Category Archives: Health

Governments inflated number of COVID-19 deaths & hospitalizations

Posted on August 3, 2021 by | 10 comments

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen anecdotal accounts of a non-COVID death being attributed to COVID.

Now, a few governments are admitting that they have “inflated” (i.e., lied about) the numbers of both COVID deaths and COVID hospitalizations.

Below are two examples.

(1) California

Chris Enloe reports for The Blaze that Alameda County in the San Francisco Bay Area, had revised its COVID-19 data methodology to only include people who directly died from COVID-19, resulting in a massive 25% decrease in its reported COVID-19 deaths from 1,634 to 1,223 — a decrease of 411.

Neetu Balram, a spokesperson for the Alameda County Public Health Department, said the 411 people removed from the county’s COVID-19 death toll died from causes “clearly not caused by COVID.”

Previously, Alameda County officials had included in their death toll any resident who died while infected the virus — not just those individuals who died directly from COVID-19.

(2) United Kingdom

The (UK) Telegraph reports, July 29, 2021, that National Health Service (NHS) official data reveal that as many as “One in four patients classed as a Covid hospitalisation is being treated for other reasons . . . prompting claims that the public has been misled.” Many patients categorized as Covid hospitalizations had another primary cause of admission. “The data shows that of 5,021 patients this week classed as hospitalised by Covid, 1,166 were admitted for other reasons.”

In some areas, almost one in three COVID hospitalizations was actually admitted for other reasons. 

Tory MPs accused the Government of making “flawed decisions based on misleading data”, while leading scientists questioned why the true picture was only now beginning to emerge.

Prof. Carl Heneghan, the director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford, said: “This data is incredibly important, and this is information we should have had a very long time ago. We have been crying out for it for nearly 18 months. The Government might have made very different decisions about restrictions if it had access to data which actually measured the situation accurately.”

Last summer, Public Health England (PHE) was forced to make changes to the way it reported death figures after its methods were found to inflate total numbers by counting as a virus fatality anyone who tested positive for Covid and later died. 

~E

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Posted in COVID-19, Health, Hoaxes

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Australian news TV asks question no U.S. news would ask: Is Biden mentally fit to be president?

Posted on July 30, 2021 by | 7 comments

Why aren’t America’s network TV or New York Times or Washington Post or any corporate news media asking this question?

Never mind.

We know the answer.

This is the man with his finger on the nuclear button — a frightening thought.

The psychiatrist interviewed on Sky News is Dr. Tanveer Ahmed, M.D.

Dr. Ahmed was trained through the Royal Australian College of Psychiatrists and Sydney University where he completed his medical degree. He works in private practice at the Hills Clinic, a public facility at Bankstown Community Health, and visits jails for forensic assessments. He is the author of two books, The Exotic Rissole and Fragile Nation, and a columnist for the Australian Financial Review on non-financial matters. He has sat on multiple boards and held elected office. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Sydney, Australia.

~E

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Shocking! 1 in 4 women over 65 can’t walk two blocks

Posted on July 23, 2021 by | 5 comments

Mobility disability is the leading type of incapacity in the United States and a key contributor to a person’s loss of independence.

According to a recent study of 5,735 ambulatory women aged 63 years and older, one in four women over age 65 is unable to walk two blocks or climb a flight of stairs.

The study was conducted by a team of scientists led by Dr. Nicole Glass at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California, San Diego. The study is published in JAMA Network Open, on February 1, 2021. (See a summary of the study here.)

The researchers followed the women (mean age, 78) for up to six years. Participants wore a research-grade accelerometer for seven days to obtain accurate measures of their physical activity.

The researchers found that even light-intensity physical activity, e.g., shopping or a casual walk, can protect mobility in older women. Those who spent the most amount of time doing such activities were 46% less likely to experience loss of mobility over a 6-year period.  While obese and non-obese women all reduced their risk of mobility disability, the benefit was strongest among women with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30.

Exercise can be as simple as walking.

Walking requires no special equipment, other than a pair of good walking shoes. And it’s free. In fact, experts all say walking is one of the best exercises. Click here for what walking for just 20 minutes does to your body.

