Daily Archives: May 2, 2013

Primrose oil no better than placebo for eczema

Posted: May 2, 2013 at 7:46 am

By Kerry Grens

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Evening primrose oil doesn't reduce the symptoms of the itchy skin problem eczema, according to a new review of studies.

Herbal supplement makers market primrose oil as helpful in treating eczema, but "I don't think you'll get a specific benefit" from the pills, said Dr. Joel Bamford, the lead author of the review.

Eczema is a common skin disorder, especially among children, marked by itchy, red skin.

Commonly, patients are prescribed steroid medications to treat the problem.

Primrose oil initially showed some promise in studies several decades ago, said Bamford, who is an associate instructor at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Duluth.

But when he tried to replicate the findings, he found that primrose oil didn't seem to work.

Since then, organizations such as the National Institutes of Health and the American Academy of Dermatology have largely brushed aside primrose oil as a treatment for eczema.

But makers of the supplement continue to market the oil as beneficial for eczema. Evening primrose oil sells for about $14 for 100, 500-milligram pills.

Dr. Xiu-Min Li, a pediatrics professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the director of the Center for Chinese Herbal Therapy for Allergy and Asthma there, said families are often looking for alternatives to steroids.

See the original post:
Primrose oil no better than placebo for eczema

Posted in Eczema | Comments Off on Primrose oil no better than placebo for eczema

No consensus on sex, violence and censorship in Bollywood

Posted: at 7:44 am

Ankush Arora, May 2, 2013:

Getting directors, producers and activists into a room to figure out Indian cinemas connection to violence toward women, rape and crudeness in society can be like a family gathering. People shout, get angry and fail to solve fundamental problems because they cant agree on anything.

The Siri Fort auditorium in New Delhi recently presented the latest forum for the debate. Indias Ministry of Information and Broadcasting held a six-day festival there to celebrate 100 years of moviemaking, and there was little agreement on how much responsibility Bollywood and the film industry bear for the poor attitude toward women that many people evince. It was perhaps a more pressing discussion than usual, given the name of the three-day workshop, Cut-Uncut, which dealt with official censorship in India, the role of sex and violence in movies and the influence of films on society.

To be fair, its a question with no apparent answers. Indian films are wildly popular. Storylines and songs become part of the thread of everyday life in a way thats different than nearly everywhere else in the world. They also reflect a strange prudishness when it comes to love scenes with dance numbers as a substitute strange because the dance numbers can seem infinitely more erotic than any kiss on the lips or lovemaking scene that theyre supposed to be representing.

Then there is the premise, debated for years in the United States by the music and movie worlds, that these images and the attitudes behind them in cinema reinforce a mindset toward women that brought us horrific stories in the past several months such as the Delhi gang rape and the rape of a Swiss tourist in Madhya Pradesh. Verdict? No answer.

You want to tell me that rapes are happening in the society because of item numbers? Are you kidding me? said Luv Ranjan, the director of Pyaar ka Punchnama (2011), speaking on day two of the workshop. Helen was doing item numbers 40 years back. No one was talking about it then.

Men sit beside posters of Indian films in Mumbai in this picture taken March 21, 2006. REUTERS/Adeel Halim/Files Ranjans comment highlighted one of the common themes: you cannot connect item numbers featuring lightly clad women dancing provocatively and singing saucy lyrics to an impulse to rape or to take sexual advantage of women perceived as loose. To censor art as a result is to destroy artistic freedom and vision.

Another argument: women do not need to be treated as property or hidden away lest men lose their control to their lustful passions.

Stop your men. Dont just cover your women. Theres a bigger problem with the mentality of the men in this country, said Ekta Kapoor, who co-produced The Dirty Picture (2011), speaking on day two. The controversial National Award winning film about the late, legendary softcore pornography actress Silk Smitha, took 59 cuts before the censor board allowed it to show on Indian television.

K. Hariharan, a National Award winning director, said on the first day of the workshop that cinema is not a source of decadence. Cinema informs. It doesnt tell you to do this or that. Are we teaching you how to be criminals? Come on! Nobody watches movies for a manual on how to do things.

