- Downing fish oils sounds like something a person would do
only if there were definite health benefits to be received. When a group of Greek
researchers inform the world that omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish such as
sardines and salmon, don’t actually stave off heart disease and stroke, then
what’s the point? The Greek-searchers conducted a review and analysis of
previous clinical trials including more than 68,000 participants and concluded
that the fatty acids have no impact on overall death rates, deaths from heart
disease, or strokes and heart attacks. It did not matter if the fatty acids
were consumed in pill form or from fish in the diet, according to lead
researcher Mosef Elisef of the University Hospital of Ioannina. "Overall,
omega-3...supplementation was not associated with a lower risk of all-cause
mortality, cardiac death, sudden death, myocardial infarction, or stroke based
on relative and absolute measures of association," Elisef wrote in his
team’s findings. The research directly contradicts (nothing new for science)
evidence from a decade ago suggesting that omega-3s, including the acids known
as EPA and DHA, had a strong protective effect even though the mechanism wasn't
understood. At the time, scientists cited improvements in levels of
triglycerides - a type of fat in the blood - as well as blood pressure levels
and heart rhythm disturbances. There has remained a certain level of
disagreement over the issue in the interim, but the tide has shifted and
changed substantially earlier this year when a group of Korean researchers
found that omega-3 supplements had no effect on heart disease or death based on
20,000 participants in previous trials. That set up the Greek study, which pooled
results of 18 clinical trials that assigned participants randomly to take
either omega-3 supplements, or not. Data in the study reached back as far as
1989. Time to move on to the next “miracle” cure-all……….
- While the world has paid attention to the ongoing chaos in
Libya, the trampling of human rights in China and other flare-ups around the
globe, Iran has apparently been very busy. Believe it or not, despot Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad and his regime have allegedly moved further toward the ability to build a
nuclear weapon, according to the U.N. atomic agency. The agency said it has
received new and significant intelligence over the past month showing that Iran
has advanced its work on calculating the destructive power of an atomic warhead
through a series of computer models that it ran sometime within the past three
years. For the record, Iran continues to insist its nuclear program is only for
peaceful, energy-creating purposes. According to the U.N. diplomats, the
information comes from Israel, the United States and at least two other Western
countries. The three-year window is significant because if the International
Atomic Energy Agency decides that the intelligence is credible, it bolsters the
case that Iran has continued its weapons work very recently. Computer modeling
work is normally accompanied by physical tests of the components that go into a
nuclear weapon, giving credence to suspicions that Tehran is pursuing a
multi-faceted weapons research plan. The computer mock-ups Iran supposedly ran
are typically used to assess how high explosives compress fissile warhead
material, setting off the chain reaction that results in a nuclear explosion.
What that has to do with generating power to fuel homes and businesses across
Iran is unclear, but Ahmadinejad certainly has a bullsh*t explanation locked
and loaded. Israel has become increasingly agitated with Iran and demanded
stronger action against its neighbor, while Iran denies any interest in nuclear
weapons and says such claims are based on fabricated intelligence. There is no
way it is enriching uranium to make the core of nuclear warheads, Iran has said
repeatedly. Even though other nations have offered the very sort of reactor
fuel Iran is supposedly creating for power-only purposes, those offers have
been summarily rejected. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded
"red lines" be set for Iran
and this news should only embolden him. The issue is now in the hands of the
IAEA, which first outlined suspicions in November that Iran was working on
calculating the yield of a nuclear weapon. For some reason, the situation seems
destined for an explosive conclusion…………
- What a massive day for American sports. In a sport 99
percent of the country could not care less about and in a match that was
nothing more than a preliminary step toward qualifying for an event that the
United States has no hope of winning, the U.S. rebounded from a loss at Jamaica four nights
earlier and moved back into a tie for the lead in their World Cup qualifying
group with a high-scoring 1-0 win over the Reggae Boyz in Columbus, Ohio on
Tuesday night. That’s right, Jamaica actually beat the U.S. four days prior,
but U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann promised before the match that his team would
not lose to Jamaica again. The prospect of the island nation owning its much
larger rival not only in track and field’s sprint events, but also on the
soccer field was odd, but with a friendly home crowd clad in red, white and
blue, the United States came out swinging…..and played 55 scoreless minutes of
soccer before tallying the game’s only goal as Herculez Gomez curled in a free
kick in the 55th minute. "That was an awesome homecoming," Gomez said
afterward. "You couldn't ask for more. The crowd was great, and the guys
fed off of it." With a few lineup changes after Friday's 2-1 loss in
Kingston, the U.S. earned three points for the win and is tied with Guatemala
(2-1-1) at seven points in Group A of the North and Central American and
Caribbean semifinals. A World Cup spot is still not assured, as Jamaica (2-1-1)
also has seven points but trails on goal difference. Only the top two
nations advance to next year's six-team regional finals and from that round, three
qualifiers will advance to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. There is no chance the
U.S. wins the World Cup any time in the next 50 years or so and a 1 percent
chance they make it past the initial group stage of the tournament if they do
qualify, but does anyone doubt how much Tuesday’s win means to the entire
country? Well, other than the 99 percent who are paying attention to sports
that matter, like college and professional football and Major League Baseball.
