Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Some ‘No Surprise’ News-of-the-Day stories

Image: Matthew Brady

1 in 5 U.S. teens has hearing loss, new study says -

“Earbuds may be to blame for sharp rise in hearing loss since 1988, experts say (photo of Matthew Brady, 17, of Foxborough, Mass., from a portrait in his home Friday while wearing ear phones and displaying an iPod. Brady, who has some mild hearing loss, used to listen to the device while running on a treadmill with the volume turned up.”

Mexican mayor kidnapped by drug hitmen found dead -

Official had tried to clean up corruption in town police force

Back-to-school shoppers in no hurry -

Consumers remain cautious, wait for deals on seasonal items

Insurgents kill 5 govt employees around Iraq 

“A series of attacks and roadside bomb explosions killed five Iraqi government employees on Wednesday as insurgents maintain a steady campaign of attacks against the country's institutions and security forces just two weeks before the formal end of the U.S. combat role in Iraq.”

‘Beer goggle effect’ - who needs a study to tell us what we already know?

What a surprise. Drunk guys think all women are pretty. If, after reading this article, you discover anything new about men drinking beer, please share it here.

Meanwhile:

Randy Dotinga writes: If you're looking for a hook-up, a few drinks can suddenly make other people seem more attractive -- and receptive -- than they actually are, according to two new studies that help explain the "beer goggle" effect.

First, a suds-soaked fog diminishes a guy’s ability to detect facial symmetry, a crucial component of what we think of as human beauty. When this sense is dulled, an average-looking face may seem like it belongs to a hottie, suggests research on drunk college kids in the journal Alcohol.

To make matters even worse, another study shows liquor makes guys more likely to misinterpret a friendly female glance as a bold come-on.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Another reason to buy local #24 - Salmonella outbreak prompts recall of 228M eggs

CDC, FDA launch growing investigations; hundreds of illnesses suspected

An outbreak of salmonella illnesses linked to shell eggs has prompted a nationwide recall of 13 brands of eggs produced by an Iowa company and triggered a multi-state investigation that is expected to grow.

The Associated Press estimated the total recalled at 228 million eggs, although the company in question, Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa, wouldn't confirm it.

So far, clusters of illnesses linked to eggs have been confirmed in at least three states, California, Colorado and Minnesota, federal health officials said Tuesday. In California, tainted eggs have sickened at least 266 people, Los Angeles County health officer Dr. Jonathan Fielding told reporters Tuesday.”

Rewarding Failure – or Big Bucks for a Job Poorly Done

You know things aren’t right in this country when CEOs making mega bucks get rewarded for their failures.

It doesn’t seem to matter if they are fired or just quit. The Golden Parachute is there for them. The following CEOs are going  on the “As It Stands Scum-Of-The-Year” list:

CEOs are dropping like flies this year. Just this month, the CEOs of GM, Sara Lee and Hewlett-Packard announced their resignations, though each did so for different reasons.
In the case of HP, Mark Hurd was forced to resign after allegedly having an affair with a contractor and subsequently fabricating expense reports to cover up money that had gone to the woman. However, despite these allegations, Hurd, like most CEOs at major U.S. companies, will likely end up with a very generous severance package from the company. Early estimates say he may receive anywhere between $12 million and $40 million.
It’s no surprise Americans get frustrated when hearing about CEOs
earning more money in an hour than most Americans earn in a year. It’s one thing when a CEO gets paid millions of dollars for a job well done, but the executives on this list made off with incredibly generous severance and retirement packages, even as they failed their companies.

And the winner is - survey names America’s favorite burger

My high school buddy, Larry, and I went in search for the best hamburger in Kauai in 2008.

Our first search for the perfect hamburger goes back to the summer of 1969 when we traveled throughout Canada and the United States.

Since I first moved to Humboldt County back in 1978, I’ve been on the alert for good burgers. One of my favorite was from a short-lived operation out of one of those food wagons. The owner Tony, made the absolute best burger in the county. Sadly, he moved on to working for a fancy restaurant that doesn’t serve burgers!

Currently. the best burgers come from Stars (in Eureka on Harris), and Tony’s (Just off the 101 in Arcata near the BLM building). I’m still on the prowl for great burgers, so if I’m missing a good one in Humboldt…please tell me about it!

Excerpt: 

“According to the latest Fast Food Survey by Zagat, the best burger in America comes from Virginia-based chain Five Guys. But while the regional chain edged out national players in the hamburger category, Dairy Queen rules the Best Milkshakes category, while the best fries still come from McDonald’s.

The results of the survey were revealed live on TODAY Monday. The survey covered 136 fast-food and full-service chains nationwide. Voting on zagat.com, 6,518 voters weighed in on everything from chicken and cheeseburgers to smoothies and seafood. Full survey results are available at zagat.com/fastfood.”

Monday, August 16, 2010

In the next 25 years 'Chances that we'll find ET are pretty good'

Proof of aliens could come within 25 years, scientist says

I wonder why 25 years? Why not 20 years? Heck, why not ten years? Do you ever get the feeling these scientific-types are “shinning us on?” 

“Proof of extraterrestrial intelligence could come within 25 years, an astronomer who works on the search said Sunday.

"I actually think the chances that we'll find ET are pretty good," said Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute in Mountain View, Calif., here at the SETIcon convention. "Young people in the audience, I think there's a really good chance you're going to see this happen."

Remember when Pat Robertson told us the world would end in 1982?

apocalypse horsemen 10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

With the upcoming disaster film “2012″ and the current hype about Mayan calendars and doomsday predictions, it seems like a good time to put such notions in context.

