U.S. Turns Profit on Bank Bailouts

August 31, 2009

Dallas Business Journal

The U.S. government has made a profit of about $4 billion on the bank bailout program so far as some of the largest banks have already repaid their loans, according to a report by the New York Times.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, locally-based Plains Capital Corp. was listed late last year as the recipient of $87.6 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds.

To date, the Treasury says it has allocated $250 billion in TARP funds.

The Associated Press is now reporting that lawmakers, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, are going to draft legislation that will force companies benefiting from the funds to report how the money is spent.

The lawmakers’ decision follows an Associated Press report in which the news agency said it had asked 21 banks how they’re spending the money — only to receive no answers or vague answers at best.

The article said the profit so far amounts to about a 15 percent return annually, and that the news comes as a pleasant surprise given a lot of controversy around the Troubled Asset Relief Program when it was approved.

The profit so far has included $1.4 billion from Goldman Sachs, $1.3 billion from Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and $414 million on American Express(NYSE: AXP), as well as between $100 million and $334 million in profit from the five other banks that have repaid the government, according to the Times report. It does not include $35 million from 14 smaller banks.

The banks operating in the Dayton area that have paid back their TARP funds include U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and JPMorgan & Chase Co.(NYSE: JPM).

The article cautions that the government has yet to be paid back by insurance giant American International Group (NYSE: AIG) or the automakers, General Motors and Chrysler.

Click here for the full report from the Dallas Business Journal

In a Flu Pandemic, What Can the Government Do to You?

August 30, 2009

ABC News

By Patrik Jonsson

Report by CDC, Released Tuesday, Raises Concern About Washington’s Potential Response to the H1N1 Virus

What might life be like during the kind of major swine flu pandemic predicted by the White House to hit the U.S. this fall?

The worst-case scenarios percolate on the edges of thought: bans on public gatherings, restricting the movement of afflicted individuals, and compelled vaccinations. Conspiracy theorists go farther, suggesting that the World Health Organization is behind a secret plan to inoculate Americans at gunpoint with immune-system depleting vaccines to depopulate the globe.

The CDC’s report, released Monday, may well create some level of hysteria. It said 1.8 million Americans could become seriously ill this fall and as many as 90,000 could die.

In truth, America’s national pandemic response plan has been shaped by lessons from the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, which killed millions globally and did include gun-point quarantines. If the circumstances are deemed dire enough, the government’s “Pandemic Influenza Plan” allows for strong measures, such as banning public gatherings and calling in the military to help with law enforcement.

Yet the far greater concern for public-health officials right now is more mundane: trying to make sure that there is enough vaccine to meet demand and that there are enough healthcare professionals on hand to handle a potential influx of patients.

The Department of Health and Human Services has fast-tracked production of a vaccine, but it will not have 120 million doses ready by the expected peak of the season, as it had hoped. Forty-five million doses will be available in mid-October, with 20 million more available each week afterward.

Massachusetts public-health officials, for instance, are urging nearly 90 percent of residents to get vaccinated.

The Government’s Powers

In the event of a health crisis, the federal government has broad powers. New rules enacted by the Bush administration include swine flu among quarantinable communicable diseases. For its part, the Obama administration is also reportedly reviewing proposals to strengthen three-decade-old federal quarantine policies, including, according to some reports, presidential power to impose a six-day quarantine on those affected by swine flu. The Department of Health and Human Services has asked the Pentagon to assist local health officials in the event of a pandemic.

But these are clear attempts at preparing for the worst.

“There’s not going to be compulsory vaccination,” says Jennifer Nuzzo, an analyst at the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “But what you may be picking up on is that the military does have a lot of healthcare professionals, so [the government] may be enlisting some of the extra hands that are out there.”

No Kissing, Please

Because the H1N1 flu has proven less deadly so far than initially feared, the Obama administration has actually ratcheted back immediate response plans.

For example: The administration is hinting that it will urge fewer school closings than took place during the spring outbreak. Colleges are being asked to formulate preparedness plans, but so far those include primarily voluntary dorm quarantines and suggestions for afflicted students to refrain from kissing or at least to wear surgical masks when they do.

Compared with many other countries, “this administration has been pretty measured about wanting to balance the need to control a health threat with not wanting to interrupt society & [with] heavy-handed responses,” says Ms. Nuzzo.

As to the fears about a WHO conspiracy, Nuzzo adds: “The WHO staff is smaller than the New York City Health Department, so its ability to impose worldwide martial law would be a miracle.”

Is Washington Overreaching?

Yet some fears about the government potentially overstepping its bounds are justified, civil libertarians say.