Visit link:
No consensus on sex, violence and censorship in Bollywood

Posted in Censorship | Comments Off on No consensus on sex, violence and censorship in Bollywood

Ron Paul, Jim Rogers, Nigel Farage and Jim Rickards Warn of Looming Crisis Together for First Time at the SovereignMan …

Posted: at 7:44 am

Santiago, Chile (PRWEB) May 01, 2013

Former member of Congress and US Presidential candidate Dr. Ron Paul, together with famed international investor Jim Rogers, UK Member of European Parliament Nigel Farage, and acclaimed financial author and fund manager Jim Rickards, took the stage this month at SovereignMan.coms Offshore Tactics Workshop in Santiago, Chile.

The revolution is international, exclaimed former Congressman Ron Paul during his opening remarks, during which he predicted that the United States would go through a very difficult time.

Together onstage for the first time, each pointed out the serious problems in the West, both in terms of economic challenges and erosion of personal freedom.

[The United States government] wont take our bank accounts. They will take our retirement accounts. They will take our 401ks, Rogers said during a filmed question-and-answer session with SovereignMan.coms founder Simon Black.

Nigel Farage vehemently urged people to get their money out of eurozone banks, especially those in the South.

You heard it here first; the next is Slovenia, says Farage during one of his speeches onstage, Slovenia will be bailed out within the next two to three months.

Exclusive video footage of Rogers, Dr. Paul and British UKIP leader Nigel Farage from the Sovereign Man Offshore Tactics Workshop is available only from SovereignMan.com.

The other speakers at the Offshore Tactics Workshop kit, who hailed from countries as diverse as Brazil, Belgium, Australia, Singapore, and more, provided highly actionable information on topics ranging from opening foreign bank accounts to obtaining a second passport to investing in precious metals and agricultural property.

Read more:
Ron Paul, Jim Rogers, Nigel Farage and Jim Rickards Warn of Looming Crisis Together for First Time at the SovereignMan ...

Posted in Ron Paul | Comments Off on Ron Paul, Jim Rogers, Nigel Farage and Jim Rickards Warn of Looming Crisis Together for First Time at the SovereignMan …

[155] Gary Johnson’s Libertarianism, WHCD: Journalism in Decline, Classified US History – Video

Posted: at 7:43 am


[155] Gary Johnson #39;s Libertarianism, WHCD: Journalism in Decline, Classified US History
Abby Martin Breaks the Set on Libertarianism with Gov. Gary Johnson, US #39; Classified History, and the Decline of Journalism LIKE Breaking the Set @ http://fb....

By: breakingtheset

Read this article:
[155] Gary Johnson's Libertarianism, WHCD: Journalism in Decline, Classified US History - Video

Posted in Libertarianism | Comments Off on [155] Gary Johnson’s Libertarianism, WHCD: Journalism in Decline, Classified US History – Video

The Transhumanist Wager Is A Choice We’ll All Have To Make

Posted: at 7:43 am

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

While I personally loved the first half of The Transhumanist Wagerand disliked much of the second, I am convinced that the novel is a must read for anyone interested in the future of our civilization.

In my view the novel is full of interesting and controversial contradictions. For example, on the one hand Zoltan Istvan is a philosophically sophisticated author using elements from Platos Republic, Nietzsches Overman (bermensch), Thomas Moores Utopia, Zen Buddhism and other eastern and western philosophies. On the other hand Zoltan has chosen to give us a kind of simplistic, Atlas Shrugged-style of a plot in its black-and-white depiction of an evil government and the lone hero who dares to stand up to it. Regardless of my personal views, however, I enjoyed reading the book and believe that it does a good job of mapping out the dangerous period that our civilization will have to navigate in the next several decades.

Duringmy interview with Zoltan Istvan we cover a variety of topics such as: what is the Transhumanist Wager; how and why he got interested in transhumanism; his protagonist Jethro Knightsand some autobiographical elements of the novel; the potential for conflict between transhumanists and anti-transhumanists; Ayn Rand, objectivism and their impact on the Transhumanist Wager; competition, human nature and death; transhumanism and thetechnological singularity; the ideal state of Transhumania and the price we have to pay to accomplish it

My favorite quote that I will take away from Zoltan Istvan is Morality is often defined by the amount of time we have left.

