness. The study did not look at whether employees used the e-mail program during their lunch hour or during their regular work hour.

"Using e-mail to get people active is a great use of existing technology that is cheap and readily available," said Bob Sallis, MD, a Kaiser Permanente family physician who is the regional exercise champion for Kaiser Permanente's Southern California region and immediate past president of the American College of Sports Medicine. "Anything we can do to increase activity level is going to improve health because we know that exercise is medicine. It's medicine you can take to live a longer and healthier life."

###

This study was a collaboration between Kaiser Permanente and NutritionQuest (www.nutritionquest.com), and is part of an ongoing body of research by Kaiser Permanente that looks at using technology – mobile phones, wireless PDAs, the Internet, etc. – to help individuals manage their weight, get more physically active and make healthy food choices.

Kaiser Permanente also offers its 164,000 employees and 8.6 million members free online Healthy Lifestyle programs to spur healthy lifestyle choices to prevent disease and improve health through customized online tools for weight management at www.kp.org that links with Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect™, the world's largest civilian electronic health record.

Additional researchers on the Kaiser Permanente study include: Charles P. Quesenberry Jr., Ph.D., Gail Husson, MPH, and Melissa Nelson, MA, MPH, of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research; Torin J. Block, BA, Clifford Block, Ph.D., Jean C. Norris, DrPH and Gladys Block, Ph.D., of NutritionQuest of Berkeley, Calif.

About the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research (http://www.dor.kaiser.org/)

The Kaiser Permanente Division of Research conducts, publishes, and disseminates epidemiologic and health services research to improve the health and medical care of Kaiser Permanente members and the society at large. It seeks to understand the determinants of illness and well-being and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. Currently, DOR's 400-plus staff is working on more than 250 epidemiological and health services research projects.

About Kaiser Permanente Research

Kaiser Permanente's eight research centers comprise one of the largest research programs in the United States and engage in work designed to improve the health of individuals everywhere. KP HealthConnect™ , Kaiser Permanente's electronic health record, and other resources provide population data for research, and in turn, research findings are fed into KP HealthConnect™ to arm physicians with research and clinical data. Kaiser Permanente's research program works with national and local health agencies and community organizations to share and widely disseminate its research data. Kaiser Permanente's research program is funded in part by Kaiser Permanente's Community Benefit division, which in 2007 directed an estimated $1 billion in health services, technology, and funding toward total community health.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.

www.kaiserpermanente.org
===

Project ALIVE (A Lifestyle Intervention Via Email)

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT00607009

This study has been completed.

First Received: January 22, 2008 Last Updated: February 4, 2008 History of Changes

Sponsors and Collaborators:	Kaiser Permanente Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Information provided by:	Kaiser Permanente
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00607009

Purpose

The objective of this study is to test the effectiveness of an email-based diet and physical activity intervention on increasing physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption and decreasing intake of saturated and trans fats and added sugars.

Condition	Intervention
Inactivity	Behavioral: ALIVE

Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Prevention, Randomized, Open Label, Placebo Control, Parallel Assignment, Efficacy Study
Official Title:	Email-Based Diet and Activity Promotion in Worksites

Resource links provided by NLM:

MedlinePlus related topics: Diets

U.S. FDA Resources

Further study details as provided by Kaiser Permanente:

Primary Outcome Measures:

change in physical activity [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Secondary Outcome Measures:

change in fruits and vegetables [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
health-related quality of life [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
presentism [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
stage of change [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
self efficacy [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Enrollment:	797
Study Start Date:	July 2006
Study Completion Date:	May 2007
Primary Completion Date:	May 2007 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

Arms	Assigned Interventions
1: Experimental received emails	Behavioral: ALIVE email-based behavioral program
2: Placebo Comparator no contact	Behavioral: ALIVE email-based behavioral program

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:	21 Years to 65 Years
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

regional Northern California KP employees

Exclusion Criteria:

none

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00607009

Sponsors and Collaborators

Kaiser Permanente

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Investigators

Principal Investigator:

Barbara Sternfeld, PhD

Kaiser Permanente

More Information
No publications provided by Kaiser Permanente

Additional publications automatically indexed to this study by National Clinical Trials Identifier (NCT ID):

Sternfeld B, Block C, Quesenberry CP Jr, Block TJ, Husson G, Norris JC, Nelson M, Block G. Improving diet and physical activity with ALIVE: a worksite randomized trial. Am J Prev Med. 2009 Jun;36(6):475-83.

Block G, Sternfeld B, Block CH, Block TJ, Norris J, Hopkins D, Quesenberry CP Jr, Husson G, Clancy HA. Development of Alive! (A Lifestyle Intervention Via Email), and its effect on health-related quality of life, presenteeism, and other behavioral outcomes: randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res. 2008 Nov 19;10(4):e43.

Responsible Party:	Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente ( Barbara Sternfeld, PhD, Senior Research Scientist )
Study ID Numbers:	CN-04BSter-02-H, 5R01DP000095-03
Study First Received:	January 22, 2008
Last Updated:	February 4, 2008
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00607009 History of Changes
Health Authority:	United States: Federal Government

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on August 07, 2009
===

This is the html version of the file http://www.nutritionquest.com/products/ALIVE_program_overview.ppt.
Google automatically generates html versions of documents as we crawl the web.

The link to the html is here.

A Lifestyle Intervention Via Email

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

An intervention to improve

Nutrition
Physical Activity

Developed by Block Dietary Data Systems*

In collaboration with Kaiser Permanente of Northern California Division of Research

* Information about the developers of Alive may be found at the end of this presentation

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Background

Americans have a high prevalence of “unhealthy” diets

77% have fewer than five servings of fruits and vegetables each day
77% have a fat intake greater than 30% of calories

Americans have a low level of physical activity

51% fail to meet the recommended activity levels
24% are at the “sedentary” level

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Overview

12 weekly or bi-weekly messages
Extensively tailored to individual characteristics
Based on established learning and behavior-change theories and principles
Available for groups reachable by email

Employees, group/organization members, HMO clients

Requires minimal organizational effort or expertise
Proven effective in a randomized controlled trial

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Behavioral Goals

Increase physical activity
Decrease saturated and trans fats, decrease added sugars, increase good fats and carbs
Increase fruit and vegetable intake

Not a weight loss program

Can be adapted to other intervention outcomes

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Behavior Change Principles

Maximizing individual relevance--through assessments, feedback and tailoring
Tailoring to stage-of-change, individual diet habits, exercise preferences
Goal setting
Small-steps toward new habits
Continued feedback and reinforcement
Increasing salience and motivation through health information, tips and reminders
Encouraging social support

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Proven Effective

Randomized controlled trial
Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
797 employees of Kaiser Permanente of Northern California
Statistically significant increases

Physical activity, fruits and vegetables

Statistically significant decreases

Saturated fat, trans fats

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Proven Effective

Randomized controlled trial results paper in preparation

Results reported in June 2007 in Oslo at the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

The Trial website contains much more information about Alive!, and about the randomized trial:

www.alive.kaiser.org

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Components

Weekly messages contain

Suggested goals to try for the week, tailored to each individual
Tips for achieving the selected goals
Tips for overcoming barriers
Health information, information on nutrition and physical activity
Interactive tool to explore effects of specific changes
Links to other health/nutrition sites
Links to track diet and physical activity
More!

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Some “Health Notes” Topics

Carbs and the Glycemic Index
Fruits, Veggies and Cancer
Physical Activity and Breast Cancer
Diet and Cognitive Function
Mood, Stress and Physical Activity
Components of Fitness
Trends in Physical Activity Programs
“Good” Fats, “Bad” Fats
and many others

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

How it works

Licensing agreement with Block Dietary Data Systems (BDDS)
Organization/company promotes program to employees or membership

Inform them that it’s approved
BDDS can provide some promotional material

BDDS sends invitation email to organization’s HR or other official
Organization’s official forwards email to employee/membership list

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

How the process begins

Email is sent by the organization or company

Batch email, to organization’s target group

Email message appears in employee’s or member’s email reader

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Invitation Email

Appears in employee’s inbox

Employee ‘clicks to get started’

This is just an opportunity to take a Health Risk Assessment and receive feedback

Then employee receives diet and physical activity assessment

Health Risk Assessments

Dietary and physical activity screener tools provide tailoring information

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Diet and Physical Activity Screeners

Completed online in 15 minutes
Provide instant feedback on

Saturated fat intake
Trans fat intake
Added sugar intake
Health-related physical activity
Cardiovascular-related physical activity
Sedentary behavior

Available to all, free, whether they decide to participate or not

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Instant Feedback

Instant feedback shows each individual how their own behavior could be improved, in relation to their current health habits

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Instant Feedback

First example, person doing well in fats, less well in fruits and vegetables, so-so in physical activity

Instant Feedback

Second example, person doing poorly in diet and physical activity

After Giving Diet and Physical Activity Results:

Opportunity to participate in the Alive program

If persons choose to participate, they provide email to which Alive! emails will be sent.
May provide an alternate email if they want to participate from home as well.

