Google in Talks to Buy Groupon - WSJ.com

By AMIR EFRATI

Google Inc. has been in talks to buy Groupon Inc., a fast-growing website offering daily deals at businesses in the U.S. and abroad, according to a person familiar with the matter.

No deal is imminent between Google and Groupon, said people familiar with the matter. One of these people said that other parties recently offered to finance Groupon at a valuation of more than $3 billion.

Spokespeople for Google and Groupon declined to comment. The website All Things D earlier reported that Google has offered $5.3 billion for Groupon, with a $700 million earnout. News Corp. owns All Things D and The Wall Street Journal.

A deal to buy Groupon would boost Google's position in the race to win local business-ad dollars online, an area coveted by other large Web companies including Facebook Inc.

A deal between Google and Groupon likely would also eclipse Google's $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick in 2007—its largest to date—which has since helped the Internet search giant in its push in the market for online graphical ads, among other things

via online.wsj.com

Interesting...

Defecting: At Least 13 Lawmakers Switch to GOP Post Election | The Blaze

ATLANTA (AP) — Staggering Election Day losses are not the Democratic Party’s final indignity this year.

At least 13 state lawmakers in five states have defected to Republican ranks since the Nov. 2 election, adding to already huge GOP gains in state legislatures. And that number could grow as next year’s legislative sessions draw near.

The defections underscore dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party — particularly in the South — and will give Republicans a stronger hand in everything from pushing a conservative fiscal and social agenda to redrawing political maps.

In Alabama, four Democrats announced last week they were joining the GOP, giving Republicans a supermajority in the House that allows them to pass legislation without any support from the other party. The party switch of a Democratic lawmaker from New Orleans handed control of Louisiana’s House to Republicans for the first time since Reconstruction

via theblaze.com

A few have come to their senses.

Pork Survives: Senate Rejects Earmarks Ban | The Blaze

WASHINGTON (The Blaze/AP) — The Senate has rejected a GOP bid to ban the practice of larding spending bills with earmarks — those pet projects that lawmakers love to send home to their states.

Democrats and a handful of Republicans combined to defeat the effort, which would have effectively forbidden the Senate from considering legislation containing earmarks like road and bridge projects, community development funding, grants to local police departments and special-interest tax breaks.

Earlier this month, Republicans bowed to tea party activists and passed a party resolution declaring GOP senators would give up earmarks. House Republicans have also given up the practice, but most Democrats say the earmarks are a legitimate way to direct taxpayer money to their constituents.

The legislation would have established an earmark moratorium for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, and also would have covered the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1, The Hill reports.

“I believe I have an important responsibility to the state of Illinois and the people I represent to direct federal dollars into projects critically important for our state and our future,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) said.

The eight GOP senators who voted to preserve earmark spending include: Thad Cochran (Miss.), Susan Collins (Maine), James Inhofe (Okla.), Dick Lugar (Ind.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Richard Shelby (Ala.), retiring Sen. George Voinovich (Ohio) and defeated Sen. Bob Bennett (Utah) also voted against it.

Six Democrats voted for the earmark moratorium, including: Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, as well as retiring Sen. Evan Bayh (Ind.) and defeated Sen. Russ Feingold (Wis.).

via theblaze.com

Too bad... things must change.

Are You Selling Yourself Short? :: Mental Toughness Blog

By Steve

Critical thinking questions are the heart and soul of the mental toughness process. These emotionless, objective reality, logic-based questions are designed to fuel the introspective process. In this post, taped in front of the world-famous Sydney Opera House, I ask the mother of all critical thinking questions. This is a question every great performer should be asking him or herself on a regular basis. Watch this short post and I’ll look forward to your comments.   Steve Siebold  (2:48 )

via mentaltoughnessblog.com

Are you??

PGATOUR.COM - Five players nominated for TOUR's Player of Year award

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The PGA TOUR released its nominees Tuesday for the 2010 PGA TOUR Player of the Year. Nominees for the Jack Nicklaus Trophy as the PGA TOUR Player of the Year are Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickelson.

Players were nominated by the PGA TOUR Player Advisory Council (PAC) and Player Directors. The awards are determined by a member vote, with PGA TOUR members who played in at least 15 official money events in 2010 eligible to vote.

The winner will be announced on Saturday, Dec. 4.

None of the five nominees has ever been named as the TOUR's Player of the Year. Tiger Woods has won the award 10 times since 1997. The only other players to win during that span were Mark O'Meara in 1998, Vijay Singh in 2004 and Padraig Harrington in 2008.

Here is a closer look at the five nominees:

via pgatour.com

I vote for...

PGATOUR.COM - 'Tiddlywinks' blunder costly for Poulter in Dubai

DUBAI (AP) -- Whoever knew dropping a golf ball could cost a player $400,000?

That's just what happened to Englishman Ian Poulter on Sunday when he went to replace his ball on his marker and dropped it from a few inches above the ground, falling victim to one of golf's more arcane rules.

The blunder cost Poulter a shot and helped Swede Robert Karlsson win $1.25 million at the Dubai World Championship, the final event of the European Tour season.

Poulter's second prize is impressive nonetheless at $833,000.

Poulter and Karlsson were locked in a playoff on the 18th hole of the Dubai Earth course after four rounds in the desert where both finished at 14 under. The first playoff hole was tied and on the second playoff hole -- again on the 18th -- Poulter left himself with a massive 40-foot putt while Karlsson's chip to the green landed within 4 feet of the pin.

But as the English golfer marked his ball, it slipped from his grasp and fell on the marker, which jumped in the air and turned over.

Poulter let the match referee know immediately.

"Ian Poulter called me over just after he had marked the ball on the 18th and told me he had dropped his ball onto the ball marker which caused the ball marker to move, it just flipped over," chief match referee Andy McFee said. "This incurred a one stroke penalty."

So instead of trying to force another playoff hole, Poulter realized his putt was for a 5. Poulter shrugged, putted and missed, while Karlsson holed his short putt. The gallery of a couple of thousand spectators was unaware of the drama.

Rule 20-1/15 is the one that impacted Poulter.

"Any accidental movement of the ball marker which occurs before or after the specific act of marking, including as a result of dropping the ball, regardless of the height from which it was dropped ... results in the player incurring a one stroke penalty," McFee said in a statement.

Karlsson said after the tournament ended that Poulter had told him of the ruling before they finished the second playoff hole, but he had not been sure the ruling would stand. Regardless, Karlsson's putt was much shorter.

"These things happen in golf. It's not the way you want to win," the 41-year-old Swede said. "The rules are there for a reason but some of them can be tough."

Poulter's friend and rival Rory McIlroy was quick to see the funny side, even if Poulter's mistake cost him more than $400,000.

He tweeted: "Poults may not have won the Dubai world championship, but he could be in with a shout for tiddlywinks world championship."

via pgatour.com

Whoa... one expensive mistake --- but s@%t happens.

Rangel‘s ’Last Stand’: Congressman Wants House to Reject Censure | The Blaze

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Charles Rangel is ready to make a last stand to salvage his reputation and tell the House that a censure should be reserved for crooked politicians.

AP

He will argue that he’s not one of them.

The 80-year-old Democrat from New York’s Harlem neighborhood wants his punishment for ethics violations downgraded to a reprimand, according to congressional and nongovernment sources who are in touch with Rangel but are not authorized to be quoted by name.

