This article originally posted at: Hot Air » Top Picks

This article originally posted at: Hot Air » Top Picks

This article originally posted at: Hot Air » Top Picks

This article originally posted at: Hot Air » Top Picks

We may actually see some banksters go to prison on the apparent massive Lehman fraud as detailed in the 2000 page report by the bankruptcy examiner. Not only does the report say then-CEO Dick Fuld was “at least grossly negligent,” it says their auditor Ernst & Young could be accused of “professional malpractice.” Then too, are the obvious questions about the involvement of the NY Fed and Geithner.

How Lehman’s executives lied about their assets to fool everyone about their financial health.

This is one of those few news stories where there is much more than meets eye. The headlines are understating the seriousness of the deception Lehman’s executives employed in an effort to fool investors and creditors about the health of their investment bank.

This is only going to get worse for the former executives of Lehman.

Did JPM and Citi cause Lehman’s collapse

Lehman faked it. Timmay knew it, that settles it?

Yes, I think it does.

Why it doesn’t matter if Lehman round-trip sales technically complied with accounting rules

Will Ernst & Young survive the Lehman fiasco?

From Barron’s

“Dick Fuld is going to be bankrupted and he’s going to spend the rest of his life in court fighting legal battles,” observes Dick Bove of Rochedale Securities in a phone call this afternoon. Bove, who said he’s having the nine volumes of the examiner’s report printed and bound, added, “There may be others forced to do the same.”

The libertarian Zero Hedge, who has broken major financial stories about the banksters, now sounds more than a little Marxist.

The evident conclusion is that the core driver of modern capitalist society is fraud at its very core, and nothing short of a massive revolutionary overhaul of the political system, which is the number one defender of the status quo courtesy of very lucrative bribes and kickbacks originating from the same rotten Wall Street that day after day is uncovered to be nothing but a sham filled with toxic assets, used to collateralize an ever growing wall of liquidity (thank you Bernanke).

[Ratigan:]“This report comes just short of suggesting this is by no means an accident but instead one of the greatest crimes ever perpetrated by a group of people, and enabled by the US government.” And Spitzer concludes: “there is no doubt civil cases will be brought. We had a failure of CEO, the CFO, the accountants, and indeed the regulators, the Fed and the Treasury, that were inside these banks, and the question has to be asked: where were they.”

Indeed. And what will Obama do about it?

This article originally posted at: Politics in the Zeros

Natalie Randolph, a 29-year-old biology and environmental sciences teacher, was introduced Friday as the coach of the school's Coolidge Colts. She's believed to be the nation's only female head coach of a high school varsity football team.

"While I'm proud to be part of what this all means," Randolph said, "being female has nothing to do with it. I love football. I love football, I love teaching, I love these kids. My being female has nothing to do with my support and respect for my players on the field and in the classroom."

The news conference drew the kind of attention usually reserved for the Washington Redskins and was delayed nearly two hours so Fenty, who is up for re-election this year, could be there and proclaim "Natalie Randolph Day" in the city.

Randolph was chosen from about 15 candidates after the previous coach resigned. The Washington native and University of Virginia track star played six seasons as a receiver for the D.C. Divas of the National Women's Football Association, helping the team win the title in 2006.

She also was an assistant coach from 2006-08 at another D.C. high school, H.D. Woodson, where opposing coaches would throw funny looks her way when told she was on the staff.

Now she's a head coach, ready to dispel naysayers. And she doesn't plan to do it by screaming in the kids' faces.

"I'm probably more Tony Dungyesque," said Randolph, who has a copy of the Super Bowl-winning coach's book. "I'm soft-spoken, so me yelling is not me. I'm going to be me. That's what I do in the classroom. When I get observed, the observers say 'I didn't expect you to be able to handle this class,' but I do what I have to do to get it done."

Randolph's fiance, Thomas Byrd, warned that Randolph's polite demeanor could be misleading – "She packs a mean punch," he said – and her Divas teammates were on hand to describe the grit that kept her playing on a severely injured ankle several years ago.

But Randolph will no doubt have to work a bit harder than the average coach to win the respect of players, opposing coaches and the football community at large.

Keith Bulluck, a 10-year NFL veteran, posted on Twitter that he's "not saying it can't be done or shouldn't be done. Football is clearly a mans sport & it's 2 be seen how young men take to their coach being a woman."

Randolph, her hair in dreadlocks with blonde highlights, wore a stylish necklace Friday. Some of her players already know and respect her – she's been a teacher at the school for two years. They also know players on other teams will have a field day talking trash.

"I need trash talk as my ammunition to do better," junior defensive tackle Daniel West said. "There's nothing like proving somebody wrong. And I think that's what we're going to have to do this season – because a lot of people have something to say about her being our coach, and I feel like it's my duty and it's the team's duty to prove everybody wrong, to show that it doesn't matter. As soon as we start winning, everybody will want to be on the bandwagon."

Coolidge went 6-4 last season under coach Jason Lane and has a state-of-the-art field, so it's not necessarily a school that needs to draw attention. Principal Thelma Jarrett insisted that in "no way" was this a publicity stunt.

"On the field, in the classroom – we'll prove 'em wrong," Jarrett said.

Added Randolph: "People are always going to think negative things. I know what the deal is. My administration supports me, the kids support me. So that's all that really matters."

The schedule, however, poses an unusual challenge. Her fiance is the offensive coordinator at Woodson. That should make for an interesting week when the rivals play.

"Good competition, good fun," she said with a smile. "I love you all over there, but we're going to beat you on the field and go hang out later."

___

AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tenn., contributed to this report.

This article originally posted at: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

Severance Hospital spokesman Lee Sung-man said Saturday that Kissinger would be released on Sunday. He did not give any further details.