Tailoring Questionnaire

Tailoring for diet is based partially on responses to diet questionnaire

E.g., if they report drinking whole milk, suggested goals will propose switching to lower-fat milk

All tailoring is based on responses to lifestyle/tailoring questionnaires

E.g., stage of change and preferences for structured or unstructured physical activity
Or whether they cook, eating-out habits, kids at home

Participant Chooses Big Goal to Work On

Will work on for next 12 weeks
Can change goal in first two weeks
By agreement, participant may rejoin at end of 12 weeks to work on same or different goal

Weekly email messages

Come directly to participant’s email inbox

Weekly email messages

Each week has a Health Notes (information about nutrition or physical activity and health), summarized in the weekly email by sidebar on the right

Each week has suggested small-step goals; participant commits to one or two to try for following week

Barriers are addressed

First weekly email lists common barriers to achieving diet (or physical activity goals)

Participant indicates which ones are barriers for him

Each week thereafter, tips for overcoming those particular barriers are suggested

Weekly email messages

When participant choose a goal to work on for the following week….

After choosing weekly goal

He is taken to his “Personal Home Page”
Containing tailored tips to achieve the goal or goals he has chosen

Example of A Tailored Physical Activity Tip

Physical Activity Path, “Kids at Home” sub-path

“Don’t just be a spectator at your kids’ sports activities. Walk around the field while you’re watching their soccer or baseball games. Consider helping out as a coach and do conditioning exercises with the kids. It will help all of you become more fit.”

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Mid-week reminder

Reminds you of your chosen goal for the week
Offers opportunity to go to Discussion Board
Offers opportunity to track your diet or physical activity at US Government’s MyPyramidTracker.gov

Each week a new email

Report how you did on your goal last week
New goals to work on
New Health Note topic

Each week, choose a goal for the week

Takes participant to his personal Home Page
For Tips
Other tools on their Home Page

Tools on the Personal Home Page

Health Notes

A new one each week

Progress and Goal Tracker

What-If Tool

Tools shows participant’s actual responses to foods or physical activities
Participant can see effects of changes
“What if I ate hamburgers once a week instead of 5 times a week?”
Tool shows effect of that change on participant’s total saturated and trans fats

Other Resources on Home Page

Links to other organizations’ sites
Library of all Health Notes
Links to diet and physical activity tracking tools

Health Note Library

All Health Notes from all Big Goals (Carbs/fats, Fruit/vegs, Physical Activity)

Discussion Board

Participants can share ideas and solutions
Can be monitored by local dietitians

More Assessment Tools

Other Options

Family member can sign up – increases social support

Demo Version

This Powerpoint presentation has attempted to give you a sense of Alive’s process and content. A Demo Version of Alive! is also available, in which you can have a first-hand experience all of the features of Alive!, fast-forwarding through the weeks of the program.
Contact Block Dietary Data System. (See contact information in last slide.)

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Reports

Reports can be provided to clients

What proportion participated in Alive!
Age and sex distribution of participants
Average diet and physical activity scores before and after the Alive! intervention

Arrangements can be made for participants to re-join after the end of the 12-week program

Discuss pricing arrangements with Block Dietary Data Systems

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Costs

Pricing for the Alive! program is based on the total number of employees to whom the program is offered.
20 - 99 employees = $20 each.
100 - 499 employees = $15 each.
500 - 999 employees = $12.50 each.
1000 - 1999 employees = $10 each.
2000 - 4999 participants = $7.50 each
5000+ participants = $5 each
We will work with you to reach an agreement that works for you

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Summary: Potential of an E-Mailed
Intervention at the Worksite

Uses an established channel of communication
Utilizes existing social support structures

provides sources for group support
may produce changes in social norms

Can reduce health care costs

Improvements in physical activity and diet have been shown to improve productivity

Little or no burden on management

Once launched, Alive! runs automatically

Alive’s Developers at Block Dietary Data Systems (BDDS)

Gladys Block, PhD, is a professor of epidemiology and Public Health Nutrition in the School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley and is the senior-scientist for BDDS. She is internationally known for her work in nutritional epidemiology and health promotion through dietary interventions.
Clifford H. Block, PhD, is a research psychologist whose work has involved the use of information technologies for achieving behavior change in such fields as maternal and child health nutritional practices, oral rehydration, and AIDS and drug abuse prevention.
Torin Block, BA, is the Manager of BDDS. He has 13 years of experience in the development and analysis of dietary questionnaires. He is responsible for the design and development of the electronic questionnaires, analysis algorithms and data management systems, and for the technical aspects of Alive!.

Alive’s Developers at Block Dietary Data Systems (BDDS)

Jean Norris, DrPH, has a background in Public Health Nutrition and she is currently working as a scientist with BDDS. Prior to that, she worked for about 15 years as a nutritionist in community clinic settings with disadvantaged populations. She has designed food frequency questionnaires and researched hunger measurement and hardship, and has contributed her expertise to the study design of Project Alive! and the development of the dietary change interventions.
Donald Hopkins created all the code to make Alive! work. He is a user interface designer and programmer, who developed a user interface component called "pie menus" at the University of Maryland Human Computer Interaction Lab, a game called "The Sims" for Maxis/Electronic Arts, and the OpenLaszlo video components for Laszlo Systems. He enjoys programming in Python and JavaScript, and working on the One Laptop Per Child project. He publishes a blog on his web site, "www.DonHopkins.com".

Alive’s Developers at Kaiser

Barbara Sternfeld, PhD, was the Principal Investigator of the randomized trial that tested Alive! She is Senior Research Scientist at Kaiser Permanente (Northern California) Division of Research. Her background is in epidemiology and exercise physiology. She has conducted numerous studies that document the health effects of physical activity.
Heather A. Clancy, BA was a Research Associate at Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research and the Project Coordinator for Project Alive!

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com

Block Dietary Data Systems

15 Shattuck Square, Suite 288

Berkeley, CA 94704

Phone: 510-704-8514

FAX: 510-704-8996

Email: tblock@nutritionquest.com

Earthlings: Seeing The World Feelingly

2009-07-29T21:24:00.001-07:00

Watch the full movie (or at least the last few minutes) on YouTube here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6361872964130308142

How humans can and do treat other animals - other earthlings.

Essential for understanding what is happening to other earthlings across the planet each and every day that is done by humans.
Essential for understanding the consequences of continuing these practices by humans.

Also the recent movie Food, Inc is worth watching. After watching Food, Inc watch Earthlings to see what was left out of Food Inc. that needs to be said clearly too, not hidden away.

Not knowing what is actually happening allows further harm to animals - other earthlings.

More importantly, there are beautiful scenes of animals alive and well, along with compelling scenes that each person's daily personal choices can contribute to (or not), showing what can be stopped right now - today.

If nothing else watch the last few minutes of only beautiful animal scenes and words to consider on being kind to animals, on being kind to one another.

Starting viewing the last few minutes of the film by moving the viewer slider to after 1:26:35.
For some people this may be a good place to start the movie.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6361872964130308142

These last few minutes are well worth watching and considering.

---

E A R T H L I N G S

http://www.earthlings.com/

EARTHLINGS is an award-winning documentary film about the suffering of animals for food, fashion, pets, entertainment and medical research.

Considered the most persuasive documentary ever made, EARTHLINGS is nicknamed “the Vegan maker” for its sensitive footage shot at animal shelters, pet stores, puppy mills, factory farms, slaughterhouses, the leather and fur trades, sporting events, circuses and research labs.

The film is narrated by Academy Award® nominee Joaquin Phoenix and features music by platinum-selling recording artist Moby.

Initially ignored by distributors, today EARTHLINGS is considered the definitive animal rights film by organizations around the world. “Of all the films I have ever made, this is the one that gets people talking the most,” said Phoenix. “For every one person who sees EARTHLINGS, they will tell three.”

In 1999, writer/producer/director Shaun Monson began work on a series of PSAs about spaying and neutering pets. The footage he shot at animal shelters around Los Angeles affected him so profoundly that the project soon evolved into EARTHLINGS.

The film would take another six years to complete because of the difficulty in obtaining footage within these profitable industries. Though the film was initially ignored by distributors, who told Monson that the film would “never see the light of day and should be swept under the rug,” today EARTHLINGS is considered the definitive animal rights film by organizations around the world.

Nation Earth was established to produce documentary films on socially urgent issues. EARTHLINGS, released in 2005, was the company's first feature film and is the first of a documentary trilogy. The company is currently at work on the second installment, UNITY, which will explore the unifying force of consciousness found in nature, animals and humankind. UNITY is scheduled to be completed in 2009. For more information please see www.unitythemovie.com

===

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

Life Is Not About Getting To The End - Which Is What Is Taught In School & Work

2009-07-24T06:53:00.001-07:00


Jul 24, 2009
		Alan Watts on Life and Music Philosopher Alan Watts reflects that "in music, one does not make the end of the composition, the point of the composition." This lively and comical animation compares our journey through life with music, and comes to a very thought-provoking conclusion.