Rangel will ask the House ethics committee chairman, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., for time to plead his case on the floor of the House, where he has served for 40 years, including a stint as chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.

The ethics committee voted 9-1 on Nov. 18 that Rangel should be censured for committing 11 counts of fundraising and financial misdeeds that violated House rules.

There is precedent for Rangel’s argument that censure — the most severe punishment short of expulsion — is too harsh in his case. It won‘t be easy because he’ll have to overcome the overwhelming vote of a committee that has an equal number of Democrats and Republicans.

Rangel plans to argue that censure has been imposed for violations including bribery, accepting improper gifts, personal use of campaign funds and sexual misconduct; none is present in his case.

The ethics committee, in explaining its recommendation, agreed in a report that the discipline usually is reserved for lawmakers who enrich themselves. In Rangel’s case, the committee said, its decision was based on “the cumulative nature of the violations and not any direct personal financial gain.”

via theblaze.com

He should just go away.

Latkes: Pancakes You Can Eat for Dinner - WSJ.com

By KATY MCLAUGHLIN

It was not until the potato arrived on the European scene from the New World that potato pancakes could be embraced by Eastern European Jews as classic Hannukah fare. Previously, latkes were made of buckwheat or root vegetables (typically parsnips), says Joan Nathan, cookbook author and scholar of Jewish culinary history.

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Romulo Yanes for The Wall Street Journal, Food Styling by Karen Evans

GOLDEN NUGGETS Beet, carrot and potato latkes will make you extra glad it's winter.

The potato latke had centuries to dominate. Now the pre-potato latke is making a comeback, thanks to adventurous chefs who grate everything from celery root to Honeycrisp apple and butternut squash and let it sizzle. The universal secret to latkes that are light, not leaden: Squeeze out excess liquid before mixing the batter. And then squeeze again. A watery batter tends to turn out heavy pancakes.

Chefs have their personal favorite frying fat, but the truth is you can use what you like. It's bound to taste good.

The Classic Potato

Chef Missy Robbins
A Voce, New York

Grate 3 large Idaho potatoes and 1 large onion, place them in a colander and squeeze vigorously to drain liquid. Mix with 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and pepper to taste. Mix, form into patties and fry 2 minutes on each side. Chef's choice: Canola oil

Butternut Squash and Honeycrisp Apple

Chef Jake Martin
Fenouil, Portland, Ore.

Melt 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter in a large sauté pan, then add 1 chopped yellow onion and 2 minced shallots and cook on low heat until translucent, about five minutes. Increase heat and add 1 peeled and grated butternut squash and 4 peeled and grated Honeycrisp apples and cook, tossing occasionally, until the mixture is almost dry. Remove from heat to a mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly. Stir in 3 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of chopped thyme, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and pepper to taste, then 2½ cups of panko bread crumbs until a semi-dry dough forms. Mix, form into patties and fry 2-3 minutes on each side. Chef's choice: Clarified butter

White Yam

Chef Michael Schwartz
Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, Miami

Grate 2 white yams (about 2 pounds) and 1 medium yellow onion; put the mixture into a clean dish towel and wring out excess liquid. Add 1 teaspoon of chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, pepper to taste, 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk. Mix, form into patties and fry 3 minutes on each side. Chef's choice: Vegetable oil

Beet, Carrot and Potato

Chef Eric Greenspan
The Foundry, Los Angeles

Grate 2 red onions. Heat a small sauté pan and add 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil; cook half the onion until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Grate 3 peeled Yukon gold potatoes, 1 red beet and 1 carrot and squeeze out all liquid in a colander. In a large bowl, mix vegetables with 2 eggs, ½ cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and pepper to taste. Mix, form into patties and fry 2 minutes on each side. Chef's choice: Grapeseed oil

Celery Root

Chef Jeff Banker
Baker and Banker, San Francisco

Peel and grate 2 small baking potatoes and 1 small onion. Using hands, squeeze out excess liquid over a small bowl; put potatoes and onions in another bowl. Allow liquid to settle for a minute, then pour off liquid, leaving potato starch at the bottom of the bowl. Pour starch over the potatoes. Grate 1 medium celery root and add in 2 large eggs, ¼ cup of all-purpose flour and 1½ teaspoons of kosher salt. Mix, form into patties and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side. Chef's choice: Canola oil

via online.wsj.com

Just in time for the Holidays... whew!!

In a DIY World, Those in New Jersey Still Can't Pump Their Own Gas - WSJ.com

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J.—People in New Jersey pick their own strawberries. They chop down their own Christmas trees. They check themselves in at airports and check themselves out at supermarkets. Lately, a few New Jerseyans have been wondering whether it isn't about time they were allowed to pump their own gas.

Pumping your own gas is illegal in New Jersey. It has been for 61 years. It's also illegal in Oregon, and in the New York town of Huntington, on Long Island. Just about everywhere else, self-serving Americans do it themselves. As paying at the pump gets easier, the gas station attendant is fast going the way of the elevator operator.

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Barry Newman for The Wall Street Journal

Will Corcoran pumps gas at Tim's Westview in Ridgefield Park. Pumping your own gas has been illegal in New Jersey for 61 years.

Don't tell Will Corcoran. When you pull into Tim's Westview, a Gulf station across from the train tracks in this north Jersey town, you'll sit in your car while he fills your tank.

Under a cold rain one weekday, he stood at the driver's window of a Chevy, bent over, yakking. He wore blue. His cap had Gulf Oil's orange disk on it. After his customer signed the credit slip (Tim's pumps don't process cards), Mr. Corcoran, 42 years old, shook hands and saluted like a gas jockey in an old commercial.

"People come in for the love of talking," he said as a van with New York plates rolled over the bell hose. At the wheel was Gilbert Grant, an anesthesiologist with a Bluetooth earpiece. "Now I have to wait for the attendant," Dr. Grant said. "What a job." After he drove off, Mr. Corcoran said, "Impatient. I sensed it."

His boss, Tim Arata, is a 47-year-old mechanic with lots of patience. "I'm for full-service," said Mr. Arata. He was in his repair shop, fixing a tire. Self-service, he figures, will let "big oil" into New Jersey to "put the Tim Aratas out of business."

via online.wsj.com

Did you know that?... if you live in NJ you did.

Matt Ridley on Where Progress Comes From - WSJ.com

Bill Gates likes my book "The Rational Optimist." Really, he does. Even though he dislikes my points about Africa and climate change, these take up, as he notes, just one chapter. The rest he summarizes fairly and intelligently, and I appreciate that. It's great for an author when anybody reviews a book "well" in both senses of the word.

It is worth explaining why I chose Africa and climate change as the "two great pessimisms of today." The answer is simple: Whenever I speak about optimism and someone in the audience protests, "But surely you cannot think that we can ever solve..." the subjects that most frequently cross their lips next are African poverty and global warming. Mr. Gates also mentions potential threats from super-intelligent computers and pandemics. Maybe he is right to worry about them, but I have yet to be persuaded that either is more than a small risk.

