John Stossel Future of libertarianism bright, thanks to Students for Liberty

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Recently, some 1,500 students from all over the world gathered to discuss freedom at the Students for Liberty Conference in Washington, D.C.

Economist Donald Boudreaux showed the students a department store catalog from 1958 to underscore how the free market, while contributing to income inequality, also dramatically improved the lives of the poor: "The typical American worker back then had to work 30 hours to buy this vacuum cleaner. Today, a worker has to work only six hours to buy a much better vacuum cleaner. And that's true for clothing, food, all sorts of things."

That's how free markets work: quietly, gradually improving things. That doesn't always appeal to impatient young people or to radical old people who fancy themselves social engineers who should shape the world.

Such social engineering is revered on campuses. A student from Quebec complained that economists about whom his fellow students learn are "Keynesians, who believe that breaking windows is good for the economy, or neoclassicals, who believe in unrealistic assumptions like perfect competition and perfect information."

If there were a part of America for which the American students at this conference felt a special pride, it was the Constitution. "The Constitution of the United States is a promise about how government power will be used," Timothy Sandefur, author of "The Conscience of the Constitution," told them. "A promise was left to us by a generation who lived under tyrannical government and decided they needed a framework that would preserve the blessings of liberty."

These students appreciated that inheritance, although they said the Constitution is rarely discussed at their schools. They surprised me by knowing the correct answer to my question: How often is the word "democracy" used in the Constitution?

Answer: never. The founders understood that democracy may bring mob rule tyranny of a majority. So the Constitution focuses on restricting government to secure individual liberty.

If anything, these students were stauncher in their defense of liberty than the Founders.

Kelly Kidwell, a sophomore from Tulane University, said, "Regardless of what its intent was, we still have the (big) government that we have now so the Constitution has either provided for that government, or failed to prevent it."

That's an argument that libertarian economist Murray Rothbard used to make. He took the pessimistic view that the Constitution's "limited government" was an experiment that had already failed, since 200 years later, government was barely limited at all. He concluded that libertarians should be not just constitutionalists but anarchists get rid of government completely.

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John Stossel Future of libertarianism bright, thanks to Students for Liberty

Hawaii Political Reporter 02/25/14 Unite and Conquer NWO Libertarian State of the Union – Video

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Hawaii Political Reporter 02/25/14 Unite and Conquer NWO Libertarian State of the Union
Unite and Conquer - Ways to throw the New World Order off, Libertarian State of the Unioin 2014: Obamacare, United We Stand Festival, Ron Paul on U.S. Congre...

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Hawaii Political Reporter 02/25/14 Unite and Conquer NWO Libertarian State of the Union - Video

Seven candidates qualify for District 19 special election

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UPDATE:

The ballot is set, now comes the race to June 24.

Seven candidates four Republicans, one Democrat, a member of the Libertarian Party of Florida and one write-in candidate have qualified for the congressional District 19 special election. The qualifying period ended at noon Wednesday.

Gov. Rick Scott set the dates for the special election in January, just days after former Rep. Trey Radel resigned from office. The 37-year-old Fort Myers Republicans resignation came two months after he pleaded guilty to a possession of cocaine charge.

The special primary election is April 22; the general election is June 24.

State records show these candidates qualified to be on the ballot:

Lizbeth Benacquisto, a Fort Myers Republican

Curt Clawson, a Bonita Springs Republican

April Freeman, a Cape Coral Democrat

Ray Netherwood, a Libertarian Party of Florida candidate from Marco Island

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Seven candidates qualify for District 19 special election

Qld's bikie laws take aim at paedophiles

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The Queensland government is trying to win public support for its controversial anti-bikies legislation by using it to target paedophiles, a civil libertarian says.

Queensland Council for Civil Liberties vice-president Terry O'Gorman has accused Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie of targeting pedophiles to make the unpopular Vicious Lawless Disestablishment Act (VLAD) laws seem more favourable.

His comments come after Mr Bleijie said he had received 'frightening' information from Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) boss Ken Levy about paedophile rings.

Mr O'Gorman said the decision to target paedophiles with the legislation, which targets criminal groups in general, was timely given the ruling Liberal National Party (LNP) suffered a 16 per cent swing against it during the weekend's Redcliffe by-election.

'If the bogey man of the bikie won't sell the laws for the state government, apply the sure-fire strategy of a new PR spin that the laws will apply to paedophiles,' Mr O'Gorman said.

'This is the government's new PR line in the anti-bikie law controversy.'

Mr O'Gorman said Mr Bleijie needed to publicly reveal what information he had about paedophile rings so Queenslanders could determine whether VLAD laws were relevant.

Why are we now hearing for the first time in the four months the anti-bikie laws have been in operation that they are aimed at paedophiles as well? Mr O'Gorman said.

