MattSh
MattSh's JournalWhy (almost) everything you know about food is wrong - Vox
There was a time, in the distant past, when studying nutrition was a relatively simple science.
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Today, our greatest health problems relate to overeating. People are consuming too many calories and too much low-quality food, bringing on chronic diseases like cancer, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Unlike scurvy, these illnesses are much harder to get a handle on. They don't appear overnight; they develop over a lifetime. And fixing them isn't just a question of adding an occasional orange to someone's diet. It involves looking holistically at diets and other lifestyle behaviors, trying to tease out the risk factors that lead to illness.
Today's nutrition science has to be a lot more imprecise. It's filled with contradictory studies that are each rife with flaws and limitations. The messiness of this field is a big reason why nutrition advice can be confusing.
It's also part of why researchers can't seem to agree on whether tomatoes cause or protect against cancer, or whether alcohol is good for you or not, and so on, and why journalists so badly muck up reporting on food and health.
To get a sense for how difficult it is to study nutrition, I spoke to eight health researchers over the past several months. Here's what they told me.
1) It's not practical to run randomized trials for most big nutrition questions
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2) Instead, nutrition researchers have to rely on observational studies — which are rife with uncertainty
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3) Another difficulty: Many nutrition studies rely on (wildly imprecise) food surveys
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4) More complications: People and food are diverse
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5) Conflict of interest is a huge problem in nutrition research
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6) Even with all those faults, nutrition science isn't futile
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-----> http://www.vox.com/2016/1/14/10760622/nutrition-science-complicated
Yosemite to Rename Several Iconic Places (Because concessionaire trademarked them)
Yosemite to Rename Several Iconic Places | Outside Online
Can a private company trademark public property? That's the question the feds are scrambling to answer after a longtime concessionaire in Yosemite claimed rights to the names of some of the park's most iconic locations.
Bid goodbye to Yosemite’s familiar Ahwahnee hotel, Yosemite Lodge, the Wawona Hotel, Curry Village, and Badger Pass ski area—or their names, anyway. The National Park Service said today it will rename many well-known spots in Yosemite, as part of an ongoing legal dispute with an outgoing concessionaire that has trademarked many names in the world-famous park.
“While it is unfortunate that we must take this action, changing the names of these facilities will help us provide seamless service to the American public during the transition to the new concessioner,” Yosemite National Park Superintendent Don Neubacher said today.
Among the changes: Yosemite Lodge at the Falls will become Yosemite Valley Lodge; The Ahwahnee Hotel will become the Majestic Yosemite Hotel; Curry Village will become Half Dome Village; Wawona Hotel will become Big Trees Lodge; and Badger Pass Ski Area will become Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area.
What else might this mean? Officials aren’t sure. The park remains open. And the park service insists that the experience for park visitors won’t change. By March 1, though—the date the new concessionaire takes over—signs all over the park have to be taken down and changed. “It’s not only signs on the hotel, it’s directional signs around the park,” including the famous brown park signs— not to mention marketing materials and brochures and anything else that uses the trademarked words, said Scott Gediman, a spokesman for Yosemite National Park.
The outgoing company also trademarked “Yosemite National Park” for merchandising purposes, said Gediman. Will you be able to buy a Yosemite T-shirt at the gift shop come March 1? “That’s something that remains to be determined,” he said.
-----> http://www.outsideonline.com/2048041/who-owns-yosemite
David Bowie & Freddie Mercury - Under Pressure (A-Capella)
One day in 1981 Bowie reunited with Queen in a recording studio in Switzerland, with the intention of doing vocals for the song “Cool Cat” . David got bored and suggested writing a new song from scratch. According to Mark Blake, author of a biography of Freddie Mercury, they began a 24 hours marathon of wine and cocaine and ended up with this musical gem. This is incredible! Back in the day when auto-tune wasn’t needed. You’d never hear this from most ‘singers’ these days.
The hidden drugs in your favorite supplements
When you take a prescription drug in the United States, you can be reasonably sure of what's in it. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that all pharmaceuticals be thoroughly tested in humans, that they contain whatever ingredients are listed on the label, and that they have evidence to back their marketing claims.
Unfortunately, the same isn't true for dietary supplements.
Americans spend more than $30 billion on supplements each year. Supplements are now the most common form of alternative medicine, and many of these pills promise to do incredible things, from boosting memory and building muscles to burning fat fast.
There's just one problem: These pills are barely regulated. Supplement makers don't need to prove their products are safe or even effective before putting them on store shelves. And while supplements are supposed to be accurately labeled, a Vox review of government databases, court documents, and scientific studies uncovered more than 850 products that contained illegal and/or hidden ingredients — including banned drugs, pharmaceuticals like antidepressants, and other synthetic chemicals that have never been tested on humans.
We found examples of weight loss supplements spiked with cancer-causing drugs that had been pulled from the US market, and brain enhancers laced with chemicals that have never been approved for sale in the US. More than 100 products contained DMAA, a drug that's been banned in the US, UK, and several other countries because it is linked to strokes, heart failure, and sudden death.