Mr. Gates dislikes my comments on climate change, which I think will be less damaging than official forecasts predict, while the policies designed to combat climate change will be more damaging than their supporters recognize. I argue that if we rush into low-carbon technologies too soon, because we think the problem is more urgent than it is, we risk doing real harm to ecosystems as well as human living standards—as the biofuel fiasco all too graphically illustrates. The rush to turn American corn into ethanol instead of food has contributed to spikes in world food prices and real hunger, while the rush to grow biodiesel for Europe has encouraged the destruction of orangutan habitat in Borneo.

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Harper Collins

I also argue, however, that it is highly unlikely, given the rate at which human technology changes, that we will fail to solve the problem of man-made climate change even if it does prove more severe than I expect. For example, the world is on a surprisingly steady trajectory toward decarbonization. The number of carbon atoms we burn per unit of energy we generate is falling as we gradually switch from carbon-rich fuels like wood and coal to hydrogen-rich fuels like oil and especially gas. At current rates, we would be burning almost no carbon by about 2070, though I suspect that point will never actually be reached.

The question that I pose in the book is whether optimism is likely to be right. In essence, neither Mr. Gates nor I think that the problem of man-made climate change is going to prove insoluble or fatal to civilization. We disagree only on how urgent it is to devote massive expenditures to dealing with it, which would put poverty reduction at risk. I think that direct spending to alleviate malaria, which now kills a million people a year and whose incidence is likely to increase as a result of global warming by less than 0.03% per year, is a far higher priority. So does Mr. Gates, judging by his foundation's spending.

Bill Gates

• Africa Needs Aid, Not Flawed Theories

It is on Africa that Mr. Gates throws his sharpest barbs. Yet, once again, I think that we agree on the most important point, namely, that Africa can have a good future. "Development in Africa is difficult to achieve," he writes, "but I am optimistic that it will accelerate."

via online.wsj.com

Worth reading also.

Bill Gates on Where Progress Comes From - WSJ.com

The science writer Matt Ridley made his reputation with books like "The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature" and "Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters." His latest book, "The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves" is much broader, as its title suggests. Its subject is the history of humanity, focusing on why our species has succeeded and how we should think about the future.

Although I strongly disagree with what Mr. Ridley says in these pages about some of the critical issues facing the world today, his wider narrative is based on two ideas that are very important and powerful.

The first is that the key to rising prosperity over the course of human history has been the exchange of goods. This may not seem like a very original point, but Mr. Ridley takes the concept much further than previous writers. He argues that our success as a species, as opposed to earlier hominids, resulted from innate characteristics that allowed us to trade. Not long after Homo sapiens emerged, we were using rare objects, like obsidian blades, far away from the source materials needed to produce them. This suggests that large numbers of commercial links were established even at the hunter-gatherer stage of our development.

Matt Ridley

• Africa Needs Growth, Not Pity and Big Plans

Mr. Ridley gives many examples of how exchange allowed groups to thrive, by enabling them, for example, to acquire fish hooks or sewing needles. He also points out that even the most primitive human groups today are open to exchange. I've always thought this openness was surprising, considering the risks involved, but Mr. Ridley convincingly describes its adaptive value.

Exchange has improved the human condition through the movement not only of goods but also of ideas. Unsurprisingly, given his background in genetics, Mr. Ridley compares this intermingling of ideas with the intermingling of genes in reproduction. In both cases, he sees the process as leading, ultimately, to the selection and development of the best offspring.

The second key idea in the book is, of course, "rational optimism." As Mr. Ridley shows, there have been constant predictions of a bleak future throughout human history, but they haven't come true. Our lives have improved dramatically—in terms of lifespan, nutrition, literacy, wealth and other measures—and he believes that the trend will continue. Too often this overwhelming success has been ignored in favor of dire predictions about threats like overpopulation or cancer, and Mr. Ridley deserves credit for confronting this pessimistic outlook.

via online.wsj.com

Worth reading.

Elderly Couple Wins Lottery and Donate Almost All of it to Charity

A retired Canadian couple won $11.3 million in the lottery in July -- but they have already given almost all of it away.

78-year-old Violet Large was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer when the couple learned that they'd won the jackpot.

She and her husband Allen decided the money was a headache, so they began an $11-million donation spree to help others.

According to Yahoo News:

"They took care of family first and then began delivering donations to the two pages' worth of groups they had decided on, including the local fire department, churches, cemeteries, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, hospitals in Truro and Halifax, where Violet underwent her cancer treatment, and organizations that fight cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes. The list goes on and on."

It's inspiring to know that such selfless, generous and giving people still exist in the world. As we start off the holiday season in the United States, the Larges' story serves as a reminder for what we should all be truly thankful for … and nothing on that list can be bought.

As Violet said:

"Money can't buy you health or happiness."

via articles.mercola.com

Cool.

Lifestyles of the rich and famous (on government pensions) | The Blaze

Americans for Prosperity – California looks at the posh life of retired public “servants”:

via theblaze.com

Common sense... it ain't so common.

Is Obama A Keynesian?

See All Mercola Videos

Does a mere question of economic policy justify such outrage?

via articles.mercola.com

Funny or sad?

Finally Huge Victory Against Monsanto Milk

A few years ago, a number of U.S. states tried to ban "rbGH-free" claims on dairy. Monsanto, which owned rbGH at the time, helped found a group called AFACT, which supported the bans. AFACT was unsuccessful in most states, but it looked like they might win in Ohio, where the fight went to the courts.

Recently, however, the Ohio court came to its decision. First, they ruled that milk in Ohio can still bear an "rbGH-free" label as long as it also bears the disclaimer stating that, "[t]he FDA has determined that no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rbST-supplemented and non-rbST-supplemented cows."

But there's more important news out of Ohio -- the court also challenged the FDA's finding that there is "no measurable compositional difference" between milk from rbGH-treated cows and milk from untreated cows. This FDA finding has been the major roadblock to rbGH regulation, and the court struck it down.

According to La Vida Locavore:

"The court ... [cited] three reasons why the milk differs: 1. Increased levels of the hormone IGF-1, 2. A period of milk with lower nutritional quality during each lactation, and 3. Increased somatic cell counts (i.e. more pus in the milk)."

Sources:

  La Vida Locavore September 30, 2010

 

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

With a federal court overturning Ohio's ban on 'rBGH-free' labels on dairy products, raw dairy producers and consumers can again bask in new hope. This ruling means that companies that want to clearly state that their products are "rBGH free," "rBST free," or "artificial hormone free" are now allowed to do so.

The fight for labeling of rBGH-laced milk has been ongoing since its introduction to the US market in 1994. Part of the concern is the fact that rBGH is an artificial hormone. The additional concern is that it's a genetically modified artificial hormone. Disallowing the labeling of rBGH-treated dairy essentially set the precedent for not labeling other genetically modified foods.

The debate about labeling of genetically modified (GM) foods has now flared up again, this time because the FDA is reviewing a GM salmon. If approved, the next step will be to determine whether or not the genetically altered salmon must be labeled.

This federal verdict opens the door not only to use rBGH-free labels; it also opens the back door, so to speak, for consumer groups to push for labeling of NON-GM salmon, should the FDA again decide the altered salmon does not need to carry a GM label.

That's one piece of good news.

In addition to that, this verdict is also significant because, for the first time, a court has recognized that milk from cows treated with genetically modified growth hormones (known as rBGH or rBST) is NOT identical to milk from untreated cows.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what concerned scientists and public health advocates have argued for well over 20 years.