(As always you can listen to or download the audio file above, or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.If you want tohelp me produce more episodespleasemake a donation)

About the Author:

At the age of 21, American-HungarianZoltan Istvanbegan a solo, multi-year sailing journey around the world. His main cargo was 500 handpicked books, mostly classics. Hes explored over 100 countriesmany as a journalist for the National Geographic Channelwriting, filming, and appearing in dozens of television stories, articles, and webcasts.

His work has also been featured by The New York Times Syndicate, Outside, San Francisco Chronicle, BBC Radio, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, Animal Planet, and the Travel Channel. In addition to his award-winning coverage of the war in Kashmir, he gained worldwide attention for pioneering and popularizing the extreme sport of volcano boarding. Zoltan later became a director for the international conservation group WildAid, leading armed patrol units to stop the billion-dollar illegal wildlife trade in Southeast Asia. Back in America, he started various successful businesses, from real estate development to filmmaking to viticulture, joining them under ZI Ventures. He is a philosophy and religious studies graduate of Columbia University and resides in San Francisco with his daughter and physician wife.

Visit link:
The Transhumanist Wager Is A Choice We'll All Have To Make

Posted in Transhumanist | Comments Off on The Transhumanist Wager Is A Choice We’ll All Have To Make

X Prize Founder, Best-Selling Author and Futurist Peter Diamandis to Make Canadian Speaking Debut at OCE's Discovery

Posted: at 7:42 am

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 1, 2013) - Dr. Peter Diamandis, noted futurist, X Prize founder and New York Times best-selling author will make his first Canadian appearance as the opening-day keynote speaker at OCE's Discovery conference.

"We are thrilled that Dr. Diamandis has agreed to bring his visionary insights on innovation, technology and business to Discovery," says OCE's President and CEO, Dr. Tom Corr. "This is an opportunity for the thousands of entrepreneurs, researchers and investors who attend Discovery to hear and learn from one of the most creative and provocative thinkers in his field."

Discovery takes place May 27 and 28 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building.

"I am honoured that Dr. Peter Diamandis will deliver the keynote at Discovery 2013; we are fortunate to welcome this visionary speaker," said Ontario's Minister of Research and Innovation, Reza Moridi. "His attendance reinforces Discovery's reputation as Canada's premier innovation showcase and I know that his insights will inspire innovations that will result in more jobs for young Ontarians."

At Discovery, Dr. Diamandis will share his thoughts on how disruptive innovation (a game-changing innovation that creates new opportunities in an existing market) in exponentially growing technologies including digital manufacturing, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence and nanomaterials, will enable us to make greater gains in the next two decades than in the previous two centuries.

"As a place where innovators and investors gather to connect and learn, Discovery is the ideal venue to talk about the fact that all of the world's problems can be solved while presenting terrific business opportunities as well," says Dr. Diamandis. "I look forward to sharing my messages and hopefully inspiring people to think big."

Having obtained degrees in molecular genetics and aerospace engineering from MIT and his MD designation from Harvard Medical School, Dr. Diamandis is currently Chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation, which leads the world in creating large incentive prizes to drive radical breakthroughs beneficial to humanity. The board of X Prize Foundation includes film director James Cameron, inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk, Google co-founder Larry Page and author/inventor Ray Kurzweil.

As co-founder (along with Kurzweil, a past Discovery speaker) and Chairman of the Singularity University, a Silicon Valley-based institution partnered with NASA, Google, Autodesk and Nokia, he counsels some of the world's top enterprises on exponential technologies and incentivized innovation to accelerate their business objectives.

Dr. Diamandis is also recognized as a leader in the commercial space arena having founded and run Zero Gravity Corporation, the Rocket Racing League and Space Adventures.

His 2012 book Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think (co-authored with Steven Kotler) was on the New York Times best seller list for nine weeks.

Go here to see the original:
X Prize Founder, Best-Selling Author and Futurist Peter Diamandis to Make Canadian Speaking Debut at OCE's Discovery

Posted in Futurist | Comments Off on X Prize Founder, Best-Selling Author and Futurist Peter Diamandis to Make Canadian Speaking Debut at OCE's Discovery