Beauty and the Beast

These dramatic images belong to photographer Mitchell Feinberg who took them for The New York Times as illustrations for an article titled "Against Meat—The Fruit of Family Trees" by novelist (Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) Jonathan Safran Foer. The article is adapted from his forthcoming non-fiction book, Eating Animals, due out in November. The book is a chronicle of Foer's family's transition to a vegan lifestyle vis-a-vis a fresh look at the factory farming industry in America. If I get yelled at for using the pics without permission, I'll take them down. They are such a stark illustration of the contrast between the best and worst of food that I was compelled to post them.

When I consumed meat I rarely (never?) thought of the meat on my plate as being a slaughtered animal; never thought of leg of lamb as being the leg of a lamb. But it is. A chicken breast is the breast of a chicken. And so on. Sometimes the pictures, which we tend to shy away from, are worth a thousand words.

Ron Paul: "Prepare for the Worst"

Congressman Ron Paul (R, Texas), one of the few voices for fiscal sanity in Washington, says in a new Forbes.com article that we are likely to see a return to the days of the Great Depression of the 1930's. Read why here.

Robert Schuller's New Book Available

I'm happy to see that Amazon is now shipping Robert Schuller's new book. Publisher's Weekly gives it a nice review:

Leaning into God When Life Is Pushing You Away Robert A. Schuller with William Kruidenier. FaithWords, $22.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-446-58098-4

Inspirational author Schuller offers readers who want to respond to adversity with, and through, faith a fine primer on pressing toward God despite pain and problems. Schuller, whose newest ministry is the television and Internet outlet ComStar Media, shares with readers the circumstances of his painful departure from leadership at the Crystal Cathedral founded by his father, Robert H. Schuller, and explains how this life-altering detour caused him to re-examine the foundations of his faith. Stronger from the experience, the author encourages fellow Christians to seek out God especially when life is darkest and confusion greatest. Readers will find solid resources: practical suggestions as well as numerous inspirational stories of real men and women who successfully faced down the giants in their lives. Schuller specifically addresses such issues as guilt, shame, regret, anxiety, disappointment and fear. In each chapter he offers fresh perspective, renewed hope and fresh faith tools for those going through hardship, as well as strong reminders that God is always present and never fails. (Nov.)

"Hey—way to go!"

A Christian ministry I've worked with for years (writing and editing) made public this letter from one of their supporters—a sad story of the loss of a newborn. But I was encouraged to know that the man and his wife were strengthened each day during their loss by reading the daily devotionals that arrive via email from this ministry. I'm one of three writers who produce the devotionals, so I like to think that I played a small part in encouraging this couple spiritually at a time when they needed it.

Here's the letter the father wrote to the ministry. (I've deleted identifying information):

On November 8, our beautiful boys Eli and Evan were born, 10 weeks early. Eli was healthy, but very fragile, and remained at the Baptist Hospital where he was born. Even on the other hand, was very ill... On December 10, Eli came home (he is healthy and growing fast!). The next day, we were faced with a difficult decision and with Evan’s best interest at heart, we decided to cease care. He was quickly going downhill. And we had tried everything we could to save him. The world-renowned doctors and surgeons even treaded uncharted waters of care to save our precious boy.

On December 13, Evan saw our Jesus... While I held him as he passed, the biggest, sweetest smile came over his face. My wife and I will always believe that is the moment he was welcomed into Heaven.

I write all this to say that during this trying time in our lives, the (ministry name) devotions I receive in my email were exactly what I needed for each day. Soon, my wife and I began eagerly checking email daily to see what the devotion said before we would call the hospitals or travel to them. Without fail, every day we received from God’s Word exactly what we needed for that day. It was as if the devotions were written only for us ...

Thank you for your ministry, and may God continue to bless you. To Him be the glory!

(name/location)

Writing is an isolated occupation; one never knows who reads what has been written or how it might have helped (or not) the reader. So it's nice for me—for any of us—to be affirmed occasionally, even anonymously, so we know our time is being well spent.

The above letter also reminds me that I need to be like that father—taking a moment to thank those whose work or talents make a positive impact on my life. Everyone does something each day that is worthy of affirmation. We just need to watch for it and say, "Hey—way to go. Thanks!"

