Someone talking sense about the economy

A few years ago the "economic experts" were laughing at Peter Schiff when he predicted a collapse in real-estate and a recession. But he turned out to be right.

Here is an interview with him on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Peter Schiff
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

Wikipedia - The Controlled Encyclopedia

I've long suspected that Wikipedia was as free as the biases of its core owners and editors allowed. I've seen articles about individuals that are simply hatchet jobs, for example, the entry of one individual in particular who is a natural health advocate and has written best selling books very critical of the pharmaceutical industry, is about as objective as a profit hungry Big Tobacco CEO when asked if he thinks cigarettes cause cancer. (I'm not linking to it because I refuse to spread the lies about the man that the article contains. If you are interested then check out his book: Natural Cures .)

Now the high priests of Wikipedia have decided to ban edits of Scientology related articles by church members. Can you believe that? Wow, what next? Only allow KKK members to edit articles about Jews and African Americans? Ban Mormons from editing articles about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

Who made these Wikipedia nerds the arbiters of all knowledge? So much for community editing and contribution. Anyone can contribute to Wikipedia as long as the high priests approve.

To be honest, I have rarely found Wikipedia to be useful because you never really know where the data is coming from. Who wrote it? What is their bias? Then there are all the annotations indicating that something is not backed up or that it is disputed. I'd rather go to a source that tells me who wrote the article so I can evaluate it for myself.

Now and then I have used Wikipedia to get a basic idea about something technical but from now on I'm going elsewhere.

Wikipedia Bans Scientology From Editing Scientology Entries

Corruption at the Federal Reserve

Watch this video and then ask yourself: If no-one at the Federal Reserve is keeping track of the trillions of dollars they are handing out then isn't the door wide open to corruption and criminality?

"Truth" according to Wikipedia = mob rule

Here is an interesting piece regarding the accuracy of Wikipedia:

In a May 2006 essay on the technology and culture website Edge.org, futurist Jaron Lanier called Wikipedia an example of “digital Maoism”–the closest humanity has come to a functioning mob rule.

Lanier was moved to write about Wikipedia because someone kept editing his Wikipedia entry to say that he was a film director. Lanier describes himself as a “computer scientist, composer, visual artist, and author.” He is good at all those things, but he is no director. According to his essay, he made one short experimental film in the 1990s, and it was “awful.”

“I have attempted to retire from directing films in the alternative universe that is the Wikipedia a number of times, but somebody always overrules me,” Lanier wrote. “Every time my Wikipedia entry is corrected, within a day I’m turned into a film director again.”

Since Lanier’s attempted edits to his own Wikipedia entry were based on firsthand knowledge of his own career, he was in direct violation of Wikipedia’s three core policies. He has a point of view; he was writing on the basis of his own original research; and what he wrote couldn’t be verified by following a link to some kind of legitimate, authoritative, and verifiable publication.

See the full article here: Wikipedia: The Standard of Truth

Earth Shaking Event

An important earth-shaking event is about to occur. Be ready for September 19th, for once again it is International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Be part of the pirate revolution.

Don't be a weak willed lily livered land lubber! Open your mind to the pirate experience, say "Aye" and "Arrr" a few times and soon you will find that your inner pirate will be released.

Follow the simple instructions given here: How to Talk Like A Pirate, practice several hours a day, and by September the 19th you will be indistinguishable from any of the other pirates who show their true mettle on that great day!

Dead Blog Sketch

Jut substitute "blog" for "parrot" ...

Retirement

I started this blog a long time ago, back in the Paleozoic era when blogs where just beginning to form out of swirling primordial vapors. It began as an experiment to answer the question, "What is a blog?" And once answered, my intention was to just stop and move on to greater things.

I never really intended to keep it going for so long but like the Energizer bunny it just kept going and going and going and ....

So finally I'm taking pity on it and retiring it to pasture. If you actually liked this blog and read it then don't despair. I will continue to post the sort of eclectic, "this is my viewpoint", "the latest album from Opeth is great" sort of stuff to my other blog (see the fabulous rotating widget below d for the RSS feed.)

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

Isn't that cool? It's amazing what you can get from Feedburner for free. If you just want to go to the site then click here: My Scientology Blog.

So, that's it. This blog is no more. It has expired and gone to meet its maker. Bereft of life it rests in peace. If I hadn't nailed it to the Internet, it would be pushing up the daisies.

The end.

FDA finally admits Mercury is dangerous

You would think that a substance which requires Haz Mat handling and special disposal would be the last thing to put into your mouth. In fact in Massachusetts, a spill of more than two tablespoons of Mercury requires reporting to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, in addition to Haz Mat handling and special disposal.

You would think that a substance that helped create the phrase "mad as a hatter" because it drove hat makers who used it crazy would be the last thing to put into your mouth.

You would think that a substance that is so toxic that people are advised not to eat fish that contain it would be the last thing to put into your mouth.

But you'd be wrong because for over a hundred years people have been allowing dentists to put this toxic substance into their mouths and they have even paid the dentists to do it.

As usual with issues like this, Europe is way ahead of the US: Sweden, Norway and Denmark ban Mercury Fillings. But all is not lost dear reader, for the FDA, that stalwart organization which works tirelessly in the interests of the people of America and not for the drug companies (who fund the FDA) or manufacturers of toxic mercury amalgam fillings (what me sarcastic? never), yes the FDA itself has just admitted that Mercury may possibly be dangerous to humans.

I hear your gasps of astonishment but don't be too amazed, the admission was not made voluntarily. Several consumer protection organizations had to sue the FDA to force it to make the statement. You can read more here: Mercury Fillings Shattered! FDA, ADA Conspiracy to Poison Children with Toxic Mercury Fillings Exposed in Groundbreaking Lawsuit.

Maybe this is the way to go with the FDA: sue them into admitting the truth. Other methods of getting them to actually do their job and protect the American people seem to be ineffective.

Antipsychotic Drugs Kill One in Twenty Elderly Patients

From the Guardian, May 26, 2008:

Elderly dementia patients prescribed antipsychotic drugs are at three times the risk of a serious health problem or dying within a month of treatment, compared to those not given the drugs, Canadian researchers said on Monday.

The medications have been used by doctors to treat aggression in people who are not psychotic or schizophrenic, but there are risks for elderly dementia patients prescribed the drugs, according to Dr. Paula Rochon of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto, and colleagues.

"Of residents newly admitted to a nursing home, 17 percent are started on antipsychotic drugs within 100 days of their admission," often for short periods to control delirium, delusions or aggressive behavior, Rochon wrote.

"Antipsychotic drugs should be prescribed with caution even for short-term therapy," she concluded in the report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Three years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration required warnings on antipsychotic drugs notifying patients and doctors of the risks of heart problems or infections in elderly dementia patients.

Previous research has suggested the drugs cause dry mouth and difficulty swallowing, which can lead to pneumonia. Side effects such as dizziness can increase the risk of falls.
The seven-year study of more than 40,000 people age 65 or older -- half in nursing homes -- found 5.2 percent of the nursing homes residents died within a month of being given one of the newer class of so-called atypical antipsychotic drugs...

Atypical antipsychotic drugs, which the study said had been available for about a decade, include risperidone, marketed by Johnson & Johnson as Risperdal; olanzapine, made by Eli Lilly and Co under the brand name Zyprexa; and quetiapine, sold by AstraZeneca Plc under the brand name Seroquel.

Complete article here: The Guardian: Antipsychotics given for dementia pose risks-study

There is life on Mars!

There is life on Mars!

Here is the proof.

The latest picture from Phoenix Probe.