FIREPOWER founder Tim Johnston has told the federal court he could have received reports of the company’s financial losses as early as 2004…. From The Australian. Full story

This site may contain information about: are we a recession. The blog is also related to: recession now.

Last week’s online journalism lecture was by Rob Andrews of paid-for advice site paidcontent.org – just as Johnston Press makes the news for introducing paywalls on stories like Guide dog is Heanor woman’s lifeline – Premium Article! (I haven’t linked to it. Guess why.)

What he showed us was a depressing array of statistics about paywalls. It seems like the comments on this pro-paid content piece by Tim Luckhurst in the Guardian, which I actually lost some sleep and sweated a lot over, do reflect public opinion. A poll of 1,800 consumers found 91% of people don’t want to pay for their news. 72% want to pay less than £10 a year if given the choice. And newspapers are making a third less than this time last year. That’s last year. Recession year.

I met up with a good friend on Thursday and he said, “So what’s the deal with newspapers then?” It was then I realised the truth of what Rob Andrews, and all our previous lecturers, have been telling us. We, the twentysomethings, are the ones who have to work it out. And fast.

Rob Andrews, digital guru, and kitten: proof of what the internet holds

So what tips do I have for the next generation? Am I going to save news, singlehandedly? Not quite. But I do have three not-quite-original ideas which could help soften the eventual blow.

1) Stats change.  At the moment, only 9% of people say they’ll pay for news. But polls like this are misleading. Say to me: “Would you like to give me some money,” and there isn’t anywhere near a 9% chance I’ll say yes. Nobody wants to pay for anything. But the market might force it on them, just as it’s forcing it on us. If the Times goes behind a wall, others will follow.

Even the Guardian, big shouty standard-bearers of free (gratis) speech, might go too. Last Friday I asked Peter Preston, its editor for 20 years, when it would cave. His answer was: “Thankfully, I don’t have to have a say on that any more”. And as perceptions change, so do the number of people resisting. Just look at Itunes.

2)  Ads could be better. This was a recurring theme among comments on the Guardian article (see above). Not a surprise – as Guardian ads particularly are the least targeted on Earth. Most are for Guardian-sponsored events. They need to take a leaf out of the big book of Facebook, which offers me (‘Interested In Men’) extremely targeted ads – ‘M2M Dating in Cardiff’, 50 times a day, anyone? While it’s extremely irritating, bills need to be paid. I’m sure even the ivory-tower (and trust-funded) Guardian could stoop that low. Software analysing peoples’ reading habits would be a piece of cake to build, and wouldn’t be Big Brother, yet.

3) Lure people back to paper. Nobody’s so tech-savvy they don’t still appreciate the beauty of a paper copy. It’s just too much effort, that’s all. So make it easier. The single ray of light in those surveys was 48% of people would pay for online news if it included a free or discounted paper subscription. Hello! I think this is people trying to tell us something. You need more brand loyalty than ever to do this – but it would be worth a try. And the possibility of keeping half the readers? That’s better than anyone’s daring to dream.

Tools ‹ CuddleChins – Iowa Grown — WordPress.

It is getting close to that time.  So here is the scoop. 

It happens every winter in Iowa … snow falls, usually leaving piles of the stuff to clear from your sidewalks and driveway. Consider the following before you grab your shovel after a major snowfall.

The good news is that 15 minutes of snow shoveling counts as moderate physical activity according to the 1996 Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health. We all should aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity of some kind on most days of the week. Brisk walking or some gym time are other ways to fit in moderate physical activity during cold winter months.

 The bad news is that researchers have reported an increase in the number of fatal heart attacks among snow shovelers after heavy snowfalls. This rise may be due to the sudden demand that shoveling places on an individual’s heart. Snow shoveling may cause a quick increase in heart rate and blood pressure. One study determined that after only two minutes of shoveling, sedentary mens’ heart rates rose to levels higher than those normally recommended during aerobic exercise.

Shoveling may be vigorous activity even for healthy college-aged students. A study performed by researchers at North Dakota State University determined that, based on heart rate, shoveling was a moderately intense activity for college-aged subjects most of the time but was vigorous activity during about one-third of their shoveling time of 14 minutes.

Shoveling can be made more difficult by the weather. Cold air makes it harder to work and breathe, which adds some extra strain on the body. There also is the risk for hypothermia, a decrease in body temperature, if one is not dressed correctly for the weather conditions.