The 86-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate arrived in Seoul earlier in the week to attend a security forum. He also met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Kissinger served as secretary of state for presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

This article originally posted at: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

In a BBC interview, Karl Rove, who was known as "Bush's brain", said he "was proud we used techniques that broke the will of these terrorists".

He said waterboarding, which simulates drowning, should not be considered torture.

Perhaps Rove should have been waterboarded by investigators to determine his role in the Valerie Plame outing. Maybe it's not too late to give that a try. Want to volunteer to be waterboarded, Karl?

This article originally posted at: Daily Kos

We're doubling up on the interviews in this episode. First is a conversation with director Peter Hanson about his new documentary, Tales from the Script, in which a powerhouse collection of screenwriters -- including Frank Darabont, Shane Black, and Paul Schrader -- take viewers through the somewhat tortured, occasionally triumphant life cycle of those who labor away at the word processor for fame and glory (and occasional big bucks). That'll be followed by my conversation with Brad Gray about The Exploding Girl, a small and quite satisfying story about a young woman (Zoe Kazan) facing the end of one relationship, even as she ponders the start of another.

Two very good films, two interesting discussions. What more could you ask for? Click on the player to hear the show.

More MMP on HuffPost:
Jessica Jacoby and Felix Moeller on Harlan - In the Shadow of Jew Suss
The Art of the Steal Interview
Jessica Hausner on Lourdes

Check out the Mighty Movie Podcast homepage.

This article originally posted at: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

[The big banks] have access to a zero percent loan in virtually unlimited quantities from the Federal Reserve. You can take that money and reinvest it in Treasury bonds or government agency securities and you will get the spread and you could do it over and over. You're essentially borrowing from the government ... and taking a cut.

Really what's going on is the people on the top of the firm want to make a lot of money and if they're going to make a lot of money, they have got to pay the people under them a lot of money,

WATCH:

This article originally posted at: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

Waking up on January 21st, deaf in one ear, was a shock to me. Last week, I was in London having MRI scans to explore the cause of this sudden hearing loss in my left ear. It turns out that I have a benign acoustic neuroma that is blocking the acoustic nerve artery to the cochlea. There is a tumor which is expected to grow slowly, if at all. More scans will be done in six months to reevaluate if surgery is necessary.

This condition is truly an opportunity. First of all, what can I learn from it? Secondly, I am excited about how I can move forward with the condition. Can it be healed and my hearing restored? Present medical science says no. Whatever the state of the condition, how am I going to expand my experience and expression of life anyway? How can I use it to amplify the human spirit that I am?

Here are 7 Steps To Healing And Good Health that I am now using:

1. Acceptance

Accepting the loss of hearing, and its finiteness as given to me by the doctors, was not easy. It is important to be with and to accept the feelings that show up. Acceptance lifts you such that you can better cooperate with the condition you are presented with.

Rise above the storm and you will find the sunshine.
Mario Fernandez

2. Receiving

Be open to receive the support you need to take you through the issue - and out the other side. Each of us have a need to give. Givers need receivers.

People who pray for you and wish you well, can make a big difference when it comes to having faith and trust in a healthy outcome. Engage positive witnesses who celebrate your triumphs and assist you to maintain an expansive focus.

I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness
the astonishing light of your own being.
Hafiz

3. Learning

In the human spirit that you are, each challenge brings you a gift of learning and greater understanding. When the learning has taken place, the condition no longer has a purpose. It may leave.

The attitude of gratitude for all the goodness you have right now may be one of the greatest lessons you have to learn.

Whenever we are appreciative, we are filled with a sense of wellbeing
and swept up by the feeling of joy.
M.J. Ryan

4. Forgiving

A health crisis often brings emotional reactions. You can use forgiving to bring balance; to release misunderstanding, sadness, disappointment, anger, frustrations or regret.

Forgiving is one of the best ways you can draw the curtain back to reveal your spirit. Through a renewed connection with the Divine, you may receive fresh inspiration; the blessings of others who care; insights of peace and reassurance; joy and the sheer humour in daily life.

Here are two statements I find valuable. They can be repeated at any time - standing in line, waiting in traffic, walking, running, dancing or swimming.

I forgive myself for any judgments I have made or held
against myself or any other being or situation,
consciously or unconsciously.

I forgive myself for forgetting that I am divine

Forgiving is a choice

In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer.
Albert Camus

5. Expanding

How could you invite a larger vision for yourself? How could you heal your consciousness to bring about improvements in your life?

You may for example, wish to simplify your life. Change your job to fulfill a heartfelt vocation. Develop closer friendships. Reduce superficial acquaintances. Do more of what makes you happy. Let go of unnecessary obligations. Say "no" to what you do not want. Say "yes" to what you do.

Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish
Jean de La Fontaine

6. Dreaming

Give yourself permission to dream. So far, what have you not dared to ask for, and receive? What have you denied that you would really love to be, or to do, or to have? Sleep on the question and allow yourself to be shown when you wake what it is you want in your heart of hearts.

Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

7. Acting

Start to make the changes that will bring about your deepest desires and your fondest dreams. Find new ways to communicate what is true for you. Dare to do things differently. Be willing to explore and discover fresh meaning in life.

The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground.
Unknown

Forgiving is central to letting go of past hurt, and opening the door to a brighter future. Happy Forgiving Day!

How has forgiving made a difference to you? Have you ever transformed your life through a healing crisis? What important dream have you yet to realize and fulfill?

Please feel free to leave a comment below, or contact me at anne@annenaylor.com


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This article originally posted at: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

Here's my top 10 list. What's yours?

