Laetrile- Pure Quackery (Right?)

That's certainly what we've been told since the... seventies- when I last heard the word. But what if, what if... there really is something to it (and it's just too cheap to make an outrageous profit from)?

UPDATE: Interesting rebuttal...  (via Minnesotastan @ TYWKIWDBI)

The absolute vitriol in the rebuttal above could alone kill the most virulent of cancer cells! 

I'm not the biggest fan of Big Pharma for sure, but I don't have a particular dog in this fight. Laetrile could be complete quackery, or there could be something there. And it's also very interesting, that the major study this rebuttal quotes (the only one done on humans), was on advanced stage cancer patients- exactly what even Laetrile proponents say it is ineffective against (save for those south of the border anxious to make an American $).

I'm always particularly amused when the scientific establishment (ie- government) attempts to put down, ridicule and disavow anything "alternative" not by producing conclusive scientific evidence (the very hallmark of their existence), but by in turn putting out their own focused, emotional and anecdotal appeals and conjecture based solely on their reputation and beliefs (eg- nothing like dismissing UFO's with... swamp gas).

Cannon Fodder

It's amazing (ie- disgusting, outrageous, blatantly criminal) how our military continues to treat its very own as subhuman expendables, time and time and time again... From marching them straight into atomic bombs, to Gulf War Syndrome, to Fukushima. I damn well saw this coming, why didn't their commanding officers have the basic human decency to prevent such an obvious threat to the health and well being of their own men and women?

And then you have the chorus of lying hypocritical bastards crying out about how many lives Edward Snowden may be responsible for!?!? Why do we live in fear of an Al Qaeda dirty bomb when our very own leaders jump to send their own countrymen ill informed and unequipped into a radioactive danger zone- and then deny them basic medical care for the years of pain and suffering that was guaranteed should they live to tell the tale???? You don't have to spend millions to send drones to far off Yemen to find monsters that will gleefully kill Americans- they live right here in our own ranks...

Blinded Them With Science

To say this is so scary on so many levels is, of course, a cliche. And yet scary is exactly what it is- and this I found particularly chilling (and telling)...

And eventually, when I spoke with the lawyer here at the University, I was told that, "Well, I represent the university, and I protect the university from liability. You’re kind of on your own." And I remember I looked at him, and I said, "But the very university, from the Latin universitas, is a collection of scholars, of teachers and students, so who is this entity, the university, that you represent that doesn’t include me?" But clearly there’s some entity that doesn’t really include us, the professors and students, and doesn’t really protect our academic freedom, I think, the way that it should.  (emphasis mine)

Cure For Cancer!?!

Well, it certainly seems promising to say the very least! But... the question on everyone's mind is, of course- can we make money on it? At least that's what Big Pharma wants to know, otherwise--- what's the freakin' point?!?

Kickstarter anyone?

Monsanto Deals Death

It's what they do best... (Even Russia has banned all imports of Monsanto’s genetically modified corn while President Obama signed the “Monsanto Protection Act.”)

Photo: S. Banos

Pandora's Promise

The trailer for Pandora's Promise starts off briefly mentioning the names of our most infamous, peace time, nuclear catastrophes: Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima. It sounds like yet another hard hitting expose of our dreaded "Friendly Atom." Midway through however, it injects the argument(s) favored by pro nuclear, "pro environmental" advocates (insert sarcastic oxymoron jokes here). They point out that we cannot continue our current (let alone increased) power consumption without incorporating nuclear into the mix on a large scale, global basis- not to do so they warn, will result in unprecedented global warming. What they don't tell you, won't tell you, is that it's a short term, short sighted fix that will poison our planet for millenia to come. And, of course, what they will tell you is that it can now be done in a safer, cleaner and more efficient manner... Bull, bull, and bull. The same decades old promises (of a broken, failed industry) spilling from the mouths of brand spanking new converts.

No matter how you color, dress and disguise it, nuclear power is the deadly poison that keeps on poisoning en masse for untold hundreds of years to come. And nuclear power plants no matter how brand spanking new and efficient are still vulnerable to catastrophes of biblical proportions due to human error, terrorism and natural calamities; and to this day we still have no safe method to store their deadly waste (again, deadly for centuries- now there's a slogan) or the needed areas "guaranteed" geologically sound for that required period of time. It's an industry essentially built on a house of cards from start to never ending finish with millions of lives at stake for thousands of years. Cool!!!