Who should think twice about shoveling snow?

Those most at risk for a heart attack include:

 Anyone who has already had a heart attack.

Individuals with a history of heart disease.

Those with high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels.

 Smokers.

Individuals leading a sedentary lifestyle.

 Should you rush out and buy a snow blower?  Not necessarily.

Not everyone who shovels snow is going to have a heart attack. Snow shoveling can be good exercise when performed correctly and with safety in mind.

Also consider back safety when shoveling snow. Even if you exercise regularly and are not at risk for heart disease, shoveling improperly could lead to a strained back. If you’ve been inactive for months and have certain risk factors, use some common sense before taking on the task of snow shoveling.

A Pile of Snow Shoveling Tips

Be heart healthy and back friendly while shoveling this winter with these tips:

If you are inactive and have a history of heart trouble, talk to us before you take on the task of shoveling snow.

Avoid caffeine or nicotine before beginning. These are stimulants, which may increase your heart rate and cause your blood vessels to constrict. This places extra stress on the heart.

Drink plenty of water. Dehydration is just as big an issue in cold winter months as it is in the summer.

Dress in several layers so you can remove a layer as needed.

 Warm up your muscles before shoveling, by walking for a few minutes or marching in place.

 Stretch the muscles in your arms and legs, because warm muscles will work more efficiently and be less likely to be injured.

Pick the right shovel for you. A smaller blade will require you to lift less snow, putting less strain on your body.

Begin shoveling slowly to avoid placing a sudden demand on your heart. Pace yourself and take breaks as needed.

Protect your back from injury by lifting correctly. Stand with your feet about hip width for balance and keep the shovel close to your body. Bend from the knees (not the back) and tighten your stomach muscles as you lift the snow.

 Avoid twisting movements. If you need to move the snow to one side reposition your feet to face the direction the snow will be going.

Most importantly — listen to your body.

Stop if you feel pain and call 270-2111.

Dr. Vince Hassel

Daily Echo readers have been assured that they will not have to pay to read stories online, at least not yet.

The Newspapers editor Neal Butterworth said there were no immediate plans to charge, even though the rival newsgroup, Johnston Press’ announced yesterday that they would begin charging for online news.

Johnston is the first regional publisher in the UK to trial asking readers to pay for its online news. So what does this mean for the future of online Journalism?

Three Johnston Press websites: the Worksop Guardian, Ripley & Heanor News and Whitby Gazette will either ask users to pay £5 for a three-month subscription to read the full articles, or direct them to buy the newspapers.

Liisa Rohumaa, former News Editor of FT.com and Lecturer in Online Communication at Bournemouth University said: “Johnston are being very brave by putting a toe in the water. They have obviously thought about this for a long time, as Rupert Murdoch said, there is no such thing as free journalism and people will be prepared to pay for quality journalism.”

FT.com have been charging for their specialist content ever since the website was set-up in 1995. ABC figures for March 2009 revealed that they now have over 1.2 million registered users.

“From the very beginning it has been a mixed business model, with parts of the site free. They wanted to make money and be profitable, as they are able to do so. They are pre-eminent in the field.” Ms Rohumaa added.

Papers and websites subsidize much of their cost with advertisers, yet which.co.uk promotes their ‘No advertising, No bias, No hidden agenda,’ which attracts customers with their specialist advise on all topics without advertisers.

Neal Butterworth, Editor of the Bournemouth Daily Echo, said there are no current plans to charge for their online content. Yet in the future if the Johnston Press trial were to be successful then they could consider it. “We could possibly create a ring-fenced part of the website that would have to be paid for, trialling it with weekly titles.”

When asked about how much they could charge for online content, he added, “I would have thought considerably less than Sky’s £40 a month package. At the top-end maybe £100 per year? I think it would be a struggle as we have given it away free for six years.”

Sometimes we forget how amazing our bodies are.

Sometimes we are misled that health comes from pills, potions, and lotions.

Sometimes we think that our body is not brilliant, magnificent or miraculous.

We can all easily get caught up in pain/discomfort and forget or even question the potential of the body.

