taozen's blog

http://funky16corners.lunarpages.net/

there is a lot of music not readily available. ogan trios, soul . pre drum machine
they are associated with WFMU

Increased intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 may reduce the risk of seniors developing depressive symptoms, says a new study with 3,500 Chicagoans.

For every 10 milligram increase in the intake of vitamin B6 and for every 10 microgram increase in vitamin B12 the risk of developing symptoms of depression were decreased by 2 per cent per year, according to findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study adds to previous reports linking B vitamin intakes and a lower risk of depression. The World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts that within 20 years more people will be affected by depression than any other health problem; it ranks depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, with around 120 million people affected.

Despite earlier reports on the potential anti-depressive benefits of the B vitamins, researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Illinois report that “very little prospective evidence from population-based studies of older adults”.

Study details

Led by Kimberly Skarupski, the researchers obtained data from 3,500 over 65 year-olds in Chicago. The volunteers were living in a normal community and were bi-racial with 59 per cent being African American. Dietary intakes were quantified using food frequency questionnaires and depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale.

Over an average of 7.2 years of follow-up, the researchers noted that increased intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 were associated with a “decreased likelihood of incident depression”. The intakes of the vitamins came from both food and supplements, said the researchers.

The benefits did appear to be limited to supplement intakes, said the researchers, since no link between depressive symptoms and food intakes of B6 or B12 were observed. They also noted that folate intakes .

“Our results support the hypotheses that high total intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 are protective of depressive symptoms over time in community-residing older adults,” concluded the researchers.

How?

While the data does indicate correlation, it does not represent causation. There is a biologically plausible link between B vitamin intake and depressive symptoms, according to a 2003 study by scientists from the University of Kuopio in Finland. Writing in BMC Psychiatry (3:17), they noted that vitamin B12 is involved in the synthesis of monoamines, some of which act as neurotransmitters.

B12 may also inhibit the accumulation of the amino acid homocysteine, wrote the Kuopio scientists, which may lead to toxic reactions that enhance depression. Indeed, data from other studies indicated that 52 per cent of depressed patients have raised levels of homocysteine.

While the biological plausibility may be there, more research is required to explore the potential link between B vitamins and depressive symptoms.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2010.29413
“Longitudinal association of vitamin B-6, folate, and vitamin B-12 with depressive symptoms among older adults over time”

Permalink: http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?p=5403

http://www.epa.gov/endo/

This site provides information about the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) and EPA's approach and progress for screening and testing chemicals for potential endocrine effects. If you are new to the topic of endocrine disruption you might want to read the EDSP Overview and EDSP Primer for more detailed information on the endocrine system and the EDSP.

In recent years, some scientists have proposed that certain chemicals might be disrupting the endocrine system of humans and wildlife. A variety of chemicals have been found to disrupt the endocrine systems of animals in laboratory studies, and compelling evidence shows that endocrine systems of certain fish and wildlife have been affected by chemical contaminants, resulting in developmental and reproductive problems. Based on this and other evidence, Congress passed the Food Quality Protection Act in 1996, requiring that EPA initiate EDSP to screen pesticide chemicals and environmental contaminants for their potential to affect the endocrine systems of humans and wildlife.
Highlights

N

http://www.lmreview.com/articles/view/new-developments-in-cannabinoid-ba...
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(adapted from Mavericks of Medicine by David Jay Brown)

Dr. Raphael Mechoulam
Raphael Mechoulam, Ph.D., is the Lionel Jacobson Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he has been working on cannabinoid chemistry (a term he coined) for more than forty years.

Dr. Mechoulam is recognized as one of the world's experts on cannabinoid-based medicine. In addition to his groundbreaking discoveries, he has authored hundreds of scientific papers on his cannabinoid research as well as a book, Cannabinoids as Therapeutic Agents, which provides an early review of the research in this area. Dr. Mechoulam was President of the International Cannabinoid Research Society and has received numerous honors and awards for his outstanding contributions to the field. He is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences, and among the numerous prizes that he has received for his work, is the highest national scientific prize in Israel—the Israel Prize.

snip
Anti-inflammatory Effects
Cannabinoids' anti-inflammatory actions may render these agents helpful in the treatment of arthritis. Several recently developed synthetic cannabinoid agonists (including HU-210 and WIN-55,212-2) have been shown to inhibit the expression of iNOS and COX-2, and the resulting activation of NF-kappaB, thus protecting the cartilage matrix from degradation induced by cytokines and attenuating joint damage in animal models of arthritis.21

many promising applications are on the horizon,\/

http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_gupta.html

Robert Gupta, violinist with the LA Philharmonic, talks about a violin lesson he once gave to a brilliant, schizophrenic musician -- and what he learned. Called back onstage later, Gupta plays his own transcription of the prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1.