KarmaTube is a repository of inspiring online videos coupled with small, be-the-change actions that everyone can engage in. Our weekly videos reach 26796 active subscribers. Thank you for your partnership in service. about us \| unsubscribe \| more videos

Ritalin & Other ADHD Drugs Useless And Stunt Growth Permanently - Behavioral Treatments Work

2009-07-14T12:13:00.001-07:00

Ritalin & Other ADHD Drugs Useless And Stunt Growth Permanently - Behavioral Treatments Work

behavioral treatments for ADHD
are available and have been proven to work without the side effect risk of pharmaceuticals.

Stimulant drugs such as Ritalin provide no long-term benefit in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

researchers followed 485 children for eight years and found that children who remained on medication for that entire time showed no improvement in symptoms over those who had stopped taking the drugs.

stimulant drugs do improve the social functioning and reduce symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity in children with ADHD for the first year of treatment.

Is this going to make a benefit for my child long term?
"The answer is no.
Behavioral treatments are going to have much better benefit in the long term."

ADHD drugs appeared to stunt children's growth.

Children who had never taken stimulant drugs were an average of six pounds heavier and 0.75 inches taller than children of the same age who had taken the drugs for three years. This height and weight difference was permanent.
+++

ADHD Drugs Proven Absolutely Useless for Children - Plus, They Stunt Growth

Thursday, July 09, 2009 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Key concepts: Drugs, Adhd and ADHD drugs

(NaturalNews) Stimulant drugs such as Ritalin provide no long-term benefit in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to the latest findings of the ongoing Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA), published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

According to previous analysis of MTA data, stimulant drugs do improve the social functioning and reduce symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity in children with ADHD for the first year of treatment. In the current analysis, however, researchers followed 485 children for eight years and found that children who remained on medication for that entire time showed no improvement in symptoms over those who had stopped taking the drugs.

"If you put a child on medication, he or she is far better right at that time. The question for parents is: Is this going to make a benefit for my child long term?" said researcher William Pelham, of the University of Buffalo. "The answer is no. Behavioral treatments are going to have much better benefit in the long term."

Another analysis of MTA data, published in the same journal, found that use of ADHD drugs appeared to stunt children's growth. Children who had never taken stimulant drugs were an average of six pounds heavier and 0.75 inches taller than children of the same age who had taken the drugs for three years. This height and weight difference was permanent.

According to Pelham, behavioral treatments for ADHD can be harder to find than drugs, and often insurers will not cover them. Nevertheless, such treatments are available and have been proven to work without the side effect risk of pharmaceuticals.

"It's wrong for a doctor to say to a parent, this treatment is harder to find, so instead we're going to put your child on a drug that will have no long-term benefit," he said.

Sources for this story include: health.usnews.com.

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

More Evidence Daily Exercise For All Ages Helps Most Everyone - Increases Survival Better Than Angioplasty For People With Heart Disease

2009-07-14T10:48:00.001-07:00

regular exercise
provide remarkable help for patients with certain forms of serious heart disease.

improved indications of disease in people with heart failure, a condition usually thought to be incurable
exercise improved cardiac event-free survival in coronary patients better than angioplasty with stents.

about 800,000 angioplasties are performed each year in the U.S. at a cost of about $10 billion annually
[Exercise gets better results than $12,000 per angioplasty.]

long term benefits of angioplasty have been questioned by many doctors

after five years of follow-up
participants who went through exercise training had a better event-free survival rate than those treated with stent angioplasty.
63 percent of patients had survived, free of cardiac events.
only 40 percent in the angioplasty group

Two other studies
exercise can often help even patients with very serious heart problems.
reduced their cholesterol levels and markers of inflammation (which are associated with heart disease).

moderate exercise program daily for four weeks improved the function of endothelial cells in patients with heart failure.
endothelial cells
are associated with the progression of heart disease and heart failure when they don't function properly.

No improvement was noted in the control group of heart failure patients who did not exercise.

beneficial effect of exercise was seen as much in older subjects as in younger.
+++

New Evidence: Exercise Helps Heart Disease, Increases Survival Better than Angioplasty

Saturday, July 11, 2009 by: S. L. Baker, features writer
Key concepts: Disease, Heart disease and Angioplasty
http://www.naturalnews.com/026596_disease_heart_disease_angioplasty.html

Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation meeting recently held in Barcelona, Spain, new heart research was presented that shows one treatment in particular can provide remarkable help for patients with certain forms of serious heart disease. It's not a new drug or surgical procedure. Instead, it's a natural therapy -- plain old-fashioned regular exercise.

In fact, in several studies just presented at the meeting, exercise reduced the markers of heart disease in patients following coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). What's more, it improved indications of disease in people with heart failure, a condition usually thought to be incurable and often just treated with symptom-relieving drugs. But the news that's perhaps most likely to make some interventional cardiologists' hearts skip a beat or two was the evidence presented that showed that exercise improved cardiac event-free survival in coronary patients better than angioplasty with stents.

Also called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), angioplasty is commonly used to help people with coronary artery disease whose arteries are narrowed and even blocked by a build-up of sticky plaque. By threading a thin tube through a blood vessel in the arm or groin, interventional cardiologists perform angioplasty to restore blood flood through a clogged artery. A tiny balloon at the end of the tube is inflated when it reaches the exact spot of blockage. That pushes the plaque outward against the walls of the artery, restoring blood flow. A small metal device called a stent is also carried by the tube and deployed at the site of the blockage in order to prop open the artery.

This approach to treating heart disease is a huge business. A report in Bloomberg News last fall noted that about 800,000 angioplasties are performed each year in the U.S. at a cost of about $10 billion annually [Exercise gets better results than $12,000 per angioplasty.] And, although many cardiologists consider angioplasty to be the "gold standard" of care in most types of acute coronary events such as heart attack, the procedure's long term benefits have been questioned by many doctors. In addition, the role of angioplasty in treating other kinds of coronary disease, like angina, isn't clear.

To help shed light on this issue, researchers at the University of Leipzig in Germany conducted a study to compare the event-free survival rate in 101 stable angina patients. Research subjects with the condition were divided randomly into two groups. Each group was treated with either a regular exercise program or with angioplasty.

The results, just presented at the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation meeting, showed that after five years of follow-up, the study participants who went through exercise training had a better event-free survival rate than those treated with stent angioplasty. In the exercise group, 63 percent of patients had survived, free of cardiac events. However, only 40 percent in the angioplasty group had survived without cardiac problems (which included heart attack, stroke and death).

Two other studies released at the Barcelona conference also back up the idea that exercise can often help even patients with very serious heart problems. Research by Dr. Tomasz Mikulski and colleagues from the Medical Research Centre in Warsaw, Poland, showed that aerobic training using an exercise bike not only improved the physical fitness of cardiac patients following bypass surgery, but also reduced their cholesterol levels and markers of inflammation (which are associated with heart disease).

Dr. Marcus Sandri from the University of Leipzig presented data showing that a moderate exercise program daily for four weeks improved the function of endothelial cells in patients with heart failure. This is important because endothelial cells, which line the circulatory system, are associated with the progression of heart disease and heart failure when they don't function properly.

No improvement was noted in the control group of heart failure patients who did not exercise. Dr Sandri noted in a statement to the media that the beneficial effect of exercise was seen as much in older subjects as in younger. "The effects of exercise were not diminished in our older heart failure patients which suggests that exercise as a treatment might be just as effective in older patients as younger," he explained.

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

Community Approves 1,000 SQ Foot Edible Garden For Public School

2009-07-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVES THE CONSTRUCTION OF 1,000 SQ. FOOT EDIBLE GARDEN AT STAPLES HIGH SCHOOL IN WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT

At the strike of midnight on June 2nd, 2009 the future just got a little brighter, thanks to the inspiring presentation by Dan Levinson, of Green Village Initiative (www.westportgvi.org), the behind the scenes prepping of the powers-that-be by Kimberly Lake and the unshakable professionalism of Eileen Flug, and all the other key people that made this possible.

Congratulations, to Dan, Kimberly and Eileen, and to the entire Staples community who will benefit from this incredible gift of an edible school garden!
---

STAPLES HIGH EDIBLE GARDEN: GVI has underwritten a Teich Garden to be installed and planted at Staples High School. In addition to being a tremendously valuable lesson topic for classes, the food being grown will be used by the culinary classes for cooking. This garden will be a model for schools of all levels to implement this learning tool and food source. For more information contact Kim Lake klake57@mac.com.

---

See more about the Green Village Initiative below - following the description of how the initiative and other progressive initiatives are funded by a group of people that have decided to make a positive difference with positive projects.

The Westport Green Village Initiative is fully funded by and investment group, Main Street Resources
http://www.mainstreetresources.com/nonprofit.html

Whose purpose is:
Main Street Resources is a private equity firm comprised of entrepreneurs, executives and investors who provide investment capital and resources to companies with great people and potential.

