War: More Gore

U.S. media coverage usually focuses on the American troops killed in Iraq (3500+) but rarely mentions that as many as 665,000 Iraqi men, women, and children—mostly civilians—have been killed by the U.S. led coalition. All this carnage and our nation is less secure from the threat of terrorism than ever. We're simply making enemies faster than we can kill them. CIA operatives call this "blowback."

Why such slaughter? Is it for oil? Religion? Nation building? Self-defense? President Bush says "They hate us for our freedoms," but maybe they hate the bloodbath most of all. Wouldn't our nation be more secure if we simply weaned ourselves off Mideast oil and quit "spreading democracy" with guns and bombs?

It doesn't take a leftist or a pacifist to recognize the futility of "nation building." In 2000 the Republicans fielded a candidate publicly opposed to interventionism. His name, George W. Bush—yes, the biggest "flip-flopper" on this topic ever. "W", you may recall, argued against nation building while debating Al Gore. Behind the scenes, however, William Kristol, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and other neo-conservatives had been pushing for Mideast intervention as early as 1997.

Neo-cons are now telling Bush that the only way to save his failed presidency is to nuke Iran. Dare he?

SOURCES: www.newamericancentruy.org.
www.informationclearinghouse.info.

Moore, Gore & The Green FOX

MOORE: Michael Moore, activist and award-winning filmmaker (Fahrenheit 911, Bowling for Columbine, Roger & Me), x-rays the healthcare and the pharmaceutical industries in his hilarious and poignant new documentary, Sicko. According to Moore, the film is so compelling that even Republicans shed tears at one screening. Could universal healthcare finally become a reality?

GORE? Al Gore's newest book, The Assault on Reason, is harshly critical of the Bush White House for deceiving the American people in the run-up to the war in Iraq. Gore calls it "the worst strategic mistake in the whole history of the United States." According to Gore, mass media is also to blame for failing its responsibility to adequately inform the public, focusing instead on celebrity gossip and trash talk. American democracy "is in danger of being hollowed out," writes Gore. "In order to reclaim our birthright, we Americans must resolve to repair the systemic decay of the public forum." Inquiring minds want to know: Will Al run for President? Count the clever bumper stickers: "Reelect Al Gore in 2008."

FOX GREENS HAN'S HOUSE: Conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch is committing his formidable resources to alerting the public about global warming. In an exclusive interview with the environmental magazine Grist, Murdoch pledges not only to make his News Corp. empire carbon neutral, but to persuade the hundreds of millions of people who watch his TV channels and read his newspapers to join the cause. Messages about climate change will be woven throughout News Corp.'s entertainment content, from movies to books to TV sitcoms, and the issue will have an increasing presence in the company's news coverage.

Yes, even Fox News' right-wing firebrand Sean Hannity can be expected to come around on the issue. Murdoch declares, "The debate is shifting from whether climate change is really happening to how to solve it.... We want to help solve the climate problem." Welcome to the cause, Mr. Murdoch! Now, sir, would you please address News Corp.'s complicity in selling the Iraq War to the American electorate?

SOURCES: Politically Incorrect, 5/25/07.
Grist, www.grist.com, 5/16/2007.
The Assault on Reason, Al Gore, Penguin Group, 2007.

Stealing the 2008 Election

Greg Palast, Britain's answer to Edward R. Murrow and Michael Moore, is possibly the best investigative reporter ever shunned by U.S. media. In Armed Madhouse, Palast, a former statistics prof, reveals key sources of voter fraud in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. Surprise! If all votes had been counted Bush would have lost both races.

Beyond paperless voting machines, hanging chads, and bad ballot designs, Palast details how the election was stolen by low-tech means. Literally millions of votes were systematically thrown out or voided in districts with Democrat constituencies. Moreover, Blacks, Chicanos, and Navaho Indians, who historically vote overwhelmingly Democrat, were up to twelve times as likely to have their ballots "spoiled" as white voters.

Despite overwhelming evidence, Palast notes, "the information would simply never make it past America's media border guards.... We broadcast the stories in Europe and Africa, printed the reports on the London Guardian's front page, warning that the [2004] election was about to be 'caged.' We might as well have stuffed the news in a time capsule and shot it to the moon. Either way, it never made it to American shores."