(On my third call to tech support this afternoon a guy helped me tweak my email program so that it now works. I thanked him profusely and told him he had my permission to take the rest of the day off. He laughed.)

Cancers that Go Away

Thanks to Daniel for the heads-up on this interesting NYT article: "Cancers Can Vanish Without Treatment, but How?"

A recent JAMA article reported on the phenomenon of cancers going into remission, disappearing, or not growing—without intervention. The question is, "Why?" Cancer is no longer a death sentence in the world of the AMA. Many in the alternative medicine world have always thought that but it seems the scientists are becoming more aware of the variables that can impact cancer and its progress or remission.

But here is an important warning from the article: "Cancer cells and precancerous cells are so common that nearly everyone by middle age or old age is riddled with them, said Thea Tisty, a professor of pathology at the University of California, San Francisco." Reminds me of a statement a doctor friend made to me many years ago: "The fact is, if we lived long enough we would all die of some sort of cancer." I don't believe that now, but the idea that our bodies are full of actual and potential cancer cells is an agreed-upon thesis. All the more reason to maintain an "inner terrain" that is inhospitable to cancer growth: an alkaline pH, reduced stress, detoxing, etc.

What this article says to me is that some conventional doctors are agreeing that there are more variables in the cancer equation than previously thought. Hopefully they'll make their way to Dr. Colin Campbell's The China Study to learn more about the nutritional variables that can turn cancer on and off.

You Knew It Was Going to Happen

A cushy New England prep/boarding school has turned its library into a coffee bar and replaced the books with Kindles. The headmaster said that the idea behind the switch was to create "a new commons, a new agora, where people in a convivial setting exchange ideas and socially interact around ideas with culture and literature at their fingertips." Right. The three large-screen flat-panel TVs are going to help that process. One observer noted that it is the first time "a school has placed its students' intellectual lives so fully into the hands of a few online publishers and makers of electronic devices."

Oh well. At least they replaced the hard copy books with e-books instead of with Wii's.

It's a good article -- good points on both sides -- available here.

(On such changes, I'm reminded of what the late Charlton Heston said at an NRA meeting concerning efforts to limit the private ownership of firearms in America. Substitute "books" for "guns:" "They'll get my guns when they pry them from my cold, dead hands!" (Massive applause from his audience.) Those of us who love books sort of feel the same way. And probably the Sumerian clay tablet lovers felt the same way when the first vellum and papyrus scrolls were invented; and the scroll lovers when "pages" were invented; and hand-letterers when Gutenberg came along; and now tome-toters in the era of Kindle. Such is the nature of change.)

Kathy Freston: Interview #3 with Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn

Kathy Freston, vegan health/nutrition blogger at the Huffington Post, has published her third in a series of interviews with the crème de la crème of M.D.'s who advocate a plant-based (vegan) diet. The first interview was with Dr. Colin Campbell on the subject of cancer; the second was with Dr. Neal Barnard on diabetes.

This third interview is with Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic on heart disease. I love this guy! For a taste of where he's coming from here's a snippet from the interview:

KF: Why do you think this information on diet and heart disease is not more widely known? Is someone or something blocking your message?

CE: The government, drug industry, and some of my own profession. The USDA every five years produces a food triangle which promotes the very foods which guarantee that millions of Americans will perish.The drug industry has a $21 billion dollar income from statin drugs alone. The stent manufacturers make billions more. Neither of these industries would want this epidemic resolved. Physicians who perform stents and bypass surgery earn millions and are hardly clamoring for fewer patients.

H1N1 Flu Update: Numbers of Cases Vastly Overstated?

Dr. Mercola and Barbara Loe Fisher discuss news just released by CBS that the actual cases of H1N1 flu are FAR FEWER than are being reported by the CDC. Results from four states show that the actual number of cases of H1N1, determined after examining the blood of those showing symptoms, was significantly less than reported cases -- based on symptoms alone. The audio discussion and graphs from CBS News are at mercola.com here.

When the President Starts Droppin' His g's

Regardless of Peggy Noonan's politics, she is one of the best political writers we have. (She worked for President Reagan and wrote speeches for George H. W. Bush.) Her current WSJ column on President Obama's failure to own his presidency's problems is (imho) insightful.