=======
Gupta is passionate about education and outreach, both as a musician and as an activist for mental health issues. He has the privilege of working with Nathaniel Ayers, the brilliant, schizophrenic musician featured in "The Soloist," as his violin teacher.

Ed Koch and What Jews Really Think
By MJ Rosenberg, Media Matters
Edward Koch was mayor of New York (elected in 1977) and, although long retired, he still has a following in some circles.
That is why when he likens US pressure on Israel to the Holocaust - as absurd and obscene as his analogy is - Koch needs to be forcefully rebuked.
In a column written for Realclearpolitics.com and The Huffington Post, and excerpted in Rupert Murdoch's New York Post, Koch accuses the American Jewish community and members of Congress of unspeakable evil for not speaking out against President Obama's stance on Israeli settlements. Koch considers Obama's criticism of the Israeli government as indicative of disrespect and hostility to the State of Israel and to Jews. (No matter that Obama's highest ranking aides are Jews. Koch, like Prime Minister Netanyahu, sees them as "self-hating," the all purpose label for Jews who deviate from the line.)
"President Obama's abysmal attitude toward the State of Israel and his humiliating treatment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is shocking….
"In the 1930s, the Jewish community and its leadership, with few exceptions, were silent when their coreligionists were being attacked, hunted down, incarcerated and slaughtered. Ultimately 6 million Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust….
"Where are our Senators, Schumer and Gillibrand? And, where are the voices, not only of the 31 members of the House and 14 Senators who are Jewish, but the Christian members of the House and Senate who support the State of Israel? Where are the peoples' voices? Remember the words of Pastor Niemoller, so familiar that I will not recite them, except for the last line: 'Then they came for me, and by that time, there was no one left to speak up.'"
Not too subtle. While most of those who defend any and all Israeli policies only hint at Holocaust analogies to smear their critics, Koch drops the H-bomb with shameless abandon.
And, of course, Koch is no foreign policy expert. His experience in global issues is limited to marching in the St. Patrick's Day (and Pulaski Day, and Columbus day, etc) parades.
Nor does he know anything about Jewish history. Proudly uninterested in any aspect of Jewish history except its worst moment, he compares everything negative that happens to mass murder.
But, in his time and even now, he is one of those who has an audience when he screams "anti-Semitism" because he is a self-styled Jewish spokesman, who once held the position called "the second hardest job in America."
But Koch, a Democrat, is first and foremost a neocon. He believes George W. Bush was a great President. In fact, he bolted the Democratic party in 2004 to support Bush over John Kerry because he was grateful that Bush and company took us into Iraq. Koch thought that the war would be good for Israel. It was, in fact, disastrous, eliminating Iraq as the counterweight to Iran.
But being wrong never deters the neocons. If it did, they would have gone out of business long ago. Instead, they hang out in their bunkers hoping for some disaster that will enable them one more "I told you so. Dialogue never works. "
Koch, of course, gets his 20th century history wrong too. The American Jewish community was not silent about the Holocaust. But there was not much they could do other than enlist in the US effort to defeat Nazi Germany (and Imperial Japan), which they did in numbers out of proportion to their percentage in the population. What would Koch have had them do? Demonstrate in New York and Washington against Hitler? (Actually, they did that but Hitler was not impressed.)
But then there is the contemporary issue. Are Jews silent in the face of Obama's opposition to Netanyahu's settlement policies?
Yes, I think they are. But I think that the silence of the community - in contrast to the mindless hollering by conservative Jewish organizations - is telling.
Most American Jews - no, make that most friends of Israel - are not protesting because they understand that President Obama's strong stand against expanded settlements testifies to his concern for Israel.
After all, the number one threat to Israel today is the occupation itself and the settlements, which are designed for the purpose of perpetuating the occupation. If Israel retains the occupied lands (and people), Palestinians will constitute a majority of historic Palestine within the next few years. Either Israel ends the occupation or the occupation will end the Jewish State of Israel.
That simple fact is the reason racist Israelis like Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman have advocated "transfer" or ethnic cleansing. It is why more sophisticated racists like Prof. Martin Kramer advocate suppressing the Palestinian birth rate.
They recognize that the occupation will be the death of Israel unless extreme measures are taken.
They, of course, do not consider the "unextreme" method that will preserve Israel's security and its future: exchanging.
In the words of David Remnick, the very pro-Israel editor of the New Yorker, "Without the creation of a viable contiguous Palestinian state, comprising a land area equivalent to all of the West Bank and Gaza (allowing for land swaps), and with East Jerusalem as its capital, it is impossible to imagine a Jewish and democratic future for Israel. There is nothing the Israeli leadership could do to make the current fantasy of an indifferent American leadership become a reality faster than to get lost in the stubborn fantasy of sustaining the status quo."
And the community understands that.
That comes out loud and clear in a Gerstein-Agne poll of American Jewish attitudes conducted during the current crisis:
American Jews by a four-to-one margin, 82-18 percent, support the United States playing an active role in helping the parties to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, with 73 percent of American Jews supporting this active role even if it means that the United States were to publicly state its disagreements with both the Israelis and the Arabs.
And by a 71-29 percent margin, American Jews support the United States "exerting pressure" on both the Israelis and the Arabs to make the necessary compromises to achieve peace. An earlier J Street poll last March found a similar level of support.
A majority of all American Jews, 52-48 percent, still support an active role even if the United States were to publicly state its disagreements with only Israel.
The bottom line: Jews are not taking to the streets to defend Netanyahu and bash Obama. And their representatives are, with few exceptions, not issuing statements of support for Netanyahu either.
The reason is simple. They understand that supporting Obama's stand is what you do if you are pro-Israel. Screaming and foot-stomping is what you do if you only want to get attention or raise money by scaring potential donors to death.
Koch should be ashamed. He isn't.
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The evidence is in: America’s food system is broken. Every week we read about record-breaking food safety recalls, a spiraling childhood obesity epidemic, and the continued loss of independent family farmers.