Here are 10 reasons why exercise is good for us:

(1) Regular aerobic exercise boosts your immune system so that your body better fights illness caused by viruses and bacteria, by:

  • Helping blood get around your body more efficiently, which means germ-fighting substances get where they need to go.
  • Sunlight may energize special cells in your immune system called T-cells that help fight infection.
  • Trees and vegetation make phytoncides and other substances you breathe in that seem to bolster your immune function. (MedicineNet)

(2) Regular exercise can reduce your risk of severe COVID-19. (CNBC)

(3) Exercise is good for diabetics (Type 2) by increasing insulin sensitivity and the body’s ability to use glucose as energy. As James G. Beckerman, MD, a cardiologist in Portland, Oregon, says: “In type 2, exercise helps improve insulin resistance. The end result is lower blood sugars.” (Everyday Health)

(4) Exercise is good for our bones: Weight-bearing exercises help build strong bones and prevent osteoporosis.

(5) Dancing (to music) can halt the progression of Parkinson’s disease, i.e., stop the disease from worsening. (Medical News Today)

(6) Exercise helps prevent you from falling by building your lower-body strength. See my post, “Test your balance!”

(7) Exercise is good for our mental health by keeping your brain healthy and protecting it against depression and anxiety (Neuroscience News). See also 8 ways exercise changes your brain (WebMD).

(8) Regular exercise reduces your risk of getting senile dementia, including Alzheimer’s (PubMed; WebMD).

(9) People who walk every day think better, more clearly and more creatively. (Eat This)

(10) Exercise helps you live longer. Exercise is 1 of 3 habits of long-living people. (CNBC)

So put on your walking shoes, step outside, and WALK!

~E

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MSG is why McDonald’s fries are so addictive

Posted on July 20, 2021 by | 7 comments

Sneaky bastards!

From Eat This, Not That, July 18, 2021:

[McDonald’s] fries are made of more than just Russet Burbank and Shepody potatoes—they also pack in vegetable oil (canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate, and salt. And the culprit that’s responsible for cultivating your addiction is the far-from-innocent natural beef flavor. McDonald’s discloses that this savory addition is mostly made up of hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk.

While wheat and milk aren’t bad ingredients (unless you have an intolerance), hydrolyzing them—in a process where heat and chemicals break down the foods and produce MSG, which achieves extra appetizing flavors—poses a threat to your tummy. Besides for weight gain and weird allergy-type reactions, MSG also increases appetite by inhibiting your brain from registering that you’re satiated. In fact, one study found that giving laboratory rats MSG increased their food intake by an extra 40 percent!

From WebMD, Feb. 19, 2019:

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) . . . is a seasoning made from sodium and glutamate, an amino acid that’s found naturally in certain foods like tomatoes, soy sauce, and aged cheeses. Glutamate was discovered as a flavor enhancer in 1908 by a Japanese professor. . . . Glutamate is unique because it hits the fabled “fifth taste” called umami (Japanese for “delicious”), a decidedly savory and meaty flavor. The professor filed for a patent to produce MSG, and it became widely used to season food. . . .

[I]n the 1990s, the FDA asked an independent scientific group to investigate. The group concluded that MSG is safe, though they said some sensitive people might get short-term symptoms (like headache or drowsiness) if they consume 3 grams or more of MSG (a typical serving in food is less than .5 grams).

The FDA classifies MSG as “generally recognized as safe”, the same designation that ingredients like sugar and baking soda have. They say the body metabolizes MSG the same way it does the natural glutamate found in food. Also of note: The International Headache Society no longer includes MSG on their list of headache triggers.

~E

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Test your balance!

Posted on July 11, 2021 by | 6 comments

As we age, maintaining balance becomes critical so we can stay steady and avoid falls. Falling is the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans. Falls threaten seniors’ safety and independence and generate enormous economic and personal costs. (National Council on Aging)

Some alarming statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

  • As many as 1 in 4 Americans aged 65+ falls each year.
  • Every 11 seconds, an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall; every 19 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall.
  • Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults.
  • Falls result in more than 2.8 million injuries treated in emergency departments annually, including over 800,000 hospitalizations and more than 27,000 deaths.
  • In 2015, the total cost of fall injuries was $50 billion. Medicare and Medicaid shouldered 75% of these costs.
  • The financial toll for older adult falls is expected to increase as the population ages and may reach $67.7 billion by 2020.

But falling is not an inevitable result of aging.

Through practical lifestyle adjustments, evidence-based falls prevention programs, and clinical-community partnerships, the number of falls among seniors can be substantially reduced.

Below are three videos on tests to assess your balance and risk of falling. If you’re not able to safely sit and stand on your own power, skip the tests.