Swine Flu Vaccine Update

Following the 60 Minutes segment on the H1N1 Swine Flu this past Sunday night, Dr. Mercola did a long video interview with Barb Loe Fisher, founder of the National Vaccine Information Center. This is the most current information on the status of the national vaccine program. This video, along with further commentary by Dr. Mercola, is on his web site here. One of the most important things Fisher brings out is how the "paternalistic approach of government" is being challenged by people. Because of the Internet, the access of information, the movement toward alternative medical/health protocols -- people are standing up to government dictates in all areas of life and refusing to be browbeaten into submission on things that involve their privacy, health, and personal choices and preferences -- i.e., their freedom (remember that word?).

It's important to note that, while Fisher is branded as an anti-vaccine proponent (as in an article in the current edition of Wired magazine), she is not -- by her own admission. She is an advocate for accurate science and the maintenance of the democratization of health issues, which she believes has been lost by the government's heavy-handed approach to the H1N1 Swine Flu situation. The information on this video is, I'm sure, unknown to the vast majority of the American population regarding how government and the pharmaceutical industry drive (or have driven in the past) the agendas for health. There is a groundswell of people who are resisting the attempts to squash debate on these issues and who are demanding better science and proof of the safety of government/AMA sponsored programs.

(Note: this video is in several parts. To make sure you see all the parts you might want to click in the middle of the screen below and be taken to the youtube.com site so you'll get the menu that shows all six parts.) (NOTE: a day later, I realized that the video segment I posted was not the first in the six-part series. So if you watched the video I originally posted you started well into the interview, not at the beginning. I have fixed the mistake -- the video below is number 1 in the series. Operator error -- my bad.)

A further reflection on this whole issue: The 60 Minutes piece on the H1N1 situation cited data that indicate those born before 1950, such as myself, probably don't need to take the vaccine or worry about the flu. Why? Because their bodies have built up natural immunities. The H1Ni is a "relative" virus of the disastrous 1918 pandemic that killed millions of people, so that virus has been in circulation a long time. As is pointed out in the video (below), natural immunities are permanent -- good for a lifetime -- whereas flu vaccines are not. It seems to me that if the government and Big Pharma wanted to do the best thing for the public they would focus on (1) strengthening the body's natural immune system so as to avoid the flu if possible, and (2) teaching people how to "get through" the flu if they do contract it -- the goal being to let the body "have" the flu and do its natural work of defending itself for a lifetime by creating natural antibodies (passed from mother to child via breastfeeding -- remember breastfeeding?) in response to having a mild case of flu. (And most cases will be mild if the body is in good health and the immune system is strong.) Instead of doing the natural thing -- encouraging the body to produce natural antibodies for its own defense -- we do the unnatural: creating artificial and temporary immunities using foreign-to-the-body properties with potentially harmful side effects.

(There is more to this vaccine issue. Many scourges (polio, smallpox, etc.) have been practically eliminated with vaccines. I'm talking here only about the flu vaccine and the proposed government solutions.)

Way to Go, Mrs. Oz!

Dr. Oz, probably America's most well-known doctor, has said that he is getting the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines—but that his four children aren't. His wife (a reiki practitioner) is against the vaccines and Dr. Oz says he's letting his wife make the decision for their children. Truth be told, I wonder if Dr. Oz would get the vaccines if so much of his professional wealth and credibility weren't tied to his decision. He is required by the hospital with which he is affiliated to get the vaccines, and I wonder if that's a good "excuse" to go with the party line.

Dr. Mercola has another good discussion of the vaccines and two recent videos of Dr. Oz in which he mentions that his children won't be getting the vaccines. (This was posted yesterday on Mercola.com but so many people accessed the post that it crashed their servers!)

Three cheers for Mrs. Oz!

So When Do the Children Learn?

J. I. Rodale is best-known for being the father of the organic gardening/farming movement in the U.S. vis-a-vis his relationship with Sir Albert Howard in Britain and the magazine (Organic Gardening) he started, farm and research center he founded in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, and the many books he wrote (as well as the large publishing company that bears the Rodale family name today).