1.The colour blue
I know, it's the world's most popular colour. I just can't stand it.

2. Dill
Ew, ew, ew.

3. My bad habits
Oh, it's a long list. But at the tippy top: spending too much money on clothes.

4. Hot, humid weather
Toronto swings between minus 40 and plus 40 (that's Celsius) each year. I prefer the cooler end of the spectrum.

5. Packaging that's hard to open
Anything that requires a tool - from scissors to one of those silicone wraps - is badly designed.

6. Stuff
It seems to me that I spend much of my day moving things from A to B. Or cleaning it. (See #3 for most egregious example.)

7. Walking on the wrong side
We drive on the right side, let's all walk right, too. People in left-side-driving countries (UK, Hong Kong, Oz) have figured this out. We can, too.

8. Fear of aging
People who think it's all downhill after 50 make me crazy. And those who see the aging population as a terrifying tsunami do, too. (My new book aims to shake up this kind of thinking. More soon.)

9. People who feel entitled
Examples are everywhere, but I'm thinking about the patrons of a posh LA sushi restaurant who thought they were above the law and could eat whale. They just got busted.

10. The gap between rich and poor
Need I say more?

Now, it's your turn. What drives you bonkers? And let's make this a good natured game, OK? Our intention is not to do harm, but to blow off a little steam.

Julia Moulden usually writes about people who see things that drive them crazy (everything from poverty to environmental devastation) and decide to pitch in and do something about it. She calls these people "New Radicals". For more, please see archived articles.

This article originally posted at: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

When I started my "bajillionth" and last diet in 2001, I didn't tell anyone except my girlfriend Cathy, my husband Mark, and my children that I was starting something new. I had started so many times before and stopped that I just didn't want anyone knowing right away. Besides, if I really did stick with it, it would be fun to surprise everyone, especially my parents who were so concerned for my health.

But surprising my parents was not to be. Just three days after joining Weight Watchers® for the last time, my wonderful, beloved father had a heart attack and died the next day. He never knew his prayers for his little girl had finally been answered.

In the midst of deep grief, and without much practice in counting POINTS® or planning my days--and surrounded by an overwhelming quantity of catered food and other people's cooking--I did my best to stay with it. I don't know why. I was so full of grief, I didn't care very much at that point, and no one even knew I was dieting.

I kept telling myself that it would have been so easy to put it off for another time. No one would blame me. With all the stress and grief, who would expect me to keep dieting? The timing just wasn't right, right? But something inside me had changed. I was ready to try again for the first time in ages, and I quietly stuck with it.

In the days that followed, we traveled to Massachusetts, Maine, and back home to Connecticut to get plans and affairs in order. We drove for hours. We ate out. Friends brought meals. A week later, on the morning of Daddy's memorial service, with a house full of extended family and catered food, I crept down the stairs. It was very early in the morning and I was planning on eating whatever I could that was on the table. I was tired of trying to figure out POINTS® and I missed my dad. Who could blame me for giving up after all this? I was ready for a serious binge.

I walked toward the table, plate in hand. The first dish I reached for was an apple crisp, nestled in among all the other goodies. There was a note on top: "Low-Fat Apple Crisp: only two points per cup."

I don't even know how it got there or where it came from, but it was all I needed to stick with it. I had two cups of Apple Crisp with my coffee and I was ready to face the day.

I Corinthians 10:13 says, "God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape that you can bear up under it." That apple crisp was my "way of escape," and it was exactly what I needed at that moment.

Two weeks later I returned to Weight Watchers®--and I'd lost more than seven pounds. That was just the beginning.

Through it all, I found something I never expected. Sticking with my diet was one of the things that brought me peace and joy during those grief-filled months following daddy's death. Many of you are faced with difficult, challenging, stress-filled circumstances and may be afraid that because of them it isn't the right time for you to work on the weight you want to lose. Well, it may not be. BUT you may find an inner happiness you didn't expect to find that comes from knowing that you're doing something for yourself that you want and need to do. You know that feeling, when you lay your head on your pillow at night with a smile because you "did it" one more day.

Let the success of your diet give you some small measure of joy and strength when you face tough times, instead of letting the difficult circumstances pull you away from your diet.

I often wonder--if I had given up right after daddy died, would I have ever gone back? Where would I be now?

This article originally posted at: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

If our lives don't provide a full release we feel stuck. We get bottled up, tensed, unhealthy, and probably eventually blow up. Over eating, drugs, and alcohol abuse, are common somewhat socially accepted and encouraged methods employed to release tension. "Have another drink, it was a long day." "You deserve that burger, and fries, and extra piece of cake because your boss is nuts." It's interesting how naturally we slip into peer pressured destruction. Not that there is anything wrong with an extra piece of cake or having a drink every once in a while, but attaching these behaviors directly to our problems can be destructive. We can lose sight of what we are doing and continue to behave according to the problems we are masking.

It starts with paying attention to ourselves. Our state of mind affects completely how we treat our bodies. We can see clear examples of this in our lives. I've always been sensitive and it's manifested in different ways throughout my life but this is a fun example around eating and dinner companions. Same meal, different companion, completely different reaction.

I had dinner with a friend at a favorite restaurant of mine. Good company, good food, good times, etc. I'm not a big drinker, (used to be, that's a whole other story) but we had a couple drinks and dinner, and had a great time. The next day I felt refreshed, happy, and calm. My digestive system and my body woke up in perfect order and my day was fantastic. I had dinner with another person, an acquaintance who I feel very tense around. (I'm still working on not taking other people's tension on myself. That's a good one!) I had the same to eat and drink, and the next day I felt awful. I've had experience so many times. I know how the meal affects my body has to do with my state of mind. You guys have that at all?