According to Palast, Republican tricksters have plans to steal the 2008 race, again with "caged" voter lists, computer shenanigans, laws that effectively prohibit recounts, compliant Democrats, a complicit media, and a sympathetic Supreme Court as backstop. Dems will have to garner votes by overwhelming margins just to break even. So, if you want to end the war and stuff, you got to watch your ballots!

SOURCE:
Armed Madhouse, Greg Palast, Plume Printing, 2007.

Industry Bias In Health Research

Tobacco is safe. Plastic is harmless. There's no danger in using your favorite artificial sweetener. Just ask the manufacturers who fund their own studies!

In his eponymous health newsletter, Dr. Andrew Weil's Self Healing, the good doctor reports that health research sponsored by groups with commercial interests can be seriously flawed. Analysis of over 100 studies found bias "not limited to a poorly designed study or misinterpreted data" but "is already present when an industry chooses what to fund" and, moreover, is "often hidden in attempts to suppress data, bury negative findings, and withhold financial ties...."

Dr. Weil recommends more strenuous oversight: "To retain consumer confidence, those involved in all fields of scientific research, including integrative medicine, need to improve how they fund, oversee, and publish studies. And consumers need to look at industry-funded studies skeptically, seek additional research, and avoid drawing conclusions from isolated news reports."

Which leads us to ask: Why not return to the days (just 20 years ago) when most studies were government funded, or funded by organizations with no commercial interest in the results?

SOURCES:
Dr. Andrew Weil's Self Healing, May 2007
PLoS Medicine, January 2007

Cooler than Prius? Solar-Electric Hybrid! Want to laugh at high gasoline prices? At only $12,000, the plug-in solar-electric Xebra by Zap seats four and is a practical solution for in-town driving and short commutes. With a top speed of 40 mph and a range of only 30 miles the Xebra isn't for everywhere. But it's guaranteed to turn heads—and keep you out of gas lines forever! Visit www.zapworld.com for details.

GM Killed Their Electric Car
But Zap! Charges On

Alternative cars are coming! In 2008 Honda promises to start leasing a hydrogen-powered sports car with a home-based refuelling station. By 2009 Toyota's Prius will use advanced battery technology to achieve over 100 mpg. Almost here, Lotus's all-electric roadster nevertheless sports an out-of-sight price of $100,000.

So, what's available NOW? Recently we test drove the Zap Xebra at Mike O'Connell Electric in Alameda. Starting at $10,000, this plug-in electric four-seater with optional solar panel is a practical solution for neighborhood jaunts. Two six-footers will fit comfortably in front, but save the back seats for smaller friends or groceries.

Salesman O'Connell is an old Volvo man who doesn't drive a Xebra regularly. Right away he warned us that Xebras are small, noisy, don't have air conditioning, are too slow for freeways, are limited to a 30 mile range, and have to be plugged-in overnight for recharge. We joked that he certainly wasn't overselling his product, to which he deadpanned, "I don't want people to come back dissatisfied." We liked O'Connell's refreshing lack of hype!

Electric cars reduce urban pollution because they emit no greenhouse gases, but electricity may be made from coal or nuclear sources, so enviro-purists take heed. Still, with no spark plugs or exhaust pipes and at only 50¢ per recharge, the Xebra is low impact and cheap to operate as well. Let's face it, most of us can't shop Costco on bicycle or bus!

Xebra's optional $2000 solar panel is a particularly sexy hook to us enviros, but, unfortunately, it powers only the first two miles, after which batteries take over. (Hey, that's still two miles clean and "free," courtesy of Old Sol!) And solarizing your wheels is much cheaper than retrofitting your home (up to $50,000), so at least it's a start. As technology advances, improving range and speed, the economical Xebra might just become the next "people's car." Right now, it's a great little neighborhood ride or "second car."

SOURCES: www.zapworld.com.
O'Connell Electric, 1537 Webster St., Alameda.

