Tuesday, March 30, 2010

From LA Times


How did this get past the editors




Somebody's goin to get fired

Below is a video from Brain Terminal

Get Together-Left vs Right

This link will take you to the photo essay



On March 27, 2010, thousands of people gathered in the small town of Searchlight, Nevada, for a political rally.

From Wizbang

Just 250 miles away and seven days earlier, there was another political rally of similar size in Los Angeles on March 20, 2010.

The Searchlight rally was generally oriented toward the political "right."

The Los Angeles rally was generally oriented toward the political "left."

Now, if you had only the entrenched media as your sole source of information about these rallies, you might likely assume (without even bothering to investigate) that the right-wing rally was an epicenter of hate, racism and craziness, whereas the left-wing rally was undoubtedly about peace, tolerance and rationalism.

Luckily, we no longer have to rely on the mainstream media. In both cases, citizen journalist bloggers were on hand to document the proceedings with eye-opening photo essays.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

About Blogging


I love to blog.

It expresses who I am. My blog is a combination of my own thoughts, and thoughts of others that I find compelling. I find that as my blog has gone forth, I'm proud of its content.

Take a look at my previous post, "Dennis Prager". Let's be honest, in regular conversation who would want to hear about radio callers? No one, right?

That's why I love my blog. I think the post was insightful and I get something off my manly man's chest, all at the same time. Plus I use a big word like "mundanity", which makes me look like I'm some kind of smart guy.

I've been married to my wife for almost 10 years and she thinks I'm a smart guy. So if she hasn't figured it out yet, I guess I can keep fooling you, my dear reader.

Dennis Prager Radio


Dennis' radio program is by far my favorite radio program. I can easily get more out of listening to Dennis for 5 minutes, than listening to another talk show for days. Dennis is brilliant, thoughtful and compelling.

His talk show is from 9-12 Monday-Friday 870AM in the Los Angeles, CA area. Of an hour of programing, 25 minutes are dedicated to commercials.

Here is one of my complaints. Dennis will open his show for callers. Yesterday, while listening, four callers in a row, their first comment to Dennis was: "Dennis, it's an honor to speak to you".

This accomplishes two things: Taking up radio time with wasted words, then it's almost doubled because then Dennis has to say "Thank you, that really touches me" or some BS like that. After the niceties are finally done, the caller finally makes his comment. Because of time constraints, Dennis gives an answer and there's rarely enough time for continued banter.

If you think about time that is left in Dennis' program after commercials, his monologue, interview with his guest, and finally listener call-in, why would you want to waste those few precious moments with mundanity, thus boring the listeners?

Real Estate


Very Good Reason to Believe Home Prices Will Collapse

by Peter Schiff

The latest housing initiative announced today by the Obama Administration draws the U.S. government and, by proxy, all taxpaying Americans, further into the inescapable quagmire of a devastated real estate market.

By transferring more underwater mortgage balances onto the public books, the plan puts taxpayers on the hook for further losses if housing prices continue to fall. Given the massive support for real estate already afforded by record-low interest rates and massive federal tax and policy incentives, there are very good reasons to believe that home prices will indeed collapse when these crutches are removed. Recent spikes in long-term interest rates warn of this prospect.


If the Administration had allowed losses to fall where they rightfully belong, namely on those who foolishly loaded up on toxic mortgage bonds, then the housing market would have already found its true clearing level. Instead, every measure is working to prolong and delay the ultimate reckoning, while setting up taxpayers as the patsy. Given the horrendous government deficit projections for the next several years, any losses incurred by the government mortgage portfolio may add a critical stress on America's fiscal viability.

In addition, the moves add even more incentives detrimental to economic growth. By targeting benefits toward unemployed homeowners, or those who are delinquent in mortgage payments, the program will encourage some mortgage holders to defer job-hunting and miss payments. Also, in offering loan-balance reductions, the program makes no distinction between homeowners who naïvely overpaid during the speculative peak and those who willfully put themselves underwater by taking advantage of home equity loans on existing mortgages. In short, these policies reward profligacy and penalize prudence.

The longer the government continues to distort the underlying economics of the real estate market, the longer it will take for the sector to heal itself – and the longer the sickness will infect the broader economy.

Reprinted from Investment News.

March 27, 2010

Peter Schiff is president of Euro Pacific Capital and author of The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets and Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse.

Copyright © 2010 Peter Schiff

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Obama Netanyahu



My dear Jewish American friends, this is the man that 90% of American Jewry voted for

Times Online

For a head of state to visit the White House and not pose for photographers is rare. For a key ally to be left to his own devices while the President withdraws to have dinner in private was, until this week, unheard of.

Yet that is how Binyamin Netanyahu was treated by President Obama on Tuesday night, according to Israeli reports on a trip seen in Jerusalem tonight as a disastrous humiliation.

Another Poster

Another article

Dr Michael Burry-Investor


This is an article from Vanity Fair about a great investor.

It took me awhile to read the whole article, but afterwards I had to go to Amazon to buy the book: The Big Short. I'm looking forward to a great read.

Michael was studying to be a doctor, and during the rare hours he should be sleeping, he was writing on the internet about investing. He wrote a quasi-blog (showing his investments in real time) which was followed by some other very astute investors. Michael not only saw the bubble with real estate, he discovered how to short it, even when others in his fund were against him. For me, this is a great story, showing a man with a combination of brilliance and courage.



This is a guy who's the real deal. He knows investing and he's brilliant. No doubt about it. What get's me are the guys who took the easy way out and invested with Bernie Madoff. As long as they got their 10% returns, no one, and I mean no one, actually researched it to see how it was done.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

On Greece


Entitlement State of Mind

By Haris from California

A KFI AM radio listener from California sent us this great and telling email about the problems in Greece. This is a so honest and insightful we wanted to share it with our readers.

Hello Mr. Payne,

I am happy to have found a radio programme were the presenter is fully aware of the situation overseas and how it affects everyone. The situation in Greece is not a surprise to me. For years I have been listening to Greeks make fun of the ‘robot' workers in France, Belgium, The UK, Germany and of course Japan and Germany. The last two generations of Greeks (in Greece) have become very lazy as opposed to the Greeks residing in the rest of the world. The Greeks are quite successful once they leave Greece. The mentality in Greece is to praise the person which made their money through devious methods. They do not praise the person that made their money through hard work. I have witnessed this. Two gentlemen in their seventies at a Greek restaurant. One made his millions though hard work....they call him an idiot. The other gentleman made his millions though illegal activities......they praise him! This is one example of the Greek mentality.

Greece has more public servants that all of France! All parents in Greece want their children to get an education and get them into a public sector job. A public sector job includes the national airline....city employee....post office...etc. Even getting a position in private banks is a sought after position due to the job security which the very strong unions offer. The amount of strike actions in Greece is incredible. The banks and public servants work until early afternoon. Banks close at 1:30 daily. How can the country be considered open to business when banks close at 1:30 when it is 11:30 in London? Try conducting a bank transfer? Try paying employees or paying for goods.....no....its 1:30....Greece is closed now...everyone on siesta!