Years before the FDA approved it, scientists like Shiv Chopra, who worked for what is now Health Canada -- the Canadian equivalent of the FDA –were raising serious questions about the safety of rBGH milk.

For an insider's look into the politics that surrounded the approval of rBGH, listen to my interview with Shiv Chopra where he addresses this topic.

The recombinant (genetically engineered) bovine growth hormone (rBGH), is used to significantly increase milk production in cows. Treated cows can produce as much as 15-25 percent more milk. But this increase in milk production, and hence profit, has hidden costs, namely the cows' and your health.

There IS a Significant Difference Between rBGH Milk and Non-rBGH Milk

For the past 17 years, the FDA's has held on to their initial finding that there's "no significant difference" between the milk of cows given genetically modified artificial growth hormone and those that aren't.

This is an astounding decision, when you consider all the evidence to the contrary.

Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) is a powerful GE drug produced by Monsanto that can seriously damage the cow's health and reproductive capacity. The milk produced by these cows has also been shown to be anything BUT identical to untreated milk.

In fact, as stated in the court's ruling, there are several compositional and qualitative difference between these two types of milk.

Hormone-treated milk is different from non-treated milk because:

1. It contains increased levels of the hormone IGF-1, which promotes cancer tumors. According to Dr. Epstein, excess levels of IGF-1 have been incriminated as major causes of breast, colon, and prostate cancers
2. Hormone use "induces an unnatural period of milk production during a cow's "negative energy phase." Milk produced during this stage is considered to be low quality due to its increased fat content and its decreased level of proteins, the court ruling states
3. It contains increased somatic cell counts (SCC's). This means the milk contains more pus, which makes it turn sour more quickly. Increased SCC count also affects the milk's taste, smell, texture and color. Raised SCC levels is typically caused by the high incidence of mastitis in rBGH-injected cows

These are what the federal court cited as reasons to determine that hormone treated milk is different from non-treated milk.

But there's more.

Samuel S. Epstein, M.D., professor emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, and Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, is one of the top experts on cancer prevention. He is frequently called upon to advise Congress about things in our environment that may cause cancer, and he has written eight books, including one of the best books on the topic at hand, called Got (Genetically Engineered) Milk?

Dr. Epstein points out several additional differences between rBGH milk and untreated milk:

1. Contamination of the milk by the GM hormone rBGH
2. Contamination of the milk with illegal antibiotics and drugs used to treat mastitis and other rBGH-induced disease
3. Increased concentration of the thyroid hormone enzyme thyroxin-5'-monodeiodinase
4. Increased concentration of long-chain and decreased concentration of short-chain fatty acids
5. A reduction in levels of the milk protein casein

All of these factors can cause or contribute to health problems.

This Hormone KILLS Cows

It's also quite clear that it's bad for the cows that are injected with this hormone.

One 1998 survey by Family Farm Defenders found that mortality rates for rBGH-injected cows on factory dairy farms in Wisconsin were about  40 percent per year. In other words, after two and a half years of rBGH injections most of these drugged and supercharged cows were dead.

The typical lifespan of a happy, healthy dairy cow (read: organically-raised) is 15 to 20 years!

via articles.mercola.com

Important info...

Guinea Pigs Eating Watermelon

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via healthypets.mercola.com

Cute.

The Answer: What Are the Rules for Tuxedos and Black-Tie Events? - Scene Asia - WSJ

Q: Are there any acceptable alternatives to the standard tux? Does a black suit or a three-piece cut the mustard? As the social calendar fills up with holiday parties — many of which are black-tie events — what should you wear?

Black Tie on the Red Carpet

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Looking for black-tie inspiration as the holiday season starts? See how celebrities wear their tuxedos.

A: The words “black tie” on a party invite denote that the event is the most formal of functions. You may well yawn at the stuffiness, but back in the late 19th century, the wealthy elite used to change into a dinner jacket for practically every evening meal.

Now, the rare instance you’re asked to do the same hardly seems like such a drag. To save you and everybody else from embarrassment, don’t bend the rules.

“Stay with the tried and true,” says Karl Clausen, head of bespoke at Alfred Dunhill. “One should only wear a plain black suit as a last resort.”

Here’s what you need to know:

The vagaries of fashion have not dislodged the dinner jacket from its perch. Unless you’re Scottish and own a kilt, the traditional dinner jacket — sounds better than “tux,” doesn’t it? — remains the only acceptable clothing.

As for the color of your ensemble, stick to black. Navy is acceptable; white is for waiters and Humphrey Bogart.

Your black-tie attire should consist of the following foundational components: a black, single-button, single-breasted jacket with a peak lapel (the points of the lapel point should point upward, whereas they point down on a regular suit) and trousers that have a silk stripe or braiding running along the outside seam of the leg.

Your shirt should be of white marcella, a cotton that is starchier than that used in regular shirts, with a bib front.

Other shirt details to watch: French cuffs are a must, and a regular fold-down collar, as opposed to the smaller-flapped winged collar, is the purist’s choice.

The bowtie is the recommended choice — and learn to tie it. You’re not going to the prom, you’re an adult now.

A cummerbund — the fancy waistband — is also de rigueur, and make sure the pleats are facing upward.

The shoes: Patent-leather Oxfords are the classic, but a pair of well-polished regular Oxfords could do just as well.

Mr. Clausen says that the one part of the dinner-jacket uniform that is up to personal taste is the collar. A shawl collar — a more rounded shape that looks a bit like Hugh Hefner’s smoking jacket — is acceptable, but less formal.

When shopping for a tux, remember that the fit is slightly different than your business suit. “Dinner suits are traditionally worn closer to the body,” Mr. Clausen says.

How else can you express your personal style in such a rigid uniform? Your pocket square, cuff links, watch (which should match your cuff links) and good manners. Anything else and you’d just be flouting 150 years of sartorial tradition.

via blogs.wsj.com

Cool.

Consequences of the BP Oil Spill

A large part of why the public has "forgotten" the BP oil spill already is because we never really saw the true destruction.

There were a few photos of oil-slicked beaches and birds, but by early August the New York Times reported that the oil patches were "largely gone," and "Radar images suggest that the few remaining patches are quickly breaking down in the warm surface waters of the gulf." They went on to report, "The slick appeared to be dissolving far more rapidly than anyone expected."

Around that same time, a government report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey similarly implied that the oil in the Gulf was quickly disappearing and that environmental effects were well under control.

So the largest oil spill in history was largely cleaned up in just a few months, according to the media and the government. The seafood was miraculously safe, the air clean and the environmental effects a mere blip on the radar.

Of course, this is a physical impossibility.

There's no doubt in my mind this disaster will take DECADES to clean up, if it's at all possible, and the worst-case scenario is pointing to major devastation on all levels of marine life, from coral reefs and plankton to fish and air-breathing mammals.

So what happened to all that oil?

Toxic Dispersants Eliminated Oil While Turning the Gulf Toxic

BP sprayed more than 1 million gallons of chemical dispersants into the Gulf since the oil spill began, and cleanup workers have been complaining of dizziness, nausea and other symptoms ever since.

The chemicals in dispersants Corexit 9500 and 9527 are toxic. The New York Times reported:

"Corexit 9527, used in lesser quantities during the earlier days of the spill response, is designated a chronic and acute health hazard by EPA. The 9527 formula contains 2-butoxyethanol, pinpointed as the cause of lingering health problems experienced by cleanup workers after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, and propylene glycol, a commonly used solvent."

