7 year old on 3 psych drugs hangs himself

And the Government is daring to keep kids on drugs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had heard about the suicide of Gabriel Myers.

Myers' death by hanging happened in a Florida foster home last year, but that wasn't the main reason it triggered a major reaction at Florida's Department of Children and Families.

The real reason: He was 7 years old.

Whatever else might have helped lead such a young child toward ending his life, one detail was impossible to ignore: The boy was being treated with three different psychotropic medications.

Medications of that sort make some people more depressed or even suicidal, and their effects when combined are harder to predict, especially in children.

So DCF did a quick check on how many foster children were being given such drugs. Troubling facts emerged.

Not only was the percentage high, it was not really known. And, in more than a third of known cases, required approval permission documents were missing.

DCF Secretary George Sheldon quickly acknowledged the problem and started a study group to learn more and give advice. And a year later, the picture is at least more clear. Very few files lack required documentation now.

In the Sarasota-Manatee-DeSoto county region, 11 percent of foster children are given psychotropic meds. Statewide, it is 13 percent.

Some critics insist too many foster parents, lacking the skill or patience to work with troubled children who arrive as strangers, are still too quick to see medication as the way to curb problem behavior or just keep foster children quiet, no matter the side effects.

Drugs helpful to some adults can react differently in children, who may suffer more extreme and unintended side effects. And so, clinical trials on children are needed, but it it is a scary field of study.

Jill Hartzler, an associate FDA commissioner, responded that the FDA - which oversees the studies to make sure children's involvement is approved and understood by parents or guardians - didn't have an exact number. Or even an estimate. The FDA doesn't have the slightest idea how many Florida foster kids are or have been involved in its drug studies.

But that wasn't the weirdest part. Hartzler and the FDA also urged that Florida not bar foster kids from drug trials, arguing that benefits can outweigh risks.

With children offering the pharmaceutical companies a greater market and thus greater profits...

money comes first.


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20000546-504083.html
http://www.furiousseasons.com/archives/2009/04
http://www.drugawareness.org/recentcasesblog/depression
http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/psychopharmacology/a/kidzoloft.htm


News Radicals.

The Oil Spill’s Effects on Wildlife

And a Gulf polluted by States near and far...

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/28/us/

Follow the link for an interactive graphic of the pollution levels in the Gulf of Mexico and the direct effects on the ecosystem.


News Radicals.

Sydney Graffiti

2 x Cabshift - Redfern, Sydney

2 x Peque mural - May Lane, St Peters, Sydney

http://www.flickr.com/groups/sydneygraffiti/pool/

News Radicals.

Garfield minus Garfield

And now something a bit lighter, after the freaky lamb/goat news...

Garfield minus Garfield, the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle.

http://garfieldminusgarfield.net


News Radicals.

Sheep gives birth to human-faced lamb

Mutant ninja lamb.

A sheep gave birth to a dead lamb with a human-like face. The calf was born in a village not far from the city of Izmir, Turkey.

Erhan Elibol, a vet, performed Cesarean section on the animal to take the calf out, but was horrified to see that the features of the calf’s snout bore a striking resemblance to a human face.

'I’ve seen mutations with cows and sheep before. I’ve seen a one-eyed calf, a two-headed calf, a five-legged calf. But when I saw this youngster I could not believe my eyes. His mother could not deliver him so I had to help the animal', the 29-year-old veterinary said.

The lamb’s head had human features on – the eyes, the nose and the mouth – only the ears were those of a sheep.

Veterinaries said that the rare mutation most likely occurred as a result of improper nutrition since the fodder for the lamb’s mother was abundant with vitamin A, CNNTurk.com reports.

And there's more...

In Zimbabwe, a goat gave birth to a similar youngster in September 2009. The mutant baby born with a human-like head stayed alive for several hours until the frightened village residents killed him.

The governor of the province where the ugly goat was born said that the little goat was the fruit of unnatural relationship between the female goat and a man.

'This incident is very shocking. It is my first time to see such an evil thing. It is really embarrassing', he reportedly said.

'The head belongs to a man while the body is that of a goat. This is evident that an adult human being was responsible. Evil powers caused this person to lose self control. We often hear cases of human beings who commit bestiality but this is the first time for such an act to produce a product with human features', he added.

The mutant creature was hairless. Local residents said that even dogs were afraid to approach the bizarre animal.

The locals burnt the body of the little goat, and biologists had no chance to study the rare mutation.