Most prophets of doom come from a religious perspective, though the secular crowd has caused its share of scares as well. One thing the doomsday scenarios tend to share in common: They don’t come to pass.

Remember when Pat Robertson guaranteed the world was coming to an end in 1982?

“In May 1980, televangelist and Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson startled and alarmed many when – contrary to Matthew 24:36 (”No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven…”) he informed his “700 Club” TV show audience around the world that he knew when the world would end. “I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there is going to be a judgment on the world,” Robertson said.”

Here are 10 that didn’t pan out, so far:

‘Gentlemen – charge your engines!’ Teams set off on global 'zero emissions' race

Participants will be measured in points for style, technology and popularity

Two drivers, three wheels, $350 and zero carbon emissions.

That's how Australian father-and-son team Nick and Jason Jones hope to circle the globe in their custom built electric vehicle.

The duo joined teams from Germany and Switzerland on Monday for the start of a round-the-world race aimed at showcasing green technologies.

The aim is to complete the 18,642-mile (30,000-kilometer) trip without pumping carbon into the atmosphere, a goal that Louis Palmer, the race organizer, believes can be done.

Teams from Australia, Germany and Switzerland have set off from Geneva for what they hope will be the first carbon neutral race around the world. Participants are using custom built two-seater electric vehicles that will be charged from regular power outlets along the way.

Preparing for economic doomsday: here’s seven rock-solid careers from the Stone Age that deserve consideration

If we end up bombing ourselves back to the Stone Age the survivors are going to have to make a living somehow.

That brings us to this article:

Factory work and dentistry were among jobs of a prehistoric lifetime

If nuclear war, the Great Recession or some other calamity turns the economy back to the Stone Age, what kind of jobs and industries will pay the bills? Archaeologists, for reasons more to do with academic curiosity than preparing for doomsday, have been hard at work looking for an answer.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

As It Stands: Atrazine threatens public health like another Agent Orange

atrazine_900f

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 08/15/2010 01:32:27 AM PDT

Once upon a time, Agent Orange (AO) and all of its synthetic peers were widely sprayed to kill weeds throughout the land, and overseas where Americans fought in Vietnam. The manufacturers of AO assured the people that all was well. So everyone smiled.

Soon however, dark warnings trickled into the mainstream. Soldiers came back from the bad place with cancers and other terrible diseases. The men and women in the military suffered for years until they finally got recognition and treatment from the Veterans Administration. Many veterans are still struggling today.

When enough doctors and scientists came together and pored over mountains of studies not considered important by the EPA, they discovered that AO was responsible for a wide variety of serious health conditions.

The chemical manufacturers turned to the courts with their own industry-funded studies that showed AO was safe. After years of bitter court battles the manufacturers lost and had to pay for their sins.

weedfeed_web  This is not the end of the story. It seems we have not learned from this sad chapter in our history, when greedy chemical companies got away with poisoning people in the name of profit. As baseball great Yogi Berra once said, “It's deju vu all over again.”

This time the culprit has a new name, Atrazine. It's an herbicide like AO, and an estimated 76 million pounds of it are sprayed on corn and other fields in the U.S. every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) records.

The problem; the EPA failed to notify people last fall when Atrazine was discovered in drinking water at 10 times the national safety limits. Those levels should have automatically triggered notification of customers, but that didn't happen.

Four states, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kansas are being monitored because their farmers rely heavily on Atrazine. The Huffington Post Investigative Fund found the amount of weed-killer was excessive in about 150 watersheds from 2003 through 2008, after obtaining the information under the Freedom of Information Act.

The company that makes Atrazine, Syngenta, says over 6,000 studies have been done and they claim it's safe to use. Oh really? I recall Monsanto and Dow saying the same thing about AO. And, once again no surprise, most of the companies that did the research on the herbicide's safety have financial interests in the outcome.

We shouldn't be surprised when the fact that many (at least half) of those studies have never been published or subjected to independent peer review. Why aren't the independently funded academic research papers published in major scientific journals considered by the EPA? The excuses given are about as credible as the chemical industry safety claims. drinking-water-md

In 2003, the EPA was criticized for ignoring those studies when making safety decisions on the herbicide, and because representatives from Syngenta participated in closed-door negotiations with the agency, according to documents obtained by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Jennifer Sass, a senior scientist specializing in health issues at NRDC, argues that relying on a company test of its own safety is an “inherent conflict of interest.” Yet the EPA says Atrazine is OK.

 The reasoning behind this claim comes from the EPA's senior analyst, William Jordan, who says they have a limited budget, and it's necessary to rely on research provided by the industry testing companies. He insists they have a strong incentive to follow guidelines.

That's not very encouraging. I'm skeptical of the safety claims when four states have already found their waterways have unsafe levels of Atrazine. We've been down this road before. There will always be a problem when you have industry influence in the federal regulatory process.

I think the EPA is finally feeling the pressure because officials are going to re-examine their stance on how much health risk the weed-killer poses. Sometime in September, the EPA will announce the results of their re-examination of Atrazine. The stakes are high. They could outright ban the use of Atrazine, or put more restriction on it. Or, they can continue to allow the staus quo, in which case the public loses.

As It Stands, my disgust with the EPA is only surpassed by my concern that once again the health of thousands of Americans is endangered because of corruption and greed.

Web sites carrying this column as of 10:03 a.m. PST

Namviet.net

ALL VOICES

Environmental Health News – Front Page – See column under OPINION

Skippy the Bush Kangaroo

One hour later…

NewsFeed – see articles under ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION

One hour later…

Vaccination News

OHIO CITIZEN ACTION under Health News (Aug 15)

My Weed Killer 

 Schema-root

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