Archive for November, 2007

   As you may recall from high school history, the Age of Enlightenment brought civilization out of the dark ages. It covered most of the 1700’s, when writers like Thomas Payne, Voltaire, Hume and others held sway. These people had a tremendous influence on people like Ben Franklin and the framers of our constitution. The Bill of Rights incorporates much of their thinking. Basically the period broke with traditional influences like superstition and mysticism and embraced science and math. People like Newton, Pascal, Jules Verne and Galileo, among many, were able to move people in a forward direction. Math and science replaced church doctrine and superstition as a model for thought and expressed a new view of the universe where God and Nature were one. 

   Clearly George Bush and the “oil ticket” skipped those classes. Instead of using our wealth and freedom as examples for the world to follow, these throwbacks prefer to be the world’s biggest aggressor. Instead of using our military muscle to end conflicts, we use it to start them. Where we should be using our financial might to relieve poverty and suffering we are using it to punish regimes whose policies are contrary to our objectives. Bush and other religious fundamentalists (aka zealots) are reminiscent of the crusaders of the 13th century. When the first wave of crusaders left England to “liberate” the seat of Christianity, they sacked, looted, pillaged and raped the first town they came to. As it turned out, these people were also Roman Catholics. However, the “error” was forgivable due to the righteousness of the mission overall. This sounds like the real mission and result of our presence in Iraq.

   If the Bush mentality is allowed to continue to influence our national thinking here is what we can expect. According to a press release in Dec. 2006 by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the Grand Canyon National Park service was not allowed to give an estimate of the geologic age of it’s primary feature, the canyon. Pressure from Bush appointees, whose belief gives credit for the formation of the canyon to Noah’s flood, have forced the NATIONAL PARK SERVICE to suspend it’s belief in geology. The official position of the park service is now “no comment”. If we allow this kind of stupidity to prevail we will indeed be led into another dark age.

   There is a way out. It involves the dissolution of a self-serving two party system and the way it is financed. There is something wrong with a system which prevents a candidate voted for by a majority of the citizens to assume office. The will of the people is not being exercised by such a system. People turn away from the ballot box in disgust. Furthermore, it prevents people with similar ideas from joining forces because they are from different camps. It allows the special interests to concentrate their money where it can cause the greatest benefit to themselves and the rest of the country and people be damned. It allows for the purchase of all elected officials, including the president. Those whose politics don’t favor special interests can’t get the financing to have a real chance of getting known.

   For a real underdog ticket, which actually puts the planet first, how about Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich. Both these candidates have their heads on straight where foreign policy is concerned. Also, they both have beliefs based on science instead of superstition. Lets give peace a chance.

Why is this in Health and Fitness? Lighten UP! :)

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it’s rare. In fact, it’s even rarer than single-malt scotch.  You can’t find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It’s not as if you’re going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It’s a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It’s later than you think. It’s Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat. 4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they’re made with skim milk or whole milk. If it’s skim, pass. Why bother? It’s like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

Have a great holiday season!

   It seems like these days you don’t hear the words slippery or slick without hearing Bill and Hillary Clinton in the same sentence. The pair should be running Waffles-R-Us. Slick’s newest waffle, “I was against the Iraq war “from the beginning”. I’m sure that if by devine intervention the war spins into something positive, he will have been FOR it “from the beginning” and it was his hand that brought us to this momentous occasion in history. Washington needs a few degrees of separation from it’s past and a good political cleansing. Apparently over the last 30 years our illustrious administrations have decided that ”of the people”, “for the people”, and “by the people” were just nice sounding words.

   Barrack Obama is eloquent and good looking, but fortunately I don’t equate a well spoken, good looking president with experience and good politicing. The republicans aren’t much better. A Giuliani/Thompson ticket maybe? Thompson would make a great VP – we’d never see him then either.

   I don’t know what the answers are, but I do wonder what would happen if you could strip away all the generational uplines for party affiliation and start over. Would you be a Democrat or a Republican? I can’t think of anything either party has done for me personally. The real question is, has a bi-partisan system done anything for anyone, ever? Do you think Kennedy said “I’m going to have a showdown with the Russians today because by God, I’m a Democrat!”. I don’t think so.  My point is, the really important decisions are made by people – not parties. To that end, which person is going to clean up OUR backyard, and then worry about sweeping the up the mess down the street.

   I challenge you to go ask your neighbors and friends why they chose their party, and what they’ve derived from that affiliation. Then examine your own house of cards.

           According to information provided by Health Sciences Institute they are here already. However, major drug firms have been unable to synthesize proteins close to those responsible for the beneficial cures from the natural substances. Until they can, much of the work they have been doing is not patentable. In other words, until the derivatives from the research can be protected financially, the benefits will continue to be unavailable to the public, or a least very slow in coming.         

