Category Archives: big coal

Celiac diagnosis

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I found a used book on natural medicine by an M.D. that actually believes in food as a healing or in my case, a hurting element of health;  exercise, and vitamin supplements helping one to stay healthy.  The book is called Natural Prescriptions by Robert M. Giller, M.D. and Kathy Matthews (this cover isn’t the same as my book, so I’m not sure if it is the same one or another updated version).

I guess now would be a good time for the lawyer-speak:  The suggestions here are not meant to diagnose or cure.  If you are having health issues, you should seek the guidance of a health care practitioner.

Dr. Giller touches on Celiac disease.  He mentions the neurological connections with schizophrenia and depression, but he fails to note migraines, seizures, and possible Alzheimer’s as symptoms of Celiac.  He also states that once one begins the gluten-free diet, one’s symptoms should abate in a couple of weeks.  bwahahahahahahahahahaha. Obviously not an expert of Celiac.  Healing the gut, as noted by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, takes one to two years, depending on severity.  But Dr. Giller does note that one cannot go back to eating gluten after the symptoms subside.

Anyway, Dr. Giller did have some pretty good questions to diagnose Celiac:

1.  Do you have Irish, Scottish, English, or Scandinavian heritage?  (I would add German or Dutch)      Dr. Giller notes that every 1 in 215 Irish suffer from Celiac. Whoa.

2.  Is there a history of intestinal disease in your family? Does anyone in your family experience similar symptoms including chronic gas, bloating, and indigestion?  (This is harder to answer because the farting thing is kinda a dirty little secret…I can’t imagine folks sitting around at family gatherings talking about it.  :p  )

3.  Have you ever had a blistery rash on the inside of your elbows, behind your knees, or at other body folds?

4.  Is your abdomen ever swollen?  (Take heed of this–I just thought that I had gained weight (due to thyroid/mercury) and that was why my abdomen was swollen.  Nope.  It was dramatic how much it shrunk when I began the gluten diet.  If you recall, I lost twenty pounds within six months.  Remarkable. )

5.  Is chronic fatigue a serious problem in your life, affecting your job performance and social obligations?  (I notice just before I get a migraine, my energy levels plummet. BUT this is an incredible improvement from just three years ago, when I got tired just walking twenty feet from my bedroom to the front room.   Most people are mischaracterized as being lazy when they actually have chronic fatigue.)

6.  Do you have frequent diarrhea or constipation?  (This is a tricky question because if you have been undiagnosed all of your life, what is “normal” to you is not a true indication of health.  That is, you may suffer from either or both, thinking this is just how your body is, without knowing that you’re a Celiac.  So you might not think to mention this to the doc because it is “normal” for you.)

7.  Does your family have a history of stunted growth or delayed maturity?  (This is my family.  My son was the shortest kid in his class until his Junior year in high school, when he grew.  I did not fully mature physically until in my late twenties. )

Of course, Dr. Giller does not mention GMO’s and their possible implication with gut inflammation.  This book was published in 1994, so the GMO monster had not yet been released (as far as we know—I keep reading different dates as to when this monster was released.)

 

 

 

Sally Lightfoot Crab

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…is the endangered species of the month of July.    (there weren’t any last month, in case anyone is wondering…they just had a serene pic of a beach…nice)

While searching the web, I found this excellent site that has a couple of videos on how climate change is affecting the Galapagos.  He has a clear, non jargon manner that is refreshing.  I wish that the mainstream media would put him on the air to explain Climate Change.  Whenever they mention Climate Change (IF they mention climate change) they don’t do a good job explaining it or to note changes already happening…gah, I wonder if the many commercials for BP and other oil companies has anything to do with it…?  (said with dripping sarcasm) (with the exception last night of CBS–they asked if all the wild fires going on now are a result of climate change and if the fire fighters believed in it.  The fire fighter interviewed said they would not find any fire fighter that has seen the incredible heat and intensity of these fires deny climate change.)

I saw on some sites that people were taking these crabs home for their aquariums.  Please don’t do this.  Enjoy the moment, and then leave them be.

Histamine and the Brain

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A member of the mercury support group posted a link to an interesting report on the effects of histamine on the brain and the resulting serious psychological problems.