Perhaps all those stories we've heard about in classic mythology, like the Minotaur, might have been inspired by real-life examples of mutation.

Nonetheless, freaky shit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s8XMlRKVso
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sheep-gives-birth-to-human-faced-lamb/story-e6freuy9-1225819071357
http://english.pravda.ru/science/mysteries/12-01-2010/1116


News Radicals.

Music trains nervous system and improves learning ability

Turn up the beat.

Researchers from Northwestern University recently published a series of data in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience, revealing that music plays an important role in nervous system development.

According to various, diverse scientific literature, musical training improves the brain's overall ability to learn new things.

After poring through data from numerous labs and research centers around the world, Nina Kraus, lead author of the report, and her team, came to realize how valuable music is in enhancing learning ability.

'The brain is unable to process all of the available sensory information from second to second, and thus must selectively enhance what is relevant. Playing an instrument primes the brain to choose what is relevant in a complex process that may involve reading or remembering a score, timing issues and coordination with other musicians', she explained.

In other words, musical training helps to develop the foundation for thinking by which cognitive function is able to improve throughout a person's lifetime.

'Science has studied the effects on humans of various kinds of sound, and the consensus is that the right sort of music definitely has a beneficial effect on our state of health', explains Alfred Vogel in his book The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine.

The data also revealed that children who receive musical training are more adept at interpreting pitch changes in speech, and they generally have a better vocabulary and reading ability than children who receive no musical training.

http://www.emedexpert.com/tips/music.shtml
http://www.naturalnews.com/029262_music_learning.html


News Radicals.

BP 'doctoring' oil disaster pictures

Tell-tale signs of dodgy Photoshop doctoring:

1.) The control tower is visible
2.) Part of a boat is missing and the sea is blurred
3.) Shoulder badly cropped
4.) Bottle resting on the roof
5.) Window tint around pilot's glasses doesn't line up
6.) Window shows tarmac instead of the sea
7.) The control panel shows the brake is on
8.) The pilot still has his pre-flight checklist in his hand


Bending the truth.

Environmentalists have long suspected that BP has been playing fast and loose with the truth. Now they have proof.

The company has been caught doctoring photos of its response to the worst oil spill in US history.

Tech website Gizmodo has published two pictures that were posted on BP's official website that clearly show signs of editing - and sloppy editing at that.

One of the images, titled 'View of the MC 252 site from the cockpit of a PHI S-92 helicopter 26 June 2010', was removed from the site after Gizmodo pointed out the helicopter was not in the air but in fact on the ground.

The most glaring error is in the top left hand corner - an air traffic control tower that shouldn't be there.

Other mistakes include a disappearing boat, the poor cropping of the one of the pilot's shoulders, a bottle on the roof and the fact that you can see tarmac out of one of the windows.

Close examination of the control panel also indicates that the helicopter's door and ramp are open and the parking brake on, says Gizmodo.

BP has not responded to Gizmodo's claims but earlier this week it was forced to admit that an image of its control centre in Houston had been altered to make it look busier.

Eagle-eyed bloggers spotted that the two of the screens in the photo looked as if they had another image cut and pasted on top.

BP changed the photo on its website, showing that the two screens had originally been blank.

The company said that the photographer had changed the image merely to show off his Photoshop skills and that there was no ill intent.

BP spokesman Scott Dean said that BP workers were allowed to use Photoshop only for correcting colours and cropping.

Gizmodo blogger Brian Barrett said that BP was more concerned with its image than reality.

'Obviously there are bigger fish to fry when it comes to BP. But every time they fabricate an image like this, it undermines whatever little credibility they have left', he said.

http://gizmodo.com/5592836/bp-photoshops-another-official-image-again-terribly
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/21/bp-oil-spill-oil-spills
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1296764


News Radicals.

The BP plan for offshore rig riches

CounterThink by Mike Adams & Dan Berger

http://www.naturalnews.com/028742_British_Petroleum_offshore_drilling.html

British Petroleum Visionaries

CounterThink by Mike Adams & Dan Berger

http://www.naturalnews.com/028855_British_Petroleum_offshore_drilling.html

Teens Using Digital Drugs

Logging on to get high.

Teenagers around the world are getting high on the internet, thanks to MP3s that induce a state of ecstasy. And it could be a gateway drug leading teens to real-world narcotics.