Since 9/11, pandemic planning has taken a more authoritarian tone that harks back to the pre-vaccine days of forced quarantines during outbreaks, according to an American Civil Liberties Union report released in January 2008.

Pandemic flu plans adopted by the federal government and nearly every state and locality “rely heavily on a punitive approach and emphasize extreme measures such as quarantine and forced treatment,” the report says. “People, rather than the disease, become the enemy.”

Yet some pandemic experts predict that the police and military will more likely be used to protect clinics and hospitals against angry mobs demanding vaccination than to force Americans into quarantine against their will.

Click here for the full report from ABC News

Historical Facts About the Dangers (and Failures) of Vaccines

August 29, 2009

Natural News

By Mike Adams

Vaccines are the quackery of modern medicine. Mass vaccination programs not only fail to protect the population from infectious disease, they actually accelerate the spread of disease in many cases.

Many website have cropped up over the last few years to counter the pro-vaccine propaganda put out by drug companies (who profit from vaccines) and health regulators (who serve the drug companies). One of those sites is www.VaccinationDebate.com , which lists the following historical facts about vaccines:

• In the USA in 1960, two virologists discovered that both polio vaccines were contaminated with the SV 40 virus which causes cancer in animals as well as changes in human cell tissue cultures. Millions of children had been injected with these vaccines. (Med Jnl of Australia 17/3/1973 p555)

• In 1871-2, England, with 98% of the population aged between 2 and 50 vaccinated against smallpox, it experienced its worst ever smallpox outbreak with 45,000 deaths. During the same period in Germany, with a vaccination rate of 96%, there were over 125,000 deaths from smallpox.
The Hadwen Documents

• In Germany, compulsory mass vaccination against diphtheria commenced in 1940 and by 1945 diphtheria cases were up from 40,000 to 250,000. (Don’t Get Stuck, Hannah Allen)

• In 1967, Ghana was declared measles free by the World Health Organisation after 96% of its population was vaccinated. In 1972, Ghana experienced one of its worst measles outbreaks with its highest ever mortality rate. (Dr H Albonico, MMR Vaccine Campaign in Switzerland, March 1990)

• In 1977, Dr Jonas Salk who developed the first polio vaccine, testified along with other scientists, that mass inoculation against polio was the cause of most polio cases throughout the USA since 1961. (Science 4/4/77 “Abstracts” )

• In the UK between 1970 and 1990, over 200,000 cases of whooping cough occurred in fully vaccinated children. (Community Disease Surveillance Centre, UK)

• In the 1970′s a tuberculosis vaccine trial in India involving 260,000 people revealed that more cases of TB occurred in the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. (The Lancet 12/1/80 p73)

• In 1978, a survey of 30 States in the US revealed that more than half of the children who contracted measles had been adequately vaccinated. (The People’s Doctor, Dr R Mendelsohn)

• The February 1981 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 90% of obstetricians and 66% of pediatricians refused to take the rubella vaccine.

• In 1979, Sweden abandoned the whooping cough vaccine due to its ineffectiveness. Out of 5,140 cases in 1978, it was found that 84% had been vaccinated three times! (BMJ 283:696-697, 1981)

• In the USA, the cost of a single DPT shot had risen from 11 cents in 1982 to $11.40 in 1987. The manufacturers of the vaccine were putting aside $8 per shot to cover legal costs and damages they were paying out to parents of brain damaged children and children who died after vaccination. (The Vine, Issue 7, January 1994, Nambour, Qld)

• In Oman between 1988 and 1989, a polio outbreak occurred amongst thousands of fully vaccinated children. The region with the highest attack rate had the highest vaccine coverage. The region with the lowest attack rate had the lowest vaccine coverage. (The Lancet, 21/9/91)

• In 1990, a UK survey involving 598 doctors revealed that over 50% of them refused to have the Hepatitis B vaccine despite belonging to the high risk group urged to be vaccinated. (British Med Jnl, 27/1/1990)

• In the USA, from July 1990 to November 1993, the US Food and Drug Administration counted a total of 54,072 adverse reactions following vaccination. The FDA admitted that this number represented only 10% of the real total, because most doctors were refusing to report vaccine injuries. In other words, adverse reactions for this period exceeded half a million! (National Vaccine Information Centre, March 2, 1994)

• In 1990, the Journal of the American Medical Association had an article on measles which stated ” Although more than 95% of school-aged children in the US are vaccinated against measles, large measles outbreaks continue to occur in schools and most cases in this setting occur among previously vaccinated children.” (JAMA, 21/11/90)

• In the New England Journal of Medicine July 1994 issue a study found that over 80% of children under 5 years of age who had contracted whooping cough had been fully vaccinated.