But if your really stop and think how truly amazing YOUR BODY is, you will be amazed at how everything works so well.  I mean, think about it - you pump 2,000 gallons of blood through your body every single day and don’t think about a drop.  You breath 20,000 times every day and do not think about it once.  We all go through amazing changes in our bodies from birth to adult, everyone goes through puberty at roughly the same time, and all of this happens with out any oversight, no meds, nothing - it just happens.  And we don’t question it.  Our bodies are so smart that even slightly before we start exercising, our blood pressure goes up; and if we get a cut on our finger, it heals.  HOW AMAZING IS THAT?!  On a normal day, you don’t think about even 1 of the trillions of chemical reactions that take place in your body every single second of every single minute of every single hour of every single day of every single year of every single life time… Just stop and think about that and how incredible your body and this life is.

You see, you are intelligent, you are amazing, you carry inside of you an intelligence that runs your body and all of those trillions of reactions discussed above.  Chiropractors call this intelligence “Innate Intelligence.”  It is Innate because it is inborn - you don’t have to learn how to use it, it was there from the second the sperm and egg met that miraculously created you, and actually even before that (somehow, the sperm knew to go toward the egg).  That intelligence is carried through your nervous system, which in coordination with your endocrine system is the master regulator/communicator in your body.  Your brain, spinal cord, nerve roots and peripheral nerves make up your nervous system, and that is the big cheese, the CEO, the General, el Jefe.  All information about what is happening in the body is sent to the brain through the spinal cord, and that information is used to properly run your body.

The spine and skull are designed to support and protect your nervous system, while giving shape to your body.  A solid tube of bone would have been the safest way to protect our nerve system, but that wouldn’t have been conducive to movement or life, so we have joints.  Made of much softer tissue, these joints are the inherently the weak spots in the skeletal system.  So, if a spinal bone gets jarred from its healthy position (through acute or sustained postural trauma), it causes damage to the joints of the spine.  Damage to these joints irritates the nerve system, decreasing your body’s ability to communicate within or to itself, which blocks or disrupts Innate Intelligence.  Chiropractic is so simple, it is brilliant.  Chiropractic understands that the body is brilliant, and works with it through specific chiropractic adjustments on specifically damaged joints to return proper function to the spine, as well as to remove the irritation to the nervous system, unblocking your body’s life force.

This is why chiropractors do not claim to treat any specific disease, but get tremendously amazing results with many.  We restore proper communication to the body, making it healthier, and  HEALTHY BODIES DO NOT HAVE SYMPTOMS.  Symptoms are signals telling us that there is something wrong that needs our attention.  Not alarms to be turned off with medications that dampen alarms.  You get hungry and thirsty because you are getting low on fuel and water that is essential to run your body.  What if there was a medication you could take when you felt hungry or thirsty, so you wouldn’t have to be bothered with eating or drinking?  How long do you think that would work for?  It is the same thing with other symptoms!  A headache, sciatic pain, breathing problems, poor digestion,etc., are not just bothersome symptoms that need to be quieted with medication - they are telling you that something is wrong and needs to be dealt with by finding the cause, not just eliminating the symptom.

The body is amazing and I have always been fascinated with it, which is why I began studying it 12 years ago.  I have been led down a path to chiropractic by asking this question:  “How can I make my body as healthy as possible?”  I was open-minded the whole time, and have found out a few times that what I had learned was wrong.  As of now, through much trial and error, I understand that everyone must have a chiropractor on their health team, just as I understand everyone requires good, natural, from-the-earth foods, plenty of exercise and positive self talk and gratitude with a support group or tribe.  This is what I do for myself, and it is what I recommend to my family, friends and patients - because this is what all of the research points to when I ask “How to be the healthiest person?”  This may change, but for now this is my best recommendation as your health coach.

I hope you get your spine checked soon.  270.2111

Stay well,

Dr. Vince Hassel

“How far you go in life depends upon your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, tolerant of the weak and the strong because some day in your life, you will have been all of these”

George Washington Carver

For those people who have been reading our blogs, it probably has not escaped your notice that much of what has been written about in previous blogs has focussed on things we simply cannot buy, trade or sell, but nonetheless, have a profound affect on our health and general wellbeing. There are many forces in this world that simply cannot be seen, and although invisible, the effect of these forces is considerable. I want to focus on another powerful force that will bring joy to your day and improve your health in the process. This is the priceless act of practising random acts of kindness and senseless beauty, otherwise known as creating warm fuzzies! A warm fuzzy is the warm, pleasant sensations you feel in your stomach and heart when you are emotionally moved by an act of goodwill or love. It is the feeling you get when you perform, or are the subject of, a random act of kindness.