If we can shift our perspective of blowing off steam to get away from ourselves, and our lives to dropping right into them, we can begin to form healthy, sustainable habits. We can release tension in the body and mind in healthy, productive, sustainable ways that will spark your creativity, and individualism and put you right in the center of you, not a million miles from you.

5 Simple Steps to Getting Back to You.

1. Awareness. Take a good look at your life and your habits. What do you do that is destructive? Do you have a desire to change? If so make a change.

2. Let go of bad news friends. We've all had them in our lives or still have them lingering around. If you're exhausted when you come home from hanging out with your friends, you're probably in a bad friendship. Let it go. The world is full of friends.

3. Have a practice. Meditation is practical, simple, and very useful. Taking even 30 seconds to rest your attention on your breath instead of following the cycle of your thoughts can bring you back to you in a heart beat. Destructive behavior only brings you further away from yourself.

4. Take it easy. If we can find ways to be easy in our bodies we have less build up of tension to release. (A regular physical yoga practice helps with this). Use what you need. Rest what you don't.

5. That's life. Tension happens. It will continue to happen. If we didn't have tension we wouldn't be alive. How we maintenance ourselves makes all the difference in how we live our lives.

Tension can be useful, exciting, flirtatious, strength building, or destructive. Put yourself in charge of how you direct it.

This video is a simple, easy intro to meditation that can help bring you back to you, where all the good stuff is!

This article originally posted at: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

This article originally posted at: Hot Air » Top Picks

Creators of the Comedy Central cartoon have long since proven that no subject is sacred to them. So for the opening of its 14th season on Wednesday, the troubled golfer encounters Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman in their animated Colorado town.

"It's such an important issue in America right now – the sex addiction outbreak," Matt Stone, who makes the series with partner Trey Parker, said on Friday. "We're all really concerned about him and hope he gets better."

Sex addiction, the intersection of powerful men and willing women, late-night phone calls to the police and bad public relations gave them so much fodder they could have made an entire Tiger-centric season, Stone said.

Since the Peabody Award-winning show's first episode in 1997, Parker and Stone haven't worried about lines between good taste and bad if they can get a laugh. They mocked the Church of Scientology to the point of annoying Tom Cruise, and depicted Jesus Christ defecating on President Bush and the American flag.

"There's a delicacy in talking about (Woods) that we don't have to worry about," Stone said.

He wouldn't give many details about the episode, in part because he and Parker were still writing it on Friday. Stone said he was fascinated and disgusted by Woods' public apology, so it's likely that will be worked in.

"South Park" is airing its 200th episode next month.

"We can't even believe we're still here doing this," he said.

This article originally posted at: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

But the good news is I will provide you with a clear, three-step plan to help your body detoxify from mercury and other heavy metals and recover your health. I have used this same plan successfully and safely with hundreds and hundreds of patients over the last 10 years -- and it's the same process I used myself to overcome mercury toxicity!

But first, let's look at the data presented at "The Impact of Mercury on Human Health and the Environment" conference.

Mercury and Autism: Part One

Last year, I talked a little bit about the link between mercury fillings and autism. Now I'd like to discuss mercury's effects on this condition in greater detail.

Boyd Haley, Ph.D., from the University of Kentucky Medical Center, is a vociferous opponent of dental amalgams. The toxicology literature and decades of his own research fuel his fervor.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded his research for 25 years until he began to seriously call into question the safety of dental amalgams, the use of thimerosol (another form of mercury) in vaccines, and their correlation with autism.

His work is now funded by the private Wallace Foundation, run by the son of President Truman's vice-president, Henry Wallace, who died of ALS and who had been frequently exposed to mercury-containing fungicide on grain.

Dr. Haley believes that fish is not as big a contributor to mercury toxicity in humans as amalgams because methylmercury is generally excreted quickly while mercury vapor from amalgams is not.

At the conference he reported on the dramatic rise in autism rates. The numbers were stunning -- over 900 percent in less than a generation in California and 714 percent nationwide. The dramatic increase in autism rates in California was due in part to the introduction of the hepatitis B vaccine in 1990 and an increase in the overall vaccination schedule.

In 1999, thimerosol was removed from these vaccines as parents gained increased awareness of the danger it poses. You see, thimerosol is quickly converted to ethyl mercury in the body, where it moves rapidly from your blood to your brain. In the first three quarters of 2004 -- five years after thimerosol was removed from vaccines -- the data showed a decline in the incidence of autism in California for the first time.

Dr. Haley has observed that the lowest level of mercury is found in the birth hair of the most severely affected autistic children (i).

Interestingly, the four to one ratio of autism in males to females may, in part, be due to the effects of testosterone on mercury excretion. Antibiotics also prevent excretion of mercury, and antibiotic use is higher among autistic children.

Dr. Haley also reported on data showing a synergistic effect of heavy metals. For example, the dose of lead and mercury that would cause death in 1 out of 100 people is magnified when you are exposed to both lead and mercury, leading to a lethal dose 100 percent of the time when combined, even at low levels. You can find more information on this at Dr. Haley's website: www.trustfoundation.org.

As compelling as Dr. Haley's presentation was, it is only the beginning of the story that connects mercury exposure to autism ...

Mercury and Autism, Part Two

Jane El Dahr, M.D., is the Chief of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology at Tulane University Health Sciences Center. She also discussed the possible link between thimerosol in vaccines and autism. (The data she presented is available at www.safeminds.org). In California, rigorous standards for reporting autism have been put in place because social benefits are tied to accurate diagnosis -- so the increases there are very likely to be accurately recorded.