Klinsmann knows there is a long way to go before his team can celebrate
anything. "We know it's not done yet," he said. "We know it's
down to the wire. That's what World Cup qualifiers are about." That’s
right, it’s all about a 1-0 rout against a country whose population is about
1/50th of yours……
- The idea of 1-cent currency is under attack in more than a
few countries around the world, both in Europe and even in Canada. But a small
sporting goods store in Vermont is attempting to start the revolution in the
United States and if you hate pennies, Power
Play Sports is your kind of place. The Morrisville, Vt. merchant is banning
pennies because of a philosophical beef with the concept of the penny that
owner Caleb Magoon has developed. He refuses to accept pennies and to prevent
his cashiers from having to deal with them, he rounds all prices up or down to
the nearest nickel. "It doesn't matter to them really," Magoon said
of customers’ reaction to the change. "Check transactions, credit cards
are the same, they still pay to the cent. On cash transactions, they are
getting a few cents back and it saves them a few cents." If Magoon really
wanted to be fair, he would automatically round down to the nearest nickel and
not simply assume that paying an extra cent or two doesn’t matter to customers
because if they shop at the store often enough it should even out. Some
customers have praised the change, Magoon said, and remarked that they don’t
even like or want pennies. Other than the supposedly massive hassle of having a
space for pennies in the change drawer at the store’s register and the desire
to gain some free publicity for his store by adopting a pointless policy based
on a vague philosophical issue, it’s unclear what Magoon hopes to gain or
prove. Maybe he has simply been affected by the brainwashing power sweeping
south from nearby Canada, which has already decided to end production of
pennies. Perhaps Magoon should go ahead and pack up his operation and head
across the border to become a Canuck………
- Chances to add a self-aggrandizing, blowhard, pompous
converva-Nazi asshat’s programming service to a cable or satellite provider’s channel lineup do
not come along often. Most providers want entertaining content that doesn’t
come from the mind of a guy who lives his entire life with his head at least
two feet up his ass, but Dish Network seems to feel differently and so it
announced Wednesday that it is adding Glenn Beck's channel TheBlaze, to its
lineup. It’s the first time Beck's Internet-based channel has gained carriage
with a traditional pay-TV distributor at those who do not reside well past the
most far-right boundary of the über-conservative end of the political continuum
have to hope the trend does not pick up steam from here. Beck’s channel will be
available on the most costly tier of Dish service, called "America's Top
250," or as the single-worst $5 anyone will ever spend if a user
subscribes to cheaper tiers. Heartbreakingly, the channel will not be available
as a standalone subscription to Dish customers unless they subscribe to a basic
package of channels. "TheBlaze has helped revolutionize television over
the Internet and now we are excited to bring the revolution back to traditional
television," Beck said in a statement. One has to wonder why no one else
realizes that Internet television content has been revolutionized or that Beck
is the one responsible for it, but living in the reality-free, delusional world
he seems to occupy might actually be nice every now and then for those bound by
the constraints of reality. TheBlaze, ironically named after a synonym for
smoking a certain substance Beck probably isn't a fan of, has been his focus
since he was pushed out the door last year by Fox News for….well, for being
Glen Beck. TheBlaze was originally saddled with the horrific and eponymous
moniker GBTV, but was renamed TheBlaze over the summer in the hopes of getting
people to forget that it is Beck’s brainchild. For those who don’t subscribe to
Dish Network but still wish to be subjected to Beck’s ass-hattery, the channel will
continue to be available to online subscribers………
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