'No Impact Man' Greens Manhattan

Colin Beavan, his wife Michele, and daughter Isabella are spending a year trying to create no negative impact on the environment, eating only locally grown food, not taking any public transportation, even elevators, and giving up electricity at home. As Colin describes the experiment, "A guilty liberal finally snaps, swears off plastic, goes organic, becomes a bicycle nut, turns off his power, composts his poop... while dragging his baby daughter and Prada-wearing, Four Seasons-loving wife along for the ride."

	SOLAR COMPUTER: Using a SolarOne Harvester donated by Moneer Azzam (left) to power his home computer, Colin Beavan (No Impact Man, right), disconnects from the New York City electric grid but keeps blogs at www.noimpactman.com.

The Beavans' no impact lifestyle includes no toilet paper (Colin's not discussing personal hygiene except to suggest a website about bidets) and no coffee (it's not grown locally and shipping causes "impact.") Happily, wife Michele reports losing 20 lbs. due to mandatory stair climbing.

OPEN EXCHANGE asked Colin what parts of the no impact experiment might become permanent for his family: "As for what's permanent, much will be, though I suspect we will not be quite so strict with ourselves. We find we are benefiting from many of the changes, so why change? But taking the subway when it's raining might become a treat."

What car will they drive? "We didn't have a car before and would think very deeply before getting one."

Should everyone try to adopt the Spartan no impact lifestyle? "I'm not suggesting anybody else do what I'm doing during this year, but I do hope my project might cause people to be conscious about their own lives and what they may be able to change in order not to waste the planet's resources or to poison its systems."

Thanks, Colin! Your experiment is worth more than a thousand environmental admonitions! We're looking forward to your upcoming book!

SOURCE: www.noimpactman.com.

Fast Foods Stop Your Heart!

If you're eating fast foods, chances are you're eating hydrogenated oils or tran fats, the bad fats that are implicated in heart disease and cancer. How much trans fat can your heart take before it pays a price? As reported in Prevention, Harvard researchers found that women who averaged 4g of trans fat per day—about what you'd get from a medium order of fast food fries—had a heart attack risk three times greater than those eating only 2.6 g. Be still my heart!

	Tiburon restaurants proudly display this sign.

The average American consumes a daily average of 5.8 g of trans fats. Most nutrition experts urge dropping your trans fat intake to as close to zero as possible.

To avoid trans fats you may have to give up fast foods and donuts, at least for the present. Hydrogenated oils may unhealthy to eat, but they are cheaper than other oils and their flavor masks rancidity, making for healthy profits.

McDonald's had publicly announced that it was eliminating trans fats from its menu but quietly deferred making the change. San Francisco's Stephen Joseph successfully sued McDonald's for failing to inform the public about their delays. As a result of the litigation, in 2005 McDonald's agreed to inform its customers that it had not changed to the lower trans fat cooking oil by placing prominent notices in all of its restaurants nationwide and in the media. It also agreed to pay $7 million to the American Heart Association for a trans fat program.

Stephen's organization, Ban Trans Fats, helped make Tiburon, California "America's first trans fat-free city." Project Tiburon was intended to be an inspiration and model for other towns and cities. They also assisted New York City in developing its program, passing a regulation banning trans fat in December 2006. In February 2007, Philadelphia copied New York City and banned trans fat.

SOURCES: Prevention, April 2007.
www.consumeraffairs.com.
www.bantransfats.com.

Babies Overfed To Meet Flawed Ohio Standards

New Scientist reports that outdated targets for infant growth may be putting healthy babies on the path to obesity. The most popular growth chart, produced by the US National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) was originally designed to make sure that babies didn't suffer from malnutrition. Their standard was based on babies that were atypically heavy, most bottle-fed, white, middle-class babies from Ohio.

Relying on these charts, says Bert Koletzko of University of Munich, Germany, has produced "unavoidable obesity as a result." Koletzko's groundbreaking study of 1000 infants in five European countries links infant overfeeding to obesity in later life.

Koletzko found that high-protein infant formula was a major contributor to obesity, possibly because the extra amino acids in protein drive production of insulin and other growth hormones. Responding to these concerns, manufacturers have expressed a willingness to lower the percentage of protein. Breastfeeding mothers also describe being pressured to "feed up" babies that they themselves think are perfectly healthy. Mama was right: Breast is best!