Comment from Mr Bleijie has been sought.

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Qld's bikie laws take aim at paedophiles

The islands with a Furry history

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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Story last updated at 2/26/2014 - 1:49 pm

By Pat Roppel | For the Capital City Weekly

So many small islands in Southeast Alaska were dedicated in the 1920s and early 1930s to blue fox farming. It was fashionable in that era to wear fox fur coats, stoles, cuffs and collars. Two small islands, protecting Zarembo Island's St. John Harbor, nurtured foxes for their furs.

St. John Harbor indents the northwest side of Zarembo Island, off Sumner Strait and almost opposite the southern entrance to Wrangell Narrows. Today it is a favorite harbor for fishermen, fish tenders, vessels involved with nearby logging, and visiting yachts waiting for high tide to go through the narrows to Petersburg.

A number of years ago, my husband Frank and I, traveling aboard the Twinkle, decided to see if any remains could be found about 70 years after the farms were abandoned. Northerly Island - as the name implies - is an island that is at the northern mouth of the harbor. Officers on the gunboat USS Adams named it in 1885. Southerly Island is on the southwest entry. It too was named by the unimaginative officers of the Adams.

In the early 1920s, farming foxes on an island (where the animals could not swim away) became popular. W. W. McLaughlin, formerly in charge of the Petersburg Signal Corps office, decided Northerly Island suited his purposes. In 1921, he leased the island from the federal government and spent the next year building a dock and float to facilitate loading and unloading supplies.

We found where the dock had been located. The pilings were no longer visible, but we found a sturdy rock wall alongside a flat, rocked platform leading into the water. The location surprised us.

Why had he chosen this site? We knew from experience that southeast winds hit the island. Years before, on a sunny December trip, we tied to the face of the U.S. Forest Service dock on the westerly side of the bay. In the night, a strong southeaster blew up, slamming the Twinkle against the dock. The boat survived the night and in the morning we began, (after looking out at mountainous waves in Sumner Strait), a search for a protected anchorage.

The fox farm dock was on the southeasterly side, and it was uncomfortably rough there. We anchored on the westerly side of Northerly Island and still encountered wind-whipped water. With a smaller boat or skiff, the fox farmer had more choices than we did.

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The islands with a Furry history

DNA Genotek at ESHG 2013 – Dr. Calvin Harley, Ph.D. of Telomere Diagnostics presents at ESHG 2013 – Video

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DNA Genotek at ESHG 2013 - Dr. Calvin Harley, Ph.D. of Telomere Diagnostics presents at ESHG 2013
Calvin Harley, Ph.D., of Telomere Diagnostics shares his clinical research work into the impact of telemere length on health and aging at the 2013 European S...

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DNA Genotek at ESHG 2013 - Dr. Calvin Harley, Ph.D. of Telomere Diagnostics presents at ESHG 2013 - Video

FDA Explores '3-Person' Embryo Fertilization

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By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 25, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. Food and Drug Administration hearings opened Tuesday on a controversial fertilization technique that uses the DNA from three people -- two women and one man -- with the goal of preventing inherited genetic diseases.

The technique involves the unfertilized eggs, or "oocytes," from two females. Parts of each egg are combined to weed out inherited genetic disorders contained in one woman's DNA, and the resulting healthy egg is then fertilized using a male's sperm.

The FDA's two-day hearing is meant to provide a forum for discussing how this technique might be tested in human clinical trials.

But the discussion is expected to veer into the ethics of manipulating human genetics to produce "perfect" babies.

"The potential benefits are huge, but the potential harms are also huge," said Dr. Michelle Huckaby Lewis, a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and the Genetics and Public Policy Center, in Washington, D.C.

The procedure could have unintended health consequences both for newborns and for future generations, as the genetic tinkering reverberates through time, Lewis said.

In addition, she said, the technique raises troubling questions of parental rights and family structure.

"When you use a technology in a new way like this, it really challenges our notions of what it means to be a parent and what it means to be a family," Lewis said.

The hearing was prompted by the work of Shoukhrat Mitalipov, an associate scientist at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).

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Tidal wave of cancers Part 2

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Story Created: Feb 26, 2014 at 12:27 AM ECT

Story Updated: Feb 26, 2014 at 12:27 AM ECT

INFECTIONS In addition to HPV infections discussed last week, there are other infections that can increase the risk of cancers. Hepatitis B and C viruses increases the risks of liver cancers. Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus -(HTLV-1)-Increases the risk of leukemia and lymphoma. Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-increases the risk of lymphoma, and a rare cancer called Kaposi Sarcoma. Epstein Barr Virus (E.B. virus) is linked to increased risk of lymphoma. Human Herpes Virus is a risk factor for Kaposi Sarcoma Helicobacter Pylori-a is bacteria that causes stomach ulcers and is thought to increase the risk of stomach cancers and lymphomas.