You may be thinking how does practising random acts of kindness and senseless beauty affect our health and why would anyone adopt this kind of attitude towards another, and why should we anyway? First of all no-one should do anything, but we could, and if we did, we may well be surprised at the outcome.

Conventional wisdom has always held that when we help others we automatically become a beneficiary too. It is part of the law of the universe – what goes around, comes around.  One’s physical health, not just emotional well-being, is improved, through helping others. It’s a “helper’s high,” something akin to the phenomenon which runners experience from the release of endorphins. There is also now, widely discussed research which shows that helping others, produces significant health benefits. The effects are similar to those experienced when we exercise.

There are many opportunities during each and every day to perform a random act of kindness to a stranger or anonymously to a friend or family member and there are MILLIONS of different ways to do this. It could also cause another to think of doing likewise, and in so doing create a chain of events. The festive season creates the perfect opportunity to introduce this thought and in so doing it may also transform the life of another. We know for certain that they will benefit and so will you..

Some ideas to get you started are listed below:

Give someone a compliment, say thank you or send a hand written thank you note, be attentive – there is nothing more flattering than being given present time consciousness, carry someone’s bag, offer hope and encouragement to someone who has lost it, give a hug, pick up the trash someone littered, forgive someone, smile (always), lend a helping hand. We all have the privilege of making a positive difference in the world and in doing so benefit ourselves. It is such an awesome thought that we are designed to be healthy and even within the experience of giving (with no strings attached) there is an opportunity to add to our own health bank. Do we need any further reasons? – remember you will also participate in helping to transform the world around you.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – author unknown

I am here to help,

Dr. Vince Hassel

You still believe everything you hear?  See if you believe this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsawOwPgZZc&feature=player_embedded#

Make your own health decisions.  Do not let anyone “market” you into poor health decisions.

Stay Well,

Dr. Vince Hassel

Active Music Series at the Uptown December Edition 
with the Oakland Active Orchestra + Gogo Fightmaster CD Release

Oakland Active Orchestra:

Aaron Bennett: alto & tenor saxophones
, Phillip Greenlief: clarinet, tenor saxophone; 
Aram Shelton: clarinet, soprano & alto saxophones; 
Cory Wright: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
; Tom Djll: trumpet; 
Darren Johnston: trumpet; 
Rob Ewing: trombone
; Kristian Aspelin: guitar
; Marielle Jakobsons: violin
; Lisa Mezzacappa: bass; 
Damon Smith: bass
; Kjell Nordeson: vibraphone; 
Sam Ospovat: drums

.

Gogo Fightmaster CD Release for “Sound One” on Edgetone Records.

Aaron Bennett, tenor saxophone
; Aram Shelton, alto saxophone; 
John Finkbeiner, guitar
; Lisa Mezzacappa, bass; 
Vijay Anderson, drums.

Uptown
1928 Telegraph Ave
Oakland, CA
Cost : Donations

Posted by Guest Contributor Will Johnston from Mind Muse

UPDATE: Looks like I was wrong on this one. While cloture is a motion to end debate, on Saturday the Senate invoked cloture on the motion to proceed to the bill, not on the bill itself, making the statement that the senate agreed to begin debating the bill a true one. I should have looked more closely!

Time for a quick civics lesson! Countless news agencies are misreporting that yesterday’s Senate vote on the health care bill is a vote to begin debating the bill.

From the Washington Post:

After days of indecision, the last two Democratic holdouts — Sens. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) and Mary Landrieu (La.) — joined their caucus in supporting a motion to begin debate.

From the New York Times:

The Senate voted on Saturday to begin full debate on major health care legislation

From CNN:

the Senate voted to move ahead with a floor debate

These are just a few examples, but you can find countless others on Google News.

The problem?

They’re all wrong. The Senate voted to invoke cloture, a motion to limit debate on a bill or other matter (i.e. nomination) pending before the Senate.

In olden days, you couldn’t actually ever stop debate on a bill if any Senator wanted to keep talking about it. As you can imagine, this meant that if a couple of Senators were really opposed to something, they could just take turns talking about it until the rest of the Senators caved and moved on to the other things they needed to vote on. In an effort to help move things along, the Senate changed its rules so that if two-thirds of the Senators wanted to end debate, they could do so by invoking cloture. Yes, it sounds a lot like closure, and the two words have very similar meanings. They’re about bringing something to an end.