Koletzko believes that his study may accelerate the replacement of the old NCHS charts and put infants on a lifetime path to better health.

SOURCE: New Scientist, April 2007.

Autism, Food & Environment

Autism has generally been labeled a behavioral disease, but recent studies indicate that it affects not just the brain, but also the gut and the immune system. Children with autism seem to lack verbal and social skills, may avoid eye contact, and may seem incapable of giving or responding to affection. The initial diagnosis of autism in young children can send despairing parents to the brink of suicide.

Discover reports on new studies which offer new hope, implicating a range of environmental factors including food allergies, vaccine reactions, and inflammation. Alternative treatments include nutritional therapies and drugs traditionally used to fight viruses and quell inflammation.

Autism was first described in 1943 by Johns Hopkins University psychiatrist Leo Kanner as a collection of symptoms including poor social engagement, limited verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors. When Kanner first identified the disease it was considered rare, but the diagnosis has increased tenfold over the past two decades. Better diagnostics—or environmental?

Carlos Pardo, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins, published a 2005 study in the Annals of Neurology, finding inflammation in the immune-responsive brain cells of autistic patients. "Patients with autism report lots of immunological problems." He is now collaborating on a pilot study funded by the NIH to test minocycline, an anti-inflammatory antibiotic drug, on autistic children. "Neurologists already use it in multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's."

"We're beginning to understand that genetics is really about vulnerability," says Pat Levitt, director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development. Levitt and colleagues recently discovered a variant of a gene which doubles the risk of autism. This gene also regulates the nervous system, gut, and immune system, matching the "emerging new view of autism," as noted in Discover.

The organization Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) focuses on alternative treatments which include intestinal issues, detoxification, nutrition, and neuroinflammation. Recommendations include dietary restriction, usually eliminating gluten and dairy. Other DAN! treatments include nutritional supplements, anti-virals, anti-fungals and allergy medications. Some children have shown spectacular improvement, although others do not get any better, no matter what the intervention.

While the success of alternative treatments is still considered "anecdotal" as new data is being evaluated, now there is a ray of hope for parents who might otherwise give up and institutionalize their children for life.

SOURCE: Discover, April 2007.

Counseling Boosts Happiness, Saves $$$ For Home Caregivers

Caring for an aging family member can be highly stressful. Prevention reports that if you're a caregiver, reaching out for help can actually boost your mental health and happiness. "According to recent studies from New York University and the University of Pittsburgh, caregivers who attend support groups and receive individual and family counseling relieve some of the stress."

Seeking counseling has the added benefit of helping a home caregiver extend the amount of support they can offer a family member. "Often, they're even able to delay putting their loved ones in nursing homes by a year and a half—saving them a whopping $90,000."

SOURCES: Prevention, March 2007.
OPEN EXCHANGE, Counseling & Therapy

Men & Prostate Health: Eat Veggies/Drink Tea/Exercise!

One in six men will develop prostate cancer, and African-American men have double the risk. Once again, researchers have confirmed that diet and exercise can play a significant part in lowering that risk.

As reported in E Magazine, "prevention may be as simple as eating better, exercising more, and taking a few key supplements. Many of these remedies, which cut inflammation, may also help men struggling with a benign enlarged prostate.

"Here's what should be on your menu today: tomato sauce, watermelon, stir-fried tofu and veggies, selenium and vitamin E. Wash [it] down with a swig of green tea or pomegranate juice.

"Cruciferous vegetables—such as broccoli, cauliflower, radish, turnip, cabbage and brussels sprouts—also have cancer-busting qualities.... All of these foods should be part of a varied diet.... No one food has all the nutrients we need."

Cut back on red meats, processed foods, alcohol, sugar, and high-fat dairy products.
C'mon, guys—eat your veggies!

SOURCE: E Magazine, March/April 2007.

Dare You Drink From A Garden Hose?

We purchased a garden hose at our favorite hardware store the other day, only to find it contained a warning not to drink the water. Wait a minute! Kids' drinking from a lawn hose is as all-American as apple pie! And what about watering the vegetable garden or thirsty pets?