At least, that is what several news networks are reporting about a phenomenon called 'i-dosing', which involves finding an online dealer who can hook you up with 'digital drugs' that get you high through your headphones.

And officials are taking it very seriously.

I-dosing involves donning headphones and listening to 'music' — largely a droning noise — which the sites peddling the sounds promise will get you high. Teens are listening to such tracks as 'Gates of Hades', which is available on YouTube gratis (yes, the first one is always free).

Those who want to get addicted to the 'drugs' can purchase tracks that will purportedly bring about the same effects of marijuana, cocaine, opium and peyote. While street drugs rarely come with instruction manuals, potential digital drug users are advised to buy a 40-page guide so that they learn how to properly get high on MP3s.

YouTube example - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtMXXX9xrI0
Notice the Satanic inclinations of the Brainwave Entertainment videos... bad news.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/world/teen-fears-over-digital-drug-craze
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/07/help-teens-are-using-digital-drugs


News Radicals.

PNG PM tells Opposition: 'I will kill you'

Papua New Guinea's Parliament has descended into chaos after the Government thwarted the Opposition's attempt at a vote of no confidence by adjourning proceedings until November.

The Opposition, swelled by a mass government defection, moved an expected motion for a no-confidence vote this morning.

But when Parliament resumed after lunch, Speaker Jeffery Nape accepted the Government's move for an adjournment.

The Opposition challenged the Government's numbers for the motion, but the Speaker disallowed the move.

This prompted an outbreak of shouting and arguing, with the Opposition claiming it had the numbers to block the adjournment.

But the Speaker did not call for a division and told the MPs Parliament would resume on November 16.

More heated arguments followed, with an outraged Opposition claiming PNG was run by a "dictatorship".

Prime Minister Michael Somare, facing a direct challenge by his former deputy Puka Temu, crossed the chamber, pointed his finger at the Opposition and shouted in pidgin words which translate as 'I will kill you'.

News Radicals.

Ecstasy treatment for trauma patients

A recent U.S. study suggests that the drug ecstasy may help to treat people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

In a small trial of 20 people, researchers found that the popular rave drug helps to improve the effects of psychotherapy in patients who have had little or no success with conventional treatments.

Published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the study evaluated a group of volunteers that participated in two, eight-hour psychotherapy sessions over the course of several weeks. Part of the group took ecstasy as part of their treatment, while the other took a placebo. Ten of the 12 participants that took the ecstasy responded well to the psychotherapy treatments, while only two of the eight who took the placebo responded well.

Ecstasy is a methamphetamine drug that is known to alter a person's normal consciousness and put him or her into a trance-like state It is a controlled substance that is generally recognized as an illegal narcotic without benefit, but it is now beginning to gain attention among psychiatrists who see it as a beneficial treatment option for their patients.

Known clinically as MDMA, ecstasy is said to have been used worldwide as a psychotherapy treatment long before it became an illegal, recreational-use drug. It helps to ease tension and bring about good feelings in a person's brain.

'MDMA seems to bring people into the optimal zone for therapy and seems to help them process the trauma and not be overwhelmed by feelings', explained Dr. Michael Mithoefer, psychiatrist and author of the study.

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which funded the study, claims that patients experienced no adverse effects from taking MDMA during the course of the trial, but other research shows that MDMA, in its drug form, can carry with it some serious, long-term side effects.

'Since it is a form of metha-amphetamine, those who take Ecstasy are risking serious cardiovascular problems', explains Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10663863
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news


News Radicals.

On Albert Einstein

'The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.'

'The conscientious objector is a revolutionary. On deciding to disobey the law he sacrifices his personal interests to the most important cause of working for the betterment of society.'


News Radicals.

The Rolling Stones & Augmented Reality

Keeping it real, well actually not at all.

One of the oldest performing rock bands in the world is the first to launch an augmented reality campaign for their latest album.

Using the new Layar platform, Rolling Stones fans are able to mythologise the band in augmented reality application like no other.

To promote the Stone's campaign called 'Exile on Your St' (and commemorating the re-lease of 'Exile On Main St' originally released in 1972), the band worked in collaboration with Augment Reality out of the UK and Polydor Records who utilized the Layar platform to create a one-of-kind app.

The app that can be downloaded on iPhones (3GS & iPhone 4) and Droid smart phones comes complete with a track of your choice and the ability to create a virtual poster on billboards, workplaces, famous landmarks or even in your own backyard.