There are many new and continuing public projects in Greece. High speed rail. Great metro and over ground train networks. Airports and many new hospitals and the freeway network is doing pretty well. Great arteries throughout the nation and constantly expanding. Some things in Greece make California look like the third world. I could never understand how this is being financed. The Olympic Games are over....but the construction is moving forward at a frantic pace. All this in a country that does not use municipal financing (muni-bonds) or has any sort of property tax. For the past two hundred years as a nation there has been no property, inheritance or gift tax in Greece. Again the Greeks have been making fun of the situation overseas where everyone pays these taxes. I do in England and in the United States. Now it is coming as a great shock to the citizens of Greece. The Germans are demanding it happen immediately! The Germans are also pretty tough lately on Greece. The truth is coming out on what people are feeling. The rest of Europe can speak kindly of Greece but when the deep down truth comes out.....they will say things bluntly as what I have read in the media today. Germans are angry that Greeks get 13 to fourteen paycheques per year. They are angry that the German retirement age is 67 and in Greece it is 55 and in many cases my own friends have retired at 49 from public / banking positions with a $6000/month pension and a gift of $700.000. I have another friend that will soon do that also. You can see...I have no sympathy for the Greek system. I used to like the Mayberry lifestyle of Greece. It was calm and comfortable. The world has changed and Greeks still believe that they al deserve a BMW and a month off every year at the summer house. Life is really different in Greece! Even the most poor have summer homes. Boats, yachts....it has become a really decadent society.

One plus for Greece in this not to you is that maybe it is not all the fault of Greece. The country has a military that is one of the top five if not in the top three in yearly build up. They recently took possession of four new submarines which made the Europeans angry. The Greek airforce is roughly the same size as the French. The Greek navy is also very impressive. The Greek airforce recently took 13 out of fifteen over the US Airforce in competition in Texas recently. With this said......how can Greece not avoid massive debt if being a part of the European union it does not have a clear position from the EU as to the threat coming from the east? The Greeks are not given any security as to defense so it may be justifiable that Greece spends billions on it military. Maybe if the EU steps in and monitors the Aegean....the over flights into Greek airspace, then Greece can hold back on its military spending.

In a way I am glad this is happening. Bad things are happening here and all over the world. It is time for countries/business to make changes...clean house...get rid of waste (bad government and employees) and to bring things to a respectable level. I hope that Greece will come up to the task and to actually pressure the EU about the defense issue and to also change their ways and work hard and to not make fun of the hard workers of the world.

Thank you,

Haris from California

We The People



I wonder if politics of the Left will change. It was, "Hey man, I have some crazy ideas, but since I'm in the minority, it's OK to have these crazy ideas".

But now the minority has become the majority. The fox is in charge of the hen house.

Now, let's see what other crazy ideas they can think up.

You may like this video. Click on the pointer when you go to the link.

Here's one of my thoughts: The minority Left, now being the Majority, will think of even wackier proposals returning them to the minority, for example Cindy Sheehan. It is not fun to be in the majority, because once one becomes the status quo, one has nothing one can bitch against. It's no fun not being able to protest and destroy other's property. Or if fringe politics becomes the norm, the US and it's principles become subservient to statism.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Maybe there's a Thread


Times Online-Sceptic challenges guru to kill him live on TV

When a famous tantric guru boasted on television that he could kill another man using only his mystical powers, most viewers either gasped in awe or merely nodded unquestioningly. Sanal Edamaruku’s response was different. “Go on then — kill me,” he said.

Mr Edamaruku had been invited to the same talk show as head of the Indian Rationalists’ Association — the country’s self-appointed sceptic-in-chief. At first the holy man, Pandit Surender Sharma, was reluctant, but eventually he agreed to perform a series of rituals designed to kill Mr Edamaruku live on television. Millions tuned in as the channel cancelled scheduled programming to continue broadcasting the showdown, which can still be viewed on YouTube.

First, the master chanted mantras, then he sprinkled water on his intended victim. He brandished a knife, ruffled the sceptic’s hair and pressed his temples. But after several hours of similar antics, Mr Edamaruku was still very much alive — smiling for the cameras and taunting the furious holy man.

“He was over, finished, completely destroyed!” Mr Edamaruku chuckles triumphantly as he concludes the tale in the Rationalist Centre, his second-floor office in the town of Noida, just outside Delhi.

Rationalising India has never been easy. Given the country’s vast population, its pervasive poverty and its dizzying array of ethnic groups, languages and religions, many deem it impossible.

Nevertheless, Mr Edamaruku has dedicated his life to exposing the charlatans — from levitating village fakirs to televangelist yoga masters — who he says are obstructing an Indian Enlightenment. He has had a busy month, with one guru arrested over prostitution, another caught in a sex-tape scandal, a third kidnapping a female follower and a fourth allegedly causing a stampede that killed 63 people.

Read more

Obama-Healthcare





From Nile Gardiner

What we have just witnessed is a massive slap in the face for limited government and the principle of individual responsibility. Its net result will be the erosion of freedom in America, and a further undermining of the country’s economic competitiveness. This may be a political victory for the president and his supporters in Congress, but it is in reality a defeat for America as a great power, and another Obama-led step towards US decline.


This fight has lit the fires of revolt in the hearts of the American middle classes. It has made Obama and Pelosi and all their hacks objects of passionate hatred and ridicule in perpetuity in America. Have you ever seen anything more ludicrous than BO pontificating about saving America, as if he were Churchill rather than a two-bit con man saving his own vanity, and Pelosi waving her "really Big One" to threaten her cowering victims in Congress and the nation?

Imploding America-Jack Douglas

The American Global Empire will end not with a last hoorah or a whimper, but with a guffaw. BO is the Clown President who will ring down the curtain.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The American Icarus


The American Icarus

There are certain laws of nature that no one can amend or avoid. In the classic Greek tale of Icarus, despite warnings Icarus flew too close to the sun, melted the wax that held the feathers that had given him the gift of flight, and falls to his death. The law of gravity contributed to his end because what goes up must come down.

These days I think of the nation in general and the Democrats in Congress in particular as Icarus. They have ignored all the warnings about Obamacare and now have the political trajectory of a rock tossed too high in the air.

The voters reaction to the excesses of the Bush administration—-which now seem minor in comparison to those of the Democrats—-catapulted a virtually unknown and literally unvetted, minor first-term senator from Illinois into the Oval Office. The voters had first expressed their unhappiness in 2006 when control of Congress passed from the Republicans.

It seems to me that Americans have been unhappy for a very long time, but I can recall few decades when they were happy. With World War Two behind them, Americans launched themselves into the 1950s with enthusiasm, getting married, having babies, and building an economy that was unrivaled. America became the lone superpower.

By the 1960s, though, things began to sour. A generation of young people began to question all the values that had served their parents and grandparents well. The civil rights movement emerged and by the end of the decade the nation was mired in a war in Vietnam most people did not support. It would result in the death of more than 50,000 of our youth. A drug culture began to take root.

The signal political change during the 1960s was the implementation of Medicare in 1965, a significant expansion of Social Security. It quickly exceeded its projected costs.

By the 1970s, despite the inspiration of having begun to explore space, putting men on the Moon in 1969, and an abundance of material goods, America’s mood was growing dark. Between 1972 and 1974, the Watergate scandal dragged on until the first and only resignation of a president ended it.

In 1973 abortion was legalized. The feminist movement gained momentum. As the decade ended in 1979 Iranians seized U.S. diplomats, holding them hostage for 444 days.

The 1980s were, for conservatives, a golden age led by Ronald Reagan. The economy improved and, in general, so did the mood of the nation. It was also a time in which Islam began to reassert itself with a series of terrorist acts. Democrats in Congress continued to be in control.

At the end of Reagan’s term, George H.W. Bush, his vice president, was elected in 1988, but despite a military campaign to contain Saddam Hussein, the voters opted for a young Arkansas Governor named Bill Clinton.

What came to be seen as a series of excesses by liberal Democrats led to the defeat of the Clinton Medicare expansion effort and, in 1994, Congressional power was transferred to the Republican Party for the first time in some 40 years!