One of his books (now out of print) was The Healthy Hunzas (Rodale Press, 1949). It was an overview of the research that had been done up to that point on the Hunzas (officially, the Hunzakuts), an isolated (at that time) people in the mountainous regions of northern Pakistan who enjoyed incredible longevity (100+ year life-spans) and freedom from disease. Rodale did not visit the Hunzas personally but wrote his book drawing on the research of others. (Some of which, in the opinion of modern health researcher John Robbins, was perhaps overstated, or romanticized—Robbins included a chapter on the Hunzas in his book Healthy at 100 [Random House, 2006]. His chapter is titled "Hunza: A People Who Dance in Their Nineties: Where cancer, diabetes, and asthma are unknown" which suggest that not all the research was overstated, as Robbins himself says.)

All that by way of introduction to this passage from Rodale's book on the education of Hunza children in antiquity. (My understanding is that, unfortunately, the Hunzas have become infected with Westernization in the modern era; this quote refers to what was true in the early 20th century and previously.)

In Hunza, people are not as educated as we [Westerners] are. About 99 percent of the Hunzas are illiterate in our sense of the word. Only the children and grandchildren of the Mir and the Wazir [Hunza rulers] and a handful of others attend the Government school. In the summer the children, from tiny tothood on, are with their parents in the fields. Some of them mind the baby or perform simple easy tasks. They learn to do weeding and gathering of manure at an early age. They are brought up with kindness; they play games while they are working, when time permits. They are well-behaved; they rarely interrupt their elders in speech. The learn the facts of life from infancy. They do not have book-learning because they have no books, but from listening to the conversation of their parents and grandparents they absorb an education of their own.

In the wintertime, while the mothers and fathers are busy around the house, the grandfather or grandmother will keep the young ones busy by telling fairy tales and stories and by describing events that occurred in preceding generations. Thus every child learns his genealogy for eight or nine generations back. In this fashion he is taught religion, morals and ethics. There is no sending children away to boarding schools. The parents want them by their side. They become friends.

I was greatly amused when I read Mrs. Lorimer's account of the time when she was describing the costly English school system to a Hunza woman and related how the child has to be in school from the age of five to fourteen.

"So when do the children learn?" asked the woman. Naturally, she was concerned with the fact that the children must learn how to till the earth.

"So when do the children learn?" Amazing question.

Learning about family, history, religion, morals, ethics, fantasy and imagination, kindness, deportment in conversation, and how to produce food that keeps one healthy for a century or longer—sounds like the Hunza children were pretty well educated without the benefit of institutional schooling.

Let's hear it for homeschooling.

Apologize to Your Heart

Check out this sandwich that KFC is test-marketing in a couple of states. The two traditional slices of bread (or bun) are replaced by two fried chicken filets which bookend an interior of bacon, cheese, and a special (absolutely healthful, I'm sure) sauce. Michael Pollan called it "shameless"—I'd call it "shameful."

Food Rules

Earlier this year Michael Pollan asked readers to send in their favorite "food rule"—and from the 2,500 he received he posted his favorite 20 here. I liked almost all of them.

Screw 'Em! (Pardon my hockey-speak)

Two reasons for this post:

First, to recommend what may be my all-time favorite movie, Miracle, the story of the USA ice hockey team's victory over the Soviets in the semi-final match at the Lake Placid winter Olympics in 1980. (The USA went on to win gold.) Kurt Russell played the role of the USA coach, Herb Brooks, and this clip is of Brooks' speech to his players just before the game where they defeated the Soviet team who had DOMINATED ice hockey for years—undeniably the best in the world. The USA team was a bunch of college hockey players who defeated the Soviet professionals. I get tears and chills every time I watch Miracle, and especially this clip. (And by the way, if you haven't watched Miracle, or watched it lately, make it your next movie to see!)

Second, to show a little five-year-old guy who has memorized the speech from Miracle and who delivered it on the "Ellen" show this past week. You'll love the key line from Kurt Russell's speech delivered with five-year-old naiveté!

