Thursday, October 11th, 2012
, - Agence France-Presse (France)
Stephan: It is my belief that this rise in worldwide depression results from the sense of stress people feel as the world reorders, plus the nonlocal presentiment people sense in an inchoate way about what is coming -- the real impact of climate change being a prime example.
More than 350 million people suffer from depression globally, the World Health Organization said, ahead of World Mental Health Day on Wednesday.
‘It is not a disease of developed countries, it is a global phenomenon. It’s present in both genders and in rich and poor populations,’ Dr Shekhar Saxena, head of the WHO’s mental health and substance abuse department, told reporters in Geneva.
No region is free from the disorder and around five percent of the world’s population suffers depression in the course of a year, the health expert said.
Fifty percent more women suffer symptoms than men, said Saxena, who added that post-natal depression affected one in five mothers and one in 10 of all young mothers in the developed world.
According to the UN’s global health arm, depression is more than just a bout of the blues, rather a ‘sustained feeling of sadness for two weeks or more’ which interferes with ‘work, school or home’.
At its worst, depression can lead to suicide, the WHO expert said, citing a ‘very clear correlation’.
Nearly one million people take their lives every year and more than half of them have depression, Saxena said, although he noted that it was not the sole cause.
‘Depression has existed for […]
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Thursday, October 11th, 2012
GRETA MCCLAIN, - Digital Journal
Stephan: More from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. The decline of Protestants is a significant trend. Of particular significance it feeds the sense of being besieged felt by the Evangelicals and Charismatics who make up the Theocratic Right. Their diminishing numbers give them a sense of persecution which, in turn, stimulates the hate, fear, and paranoia that is so much a hallmark of fundamentalism everywhere.
This is also part of the great sea change that is taking place in the world. As I have noted before, for the first time in 500 years, since Henry the Navigator, the world increasingly will not be ordered on the cultural values of Caucasian Christianity.
A new poll released today shows that fewer Americans consider themselves to be Protestant, making those that do a religious minority for the first time in history.
The survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, looked at statistics on religion in America and the religious shifts that are taking place in the United States. Of the 2,973 Americans age 18 and older who took part in the survey, one-fifth of them stated they are ‘religiously unaffiliated’. Two-thirds, or 68 percent, say they believe in God, 37 percent consider themselves to be ‘spiritual
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Wednesday, October 10th, 2012
JOHN CELOCK, - The Huffington Post
Stephan: Here is yet another example of what has happened to the Republican Party. The Theocratic Right is deeply disturbed -- a movement of hate, fear, and self-righteousness -- and I think this is one of the most dangerous trends in the country. Not because there are these individual crackpots, but because people vote for these people, they all belong to one party, and they often win.
Charlie Fuqua, the Republican candidate for the Arkansas House of Representatives who called for expelling Muslims from the United States in his book, also wrote in support for instituting the death penalty for ‘rebellious children.’
In ‘God’s Law,’ Fuqua’s 2012 book, the candidate wrote that while parents love their children, a process could be set up to allow for the institution of the death penalty for ‘rebellious children,’ according to the Arkansas Times. Fuqua, who is anti-abortion, points out that the course of action involved in sentencing a child to death is described in the Bible and would involve judicial approval. While it is unlikely that many parents would seek to have their children killed by the government, Fuqua wrote, such power would serve as a way to stop rebellious children.
According to the Arkansas Times, Fuqua wrote:
The maintenance of civil order in society rests on the foundation of family discipline. Therefore, a child who disrespects his parents must be permanently removed from society in a way that gives an example to all other children of the importance of respect for parents. The death penalty for rebellious children is not something to be taken lightly. The guidelines for […]
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Wednesday, October 10th, 2012
, - The Raw Story/Agence France-Presse (France)
Stephan: If you have hypertension or heart disease discuss this with your physician.
Eating tomatoes can dramatically reduce the risk of having a stroke, according to a new study out on Monday that provided more support for diets rich in fruits and vegetables.
The key factor appears to be the powerful antioxident lycopene, according to the Finnish study published in the Neurology journal.
The research - based on data from more than 1,000 middle-aged men, followed for an average of 12 years - indicates that people with the highest levels of lycopene in their blood have a 55 percent lower chance of suffering a stroke.
‘This study adds to the evidence that a diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of stroke,
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Wednesday, October 10th, 2012
ANDREW SULLIVAN, - The Daily Beast
Stephan: I did not see or hear the debate because I was in the air flying to Budapest. But in reading the commentary, both right and left, about it I have been struck again and again by the impact it clearly has had on the country as a whole. As you know SR only rarely covers politics per se, because I care about data and trends not polemics. But I make an exception in this case.
The Pew poll is devastating, just devastating. Before the debate, Obama had a 51 – 43 lead; now, Romney has a 49 – 45 lead. That’s a simply unprecedented reversal for a candidate in October. Before Obama had leads on every policy issue and personal characteristic; now Romney leads in almost all of them. Obama’s performance gave Romney a 12 point swing! I repeat: a 12 point swing.
Romney’s favorables are above Obama’s now. Yes, you read that right. Romney’s favorables are higher than Obama’s right now. That gender gap that was Obama’s firewall? Over in one night:
Currently, women are evenly divided (47% Obama, 47% Romney). Last month, Obama led Romney by 18 points (56% to 38%) among women likely voters.
Seriously: has that kind of swing ever happened this late in a campaign? Has any candidate lost 18 points among women voters in one night ever? And we are told that when Obama left the stage that night, he was feeling good. That’s terrifying. On every single issue, Obama has instantly plummeted into near-oblivion. He still has some personal advantages over Romney – even though they are all much diminished. Obama still has an edge on Medicare, […]
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