I am of the belief that many mental problems are not caused solely by brain chemicals gone awry.  I know too much now to ever go back to that thinking–mercury poisoning has taught me that.  Rather, I think many mental problems are manifesting in the brain, but the real issue is something gone wrong in the body.  And the issue of environmental toxins is key, also.

This page explores the effects histamine has on a person’s personality.  It is just stunning how severely someone can be affected.

I learned something today.

The Voting Rights Act

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What can I say?

Roberts says that times have changed and things are different now.  Yes and No.

Yes we have our first African American president.  I see African American professionals in many places.  It was especially poignant to watch the coverage of the recent tragedy in Philadelphia–when the building collapsed.  The mayor, the head of the fire dept., and another official were all African Americans.  That was a proud moment.

But, No,  racism has not been eliminated.  Roberts should know this….in his own backyard of Laporte County, Indiana, was a case of someone spraying racial slurs on the sidewalk of an African American church about three years ago.  There was snow on the ground, to make tracking easier….but somehow the culprits got away….

Voting Rights Act was put into place because of the stuff we’re seeing yet today…

…like the attack on ACORN…an organization that sought to get the poor and others registered to vote…

…Florida thwarting voters…

…so to say that everything is just fine and it’s okay to let these states once again do as they please is just plain wrong.

Saying racism is “over” is like saying that sexism has been eliminated because we see *some* women in positions of power.  And those women don’t necessarily speak for women who stay home, out of the rat race, so to speak.  So it’s not a fair representation of all thoughts.   It’s also not a representation of actual progress.  When women who stay home are acknowledged as contributing to society as much as a woman who brings home a paycheck;  when rape is no longer seen as the fault of the woman; when domestic violence is acknowledged for its devastating effects on women, children, and society; when tenderness is no longer seen as weakness….only then will anyone convince me that sexism is no longer an issue.

And racism and sexism are created from the same mindset of power-over.

Failing to disclose NSA ties

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Psuedo-journalist David Gregory of Meet the Press failed to disclose a lobbyist for a private defense contractor that is employed by the NSA. (hat tip crooks and liars.com)

John Amato has this up, too.  A good summary of the media’s coverage…

…and their lack of true journalism.

Intelligent discussion

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…is hard to come by on the airwaves, but the CSPAN discussion with Scott Amey of the Project on Government Oversight  is one of those discussions:

 

POGO has this link to the NY Times OP-Ed on Snowden and the exposure of the extent of outsourcing government work…and we’re not getting our money’s worth. Color me shocked. Not.

From the article:

At a Senate hearing on intelligence contractors in September 2011, a witness from the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group, cited research from 2008 showing that the government paid private contractors 1.6 times what it would have cost to have had government employees perform the work.

I haven’t watched today, but in the past few days, MSNBC has been running a rabid campaign on Edward Snowden, making his fleeing capture the story instead of the warrantless wiretapping, which should be the object of discussion.

CNN is doing a little bit better–it depends on which broadcaster is on at the moment.

It’s just mindboggling that these are supposed journalists who are like rabid dogs going after a whistleblower…especially after the revelations of phones being tapped at the AP.

What is really intriguing is that Judge Vaughn Walker had ruled that the wiretaps were illegal.  So….why were they still doing them?

Another story on the cyber surveillance here.

Electronic Frontier Foundation has this up.  Note that they claim there are “no names”, but as the article states there are names kept separately.  I mean, really, what would be the point if there were no names attached to the phone numbers?  Wouldn’t that be counter to the objective of tracking people?

Here is an excellent point:

They contain information on criminal activity or a threat of harm to people or property.   

—This is not very comforting – the Fourth Amendment wouldn’t mean anything if the government could search your house everyday, but would only act if they found evidence of a crime inside.

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(italics mine)

So…I have a question…why is it NOT okay to track someone with GPS without a warrant…but quite all right  to track someone by phone without a warrant??

This also from EFF.  They are fighting the good fight trying to get this out in the open…where it belongs.

…and it gets worse…

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common dreams has this up on the Big Brother-spying-on-Big Brother program…the dark side showing its paranoia and utter control of information and those who might actually uphold the law…you know, the Constitution, not the Patriot Act.

The program could make it easier for the government to stifle the flow of unclassified and potentially vital information to the public, while creating toxic work environments poisoned by unfounded suspicions and spurious investigations of loyal Americans, according to these current and former officials and experts. Some non-intelligence agencies already are urging employees to watch their co-workers for “indicators” that include stress, divorce and financial problems.