Founder Dan Levinson, along with his team, advisors and operating partners (the “Guild”), bring deep resources and expertise to create a supportive environment for the firm’s portfolio companies, helping them to thrive. We provide capital, financial and strategic expertise, and the resources, contacts and advice of our 100+ experienced investors.

Main Street’s investors are principally owners and operators of mid-size companies interested in backing and assisting other promising companies and management teams. On behalf of these investors, who have long-standing relationships with the firm, we search for attractive, proprietary opportunities where our resources can be brought to bear.

Main Street’s primary activity is the identification and sponsorship of entrepreneurs and management teams who are proven in their fields and are emotionally and financially committed to their businesses. In reaching investment decisions, we weigh the quality and commitment of the individuals involved above all else. Once we decide to invest, we work tirelessly in support of these partners.

While the firm has the flexibility to invest in any type of company, transaction or security, Main Street generally commits $2-10 million equity capital in transactions which include growth capital fundings, recapitalizations and management buy-outs. Main Street targets stable companies in niche businesses that are poised for growth, and as a rule, does not invest in start ups, technology or style/fad companies.

Historically, dedication to this investment approach and philosophy has generated rewarding long-term relationships with outstanding operating partners and yielded financial and non-financial success for all involved.

In addition to seeking to utilize our resources to create safe attractive investor returns, we attempt to integrate corporate social responsibility principles into our operations and companies. We believe businesses can be both profitable and good corporate citizens – taking care of their people, communities and environment – while growing and creating value.

Dan Levinson directs 10-20% of his Main Street-related income in support of these and other charitable endeavors.

Main Street Resources Non-Profit Affiliations include:

Westport
Green Village
Initiative

Westport Green Village Initiative

www.westportgvi.org

The Westport Green Village Initiative (“GVI”) was started by Dan Levinson and friends to provide funding, staff, support and partnership to individuals and groups committed to environmental and community action in our town. We are now living in a time when the right thing and the environmental thing and the human thing and the economic thing – are all the same thing. GVI helps committed individuals and groups undertake environmental and community action in Westport by bringing focus, energy, capital, staff and a wide range of further assistance to what has traditionally been a splintered volunteer effort.

Westport Green Village Initiative Receives Awards — April, 2009 - Westport Green Village Initiative (“GVI”), the local environmental/community organization founded and funded by Dan, has received the 2009 We Green Westport Award. This award, given annually by the Town of Westport ...

Deb Nelson, President, Social Venture Network

www.svn.org

Social Venture Network (“SVN”) is the leading non profit network and facilitator between charities, businesses and communities - committed to building a just and sustainable world through the integration of these sectors. SVN is comprised of roughly 500 innovative and socially-conscious business, community and non-profit leaders.

SVN Innovation Award Sponsor: Main Street Resources — January 2009 - Main Street Resources is a Social Venture Network Innovation Award Sponsor. Social Venture Network is a nonprofit network committed to building a just and sustainable world through business ...

Susan Witt, Director, The E.F. Schumacher Society

www.smallisbeautiful.org

The E.F. Schumacher Society (“EFSS”) is a non-profit that envisions an economic system based on the values of human scale, democratic participation, local production for local consumption, equitable distribution of wealth, and stewardship of the natural environment. EFSS's mission is to develop model programs, conduct educational events, publish papers, and maintain a library to engage scholars and citizen-activists in building strong local economies that link people, land, and community.

Economic Life/Grace of Innovating: E. F. Schumacher Society — January 28, 2009 - In October the Society bought a house for staff and interns. It was not a simple transaction, rather a complex and marvelous adventure weaving our work lives together with the story of a small manufacturing company ...

William Shutkin, Director and Chair,
Initiative for Sustainable Development
Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder

www.leeds.colorado.edu

Bill recently joined the faculty of the Leeds School of Business after years of productive work in his space, including founding Partner of the Innovation Network for Communities, Interim Executive Director of BALLE (the world’s fastest growing network of sustainable businesses), President of the Orton Family Foundation and founder of New Ecology, Inc. (a pioneering green development research and consulting organization). Bill and Dan have supported each other for years in their various and numerous non-profit initiatives.

David Downie, Director,
Program on the Environment, Fairfield University

www.fairfield.edu

David recently joined Fairfield University after fourteen years at Columbia University where he taught graduate courses on environmental policy, conducted research, and served, at different times, as Director of Environmental Policy Studies at the School of International and Public Affairs, Director of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change, and in several positions at Columbia's Earth Institute. David seeks to connect students and faculty with companies and organizations working in innovative ways to address pressing environmental and social issues. Main Street Resources, through Westport Green Village Initiative, has a mutually-productive relationship with Professor Downie, involving shared resources, community action/education, employment opportunities for students and other similar projects.

---
Here is some of what the Westport Green Village Initiative is doing in their community of Westport, Connecticut. See the website for much more:
http://www.westportgvi.org/

Green Village Initiative is a new grass roots organization established to support people and organizations passionate about creating local environmental and community change. We provide resources, funding, support, staff – and often a feeling of home – to these wonderful people who inspire us.

     Our initial projects revolve around food, energy and conservation. We hope that our results will ultimately influence our elected officials and town and state legislation. We are focused on results and focus on projects where we feel we can create real tangible progress.

     One common theme driving us is the desire and responsibility we feel to begin to repair the damage done to the world so as to make it a better place for our children and future generations.

     This site summarizes the current initiatives of our group. The work that is being done by our members is a testament to the shift in consciousness and new energy toward these issues.

     We believe good ideas alone are not enough – good people cause good results. We are here to make a difference.

Green Village Initiative
c/o Main Street Resources
120 Post Road West
Westport, CT 06880
203-227-5320
attn: Carmela
ci@mainstreetresources.com

GVI meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 10:30AM at the office above. Everyone is welcome. Please email Carmela if you are new and wish to attend.

"Do all the good you can, and make as little fuss about it as possible."

2009 We Green Westport Award
This award, given annually by the Town of Westport, is in recognition of GVI’s commitment and inspiration it provides to the community through the ignition of its rapidly spreading grassroots efforts to make Westport Green. Click here

EPA Merit Award
This award was given to 4 Westport RTMers who banned the bag in Westport (one being a founding memeber of the GVI - Liz Milwe). Click here

Official Citation from State of Connecticut
This citation was presented on April 25, 2009 for GVI's advocacy and promotion of conservation initiatives.

===

FOOD CO-OP: GVI members current have a CSA and the GVI is looking for available store-front to expand this program into a community space for food, activities, and environmental awareness. The goal is to create a new food model - a relationship between local farmers and consumers- that offers local/healthy food to people at reasonable prices. Members of The Green Garage will be able to purchase seasonal CSA shares. Contact Monique Bosch moniqueb@optonline.net. ...click here for more information.

TOWN-WIDE GARDENS: Gardens play an important role in providing a sustainable food source, supporting our environment, and educating the community on healthy solutions to the world's waning quality of food. Staples High Edible Garden is GVI's first installment in its commitment to planting gardens all over town. If you have a location for a garden or need support in your garden contact Dan Levinson dl@mainstreetresources.com.

WESTPORT FARMER'S MARKET: Supporting local agriculture protects our natural resources and open space, boosts our region's economy, strengthens our community and tastes great! GVI is underwriting the Summer 2009 Farmer's Market. The market will be on Thursdays from 10am-2pm, at Imperial Avenue parking lot, May 21st - November 19th. Come visit, eat, and support local, sustainable agriculture one delicious bite at a time! For questions, contact Sherri Brooks Vinton sherri@sherribrooksvinton.com (author of 'The Real Food Revival' and nationally recognized speaker on healthy local food (sherribrooksvinton.com)) WestportNow Article ...click here for more information.

Related Resources

Two Angry Moms

"Are you sick and tired of packing your kids’ lunch box everyday because the cafeteria food is unfit
for human consumption? Do you feel guilty when your kids “buy”? Are you annoyed at all the junk being handed out and sold at school? Are you angry enough to do something about it? We are!

Two Angry Moms is a documentary that asks the question: What happens when two “fed-up” moms try to change the school lunch program?"

The Real Food Revival

"Eaters everywhere are reclaiming their food chain — enjoying food that's full of flavor, isn't loaded with chemicals, and is raised with great sensitivity to the environment, and any animals in its care. I call this empowering movement, The Real Food Revival, and it is taking our food supply out of corporate hands and returning it to the growers, chefs, market owners, and most importantly, to the eaters who want a more sustainable, delicious future!"

Green Drinks

"Every month people who work in the environmental field meet up at informal sessions known as Green Drinks.

We have a lively mixture of people from NGOs, academia, government and business. Come along and you'll be made welcome. Just say, "are you green?" and we will look after you and introduce you to whoever is there. It's a great way of catching up with people you know and also for making new contacts. Everyone invites someone else along, so there’s always a different crowd, making Green Drinks an organic, self-organising network."