-----> http://www.vox.com/a/supplements/the-hidden-drugs-in-your-favorite-supplements
Corruption in Ukraine is so bad, a Nigerian prince would be embarrassed
NOTE: My apologies to all those who clicked on this link expecting an article from RT or Sputnik. This time, instead of bashing the messenger, you'll need to analyze and debate the message. Or just ignore it. But if you choose to ignore it, remember that your tax dollars are going to support this train wreck of a government. Do enjoy that. The oligarchs and crooks of Ukraine thank you for that and hope that in the future you will continue to ignore or apologize for events in Ukraine.
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Corruption in Ukraine is so bad, a Nigerian prince would be embarrassed
United States Vice President Joe Biden has never been one to hold his tongue. He certainly didn’t in his recent trip to Kiev. In a speech before Ukraine’s Parliament, Biden told legislators that corruption was eating Ukraine “like a cancer,” and warned Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that Ukraine had “one more chance” to confront corruption before the United States cuts off aid.
Biden’s language was undiplomatic, but he’s right: Ukraine needs radical reforms to root out graft. After 18 months in power, Poroshenko still refuses to decisively confront corruption. It’s time for Poroshenko to either step up his fight against corruption — or step down if he won’t.
When it comes to Ukrainian corruption, the numbers speak for themselves. Over $12 billion per year disappears from the Ukrainian budget, according to an adviser to Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau. And in its most recent review of global graft, anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International ranked Ukraine 142 out of 174 countries on its Corruption Perceptions Index — below countries such as Uganda, Nicaragua and Nigeria. Ordinary Ukrainians also endure paying petty bribes in all areas of life. From vehicle registration, to getting their children into kindergarten, to obtaining needed medicine, everything connected to government has a price.
The worst corruption occurs at the nexus between business oligarchs and government officials. A small number of oligarchs control 70 percent of Ukraine’s economy, and over the years have captured and corrupted Ukraine’s political and judicial institutions. As a result, a “culture of impunity” was created, where politicians, judges, prosecutors and oligarchs collude in a corrupt system where everyone but the average citizen benefits.
While there are numerous examples of high-level corruption in Ukraine, a few stand out for their sheer brazenness. In one case, $1.8 billion of an IMF loan to Ukraine meant to support the banking system instead disappeared into various offshore accounts affiliated with PrivatBank in Ukraine, which is owned by Ihor Kolomoisky — one of Ukraine’s leading oligarchs.
-----> http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/12/30/corruption-in-ukraine-is-so-bad-a-nigerian-prince-would-be-embarrassed-2/
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The Ukrainians starting a new life – in Russia | World news | The Guardian
It’s a scary feeling when you land at the end of the earth and you literally know nobody,” said Tatyana Kurlayeva while sipping a cappuccino in a cafe in Magadan, a bleak city in the far east of Russia.
Kurlayeva, 32, fled to Magadan in 2014 from her hometown of Komsomolsk, near Donetsk in east Ukraine. She was one of dozens of refugees from the conflict zone to make a new life in Russia’s former Gulag capital. Across Russia, hundreds of thousands of east Ukrainians have arrived since the conflict started.
Some want to return now the fighting has stopped but many more want to stay. Icy Magadan is more than 4,000 miles from east Ukraine, but Kurlayeva has chosen to make it her new home.
She decided to leave Komsomolsk in August 2014, after her brother was kidnapped by the far-right Azov volunteer battalion. Although he was later released, the experience had shaken up the family and made them unwilling to stay.
Her husband wanted to join the pro-Russia rebel militia, but she persuaded him that the pair of them should take their daughter and flee. She closed down the children’s clothing shop she ran and the three crossed the border, then spent a week in a refugee camp near the city of Rostov.
“It was horrible, I’m not used to living like that. I never thought I would be a refugee. We wanted to get out as soon as possible, and I had always read that Magadan was an interesting and friendly place, so we spent all our savings on tickets from Rostov via Moscow to Magadan. It was the first time I’d ever been on a plane.”
-----> http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/05/ukrainian-russia-refugee-conflict
A couple of problems with this story though.
1. The 300,000 number of refugees in Russia is the lowest number I've ever seen, going back over a year. Even the Speaker of the Ukraine Parliament acknowledges Russia hosting over 1 million refugees.
http://www.kyivpost.com/content/russia-and-former-soviet-union/moscow-russia-receives-twice-as-many-refugees-as-europe-without-any-fuss-and-political-moaning-399181.html
2. Before people flee on political considerations, 9 times out of 10, they'll flee to a place where they know somebody. Even if that person or persons cannot physically accommodate them. And the Guardian certainly knows that.