(1) 10-SECOND BALANCE TEST:

In this video, fitness expert David Jack shows us how to do a quick balance check:

  • Stand up in open space, i.e., not against a wall or a piece of furniture.
  • Put your feet together, close your eyes, and balance.
  • Stand for 10 seconds.

Did you have a sense of anxiety or fear? Did you start to sway? That’s your brain telling you balance is something you need to work on.

2. 30-SECOND SIT-TO-STAND TEST:

How many times can you sit and stand from a chair in 30 seconds? In this video, David Jack explains how this quick—but important—test can give you clues about your lower-body strength and endurance.

You’ll need a regular, sturdy chair with a seat that’s about 17 inches high.

If you did 19 or more reps, that’s a sign your lower-body strength and endurance are above average.

(3) More Demanding Tests:

How did you do on the three video-tests?

If the results say you need to work on balance, pay attention! 

Having a strong lower body makes it more likely you can keep your balance and avoid falling. Thus, increasing the strength of your thigh, calf and hip muscles should increase your balance. There are balance exercises you can do to improve your stability and reduce your chances of falling. Go here for a video.

But simple things like walking and dancing can strengthen your lower body. A June 2017 report in Disability and Reabilitation tested this idea in older adults with limited mobility. Participants practiced line dancing twice a week for an hour. An untreated group served as the control. After just 8 weeks, the line dancers had greater leg strength and better balance than controls. Interestingly, they also walked faster and felt more mobile.

Stay strong!

~E

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Posted in Health, safety

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18 of America’s 20 worst cities are run by Democrats

Posted on July 5, 2021 by | 4 comments

WalletHub compared the operating efficiency of 150 of the largest U.S. cities to determine which among them are managed best, based on a “Quality of Services” score made up of 38 metrics grouped into 6 service categories:

  1. Financial stability
  2. Education
  3. Health
  4. Safety
  5. Economy
  6. Infrastructure and Pollution

Each city’s “Quality of Services” score is then measured against the city’s per-capita budget. (To find out more about WalletHub’s methodology, go here.)

Source: WalletHub

No surprise to us, Los Angeles, CA (#134), Chicago, IL (#141), Oakland, CA (#144), Detroit, MI (#145), New York, NY (#148), San Francisco, CA (#149), and Washington, DC (#15o) are ranked among the worst — all governed by Democrats.

In fact, 18 of the 20 worst managed cities have Democrat mayors. The two exceptions are #146 Gulfport, TN (Republican mayor Billy Hewes) and #147 Chattanooga, TN (Independent mayor Tim Kelly).

But that fact won’t deter the voters of those cities to reelect Democrats, which is a sure indicator of their mental illness.

Here’s the list of the 150 cities, ranked from best (#1) to worst (#150):