The Hickories

"With CSA, you, as a consumer, "buy in" in springtime to our farm's summer harvest. In essence, you buy a share of the harvest and then the land and farmer pay you back with vegetables all summer. During the summer, once a week, shareholders will come to the farm to pick up their boxes of vegetables and fruits. You will get a mixed box of whatever is being picked, and the food will change as the harvest changes over the growing season. In addition, you as a shareholder take on the risk of the harvest, as well.

Shareholders join us during seed purchasing in March. We plant in April and May. The harvest will start in the middle of June and we hope to run until the end of September. Once a week, on a set day and a set window of time, you will come to the farm to pick up your box. One share is a box that should feed a family of four."

Vonne's Victory Gardens

"Like the Victory Gardens of WWI and WWII you can have your own garden of fresh fruits and vegetables. Your garden will be a readily available, sustainable food source; free of pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals which are physically harmful to you.

I create organic gardens right on your property which are a convenient and environmentally conscious way of enjoying chemical free fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Vonne’s Victory Gardens was created to help people in the Farifield County, Connecticut area grow their own organic food."

Fairfield Green Food Guide

"Welcome to The Fairfield Green Food Guide, Fairfield County’s online resource for finding fresh, local, sustainable food and connecting with the green food community. Whether you are searching for local farmers’ markets, CSAs (a share in a farm’s crops), specialty stores, grocers, or wine shops, The Buying Guide will help you find exciting resources in your neighborhood. The Buying Guide is now available to consumers, free!

Do you have a green food resource you’d like to tell us about? Suggest a listing to The Buying Guide at info@fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com. Read and comment in our green food blog (a virtual green food forum) to stay hyper-current on local green food happenings and share opinions, resources and advocacy opportunities with other green foodies. Subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a bite!"

“Our food system unnecessarily generates 1/3 of all global warming.”
- EF Schumacher Society

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

Rat Paradise - Where Drug Addiction Is No Longer An Issue For Rats Or Humans Who Are Not In Cages

2009-06-30T22:37:00.001-07:00

Rat Park - It's not the drug, it's the box [cage] ...
http://suboxforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=1444

In the late 1970's, Bruce Alexander conducted the Rat Park experiments in an attempt to better understand the effects of environment on addiction. Instead of keeping his junky (adicted) rats alone in a wire cage with nothing but heroin to do, he built them a rat paradise.

The rats in Rat Park showed some curious behavior: when presented with an unlimited supply of morphine, they chose plain fresh water instead. He even added sugar to the morphine water to make it more appealing, and still the rats just said No.

Quote:
A Skinner box is a cage equipped to condition an animal’s behaviour through reward or punishment. In a typical drug test, a surgically implanted catheter is hooked up to a drug supply that the animal self-administers by pressing a lever. Hundreds of trials showed that lab animals readily became slaves to such drugs as heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines. “They were said to prove that these kinds of dope are irresistible, and that’s it, that’s the end of the addiction story right there,” Alexander says. After one particularly fruitless seminar in 1976, he decided to run his own tests.

The problem with the Skinner box experiments, Alexander and his co-researchers suspected, was the box itself. To test that hypothesis, Alexander built an Eden for rats. Rat Park was a plywood enclosure the size of 200 standard cages. There were cedar shavings, boxes, tin cans for hiding and nesting, poles for climbing, and plenty of food. Most important, because rats live in colonies, Rat Park housed sixteen to twenty animals of both sexes.

Rats in Rat Park and control animals in standard laboratory cages had access to two water bottles, one filled with plain water and the other with morphine-laced water. The denizens of Rat Park overwhelmingly preferred plain water to morphine (the test produced statistical confidence levels of over 99.9 percent). Even when Alexander tried to seduce his rats by sweetening the morphine, the ones in Rat Park drank far less than the ones in cages. Only when he added naloxone, which eliminates morphine’s narcotic effects, did the rats in Rat Park start drinking from the water-sugar-morphine bottle. They wanted the sweet water, but not if it made them high.

The addicted rats in Rat Park even kicked their habits voluntarily when given the option to do so:

Quote:
In a variation he calls “Kicking the Habit,” Alexander gave rats in both environments nothing but morphine-laced water for fifty-seven days, until they were physically dependent on the drug. But as soon as they had a choice between plain water and morphine, the animals in Rat Park switched to plain water more often than the caged rats did, voluntarily putting themselves through the discomfort of withdrawal to do so.

Maybe this offers an explanation as to why some people can use addictive drugs without becoming addictive. It might also offer some ideas as to why addiction treatment so often fails. Maybe we're focused on the wrong things. Maybe we need to fix the issues that seem to so often foster addiction [Both physical and mental cages.]: poverty, loneliness, lack of community, lack of spirituality.

Well worth reading: A more in depth chapter from the book - Opening Skinner's Box by Lauren Slater is here.

More articles on Rat Paradise here:
http://neuroanthropology.net/2008/02/08/the-rat-park/
http://the-mouse-trap.blogspot.com/2008/02/rat-park-addiction-and-environmental.html
http://homelessnation.org/en/node/6949

You can read more about the Rat Park experiments here.

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

Children Taking Ritalin & Other ADHD Meds Has 5 Times Risk Of Sudden Cardiac Death

2009-06-21T21:31:00.001-07:00

stimulants used to treat children for so-called ADHD can cause sudden cardiac arrest and death in kids.

drugs includes amphetamines like Adderall and Dexedrine and methylphenidate products such as Ritalin, Concerta, and Focalin.

Children and youth age 7 to 19 taking prescribed Ritalin for ADHD were four to five times more likely to die of sudden unexplained cardiac arrest than other children who were not taking Ritalin.

the study was skewed to hide just how many children die of sudden death when taking Ritalin.

Unconscionable, the study researchers were trying not to prove that stimulants cause sudden death in children.

There is also evidence from studies of stimulant addicts and case reports that stimulant drugs can cause heart disease, including inflammation and scarring. When drugs like Ritalin and Adderall are prescribed in routine pediatric doses, they commonly cause hypertension, which can lead to an enlarged heart. Yet children with even slightly enlarged hearts were excluded from the study. So the researchers ended up excluding any children with enlarged hearts caused by the stimulant treatment itself.

The same is true in regard to anorexia. Stimulants commonly cause anorexia. The researchers therefore excluded cases of stimulant-induced death in anorexic patients when the anorexia itself could have been caused by the stimulant.

the answer to this problem is simple.
Don't give stimulants to children.
There are far better non-drug ways to deal with so-called ADHD.

Very often these children improve dramatically when parents develop a more consistent, rational and loving plan for discipline.

Sometimes the problem completely disappears when the child is assigned a better teacher.

the child may be especially full of life and need more opportunity to run, to play, and to be creative.

these children ... don't need toxic drugs that can lead to drug addiction, cause psychosis and depression, stunt growth, impair brain function, and even cause sudden cardiac arrest.

Our children ... need us to protect them from misguided health professionals while we make every effort to meet their real needs in our families and schools.
+++

Children taking ADHD medication may be at risk of sudden cardiac death, study finds

by Rosemary Black
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2009/06/18/2009-06-18_children_taking_adhd_medication_may_have_an_increased_risk_of_sudden_cardiac_dea.html

Thursday, June 18th 2009, 4:00 AM

A study that links ADHD drugs to an increased risk of sudden cardiac death in children may be driving parents crazy.

If your child has ADHD, a new federally funded study that links ADHD drugs like Ritalin to an increased risk of sudden cardiac death may be making you crazy.

But mental health experts say the research is not conclusive enough for parents to necessarily take their children and teenagers off their medication.

The FDA is saying that the study has its limitations and should not necessarily change the way the stimulant drugs are used, according to WebMD.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the FDA, identified 564 children and teenagers who had died suddenly for unexplained reasons, and who had no structural heart defects.

Researchers also looked at 564 young people who had died as passengers in car accidents, many of whose deaths were later attributed to undiagnosed cardiac problems.

The researchers concluded that the odds of using a stimulant like Ritalin were six to seven times higher among the children who had died suddenly of unexplained causes than among those who died in auto accidents.

The study, which will appear in The American Journal of Psychiatry, does not prove that ADHD drugs cause cardiac deaths but they highlight the importance of screening kids and teens for heart problems before putting them on a stimulant medication, says Charlotte Armstrong, a NIMH spokesperson.

"One of the concerns is that there need to be improvements in screening for cardiac abnormalities in young people before putting them on medications like Ritalin," she says.

She also stressed the need for more studies.

"The bigger the numbers they can look at, the better," Armstrong says.

Dr. Ramon Solhkhah, director of the Child and Family Institute of St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, says that while medication is the "gold standard of treatment for moderate to severe ADHD," some kids may benefit from non-drug therapies.

"There are definitely some behavioral and lifestyle changes that could be beneficial," he says. "These include cognitive behavioral therapy, certain organizational skills, more individual attention in the classroom and life coaches who can get kids organized."