According to Carys Mitchelmore, a researcher at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the detergent-like brew of solvents, surfactants and other compounds are known to cause a variety of health problems in animals, including:

• Death
• Reduced growth
• Reproductive problems
• Cardiac dysfunction
• Immune suppression
• Altered behavior
• Carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic effects

The chemical dispersants, by the way, are not a silver bullet to miraculously make oil disappear. Oil spill dispersants only alter the chemical and physical properties of the oil, making it more likely to mix with seawater than deposit on the shoreline.

So what the dispersants do is re-direct the oil, making its impact perhaps less so on birds and shore-dwelling animals, but more so on fish, coral reefs, oysters and other marine life that live in the deeper waters.

It essentially "hides" the oil out of view, below the surface where news cameras can't see it.

As Sayer Ji, founder of InformationToInspireChange.com, stated:

"Dispersing the oil into the water column accelerates the poisoning of all marine life, deep throughout the water column and seabed. Ultimately it results in "covering-up" the extent of the disaster on the surface, while amplifying the damage within our oceans.

Also, when the dispersants mix with the crude oil, a third far more toxic product is produced called "dispersed oil." Dispersed oil has been shown to be more toxic than the sum of its parts.

Dispersing simply keeps the oil deeper in the water column so that it will not surface, into the light of public scrutiny."

Sadly, the oil and dispersant mix is so toxic that I strongly caution you to STAY OUT of the Gulf of Mexico. In my opinion, it's simply not safe to swim there.

Remember also that children are far more prone to experiencing health problems from this type of toxic exposure than adults. So please, keep your children safe. Do not allow your children to swim or play on the Gulf coast beaches.

Make no mistake … even though you can't always see the oil, it's still there, just in an experimental, and toxic, dispersed form.

BP Wants You to Forget About the Oil Spill

The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico was far from the "unavoidable accident" BP claimed it to be, driven by a reckless pursuit of profits and recklessly selfish disregard for our planet.

In CNN interviews, "workers described a corporate culture of cutting staff and ignoring warning signs ahead of the blast. They said BP routinely cut corners and pushed ahead despite concerns about safety."

Then after the explosion, BP denied there was a leak until it became painfully obvious. When they could no longer hide that fact, they low-balled the estimate of the leak at 5,000 barrels a day, which is probably low by a factor of 20.

And instead of taking responsibility, they made the environmental disaster even worse by dumping unprecedented amounts of dispersants into the Gulf in a reckless effort to make the oil "disappear" from public view.

At the same time, BP bought up popular search terms on Google, so that when you search for "oil spill" you'll be directed to BP's damage control page that shows the company's "Gulf of Mexico Response" and cleanup efforts, instead of the massive amounts of damage that is still ongoing.

In addition, as Stephen Lendman pointed out, for nearly two months BP officials:

• Obstructed cleanup efforts and didn't provide proper equipment to do it
• Suppressed vital information
• Told cleanup workers they'd be fired if they spoke to the media
• Lied from day one about what really happened and its severity
• Denied adequate compensation to Gulf victims
• Withheld respirators and other protective gear from cleanup workers, many now ill from flu-like symptoms, including severe headaches, dizziness, nosebleeds, chest pains, and trouble breathing that may persist, become worse and, for many, be long-lasting or permanent
• Ordered workers showing up with respirators and other protective gear to remove it or be fired
• On June 17, BP CEO Tony Haywood stonewalled the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation by refusing to provide information he knows as chief operating officer

This is not surprising as BP is no stranger to environmental crime. Over the past two decades, BP subsidiaries have been convicted of three crimes in Alaska and Texas, including two felonies. BP also holds the dubious honor of receiving the stiffest fine in history for work safety violations.

So they are familiar with how to work the system … as much as BP would like to appear as a concerned and noble corporation, doing all they can to repair the damage and listen to the concerns of the American people, this is nothing but a front.

BP wants you to forget so they can get back to business as usual … business that could easily lead to subsequent disasters that are equal to or worse than the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

via articles.mercola.com

Scary stuff??

Scientists Learn Nutrition Secrets From Cavemen Diet

Millions Have Trouble with the Modern Day Diet

A perfect example of Cordain’s findings are the vast numbers of people who have trouble digesting grains and pasteurized dairy products.

Gluten, a protein found in grains such as wheat, rye and barley, wreaks havoc in people with Celiac disease, triggering an immune reaction that damages the small intestine and prevents absorption of nutrients.

Large numbers of people, perhaps even the majority of the population, are adversely affected by gluten on some level, and most of them do not have full-blown celiac disease, just a lesser form of gluten intolerance.

Grains and sugars are inherently pro-inflammatory and will worsen any condition that has chronic inflammation at its root -- and not just inflammation in your gut, but anywhere in your body.

In fact, if you want to avoid heart disease, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes or even cancer, you will want to severely limit your grain consumption, or avoid grains entirely.

During the paleolithic period our ancestors may have died much earlier than we do nowadays … but they didn’t die of heart disease, diabetes and cancer -- which are among the leading causes of death in 2010, and all are related to diet.

In my experience about 75-80 percent of ALL people benefit from avoiding grains, even whole sprouted grains, whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or neither of those conditions. Your body is simply not designed to eat the high levels of processed grains so common in diets today.

The same holds true for pasteurized dairy products. Drinking pasteurized milk is frequently associated with a worsening of health, and this is largely due to the pasteurization process itself. As Sally Fallon of the Weston Price Foundation stated:

“Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer.”

Raw dairy products, which have their fats, enzymes and probiotics intact, are typically much easier to digest and are associated with health improvements, rather than harm. While raw dairy did not make an appearance into humans’ diets until much later in history, it is a much more natural food than the pasteurized products so widely circulated today.

What Happened to Diversity?

Our Stone-Age ancestors not only ate more natural foods than we do today, but they also ate an incredibly wide variety of them. Dr. Mark Berry, who is involved in the Paleolithic nutrition research, explained that back then humans ate 20-25 different plant foods a day.

Today, many Americans struggle to fit in five.

The truth is, the typical American diet is incredibly monotonous and does not include a variety of healthy foods that your body was designed to thrive on.

As Mark Hyman, M.D., editor-in-chief of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, wrote:

“As a species, we once ate a complex unrefined wild diet consisting of a wide variety of plant and animal foods rich in phytonutrients, fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. Now, our monotonous diet triggers different and diseased patterns of gene expression.

The USDA reports that the top nine foods eaten by Americans are:

Whole cow"s milk

2 percent milk

Processed American cheese

White bread

White flour

White rolls

Refined sugar

Colas

Ground beef

All of these foods are foreign to our genome that evolved on a Paleolithic diet. This mono diet creates altered patterns of gene expression that lead to disease, including food allergy or sensitivity.”

In fact, you wouldn’t be able to find many of the wild varieties of plant foods eaten by cavemen even if you wanted to, because modern agriculture has largely taken over the food supply and tweaked and shrunk it to where only a few varieties of wheat, corn and other plant foods are left.

Researchers are now trying to uncover the natural genes of various plant species -- the ones that grew in the wild before big agriculture and genetic modification took over.

via articles.mercola.com

Interesting...