The bar for invoking cloture was still so high that it was nearly impossible to do. Getting two-thirds of the Senate to agree on everything is like getting two three-year-olds to eat all of their vegetables. In fact, cloture was only invoked five times during the next 46 years. Consequently, the Senate changed its rules to require only three-fifths of the Senators to vote for a cloture motion in order for it to pass.

I hope this little history and civics lesson has helped you understand what the Senate voted on last night. The fact is that the news agencies weren’t reporting what really happened. Cloture takes a bit more to explain well than can be put in a news article about another topic, so they took a shortcut. The party in control of Congress (currently the Democratic Party) sets the agenda and can debate whatever they want. They didn’t have to win a Senate vote to debate health care reform, they had to win a Senate vote to put an end to debating health care reform so they can actually vote on passing the bill.

How do I know so much about cloture? Well, I used to work for a Senator, so I learned a lot about what it was and how it worked. I didn’t really know the history part, so I looked it up on Wikipedia, and Wikipedia pointed me to two articles on the Senate website that give the history of cloture.

Cloture Rule~March 8, 1917
Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate

Op-ed by Frank Rich

Frank Rich/The New York Times

New York Times/Frank Rich—AT last the American right and left have one issue they unequivocally agree on: You don’t actually have to read Sarah Palin’s book to have an opinion about it. Last Sunday Liz Cheney praised “Going Rogue” as “well-written” on Fox News even though, by her own account, she had sampled only “parts” of it. On Tuesday, Ana Marie Cox, a correspondent for Air America, belittled the book in The Washington Post while confessing that she couldn’t claim to have “completely” read it.

“Going Rogue” will hardly be the first best seller embraced by millions for talismanic rather than literary ends. And I am not recommending that others follow my example and slog through its 400-plus pages, especially since its supposed revelations have been picked through 24/7 for a week. But sometimes I wonder if anyone has read all of what Palin would call the “dang” thing. Some of the book’s most illuminating tics have been mentioned barely — if at all — by either its fans or foes. Palin is far and away the most important brand in American politics after Barack Obama, and attention must be paid. Those who wishfully think her 15 minutes are up are deluding themselves.

The book’s biggest surprise is Palin’s wide-eyed infatuation with show-business celebrities. You get nearly as much face time with Tina Fey and the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in “Going Rogue” as you do with John McCain. We learn how happy Palin was to receive calls from Bono and Warren Beatty “to share ideas and insights.” We wade through star-struck lists of campaign cameos by Robert Duvall, Jon Voight (who “blew us away”), Naomi Judd, Gary Sinise and Kelsey Grammer, among many others. Then there are the acknowledgments at the book’s end, where Palin reveals that her intimacy with media stars is such that she can air-kiss them on a first-name basis, from Greta to Laura to Rush.

Equally revealing is the one boldfaced name conspicuously left unmentioned in the book: Levi Johnston, the father of Palin’s grandchild. Though Palin and McCain milked him for photo ops at the Republican convention, he is persona non grata now that he’s taking off his campaign wardrobe. Is Johnston’s fledgling porn career the problem, or is it his public threats to strip bare Palin family secrets as well? “She knows what I got on her” is how he put it. In Palin’s interview with Oprah last week, it was questioning about Johnston, not Katie Couric, that made her nervous.

The book’s most frequently dropped names, predictably enough, are the Lord and Ronald Reagan (though not necessarily in that order). Easily the most startling passage in “Going Rogue,” running more than two pages, collates extended excerpts from a prayerful letter Palin wrote to mark the birth of Trig, her child with Down syndrome. This missive’s understandable goal was to reassert Palin’s faith and trust in God. But Palin did not write her letter to God; she wrote the letter from God, assuming His role and voice herself and signing it “Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father.” If I may say so — Oy!

More @

It’s here and it’s causing quite an uproar. No full-frontals, but PlayGirl claims that it’s only the first set of pictures. So, there might be peen in the future. Click below for a relatively NSFW gallery.

Let’s take a look at prescribed drugs for the seasonal and swine flu that, in all likelihood, is causing far more harm than good – Tamiflu.

According to a recent study into the use of Tamiflu for children with flu symptoms – the most extensive research of its kind, so far – Tamiflu falls flat.

