The mid-term elections are a few days away and the cacaphony from the Republicans, the Tea Party, Fox and its amen lobby, the idiotic, loud mouth and racist talk radio, Palin, Limbaugh and the other fearmongers and haters are at a fever pitch and are drowming out the need to identify and address the real problems and find solutions. There are two major targets......China and Obama.
     China, like Japan, Korea and Taiwan in the 70s, and Mexico in the 90s, is pelted with vitriol verging on racism. It is being blamed for America's economic stagnation, the housing bubble, continued high unemployment and growing dent. China's decade-long 10% growth, low inflation and its trade deficit with the USA, are blamed on its low currency, and that they save more than they consume. China is blamed for American consumers demanding cheaper goods and not American companies that have gone and invested where there is growth overseas, especially in China, where their made-in China goods benefit these companies eg. Nike and Caterpillar to name just two, who take advantage of low wages and a docile and plentiful work force, and a growing market for their goods, resulting in great profits. They are the ones who take jobs outside the USA, jobs that can be done at great savings in China, and because the highly effective and productive manufacturing sector that require fewer and fewer workers because of IT, robotics and other efficiences. It is not China's fault.
     Do not blame China for its trillion reserve. Some of it come back in profits for American companies and loans for the federal government. The American economy and people benefit from this, as well as the cheaper goods that consumers constantly demand. The global economy is increasingly inter-dependent. There is a symbiotic relationship. Retaliating against China or forcing it to raise the value of its currency, will not bring back manufacturing jobs (high-end or not). This will not make manufacturers re-tool or, rebuild the infrastructute. All it will do is cause chaos and disruptions in the world economy. What is needed, is to recognise and deal with our problems. Political posturing and scape-goating are just distractions. They are destructive and unproductive, raising fears and paranoia, detracting from finding solutions. The Chinese bogeyman is a chimera.
     Obama is not a Muslim or the devil in disguise. He is as American as apple-pie. Give him credit for the 93% of people getting more on their pay-check because of tax-cuts; for the millions who were able to keep their jobs beacuse of the stimulus package; for the  winding down the war in Iraq; for the millions who will benefit from greater medical care and for those who no longer can be penalised for being sick and poor; for the recovering economy, even if jobs are slow to come back; for taking the fight to Wall Street and the Corporate pirates; for the prestige that America has regained in the eyes of the world and for taking on the Taliban and al Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yes more needs to be done but he cannot do it alone. The American system of checks and balances require  the consent of Congress, where the Republicans are obscurantist and obstructionist....they want him to fail, even if it means that Amerii 

   Canada withdrew from the race to win a seat in the United Nations Security Council (its most powerful body), after it became evident that it was not going to get the required 128 votes. In the first ballot Germany got the required 128 votes, with Portugal getting 122 and Canada getting 114. On the second ballot Canada got only 78 votes and Portugal got 113, and Canada withdrew and left the way clear for Portugal, because it realised that it could not muster the 128 needed. This marks the first time that Canada has not won a seat at least once a decade (2000). This the first time in over 50 years that Canada has failed to get a seat on the Security Council. It is important to note that the U.S.A. did not campaign for Canada, but stood on the sidelines. There is a message here.
     This is a significant defeat and is blamed on Canada's foreign policy which has alienated many potential supporters. European and small island nations are angry over climate change policy, and also because of what is seen as Canada's lukewarm support for peace-keeping missions over the past years (Canada has always been seen as a major player in peace-keeping since the days of Lester Pearson and had won wide acclaim for its participation, but under Harper this has changed ). Arab, Muslim and African (reduction in foreign aid plated a part here), countries have also been turned off by Canada's recent announcement of closer relations with Israel ( a time when the peace process is threatened by Israel's ending of the partial freeze on settlement building on the West Bank), made ny International Trade Minister Peter Van Loon. The Arab and Muslim countries are also angry at Israel's passing of a law  naming Israel a "Jewish State" and forcing new citizens to swear an oath "to respect the laws of the state of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state".
     P.M. Netanyahu, bidding to win over the ultra-national Lieberman and the religious and the"setTler"lobby, stated that "the state of Israel is the national state of the Jewish people. This principle guides government policy both foreign and domestic and is a foundation of Israeli law". This loyalty oath was part of Lieberman's campaign last election.   
     Netanyahu has offered to renew the partial freeze on settlement building, if the Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state but it was swiftly rejected. The Palestinians saw through the ruse. Ysssir Arafat had already given Yitzak Rabin. the Palestinians recognition of Israel, but now this move is designed to thwart any Palestinian claim to lands they had been driven from, from being returned to Palestinians/Arabs.
   NICE MOVE, BUT THE PALESTINIANS ARE ON THEIR GAME.
     What are the borders of the "Jewish state"? Is it the pre-1967 or does include the illegal settlements? The Palestinians must be very wary. 

     Curry, (India's answer to aspirin), used for thousands of years as an inflamatory, for healing wounds and as a preservative and used widely in food......curcumin, is a key ingredient in Tumeric, commonly found in Curry , may , according to an UCLA research team, may be a verypotent drug for treating and preventing a number of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer, Colon cancer and Heart disease. The incidence of Alzheimer among older adults in India (who eat a lot of curry, is 4.4 times lower than in North Americans.
     Giving green tea to mice reversed the effects of Parkinson's .
     Eating blueberries is good for memory, whereas smoking us bad for it
     Children born to mothers who use cell phones while pregnant are 54% more likely to have behaviourial problems.
      Children exposed to lead are more likely to commit violent crimes as adults.
     Left-handed people are better at multi-tasking.
     Conceiving a baby while using marijuana, can lead to miscarriage.
     A cup of black tea can reduce stress, while coffee can increase stress.
     Teens who drink too much "soda" have a higher incidence of mental problems, and teens who skip family meals are more likely to smoke and drink.
     According to The Canadian Medical Association journal, codeine can be lethally toxic even in normal doses. This painkiller, used since the 1800s is a potential killer, for those whose genetic makeup make them " ultrarapid metabolizers"...... the liver convrts codeine to morphine, but some people are ultra metabolizers, meaning their bodies break codeine
down far faster than most, leading to a toxic accumulation of morphine that could be deadly, the Journal says. It went on to say that recent studies show that "it can be deadly even in conventional doses".
     The chances of being an ultra metabolizer varies among populations. Health Canada estimates that it is 1 per 100 for those of Chinese, Japanese and Hispanic descent. It is 1 to 10 per 100 for Caucasians. North African, Ethopian and Arab populations have the highest prevalence at 16 to 28 per 100.