Michele Bachmann Is On the Money | RedState

Michele Bachmann, for reasons unknown to me, decided to sit down with the BBC. God bless her for evangelizing and bringing the message of freedom even to places like that.

But she is being attacked and distorted for what she said in this interview. The interviewer kept asking Congresswoman Bachmann if she stood by a 2008 statement that Barack Obama was anti-American.

What she responded with was one billion percent on the money.

I’ve been very concerned about the policies that have come out of the White House and I share that agreement with people who voted at the ballot box on the first Tuesday in November . . . . The policies that are anti-free enterprise are ones that are not familiar to the people of the United States. And that’s why we saw such a strong reaction to the ballot box. In fact, the government takeover of health care is a great example, that’s not what was done here historically in the United States, and the people don’t want to see the federal government to control and dictate our health care.

The policies coming out of the White House are anti-free enterprise, hostile to entrepreneurs, and more recognized in more socialist oriented countries.

I’m glad she was willing to stand up and say it.

via redstate.com

Amen.

Huckabee Slams 'Unconstitutional Strip Searches'

Fox News host Mike Huckabee slammed President Barack Obama's defense of the Transportation Security Administration's new intrusive pat-down screening measures at airport security checkpoints. On his website Monday, the former governor of Arkansas and potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate wrote that he disagreed with Obama's assessment that "there isn't a choice about the federal fondling and groping of the private parts of totally law-abiding citizens by government agents."

Huckabee issued a challenge to Obama to submit his family to the same "humiliating and unconstitutional electronic strip searches by machines that are making its manufacturers filthy rich and the flying public hopping mad." He wrote: "If you don't find anything wrong with these practices that presume the guilt of an American before he or she proves innocence, then I ask you to take your wife, your two daughters, and your mother-in-law to Reagan National Airport and have them go through the full body scanner, and then be subjected to the same and full body grabbing grope by the government agents that you authorized to do it. Do it in public where all can see.

"When you do that," Huckabee added, "maybe some of the rest of us won't be as angry as watching our wives, daughters, and mothers humiliated and degraded like criminals just in order to fly on a plane."

via newsmax.com

What do you guys think?

How Ultra-Processed Foods are Killing Us

Carlos Monteiro, a professor at the University of São Paulo, believes that "the big issue is ultra-processing."

That is to say, the most important factor when considering food and nutrition is neither nutrients nor foods -- it's what is done to foodstuffs and the nutrients contained in them before they are purchased and consumed.

Monteiro makes it clear that most foods and drinks are currently processed to some extent -- even fresh apples are washed and sometimes waxed, and drinking water is filtered.

But ultra-processed foods are all too common, and they are depleted of nutrients and provide little beyond calories.

According to the Atlantic:

"The purpose of ... ultra-processing is to create: durable, accessible, convenient, attractive, ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat products ... Monteiro argues: 'the rapid rise in consumption of ultra-processed food and drink products, especially since the 1980s, is the main dietary cause of the concurrent rapid rise in obesity and related diseases throughout the world.'"

Sources:

  The Atlantic November 4, 2010

  Journal of the World Public Health Nutrition Association November 2010 Volume 1, Number 6

 

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

I wholeheartedly agree with Carlos Monteiro's assessment that "the most important factor now, when considering food, nutrition and public health, is not nutrients, and is not foods, so much as what is done to foodstuffs and the nutrients originally contained in them, before they are purchased and consumed."

Americans currently spend upwards of 90 percent of their food budgets purchasing processed foods, which offer very little in terms of nutritional value and instead typically contain ingredients that will actually cause you harm.

Monteiro maintains that "consumption of ultra-processed food and drink products, especially since the 1980s, is the main dietary cause of the concurrent rapid rise in obesity and related diseases throughout the world," a sentiment that closely echoes my own.

What makes processed foods, or as Monteiro calls them "ultra-processed foods," so devastating to your health?

via articles.mercola.com

Yessssss!

Using Your Customers to Drive Your Marketing | Marketing & Advertising > Marketing & Advertising Channels from AllBusiness.com

Word of mouth is probably the best form of marketing there is. Now e-mail and social sites such as Facebook and Twitter make a good thing even better.

If someone wants to tell people about your business, they can get it out instantly to close pals around the country via e-mail and to hundreds or thousands of acquaintances just as fast with a link on social media.

Granted, not everyone who supports your company is a natural talker and sharer. Some are more convincing than others; that’s why big marketers often turn to celebrities to endorse them.

But stars aren’t necessary. Marketing research is showing that sociable, positive, everyday men and women who talk to a lot of connected people can be engines for effective word of mouth. That’s good news for smaller business; but who has the time to identify these special people?

As a shortcut, focus on these three qualities, says Andy Sernovitz, author of Word of Mouth Marketing and the marketing blog "Damn, I Wish I’d Thought of That." His advice will help you identify the clients who are naturals at getting the word out:

• Find passionate people: Don’t worry about creating passion among clients who know your business. Rather, find people who are already passionate and give them something to talk about. You’ve heard that the best way to get something done is to give it to someone who’s busy. It’s the same idea. Find clients who are already enthusiastic about your business, who might already be talking it up, and help them to channel that enthusiasm.
• Look for people customers can trust: Usually it’s someone who is used to offering an opinion and is comfortable talking to others. “It will be the foodies, doctors, analysts, teachers, and trainers. People who make great, honest recommendations on a regular basis,” says Sernovitz.
• Consider how many people they have contact with: Media personalities, including bloggers, have a large audience that they can tap whenever they want. But so do barbers, salespeople, bartenders, and business travelers. Big, innovative brands are learning this lesson as well. For instance, JetBlue Airways converses with student leaders at big colleges to build its reputation.

via allbusiness.com

Good info.

The Top 6 Drug Companies - Thugs of the Medical World

Fraud. Kickbacks. Price-setting, bribery and illegal sales activities, including a felony count of assisting the Arab League in acquiring documents on Israeli business activities. Add in all the doctored and back-dated documents, federal and civil lawsuits, and billions of dollars in government sanctions, fines, and penalties – not to mention the deaths – and you'd think it was the script for a thriller global action movie.

But no, it's just Big Pharma at its deceitful best, dancing all the way to the bank while continuing to defraud the world of billions of dollars, and endangering the lives of regular people like you and me.

When I set out to investigate some of the criminal activities that the 12 largest pharmaceutical companies had been convicted of lately, I had a general idea of the hornet's nest I would be stepping into.

But the amount of gross misconduct, fraud and deceit I found was so insidious, so massive, and so overwhelming that I decided to narrow my original 12 picks down to just five for the purposes of this article.

Because of the uniqueness of one particular company's offense – a felony guilty plea to conspiring with the Arab League – I added a sixth.

'Get Out of Jail Free'

I'm sure that each and every one of the drug companies who have had to pay fines for their criminal activities would argue that they've hardly been given a "get out of jail free" pass. But when you look at what they took, compared to what they've had to pay back, I think you'll agree their punishment amounted to little more than a slap on the wrist.

The six companies I'm highlighting, in descending order of their annual revenues, are:

1. Johnson & Johnson
2. Pfizer
3. Roche
4. GlaxoSmithKline
5. Novartis
6. Baxter International

Size-wise, Baxter is actually way down the list at No. 17. But I felt this company's offenses were so egregious that I just couldn't ignore them. You may remember that last year at the height of the so-called flu pandemic, Baxter "mistakenly" mixed the lethal, live, biological weapon/virus, H5N1, with seasonal flu, then sent it to labs around Europe.