During the first 25 years this reporting was put in place, 6,527 cases of autism were reported. But then the rates skyrocketed. It took only 3 years during the 1990s to add another 6,596 cases. From 1987 to 1998 there was a 273 percent increase in autism cases in California!

In response, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Autism released an "Autism Alarm" stating that 1 in 166 children in the US have autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Currently, one-sixth of all children under the age of 18 have a developmental disability. That means nearly 20 percent of the population may suffer from this problem and may not be able to be productive members of society as a result.

Much of this could be due to mercury toxicity.

That's not just a guess -- it's based on the analysis of the actual doses of thimerosol received by children after the change in the vaccination schedule mentioned above. In people with a genetic susceptibility, such as a defect in the enzymes responsible for detoxifying heavy metals, prenatal and early postnatal exposure to mercury leads to neurologic damage resulting in autistic symptoms (ii).

Acrodynia, or "pink baby syndrome," from exposure to calomel or mercury in teething powder has similar symptoms to autism, providing us yet another link between mercury exposure and autism.

Other potential sources of early exposure in fetuses or infants include maternal amalgams, fish consumption, eardrops, and nasal drops. But vaccines may be more problematic than all of these. They present a significant source of mercury exposure in Rho-gam, influenza vaccines during pregnancy, and childhood immunizations.

It has been found that the maximum exposure from these vaccines in the first six months of life is 187.5 micrograms of mercury -- far exceeding limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

According to the EPA, the "safe" daily level of mercury exposure for a five kilogram, two-month-old infant is 0.5 micrograms or 0.1 micrograms per kg. But these limits are set for methyl mercury primarily from fish, not for ethyl mercury from vaccines. The typical two-month vaccination schedule for a baby includes DTP, Hib, and HepB. Combined, these vaccines contain 62.5 micrograms of mercury.

That's a whopping 125 times the EPA limits for a single day exposure!

Like lead, there may be NO safe level -- and children are more susceptible to toxic effects than adults.

Dr. El Dahr said that there appears to be correlation between immune system malfunctioning in both autism and mercury toxicity. These specific immune abnormalities have been found in 30 to 70 percent of autistic children.

So what do we do about all of this mercury in our children and the resulting health problems?

Mercury in Children: Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Stephanie Cave, M.D., is on the clinical faculty of Louisiana State University Medical School, and since 1996 has treated over 2,300 children with autistic spectrum disorder. Her recent book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations, outlines the data and debate in this highly charged field.

Dr. Cave reported on the increased incidence of autism in the last 30 years -- up from one out of 10,000 children to one out of 150 children and one of just 30 males in the United States.

The major toxicity from mercury that contributes to this epidemic, she said, is its ability to severely inhibit enzyme function and structural integrity.

At the conference, Dr. Cave critiqued a well-publicized study in the Lancet, which concluded that there was no toxic effect from thimerosol. She pointed out numerous problems with this study, including the fact that it used various amounts of thimerosol exposure and only involved 33 people.

Another study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association also reported no increased risk of autism with thimerosol (iii). But the problem with this study was that the authors were affiliated with the state-run Statens Serum Institute. Eighty percent of the Institute's profits are from vaccines! The methodology was also called into question because of inconsistencies in their reporting system (iv).

Yet another study had even more ominous findings. A case control study of 221 children with autism and 18 controls found that after a DMSA challenge test, vaccinated autistic children had THREE times the level of mercury in their urine compared to controls (v).

The question that remains is how these kids with ASD should be treated. Dr. Cave reviewed her approach ...

Besides taking a developmental history, she does a thorough laboratory evaluation, testing for numerous things. Her treatment protocols include casein- (from dairy), gluten-, allergy- and seafood-free diets, removal of amalgam fillings, and detoxification support.

Key to the treatment is careful detoxification of heavy metals after repletion of cellular nutrients, repair of gut dysfunction, and enhancement of liver detoxification chemistry. Supplements and treatments may include multivitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids, magnesium, digestive enzymes, Coenzyme Q10, and antioxidants like selenium, zinc, and vitamins C, E, and A.

She also suggests bowel ecology restoration which may include anti-fungal drugs, antibiotics, herbs, probiotics, and glutamine.

Enhancement of liver detoxification is facilitated by Epsom salt baths, magnesium sulfate creams, and oral, intravenous, or topical glutathione.

Mercury and other heavy metal detoxification is achieved after a DMSA provocation challenge of 20mg/kg with a 10-hour urine collection. DMSA is given at a dose of 10mg/kg every eight hours for three days, with 11 days off. The cycle is repeated four times, followed by another provocation challenge test.

The results of this protocol were impressive. Dr. Cave presented a number of cases where these treatments showed significant benefit and reductions in autistic symptoms!

But autism isn't the only disease related to mercury toxicity. There are many others.

Mercury and Adult Illness: From Alzheimer's to Heart Failure

We've now seen the devastating effects that mercury toxicity can have on kids. The effects on adults are no less severe.

Robert Nash, M.D., is a practicing neurologist and the Chairman of the American Board of Metal Toxicology. At the conference, he reviewed mercury-associated diseases, mechanisms, controversies, and therapeutic options.

He suggests the toxic effects of mercury spread across a broad spectrum of diseases including autism, Alzheimer's disease, ALS, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, neurodevelopmental diseases, nephrotoxicity, and cancer.

The mechanism of mercury toxicity in the adult brain may be related to proteins involved in mercury excretion, including glutathione, glutathione transferase, metallothionine and ApoE. Mercury depletes glutathione and ascorbate (vitamin C), and inhibits thiamine (B1) and pyridoxine (B6).

