Barack Obama's visits to Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, the West Bank and Germany, France and Britain were a masterpiece of competent organization and dignified and calm performance. He displayed clarity ( early withdrawal from Iraq, in which he received support from al- Maliki, much to the chagrin of the Bush Adm. ), resolve ( his very forthright meeting with Gen. Petraeus ), firmness ( his talk with Pres. Karzai ) , consistency ( his statements in Israel and West Bank ) , and serenity ( the way he handled himself amidst the adoration of tens of thousands in Germany ).

      His campaign team and his supporters are rubbing their hands in glee. In the meantime McCain was left wringing his hands and pouting, unable to find something/anything to attack. He vainly tried to make an issue of Obama's not visiting wounded soldiers, saying it was because no cameras were allowed, but it fell flat. His 
Intemperate personal attack on Obama (saying that “Senator Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign "), reveal the depth of his frustration and his inability to control his temper tantrums. Pres. Bush recent change of heart on Iran ( his decision to send a ranking diplomat to negotiate on nuclear issues and his wanting to establish a U.S. Interests Section in Teheran, not done since the hostage crisis ), would seem to support Obama's call for dialogue and left McCain's Mid-East saber rattling policy in total disarray. McCain's foreign expertise was his greatest claim to the presidency. Now this policy is seen as bellicose and brittle, inflexible and outdated. It was a bad two weeks and McCain seem to be fading. Don't be surprised if the nastiness begins to increase with great rapidity and viciousness. The Neo-Cons with whom he has surrounded himself are in no mood to play nice.

 

     

A  UCLA Veterans Affair research team has found that Curcumin may be a very potent drug, in the treatment and prevention of a number of age related diseases such as Alzheimer, Colon cancer and Heart disease. Curcumin a key ingredient in Turmeric, commonly found in Curry (India’s answer to aspirin), has been in use for thousands of years as an anti-inflammatory, for healing wounds and as a preservative.

    The incidence of Alzheimer among older adults in India, where Curry is a staple, is 4.4 times lower than in North America.

       Viagra can help some women who experience sexual side-effects from using anti-depressants. Women are prescribed anti-depressants, two times more than men. Sexual side-effects can keep them from taking their medications. It must be noted that Viagra, did nothing for the sex drive or desire of women, and a common side effect is headache.

     Researchers have found that giving Green Tea to mice reversed effects of Parkinson’s disease..

    A cup of Black Tea can relieve stress,. However Coffee can increase stress.

    Eating Blueberries, are good for memory, whereas smoking is bad for it.

    Children born to mothers who use Cell phones while pregnant, are 54% more likely to have behavioral problems.

    Conceiving a baby while using marijuana, can lead to miscarriage.

    Teens who drink too much soda have a higher incidence of mental problems. Teens who skip family meals are more likely to smoke and drink.

    Children exposed to Lead, are more likely to commit violent crimes as adults.

    Benefits of eating Fish, outweighs the fact that they are increasingly contaminated with mercury and other toxins, according to scientists.

    Left-handed people are better at multi-tasking.

    Women are better than men at remembering the location of foods in a supermarket.

Separatists Purists???
It must be a slow day or the summer heat has softened some heads ..... the protests of Paul Mc Cartney's appearance on the Plains of Abraham, is another indication of how desperate some Parti Quebecois'M.N.A.'S are to find some thing, no matter how silly, to rally the scattered and dispirited troops. How dare an " Anglo- Saxon Idol" prance on these sacred grounds? These abandoned children of Mother France, should read their history books and discover the truth about Mama. She preferred to hold on to Guadeloupe and its sugar and give up Quebec and its maple syrup. The British would have preferred Guadeloupe and its lucrative resources and tropical weather, but France ( even unto today prefer the colony of Guadeloupe ) I guess the trauma has strengthened the need to remonstrate when any slight is perceived.
Get a life or even better yet get over it and go and enjoy Sir Paul!!!!!

.

The Reform/ Conservative Government of Stephen Harper is once again threatening our democracy. Not content with limiting access to reporters and muzzling their
M.P.s, they are now attacking Elections Canada and its Commissioner Marc Mayrand. They claim that Elections Canada are " totally preoccupied ", with "smearing the party and creating bad press".
This is as a result of Elections Canada, finding that there was questionable elections spending, in the 2006 elections, by various Conservative candidates. In reporting expenses, they "fiddled the accounting of their spending " ( Gazette Editorial..July 18 ).The Conservatives have a habit of trying to cow opponents by threatening in loud language, and trying to impugn their integrity. This is the tactic of the ignorant and the bully and it must stop.
Elections Canada is charged with ensuring that elections' rules are respected, and it is their responsibility to investigate and reveal wrongdoing. This is one of the ways to ensure free and fair elections. To attack them for doing their work is dangerous and unproductive.
....................................

