https://health.spectator.co.uk/when-will-pharmacists-stop-selling-bogus-medicines/

"...

The question why pharmacists might offer unproven or disproven medicines to their customers has puzzled me for many years. It is intriguing not least because the ethical codes of pharmacists across the world quite clearly prohibit such activity. So, what are the possible motivations for pharmacists to sell bogus medicines?

One possible reason would be that they are convinced of their efficacy. However, talking to pharmacists, I do not get the impression that many of them believe in homeopathy or other bogus therapies. During their training, they are taught the scientific facts which clearly do not support the notion of efficacy.

If some pharmacists are nevertheless convinced otherwise, they are obviously not well informed and would thus find themselves in conflict with their moral, ethical and legal duty to practice according to the current best evidence. On reflection, therefore, strong positive belief is probably not a prominent reason for pharmacists to sell bogus medicines.

...

In the end, it is up to the pharmacists’ professional organisations to provide guidance to their members in this complex and often difficult situation. The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, for instance, does not support the sale of bogus medicines in pharmacies: ‘Our position is that pharmacists must use their professional judgement to prevent the supply of products with evidence of no effect.’

..."

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A worthy read, IMO.

https://foodscienceinstitute.com/2016/07/19/organic-valley-highlights-inauthenticity-with-the-usual-lies/

http://msmgf.org/videos-aids2016-inside-massive-hiv-treatment-access-march/

"I am a gay man with health insurance living in the United States, which means I have access to HIV medications if I need them. In the global scheme of things, that makes me an enormously privileged person. My privilege is something that always strikes me square across the head when I attend the International AIDS conference.

In my striking – and humbling – new video from AIDS2016 in South Africa, I am bringing you inside a massive protest through the streets of Durban, and introduce you to activists who demand that HIV treatment is made available to people who need it, most particularly in Africa.



Meanwhile, in a bonus video report, I had a chat with PrEP advocate Jim Pickett from the Chicago AIDS Foundation about why Jim believes the international gathering should now be known as “the PrEP conference.” Jim also has some very choice words for an agency that is trying very hard to block a California bill that would provide education about PrEP to those who need it.



..."

--------------------------------

Very, very worthwhile stuff!

http://msmgf.org/videos-aids2016-inside-massive-hiv-treatment-access-march/

"I am a gay man with health insurance living in the United States, which means I have access to HIV medications if I need them. In the global scheme of things, that makes me an enormously privileged person. My privilege is something that always strikes me square across the head when I attend the International AIDS conference.

In my striking – and humbling – new video from AIDS2016 in South Africa, I am bringing you inside a massive protest through the streets of Durban, and introduce you to activists who demand that HIV treatment is made available to people who need it, most particularly in Africa.



Meanwhile, in a bonus video report, I had a chat with PrEP advocate Jim Pickett from the Chicago AIDS Foundation about why Jim believes the international gathering should now be known as “the PrEP conference.” Jim also has some very choice words for an agency that is trying very hard to block a California bill that would provide education about PrEP to those who need it.



..."

--------------------------------

Very, very worthwhile stuff!

http://www.classicfm.com/composers/williams/news/brass-players-outside-john-williams-house/#ldhbZe0JDErqQ1k8.97

This is pure awesomeness!

Source: STAT

Health officials said Monday that they are investigating the case of a man in Utah who has contracted Zika virus locally through unknown means, one of the more mysterious cases of transmission yet involving the virus.

The individual, who has not been identified, recently helped care for his father, who had contracted Zika and died earlier this month. The second case had not recently traveled outside the country.

That shifts the focus of the investigation to mosquitoes and the possibility that the new case became infected while caring for his dying father. The older man had a serious illness when he contracted Zika while traveling outside the US.

Though most commonly transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito, Zika virus can be spread through contact with body fluids from an infected person including semen and blood. The virus is also found in urine and saliva.

Read more: https://www.statnews.com/2016/07/18/zika-virus-utah-investigation/

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http://foodbabe.com/2016/07/18/secret/

"...

When I looked at my husband and said I was ready, things happened quick. BOOM. I was pregnant. I honestly couldn’t believe it – I thought it would take a long time considering all the pregnancy stories and experiences I have heard about with loved ones and close friends, but I am incredibly grateful that it happened so easily for us. We are truly blessed – I can’t help but think the years of getting my health to its optimal state had to help – practicing my healthy habits, regular acupuncture and staying away from processed food!

(That's right, an anecdote proves that her health being in an "optimal state" is why she got pregnant quickly. Not only that, but acupuncture must have a had something to do with it, plausibility be damned.)