All of these problems can be traced back to one thing: excessive consolidation by Big, corporate food. But change may be on the way.

Recently, the Departments of Justice and Agriculture held their first joint workshop here in Iowa to gather evidence of antitrust violations in food and agriculture.1 We were encouraged by the workshop, the first of five to be held this year,2but also concerned that the same companies that have caused these problems were well represented on the panels, while the family farmers most negatively impacted by corporate food monopolies were only given the opportunity to speak after public officials had left the building.

Even though these workshops are an important first step, real family farmers must have a seat at the table. It will take all our voices to ensure that the Justice department holds giant agribusiness accountable.

Please join us and tell the Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack that it’s time to break up America's corporate food monopolies before they do more harm.

http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/bust_up_big_food/124?akid=112.97557.Yu1yz9&t...

The aisles of most American grocery stores give an overwhelming illusion of choice when it comes to our food. A closer look, however, quickly reveals that most of the meat, grain, milk — and even the grocery stores themselves — are all owned and controlled by just a few corporations.

The figures are startling:

• A single company (Monsanto) controls the seeds of 93% of soybeans and 80% of the corn grown in the U.S.3

• 4 companies (Tyson, Cargill, Swift & National Beef Packing Co.) control 83% of the beef packing industry4

• 4 companies (Smithfield, Tyson, Swift & Cargill) control 66% of the pork packing industry

For too long now, food and agricultural production has been consolidated into the hands of a few agribusiness giants. These companies dictate to us how our food is produced, how much farmers are paid for their crops and livestock and how much consumers pay for food.

Food Democracy Now! participated in last week's workshop. We heard Attorney General Eric Holder talk about the “reckless deregulation that has restricted competition in agriculture” and promise that the Department of Justice, under his watch, was committed to “vigorous enforcement” of U.S. antitrust laws.

But given the power of the companies on the other side, we know that the change we need will not come easily. We must stand together and make our voices heard in favor of a fair and democratic food system!

Please support Secretary Vilsack and Attorney General Holder as they move forward. Join them today in pushing for real enforcement of U.S. antitrust laws and an end to America’s food monopolies. It only takes a moment. And after you've signed the petition, please ask your friends and family to do the same.

http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/bust_up_big_food/124?akid=112.97557.Yu1yz9&t...