Clinton, despite being reelected, proved to be a major embarrassment to the nation as the result of his sexual appetites. Popular to the end with most Democrats, he would be replaced by George W. Bush as the new century began in 2000.

If the mood of the nation was one of cautious optimism, that changed dramatically on September 11, 2001. Fear swept the nation and a desire to punish the stateless terror inflicted led also to a decision by Bush to alter the direction of the Middle East by removing Saddam Hussein from power. Despite a brilliant initial dash to Baghdad the Iraq war was plagued with a cascade of bad decisions.

A sudden financial crisis toward the end of the 2008 political campaign returned a Democrat to the White House. It has taken just over a year for Barack Hussein Obama to see his performance ratings plummet from around 70 percent to around 40 percent these days. He is rivaling the worse ratings for any president since such polls began.

The bruising battle over the expansion of Medicare at a time of high unemployment and the imposition of high levels of national debt will likely push the President’s ratings even lower before the year is out.

What has been discussed here is not a rising curve of optimism for the future of the nation, but a declining one made worse and seriously endangered by irrational borrowing and spending.

Like Icarus, the nation has flown too close to its source of life, weakened its economic foundations, gave itself over to the greatest hoax of the modern era, global warming, and now has witnessed a Democrat controlled Congress do what most voters opposed.

America has weathered previous crisis, but there is a growing sense that its future is in the hands of people who do not like America, do not like its slow, methodical way of debating and reflecting the will of the people, and who threaten liberties its citizens have taken for granted.

Weighed down by growing debt, threatened by expanded “entitlement” programs that promise to grow that debt while subjecting Americans to higher taxation, the mood of the nation has rarely been at such a critical and dour point.

Gravity is about to have its way with the nation.

© Alan Caruba, 2010

Big Bear with Friends

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Help Me Uncover This Fraud

Someone, please help me uncover this fraud. I gave a book written by this doctor to someone very dear to me. Later,I asked her if she had read the book. She said, "No, I took the book to my doctor, and he said that 'Dr Fuhrman is a fraud'".

So, since Dr Fuhrman continually shows how many people have lost a significant amount of weight, have better cholesterol numbers, and lowered blood sugar levels, we know that there must be others who have followed his diet and have gained hundreds of pounds, increased their cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Every time I'm at a gathering and the conversation turns to diet, I always hear how bad are carbohydrates.



Interview with a Nutritarian: Scott


Can you imagine losing 333 lbs? Scott realized that bariatric surgery was not a solution for him, and after much research, embraced Dr. Fuhrman’s nutrient rich eating-style. He has an incredible story of hope; especially for anyone caught in the dark pit of morbid obesity. Welcome to Disease Proof, Scott.

Tell about yourself and the events that led up to getting your health back.

Starting in puberty, I put on weight. Even though I was a competitive swimmer, rode my bike everywhere, and played pickup games of football and baseball, I still packed on the pounds.

Eventually I got married and became a stay-at-home Dad, which was a privilege, but also very isolating and lonely. My weight increased dramatically, yet I denied the seriousness of the problem. However, one day I woke up and admitted that I had fallen directly into a huge, black pit. In November of 2005, I weighed 501 pounds.

I was unable to walk more than a few feet. My knees, lower back and feet suffered greatly, causing my independence of movement to be completely gone. My wife, who is a nurse, had to help me shower, dress, walk, etc., and consequently, I had no self-esteem. She also noticed that I had developed serious sleep apnea.

I went to three, different surgeons for consultations regarding the possibility of bariatric surgery, but couldn't and wouldn't commit to it. The surgeries seemed like handing my problems over to someone else to fix. This was my problem and I had to solve it, or else live with the negative consequences. I chose to solve it.

I read books and contemplated ways to get out of my precarious situation. In my quest, I discovered Eat to Live and decided to commit to it, because it’s not a diet to get to a certain goal weight, but about learning to take care of one’s health for life. Dr. Fuhrman’s teachings dovetailed perfectly into my plans to totally restructure my life. I found peace in doing simple things like cooking, biking, taking care of myself, and taking care of my family. By February of 2009, I had lost 333 lbs and got my health and life back.

Before
After
Weight
501 lbs
168 lbs
Cholesterol
170
65
Blood pressure
126/72
109/65
Resting heart rate
88
50
Body fat
62%
8%

How did you feel before starting ETL?

A better question would be, “How did I possibly survive?".

Life was intolerable. Weighing as much as I did, I couldn’t move without a lot of pain and exhaustion. I stepped outside my house, at the most, four to six times a year; and only then at the begging of my wife and daughter. I would sit on the stoop for fifteen minutes, and then the stares would begin; whether real or imagined, it was deep, unending uncertainty and sadness.

How do you feel now?

I have a life. Physically I feel great. My wife even admits that she can’t keep up with me now.

However, I also feel angry at times due to the scorn and ridicule against fat people, and the false hope and lack of understanding the dieting industry throws at them. When I was morbidly obese, I felt worthless, unclean, stupid, unacceptable, and rejected. I was judged according to my size; therefore, it produced a lot of resentment.

Now, when I look in the mirror, I only recognize my eyes and teeth. When I’m in public places, I am no longer noticed, because now I fit in and look “normal.” This prejudice still makes me mad. My mind seems unable to embrace the lack of stares now, because psychologically, I still feel like I weigh 501 lbs.

Tell us how you got involved in cycling and how much you ride now.

When I was a kid, I loved to ride my bike. Then it all came to an abrupt halt on my 16th birthday when driving became my “right of passage.” Consequently, my bike became a fading, dusty memory stored in back of the garage.

To get my health back, I needed a way to exercise. For me, biking made complete sense as it was a way to move around without further destroying what was left of my body. It also reconnected me with all the best parts of childhood; that sense of adventure and freedom. It was, is, and always will be great for me. That first year I rode approximately 1,400 miles. Last year I rode 19,700 miles, and this year I’m shooting for 25,000. Now, as a family, we do almost all errands via our bikes. Anywhere we used to go by car, we now take a bike.

As of this posting, Dr Neal Barnard is doing a show on PBS for their fundraiser. He wrote an excellent book: "Dr Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes".


You know what I find interesting about this man's story? How he went from 500 pounds to 168 pounds? It all began within his own brain. A switch got turned on.

I sometimes think: If I woke up and I weighed 400 pounds, in a few years I would easily be back to 160 pounds. It's easy for me, because I know. No bragging, I just know. And the reason why someone may weigh an exorbitant amount very well could be beyond their control. Many do not have a choice. It's not their fault. But some just don't know.

When we're told that carbohydrates are bad, and of course we believe this, we have no chance. Sure, the Adkins diet will let us lose weight for awhile, but in the long term it's injurious to our health. And we blame ourselves for the lack of willpower.

Read doctors that are not in the mainstream, but consistently have the same message. Dr Neal Barnard, Dr Esselstyn, Dr T Colin Campbell, Dr McDougall, and Dr Fuhrman. They all may call the diet by their name, or some other special name, but in reality it's the foods that most of the world's population eats: grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Nothing complicated about it.

I use to think that I wasn't wealthy enough to attend these doctors' seminars. That it was only for those who were rich or upper middle class. I could not afford their services. Now, I laugh at myself. With our wealth (and I mean just about everyone in this country, the USA) we must learn to go from a rich diet, to one of simplicity. It's OK to eat beans everyday. To eat a salad everyday. It won't kill us. In fact, quite the opposite.


