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Chickenpox (Varicella) Vaccine: This Is Why a Shingles Epidemic is Bolting Straight at the U.S.

"Shingles can be prevented by ordinary contact, such as receiving a hug from a grandchild who is getting or recovering from the chickenpox. But with the advent of the chickenpox vaccine, there is less chickenpox around to provide that natural immune boost for children AND adults. So as chickenpox rates have declined, shingles rates have begun to rise, and there is mounting evidence that an epidemic of shingles is developing in America from the mass, mandatory use of the chickenpox vaccine by all children." Continue reading →

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Japanese university to retract Novartis study based on fabricated data

"A Japanese university is to retract a study that touted the effectiveness of a blood pressure drug made by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis because it was based on fabricated data. The move was the latest chapter in a growing scandal over allegations that bogus data were used in a string of Japanese university studies for the drug Valsartan which exaggerated its effectiveness in preventing strokes and angina. On Wednesday, Tokyo's Jikei University School of Medicine said it would retract research that appeared in respected medical journal The Lancet six years ago." Continue reading →

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Energy drink makers tell Senate panel they’re being ‘victimized’

"Energy drinks are a small but growing segment in the non-alcoholic beverage industry in the United States, but health experts have expressed concern that their caffeine content poses risks in youngsters as heart arrhythmia and higher blood pressure. Last month, the American Medical Association called for a ban on the marketing of energy drinks to children and teenagers, said Senator Jay Rockefeller at the start of the hearing. He stated that in the first six months of this year, poison control centers in the United States received about 1,500 reports involving energy drinks, 'more than half of which involved children under the age of 18.'" Continue reading →

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Arizona Man Holding Air Rifle Killed In His Own Backyard In Drug Raid

"Tempe, Arizona, police in the Special Investigations/Narcotics Unit serving a drug search warrant Wednesday afternoon shot and killed a man in his backyard as he held an air rifle. John Wheelihan, 43, becomes the 22nd person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year, and the sixth in the last month. The victim appears to be a local photographer whose listed business address matches the address the police raided. Police did not say whether they were serving a 'no-knock' warrant, whether they were uniformed or undercover, or whether any drugs were discovered." Continue reading →

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Mexico’s peyote casts mind-bending spell on tourists

"The tourists just keep trickling in. They have not been deterred by the difficult topography, and there is no indication they have paid any heed to rusty, metal signs announcing regularly that 'HARVESTING AND SELLING PEYOTE IS A FEDERAL CRIME.' Nor has the legal background done anything to change the availability of local guides who, when they hear the magic words from tourists — 'We want to go out to the desert' — sidle up and quietly offer their services. Mayor Hector Moreno warned: 'Peyote is exclusively for (indigenous) Huichol culture. The rest of us are only supposed to promote its preservation and respect for it.'" Continue reading →

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The green shoots of recovery? Morocco considers the legalisation of marijuana cultivation

"Mustapha Tahiri, a cannabis farmer in northern Morocco, looks forward to the day he can sell his crop without worrying about being jailed. If politicians in the country’s Islamist-led government have their way, that isn’t too far off. At least 800,000 Moroccans live off illegal marijuana cultivation, generating annual sales estimated at $10bn, or 10 per cent of the economy, according to the Moroccan Network for the Industrial and Medicinal use of Marijuana, a local charity. Morocco, with a population of 32 million, is Africa’s sixth-largest economy. Legalisation would allow farmers to sell to the government for medicinal and industrial purposes rather than to drug traffickers." Continue reading →

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Uruguay House Barely Passes Marijuana Legalization Bill

"The bill passed on a vote of 50-46 after nearly 12 hours of debate. Under the bill, the Uruguayan government would license producers, sellers, and consumers. Smokers would be limited to buying 40 grams a month. Unlicensed possession, cultivation, or sales would be criminal offenses, including prison time in some cases. Registered users would be able to grow up to six plants, join a marijuana-growing collective, or purchase marijuana at a dispensary or pharmacy. President Jose Mujica has been pushing the bill as a means of attacking black markets and organized crime by creating a legal, licensed marijuana marketplace." Continue reading →

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Bankrupt Detroit Receives Less U.S. Aid Than Colombia

"President Barack Obama proposed giving Colombia about $323 million in aid next year, mostly to combat drug trafficking and violence. Detroit, with an 81 percent higher homicide rate, will get $108.2 million. Detroit’s implosion has rekindled debate over how and whether a federal government that managed to provide more than $700 billion in aid to banks and automakers in 2008 and 2009 should help cities with unsustainable retirement debt, hollowed-out tax bases and diminished services that endanger the public. From 1990 to 2010, the percentage of the U.S. population that lives in urban areas grew to 81 percent from 75 percent." Continue reading →

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How Do Ponzi Schemes End?

"Detroit promised police officers, firefighters, teachers and other public employees pension and post-retirement health care benefits, but was unwilling to set aside the money needed to fund those benefits. The city attracted workers with a total compensation package that included current wages and future benefits. Since the future benefits were substantially unfunded, they can be paid only if future taxpayers pay them. But the future taxpayers never agreed to this deal. If they do pay, they will be paying for services delivered in the past. If they don’t pay, they won’t have to sacrifice any current city services. So the future taxpayers have flown the coop." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Do Ponzi Schemes End?