Chiropractor Gerard Clum notes that many young people with ADHD can benefit from chiropractic techniques.

"A number of case reports have been published with chiropractic care and there has been a positive resolution in the severity of symptoms," he says.

And Dr. Robert Melillo, author of "Disconnected Kids," recommends not just behavioral modification, but careful attention to diet and nutrition.

"ADHD medications can help with symptoms," he says. "But there are a lot of alternatives out there that address the underlying problem."
===

Stimulants for ADHD Shown to Cause Sudden Death in Children
Dr. Peter Breggin

Posted: June 17, 2009 03:04 PM

A new study, published Monday in the American Journal of Psychiatry, confirms what I've been warning about for years in my scientific books and articles. The stimulants used to treat children for so-called ADHD can cause sudden cardiac arrest and death in kids. The study was published by the journal online in advance of regular publication in the near future. On Monday, I had the opportunity to comment on the study on Good Morning America. Here is more detail.

The stimulant group of drugs includes amphetamines like Adderall and Dexedrine and methylphenidate products such as Ritalin, Concerta, and Focalin. The study focused on Ritalin because at the time it was more commonly used than the amphetamines, although amphetamines are probably even more toxic to the heart.

The results of the study were as dramatic as they are tragic. Children and youth age 7 to 19 taking prescribed Ritalin for ADHD were four to five times more likely to die of sudden unexplained cardiac arrest than other children who were not taking Ritalin.

Despite these ominous results, the study was skewed to hide just how many children die of sudden death when taking Ritalin. The study relied heavily on identifying cases through toxicology reports at autopsy. But autopsy studies for the detection of these controlled substances are geared to detect more massive doses from addiction and overdose. They are not sensitive enough to detect many cases of routine prescription use. As a result, many stimulant-caused deaths were probably missed.

Also, the study excluded a large number of sudden deaths if the children had even the slightest evidence of pre-existing heart disease. They excluded these children even when the coroner thought that heart disease played no role in the death. For example, if a child was taking stimulants and had minimal heart disease, such as a slightly enlarged heart, the researchers didn't include the case as a possible death due to the stimulant. They also did not count children who were severely obese, anorexic, or asthmatic. But all of these children, especially ones with undetected heart disease, are much more highly at risk for of stimulant-induced sudden death. They even excluded children whose parents had some forms of heart disease.

It's as if they did not want to confirm the obvious--that an examination of children with heart disease and related disorders would swell the numbers of those killed by Ritalin. In fact, the current FDA approved label specifically mentions the risk of cardiac sudden death when Ritalin is given to children with heart conditions.

Unconscionable, the study researchers were trying not to prove that stimulants cause sudden death in children. They made the findings despite their own attempts to avoid it. I was not surprised to find that some of the researchers for this study are among the biggest advocates of psychiatric medications for children.

Sudden cardiac death in children is rare, probably occurring--as the study notes--in a slightly little less than 1 in 100,000 children. But we need to take a few other facts into account. First, the rate is going to be much higher in children taking stimulant drugs. Not just the four or five times higher found in this study, but many more times higher when vulnerable children are included such as those with undetected heart disease, severe obesity, asthma, or anorexia. Second, stimulant drugs are one of the few causes of cardiac death in otherwise normal children, making it impossible to detect the risk before it happens.

Meanwhile the psychiatric establishment--represented by American Psychiatric Association, NIMH and drug companies--has been quick to dismiss the importance of the study. Instead, they should be emphasizing that the study detected the risk even though the highest risk patients were excluded, including some who were displaying toxic stimulant effects such as heart disease and anorexia.

Meanwhile, it's hard to imagine a greater tragedy for the surviving family than the unexpected death of a child from taking a medication prescribed by a doctor. I've been involved as a medical expert or consultant for families in several tragic cases of stimulant-induced cardiac death. I've also been an expert in cases of suicide in children caused by stimulants. These tragic deaths are always heartbreaking. Years afterward, the emotional wounds remain as raw as ever for their parents and brothers and sisters. The family's trust for doctors and the healthcare system can be forever shattered.

Yet the answer to this problem is simple. Don't give stimulants to children. There are far better non-drug ways to deal with so-called ADHD. ADHD is defined as involving hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. These are not diseases--they are disciplinary and educational problems. Very often these children improve dramatically when parents develop a more consistent, rational and loving plan for discipline. Sometimes the problem completely disappears when the child is assigned a better teacher.

At times the child diagnosed with ADHD is simply a little delayed in learning self-discipline or finding the motivation to study. Often something is distressing the youngster, such as peer ridicule and abuse. Or the child may be especially full of life and need more opportunity to run, to play, and to be creative.

Whatever these children need, they don't need toxic drugs that can lead to drug addiction, cause psychosis and depression, stunt growth, impair brain function, and even cause sudden cardiac arrest. I describe and document all of these adverse stimulant effects, and many more, in my medical book, Brain-Disabling Treatments in Psychiatry: Drugs, Electroshock, and the Psychopharmaceutical Complex, Second Edition (2008).

Our children don't need drugs--they need us to protect them from misguided health professionals while we make every effort to meet their real needs in our families and schools. It's time for all of us to retake responsibility for our children.

Dr. Breggin's latest book is Medication Madness: The Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide and Crime (St. Martin's, 2008). It is now in paperback.

Dr. Breggin's website is www.breggin.com.

Camas - ITXWE' - At Drumheller Springs

2009-05-30T17:35:00.001-07:00

A movie about the native plant, Camas, at Drumheller Springs, an urban wilderness, in Spokane.

5 minutes with a third grade class on a beautiful spring day nature exploring.

http://www.youtube.com/BetterSpokane

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

NZ Large Scale Ocean Beach Sand Art - Creativity Is First - A Celebration

2009-05-08T20:56:00.001-07:00

(Ignore the previous this email includes the short 3 minute movie link.)

For the last ten years, New Zealand’s artist Peter Donnelly has practiced his ephemeral art at the beach.

“Many tourists and local residents can find Peter down at the beach, low tide, most Sundays working beside the New Brighton pier carving the sand”.

“It’s a celebration, - he says - in a sacred way, sharing the process of creation. It’s good for putting something into large scale that is small inside yourself”.

Sometimes people ask him about a drawing. ‘What is it?’ - they ask.
And Peter says: “Sand”.
---
A three minute movie:
NZ Ocean Beach Sand Art short version

A longer ten minute version of the movie:
NZ Ocean Beach Sand Art

http://www.impactlab.com/2009/05/05/amazing-3d-sand-art-by-new-zealander-peter-donnelly/29464/

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

NZ Large Scale Ocean Beach Sand Art - Creativity Is First - A Celebration

2009-05-08T20:49:00.001-07:00

For the last ten years, New Zealand’s artist Peter Donnelly has practiced his ephemeral art at the beach.

“Many tourists and local residents can find Peter down at the beach, low tide, most Sundays working beside the New Brighton pier carving the sand”.

“It’s a celebration, - he says - in a sacred way, sharing the process of creation. It’s good for putting something into large scale that is small inside yourself”.

Sometimes people ask him about a drawing. ‘What is it?’ - they ask.
And Peter says: “Sand”.
---

A ten minute movie:
NZ Ocean Beach Sand Art

http://www.impactlab.com/2009/05/05/amazing-3d-sand-art-by-new-zealander-peter-donnelly/29464/

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

Wash Hands Reduce Sick Days For Self And Others

2009-01-08T08:01:00.001-08:00

School-Wide Handwashing Campaigns Cut Germs, Absenteeism
http://www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin/admin431.shtml

Studies reveal that school-wide handwashing programs can make a difference in the health of students and staff and, as a result, improve school attendance. If your school does not have a program in place, are you aware of how many resources -- including many free ones -- are available to help get you started?

Did you know...

Nearly 22 million school days are lost each year due to the common cold?
52.2 million cases of the common cold affect children under 17 years of age each year?
Children have about 6-10 colds a year?
Adults average 2-4 colds a year?
Some viruses and bacteria can live from 20 minutes up to 2 hours or more on surfaces like cafeteria tables, doorknobs, and desks?
(Sources: 1, 2, 3)

The CDC reports that addressing the spread of germs in schools is essential to the health of our youth and our schools. "The most important thing that you can do to keep from getting sick is to wash your hands," acccording to the CDC's official statement on handwashing.

And many studies document handwashing's impact on student and staff attendance: school-wide handwashing programs reduce absenteeism.

A study of 305 Detroit children found that youngsters who washed their hands four times a day had 24 percent fewer sick days due to respiratory illness and 51 percent fewer days lost because of stomach upset. (Source)
A study of 290 students in 5 schools (two in Ohio and one each in Delaware, Tennessee, and California) revealed that handwashing education and the use of hand sanitizer resulted in 51 percent less absenteeism. (Source)

When Should You
Wash Your Hands?