...

Now that I am pregnant – wow – have my eating habits changed. First of all, not in a million years did I think I would ever crave Taco Bell again. But it happened. I was walking by one on the way to another restaurant and I could literally taste a chicken soft taco and bean burrito in my mouth. Of course I didn’t get any – But man! It was the weirdest sensation I have ever experienced, especially considering I haven’t eaten at Taco Bell since it was like 2am in the morning and I was in college.

And then Burger King happened. Yes. That nasty excuse for food. I was in Spain (of all places!) promoting the Spanish version of The Food Babe Way and was stuck in an airport terminal with the smell of charbroiled hamburgers radiating the whole waiting area. I thought I was going to DIE if I didn’t have one. But thankfully my years of personal investigation and study of food toxins and industrial factory farming kept me FAR FAR away – there was no way I was going to feed my growing baby that tainted meat on that processed to death sesame seed bun!

(Yup. The silly hyperbole will only get even more over the top now. Taco Bell and Burger King will kill your unborn child like that, don't you know! WOW! )

...

I have heard most mamas stop enjoying green vegetables during this time – thankfully that is not the case for me, I still LOVE kale and all things green (with a slice of hot cheese pizza please – haha). Actually my Melt In Your Mouth Kale Salad has been on serious repeat lately and is the one dish that doesn’t give me the pregnancy burbs! I’ll be sharing some more of the comfort food recipes I’ve been making soon.

(That's right. The great researcher "heard" ... And, yes, only food marketed as organic under her name will save her child, and your child, too!)

..."


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Hey, we all need some laughs this week, and this fear-mongering money-grubbing scam artist has gifted us a few.

http://qz.com/735165/trump-blaming-immigrants-for-spreading-disease-isnt-just-offensive-its-scientifically-wrong/

"In the United States and around the world, immigrants tend to serve as convenient scapegoats for all manner of ills. Some politicians have even gone so far as to suggest that undocumented immigrants are making US citizens sick.

In July 2015, Donald Trump said that “tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border” because of immigrants from Mexico and Latin America. Missouri’s Republican congressman Mo Brooks made a similar argument earlier that year, saying that Americans have died “because the diseases brought into America by illegal aliens who are not properly health care screened as lawful immigrants are,” and specifically suggesting that immigrants could be the cause behind the resurgence of the measles virus in the US. Former presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson also jumped on the bandwagon, blaming measles and other infectious diseases on incoming undocumented immigrants.

But a recent paper in The Journal of Travel Medicine found what many people already suspected: immigrants are not to blame for measles outbreaks. In fact, it’s mostly international travelers who are spreading the disease around.

Researchers reached this conclusion by examining vaccination rates for the first dose of a measles-containing vaccine (“MCV1”) in the top international travel destinations for U.S. residents, including Mexico, Canada, the UK, the Dominican Republic, several European countries, and China). They also looked at vaccination rates for the most common home countries of incoming international travelers, which again included Canada, Mexico, and the UK, as well as Japan, Brazil, and China, among others, as well as unauthorized immigrants living in the US.

..."

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And Drumpf is an anti-vaxer to boot!

WTF!!!????

"Federal prosecutors said Monday that Ryan Bundy tore his bed sheets and braided them together into 12–15 feet of rope in an attempt to escape Multnomah County Jail.

Bundy is at the jail awaiting trial for his role in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation earlier this year.

Speaking during a pretrial hearing in Portland, prosecutors said jail staff found the braided rope during a search of Bundy’s cell on April 8. Federal attorneys also said Bundy had stored a container of extra food in his cell.

Bundy denied that he had any plans to escape the jail, calling himself “a rancher trying to practice braiding rope.”

..."

Read more: http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/malheur-ryan-bundy-alleged-jail-escape-foiled/

-------------------------------------------

Source: OPB (NPR)

Federal prosecutors said Monday that Ryan Bundy tore his bed sheets and braided them together into 12–15 feet of rope in an attempt to escape Multnomah County Jail.

Bundy is at the jail awaiting trial for his role in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation earlier this year.

Speaking during a pretrial hearing in Portland, prosecutors said jail staff found the braided rope during a search of Bundy’s cell on April 8. Federal attorneys also said Bundy had stored a container of extra food in his cell.

Bundy denied that he had any plans to escape the jail, calling himself “a rancher trying to practice braiding rope.”

Read more: http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/malheur-ryan-bundy-alleged-jail-escape-foiled/

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