Mercury can also affect the central nervous system by concentrating in the spinal fluid, and the kidneys by reducing concentrating capacity. And it inhibits nerve growth, and passes easily through the placental barrier. The chemical can also reduce nerve function and communication, which can lead to the development of neurofibrillary tangles -- a common feature of Alzheimer's. In fact, recent findings suggest that the gene Apo E 4 may increase the risk for Alzheimer's because it has an impaired ability to bind with mercury and transport it from the brain.

Dr. Nash suggests that most, if not all, abnormal biochemistry in the Alzheimer's brain can be mimicked by mercury. He further concludes that, biologically, the case of mercury as a cause of Alzheimer's disease is more complete than that for thimerosol-related causation of autism.

According to Dr. Nash mercury toxicity and retention is enhanced by factors found in the diet, antibiotics, other toxicants such as cadmium and lead, and genetic susceptibilities. So no level of mercury exposure from amalgams can be considered without risk!

In addition to the compelling evidence linking Alzheimer's to mercury toxicity, research shows it may also be linked to cardiovascular disease.

Two studies have reported increased risk of heart attack while another has shown no risk. And the data presented on heart failure from unknown causes is very compelling as well. Biopsy samples found 22,000 times the level of mercury in people with heart failure from unknown causes compared to controls whose heart failure was caused by virus, heart attacks, or high blood pressure (vi).

One of my patients had this exact problem. She had no reason for heart failure -- but at 62, she was facing a heart transplant. When I discovered that she had mercury toxicity and treated her, she began to thrive again. Her cardiac function dramatically improved by 130 percent!

Despite all this bad news about the effects of mercury, Dr. Nash concluded on an optimistic note ...

First, he suggested that there appears to be a subset of the population that cannot effectively excrete mercury and is at greater risk than the general population. This susceptibility is likely due to genetic differences, diet, exposure to other toxicants, antibiotic use, etc.

Given that susceptibility, he argued that mercury is a risk factor in many diseases -- but can be safely measured. And he said that the body can be detoxified of mercury, mitigating some of its toxic effects. Of course, more studies should be done to shed light on this important topic. But we are on our way to finding answers to this important health concern.

I know some of what I have reviewed these last two weeks was pretty science heavy. But I wanted to take the time to share this fascinating research with you because I believe it's so important. I want people to know that just because this topic is mostly ignored by conventional medicine and dentistry, it isn't any less critical or relevant to our health or our children's health.

More importantly: It CAN be treated!

In my practice, I have seen the benefits of detoxifying from mercury. My patients have recovered from dementia, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, Parkinson's disease, heart failure, diabetes, obesity, multiple sclerosis, depression, autoimmune diseases like colitis and rheumatoid arthritis, and many other problems. Of course, that doesn't mean that mercury is THE cause of these conditions, but simply one of the many causes that has to be considered.

So now that you understand the powerful effect mercury can have on your health, let's review how you know if you have mercury toxicity, and then how to treat it.

Diagnosing and Treating Mercury Toxicity

The first thing to understand is that identifying mercury problems and detoxifying from them (or any other kind of heavy metal poisoning) has to be done VERY carefully and under the supervision of a physician trained in the techniques of metal detoxification, but it can be done safely and effectively with an educated doctor's assistance.

What follows is a three-step plan to find out if you are suffering from mercury poisoning and detoxifying from it. Understand that this approach has to be done carefully and systematically to make sure you get your body ready for removing the metals.

Step 1: Getting Ready for Detoxification

This process can take a few months, and I can't stress enough how important this preparation step is. It is accomplished by optimizing your nutritional status and detoxifying ability. Once this is done you will begin mobilizing and binding the metals in your body and excreting them through your urine, bile, stool, and sweat.

Here is what I recommend to my patients.

1. Optimize your gut function. Eliminate the common food allergens (dairy, gluten, corn, eggs, etc.), taking probiotics and enzymes for one to two months before detoxifying.

2. Optimize your nutritional status for detoxification. Use healthy fats (omega-3 fats, olive oil, and flax oil), amino acids (which boost all your liver's detoxification capacity), and minerals, particularly zinc and selenium (which help your body detoxify metals).

3. Enhance your liver's detoxification pathways. Take folate and vitamins B12 and B6 and eating sulfur-containing foods such as broccoli, collards, kale, daikon radish, garlic, onions, and omega-3 eggs.

4. Start sauna therapy. Make sure you take adequate electrolyte and mineral replacements to prevent dehydration and mineral loss from the sweat.

5. Optimize elimination routes for metals including your urine, stool, and sweat. Use fluids, fiber, and saunas.

Step 2: Integrate Additional Steps to Support Detoxification

At this stage you can integrate the following to support your liver detoxification pathways even more:

• Alginate from seaweed (this binds to metal in the gut)

• Selenium, zinc, n-acetylcysteine, lipoic acid, milk thistle, and garlic

Step 3: The Metal Detoxification Period

• Find a biological dentist (www.iaomt.org) to evaluate the extent of your mercury fillings and options for replacing them.

This can be done slowly over time, but must be done VERY carefully and only under a trained biological dentist's supervision to avoid burdening yourself with more mercury during the removal process.

• Get a test to assess your total body load of mercury. This is called a challenge or provocation test. This is done with a doctor's prescription and under a doctor's supervision. The easiest and safest way to do this is to take 500 mg of DMPS in one dose first thing in the morning after emptying your bladder, followed by a six-hour urine collection. DMPS is a prescription drug and is not FDA-approved in the US, although it has been approved and used for decades in Europe.

The other option is to use DMSA, which is FDA-approved. It pulls out a lot less mercury and needs to be taken at a dose of 30 mg/kg for the challenge test. I find this is not as effective to get a true reading on what is in the body.