           About 30 years ago an extract from the bark of the yew tree called taxol was determined to reduce or eliminate a half a dozen types of cancer, without the serious after effects of chemotherapy treatments. However, it took 30 years to reach the market. Recently,  promising products from a tree called the graviola tree are demonstrating even more potent cancer fighting abilities. After 10 years and millions of dollars the main antihumorous chemical annonacin has been synthesized. Scientists finally recreated this chemical and several other active acetogenins in the lab. The next step is to change these chemicals enough for them to be “novel” so they can be awarded patents, but not enough that they loose their beneficial properties. So far these attempts have failed. It seems as soon as the chemicals are altered they loose their potent antihumorous action.          

          Unless, or until, the government takes direct action via the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Health a full scale assault on cancer with this promising therapy will not be available in a timely fashion. The risk is too great and the cost too large for a single drug company to assume. The drug companies cannot be faulted for failing to release their results for free. That would be a form of corporate suicide. Research of this nature, which would truly benefit all mankind, should be a government mandate. That way the cost would be easily affordable and the products which resulted would be affordable by rich and poor alike. Unfortunately, here in the USA, our ruling elite is focused on wasting trillions on a war machine, which leaves precious little for improving the health and welfare of it’s citizens.

I am ambivalent about the harvesting of herbal or tribal remedies from sources such as the Amazon. The tree at the root of a modern day cure for most cancers comes from one of the most delicate and critical environments on the planet, the rain forest. Should a world wide demand for a cancer cure spur yet another mauling of the tropical forests, global warming will certainly shift into a higher gear. Synthetic products will eventually be discovered and become available without the devastation of our forests. We must demand that our government reorder it’s priorities and provide adequate funds for health research so future generations don’t have to pay the price of our lack of responsible fiscal management.         

 Bob Parmelee

For more information on the graviola tree or to review the complete reports go to http://www.newcancerfacts.com/graviolacancer.

     Most people have heard whispers for decades about more fuel efficient carburetors which can deliver huge increases in mileage. The geniuses (or lucky stumblers) who discover these boons to all mankind sell the patents for a few million bucks to leave the life of a poor starving inventor behind. The giant corporations who purchase the technology sit on it because, the theory goes, they are better off preserving the status quo. Retooling or retro-fitting is expensive, but that is not the reason. The real reason is because the major stock owners also own stock in related industries, like oil and gas. The combined losses from declines in sales of those products would result in stock price reductions which would far outweigh the gain in their GM stock.

     Another great conspiracy involves the JFK assassination. According to many researchers and lawyers close to the situation at the time, the mob was responsible for Kennedy’s death. The theory holds that the mob had developed a huge gambling mecca 90 miles offshore in Havana, Cuba. They were looking to the president to invade Cuba to insure against the loss of their holdings. When Kennedy called off the Bay of Pigs invasion they lost millions, so to preserve their reputation, the president had to go.

     As horrific and disgusting as these scenarios would be, if true, they didn’t directly affect the bulk of humanity at the time. Sure we would have had more money in our pockets and would breathe cleaner air. But most of us don’t belly up to the blackjack table in a big way, and air quality wasn’t a very big concern back then. Besides, a few greedy CEOs enriching their shareholders at the expense of the many is no new news: Heck, it’s the American Way. But what if there was a cure for the greatest scourge to mankind in history, cancer? Is it conceivable that the giant drug companies would sit on something like that?

     According to Jenny Thompson, director of the Health Sciences Institute, they can, and do. Researchers at the Institute have shown that extracts from a tree deep in the Amazon Jungle (of course) can safely attack cancer without causing debilitating side effects like severe nausea or hair and weight loss. The reason this miracle tree’s extracts are not available is simple. After years of trying, at a cost in the millions, the drug company wasn’t able to synthesize the protein responsible for the beneficial effects. Because the tree’s extracts are completely natural and therefore unpatentable under federal law, the company saw no way to make a killing on its discovery. Further, an inexpensive solution to the world’s number one health problem would undermine the giant revenue streams from other, albeit inferior, products already in place. From a corporate standpoint the only course of action was to bury the research. Releasing such a breakthrough would be akin to committing corporate suicide by the captains in charge.

     How many people die in vain, or in pain, is not on the radar screen of a corporate chief. Only profit matters and protecting the bottom line is job one. But wouldn’t it be nice to imagine a saner world where people mattered more than money? A world where the goodwill that came from self-sacrificing deeds and acts of charity weighed as heavily as cash in the bank? In fact, isn’t the area of health care a proper place for the government to invest our billions? Instead of being stewards of the weapons of mass destruction, shouldn’t governments everywhere concentrate on improving the welfare of their citizens? In a sane world would a government invest 1800 billions of dollars in a useless war of destruction abroad and deny its own citizens 18 billion dollars for the health care of its most needy children? Isn’t it time we reordered our priorities?
            Bob Parmelee