Here's another one who followed Dr Fuhrman's advice:

Today, March 23, 2010 is the 22nd annual American Diabetes Association Alert Day, and the American Diabetes Association reports sobering statistics:

Over 20 million people in the United States have type 2 diabetes. That doesn’t count the 6 million who have diabetes and don’t know it yet.1 Type 2 diabetes has been called the most challenging health problem of the 21st century. The dangerously high prevalence of overweight and obesity is at the heart of this problem.



In the last five months, over 600,000 people have been diagnosed with diabetes. That's one person every 20 seconds.2 The ADA is correct – it is time to stop diabetes. The problem is they have no idea how to do this. They have no idea that in over 90% of patients, type 2 diabetes can be effectively and relatively quickly reversed through my nutritarian diet-style and exercise.

Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in adults and the leading cause of kidney failure. Sixty to 70 percent of diabetics have nervous system damage. Diabetes doubles risk of heart attack and stroke.1 This suffering is tragic because excellent nutrition and exercise can reverse diabetes, and are much safer than conventional care. Taking glucose-lowering medications does not prevent diabetes complications. In fact, they often cause weight gain, exacerbating insulin resistance. Some of these medications even increase the risk of heart failure. Diabetics who take medications and continue to remain overweight and consume their disease-causing diet continue to damage their organs, develop complications, and die prematurely.

Did you know that type 2 diabetes also increases the risk of cancer? Scientists believe that this is at least in part due to insulin therapy. A new review that analyzed data from several studies found that diabetic patients are 30% more likely to develop colorectal cancer, 20% more likely to develop breast cancer, and 82% more likely to develop pancreatic cancer.3 It is time to stop diabetes. So how do we stop it?

Simple. The ADA may encourage you to make small changes, afraid that you will give up if it looks difficult. But the truth is, a radical improvement in your health will require a radical improvement in your lifestyle. Some physicians may assume that patients will not be willing to adopt a diet that is based on unrefined plant foods, but they are wrong – a study comparing the American Diabetes Association guidelines to a whole-food, plant-based diet found exactly the opposite. Subjects assigned to the ADA diet reported that they felt more restricted in their dietary choices, and the rate of adherence was greater in the plant-based diet.4 Once people start to see positive changes in their health, they are enthusiastic about sticking to their plan. The nutritarian diet-style I teach to my diabetic patients is even more effective. In fact, we just completed a study, soon to be published,which demonstrated that 9 out of 10 diabetics were able to come off all medications and have normal glucose readings. That essentially means they became non-diabetic.

My Eat For Health dietary protocol is simply the most effective remedy for those with all types of diabetes. The type II can get completely well and the type I diabetics reduce their insulin by about half and stop the huge swings in glucose and prevent the devastating complications of diabetes.

The best diet for longevity, heart disease and cancer prevention, and a high level of overall health is also the best diet to prevent or reverse diabetes. It is a diet with a high nutrient per calorie ratio:

lots of non-starchy vegetables like greens, eggplant, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and garlic

beans

raw nuts and seeds

limited fresh fruit

limited animal products

no sweeteners

no white flour

When those with diabetes follow my recommendations, it becomes relatively easy for them to eat liberally – not feeling deprived or restricted – and still lose their excess weight easily. Their diabetes will melt away astonishingly quickly, reducing or eliminating their need for medications.

Tony is no longer diabetic. He succeeded in restoring his health despite the failures of conventional diabetes care. Read his incredible story below.

“I am 57 years old. I have always had a weight problem like everyone in my family. In December of last year, after feeling strange for several months, my sister (who has been diabetic for 25 years) tested me with her meter & my blood sugar was 491.

She dragged me to the ER where I got 2 shots of insulin & a meal that included turkey, gravy, a box of sweetened cranberry juice & chocolate pudding which my sister advised me not to eat. After paying the $2,400.00 tab, I was instructed to make an appointment with an endocrinologist & sent home with a prescription for Metformin, daily aspirin & NO dietary advice. My sister suggested buying a meter on the way home. None of the two doctors or RN’s suggested getting a meter & testing. I started taking the Metformin as instructed.

My appointment with an endocrinologist a few days later was another eye opener. As soon as he walked into the room, without even looking at me or my meter which I brought with me with 80 stored blood sugar readings, he said “You need insulin.” Then he started to do a physical & said “You need to be hospitalized with an IV because you’re dehydrated; do you have medical insurance?” When I said “no,” he said “Get some Pedialyte and Gatorade & drink 6 glasses of each per day.” I asked “Don’t those drinks have sugar in them?” He said “Not really.” He gave me a prescription for “Januvia” ($400.00 for 100 tablets) & directed me to take two/day. He then handed me an 1800 calorie/day diet & disappeared.

After paying the $1,200.00 for the visit & labs, I started taking the medication as directed. After two weeks, the medication made me too ill to drive or exercise & somehow caused my intestines to become obstructed (gas or something) & I spent all night trying to go to the bathroom. Only being low on cash kept me from going to the E.R. again. I also had to get up 3 or 4 times each night to eat. I phoned the doctor several times over the next week to get a different medication but he never returned one single call so I stopped taking the medication.

Naturally, I was afraid to eat anything because I was afraid my blood sugar would climb. At my next visit, when I told him the medication was making me sick, he said “Just keep taking it, the symptoms will subside when your body gets used to it.” He said my A1C was 8.9%. One week later, I found a different doctor but my new doctor wasn’t interested in seeing me unless I paid him another $1,200.00 to repeat the physical & labs from two weeks ago even though I had a copy of my labs & he could consult with the other doctor.

I was running out of money after spending $4,000.00 in two weeks. I’m not insurable due to “preexisting conditions” – diabetes and carpal tunnel. Here in CA, an HMO has the right to deny coverage to anyone with an illness. You can imagine how stressed I was, having to choose between constant expensive medication & the illness it caused or high blood sugar with its consequences.

While doing research on the web, I came across Dr. Fuhrman’s website and ordered Eat to Live and Eat For Health and started the program. With all the weight loss/nutrition books out there from Atkins & a bunch of others, I was skeptical.

I started following the recommendations in the section “Advice for the Diabetic Patient” weighing 220 lbs on 1-8-09 – the same day I stopped taking all diabetes medication. Within 3 months, I weighed 195. I had new blood work completed on 4-8-09 with a new doctor. She downloaded my blood sugar numbers from my meter & said “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it because it’s working." I explained Eat to Live, my typical meals & snacks & told her I stopped taking medication on my own three months ago. She later phoned me with my lab results: A1C: 6.0% which she said was in a non-diabetic range (4 - 6%) The improvement from 8.9% to 6.0% in 3 months on “Eat to Live” was far better than I expected. I would have been happy with 7.0%.

I have even found it easy to maintain these guidelines while eating out – even though my diabetes class educators said “If you’re diabetic, it is impossible to eat right at restaurants so try to avoid eating out altogether.” Yesterday, my family took me out to our favorite Mexican restaurant for my birthday. I had grilled vegetarian fajitas with tofu and black beans. Remembering the information in Eat to Live about fiber, I left the pasty processed rice alone, I had ONE tortilla chip, ate the whole cup of Salsa & left the flour tortillas alone. Just as you stated in Eat to Live, by doing that, I had room for the grilled vegetables, mushrooms & tofu. I tested my blood sugar two hours later, expecting it to be around 180 because I overate. It was 124.

The next morning, after your suggested breakfast without processed cereal, substituting raw nuts & a diced, unpeeled apple, I was shocked to test at 78 two hours after breakfast & 30 minutes of exercise (NordicTrack cross-country skier). I was so astounded that I re-tested with another meter & it indicated 90. The biggest revelation was the fact that I HAD NEVER ACHIEVED THESE RESULTS WITH MEDICATION - Metformin and Januvia (which made me ill).