Last November, a plan was drawn up by the Agriculture Dept. and approved by the Treasury Board, to take the responsibility of food inspection from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and to give it to the food industry. This plan was kept secret from the Canadian public, because of “significant communication risks” (read public outrage and outcry), according to the Agriculture Dept.

     The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s role would only be one of oversight of the industry's inspection ( similar to that in the U.S.A. ). Why the secrecy? What are they afraid of? If the Agriculture Dept. thinks that this is a good idea, it should reveal its plan and defend it, and not simply sneak it upon an uninformed and unsuspecting public.

    The public, concerned with Sars. mad cow disease, salmonella poisoning etc.must be warned of this cover-up. Why is the Govt. doing this? This plan will at best save about $24 million dollars over the first few years ( Gazette July20 ). What is the Government getting out of this cozying to the food industry? And why do they CONTINUE TO MAKE DECISIONS OF SUCH PUBLIC IMPORT, IN SECRET? 

   The Reform/ Conservative Govt. must become more transparent and stop its anti-democratic impulses. This is necessary if our democracy is to continue to grow and become more inclusive. This latest secret is dangerous and potentially disastrous.

 Morgenthaler....Mandela.....G8 ..and Gems from Harper's Magazine....

     The Order of Canada awarded to Dr. Henry Morgenthaler  is most deserving and long overdue. At great personal risk, this survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, championed women's health and reproductive rights, by offering to perform abortion at his clinic ai Honore Beaugrande  St. in Montreal, Quebec.He was arrested, tried and convicted. After appeals, in 1988, the Supreme Court, using Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms " the right to life, liberty and the security of persons ",  struck down Canada's abortion law.

   The deciision not only clarified Sec.7, but freed women from the shackles of unwanted [pregnancy, and the freedom not to be kept " barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen ". Women were now in fuller control of their life. Their servitude was  coming to an end.....the right to vote and run for office, to start a business and get a bank loan, to have a career and to be free from the tyranny of male/religious domination.
   The reaction of The Bishop of Toronto was at best fatuous and the predictable statement from the fundamentalist Stephen Harper was laughable. Latest polls show that more than 65% of Canadians support the granting of the award.

                                               Nelson Mandela...

     In a recent statment, the American Government, has decided to remove the name  of Nelson Mandela from their terrorist list. He was placed there by the Reagan Administration, who had a policy of support for the racist, apartheid government of South Africa and also a policy of labelling " freedom fighters " as terrorists.........hello Washington, Jefferson et al. By the way this was the same Reagan Adm. that supported  " death squads " operating freely and openly throughout Latin Americs.

                                         G.8 Meeting

     They met , feasted on caviar and champagne, exchanged "photo" hand shakes and then laboured mightily and produced a " toothless "  and " stillborn " and meaningless baby of Kyoto. They gave themselves until 2050 to reduce carbon emissions by 50% but were left to their own designs as to how to do this. The " fossil fuel barons " are in hogs heaven. The Bush/ Cheney/ Rice led lobby, kowtowingly supported by Stephen Harper are ever going to be wined and dined by these barons.

                                       Gems from Harper's Magazine.......July 08.

    1.  Estimated total value of investments in major military contractors owned by members of Congress....$150,000,000.....let's make war...ohh, it's so profitable.

   2.House cats must have 2 hours of social " activities " each day, according to new regulations in Sweden......purrrrr.

   3.Genetic variation affecting two thirds of East Asians men, allow them to take performance-enhancing testosterone without detection.....Hello Olympics!!!!

   4.Women who  consume bananas before conception are more likely to give birth to boys ..... Does this qualify as performance enhancing? Another conspiracy against females and what does this do for the Chinese one child policy and all of those Indians using ultra sound to find out baby's gender so that they can get rid of unwanted girls..... Outlaw bananas until they stop their gender bias!!!!!!

   5. On a more gender free note...... Bornean orangutans, have learned to swim and spear fish. 

    Lastly I would like to recommend three books for your reading pleasure.......Salman Rushdie's  Midnight Children.....J.M. Coetzee's ..Disgrace and John Grisham's  The Appeal .                                     
 
                                          Ishwar Prashad.......retiredprof.com