Many garden hoses leach lead and other chemicals into the water. Consumer Reports notes, "It's OK to drink from a hose only if it's labeled safe or if you flush it first. Otherwise, the water standing inside may contain worrisome amounts of lead and other chemicals that leach from the hose itself. Many hoses are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which uses lead as a stabilizer."

Consumer Reports found unsafe amounts of lead in most commercial hoses. The New England Journal of Medicine confirmed that lead levels in the blood—even lower than the current definition of toxicity—may adversely affect a child's IQ. "The bottom line: When you buy a hose, choose one labeled safe for drinking. With any hose, flush it by letting the water run for a minute or so before you drink."

So we returned our bargain-priced hose to the hardware store and purchased a boating hose rated for "potable water." It was three times as expensive, but we feel so much smarter! Moral of our story: "You can lead a hose with water, but you can't make us drink it!"

SOURCES:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/health-fitness/get-the-lead-out-of-the-garden-hose-503/overview/index.htm.
http://www.metaefficient.com/archives/gardening/leadfree-garden-hoses.html.

Generation X—More Anxiety But Fewer Racial Barriers

In the 1960s Martin Luther King's dream of a colorblind society was an inspiration to Baby Boomers, but their children are actually more inclined to live the dream. Today's younger Americans are less prejudiced than their elders, according to studies quoted in Generation Me, a book by Jean M. Twenge. "Many young people I've talked to mention interracial dating as the biggest difference between them and their parents: many of their peers date across racial lines, but their parents don't agree with this.... In one survey, only 10% of white young people said that marrying someone from their own ethnic group was important; however, 45% said it was important to their parents. Of young Asian-Americans, 32% said same-ethnic-group marriage was important to them, but 68% said it was important to their parents."

Whereas the social rebellion of the 60's generation was noisy but short-lived, "Generation Me" confidently goes about making its own new rules. Today's youth are more assertive, direct, and disinclined to respect authority for its own sake.

It's not all rosy for today's youth, however. According to Twenge, herself a Gen X'er, the younger generation is less idealistic, more likely to pad resumes, more likely to suffer anxiety and depression, more materialistic, yet less affluent than their parents. She blames mass media for promoting unrealistic expectations of wealth and physical perfection, as well as over-indulgent parents for not setting limits. Twenge asserts that her generation has plenty of self-esteem but suffers from a lack of discipline. So all you need is love—tough love?

SOURCES:
Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—and More Miserable Than Ever Before, Jean M. Twenge, Free Press 2006.
"All You Need Is Love," Lennon and McCartney.

Whatever Happened To Idealism?

While 79% of university entrants in 1970 said their goal in life was to develop "a meaningful philosophy of life," 75% of new freshmen in 2005 defined their life's objective as "being very well off financially." We're not convinced, however, that today's youth are less idealistic. Perhaps they just boast less about their good deeds and community service!

Idealism lies dormant in the hearts and minds of every generation, waiting for an opportunity to break free. A recent Adbusters editorial offers this blueprint for change:

"In order to become the dreamers, the visionaries, the risk-takers, the kind of people who galvanize campuses, sway elections, and command respect in the media:

Stop hiding—do something a little wild
Go to Kenya, Brazil— rub shoulders with activists there
Explore visionary ideas— then embrace one of them
Meditate on what happened before the Big Bang
Live without dead time...."

SOURCE: Adbusters, March-April 2007.

Health Doubles Wealth!

The editors of Money Magazine are getting into the healthy living business again! Diet and exercise, it turns out, is not just good for your waistline, but also your bottom line:

"Poor health also carries a huge opportunity cost. After all, you can't save if you can't earn, and you can't earn without your health. According to a 2005 study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College... Boomers who developed health problems built wealth at less than half the rate of their healthy peers. Want to double the size of your portfolio? Exercise, cut out fats and don't smoke."

Amen to that! Additionally, you might want to try some stress-relieving meditation or bodywork, or just for fun, art or singing classes! And you won't necessarily need a lot of Money—just look thru the pages of OPEN EXCHANGE!

SOURCE: Money Magazine, June 2007.