• On November 2nd, 2000, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) announced that its members voted at their 57th annual meeting in St Louis to pass a resolution calling for an end to mandatory childhood vaccines. The resolution passed without a single “no” vote.
(Report by Michael Devitt)

Click here for the full report from Natural News

Medical Imaging Can Lead to High Levels of Radiation Exposure

August 28, 2009

WRAL.com

By Allen Mask

Too many medical imaging procedures, commonly used to diagnose and treat diseases, could harm patients, according to a new study.

Each medical imaging procedure, from X-rays to mammograms, exposes patients to ionizing radiation. Researchers found that more people are being exposed to high and moderate doses of radiation.

The study looked at the insurance claims of nearly 1 million adults. About 70 percent had at least one procedure over three years.

“About a fifth of patients were exposed to moderate radiation,” said Dr. Andrew Einstein, with Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

A smaller number of patients were exposed to high levels, and multiple procedures could become a problem over time.

“Radiation may increase their chances of having cancer in the future, but we’re not sure about that,” said Dr. Javier Sanz,with the Mount Sanai School of Medicine.

Researchers hope the study will be a wake-up call for doctors.

“I think we have to be aware that the radiation we give may come at a cost, and we don’t have to use it freely,” Sanz said.

John Wilkes, 65, said he needs a CAT scan to help fix a heart problem.

“If there is a risk involved, I’m certainly willing to take it,” Wilkes said. “I can’t get my heart fixed without having a CAT scan.”

Click here for the full report from WRAL.com

Is Merck Overselling a Cancer Vaccine?

August 27, 2009

Business Week

By Arlene Weintraub

Fresh controversies are heating up over the marketing of products to prevent cervical cancer

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration is gearing up to make critical decisions about two controversial vaccines. On Sept. 9 an FDA advisory committee will consider whether Merck (MRK)’s Gardasil, given to girls to prevent cancer-causing human papilloma virus (HPV), should be approved for use in boys, who can be HPV carriers. The same panel will also advise the agency on whether it should allow a new HPV vaccine, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)’s Cervarix, to enter the U.S. market. The FDA doesn’t have to follow its panels’ recommendations, but it usually does.

Sales of Gardasil to prevent cervical cancer hit a respectable $1.4 billion last year, but they are already starting to slump, and fresh controversies could pour more cold water on this whole class of vaccines. Ever since Gardasil was approved in 2006, health-care watchdogs have griped that Merck has been overselling the vaccine’s cancer-beating power without having a full understanding of potential long-term risks. On Aug. 19, Columbia University professors Sheila M. and David J. Rothman published an article in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. blasting the company for paying grants to medical organizations that are strong advocates for vaccination. “Telling every mom she needs to get her daughters vaccinated to protect them from cancer is creating a market out of thin air,” David Rothman says. “They’re already protected” through regular pap smears, he adds.

Such criticisms mark a stark turnabout for a product once hailed as a breakthrough. Cervical cancer is a scourge: 11,000 cases are expected to be diagnosed this year, and 4,000 women will probably die of the disease, says the National Cancer Institute. The vaccine could prevent more than 70% of such cases. But from Day One, Merck has been lambasted for tactics such as lobbying lawmakers to make vaccination mandatory. After a strong start in the first two years, Gardasil sales fell 5% in 2008 and second-quarter sales are down 18% from a year earlier.

Dr. Richard M. Haupt, who heads the Gardasil research program for Merck, defends the company’s marketing. “Our goal is to act in the best interest of public health,” he says, noting that many organizations have spent money to promote the cause. Should boys be vaccinated? Merck has given the FDA data showing Gardasil prevents 90% of HPV symptoms in men, but since related male cancers are rare, the main justification is to protect their partners from cervical cancer. (Gathering data is also dicey because even if there were a drop-off in cases after widespread male vaccination, Merck could never prove its vaccine deserved more of the credit than, say, improved screening.)

Glaxo, for its part, doesn’t plan to market Cervarix to boys because it doesn’t think the strategy would be worth the expense. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that vaccinating males would cost the health-care system at least twice as much per year of added life as it costs to vaccinate females.

As for payments to medical organizations, Glaxo, Merck, and their beneficiaries say their disclosures are adequate. Two recipients, the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists, say they put the money to many uses beyond endorsing a specific vaccine. Meanwhile, Merck’s Haupt says the scandals are drawing attention away from what could be a public health boon. “I vaccinated both my daughters,” says the father of four. And if Gardasil is approved for boys, he says, “I plan to vaccinate both my sons.”

Click here for the full report from Business Week

WHO Warns Of Severe Form Of Swine Flu

August 28, 2009

New York Times

Doctors are reporting a severe form of swine flu that goes straight to the lungs, causing severe illness in otherwise healthy young people and requiring expensive hospital treatment, the World Health Organisation said on Friday.

