Monday, October 26th, 2015
Mary Bottari, - Alternet (U.S.)
Stephan: As readers know my view is that each state is a laboratory where it is possible measure social policies and their social outcomes, and compare them. One the basis of data it is is possible to say that Blue value states consistently produce greater social and individual wellness. Wisconsin and Kansas are two examples of what the Corporatist Theocratic Right produces. Here is the latest on Wisconsin.
Credit:radio.foxnews.com
Starting today, three bills are being rammed through the Wisconsin legislature that will put the final nails in the coffin of our state’s long history of clean elections and accountable governance.
The same group of GOP leaders who attempted to gut the state’s open records law over the 4th of Julyweekend are now calling for secrecy in campaign spending and for dismantling the two major avenues for investigating political corruption.
What could go wrong?
Stung by the campaign finance probe into a “John Doe” criminal investigation into potentially illegal coordination between Governor Scott Walker and independent secret money groups, the Koch-ALEC cabal is on the warpath.
They want to dismantle the last remnants of the post-Watergate campaign finance system which placed limits on campaign donations and required transparency for donors, large and small.
Welcoming Secret Money into Elections
The first bill, AB 387/SB 292, authored by ALEC members Robin Vos and Scott Fitzgerald, retroactively decriminalize much of the illegal coordination at the heart of the “John Doe” investigation of Governor Walker. By allowing candidates to directly coordinate with so-called “issue ad” groups, donors and corporations […]
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Monday, October 26th, 2015
Corey Charlton, - The Daily Mail (U.K.)
Stephan: By any measure you like alcohol is orders of magnitude more destructive of good health than marijuana. Here is the latest on how to deal with alcohol in your life.
Credit: Alamy
Drinkers should take a month off alcohol to prevent serious illness in later life, doctors warned yesterday.
They cited dramatic British research showing how abstention can heal the liver and lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Patients who gave up for four weeks were also at lower risk of developing cancer and diabetes.
The study is the second at the Royal Free hospital to uncover the huge benefits of staying off booze.
Researchers said if there was a drug able to produce similar results to a month’s abstinence from alcohol then it would be a ‘multi-billion pound market’
‘The results were staggering,’ said Professor Kevin Moore, who was involved in both experiments. ‘If you had a drug that did this it would be a multi-billion pound market.
‘There was a 40 per cent reduction in liver fat, they lost about three kilograms in weight and their cholesterol levels improved.’
In the second, larger study the London researchers looked at 102 relatively healthy men and women in their forties taking […]
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Monday, October 26th, 2015
Diane Hoffman, - NYV Today
Stephan: Hair loss is something that 50 per cent of men over 50 have to deal with. Here is some significant new research that holds the promise of helping.
Most men are concerned about their scalp hair after age of 35 and they have a reason to be concerned. According to statistics, more than 50 percent men over age 50 suffer from some kind of hair loss. Even above age of 30, nearly 30 percent of men suffer from different types of scalp hair loss. And, hair once lost, are quite difficult to regain. If you don’t believe, ask someone who is suffering from male pattern baldness.
A new project conducted by researchers at Columbia University has found that hair regrowth can be promoted by intake of JAK inhibitors. Now, you might ask what are JAK inhibitors. Janus kinase inhibitors, also known as JAK inhibitors or jakinibs, are a type of medication that functions by inhibiting the activity of one or more of the Janus kinase family of enzymes (JAK1, JAK2, JAK3, TYK2), thereby interfering with the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. These inhibitors have therapeutic application in the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases.
Some JAK inhibitors have been approved by the U.S. FDA for rheumatoid […]
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Monday, October 26th, 2015
Stephan: Many of the great mysteries surrounding the Great Pyramid of Egypt may finally get answered. Here the story.
The pyramids of Giza
Credit: AP/Hiro Komae
CAIRO — Scientists will scan four of Egypt’s ancient pyramids starting next month using waves, particles and thermal imaging in order to see what lies beneath their surface.
Antiquities Minister Mamdouh Eldamaty says the project will begin south of Cairo with the scanning of the so-called Bent Pyramid at Dashour, followed by the nearby Red Pyramid. Later, the two largest pyramids on the Giza plateau, those of Cheops and Chephren, will also be scanned. The structures are over 4,500 years old.
At a news conference, scientist Matthieu Klein of Canada’s Laval University says his team will use infrared technology to scan several meters (yards) beneath the surface without touching the structures.
He says “there could be interesting things there, even a few meters deep, two or three blocks deep.”
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Sunday, October 25th, 2015
Andrew Emett , - Alternet
Stephan: Every once in a while I see a story that just makes me say, Bravo. Here's an example. You will remember the first story I did a few weeks back about this wretched man and his greed.
Martin Shkreli
In response to Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli raising the price of Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 a pill, a specialty pharmaceutical company announced Thursday that it has created an alternative medication that costs less than a dollar per pill. Due to the fact that many pharmaceutical corporations are drastically increasing drug prices, a new niche in the market has opened for smaller drug companies offering inexpensive medications as viable alternatives.
After acquiring the sole rights to sell Daraprim, former hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli increased the price by 5,500%. Preventing infections in people with weakened immune systems, including AIDS patients and cancer survivors undergoing chemotherapy, Daraprim is a brand-name formulation of the generic drug pyrimethamine.
On Thursday, Imprimis Pharmaceuticals announced the development of a low-cost alternative to Daraprim that consists of pyrimethamine and leucovorin, which reportedly helps to reverse pyrimethamine’s negative effects on bone marrow.
Imprimis effectively rendered the temporary monopoly on Turing’s Daraprim useless by using the key ingredient pyrimethamine, […]
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