Using the law for political ends

In ordinary language, that's one of the conclusions from the tribunal hearing of Zionists versus the University teachers' union:

(This is the continuing saga reported in an earlier post).

A blistering rejection of pro-Israel activist Ronnie Fraser's case against the academic union, UCU, was published on Seder night by a London employment tribunal.

In a 49-page ruling, the Employment Judge, AM Snelson, sitting with Mr A Grant and Lady Sedley, rejected Mr Fraser's claims of unlawful harassment by the UCU, and dismissed the entire proceedings.

The reserved judgment was issued in respect of nearly three weeks of hearings which took place in October and November last year. In a stern rebuke in the conclusion of the judgment, Judge Snelson wrote: "Lessons should be learned from this sorry saga. We greatly regret that the case was ever brought. At heart, it represents an impermissible attempt to achieve a political end by litigious means...What makes this litigation doubly regrettable is its gargantuan scale."

The judge rebuked the litigants, saying "the Employment Tribunals are a hard-pressed public service and it is not right that their limited resources should be squandered as they have been."

Although the tribunal said that Mr Fraser had impressed them "as a sincere witness" with "nothing synthetic about his displays of emotion", there were harsh words for several others who gave evidence during the hearing, particularly the chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, Jeremy Newmark, whose testimony was rejected as untrue.

Two MPs - one has since resigned from Parliament - were also criticised for giving "glib evidence, appearing supremely confident of the rightness of their positions... Both parliamentarians clearly enjoyed making speeches. Neither seemed at ease with the idea of being required to answer a question not to his liking."

S.O.S. Mali

Wahabi Muslims are creating war in Mali.  They have destroyed ancient sites in Timbuktu, following earlier annihilation of sacred Buddhist statues in Afghanistan.  Strict sharia law is being enforced.  Traditional music by griots, originally designated the musician families under centuries of Muslim practice throughout West Africa has been banned.

Issiaka Amkoullel is a young Malian rapper, who is protesting.  His song, S.O.S. has been banned, but he's still keen to help his country.  He's raising money on iTunes with this track to fund humane assistance in Mali.

Paris based Malian musician, Salif Keita, campaigns through music for disadvantaged people, such as albinos.  He was interviewed about his views on the new government after the coup in 2012. He supported the coup because there was so much corruption in the old regime.  I wonder what he thinks about the current conflict and stringent imposition of sharia law in his country?

What causes heart disease?

I was listening to lipidologist, Dr Thomas Dayspring, interviewed by Jimmy Moore.  He listed common risk markers for disease and heart attacks.  He described some nasty lipoproteins bombarding the arterial wall and dumping their fat load, whilst other nice varieties pass through the blood vessel walls freely without damaging effect.

We may well have elevated levels in the blood stream indicating a risk of heart disease.  However the idea that nasty types of LDL particles are the cause of disease sounds as daft to me as the notion that saturated fat clings to blood vessel walls.

'The commonly accepted average core body temperature (taken internally) is 37.0 °C (98.6 °F).' (Wikipedia)

What saturated fat remains solid at 37 degrees celsius?  How and why does it cling to the cell walls.

The human body is a sophisticated system designed to achieve a level of homeostasis for optimal functioning.  Why would we evolve to have nice and nasty lipoproteins in the blood stream for no good reason?

I prefer Uffe Ravnskov's version:

In a 2005 interview, Ravnskov was asked for his viewpoint on what causes heart disease, and remarked

“

Most researchers to-day in this field agree that inflammation of the arterial wall is the start. The crucial question is, what starts the inflammation? As cholesterol has been demonized for so many years we have not been able to clear the blackboard and rethink... all studies of dead people have failed to show an association between their intake of saturated fat, or their serum cholesterol, and the degree of atherosclerosis. People who avoid all saturated fat and who have low cholesterol become just as atherosclerotic as people who gorge in animal food and whose cholesterol is high. Another misconception is that atherosclerosis is a disease. When arteries become inflamed the body immediately starts a repair process to strengthen the vascular wall. Smooth muscle cells proliferate, fibrosis follows, and later, if necessary for further strength, cholesterol and calcium are used for reinforcement. This is in particular important in the coronary arteries because due to the steady movements of the heart and the negative pressure at their outside they have to be stronger than for instance arteries running to the intestines or inside bony channels. Inflammatory processes go on now and then already from childhood; it is a natural defence mechanism and atherosclerosis should therefore be considered as scars, remnants from a long life's combat with noxious chemicals or microorganisms....I think that the final attack is caused by microorganisms, but this is not the only answer. Any factor that weakens our immune defense may facilitate the growth of microorganisms, also at the inside of our vessels. These factors may be environmental (toxic compounds) or nutritional. There is much evidence that microorganisms may play a role. I published a review about this issue a few years ago. This paper[27] has since long been one of the most-frequently read article in that journal.[4]

One view is that consistently elevated blood glucose levels contribute to inflammation and damage to arterial walls.  Avoid inflammation through dietary changes and reduce stress through lifestyle choices.