The potential disaster could have meant worldwide devastation, had it not been for the fact that the Czech Republic tested the vaccine before distributing it – and found it was a deadly cocktail.

Would it surprise you then, that Baxter is the company that, in 1993, pled guilty to the felony count of violating U.S. laws prohibiting cooperation with the Arab boycott against Israel?

At the time, the Veterans Administration was so angered by this offense that they cited it as one reason why they wanted to suspend Baxter from all VA contracts for three years. The kicker was that the catalyst to the suspension was the VA's contention that Baxter had "knowingly misled and provided false information to VA purchasing agents, in an attempt to get them to purchase Baxter products."

In the end, Baxter agreed to pay more than $6.5 million in civil and criminal penalties to settle the Arab "mistake."

via articles.mercola.com

Capitalism at its worst.

Reaping Success Through Stranger 'Meetups' - WSJ.com

As a tech-focused introvert who once believed virtual connections would trump face-to-face, Internet entrepreneur Scott Heiferman seemed least likely to start a company that encourages people to meet strangers. But in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Mr. Heiferman realized he spoke to more neighbors in New York than he had in years. Suddenly Mr. Heiferman, who had successfully launched and sold online ad firm iTraffic during the bubble years, became obsessed with creating an easy way for people to meet up locally about their passions, concerns and anything in between. Mr. Heiferman corralled four partners in his quest, and Meetup Inc., was born in June 2002. Today, the profitable New York company boasts more than eight million members in 100 countries, where 50,000 Meetups are scheduled each week. Backed by $18 million in venture capital, Meetup has 77 employees and $12 million in annual revenue. Mr. Heiferman continues to serve as chief executive.

Edited interview excerpts with Mr. Heiferman, 38 years old, follow

via online.wsj.com

Cool.

Start-Up Programs Find Niche - WSJ.com

Sally Ryan for The Wall Street Journal

Above, Kate Coxworth, who runs fashion house Kate Boggiano LLC, participated in the Chicago Fashion Incubator in 2008. The program helped launch her business.

Some business incubators—programs designed to support early-stage companies—are going niche, specializing in industries like fashion, food and design, to focus on entrepreneurs in emerging fields or areas that require expensive resources to get started.

Business incubators have traditionally supported start-ups in a mix of industries like health care, energy and telecom, in some cases welcoming just one business per sector at a time to avoid competition. But in recent years, a handful of newer programs have taken a different approach, as the young ventures they help nurture are in the same industry.

Of the roughly 1,200 business incubators in the U.S. today, about 5% fit into the niche category, says Tracy Kitts, chief operating officer of the National Business Incubation Association. While that's only up from 3% in 2006—the last time the Athens, Ohio, nonprofit collected such data—there is now a greater variety of niche incubators than in the past, when just about all catered to technology start-ups.

Incubators in general are typically nonprofits funded by economic-development groups, government entities and academic institutions. Most offer start-ups commercial space for below-market lease rates, plus free mentoring, educational workshops, administrative support and services in areas such as accounting, law and media relations. These programs typically accept participants for no more than five years.

via online.wsj.com

Great idea.

Savoring the Fruits of Fall - WSJ.com

It happens every year. Autumn gets going and the delicate fruits of summer fade out, making way for their deeper, moodier relatives. Farm stands now fill with cranberries and pears, figs and persimmons, Concord grapes and the pomegranates of Greek myths.

View Full Image

Romulo Yanes for The Wall Street Journal, Food Styling by Karen Evans

Pie? Pshaw! Clockwise from left: Brussels sprout salad with pomegranate seeds; apple-cheddar cornbread; sweet-sour apple yogurt; persimmon glaze; apple stuffing; apple slaw; pear and sunchoke soup.

Like the season itself, fall fruits carry a note of complexity that requires a little bit more thought than end-of-summer peaches. Of course, the apple pie is not going anywhere, but many autumnal offerings, especially the tart and tangy ones, thrive in crossover roles. In kitchens like Berkeley, Calif.'s Chez Panisse, fall fruits make cameos in soups, salads and meat dishes. "It's not a new idea," said the restaurant's chef, David Tanis, "but it is a good idea."

Mr. Tanis particularly likes the fruits of fall for the subtle sweetness they add to savory components in a dish. In his hands, the "texture and the sweetness" of fall fruits serve as a substitute for now bygone tomatoes in salads, pears balance the salt and creaminess of prosciutto, and apples that are simply sautéed in nutty brown butter pair perfectly with the richness of roasted pork or grilled lamb.

Vegetarian-cookbook author Deborah Madison finds fall fruits work as a counterpoint to the salt and cream in cheeses and add a subtle sweetness to soups such as carrot. "You get the fruit and its acidity," she said. "It's a little unexpected. It's a surprise."

View Full Image

Romulo Yanes for The Wall Street Journal, Food Styling by Karen Evans

Apple Cheddar Cornbread

Apple Cheddar Cornbread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1/3 cup of cornmeal, ¾ cup of all-purpose flour, ½ tablespoon of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, ½ teaspoon of salt, 1½ tablespoons of sugar, 1½ tablespoons of packed light brown sugar, 1/3 cup of buttermilk, 1 egg, 2 teaspoons of honey, 3 teaspoons of melted butter, ½ an onion thinly sliced and one cubed sweet apple. Grease a skillet with butter, fill with batter and top with a small handful of grated cheddar. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. --Chef Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar in New York

Grape Mostarda

In a saucepan, boil ½ cup of balsamic vinegar, ½ cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of cracked mustard seeds and a cinnamon stick until reduced by half. Add 1½ cups of seedless red grapes and 2 teaspoons of mustard powder. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes or until grapes are barely cooked through. Transfer to clean jars. Refrigerate for up to three months. Serve with rich meats. —Chef Eric Ripert,"Avec Eric" (Wiley)

via online.wsj.com

Yum!

10 Organic Foods That Are Worth the Money

Apples

The FDA states that more pesticides are found on apples than are found on any other fruit or vegetable -- a grand total of 36. One test found seven chemicals on a single apple. Sounds like a good reason to switch to pesticide-free organic produce to me.

Of course, if you do eat apples or any other fruit, use them sparingly and never consume them in the form of fruit juice, which is basically just a glass full of fructose.

Baby Foods

An infant's immune system is less developed than an adult's, and more vulnerable. Nonorganic baby foods tend to use fruits and vegetables that have been treated with chemicals.

Butter and Milk

Dairy cows eat grains that are heavily treated with chemicals, which show up in the milk. Non-organic milk can also contain bovine growth hormone and antibiotics.

However, RAW milk is nearly always better than organic milk if it is purchased from a conscious farmer. In that case, it may not be certified organic, but it will essentially be organic anyway, and drinking your milk raw is KEY. The linked article should have written loads about this difference, but failed entirely to do so.

Cantaloupe

Cantaloupes often are contaminated by five of the longest-lasting chemicals. Dieldrin, a very toxic and carcinogenic insecticide, still gets taken up through the cantaloupe's roots even though it was banned in 1974.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers were ranked the 12th most contaminated food and the second in cancer risk due to their pesticide content.

