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bananas's JournalLandmark 20-Year Study Finds Pesticides Linked to Depression In Farmers
Landmark 20-Year Study Finds Pesticides Linked to Depression In Farmers
By Dan Nosowitz on November 7, 2014
A landmark study indicates that seven pesticides, some widely used, may be causing clinical depression in farmers. Will the government step in and start regulating these chemical tools?
Earlier this fall, researchers from the National Institute of Health finished up a landmark 20-year study, a study that hasn’t received the amount of coverage it deserves. About 84,000 farmers and spouses of farmers were interviewed since the mid-1990s to investigate the connection between pesticides and depression, a connection that had been suggested through anecdotal evidence for far longer. We called up Dr. Freya Kamel, the lead researcher on the study, to find out what the team learned and what it all means. Spoiler: nothing good.
“There had been scattered reports in the literature that pesticides were associated with depression,” says Kamel. “We wanted to do a new study because we had more detailed data than most people have access to.” That excessive amount of data includes tens of thousands of farmers, with specific information about which pesticides they were using and whether they had sought treatment for a variety of health problems, from pesticide poisoning to depression. Farmers were surveyed multiple times throughout the 20-year period, which gives the researchers an insight into their health over time that no other study has.
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There’s a significant correlation between pesticide use and depression, that much is very clear, but not all pesticides. The two types that Kamel says reliably moved the needle on depression are organochlorine insecticides and fumigants, which increase the farmer’s risk of depression by a whopping 90% and 80%, respectively. The study lays out the seven specific pesticides, falling generally into one of those two categories, that demonstrated a categorically reliable correlation to increased risk of depression.
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Cognitive therapy, mindfulness may help with menopausal depression
Cognitive therapy, mindfulness may help with menopausal depression
By Janice Neumann
Fri Nov 7, 2014 2:02pm EST
Psychotherapy and mindfulness techniques could help many women who experience depression during menopause, according to a review of existing research.
Too few studies have looked at whether cognitive therapies are good alternatives for women who can’t or don’t want to use pharmaceutical treatments, the authors conclude, but the handful that did mostly showed positive results.
“When I started work in this area, I was struck by the lack of alternative, non-pharmacological, non-hormonal treatment for menopausal symptoms, given the associated risks of hormone therapy and side effects of anti-depressants for some women,” said Sheryl Green, lead author of the study, in an e-mail to Reuters Health.
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“With its low-risk nature, it is something that I continue to practice with menopausal patients who cannot or chose not to take medication - with success,” she said.
Dr. Pauline Maki of The North American Menopause Society told Reuters Health she was glad to see a study about alternatives to traditional therapy for depressed women during menopause.
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Mind-blowing Meteor Shower on Mars During Comet Flyby, Say NASA Scientists
Source: Universe Today
“Thousands of meteors per hour would have
been visible — truly astounding to the human
eye.” That’s Nick Schneider’s description of
what you and I would have seen standing on
Mars during Comet Siding Spring’s close flyby
last month. “It would have been really mind-
blowing,” he added. Schneider is instrument
lead for MAVEN’s Imaging Ultraviolet
Spectrograph (IUVS). He and a group of
scientists who work as lead investigators for
instruments on the MAVEN and Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft
shared the latest results from the comet flyby
during a media teleconference earlier today.
There were many surprises. Would we expect
anything less from a comet?
Here’s a summary of the results:
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Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/116005/mind-blowing-meteor-shower-on-mars-during-comet-flyby-say-nasa-scientists/
Robin Williams’s autopsy found no alcohol or illegal drugs
Source: Associated Press
Robin Williams’s autopsy found that no alcohol or illegal drugs were in his body when he killed himself at his Northern California home in August, sheriff’s officials said Friday.
The results released by the Marin County sheriff’s office found that the actor had taken prescription medications, but in “therapeutic concentrations.”
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Williams had two types of antidepressants in his system when he died, as well as a Parkinson’s medication, caffeine, and another ingredient found in tea and cocoa, the autopsy found.
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Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/robin-williamss-autopsy-found-no-alcohol-or-illegal-drugs/2014/11/07/05c9c580-66e9-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67_story.html
Beijing Unveils Plan to Censor Social Media and Cloud Data Storage
Source: Business Week
Yet again, Beijing pledged to tighten the screws on the Chinese Internet. On Thursday, the government announced another nationwide campaign to root out online porn and “rumors”—which effectively means everything from libelous content to political dissent.