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Kiev Struggles to Battle Rampant Corruption - WSJ
KIEV, Ukraine—At a parliamentary meeting on combating corruption, Ukrainian lawmaker Volodymyr Parasyuk sought to land his own blow against graft—by kicking in the face an official he says owns luxury properties worth much more than a state salary could provide.
Almost two years after a revolution that brought down a president, Mr. Parasyuk’s outrage reflects public frustration that the new government isn’t doing enough to tackle the rampant corruption that fueled the uprising and that keeps Ukraine among the poorest nations in Europe.
“I wanted to remind him that he is made of the same sweat and blood as the rest of us, because that is what these bureaucrats forget," said the 28-year-old, one of the most visible protesters in the demonstrations that helped oust pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. He has since apologized to the nation for the attack in parliament in November, but says he won’t do the same to the official, who denies enriching himself.
In the chaotic and combative politics of Ukraine—where parliament is the site of frequent mass brawls—it is hard to untangle all the overlapping corruption allegations and squabbling over who is to blame. Mr. Parasyuk himself was named this week as receiving money from an organized crime suspect, a claim he denies.
-----> http://www.wsj.com/articles/kiev-struggles-to-battle-rampant-corruption-1451641811
To actually read the article, click this link...
https://www.google.com/search?q=Kiev+Struggles+to+Battle+Rampant+Corruption&gws_rd=ssl
then click on the first story listed.
Who is Hillary trying to impress with this?
Please. Someone tell me this is not a real Hillary ad...
If so, she's gone so far off the rails that she must be way off in the Atlantic by now, hanging out with the Titanic.
The disappointed tourists of Yelp - CNN.com
(CNN)The online review site Yelp isn't just a place to compare local dry cleaners or find out if anyone, ever, has patronized the shady, constantly shuttered takeaway joint on your corner.
It's also a handy tool for the international tourist, with users leaving feedback on everything from the quality of the eggs at Las Vegas casino breakfast buffets to the lines at Paris's Musee du Louvre.
Yelp's users are, primarily, an enthusiastic and appreciative bunch.
"Michelangelo, you really outdid yourself," user Kathryn W. of Long Island notes approvingly of the Sistine Chapel, in a characteristically positive review.
But for a small but vocal minority of Yelp's unhappiest travelers, the world is full of disappointing discoveries.
Such as:
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Old things sometimes look old
New York's Statue of Liberty: "As a proud American I wanted to love this, but was grossly underwhelmed... Old Lady Liberty is just that... old."
-- Nicholas H., San Francisco
Rome's Colosseum: "Yes, it looks great at night but put some lights up on that abandoned GM Assembly Plant in Detroit and you'd have about the same thing without any long visitor lines."
-- Marqus R., Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Istanbul's Hagia Sophia: "There is nothing much to see inside and the place is falling apart. I get that it is ancient but I have to ask where the entrance fee funds are going."
--Camie T., London
-----> http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/21/travel/yelp-tourists/index.html
Ukrainians Disillusioned With Leadership - Gallup
Ukrainians Disillusioned With Leadership
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
17% approve of Poroshenko's job performance
8% confident in their national government
5% say government doing enough to fight corruption
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Despite signs last year that Ukraine's then-new president was starting to rebuild Ukrainians' trust in their leadership, President Petro Poroshenko is now less popular than his predecessor Viktor Yanukovych was before he was ousted. After more than a year in office, 17% of Ukrainians approve of the job that Poroshenko is doing. This approval rating is down sharply from 47% a few months after his election in May 2014.
Poroshenko's low approval rating largely reflects Ukrainians' disenchantment with their leadership, which many feel has failed to deliver on what protesters demanded when they took to the streets two years ago. Since the Maidan revolution, Ukraine's economy has been in shambles, the Crimea region joined Russia and fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in the country's East has claimed more than 9,000 lives.
Although fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists has decreased recently, Gallup's interviews in Ukraine this year took place in July and August, as renewed fighting threatened the shaky truce. Gallup's polls excluded the Donetsk and Luhansk territories, where security continues to be an issue. The excluded areas account for approximately 2% of Ukraine's adult population.
Poroshenko is not popular in any region of Ukraine. He has the fewest fans in the country's Russian-leaning South and East, where one in 10 or fewer approve of the job he is doing. However, Poroshenko notably also has fewer admirers in the West and South and East than Yanukovych did before the revolution. In the Central and North regions (which include Kiev), roughly as many Ukrainians approve of Poroshenko now (21%) as approved of Yanukovych (20%) in 2013.
-----> http://www.gallup.com/poll/187931/ukrainians-disillusioned-leadership.aspx
NOT surprising. There wasn't a single reformer in the "leadership". This is what you get when you back a Chocolate magnate, a bureaucrat whose nickname is "rabbit", a Far-right nationalist, and a boxer. Surprised more people didn't see this joke coming from a million miles away.
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Gender: Do not displayHome country: USA
Current location: Former USSR
Member since: Wed Oct 25, 2006, 02:04 PM
Number of posts: 3,714