Overall Rank (1=Best)  City ‘Quality of City Services’ Rank  ‘Total Budget per Capita’ Rank 
1 Nampa, ID 23 1
2 Boise, ID 4 3
3 Fort Wayne, IN 63 2
4 Nashua, NH 5 9
5 Lexington-Fayette, KY 44 6
6 Lincoln, NE 8 19
7 Durham, NC 25 11
8 Rapid City, SD 81 4
9 Las Cruces, NM 65 5
10 Virginia Beach, VA 2 36
11 Raleigh, NC 11 29
12 Missoula, MT 67 12
13 Oklahoma City, OK 88 8
14 Manchester, NH 29 20
15 Provo, UT 3 38
16 Sioux Falls, SD 31 21
17 Billings, MT 86 13
18 Madison, WI 6 42
19 Chesapeake, VA 17 34
20 Huntington Beach, CA 1 55
21 Louisville, KY 80 17
22 Greensboro, NC 57 23
23 Arlington, TX 28 31
24 Salem, OR 54 26
25 Mesa, AZ 58 25
26 Bismarck, ND 12 48
27 Charleston, SC 15 44
28 Columbus, GA 95 16
29 Cedar Rapids, IA 34 39
30 Warwick, RI 26 43
31 Albuquerque, NM 127 10
32 Tucson, AZ 111 14
33 Warren, MI 74 28
34 Huntington, WV 114 15
35 Aurora, IL 51 37
36 Phoenix, AZ 65 35
37 Grand Rapids, MI 33 47
38 Lewiston, ME 85 30
39 Tulsa, OK 110 22
40 Topeka, KS 76 40
41 Reno, NV 43 49
42 Worcester, MA 48 52
43 St. Petersburg, FL 42 54
44 Mobile, AL 96 32
45 Fort Worth, TX 56 53
46 El Paso, TX 64 50
47 Wichita, KS 124 24
48 Portland, ME 21 69
49 Corpus Christi, TX 99 41
50 Colorado Springs, CO 78 51
51 Baton Rouge, LA 129 27
52 Las Vegas, NV 49 61
53 Aurora, CO 79 56
54 Gary, IN 141 18
55 Fairbanks, AK 102 45
56 Des Moines, IA 53 62
57 Eugene, OR 38 71
58 Fort Smith, AR 123 33
59 Rutland, VT 59 67
60 Fargo, ND 35 79
61 Spokane, WA 60 68
62 San Diego, CA 7 97
63 Santa Ana, CA 39 81
64 Jackson, MS 148 7
65 Omaha, NE 27 86
66 Little Rock, AR 122 46
67 Hialeah, FL 55 78
68 Indianapolis, IN 93 60
69 Portland, OR 19 95
70 Boston, MA 14 100
71 Akron, OH 97 65
72 Montgomery, AL 119 58
73 Garland, TX 52 89
74 Salt Lake City, UT 16 106
75 Anchorage, AK 83 82
76 Tallahassee, FL 73 85
77 Fremont, CA 13 113
78 Houston, TX 100 73
79 Jacksonville, FL 109 70
80 Frederick, MD 22 108
81 Dayton, OH 101 74
82 Austin, TX 10 117
83 Columbia, SC 103 76
84 Dover, DE 120 64
85 Springfield, MA 121 63
86 Miami, FL 50 96
87 Casper, WY 104 80
88 Tampa, FL 40 101
89 Providence, RI 116 72
90 San Antonio, TX 47 103
91 St. Paul, MN 45 104
92 Columbus, OH 82 92
93 New Orleans, LA 136 57
94 San Jose, CA 20 121
95 Dallas, TX 89 93
96 Burlington, VT 32 114
97 Norfolk, VA 107 88
98 Charleston, WV 128 77
99 Bridgeport, CT 117 83
100 Richmond, VA 87 98
101 Kansas City, MO 112 91
102 Anaheim, CA 69 111
103 Cincinnati, OH 72 112
104 Fort Lauderdale, FL 41 120
105 Charlotte, NC 24 126
106 Toledo, OH 142 66
107 Orlando, FL 61 118
108 Bakersfield, CA 130 86
109 Shreveport, LA 147 59
110 Milwaukee, WI 126 90
111 Nashville, TN 105 105
112 Lubbock, TX 118 101
113 Knoxville, TN 46 130
114 Seattle, WA 9 140
115 Minneapolis, MN 37 133
116 Modesto, CA 108 109
117 Stockton, CA 145 75
118 Birmingham, AL 132 94
119 Syracuse, NY 84 123
120 Sacramento, CA 92 122
121 Pittsburgh, PA 68 129
122 Buffalo, NY 91 125
123 Riverside, CA 90 127
124 Atlanta, GA 77 132
125 Wilmington, DE 113 119
126 Fresno, CA 133 107
127 Long Beach, CA 62 139
128 Baltimore, MD 135 110
129 Cheyenne, WY 98 135
130 Denver, CO 71 141
131 Kansas City, KS 138 116
132 St. Louis, MO 149 84
133 Memphis, TN 143 115
134 Los Angeles, CA 75 143
135 New Haven, CT 137 124
136 Yonkers, NY 70 144
137 Philadelphia, PA 134 128
138 Rochester, NY 115 138
139 Tacoma, WA 106 142
140 Hartford, CT 144 131
141 Chicago, IL 140 136
142 Cleveland, OH 139 137
143 Flint, MI 146 134
144 Oakland, CA 94 147
145 Detroit, MI 150 99
146 Gulfport, MS 125 145
147 Chattanooga, TN 131 146
148 New York, NY 36 148
149 San Francisco, CA 18 149
150 Washington, DC 30 150

~E

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Posted in Crime, Finances, Health, safety

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Religious Americans are only group whose mental health improved during coronavirus pandemic

Posted on July 3, 2021 by | 3 comments

We have evidence from study after study of the beneficial effects of religious faith on one’s physical and mental health.

Here’s the latest.