The researchers, who analyzed four studies of children aged one to 12, published their findings in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on August 11, 2009. They found that the anti-viral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza:

• Put children at higher risk of dangerous complications (death)
• Had little impact on the length of the illness
• Had little impact on the spread of the swine flu
• May cause drug-resistant strain mutations

Children given these drugs were found to recover LESS THAN ONE DAY earlier, compared with simple rest and recuperation.

According to the researchers, the risks of Tamiflu and Relenza far outweigh their negligent benefits, and children should therefore NOT be given these drugs for the swine flu.

I have a better idea.  How about instead of treating the symptoms first let’s prevent the cause.  Let’s get to the source.  Feed your child real food.  Fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts, seeds, organic free range meats, wild caught fish.  Make sure your child is subluxation free.  Make sure your child exercises daily.  For every 50 minutes of sitting they need 10 minutes of motion.  Hydrate your child.  And while your doing this for your child, maybe think about doing it for yourself too.

Stay well,

Dr. Vince Hassel

What if you had a pandemic and no one came?

Just change the way you measure those infected. In a remarkable development the CDC has announced that they are going to change the way that Swine flu cases are defined. It seems the grand total of 1200 deaths from H1N1 wasn’t sufficiently scaring the hell out of people enough to go out and get vaccinated so why not bump up the numbers to put a chill in the air?

While the news media is widely reporting long lines at clinics for the vaccine other sources suggest a different story. In New York last week officials were prepared to administer 31,500 vaccinations a day at seven free clinics throughout the city. The total vaccinations administered on Saturday was 1,701. The New York Times reported vaccine workers standing around with nothing to do and officials perplexed by the low turnout.

Meanwhile government officials and vaccine manufacturers were hauled before Congress which was investigating why so little vaccine had made it to the public and here we are dead in the middle of the season. Everyone blamed those slow virus growing chicken eggs, the public’s fear of vaccines and regulatory hurdles that won’t allow them to use adjuvants. Only 49 million doses had been delivered by this week.

All of this doesn’t seem so much a mystery to me. The drug companies were paid ahead of time to produce the vaccines, surveys of your average earthling revealed that more than half would not get the vaccine, low turnouts materialized so why would the vaccine manufacturers spend any more money to produce more vaccine when they probably won’t be able to get what they will produce off their shelves by the end of the season?

$1.5 billion was paid by the US government for Swine flu vaccine – that’s $600 per taxpayer. In what seems incredible Glaxo won’t tell what they are getting from the UK government for its H1N1 concoction and Baxter settled out of court after accusations of fraud for overcharging for their Swine flu vaccine. Despite this Britain still went ahead and contracted with them for 132 million doses!

Its like getting vaccine out of the back of a panel van in the alley from your local neighborhood criminal. 

And these are the people we are supposed to trust when they tell us to just roll up our sleeve and get in line? I’m sure such criminal behavior would never spill over into the science or manufacturing of the vaccine – right? 

Despite the changes in definitions to bump up the numbers some experts don’t seem to think there is anything to worry about. Ira M. Longini Jr., a flu epidemiologist at the University of Washington and Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, both said the new figure doesn’t come close to the 90,000 people Obama said would drop dead this flu season. 

In fact according to Dr. Longini deaths were likely to be in the 30,000-to-40,000 range, and Osterholm said they would “have a long way to go to even get there.”Sounds like a typical flu season to me.

Are you falling for the hype?  Follow our blog and educate yourself on what true health means and what you can do about it.  Remember you don’t get sick, you do sick.

Stay Well,

Dr. Vince Hassel

Spinach

It kept Popeye healthy, so what are you waiting for? Spinach is a rich source of the antioxidant lutein, which protects against cancer, cardiovascular disease and several types of eye diseases, including cataracts and macular degeneration. Spinach is also high in iron, calcium and a host of other vitamins and minerals, making it a great choice to promote health and prevent disease.

Chili Peppers

A compound called capsaicin holds the key to the chili pepper’s health-promoting powers. Research suggests capsaicin can do everything from reduce cancer-cell growth to prevent sinus conditions to lower cholesterol. What’s more, capsaicin increases metabolism, helping promote weight loss. If you can handle the heat, chili peppers are a great food to include in your diet.

Walnuts

Walnuts are an excellent source of alphalinoleic acid (ALA), which has been shown to protect against cardiovascular disease.

They also contain an antioxidant known as ellagic acid, which supports the immune system and may help prevent cancer. And what’s more, walnuts provide magnesium and copper, both of which fight free-radical production, promoting healthy, disease-free aging. 