The targets will not only be traditional Web pages, but also videos and messages shared over social media platforms, data files stored in the cloud, and streaming video on smart TVs. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) expects to shut down several content providers deemed to have an adverse “severe impact,” as CAC official Liang Lihua told the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Representatives from 29 leading Chinese Web portals, including Tencent.com (700:HK), Sohu.com (SOHU), and 163.com (NTES), co-signed a “letter of intent” to uphold the government’s objective of cleaning up the Internet. Among other things, the companies pledged to require real-name registration of users and “to consciously abide by the ‘seven bottom lines’—law and rules, socialist systems, national interests, citizens’ legitimate rights, social public order, morality and authenticity of information,” according to the letter.
The document also enumerated 18 categories of information deemed unfit for public consumption, including anything deemed a “state secret” (a broad category) or likely to incite racial tension. “The management of posts and comments in line with the law concerns the guidance of online public opinion,” CAC Deputy Director Ren Xianliang told Xinhua.
Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-11-07/beijing-plans-to-censor-social-media-and-cloud-storage-in-crack-down#r=lr-sr
Emmylou Harris all-star tribute concert planned in D.C.
Source: The Tennessean
More than a dozen Americana/country stars and rising talents — many of them from Music City — will take the stage in Washington, D.C. in January to honor Nashville singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris.
The Life and Songs of Emmylou Harris: An All-Star Concert Celebration will take place January 10 at Dar Constitution Hall, and the lineup includes Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, Mary Chapin Carpenter,Mavis Staples, Martina McBride, John Hiatt, Lucinda Williams, Trampled By Turtles, Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, Rodney Crowell, Iron & Wine, Shawn Colvin, Shovels & Rope, Joan Baez, Sara Watkins and The Milk Carton Kids.
Harris will also perform and is set to collaborate with several acts.
The concert will be filmed and recorded for a future release. Additional performers will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets are $73-$273 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, November 7 at Ticketmaster.
Read more: http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2014/11/07/emmylou-harris-star-tribute-concert-planned-dc/18613625/
She's also an activist and a member of the National Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences
Activism
In 1997 and 1998, Harris performed in Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair, promoting feminism in music. Since 1999, Harris has been organizing an annual benefit tour called Concerts for a Landmine Free World. All proceeds from the tours support the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation's (VVAF) efforts to assist innocent victims of conflicts around the world. The tour also benefits the VVAF's work to raise America's awareness of the global landmine problem. Artists that have joined Harris on the road for these dates include Mary Chapin Carpenter, Bruce Cockburn, Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle, Joan Baez, Patty Griffin, Nanci Griffith, Willie Nelson, and Lucinda Williams. Harris is a supporter of animal rights and an active member of PETA.[14] She founded, and in her spare time assists at, Bonapart's Retreat, an animal shelter in Nashville.[15]
She became a member of the newly formed Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011.[16][17]
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, frequently known as the American Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious honorary societies and a leading center for independent policy research in the United States. Election to the Academy is considered one of the nation's highest honors since its founding during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, and other scholar-patriots who contributed prominently to the establishment of the new nation, its government, and its Constitution.[1]
Today the Academy is charged with a dual function: to elect to membership the finest minds and most influential leaders, drawn from science, scholarship, business, public affairs, and the arts, from each generation, and to conduct policy studies in response to the needs of society. Major Academy projects now have focused on higher education and research, humanities and cultural studies, scientific and technological advances, politics, population and the environment, and the welfare of children. Dædalus, the Academy's quarterly journal, is widely regarded as one of the world's leading intellectual journals.[2]
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National Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences
In 2011, a bipartisan group of Members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives called on the Academy to organize a national committee, prepare a report, and recommend concrete, actionable steps to ensure the nation's excellence in the humanities and the social sciences. In response, the Academy created the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences to claim a space in the national dialogue for the humanities and the social sciences and to recommend specific steps that government, schools and universities, cultural institutions, businesses, and philanthropies can take to support and strengthen these areas of knowledge. The Commission is co-chaired by Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead and John W. Rowe, former chair of Exelon Corp.[14]
On June 19, 2013,[15][16] the Commission issued its initial report The Heart of the Matter,[17] along with a companion film[18] created specially with the aid of Ken Burns and George Lucas.