Basically, we've painted ourselves into a radioactive, smoked filled corner of our own making. The time to adequately prepare ourselves has long past, we should have been heavily investing into alternative R & D as our #1 priority since the '70s. But Grandpa Ronnie told us not to worry. And like the children that we are- we didn't.

And so here we sit in a brand new century, royally fucked with the worst yet to come- and we got warmed over shit served on a brand new platter for today's menu...

*Just a little something for all to ponder while I'm away (see yas full force come July- preposted a coupla things for the interim).

350+

This is some scary shit, and it affects each and everyone of us- there's no hiding, no running away, no ignoring. And it will bite us all- BIGTIME!

"Carbon in the atmosphere greater than 350PPM is not compatible with life on earth. Today we are at 395..." Now watch it in earnest---

Mange!

PBS: We Know Better & We Look The Other Way

Because it's all about the $$$, don't ya know. And we at the Petroleum Broadcasting System will take it any way it comes, from whoever wants to give it- no matter how red their hands run with the blood of their victims. Because... it's all about the $$$, don't ya know!

So give us your tired, your poor chemical conglomerate and worldwide petrochemical corporate dollars; we don't care what you've done, how you've done it, and who or how many you've done it to. Shit, we don't care if you're even still doing it! We swallow our pride with the best of 'em- in fact, we do it better than anyone else 'cause, fact is, we know better (and unlike FOX- so should our audience).

A few dead villagers here or there- no problem, entire local economies or environments devastated for generations... hey, the cost of doing business! How else would we bring you our wonderful nature programs, if not through the support of the very people who do so much to actively promote its destruction?        

We're PBS-  Happy Holidays!!! 

PS- This whole tirade resulted from watching the vomit inducing Chevron commercial promoting their feel good Nigerian AIDS program on PBS. The latest in the continuum of corporate killers they enthusiastically court and profit from so they can green wash themselves of their sins on our public airways.

You Feel OK?

 Then ya may not wanna read this...

Years ago, one of my favorite public-health professors, Harvard surgeon Dr. Lucian Leape, opened the keynote speech at a national surgeons’ conference by asking the thousands of doctors there to “raise your hand if you know of a physician you work with who should not be practicing because he or she is too dangerous.” Every hand went up...

The number of U.S. patients killed annually by medical errors is equivalent to 4 jumbo jets crashing each week. (Chris Ryan / OJO Images-Getty Images)

Petrochemical America- Richard Misrach

Petrochemical America: Picturing Cancer Alley is the latest opus from Richard Misrach (in conjunction with Kate Orff) that concentrates on the oil producing area round bayou way. Mr. Misrach does little on a small scale- even his little P&S photos of Katrina were printed extra large in Destroy This Memory. But this current exercise goes well beyond bludgeoning with sheer size- this is his full steam ahead, leave no stone unturned, grand thesis of a visual and informative tour de force. Not only does he seduce us with some of his incredible large format images, but we're also treated to some incredible graphics that break down and portray just about everything concerning petrochemicals and their relationship to: health, environment and economy- and we're talking in depth and detailed! Spectacular color diagrams (near works of art themselves) that demonstrate how those insidious chemicals affect flora and fauna, land and water, air and climate, man... and his future present. 

It ain't cheap, but ya get what ya pay for- a visual feast and a pretty thorough education.

Under Our Skin

Under Our Skin is perhaps the most disturbing documentary I've ever seen- and for several reasons. First, it is a very somber study of a very serious disease that first made headlines in the late seventies and has managed to fall off radar while leaving an ever growing circle of despair and devastation. Lyme Disease is caused by a parasitic spirochete from the bite of an infected tick, that can conveniently burrow into any part of your body (just like its syphilitic cousin) and cause grave havoc wherever and however it chooses to manifest. This is one seriously scary bugger- and they're practically... everywhere!!!