I have attended five diabetes “education” classes & I am appalled that the “Certified Diabetes Educators” constantly hand out suggested meals with eggs & toast or processed cereal & milk for breakfast, daily roast beef or turkey sandwiches for lunch & more chicken or other meat at dinner & limiting fruit to 1-2/day. They also teach that protein stabilizes blood sugar so it’s important to eat meat & dairy at each meal. After those dietary recommendations, she then spoke at great length about the evils of high cholesterol, high blood pressure & high blood sugar, then she spent two hours talking about the various drugs available to treat them. I have always wondered about the notion that if you are eating the right foods, why would you need drugs to protect yourself from the damage they cause? I now weigh 188 pounds.

When I chat on WebMD’s diabetes message boards, some people with Type 2 Diabetes want to know how I’m managing my blood sugar without medication & I always tell them about www.drfuhrman.com !”

The human body has an amazing capacity to heal, even from diabetes. All we have to do is establish the optimal nutritional environment for healing with nutrient-rich foods and let the body do its work. A long, healthy life, free of diabetes and its tragic complications is possible, and it can be yours.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Govt. Reimbursement


And so it goes:

Walgreens: no new Medicaid patients as of April 16
Walgreens will stop taking new Medicaid patients in Washington state as of April 16, saying it loses money filling their prescriptions.

By Janet I. Tu
Seattle Times staff reporter

Effective April 16, Walgreens drugstores across the state won't take any new Medicaid patients, saying that filling their prescriptions is a money-losing proposition — the latest development in an ongoing dispute over Medicaid reimbursement.

The company, which operates 121 stores in the state, will continue filling Medicaid prescriptions for current patients.

In a news release, Walgreens said its decision to not take new Medicaid patients stemmed from a "continued reduction in reimbursement" under the state's Medicaid program, which reimburses it at less than the break-even point for 95 percent of brand-name medications dispensed to Medicaid patents.

Walgreens follows Bartell Drugs, which stopped taking new Medicaid patients last month at all 57 of its stores in Washington, though it still fills Medicaid prescriptions for existing customers at all but 15 of those stores.

Doug Porter, the state's director of Medicaid, said Medicaid recipients should be able to readily find another pharmacy because "we have many more pharmacy providers in our network than we need" for the state's 1 million Medicaid clients.

He said those who can't can contact the state's Medical Assistance Customer Service Center at 1-800-562-3022 for help in locating one.

Along with Walgreens and Bartell, the Ritzville Drug Company in Adams County announced in November that it would stop participating in Medicaid.

Fred Meyer and Safeway said their pharmacies would continue to serve existing Medicaid patients and to take new ones, though both expressed concern that the reimbursement rate is too low for pharmacies to make a profit.

The amount private insurers and Medicaid pay pharmacies for prescriptions isn't the actual cost of those drugs but rather is based on what's called the drug's estimated average wholesale price. But that figure is more like the sticker price on a car than its actual wholesale cost.

Washington was reimbursing pharmacies 86 percent of a drug's average wholesale price until July, when it began paying them just 84 percent. Pharmacies weren't happy about that.

Then in September came another blow. The average wholesale price is calculated by a private company, which was accused in a Massachusetts lawsuit of fraudulently inflating its figures. The company did not admit wrongdoing but agreed in a court settlement to ratchet its figures down by about 4 percent.

That agreement took effect in September — and prompted a lawsuit by a group of pharmacies and trade associations that said Washington state didn't follow federal law in setting its reimbursement rate, and that that rate is too low. The lawsuit is pending.

"Washington state Medicaid is now reimbursing pharmacies less than their cost of participation," said Jeff Rochon, CEO of the Washington State Pharmacy Association.

Pharmacies that continue to fill Medicaid prescriptions at the current state reimbursement rate are "at risk of putting themselves out of business altogether," he said.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Prostate Cancer


The Great Prostate Mistake


EACH year some 30 million American men undergo testing for prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme made by the prostate. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1994, the P.S.A. test is the most commonly used tool for detecting prostate cancer.

The test’s popularity has led to a hugely expensive public health disaster. It’s an issue I am painfully familiar with — I discovered P.S.A. in 1970. As Congress searches for ways to cut costs in our health care system, a significant savings could come from changing the way the antigen is used to screen for prostate cancer.

Americans spend an enormous amount testing for prostate cancer. The annual bill for P.S.A. screening is at least $3 billion, with much of it paid for by Medicare and the Veterans Administration.

Prostate cancer may get a lot of press, but consider the numbers: American men have a 16 percent lifetime chance of receiving a diagnosis of prostate cancer, but only a 3 percent chance of dying from it. That’s because the majority of prostate cancers grow slowly. In other words, men lucky enough to reach old age are much more likely to die with prostate cancer than to die of it.

Even then, the test is hardly more effective than a coin toss. As I’ve been trying to make clear for many years now, P.S.A. testing can’t detect prostate cancer and, more important, it can’t distinguish between the two types of prostate cancer — the one that will kill you and the one that won’t.

Instead, the test simply reveals how much of the prostate antigen a man has in his blood. Infections, over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen, and benign swelling of the prostate can all elevate a man’s P.S.A. levels, but none of these factors signals cancer. Men with low readings might still harbor dangerous cancers, while those with high readings might be completely healthy.

In approving the procedure, the Food and Drug Administration relied heavily on a study that showed testing could detect 3.8 percent of prostate cancers, which was a better rate than the standard method, a digital rectal exam.

Still, 3.8 percent is a small number. Nevertheless, especially in the early days of screening, men with a reading over four nanograms per milliliter were sent for painful prostate biopsies. If the biopsy showed any signs of cancer, the patient was almost always pushed into surgery, intensive radiation or other damaging treatments.

The medical community is slowly turning against P.S.A. screening. Last year, The New England Journal of Medicine published results from the two largest studies of the screening procedure, one in Europe and one in the United States. The results from the American study show that over a period of 7 to 10 years, screening did not reduce the death rate in men 55 and over.

The European study showed a small decline in death rates, but also found that 48 men would need to be treated to save one life. That’s 47 men who, in all likelihood, can no longer function sexually or stay out of the bathroom for long.

Numerous early screening proponents, including Thomas Stamey, a well-known Stanford University urologist, have come out against routine testing; last month, the American Cancer Society urged more caution in using the test. The American College of Preventive Medicine also concluded that there was insufficient evidence to recommend routine screening.

So why is it still used? Because drug companies continue peddling the tests and advocacy groups push “prostate cancer awareness” by encouraging men to get screened. Shamefully, the American Urological Association still recommends screening, while the National Cancer Institute is vague on the issue, stating that the evidence is unclear.

The federal panel empowered to evaluate cancer screening tests, the Preventive Services Task Force, recently recommended against P.S.A. screening for men aged 75 or older. But the group has still not made a recommendation either way for younger men.

Prostate-specific antigen testing does have a place. After treatment for prostate cancer, for instance, a rapidly rising score indicates a return of the disease. And men with a family history of prostate cancer should probably get tested regularly. If their score starts skyrocketing, it could mean cancer.

But these uses are limited. Testing should absolutely not be deployed to screen the entire population of men over the age of 50, the outcome pushed by those who stand to profit.

I never dreamed that my discovery four decades ago would lead to such a profit-driven public health disaster. The medical community must confront reality and stop the inappropriate use of P.S.A. screening. Doing so would save billions of dollars and rescue millions of men from unnecessary, debilitating treatments.

Richard J. Ablin is a research professor of immunobiology and pathology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and the president of the Robert Benjamin Ablin Foundation for Cancer Research.