ALCOHOL There are clear patterns that have emerged between alcohol consumption and certain types of cancer such as head and neck cancers, oesophageal, liver, breast and colon cancers. People who consume 50 or more grammes of alcohol per day have a two or three times greater risk of developing cancer than non drinkers. When alcohol is metabolised, it forms a compound known as Acetaldehyde which is toxic and a possible human carcinogen which damages human DNA. Alcohol also generates reactive oxygen species which damages the DNA, in addition, alcohol impairs the bodys ability to break down and absorb a variety of nutrients that may be associated with cancer risks. Alcohol also increases blood levels of oestrogen, a sex hormone linked to risk of breast cancers.

FOODS AND CHEMICALS Chemicals can be found in certain foods such as potato chips, French fries and other food products which are produced by high temperature cooking. One example is Asparagine which is an amino acid, a building block of proteins found in many vegetables and foods, such as potatoes. When heated to high temperatures, Asparagine, can form Acrylamide -a possible human carcinogen which can cause oral, pharynx, larynx, breast and ovarian cancers. Heterocyclic amines (HCA) and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) have also been found to be cancer causing. These are produced when muscle meat, including beef, pork or poultry, is cooked at very high temperature. HCA and PAH can cause mutations or changes in DNA that may increase cancer risks. Artificial sweeteners: These are substances that are used instead of sucrose (table sugar) to sweeten food and beverages. They include; saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, neotame and cyclamate. Many of these chemicals are thought to be carcinogenic as they have been found to cause cancers in animal studies. Agricultural products: Researches have shown that people exposed to certain products may have an increased risk of developing one or more types of cancer. Farmers, farm workers and family members may be exposed to substances such as pesticides, herbicides, engine exhausts, solvents, dusts, animal viruses, fertilisers, fuels and certain microbes that may increase cancer risks. Chemicals such as Formaldehyde, a colorless, flammable, strong smelling chemical used in building materials and house hold products,is also carcinogenic especially in cases of long term exposures. It is used in pressed woods, particle boards, plywoods, fibre boards, glues and adhesives, and is also found in fungicides, germicides, disinfectants and in preservatives in mortuaries. People who have certain jobs like painters, construction workers and those in chemical industries have increased risk of certain cancers especially when exposed to chemicals such as Asbestos, benzene, cadmium, nickel and vinyl chloride.

RADIATION Ionising radiation can cause cell damage that leads to cancers. X rays medically used for diagnostic investigations can increase cancer risk, even though the risk is low. Radiation therapy used to treat certain cancers can also increase the risk of some other cancers. Its not uncommon to meet a patient who requests an X-ray even when it is not necessary. The fact is that x-rays are a diagnostic tool, not a treatment, and they are not always beneficial. Unnecessary demand and frequent exposure to them may not be a wise idea. Ultra Violet (UV) radiation from the sun is another risk factor. Our UV index is generally high each time you see the weather news. These rays cause the early aging of the skin and skin changes that can lead to skin cancers, especially in caucasians, albinos and people with low melanin (skin pigmentations).

HAIR DYES More than 5,000 different chemicals are used in hair dye products, some of which are reported to be carcinogenic. Over the years, some studies have found an increased risk of bladder cancers in hairdressers and barbers. Some studies also linked the personal use of hair dyes with increased risks of certain cancers of the blood and bone marrow. However some of these studies need further research to make definitive conclusions but given the widespread use of hair dye products, even a small increase in risk may have a considerable public health impact.

SMOKING The role of smoking in the development of many forms of cancers is well documented. Each cigarette consists of over 400 carcinogenic materials that causes DNA damage and increased cancer risks as well as other diseases.

AGEING Cancer risk increases as you grow older, with most cancers occuring in people during their fifties or sixties. However many other cancers do develop before then, and there are some forms of cancers that afflict children.

FAMILY HISTORY Certain cancers develop because of changes or mutations in genes and risk factors can trigger some of these changes. Several cases of the same cancer types in a family are linked to inherited gene changes. If you think you are at risk, talk to your doctor and get checked. Contact Dr Maxwell on 3631807/7575411.

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Tidal wave of cancers Part 2

Whiplash Car Accident Injury Prevention Tips from Denver Aurora Lakewoond Chiropractor – Video

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Whiplash Car Accident Injury Prevention Tips from Denver Aurora Lakewoond Chiropractor
Simple tip on reducing whiplash neck pain injuries. Fast and convenient way to prevent serious injury from a car accident. Call us now for a FREE Free Spinal...

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Whiplash Car Accident Injury Prevention Tips from Denver Aurora Lakewoond Chiropractor - Video