You should wash your hands often. Probably more often than you do now, according to the CDC. It is especially important to wash hands

before and after handling food,
after using the bathroom,
after touching animals,
when your hands are dirty, and
more frequently when someone in your home is sick.

Source: CDC

Those statistics about student absenteeism are a strong argument for introducing handwashing into the school curriculum. Inspite of that data, "we have had experience with several principals who have given our handwashing curriculum a lukewarm reception," says Carol Schreiber, a consultant with the Minnesota Department of Health.

On average, teachers are absent from school more days than students are, says Schreiber. Multiply the number of teacher sick days per year times the daily fee for a substitute, and then you're talking money. "That's why we decided to put our handwashing curriculum into the context of the cost of absenteeism to schools," added Schreiber. "Making that connection to the costs to the school district gets their attention!"

PRINCIPALS ADVOCATE HANDWASHING

The availability of hand sanitizer has cut down on the spread of colds at Transfiguration School in West Hazleton, Pennsylvania, according to principal Sherry Ambrose. Each year, Ambrose and the school's teachers send home a list of items that are frequently used but not always in supply, and willing parents respond to those requests.

"A few years ago we began requesting bottles of hand sanitizer along with our request for tissues and other items," Ambrose told Education World. "Now every classroom has a large bottle with a hand pump right inside the classroom door.

"Students never miss the chance to use the hand sanitizer -- they love it! And all our teachers and I keep a bottle handy on our desks."

In Arlington, Virginia, schools used to rely on parents to supply sanitizer gel, but now the district has installed hand-sanitizer dispensers in all classrooms and made large supplies of the gel available. "Now when children are coming in from recess or going to lunch without time for a restroom break, they get a squirt of the gel," said Lolli Haws, principal at Arlington's Oakridge Elementary School.

Haws also shared that her school is home to an in-house TV studio, and students have produced and directed tv segments on handwashing for their peers.

"When a number of children in a classroom are absent, teachers often stop and have everyone pitch in to wash down desks and other things with antibacterial detergent," added Haws.

Join the
Conversation

Have you created or used a program in your school to educate students about the importance of handwashing? What steps did you take to educate students? What impacts did you witness as a result? Share news of your school's handwashing efforts so that others might benefit from your experience.

At the start of cold and flu season, principal Karen Hodges asks her school nurse to visit each classroom to teach a lesson on the importance of handwashing. "Even though many of us have the anti-bacterial solution in our rooms, the best antidote for germs is wash, wash, wash with soap and water," explained Hodges, principal at Brockton (Massachusetts) Christian School.

"We teach our students to sing the ABC song while they're washing their hands," added Hodges, noting that washing for the length of the song will be long enough to kill most germs. Another principal suggests having students sing "Happy Birthday." Each song means students wash their hands for 15 to 20 seconds.

At Edenrose (Ontario, Canada) Public School, principal Deepi Kang-Weisz says the regional health department provides a curriculum that reviews handwashing techniques with students. "We also hang handwashing posters in all student and staff washrooms," she added.

HANDWASHING PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES

So what are you doing in your school to actively promote student handwashing? Programs abound for teaching students about its importance and its positive impact on their health. Many such programs can be found online. That's why Education World recently "scoured" the Internet in search of handwashing materials that you and your teaching staffs might use to educate your students, cut down on illness, and improve attendance. Most of the programs below offer free components -- lesson plans and activities, posters, games, and more.

Handwashing Initiative
The Border Health Education Training Center (New Mexico) offers a collection of activities for each grade level Pre-K to 5. Also included: three handwashing games - Handwashing Uno, Handwashing Clue, and Handwashing BINGO.

It's a SNAP
SNAP (School Network for Absenteeism Prevention) is a hands-on hand-cleaning initiative for middle schools. The program offers a free educational poster/tool kit that makes it easy to incorporate clean-hands education into middle school curricula. The program also fosters student teamwork.

Wash Your Hands: Educating the School Community
This program developed by the National Food Service Management Institute and the USDA includes a booklet (which includes activity ideas, lesson plans, clip art, and more), training video, and many posters in English and Spanish.

Handwashing Tool Kit
This tool kit from the Minnesota Department of Health provides many informational handouts. Also included are lessons and projects ideas for grades Pre-K through 12 and a list of picture books on the topic of handwashing.

10 Quick & Quiet Steps to Handwashing Success
A school nurse and preschoolers in Dubuque, Iowa, put together this 5-minute video (download it from your computer). If your students learn to sing the video's song, you might be well on your way to clean hands.

GloGerm's Handwashing Program
This commercial program presents lesson plans for grades kindergarten through six that utilize Glo Germ Gel and a UV light. Use the gel and the light to show kids the active presence of germs and bacteria on their own hands.

Healthy Hands, Healthy Kids
This program offers free lesson-plan packages for grades Pre-K through 2 and Grades 3 through 6. The program is sponsored by GOJO Industries, producers of Purell hand sanitizers.

Henry the Hand
Many resources that are part of Henry the Hand's Champion Handwashing Program are available online. Others (coloring books, stickers, T-shirts…) are available for a small cost.

The Scrub Club
This heavily animated Web site for kids presents E.Coli, Bac, Sal Monella, and other villains to good health. The site includes games, songs, and more.

Germs on Their Fingers
A brightly illustrated, bilingual book teaches children of all ages to wash their hands. Comes with an optional audio CD for teachers.

Clean Hands Coalition
Not much here in the way of resources, but they do offer some "Fun Ideas" for celebrating National Clean Hands Week in September.

WashUp.org
Not a lot of content here either, but the colorful poster and fact-filled brochure might make nice handouts.

Food Safety and Handwashing
If you're looking for more resources than we've introduced above, check out this site, which offers links to Web sites, fact sheets, posters, slideshows, and more. Click the "Children" link for information about an abundance of special health-related programs.

LESSON PLANS

A recent study of the handwashing habits of high-school students revealed that 58 percent of girls and 48 percent of boys wash their hands after using the bathroom. A teacher might try to duplicate this study in their own school by investing their students with the responsibility of being "restroom spies." Have them watch students from other classrooms and report back on the results of their study. Track the results to determine whether boys or girls in your school have good handwashing habits; and what percent of boys and girls wash their hands after using the restroom.

Education World recently "spied" these additional handwashing lesson plans online:

Handwashing Initiative
Pre-K to 5 activities, plus three handwashing games.

Handwashing Curriculas and Student Project Ideas
K-12 lesson ideas from the Minnesota Department of Health.

Wash Your Hands: Educating the School Community
Activity ideas, lesson plans, clip art, and posters in English and Spanish.

Down With Germs
A couple dozen pages of lesson plans for grades Pre-K through 6.

Project Handwashing
Information and resources for use in grades K-6.

Sink Those Germs
A game and handouts for teaching young children.

GloGerm's Handwashing Program
This program offers K-6 lessons. (The program requires the purchase of Glo Germ gel.)

Healthy Hands, Healthy Kids
Free lesson plans for grades Pre-K through 6; some commercial elements.

It's a SNAP
A hands-on hand-cleaning initiative for middle schools.

It Might Come in Handy: Learning About Handwashing
The New York Times Learning Network offers this lesson for grades 6-12.

Caught Dirty-Handed
This activity could be adapted across the grades.

Handwashing Experiment
Activities and discussion questions for older students.

Handwashing Laboratory Activities
These college-level activities could be used in high school.

Scrub Club for Kids
And lots of downloadables for teachers too.

Validating The World One Smile At A Time

2008-12-26T07:52:00.001-08:00


Dec 26, 2008
		Magic of Free Parking Composer turned filmmaker Kurt Kuenne calls it "a fable about the magic of free parking." A short film about one parking attendant named Hugh Newman is really the story of small acts of goodness and everyday smiles.

KarmaTube is a repository of inspiring online videos coupled with small, be-the-change actions that everyone can engage in. Our weekly videos reach 23191 active subscribers. about us \| more videos

Arts Stimulus Plan

2008-12-19T21:49:00.000-08:00

Arts Stimulus Plan
http://www.ips-dc.org/articles/974

Declaration by John Cavanagh, James Early, Barbara Ehrenreich, E. Ethelbert Miller, Marcus Raskin, Andy Shallal, Melissa Tuckey. Published December 18, 2008 12:00AM

Here’s a detailed call for the stimulus plan to include a program that will support artists and writers.

Programs that paid thousands of artists and writers comprised one of the most creative aspects of the New Deal. Thousands received relatively small outlays of funds for their work, and the nation’s artistic heritage was greatly enhanced. The same kind of initiative is needed today.