From the movie—Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks. Watch this first since a couple of words in the child's version are hard to understand:

The little guy delivering the speech at home:

The little guy on "Ellen:"

The Kool-Aid Flows in Sweden

President Obama had been president for 12 days when the Nobel Peace Prize nominations were concluded. Here's a run-down of his first 12 days in office which, apparently, qualified him to win the prize. (If not the activities of his first 12 days, what then? Running a presidential campaign?)

This short video opinion from The Times of London gets it right.

Cure for Diabetes?

Kathy Freston, author, health researcher, and blogger at HuffingtonPost.com is writing a series of articles on nutrition and disease based on interviews with leading doctors and researchers who advocate a plant-based diet. I commented on her first article regarding cancer a couple weeks ago, and her second interview is now online which deals with diabetes and a plant-based diet. In her second article she interviews Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine. Bottom line: the epidemics of obesity and Type II (adult onset) diabetes go hand and hand. Diabetes can be significantly helped if not completely reversed by eating a plant-based diet of whole foods.

You can read Freston's first interview on cancer here and the second (today's) interview on diabetes here.

Swine Flu

I hope no one who reads this is planning to take the swine flu vaccine. I have resisted posting the huge amount of information available concerning the potential dangers of this vaccine, but since the government began making the vaccine available yesterday, millions of people are going to begin lining up to inhale the vaccine or receive a shot.

Rev. George Malkmus of Hallelujah Acres has written extensively about the dangers of the vaccine, but in this article addresses the question of mandatory vaccinations—what is the possibility of the government mandating vaccinations and how should we respond? I encourage you to read his article. (Fair warning: Rev. Malkmus is a very conservative Christian minister and health researcher. If you don't like the news-source affiliations he mentions in the article, fine. Don't shoot the messenger—focus on the message.)

Many younger folks don't know or remember that there was a "swine flu epidemic" fear and vaccination program in 1976, very much like the present program. 60 Minutes (how I miss Mike Wallace!) did a show exposing the shoddy job done by the CDC with that vaccine and documenting the thousands of people who were injured by it. That 60 Minutes broadcast aired one time and, as I understand it, has never been aired again. (Hmmmm . . . .)

I encourage you to watch it -- it may give you second thoughts about this current vaccination campaign:

Swine Flu 1976 & Propaganda
by Dianequiose-4

Spraying BT

In a previous post I talked about spraying the bacteria BT (bacillus thuringiensis) onto brassica plants to deter the caterpillars that attack them (attacks usually come in the summer, which is why brassicas are usually grown in early spring and fall/winter to miss the caterpillar cycles). Daniel had asked about the mister I use to apply the BT, and which I have also used to apply foliar feeds (fertilizers) to other plants.

The mister is a Flowtron Bio-Mister. The liquid BT is diluted into the bottom container, then a powerful fan in the housing on the rear of the mister pulls the mix out of the container and atomizes it, creating a mist that clings to plant leaves.

There is a control on the front of the mister that increases or decreases the density of the mist:

Here are two short movies of the mister in action. The mist stream is strong -- you can see it shaking the plant leaves. When plants are this small there is obviously a lot of overspray and waste. The larger the brassicas get with their huge leaves, the more suitable as an application tool the Bio-Mister becomes. (The mist is more visible in the second video due to a darker background.)

As the water evaporates out of the droplets it leaves behind the BT which is what the caterpillars consume as they feed on the leaves. Spraying the underside of leaves as well as the tops is optimum, but when a caterpillar feeds on either side of a leaf (creating a hole in the leaf) it is eating the top-side and bottom-side of the leaf, consuming the BT regardless of which side of the leaf the BT is on. You can see the moisture collected on the leaves of this plant:

Best Blender Is the Cheapest

Popular Mechanics magazine did a test of five blenders and ranked them best to worst. The five they tested included the long-time favorite of chefs, the VitaMix, as well as the newcomer BlendTec (the one that blends iPhones, golf balls, etc. on TV), both of which cost around $500. Surprisingly, their top-rated blender was the cheapest—a Kitchen Aid that sells for $150 ($100 street price). (The VitaMix, which I've been using for 6-7 years, came in second and won the "smoothest" blend award, which is why I love it for making smoothies. Some of the reviewers didn't like the "plunger" used with the VitaMix, which is many users' favorite feature.)

You can see some video and read the reviews here.