• Use binding agents to pull the mercury out of your body. There is a lot of controversy about the best way to do this. But after helping people detox from heavy metals for 10 years, I've found the safest and most effective treatment is oral DMSA.

It is taken as follows: One 100 to 250 mg capsule of DMSA orally three times a day before meals. Take it for three days. Then take 11 days off. Do this for six months. Then recheck your level of mercury through the challenge test.

• Do saunas daily -- especially on those days when doing DMSA.

• Consider getting intravenous vitamins and antioxidants for three months while undergoing this process this to administer glutathione, phospholipids, vitamin C, and B vitamins to boost detoxification. This is harder to get, but can help the process work better and help you feel better throughout the process.

• Drink enough filtered water and fluids to make urine clear.

• Make sure you have bowel movements twice a day. This is very important or you will reabsorb mercury from the gut. You can add ground flax seeds to shakes or foods, or take one to two 150-mg magnesium citrate capsules twice a day if you are not going regularly. You can also try even stronger laxatives if you have to such as senna or cascara.

• Consider whey protein to boost glutathione if you are not allergic to dairy.

Understand that I am simply sharing my experience and knowledge with you here. I recognize this is a controversial area. Unfortunately, there are no large controlled studies looking at this problem. I am working on getting studies on this and other areas of systems medicine and functional medicine funded so we can have better answers. For now, we have to go with what we know and the experience and knowledge of many physicians over many years of doing this.

Realize that we DO know how to help you detoxify effectively and deal with the effects of low level mercury toxicity! While it may be difficult you MUST find a doctor skilled at dealing with heavy metal toxicity to undergo the protocol above safely.

What I have outlined in this blog are only my guidelines. They may be the same or similar to what you find others are using. What is essential is that you get assistance. I DO NOT recommend you detoxify from mercury without a doctor's supervision!

But I DO recommend you find out if mercury toxicity is a problem for you. It is an essential step to achieving lifelong vibrant health.

Now I'd like to hear from you...

Are you surprised by the links between mercury and conditions like Alzheimer's disease?

Do you agree with childhood vaccinations? Why or why not?

Have you tried detoxifying from mercury? What was your experience?

Please let me know your thoughts by adding a comment below.

To your good health,

Mark Hyman, M.D.

References

(i) Holmes AS, Blaxill MF, Haley BE. Reduced levels of mercury in first baby haircuts of autistic children. Int J Toxicol. 2003 Jul-Aug;22(4):277-85.

(ii) S Bernard. Autism: A novel form of mercury poisoning. Medical Hypothesis. 2001:56 (4): 462-471.

(iii) Hviid A. Association between thimerosal containing vaccine and autism. JAMA. 2003; 290: 1763-1766.

(iv) Rimland B, Bernard S. Letters. JAMA. 2004; 291:180-181.

(v) Bradstreet J. A case-control study of mercury burden in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Volume 8 Number 3 Summer 2003.

(vi) Frustaci A, Magnavita N, Chimenti C, Caldarulo M, Sabbioni E, Pietra R, Cellini C, Possati GF, Maseri A. Marked elevation of myocardial trace elements in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy compared with secondary cardiac dysfunction. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1999 May;33(6):1578-83.

Mark Hyman, M.D. practicing physician and founder of The UltraWellness Center is a pioneer in functional medicine. Dr. Hyman is now sharing the 7 ways to tap into your body's natural ability to heal itself. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, watch his videos on Youtube and become a fan on Facebook.

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China has built 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers) of high-speed rail for its own train system and President Barack Obama issued a pledge in November with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, to cooperate in developing the technology.

"We are organizing relevant companies to participate in bidding for U.S. high-speed railways," Wang Zhiguo, a deputy railways minister, told a news conference.

Wang gave no details of where China's railway builders might seek contracts, but systems are planned in California, Florida and Illinois. He said state-owned Chinese companies already are building high-speed lines in Turkey and Venezuela.

Beijing plans to construct a 16,000-mile (25,000-kilometer) high-speed rail network by 2020 in a 2 trillion yuan ($300 billion) project it hopes will spur economic and technology development. A new line linking the central city of Wuhan with Guangzhou near Hong Kong on China's southern coast is billed as the world's fastest at 237 miles (380 kilometers) per hour.

China produces high-speed trains using French, German and Japanese technology. Its manufacturers have developed a homegrown version but have yet to produce a commercial model.

Chinese rail authorities have signed cooperation memos with California and Russia and state companies plan to bid on a line in Brazil linking Rio de Janeiro with Sao Paulo, Wang said. He said Saudi Arabia and Poland also have expressed interest.

The White House announced $8 billion in grants in January for rail projects including the high-speed systems in California, Florida and Illinois.

"China is willing to share its mature and advanced technology with other countries to promote development of the world's high-speed railways," Wang said.

So far, China's government has completed 2,295 miles (3,676 kilometers) of rail lines with top speeds of up to 220 mph (350 kph) and 1,795 miles (2,876 kilometers) with speeds up to 155 mph (250 kph), according to Wang.

Another 6,000 miles (10,000 kilometers) of lines are under construction, he said.

Once the network is completed, it will cut travel time from Beijing to Hong Kong from 24 hours to 10.

Some critics say high-speed train fares are too high for average Chinese and question whether the lines can recover their construction costs.

Wang said high-speed trains already have higher occupancy rates than regular trains, though he gave no details.

___

Associated Press researcher Bonnie Cao contributed to this report.

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The blast in the small town of Saidu Sharif in Pakistan's violence-battered Swat Valley was the second major attack in the country in less than 24 hours, raising fears of a new wave of violence by anti-government militants. Suicide bombers killed 55 people in near-simultaneous blasts Friday in the eastern city of Lahore.