Health= eat well x move well x think well x function well

You cannot have optimal health unless you complete the whole equation.  Your health is your reponsibility.  If you put crap in don’t complain about your poor health, it’s your poor choices.

 Eat Well,

Dr. Vince Hassel

One of the best ways to reclaim and maintain health, and even take years off of your appearance, is to control something called inflammation. Simply put, inflammation is heat, swelling or pain. When it is chronic, inflammation can make us age prematurely, and has been associated with diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, depression, cognitive decline and other conditions.

Inflammation can take many forms. Many of us have chronic, smoldering inflammation that causes digestive disorders such as gas, bloating, heartburn and irritable bowel. Others exhibit inflammatory problems in the form of acne, eczema or psoriasis. Sources of inflammation in Americans’ lives include stress, obesity, smoking, drugs and sedentary lifestyles. One of the leading inflammatory triggers is unhealthful food, including sugars, red meat, artificial ingredients, gluten, trans fats and alcohol. Packaged and processed foods, especially those laden with hormones, antibiotics and preservatives, also contribute to inflammation. An inactive lifestyle, combined with a diet favoring inflammatory foods, can lead to free-radical damage, which might spur disease and appear in the skin as lines and wrinkles.

The first step toward looking and feeling better is an improved diet that includes plenty of vegetables, lean, organic protein sources, green drinks, beans and raw foods. It’s also important that inflammatory grains, such as white pasta and white bread, be replaced with foods such as Ezekiel bread, buckwheat and wild rice, which are more easily digested by most people.

Get Adjusted,

Dr. Vince Hassel

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports:

We wrote last week that, based on the initial clip distributed by Oprah Winfrey's shop, Sarah Palin seemed to be seeking a ceasefire with the father of her grandson.

Now that the full Oprah interview is out — not so much.

Asked by Oprah about Levi Johnston, Palin, R-Alaska, responded: “I don't think a national television show is the place to discuss some of things he'd been doing and saying.”

She continued: “By the way, I don't know if we call him Levi — I hear he goes by the name Ricky Hollywood now, so, if that's the case, we don't want to mess up this gig he's got going…. Kind of this aspiring, aspiring porn — the things that he's doing. It's kind of heartbreaking.”

Oprah clarified that Palin was referencing Johnston's decision to pose for “Playgirl.”

Said Palin: “I call that porn, yes. So it's a bit heartbreaking to see the road that he's on right now.”

Asked about Johnston's relationship with his son, Tripp, Palin said:

“He hasn't seen the baby for a while, but we will let that be the discussion between Bristol and Levi, as they work out their relationship. Because Levi will forever be the father of this beautiful little baby, and I continue to hope for the best, and pray for Levi.”

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports:

We wrote last week that, based on the initial clip distributed by Oprah Winfrey's shop, Sarah Palin seemed to be seeking a ceasefire with the father of her grandson.

Now that the full Oprah interview is out — not so much.

Asked by Oprah about Levi Johnston, Palin, R-Alaska, responded: “I don't think a national television show is the place to discuss some of things he'd been doing and saying.”

She continued: “By the way, I don't know if we call him Levi — I hear he goes by the name Ricky Hollywood now, so, if that's the case, we don't want to mess up this gig he's got going…. Kind of this aspiring, aspiring porn — the things that he's doing. It's kind of heartbreaking.”

Oprah clarified that Palin was referencing Johnston's decision to pose for “Playgirl.”

Said Palin: “I call that porn, yes. So it's a bit heartbreaking to see the road that he's on right now.”

Asked about Johnston's relationship with his son, Tripp, Palin said:

“He hasn't seen the baby for a while, but we will let that be the discussion between Bristol and Levi, as they work out their relationship. Because Levi will forever be the father of this beautiful little baby, and I continue to hope for the best, and pray for Levi.”

Sarah Palin on Oprah Show!

MORE CLIPS are available Here!

• Palin on Oprah Part 1
• Palin on Oprah Part 2

Here’s some footage from the show!

Levi Johnston Questions to Sarah Palin

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IN THE NEWS!

In an effort to reduce “the drama” that has been part of her family’s conflicts with Levi Johnston, Sarah Palin supposedly invited him to her family’s Thanksgiving dinner. 

I am sure this was done with a sincere interest in resolving the problems, but if he showed up, can anyone imagine what Johnston would say to the future First Family members? Talk about awkward family gatherings…