Congress needs to recommend that the government spend one percent of the stimulus plan on arts and culture (that would mean $6 billion if the final package is $600 billion), building on the New Deal’s Federal Art Project and the Federal Writers Project. Below, we offer 11 ideas on how the money could be spent. We also support ideas that link different parts of the stimulus package; for example, new murals and sculptures could adorn the new schools that will be built.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was created in 1935 to bring jobs to those who had become unemployed or underemployed during the Great Depression. Since artists and writers were also hit by the economic hard times, two divisions of the WPA were assigned the task of creating suitable jobs for such people — jobs that would not only take advantage of these individuals' talents, but would also serve to enrich America's cultural heritage and embellish public spaces. The grouping of the largest of these programs is collectively known as the “Federal Project Number One.” Included in this collective were the Federal Writers’ Project, the Historical Records Survey, the Federal Theatre Project, the Federal Music Project, and the Federal Art Project. All of these programs were divisions of the Works Progress Administration. Out of the approximately $4.8 billion allocated to the Works Progress Administration, Congress permitted $27 million to fund the Federal Project Number One projects.

The Federal Art Project, along with several other WPA-backed programs, created well over 5,000 jobs for American artists. These artists created over 2,500 murals, over 17,700 sculptures, 108,000 paintings, and 240,000 prints. The project's legacy still lives on, since it supported artists like Jackson Pollock, Arshile Gorky, and many other abstract expressionists whose work helped shift the most dynamic center of the art world to shift from its traditional location in Europe to where it now resides, in the largest cities of the United States.

The Federal Writers' Project created over 6,600 jobs for writers, editors, researchers, and many others who exemplified a given level of literary expertise. Established on July 27, 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) operated under journalist and theatrical producer Henry Alsberg, and later John D. Newsome, compiling local histories, oral histories, ethnographies, children's books and other works. These writers created over 1,200 books and pamphlets, and they produced some of the first U.S. guides for states, major cities, and roadways. In addition, the FWP was responsible for recording folklore, oral histories, and, most notably, the 2,300 plus first-person accounts of slavery that now exist as a collection in the Library of Congress. As with the Federal Art Project, the FWP's contributions to American literature were both significant and long-lasting, giving authors like Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, John Steinbeck, Sterling Brown, and many others the opportunity to continue their work in a time of difficult economic circumstances.

Here are some of the ways the funds could be used:

1. National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): Increase funding for the NEA and NEH. Increase the staff at both agencies. Maintain many of the new NEA projects started by Dana Gioia, for example: The Big Read and Operation Homecoming.

2. Archives: Support the preservation of literary archives across the country. Many collections need to interface with modern technology; staff needs to be hired at various institutions. We don't want to lose our past.

3. A Secretary-level post for Culture/Arts: We support the idea of Bill Ivey, former NEA Chair under President Bill Clinton, and head of the arts/culture Obama Transition Team for a Secretary level post for Culture/Arts. Indeed, the United States and Germany are the only wealthy nations without a Minister or Secretary of Culture. Ivey’s initiative involves the refocus and revitalization of the extant Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, which could be a better interim and/or long-term mechanism for new arts and culture policies.

4. Arts Education: Educational institutions, especially public school systems in low-income and underserved communities, would hire artists and writers. Funds would be made available for artist and writer-in-residence positions.

5. Arts in Public Spaces: Support for the arts in public places; especially parks, metro stations, airports, etc. Every major city and community should have access to concert series and readings in their major parks, especially in times of economic hardship.

6. Workplace: Funds to bring poets and writers into the workplace. Build literacy by enlivening the reading public. Contemporary writers would bring their work to the people. Readings could be held around noon at workplaces.

7. Document history: Document U.S. literary and cultural history on a city, state and national level. This would be similar to the old WPA program. Interview major writers and painters. It could be done by doing a series of films.

8. American Artists Overseas: Money should be set aside to send American artists overseas for three-six month periods, with an emphasis on countries where the United States has been at odds. They would serve as cultural ambassadors and give lectures and performances. They would also collaborate with artists of the host country to produce cultural events.

9. Fellowships/Scholarships awarded to working/low income individuals who wish to enroll in creative writing programs: Many older people wish to return to school to pursue careers in the arts but have no money for tuition.

10. Black colleges: Money should be set aside to develop creative writing programs at historically black colleges. No creative writing program exists at any black college. This would create teaching jobs for many African American authors.

11. Libraries: We should support library infrastructure and provide writer and artist-in-residence programs for our libraries, especially those in low-income communities. Our nation's libraries are public treasures and many have been closed in recent years. Money is needed to keep our libraries open and alive.

Labels:
--

Subscribe to emails from :
- Better World News: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/bwn_at7l.us
- Learning News - children learning, how mind works: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/learn_at7l.us
- Health News - better ways of healthy living: http://at7l.us/mailman/listinfo/health_at7l.us
- Good Morning World - Robert & Barbara Muller's daily idea-dream for a better world: http://www.goodmorningworld.org/emaillist/#subscribe
or send a request a subscription to any of the three lists here.

View these blogs:
- Better World News
- Learning News
- Health News
- Good Morning World

Learn

Watch Maude Barlow's talk the water of Earth

Heart Transplants Impart Memories From Doner To Recipient

Free Simple Eye Surgery Removes Cataracts In Nepal & Throughout The World

Happiness - Investing In Process Not Outcome

Details On Exercise To Improve Memory & Brain Health

New Powerful Three Minute Exercise Improves Memory and Brain Health

Needleman Interview: Panoraic View Of Undestimating What Human Nature Can Be Connecting To The Greater Than The Ordinary For GoodAnd

[Learn] v2 - Upgrade Requires New Subscription

Science Shows More Vaccine Harms - Newsweek & Council On Foreign Relations Denounce Vaccine Critics

The Council of Foreign Relations Enters the Vaccine Biz Desperate Attempts to Salvage a Corrupt Science with Sound-bites

The Council of Foreign Relations Enters the Vaccine Biz Desperate Attempts to Salvage a Corrupt Science with Sound-bites

Did You Know? The Speed Of Information Technology - China To Be Largest English Speaking Country ...

Bolivia's Massive Public Health Campaign - Washing Hands - Significantly Reduces Common Disease

BWN - Health - Learn v2

Red Meat Linked To Early Death & Increased Risk Of Prostate Cancer

Red Meat Linked to Early Death

Higher Education -12 Things You Might Not Have Learned in a Classroom

Higher Education -12 Things You Might Not Have Learned in a Classroom

Really educated people ...

Establish an individual set of values but recognize those of the surrounding community and of the various cultures of the world.

Explore their own ancestry, culture, and place.

Are comfortable being alone, yet understand dynamics between people and form healthy relationships.

Accept mortality, knowing that every choice affects the generations to come.

Create new things and find new experiences.

Think for themselves; observe, analyze, and discover truth without relying on the opinions of others.

Favor love, curiosity, reverence, and empathy rather than material wealth.

Choose a vocation that contributes to the common good.

Enjoy a variety of new places and experiences but identify and cherish a place to call home.

Express their own voice with confidence.

Add value to every encounter and every group of which they are a part.

Always ask: “Who am I? Where are my limits? What are my possibilities?”

Vaccine Facts - Charts-Ineffective-Harmful-...

Become a Google Earth Explorer! Explore The World With Google Earth

Using Regular Health Tips, Health Reminders, And Awareness Improves Ones Health Dramatically

Workplace Email Intervention Program Helps People Sit Less and Eat Better

Workplace e-mail intervention program helps people sit less and eat better

Tailored e-mails suggest fruit snacks and 10-minute walks

Earthlings: Seeing The World Feelingly

E A R T H L I N G S

Life Is Not About Getting To The End - Which Is What Is Taught In School & Work

Ritalin & Other ADHD Drugs Useless And Stunt Growth Permanently - Behavioral Treatments Work

ADHD Drugs Proven Absolutely Useless for Children - Plus, They Stunt Growth

More Evidence Daily Exercise For All Ages Helps Most Everyone - Increases Survival Better Than Angioplasty For People With Heart Disease

New Evidence: Exercise Helps Heart Disease, Increases Survival Better than Angioplasty

Community Approves 1,000 SQ Foot Edible Garden For Public School

Rat Paradise - Where Drug Addiction Is No Longer An Issue For Rats Or Humans Who Are Not In Cages

Children Taking Ritalin & Other ADHD Meds Has 5 Times Risk Of Sudden Cardiac Death

Children taking ADHD medication may be at risk of sudden cardiac death, study finds

Related News

Articles

Stimulants for ADHD Shown to Cause Sudden Death in Children Dr. Peter Breggin

Camas - ITXWE' - At Drumheller Springs

NZ Large Scale Ocean Beach Sand Art - Creativity Is First - A Celebration

NZ Large Scale Ocean Beach Sand Art - Creativity Is First - A Celebration

Wash Hands Reduce Sick Days For Self And Others

Validating The World One Smile At A Time

Arts Stimulus Plan

The Council of Foreign Relations Enters the Vaccine Biz
Desperate Attempts to Salvage a Corrupt Science with Sound-bites

The Council of Foreign Relations Enters the Vaccine Biz
Desperate Attempts to Salvage a Corrupt Science with Sound-bites

Stimulants for ADHD Shown to Cause Sudden Death in Children
Dr. Peter Breggin