Not only do the ever growing numbers of those stricken have to battle the infection itself (and its myriad of severely debilitating manifestations), for which the only treatment is massive and prolonged antibiotics- they also have the fight of their lives (literally) with the vast majority of the... US medical establishment. Meanwhile, the small minority of doctors who are, in fact, willing to treat patients (I'm very much tempted to say 'victims') properly are having their licenses revoked by the ruling doctors who are in bed with health insurance companies (1-3 months coverage and 'bye, bye') and private, for profit interests working on vaccines and completely unwilling to share information to hasten the control of this epidemic. Meanwhile, patients are dismissively ordered to see shrinks (by those who either should or do know better) while more and more of them are slowly and agonizingly suffering- and dying...

The Cure For Cancer!

I started the week with Lee Camp, and I sure as hell can't think of a better way to end it!

2011- Not My Favorite Thus Far...

2011 has not been my favorite year. Having said that, I am indeed fortunate that I am still duly employed and  housed- something many people throughout the world must do without many a goddamn day of their existence. So complain as I might, and I will- I do count my blessings... 

It started with a couple of root canals, and rapidly went downhill from there. A prostate inflammation led to a trip to the ER where I had to have a tube inserted up my natural, god given plumbing simply so I could relieve myself. Sound painful? Think of every which way you can say "excruciatingly agonizing." And I'd really like to point out that ER personnel are the Special Forces of medicine, except, instead of being super deadly- they're super nice and helpful, unlike their more clinical, mundane GP brethren who two days prior told me, "It's probably just a virus." Although, it should be noted I could've really used the traditional slug of whiskey and belt to bite down on before being subjected to "the tube."

Two weeks later- a 3AM trip to the ER due to a kidney stone. It's unbelievable that something 3mm wide can cause such crippling, mind numbing pain that you can't sit, can't lie down, or barely walk! Two doses of morphine just to relieve the pain. As one doctor described it- the male version of giving birth.

A month later, I'm routinely crossing the street downtown when someone starts honking his horn at me. Most San Franciscan drivers amaze me, they actually wait for you to cross the street if they see you about to cross on the corner- very unlike my native New York where they dare you to cross the street. This guy was well beyond the latter as he continued to lean on the horn as I'm mid street (the light had now turned yellow) directly in front of his turning car. At this point I stop, face him directly and throw up my hands, not in a threatening gesture- but in a "what is the problem, you gottta be kidding me" manner? He continues to accelerate stopping abruptly when he makes direct contact with my legs. Although still standing, I sure didn't appreciate the physical contact with his car. So I start pounding on his hood repeatedly with my fist. He again steps on the pedal and I barely get out of the way as both my feet get run over by his front tire, and for a split second I'm scared I might actually get dragged underneath. I take stock of myself- still standing, not bleeding, adrenaline gushing out my ears. I proceed to kick his brand new car as hard as I can, as many times as I can with feet I hope aren't already broken. He gets out- definitely not happy.

Bad news: he's 6'1"-6'2" about 225-250; he's got a good hundred pounds on me. Good news: He's like 60-65. He yells his way outta the car coming at me in "I'm gonna kick your soon to be sorry ass" mode. He takes a swing, it grazes my head, and right there I know- I can take this guy. I return fire and back the guy up- and then the thought hits me... how sad and ludicrous is this? Two old geezers duking it out in the middle of the street- the kinda thing I'd be laughing at should I catch sight myself. I resist advancing, and fortunately, the noble citizenry of San Francisco step in and separate us. He was still yelling when I walked away.

I was wondering what I'd say to Judge Judy should I have chosen a different route and taken Mr. Road Rage to court. She definitely would get on my case for confronting him and not just getting out of the way. "Your Honor," I would say, as I unroll my sleeves to unveil my two skinny arms before the court, "Look at me. I wouldn't have gotten to 55 years if I went around starting fights all my life- and by the same token, I sure wouldn't be here before you this day if I ran away form everyone who ever wanted to pound me into submission."

Yeah, guess it wouldn't hurt thinking up a new strategy- next year's gonna be better...

Scary Shit Saturday!

Those using a cell phone before the age of twenty have five times more brain cancer by their late twenties. Actually, that's one of the least scariest findings about the ubiquitous mobile in Disconnect by Dr. Devra Davis...

My Wife Sent Me This...

I swear to god...