Thank you for participating in food democracy –

Dave, Lisa and The Food Democracy Now Team

We need to keep the pressure on! Please donate to Food Democracy Now today – whether it’s $5 or $50. We rely on folks like you to keep us going. Thank you!

P.S. The next hearing will be in Normal, Alabama on May 21st 2010, and will focus on the poultry industry, followed by a hearing on the notoriously concentrated dairy industry in Madison, Wisconsin on June 7th. We’ll be sure to keep you informed.

Sources:

1. US pledges to probe, bust agribusiness monopolies, Reuters, March 12, 2010
http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/125?akid=112.97557.Yu1yz9&t=12

2. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, Public Workshops, Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement Issues in Our 21st Century Economy
http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/94?akid=112.97557.Yu1yz9&t=14

3. Monsanto’s dominance draws antitrust inquiry, Patented seeds are go-to for farmers, who decry their fast-growing price, The Washington Post, November 29, 2009
http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/95?akid=112.97557.Yu1yz9&t=16

4. 2007 Concentration of Agricultural Markets report, compiled by Mary Hendrickson and William Heffernan of University of Missouri Department of Rural Sociology.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A central figure behind the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) claims disputing the link between vaccines and autism and other neurological disorders has disappeared after officials discovered massive fraud involving the theft of millions in taxpayer dollars. Danish police are investigating Dr. Poul Thorsen, who has vanished along with almost $2 million that he had supposedly spent on research.

Thorsen was a leading member of a Danish research group that wrote several key studies supporting CDC's claims that the MMR vaccine and mercury-laden vaccines were safe for children. Thorsen's 2003 Danish study reported a 20-fold increase in autism in Denmark after that country banned mercury based preservatives in its vaccines. His study concluded that mercury could therefore not be the culprit behind the autism epidemic.

His study has long been criticized as fraudulent since it failed to disclose that the increase was an artifact of new mandates requiring, for the first time, that autism cases be reported on the national registry. This new law and the opening of a clinic dedicated to autism treatment in Copenhagen accounted for the sudden rise in reported cases rather than, as Thorsen seemed to suggest, the removal of mercury from vaccines. Despite this obvious chicanery, CDC has long touted the study as the principal proof that mercury-laced vaccines are safe for infants and young children. Mainstream media, particularly the New York Times, has relied on this study as the basis for its public assurances that it is safe to inject young children with mercury -- a potent neurotoxin -- at concentrations hundreds of times over the U.S. safety limits.

Thorsen, who was a psychiatrist and not a research scientist or toxicologist, parlayed that study into a long-term relationship with CDC. He built a research empire called the North Atlantic Epidemiology Alliances (NANEA) that advertised its close association with the CDC autism team, a relationship that had the agency paying Thorsen and his research staff millions of dollars to churn out research papers, many of them assuring the public on the issue of vaccine safety.

The discovery of Thorsen's fraud came as the result of an investigation by Aarhus University and CDC which discovered that Thorsen had falsified documents and, in violation of university rules, was accepting salaries from both the Danish university and Emory University in Atlanta -- near CDC headquarters -- where he led research efforts to defend the role of vaccines in causing autism and other brain disorders. Thorsen's center has received $14.6 million from CDC since 2002.

Thorsen's partner Kreesten Madsen recently came under fierce criticism after damning e-mails surfaced showing Madsen in cahoots with CDC officials intent on fraudulently cherry picking facts to prove vaccine safety.

Leading independent scientists have accused CDC of concealing the clear link between the dramatic increases in mercury-laced child vaccinations beginning in 1989 and the epidemic of autism, neurological disorders and other illnesses affecting every generation of American children since. Questions about Thorsens's scientific integrity may finally force CDC to rethink the vaccine protocols since most of the other key pro vaccine studies cited by CDC rely on the findings of Thorsen's research group. These include oft referenced research articles published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the New England Journal of Medicine and others. The validity of all these studies is now in question.

Citations
1. http://www.cphpost.dk/news/international/89-international/48229-research...
2. http://www.safeminds.org/news/pressroom/press_releases/20040518_AutismAu...
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/opinion/06sat3.html
4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/time-for-cdc-to-come-c...
5. http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/03/poul-thorsens-mutating-resume.html
6. http://www.rescuepost.com/files/thorsen-aarhus.pdf
7. http://www.cphpost.dk/news/international/89-international/48229-research...