Norma & Kenny



Day at Norma and Kenny's
Pepe & Betty's Birthday

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Florida Conservative


The Conscience of a Florida Conservative From Wall Street Journal

By COLLIN LEVY

Miami

"They voted for somebody they'd never heard of in Barack Obama because he ran on the platform of a very devoted centrist."

That's the answer from Marco Rubio when asked about his stunning rise to national prominence as a Republican challenger to a popular Republican officeholder in the key electoral state of Florida. Underlying this strange political season, says Mr. Rubio, is the president's rapid uncloaking in office as anything but the postpartisan that voters thought they had elected.

"Within weeks," says Mr. Rubio, "he began trying to implement what appears to everyone else to be the left-of-center politics of the last 50 years, but in a much more aggressive way, using the excuse of a severe economic downturn as justification for growing and in essence redefining the role of government in America."

The 38-year-old former Florida Speaker of the House is a bundle of energy. He rushes in late from dropping his car off at the shop and is due to pick up his kids from school soon. He talks fast and taps his toe even faster. He's challenging Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in the Republican primary to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Mel Martinez, and his ascent has caught a lot of people by surprise.

Mr. Crist, a popular and successful governor, was considered the heavy favorite. He had been on John McCain's vice presidential short list. He had no trouble collecting Republican establishment endorsements for his Senate bid: the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Sens. Jon Kyl, John Cornyn and Lamar Alexander, to name a few.

Mr. Rubio nods when I mention his former longshot status. "When I got into this race, I understood that all the traditional metrics of politics were against us. Name recognition, money, trappings of office, connections, endorsements, you name it.

"Obviously, things have happened outside of our control since then," he smiles.

With a now-infamous photo of Mr. Crist embracing President Obama during a visit in February 2009, Mr. Crist put himself on the wrong side of the tea party wave that was building. Mr. Obama had come to Florida to sell his stimulus plan, and Mr. Crist's hug was easily portrayed as embracing a new, unwanted era of super big government.

What followed was a wave of revulsion that has propelled Mr. Rubio to the status of a new GOP up-and-comer. Some have suggested if Mr. Rubio beats Charlie Crist—recent polls have him leading by 18 to 32 points—it would lead to civil war in the Republican Party. The winner then would be the Democrat in the race, Rep. Kendrick Meek, who could portray Mr. Rubio as a creature of the far right in a state that's relatively moderate on social issues and strongly concerned with bread and butter right now.

Mr. Rubio says he won't shy away from social issues if asked. He is pro-life and says he would support a Senate filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee under some circumstances. But his campaign is staking out an updated version of the Reagan agenda. "We're focused on jobs and national security," he says, "because those are the great and profound national issues of our moment and that's what 95% of our campaign is based on."

Front and center is the idea that, fiscally, the federal government is running off the rails. That Washington should be "taking borrowed money to fund the general operation of government," he says, "and that somehow the government will build so many roads and bridges that everyone will have a job for the next 30 years is absurd."

Which leads to Job One: To get spending under control in Washington, Mr. Rubio would support a constitutional amendment to balance the budget, something Florida already has in place. "I don't care whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge," he says. "If you allow politicians to spend money, they'll do it."

He also favors freezing discretionary spending. It's a crude device and ducks the hard work of setting priorities, but "some level of discretionary spending freeze" sends "a powerful signal to our economy and the world that America is serious."

***
Entitlement reform is next. "I know . . . people don't like to talk about it," but Mr. Rubio says the country has to look at changing the Social Security system for people who are 10 or more years away from retirement age. "Privatization of the accounts has come and gone," he says. "There are other alternatives, such as [raising] the retirement age, how you adjust payments in the future, 'need' measures, et cetera."

Part and parcel is authoring a new tax code "that creates a competitive environment in America." This means lowering rates on capital gains and reducing the corporate tax rate from 35% to at most 25%, which Mr. Rubio notes is the European average. "Even the president admitted the corporate tax rate is too high," he says.

What Mr. Rubio is talking about is an economic confidence agenda to convince Americans and the world that this country isn't incapable of dealing with its debts except through inflation and job-killing tax hikes. "The bottom line," he says, "is that jobs in America are created by people who . . . decide to start a business or expand an existing business." They will do so only if allowed to keep what they earn and don't have a "big target on their back for the government to come after them for higher taxes."

Mr. Rubio says that for all Mr. Obama and his Democrats talk about "reform," they aren't promoting reform as a way of mastering the government's unaffordable commitments. Their idea of reform is to enlarge those commitments, starting with ObamaCare, a massive new entitlement for the non-needy middle class.

Democrats have effectively decided to save until later the problem of how to pay for it all—though the answer is not a secret. It's a European-style value-added tax that would let the government permanently ratchet up its share of GDP. "I don't know if it's a short term goal but it's one the left has had for a long time," Mr. Rubio says of the VAT.

America's swelling debts, he says, will trigger a demand by global lenders that "America do something, either cut spending, which will be increasingly painful as government becomes a bigger and bigger part of the economy, or find sources of revenue." Then, amid a crisis, Democrats will force voters to accept a VAT or see dramatic cuts to Social Security and Medicare just as the baby boomers are entering retirement.

In Florida, Mr. Crist has accused Mr. Rubio of supporting an increase in the sales tax, a charge that Mr. Rubio calls "absurd" and "intellectually dishonest." The plan was a net tax cut, he says, which "basically eliminated the property tax and replaced it with a revenue-neutral consumption tax, 30% of which was paid by non Floridians entering the state." Mr. Crist supported a similar tax-swap plan from the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission.

Gov. Crist's campaign has also gone after Mr. Rubio for double billing state taxpayers and the Republican Party of Florida for eight flights while he was speaker of the house, a screw-up Mr. Rubio calls an "unfortunate" but honest error.

A few weeks ago, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush finally broke his silence in the Crist-Rubio battle. He called Mr. Crist's support for the Obama stimulus spending bill "unforgivable" and a "mistake," saying the bill was more about advancing a permanent left-wing agenda than meeting an economic emergency.

It's been a long time coming for those who consider Mr. Rubio to be Jeb Bush's ideological heir. At Mr. Rubio's swearing in as Florida house speaker in 2006, Mr. Bush told a story about "Chang the mystical warrior" of conservative causes before presenting Mr. Rubio with a golden "sword of the conservative warrior."

From the popular two-term governor, Mr. Rubio says he learned that policy has to come from principle. "You're going to get criticized. You're not always going to please everybody," he says. But "even people who disagree with you will ultimately respect the fact that they knew where you stood."

In contrast, voters are increasingly bewildered about where Mr. Obama stands. One day they hear that his health-care plan is a mere tweak that would let them "keep what they have." The next, they hear the bill is a 2,000-page monstrosity that would cost trillions of dollars and remake some 15% to 17% of the economy.

Mr. Rubio says the rebellion goes deeper than free-marketers objecting to a massive governmental intervention in the economy. Voters feel like they've been betrayed by their leaders: "You have leaders saying, 'We know you hate this . . . but we're going to force it down your throat because it's good for you.' It's almost an elitist attitude toward the American people . . . that they [Mr. Obama and his policy allies] are smarter than the rest of us."

On national security, he adds, the Obama administration has been a "fiasco." By making unilateral demands on the Israeli government in regard to settlements, he says, the White House took away Israel's leverage and "sent a message that America is not as committed to Israel as it once had been."

Failing to "speak forcefully on behalf of the democratic opposition that tried to rise up in the aftermath of a fraudulent election in Iran" was another error, Mr. Rubio says. "Of course we didn't have any problem interfering with the sovereignty of Honduras a few months later," he notes, referring to Mr. Obama's objection to the removal of President Manuel Zelaya.