No one claimed has responsibility for either attack, though suspicion quickly fell on the loose network of Islamist insurgents who have been laying siege to the U.S.-allied Islamabad government for years and who have stepped up attacks against security forces in recent days.

Maj. Gen. Ashfaq Nadeem, a top military official for the region, said Saturday's attack killed 13 people, including two soldiers and two policemen.

"Such acts cannot demoralize us. I want to assure the people of Swat that we will continue fighting till the last Taliban are eliminated," he said.

The attacker, driving a three-wheeled motorized rickshaw, detonated explosives at a roadblock manned by soldiers and police Saturday morning in Saidu Sharif, the administrative capital of Swat, said police official Qazi Farooq. The explosion sparked panic in the neighborhood, as soldiers in battle gear carried the victims – injured and dead – through the narrow streets to get them help.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Zia-ur-Rehman said he was traveling in another rickshaw when the blast shook the street and violently jolted his vehicle.

"I thought somebody picked me up and then threw me down," said the 24-year-old, who was covered with cuts and bruises. "Everybody was crying."

The Pakistani military launched a major offensive in Swat early last year after the collapse of peace talks with local Taliban, who at the time controlled much of the valley.

The military took back control of the valley by mid-2009, but sporadic violence has continued.

In Lahore, meanwhile, funerals were being held Saturday for the dozens of people killed the day before.

Police official Chaudhry Shafique said the death toll from that attack rose to 55 Saturday after 12 more people died overnight. About 100 people were wounded.

That attack occurred when two suicide bombers on foot set off their explosives within seconds of each other near two trucks carrying soldiers on patrol in RA Bazaar, a residential and commercial neighborhood with numerous military buildings. About 10 of those killed were soldiers, said police Chief Parvaiz Rathore.

The militants – a network of Pakistani Taliban, al-Qaida and affiliated smaller groups – have been fighting to destabilize the Islamabad government for years. They launched a bloody wave of bombings last fall across Pakistan, leaving 600 people dead in near-daily attacks in apparent retaliation for an army offensive against the insurgents' main stronghold, in the tribal region of South Waziristan along the Afghan border.

The government offensive was seen as fairly effective, forcing many Taliban leaders to flee and reducing the area where the insurgents could operate openly.

The insurgent attacks slowed early this year. In recent months, they have been smaller, farther apart and largely confined to remote regions near Afghanistan.

But in a sign that the militant network has not been broken – despite a string of recent arrests, regular U.S. missile attacks and last year's offensive – violence has surged over the past week.

At least 88 people have been killed in the recent wave of bombings.

___

Associated Press Writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this report from Islamabad.

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That's the point of daylight saving -- to pretend you're beating the clock and besting nature while you sit on a still-sunny beach at 8:00 p.m. in the middle of July. Even though you sort of know it's actually only 7:00 p.m.

This deception might be benign. It might even be beneficial. But to get in on this bargain, do we have to go on buying the preposterous idea that we are saving 100,000 barrels of oil with every additional day of daylight saving, which Congress has been peddling since 1975?

For the record, a 1975 Department of Transportation (DOT) report estimated that daylight saving could reduce domestic electricity consumption by one percent per day. If this optimistic goal is ever achieved (we've never come close), it will have no positive impact on our consumption of oil. More than 95 percent of our electricity is produced with coal, hydroelectric, and nuclear power.

Plus, while electricity use often does fall during the first month or two, it actually increases over the whole daylight-saving period. A superb analysis of electricity demand in Indiana after the statewide adoption of daylight saving in 2006 (conducted by Matthew Kotchen of U.C. Santa Barbara) demonstrated that Hoosiers had paid more than $8 million for their extra hour of evening sun.

Congress commissioned a separate Department of Energy study in 2007, after extending the daylight -- saving period to eight months. (Oddly, we now spring forward in wintertime.) DOE turned up an electricity-saving of 0.46 to 0.48 percent.

This good news -- half of one percent is not nothing -- was tempered by a few confusing caveats. The electricity saving only applied to the four additional weeks of daylight saving -- three in March and one in November. Over the full eight-month period, daylight saving was likely a net loser thanks, in part, to our reliance on air-conditioning in the summer. And the DOE study pointedly excluded the effect on demand for heating fuels, which surely increased during those four weeks, as sunless winter mornings make for colder homes, schools, and offices.

Most confusing of all, DOE reported no significant change in gasoline consumption. Just one year earlier, economist Peter Tertzakian had identified a one-percent jump in gasoline demand, which added up to 266,000 additional barrels of imported crude per day of extended daylight saving--that's real oil, not the hypothetical DOT variety.

Who's fooling whom? Since the 1930s, the petroleum industry has known that daylight saving increases driving and demand for gasoline. It's no secret that when Americans go to the beach, or, mall, or ballpark on sunlit evenings, we don't walk.

The National Association of Convenience Stores -- whose 100,000-plus locations account for three-quarters of all the gasoline sold in this country -- isn't trying to fool anyone. It stages an annual event on Capitol Hill, which the lobby itself bills as "a thank-you to Congress for federal adoption of daylight saving."

The point is, I'm not feeling so grateful. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for a long summer days at the beach.

But it is March, and it is cold here in New England, and I'm mindful of the Native American who concluded that daylight saving time is like cutting an inch off the bottom of your blanket and sewing it to the top to make the blanket longer.

As a national energy policy, this seems like a foolish waste of time.

Michael Downing is the author of "Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time" and many other books, including a new memoir, "Life with Sudden Death." He teaches creative writing at Tufts University. You can read more about his work at michaeldowningbooks.com

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