The Commission's report has received wide press coverage[19] and statements of support from at least fifteen national and state organizations.[20]
Grant Anderson Named President and CEO of Paragon Space Development Corporation
Grant Anderson Named President and CEO of Paragon Space Development Corporation
Posted by Doug Messier on November 3, 2014
TUCSON, AZ, Nov. 3, 2014 (Paragon PR) – Just prior to the record-breaking, near space dive by the Paragon StratEx team and Google Executive, Alan Eustace, Paragon’s Board of Directors announced that Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum had resigned from their positions as President and CEO in order to become leaders of World View Enterprises, a space tourism vanguard opportunity incubated within Paragon.
Grant Anderson, former Paragon COO, has since been named Paragon’s new President and CEO while Ron Sable, a member of the Paragon Board of Directors, was elected Chairman of the Paragon Board.
“We are thankful for Jane and Taber’s leadership over the past 21 years as Paragon has grown to be a premier supplier of life support systems and technology and achieved great technical advancements and industry firsts,” said Mr. Sable. “We wish them both the best success in building this ground-breaking new company.”
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Obama Seeks $6 Billion for Ebola Fight
Source: NBC
President Barack Obama is asking Congress for $6 billion to fight Ebola both in the United States and in West Africa, administration officials said Wednesday.
If he got the money, it would be an overwhelming boost to the U.S. efforts to fight the virus, which has infected at least 13,000 people and which is killing 70 percent of them.
Obama is asking the lame-duck Congress to approve the funding. Republicans took the Senate in Tuesday’s elections and strengthened their hold on the House, but lawmakers have just under two months to take action before the new legislators are sworn in.
House Speaker John Boehner said the appropriations committee would review the request.
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Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/obama-seeks-6-billion-ebola-fight-n242181
Obama should also issue an executive order mandating proper equipment and policies at hospitals,
as the nurses are petitioning him to do (and I hope everyone here supports the nurses):
RN Ebola Strike, National Day of Action for Ebola Safety Standards Coast to Coast Nov. 12
Press Release, 10/30/14
Actions Include Strike by 18,000 Kaiser California RNs, Strike by Washington DC RNs, Events in at Least 14 States
Registered nurses from California to Maine will hold strikes, picketing, and other actions Wednesday, November 12 in 14 U.S. states and the District of Columbia – with possible support actions globally – as National Nurses United, the largest U.S. organization of nurses steps up the demand for tougher Ebola safety precautions in the nation’s hospitals.
One centerpiece of the actions will be a two-day strike by 18,000 RNs and nurse practitioners at 66 Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics who have been pressing the HMO giant for weeks to put in place proper safety protocols and training with optimal personal protective equipment. Kaiser has repeatedly dismissed the nurses’ concerns. In California alone, strikes, pickets and other actions will involve at least 50,000 RNs.
A strike will also occur at Providence Hospital in Washington D.C. affecting 400 RNs.
In addition, Ebola safety actions are tentatively set for Augusta, Ga., Bar Harbor, Me., Boston, Chicago, Durham, N.C., Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Lansing, Mi., Massilon, Oh., Miami, St. Louis, St. Paul, Mn., St. Petersburg, Fl., and Washington DC, as well as a number of other California locations. Additional details on exact sites of the actions will be announced soon.
NNU says it anticipates actions in many other states as well, as nurses are contacting NNU across the country and it is highly likely the national day of action will spread widely.
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Roku Livestream Democracy Now!
To watch Democracy Now on Roku, use the Livestream channel.
Use the channel store to add the livestream channel (free),
or search for livestream, and add the channel.
Go to the livestream channel, DemocracyNow should be listed among the live streams on the top row.
If you don't see it, scroll all the way to the bottom where you'll find a place to search for the account "democracynow".
There will be some archived shows listed, scroll sideways to todays election stream.
Climate change stopping nuclear power? Lake Michigan Rough waves cause reactor shutdown!
Nuclear reactors taken offline amid rough waters
11:31 a.m. EST November 3, 2014
LAKE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- Both reactors at the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant in southwestern Michigan were taken offline amid rough waters on Lake Michigan.
Indiana Michigan Power says in a statement the action was taken early Saturday after excessive debris from large lake swells damaged several water screens that remove debris carried in through three 16-foot cooling water intake tunnels for the plant in Berrien County's Lake Township.
The power company says the "conservative decision" to remove the units from service was made when an adequate cooling water supply to the non-nuclear side of the plant couldn't be guaranteed. It says both units "are in a safe and stable condition."
Indiana Michigan Power says there was no interruption of service to customers. It says the reactors remained offline Monday morning.
Via http://nuclear-news.net/2014/11/04/climate-change-stopping-nuclear-power-rough-waves-cause-reactor-shutdown/
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