Dr Malcolm Kendrick is another great source for information on this subject (see his Youtube videos).  His blog post on a recent Norwegian study of cholesterol levels, heart disease and overall mortality is clear.

Where's Aaron Sorkin when you need him?

One of the plot lines of the late lamented tv show, The West Wing, was about President Barlet's hidden health problem.  It emerged that Josiah Barlet had been diagnosed with relapsing, remitting Multiple Sclerosis.  The fear was that people would lose confidence in a man, who might suddenly have an attack mid term.  His wife, Dr Abbey, was monitoring and treating him on the quiet.

The West wing finished in 2006.  Sadly this was too late for Dr Terry Wahls.  She was dealing with her own decline into MS, from which she has emerged in healthy condition, with symptoms under control through improved diet.

I could imagine a revolutionary script showing the Bartlets getting good advice from Dr Wahls.  This would cause uproar in the grain states and amongst processed food manufacturers.  Maybe they'd learn how to make kale chips ....

...and whip up a great smoothie.

Now THAT would make a great sequel.

Back from the dead

Well not literally dead, but in a bad state and going downhill fast.

This is the story of how Dr Terry Wahls went from a fit and active parent and academic to someone unable to sit up or rest without being in a specially padded recliner.  She had relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and the standard treatment wasn't working.

Today she is back and now cycles many miles without difficulty.

How did she do it?

Terry is a medical doctor, practising and teaching at a medical school in the USA.  She knew how to dig into research on MS and ways of treating it.  After 7 years she found Functional Medicine, an organisation which helps doctors take better care of complex chronic diseases.  After taking nutritional supplements and finding some improvement in her condition, Terry began to consider how to derive the same nutrients from her food intake.

Her research and experimentation led to the Wahls diet, which can be summarised as:

1  Eat 3 cups of greens, 3 cups of sulphur rich vegetables, 3 cups of colourful fruit and vegetables, fats from food (seafood, grass fed meat, game, wild fish, organ meat, flaxseed, walnuts)

2  Avoid gluten and dairy (to prevent allergies)

3  Find high quality food (organic, locally grown or your own produce)

The focus of her efforts was to keep her mitochondria in good condition.  These are the the oval shaped sub units of human cells, which are known as the 'power plants' of the cell.  They supply energy to the cell in the form of adenosine triphosphate as well as playing an important part in signaling and the growth and life cycle of the cell and the aging process.

One of the difficulties that many enthusiasts have is in convincing people that their findings have value.  Dr Richard Bernstein was dismissed when he tried to get his results published in medical journals, because it was 'just anecdotal evidence' of improving health and minimising symptoms of diabetes.  He studied for a medical degree so that he could publish and treat others who deteriorated on the standard diet and lifestyle recommended by government and diabetes associations.

As a practising doctor and university lecturer, Dr Terry Wahls is not so easily dismissed.  Watch her TED talk and make up your own mind.

Flat Earth 4

I was wrong.  There are small signs that some people are beginning to see sense.


Dr Oz has invited Dr William Davis on his show as a guest and treated him respectfully in discussing the negative effects of wheat on health.  He has also discussed cholesterol truths with Jonny Bowden in a recent programme.

More research results are being published about the effects of insulin in fat accumulation and obesity in both insulin sensitive and resistant individuals, though there isn't universal agreement on what these mean.



Today I read that an endocrinology professor at John Hopkins Medical School has challenged the lipid hypothesis using exerpts from 'Supersize me' and 'Fat Head' films to stimulate debate amongst his students.

I imagined that medical students at a prestigious medical school would participate in this discussion with energy and enthusiasm.  Apparently not.  Most students started to leave and muttered disapproval as they did so.

Perhaps 'Invasion of the body snatchers' has come true.  Maybe mass indocrination from an early age has worked and students of higher education are no longer interested in seeking truth or engaging in science, just received opinion.

 

Goodbyeee

OUBS B822 is no more

Here's part of the message from the Supreme Leader, David Mayle:

'OK, the final presentation has now ended, with just re-sits and deferrals to wrap up in May13, so while we can all still remember what the fuss was about it seems sensible to organise the wake.

In a nod to workloads and 'organisational forms', we're out-sourcing this to a colleague, Bill Naylor...

Stage one is to build the database of invitees. I have a 'Friends of B822' spreadsheet which I maintained religiously up until maybe 8 years ago, but these contact details – even if still current – are not mine to disseminate. The OU could of course (OK; 'probably') provide names of both CourseTutors and ResiTutors, but they too would not issue them – for all the usual reasons.

The solution is to go viral, and this eMail is a start (I'm pasting all sorts of eMail addresses into the bcc field, so you shouldn't get to see other folks' details, just your own; I'll probably have to send out a few, 'cos I suspect spam filters use the number of recipients as an indicator). I'll also be comparing the emergent list with my own records so that we can check for completeness.....'

(Someone video taped this from their tv, methinks.  Poor quality, but hits the spot.)