Once a virtual poster is laid down by one user, other users with the same app will be able to view the virtual posters wherever they were place in the real world - via their smart phone viewers. They will also be able to attach a 30 second audio clip from the album's 28 tracks to image.

Since Layar is a location-based social network service it allows users within a 2km radius to view the posters, listen to the clips and add their own comments.

The future is here.

http://www.augmentreality.co.uk/blog/exile-on-your-street
http://site.layar.com/company/blog/layer-of-the-week-rolling-stones


News Radicals.

New Oil Seep Discovered

The greasy Gulf.

An oil seep near the ruptured BP wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico is casting new uncertainty over BP’s temporary success in plugging the leak.

Oil stopped flowing from the well on Thursday after BP successfully installed a containment cap.

However, US officials say oil and gas has begun seeping from the sea floor, leading to fears of another hole in the well that could make the spill even worse.

BP wants to keep the cap in place and has been granted additional time to conduct testing.

Money comes first.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_gulf_oil_spill
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/19/2957808.htm


News Radicals.

Healthy Facts

• There are 2.5 trillion (give or take) of red blood cells in your body at any moment. To maintain this number, about two and a half million new ones need to be produced every second by your bone marrow.
• The average red blood cell lives for 120 days.
• Considering all the tissues and cells in your body, 25 million new cells are being produced each second.
  
• Nerve Impulses travel at over 400 km/hr (25 m/hr).
• A red blood cell can circumnavigate your body in under 20 seconds.
• A sneeze generates a wind of 166 km/hr (100 m/hr), and a cough moves out at 100 km/hr (60 m/hr).
• Our heart beats around 100,00 times every day.
• Our blood is on a 60,000-mile journey.
• Our eyes can distinguish up to one million colour surfaces and take in more information than the largest telescope known to man.
• Pap smear for cervical cancer is the single best cancer screening procedure
• Lifetime risk of an American man developing an invasive cancer is 45%
• Our lungs inhale over two million litres of air every day, without even thinking. They are large enough to cover a tennis court.
• Most poisonings involve medicines, vitamins, home-care products, illegal drugs, plants and metals such as mercury.
• The five types of poison exposures include ingestion through the mouth, inhalation through the nose or mouth, through the eyes (ocular), through the skin (dermal) or through stings or bites (parenteral).
• It is estimated that 70,000 children under 15 develop type 1 diabetes each year (200 children a day).
• There are about 250 million people with diabetes in the world
• Is kissing good for your health? Apparently so, the extra saliva that is exchanged reduces decay of teeth by keeping your mouths clean.
• Can you lose calories by merely kissing? Apparently so, you lose 26 calories if you kiss for a minute and 260 if you did it for 10 minutes.
• Each year about 56 million people die around the world.
• 20,000 people in the world die daily due to cancer
• Cancers of the Lung, Prostate and Stomach are the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men
• Relative risk of a smoker developing lung cancer is 23 times higher than that of a non-smoker.
• Heart disease is still the no.1 Killer in the world.

News Radicals.

Drink Up

Alcohol is good for you.

When we speak of alcohol consumption we typically talk about it with regard to how it can affect a person’s health negatively or even destroy a person’s life when it is abused. However, some studies do show that there is a correlation with moderate drinking of alcohol and better health.

Studies that involved cardiac specific diseases show that individuals who consume moderate amounts of alcohol regularly show less arterial closure and those who do not drink at all. This means that a moderate, regular drinker could decrease the possibility of heart disease by up to 50%.

The encouraging news with regard to alcohol is blunted by the fact that it is very hard to walk the line between moderates, regular alcohol consumption and either infrequent or excessive alcohol drinking. For example, occasional drinkers lose alcohol benefits because their consumption is inconsistent. On the other hand, people that consume three or more drinks every day quickly lose the health benefits that were examined in the study.

Considering the dangers that are imposed by consuming alcohol, it is hard to endorse alcohol drinking as a benefit to one’s health. People with a personal or family history of alcoholism or other similar diseases that are heightened by alcohol use such as liver disease etc. should continue to avoid the consumption of alcohol.

Overall, well moderate and regular consumption of small doses of alcohol may be beneficial with respect to cardiac health, the risks outweigh the benefits.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/health/why-its-good-for-you/2005/11/16/1132016863068.html

http://eating.health.com/2008/01/30/is-alcohol-really-good-for-you/

http://www.drgourmet.com/health/alcohol.shtml

News Radicals.