Some countries are reporting that as many as 15 percent of patients infected with the new H1N1 pandemic virus need hospital care, further straining already overburdened healthcare systems, WHO said in an update on the pandemic.

“During the winter season in the southern hemisphere, several countries have viewed the need for intensive care as the greatest burden on health services,” it said.

“Preparedness measures need to anticipate this increased demand on intensive care units, which could be overwhelmed by a sudden surge in the number of severe cases.”

Earlier, WHO reported that H1N1 had reached epidemic levels in Japan, signalling an early start to what may be a long influenza season this year, and that it was also worsening in tropical regions.

“Perhaps most significantly, clinicians from around the world are reporting a very severe form of disease, also in young and otherwise healthy people, which is rarely seen during seasonal influenza infections,” WHO said.

“In these patients, the virus directly infects the lung, causing severe respiratory failure. Saving these lives depends on highly specialized and demanding care in intensive care units, usually with long and costly stays.”

MINORITIES AT RISK

Minority groups and indigenous populations may also have a higher risk of being severely ill with H1N1.

“In some studies, the risk in these groups is four to five times higher than in the general population,” WHO said.

“Although the reasons are not fully understood, possible explanations include lower standards of living and poor overall health status, including a high prevalence of conditions such as asthma, diabetes and hypertension.”

WHO said it was advising countries in the Northern Hemisphere to prepare for a second wave of pandemic spread. “Countries with tropical climates, where the pandemic virus arrived later than elsewhere, also need to prepare for an increasing number of cases,” it said.

Every year, seasonal flu infects between 5 percent and 20 percent of a given population and kills between 250,000 and 500,000 people globally. Because hardly anyone has immunity to the new H1N1 virus, experts believe it will infect far more people than usual, as much as a third of the population.

It also disproportionately affects younger people, unlike seasonal flu which mainly burdens the elderly, and thus may cause more severe illness and deaths among young adults and children than seasonal flu does.

“Data continue to show that certain medical conditions increase the risk of severe and fatal illness. These include respiratory disease, notably asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and immunosuppression,” WHO said.

“When anticipating the impact of the pandemic as more people become infected, health officials need to be aware that many of these predisposing conditions have become much more widespread in recent decades, thus increasing the pool of vulnerable people.”

WHO estimates that more than 230 million people globally have asthma, and more than 220 million have diabetes. Obesity may also worsen the risk of severe infection, WHO said.

The good news — people infected with AIDS virus do not seem to be at special risk from H1N1, WHO said.

Click here for the full report from the New York Times

Consumers Duped by Trans Fat Labeling

August 28, 2009

Natural News

By David Gutierrez

FDA food labeling rules make it possible for consumers to exceed their maximum recommended daily intake of trans fats even if they eat only foods labeled “zero trans fats” per serving.

Trans fats, also known as hydrogenated oils, are synthetically produced by adding hydrogen atoms to unsaturated vegetable oils. Unlike natural unsaturated or saturated fats, trans fats have no nutritional value. They have been overwhelmingly shown to increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, such that several large cities and the state of California have banned their use in restaurants.

The fats are favored by food producers because they have a longer shelf life than natural fats. But growing consumer awareness over the dangers of trans fats has led more and more people to avoid them. According to a recent survey by Greenfield Online, 72 percent of U.S. residents read nutritional labels to make food purchasing decisions, and 61 percent believe that “zero trans fats” is the most important claim for a heart-healthy food.

Yet because the FDA allows nutrient content to be rounded to the nearest half gram, all food producers need to do to make a “zero trans fats” claim is set the serving size low enough that it contains no more than 0.49 grams of trans fats.

According to Steve Hughes, chief executive officer of Smart Balance, even consumers looking out for trans fats on nutritional labels “could exceed the daily limit before they even sit down to dinner.”

The FDA recommends a maximum daily trans fat intake of two grams.

Consumers can still avoid trans fats by reading ingredient labels. Any food that contains “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” oils actually contains trans fats, regardless of what it might say on the label or in the nutritional information box.

“The good news is Americans are making healthier food choices a priority and they clearly recognize the dangers of trans fat,” said dietitian Alyse Levine. “But unfortunately reading the fine print is necessary to ensure they’re not getting more trans fat and putting their health at greater risk than they bargained for.”

Click here for the full report from Natural News

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Here are just a few of my favorite self-healing techniques that have made me the person I am today:

Dr. Roger Callahan’s Thought Field Therapy

Gary Craig’s Emotional Freedom Techniques

Steve Lewis’s AIM Program

Try it on Everything

With your help, I lost 70 pounds…

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