“It was just a matter of time before the Department of Agriculture or the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) started implementing, ‘Hey, let’s get people to snitch on their friends.’ The only thing they haven’t done here is reward it,” said Kel McClanahan, a Washington lawyer who specializes in national security law. “I’m waiting for the time when you turn in a friend and you get a $50 reward.”

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If they start paying people to turn in one another, we’re toast as a country (not that we’re not there on the ledge, already).

In this economy, folks facing a quandary of feeding their families/paying the mortgage/keeping the lights on and turning in a coworker that really hasn’t done anything wrong, but…

The Salem Witch Hunts on steroids…

…..it’s worse than we thought…

 

 

Another freaking trade agreement that benefits corporations, not people….

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Yep.

The U.S. has already had a taste of this type of policy under the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA). In 2005, the Canadian Cattlemen for Fair Trade sued the U.S. the U.S. government for banning imports of beef and live Canadian cattle after a case of mad cow disease was discovered in Canada. In the end, the U.S. prevailed, but not until it had spent millions to defend itself in court.   Mexico wasn’t so fortunate when three companies (Corn Products International, ADM/Tate & Lyle and Cargill) sued the Mexican government for preventing imports of high fructose corn syrup. Mexico lost all three cases, and was forced to pay out a total of $169.18 million to the three firms.

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The Obama Administration is trusting corporations like Dow AgroSciences, Cargill and DuPont, and trade groups like the Pork Producers Council and Tobacco Associates, Inc., to write food safety policies. In all, more than 600 corporations have been given access to drafts of various chapters of the TPP. Requests for the same level of access, from members of Congress and from the public, have been denied.

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This has serious implications towards the fight against GMO’s, as the article states.  It’s hard enough fighting against the ag bullies like Monsanto….it will be even harder with an agreement like this in place.  The whole “fast track” process usurps the democratic process of allowing the American public and its elected representatives an opportunity to know what is going on and the opportunity to vote against it.

Truly, if you’re doing something that is positive, you’re not going to try to hide it.  They’re like little kids who poop their pants and then go hide somewhere hoping not to be discovered….but the smell gives them away…

*whew*  Do you smell something?

 

 

Loretta Sanchez

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…was on CSPAN this morning….a member of Congress that actually has a brain. 🙂

She voted against the invasion in Iraq. Check.

She voted against the invasion of privacy and illegal wiretapping act, otherwise known as the Patriot Act. Check.

BUT she said during this morning’s interview that what has happened with the NSA’s overreaching power has been authorized by Congress through the Patriot Act….so technically, it is prosecutable.  I say prosecutable because they have given themselves legal power that is…illegal… by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.

Congress violated the Constitution by allowing it.  AND they continually fund it without even knowing what they’re funding!!

Sanchez reported that although she is a member of the Intelligence sub-committee, she has to fight to get information that should be readily given to her.  She said that she must schedule a certain secure room with certain intelligence personnel.  She said that she must go through the repubs to get allotted time in the room, and then she must coordinate with the intelligence personnel, who may or may not have scheduling conflicts with that time.  Then when she wants questions answered, she doesn’t always get that.  And they will try to divert her attention away by bringing up other intelligence issues, if I’m understanding what she was saying.   And she is not allowed to take notes.  WTH?

Is it any wonder that the American people are kept in the dark about all that is going on??

As someone said (caller)  they forget who they’re working for–the American public.  But, yeah, we sorta already knew that.  Like I said in my previous post–the information gathering most likely will be sold to the highest bidder.  The NSA won’t be held accountable because Congress is just throwing money at them without accountability or restraint.

And with all this information gathering, did they stop the Boston bombing? No.

Did they stop Fort Hood? No.

Did they stop Sandy Hook? No.

Did they stop the theatre shooting in Colorado? No.

Who stopped the underwear bomber?  The public.

Who stopped the guy in New York City who had the bomb in the Jeep?  The public.

Security, my arse.

 

To Clarify

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To clarify what I mean with my last post–I don’t have a problem with wiretapping suspected terrorists per se, but I have a big problem with the illegal wiretapping of anyone.  That is, I expect the gov’t agency to go before a judge with evidence that this person is indeed up to no good.  It’s what our Constitution requires.  I expect those in the gov’t who swear to uphold the Constitution to do just that.