Securing the border is critical, Mr. Rubio says, but he also recommends that Republicans keep their nativist impulses in check to avoid hurting the party with Latinos, a good chunk of whom are natural GOP allies on growth and opportunity. The rhetoric of some Republicans on immigration "has created a problem," he says. "I don't think the Republican Party should be the anti-illegal immigration party. We should be the pro legal immigration party, and we need to do a better job of explaining that to people."

Mr. Rubio's fan base is similar to that of Sarah Palin, though Mr. Rubio, whose family immigrated from Cuba, gets more points for policy smarts. He's never met Ms. Palin but admires her political style: "I think she brings a level of real-life everyday sentiment that people identify with. . . . I think she energizes people."

Among both supporters and skeptics in the GOP, there's a sense that the two, along with Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, are among the party's leaders of the future—and also a sense that after the Bush interregnum the fundamental soul of the GOP is Reaganite after all. Money has also begun pouring in to help level the playing field against the well-funded governor.

***
Mr. Rubio says that a Sarah Palin endorsement would be welcome and "a positive" at this point. But you also get a feeling he's one GOPer who doesn't need her blessing to prove he's a very different kind of Republican than those who soiled the party's brand during the Tom DeLay era. "Frankly, I think this party abandoned its roots and what made it successful," he says.

"Most Americans support the notion of limited government. When the Republican Party has been about those things, it's been successful," he says. "When it's been about anything else it's been unsuccessful."


Ms. Levy is a senior editorial writer at the Journal, based in Washington.

Tread Lightly



What kind of foods should we eat? Or put it another way, which foods are best for the body?

It's my belief the bests foods are those that the earth provides. Especially the greens. Collards, kale, spinach. Vegetables, grains, legumes.

The other day the Orange County Register published an article about "cheap eats" in Orange County for lunch. I believe the target price was to be under $25. I was the first commenter on the article. I wrote how I go to Baja Fresh, order a side of rice and beans, and a side of corn tortillas, and my bill is $2.83. With the salsas, this meal is not only my lunch but also my dinner.

Needless to say, and I knew it would happen, the follow up commenters tore me a new asshole. How it's unhealthy, feel sorry for my wife, and throw in a few other nasty comments. Not one was positive. Sad to say, it's what I expected.

But what are we designed to eat? If we truly ate the foods we're designed to eat, I do believe a lot of the health problems in the US would disappear. I believe the human body is designed to be vibrant, free of aches and pains, ever ready to do what needs to be done.

Friday, March 12, 2010

What a beautiful Day

Islam To Conquer America



This is their own words. The purpose of Islam is to take over the world. No doubt about it. The basic core of Islam is domination and submission.

There is no question President Bush got it wrong. Islam is by no means a religion of peace. To believe that is to be seduced by a big lie.

The other day I was having lunch at the Soup Plantation. Two muslim women were wearing their islamic clothing. How sweet. They profess their religion for all to see. Let me wear symbols of Christianity in Saudi Arabia. And profess Jesus as my Lord and Savior. How long does my head stay attached to my body?

But hey, we're multi-cultural in America. We believe in freedom of expression. So you would behead me in your country. In my country you get to burn my flag, mock my traditions, and threaten my life. But you go ahead and keep planning my destruction. You're doing a good job of it, all under the protection of my government.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Geert Wilders-Great Speech


A speech by Geert Wilders at the House of Lords, England

Fresh off his party's success in local elections, Geert Wilders spoke at the House of Lords in London on Friday. He also showed his controversial film "Fitna."

His very appearance was a victory, inasmuch as the British government turned him away when he tried to enter for the same purpose last yer. Here is most of what Wilders said to the House of Lords:

Thank you. It is great to be back in London. And it is great that this time, I got to see more of this wonderful city than just the detention centre at Heathrow Airport.

Today I stand before you, in this extraordinary place. Indeed, this is a sacred place. This is, as Malcolm always says, the mother of all Parliaments, I am deeply humbled to have the opportunity to speak before you.

Thank you Lord Pearson and Lady Cox for your invitation and showing my film 'Fitna'. Thank you my friends for inviting me.

I first have great news. Last Wednesday city council elections were held in the Netherlands. And for the first time my party, the Freedom Party, took part in these local elections. We participated in two cities. In Almere, one of the largest Dutch cities. And in The Hague, the third largest city; home of the government, the parliament and the queen. And, we did great! In one fell swoop my party became the largest party in Almere and the second largest party in The Hague. Great news for the Freedom Party and even better news for the people of these two beautiful cities.

And I have more good news. Two weeks ago the Dutch government collapsed. In June we will have parliamentary elections. And the future for the Freedom Party looks great. According to some polls we will become the largest party in the Netherlands. I want to be modest, but who knows, I might even be Prime Minister in a few months time!

Ladies and gentlemen, not far from here stands a statue of the greatest Prime Minister your country ever had. And I would like to quote him here today: "Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. No stronger retrograde force exists in the World. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step (...) the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome." These words are from none other than Winston Churchill wrote this in his book 'The River War' from 1899.

Churchill was right.

Ladies and gentlemen, I don't have a problem and my party does not have a problem with Muslims as such. There are many moderate Muslims. The majority of Muslims are law-abiding citizens and want to live a peaceful life as you and I do. I know that. That is why I always make a clear distinction between the people, the Muslims, and the ideology, between Islam and Muslims. There are many moderate Muslims, but there is no such thing as a moderate Islam.

Islam strives for world domination. The Quran commands Muslims to exercise jihad. The Quran commands Muslims to establish shariah law. The Quran commands Muslims to impose Islam on the entire world.

As former Turkish Prime Minister Erbakan said: "The whole of Europe will become Islamic. We will conquer Rome". End of quote. Libyan dictator Gaddafi said: "There are tens of millions of Muslims in the European continent today and their number is on the increase. This is the clear indication that the European continent will be converted into Islam. Europe will one day soon be a Muslim continent". End of quote. Indeed, for once in his life, Gaddafi was telling the truth. Because, remember: mass immigration and demographics is destiny!

Islam is merely not a religion, it is mainly a totalitarian ideology. Islam wants to dominate all aspects of life, from the cradle to the grave. Shariah law is a law that controls every detail of life in a Islamic society. From civic- and family law to criminal law. It determines how one should eat, dress and even use the toilet. Oppression of women is good, drinking alcohol is bad.

I believe that Islam is not compatible with our Western way of life. Islam is a threat to Western values. The equality of men and women, the equality of homosexuals and heterosexuals, the separation of church and state, freedom of speech, they are all under pressure because of islamization. Ladies and gentlemen: Islam and freedom, Islam and democracy are not compatible. They are opposite values.

No wonder that Winston Churchill called Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' "the new Quran of faith and war, turgid, verbose, shapeless, but pregnant with its message". As you know, Churchill made this comparison, between the Koran and Mein Kampf, in his book 'The Second World War', a master piece, for which, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Churchill's comparison of the Quran and 'Mein Kampf' is absolutely spot on. The core of the Quran is the call to jihad. Jihad means a lot of things and is Arabic for battle. Kampf is German for battle. Jihad and kampf mean exactly the same.

Islam means submission, there cannot be any mistake about its goal. That's a given. The question is whether we in Europe and you in Britain, with your glorious past, will submit or stand firm for your heritage.