Grapes

Grapes get treated with numerous chemicals, especially Chilean grapes, which can be sprayed with as many as 17 of them. Grapes are also, whether organic or not, especially high in fructose -- you might want to consider eating the grape skins and leaving the grape itself alone.

Green Beans

There are over 60 pesticides that are registered for use on green beans in the U.S.

Spinach

The chemicals used to treat spinach may cause cancer or interfere with hormone production.

Strawberries

Strawberries are among the most contaminated of all produce. Once again, be wary of overdoing it with fructose when you eat fruit.

Winter Squash

Winter squash, like cantaloupe, can absorb dieldrin from the soil

via articles.mercola.com

Keep a copy of this info.

The Supplement Almost Everyone Should Take When They Are Sick

Vitamin C has taken a backseat in recent years with the advent of many newer antioxidants, but that doesn't make it any less important. Vitamin C is clearly the 'grandfather' of the traditional antioxidants we know of, and its potent health benefits have been clearly established.

Dr. Ronald Hunninghake is an internationally recognized expert on this vitamin. He got his start in this field about 22 years ago when he joined Dr. Hugh Riordan, who conducted research on intravenous (I.V.) vitamin C for cancer patients. His clinic is the successor to Linus Pauling and his work on vitamin C, and there is likely no clinic in the world with as much experience as his.

Dr. Hunninghake's Experience with Vitamin C for Cancer and Infectious Diseases

Dr. Riordan carried on a 15-year long research project called RECNAC (cancer spelled backwards). His groundbreaking research in cell cultures showed that vitamin C was selectively cytotoxic against cancer cells.

Together, Hunninghake and Riordan conducted studies with a series of patients who had either stage 3 and stage 4 cancer.

"I.V. vitamin C was found to be very beneficial," Hunninghake says. "It's not considered a stand-alone therapy for cancer, but it's a perfect adjunct to any kind of therapy that the cancer patient is receiving at this time.

It will reduce side effects and improve quality of life. There have actually been two major studies now showing how it improves quality of life."

Cancer is clearly a life threatening disease, and most cancer patients also experience depression, pain, and tremendous fatigue – all of which can make treatment all the more difficult.

These are all signs of scurvy, which is the result of vitamin C deficiency… And if you actually measure vitamin C levels in cancer patients, especially advanced cancer patients, most, if not all, are vitamin C deficient, Hunninghake claims.

"One of the things that I.V. vitamin C does is it immediately relieves their scurvy symptoms," Hunninghake says. "So they start having a greater sense of well being. They don't need as much pain medicine. Their appetite improves. Their mood improves. They have a better quality of life."

Vitamin C may be better known, however, for its benefits for infectious diseases.

Dr. Hunninghake remarked:

"Certainly, anyone that's got a cold or a flu, or chronic fatigue, or any chronic viral infection, we do use [vitamin C].

… Dr. Levy wrote "Curing the Incurable," which is a fantastic book about vitamin C for infectious disease and toxin control. So certainly, I.V. vitamin C works very well for infectious diseases, as well as cancer."

A perfect example of the healing power of this antioxidant vitamin is the dramatic case of Allan Smith, who contracted a serious case of swine flu, and was brought back from the brink of death using a combination of IV and oral vitamin C. (Interestingly, Smith is now also free of the cancer he was diagnosed with while undergoing treatment for swine flu…)

"It's definitely a very underutilized modality in infectious disease," Hunninghake says.

"It's really a premiere treatment for any chronic infection. Again, it's not typically recognized by conventional medicine."

via articles.mercola.com

Yes.

One Unsolicited Compliment Per Day | Bare Naked Brain Fodder

Someone recently asked me… “How do you know when you are making a positive impact online?”.

My answer is people will let you know. You should be receiving emails, Facebook messages, phone calls, letters and gifts in the mail and more almost every day. If you aren’t receiving this type of feedback on a regular basis, then chances are you have a lot of work left to do before you’re really making a significant impact.

I have a weird system of measurement for impact and it goes like this. You should be receiving at least one completely unsolicited compliment every day in some manner. Sometimes more. If you are not receiving this type of praise, then I reckon you are probably not serving your market as well as you could be.

Of course this kind of feedback doesn’t come overnight and takes some serious dedication to your readers or fans. It’s acquired through trust, consistency and sincere effort on your part. You’ll know by feedback alone when you are truly making a positive impact in other peoples lives because they will go out of their way to tell you so. And quite often. And in numerous ways.

via jasonmoffatt.com

I agree.

Another TSA Outrage | RedState

UPDATE: I’m getting a lot of emails asking if this is actually true and is this person actually someone I know. (1) Yes it is true — it is too absurd to be made up. (2) Yes, I know the person.

——–

A friend of mine sent me this about his TSA experience. He, unlike most of us, was coming back into the country from Afghanistan on a military charter.

——–

As the Chalk Leader for my flight home from Afghanistan, I witnessed the following:

When we were on our way back from Afghanistan, we flew out of Baghram Air Field. We went through customs at BAF, full body scanners (no groping), had all of our bags searched, the whole nine yards.

Our first stop was Shannon, Ireland to refuel. After that, we had to stop at Indianapolis, Indiana to drop off about 100 folks from the Indiana National Guard. That’s where the stupid started.

First, everyone was forced to get off the plane–even though the plane wasn’t refueling again. All 330 people got off that plane, rather than let the 100 people from the ING get off. We were filed from the plane to a holding area. No vending machines, no means of escape. Only a male/female latrine.

It’s probably important to mention that we were ALL carrying weapons. Everyone was carrying an M4 Carbine (rifle) and some, like me, were also carrying an M9 pistol. Oh, and our gunners had M-240B machine guns. Of course, the weapons weren’t loaded. And we had been cleared of all ammo well before we even got to customs at Baghram, then AGAIN at customs.

The TSA personnel at the airport seriously considered making us unload all of the baggage from the SECURE cargo hold to have it reinspected. Keep in mind, this cargo had been unpacked, inspected piece by piece by U.S. Customs officials, resealed and had bomb-sniffing dogs give it a one-hour run through. After two hours of sitting in this holding area, the TSA decided not to reinspect our Cargo–just to inspect us again: Soldiers on the way home from war, who had already been inspected, reinspected and kept in a SECURE holding area for 2 hours. Ok, whatever. So we lined up to go through security AGAIN.

This is probably another good time to remind you all that all of us were carrying actual assault rifles, and some of us were also carrying pistols.

So we’re in line, going through one at a time. One of our Soldiers had his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers. TSA informs the Soldier that they’re going to confiscate his nail clippers. The conversation went something like this:

TSA Guy: You can’t take those on the plane.

Soldier: What? I’ve had them since we left country.

TSA Guy: You’re not suppose to have them.

Soldier: Why?

TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon.

Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a weapon. And I’m allowed to take it on.

TSA Guy: Yeah but you can’t use it to take over the plane. You don’t have bullets.

Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?

TSA Guy: [awkward silence]

Me: Dude, just give him your damn nail clippers so we can get the f**k out of here. I’ll buy you a new set.

Soldier: [hands nail clippers to TSA guy, makes it through security]

This might be a good time to remind everyone that approximately 233 people re-boarded that plane with assault rifles, pistols, and machine guns–but nothing that could have been used as a weapon.

via redstate.com

Unbelievable.