We see Islam taking off in the West at an incredible pace. Europe is Islamizing rapidly. A lot of European cities have enormous Islamic concentrations. Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Berlin are just a few examples. In some parts of these cities, Islamic regulations are already being enforced. Women's rights are being destroyed. Burqa's, headscarves, polygamy, female genital mutilation, honour-killings. Women have to go to separate swimming-classes, don't get a handshake. In many European cities there is already apartheid. Jews, in an increasing number, are leaving Europe.

As you undoubtedly all know, better then I do, also in your country the mass immigration and islamization has rapidly increased. This has put an enormous pressure on your British society. Look what is happening in for example Birmingham, Leeds, Bradford and here in London. British politicians who have forgotten about Winston Churchill have now taken the path of least resistance. They have given up. They have given in.

Last year, my party has requested the Dutch government to make a cost-benefit analysis of the mass immigration. But the government refused to give us an answer. Why? Because it is afraid of the truth. The signs are not good. A Dutch weekly magazine - Elsevier - calculated costs to exceed 200 billion Euros. Last year alone, they came with an amount of 13 billion Euros. More calculations have been made in Europe: According to the Danish national bank, every Danish immigrant from an Islamic country is costing the Danish state more than 300 thousand Euros. You see the same in Norway and France. The conclusion that can be drawn from this: Europe is getting more impoverished by the day. More impoverished thanks to mass immigration. More impoverished thanks to demographics. And the leftists are thrilled.

I don't know whether it is true, but in several British newspapers I read that Labour opened the door to mass immigration in a deliberate policy to change the social structures of the UK. Andrew Neather, a former government advisor and speech writer for Tony Blair and Jack Straw, said the aim of Labour's immigration strategy was, and I quote, to "rub the Right's nose in diversity and render their arguments out of date". If this is true, this is symptomatic of the Left.

Ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake: The left is facilitating islamization. Leftists, liberals, are cheering for every new shariah bank being created, for every new shariah mortgage, for every new islamic school, for every new shariah court. Leftists consider Islam as being equal to our own culture. Shariah law or democracy? Islam or freedom? It doesn't really matter to them. But it does matter to us. The entire leftist elite is guilty of practising cultural relativism. Universities, churches, trade unions, the media, politicians. They are all betraying our hard-won liberties.

Why I ask myself, why have the Leftists and liberals stopped to fight for them? Once the Leftists stood on the barricades for women's rights. But where are they today? Where are they in 2010? They are looking the other way. Because they are addicted to cultural relativism and dependent on the Muslim vote. They are dependent on mass-immigration.

Thank heavens Jacqui Smith isn't in office anymore. It was a victory for free speech that a UK judge brushed aside her decision to refuse me entry to your country last year. I hope that the judges in my home country are at least as wise and will acquit me of all charges, later this year in the Netherlands.

Unfortunately, so far they have not done so well. For they do not want to hear the truth about Islam, nor are they interested to hear the opinion of top class legal experts in the field of freedom of expression. Last month in a preliminary session the Court refused fifteen of the eighteen expert-witnesses I had requested to be summoned. Only three expert witnesses are allowed to be heard. . . [and] their testimony will be heard behind closed doors. Apparently the truth about Islam must not be told in public, the truth about Islam must remain secret.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm being prosecuted for my political beliefs. We know political prosecution to exist in countries in the Middle East, like Iran and Saudi-Arabia, but never in Europe, never in the Netherlands.

I'm being prosecuted for comparing the Quran to 'Mein Kampf'. Ridiculous. I wonder if Britain will ever put the beliefs of Winston Churchill on trial... Ladies and gentlemen, the political trial that is held against me has to stop.

But it is not all about me. . . .Free speech is under attack. Let me give you a few other examples. As you perhaps know, one of my heroes, the Italian author Oriana Fallaci had to live in fear of extradition to Switzerland because of her anti-Islam book 'The Rage and the Pride'. The Dutch cartoonist Nekschot was arrested in his home in Amsterdam by 10 police men because of his anti-Islam drawings. Here in Britain, the American author Rachel Ehrenfeld was sued by a Saudi businessman for defamation. In the Netherlands Ayaan Hirsi Ali and in Australia two Christian pastors were sued. I could go on and on. Ladies and gentlemen, all throughout the West freedom loving people are facing this ongoing 'legal jihad'. This is Islamic 'lawfare'. And, ladies and gentlemen, not long ago the Danish cartoonist Westergaard was almost assassinated for his cartoons.

Ladies and gentlemen, we should defend the right to freedom of speech. . . .I believe it is our obligation to preserve the inheritance of the brave young soldiers that stormed the beaches of Normandy. That liberated Europe from tyranny. . . .As George Orwell said: "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear".

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe in another policy, it is time for change. . . .If I may quote one of my favourite American presidents: Ronald Reagan once said: "We need to act today, to preserve tomorrow". That is why I propose the following measures, I only mention a few, in order to preserve our freedom:

First, we will have to defend freedom of speech. It is the most important of our liberties. In Europe and certainly in the Netherlands, we need something like the American First Amendment.

Second, we will have to end and get rid of cultural relativism. To the cultural relativists, the shariah socialists, I proudly say: Our Western culture is far superior to the Islamic culture. Don't be affraid to say it. You are not a racist when you say that our own culture is better.

Third, we will have to stop mass immigration from Islamic countries. Because more Islam means less freedom.

Fourth, we will have to expel criminal immigrants and, following denaturalisation, we will have to expel criminals with a dual nationality. And there are many of them in my country.

Fifth, we will have to forbid the construction of new mosques. There is enough Islam in Europe. Especially since Christians in Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia are mistreated, there should be a mosque building-stop in the West.

And last but not least, we will have to get rid of all those so-called leaders. I said it before: Fewer Chamberlains, more Churchills. Let's elect real leaders.

Ladies and gentlemen. To the previous generation, that of my parents, the word 'London' is synonymous with hope and freedom. When my country was occupied by the national-socialists the BBC offered a daily glimpse of hope in my country, in the darkness of Nazi tyranny. Millions of my fellow country men listened to it, underground. The words 'This is London' were a symbol for a better world coming soon.

What will be broadcasted forty years from now? Will it still be "This is London"? Or will it be "This is Londonistan"? Will it bring us hope? Or will it signal the values of Mecca and Medina? Will Britain offer submission or perseverance? Freedom or slavery? The choice is yours. And in the Netherlands the choice is ours.

Ladies and gentlemen, we will never apologize for being free. We will and should never give in. And, indeed, as one of your former leaders said: We will never surrender.

Freedom must prevail, and freedom will prevail.

This is so clear and thought provoking. I pray this man leads his country.

Friday, March 5, 2010

President of School Board



I don't know. But I think I smell a big rat.

Here's are two email snippets from the president of the Detroit school board:

Do DPS control the Foundation or outside group? If an outside group control the foundation, then what is DPS Board row with selection of is director? Our we mixing DPS and None DPS row's, and who is the watch dog?

If you saw Sunday's Free Press that shown Robert Bobb the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, move Mark Twain to Boynton which have three times the number seats then students and was one of the reason's he gave for closing school to many empty seats.

I'm not a teacher. But what would you say? The President of the Detroit School Board has the writing skills of a 3rd or 4th grader?

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

My 10th Speech, Toastmasters



This is my tenth speech in Toastmasters. In Toastmasters, after the tenth speech, the toastmaster earns the "Competent Communicator" award. For me, I feel Competent Communicator is a bit of an oxymoron. I might communicate, but I certainly don't feel competent.

I have come a long way in my time with Toastmasters. It has helped me grow as a person outside of the Toastmaster experience. What I love about Toastmasters is those who attend, want to make the most out of their lives and become better people. I respect my fellow Toastmasters.