In “Psychiatry Needs to Get Right with God,” for Scientific American, June 15, 2021, David H. Rosmarin, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and director of the McLean Hospital Spirituality & Mental Health Program, writes:

In the past year, American mental health sank to the lowest point in history: Incidence of mental disorders increased by 50 percent, compared with before the pandemic, alcohol and other substance abuse surged, and young adults were more than twice as likely to seriously consider suicide than they were in 2018. Yet the only group to see improvements in mental health during the past year were those who attended religious services at least weekly (virtually or in-person): 46 percent report “excellent” mental health today versus 42 percent one year ago. […]

My own research has demonstrated that a belief in God is associated with significantly better treatment outcomes for acute psychiatric patients. And other laboratories have shown a connection between religious belief and the thickness of the brain’s cortex, which may help protect against depression.

~E

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Posted in Christianity, COVID-19, Health, Science and Christianity

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Against all odds: World’s most premature baby survives first year

Posted on June 22, 2021 by | 4 comments

Meet Richard Scott William Hutchinson who was born in June 2020. According to the Daily Mail, Richard weighed less than one pound (11.9 ounces) and was born at 21 weeks. He was so small he could fit in the palm of a hand.

The parents were told that baby Richard had no chance of survival.

Fast forward to June 5, 2021: Baby Richard just celebrated his first birthday!

Richard is now officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s most premature baby to survive after birth, having been born 131 days premature.

During Richard’s first year of life, his parents Beth and Rick had many struggles to navigate, especially with the pandemic. From the the Daily Mail article:

“Rick and Beth traveled one hour every day from their home in Somerset, Wisconsin, to Minneapolis to visit their son.

‘The first month they weren’t even sure he was going to make it,’ Beth told Guinness. It was really hard. You know in the back of your mind that his odds weren’t great.’  

Richard slowly gained strength every day and, in December 2020, his parents were told he could go home after six months spent in the NICU. 

He is still on oxygen, is monitored with a pulse oximeter machine 24/7 and still requires some meals through a feeding tube, but he is making progress. ‘We are working on getting him off all of them, but it takes time. He has come a long way and is doing amazing,’ Beth said.

‘He is a very happy baby. Always has a smile on the adorable little face of his. His bright blue eyes and smile get me every time.”

Read this family’s whole story here.

So glad Baby Richard beat the odds!

DCG

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Posted in God's creation, Health

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Saturday Funny: Petition to deny Jeff Bezos spaceflight return to earth

Posted on June 19, 2021 by | 8 comments

Jeff Bezos (né Jorgensen) — the billionaire with odd-sized eyes, CEO and co-founder of the extremely lucrative Amazon.com, and owner of The Washington Post — recently announced that on July 20, he will travel to space on his company Blue Origin’s first passenger flight. The suborbital flight in the New Shepard will travel to an altitude of more than 340,000 feet. (Fox News)

This is the same billionaire Bezos who:

  • Like other billionaires (George Soros, Michael Bloomberg, Carl Icahn), paid nothing in federal income taxes. ProPublica discovered that in 2011, with a then-net worth of $18 billion, Bezos not only paid no federal income tax, he had the gall to file for and received a $4,000 tax credit for his children, although households with over $100,000 in joint income weren’t eligible to receive the credit. (yahoo!news)
  • Amazon’s obsessive focus on speed comes at a huge cost to its employees, who had to urinate in plastic bottles instead of taking restroom breaks. According to a report from the Strategic Organizing Center, a labor union coalition, Amazon has a much higher warehouse injury rate than its competitors:
    • There were 6.5 injuries per 100 full time employees at U.S. Amazon warehouses in 2020 compared to 4 injuries per 100 employees at all non-Amazon warehouses.
    • The Amazon injury rate was also more than twice as high as Walmart, its largest retail competitor.
    • Amazon workers are injured more frequently than elsewhere in the warehouse sector, they are also injured more severely. Last year, there were 5.9 serious injuries per 100 Amazon warehouse workers that resulted in them missing work completely, nearly 80% higher than the wider warehouse industry.

The above, and more, no doubt prompted Jose Ortiz to create an online petition to deny Bezos’ space flight from returning to Earth.

The “Petition to Not Allow Jeff Bezos Re-Entry to Earth” says:

Jeff Bezos is actually Lex Luthor, disguised as the supposed owner of a super successful online retail store. However, he’s actually an evil overlord hellbent on global domination.

As of the writing of this post, the petition has garnered 17,008 signatures. To sign, go here. LOL

~E

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Posted in Funnies, Health, safety

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Hackers are trying to poison America’s water treatment plants

Posted on June 19, 2021 by | 3 comments

This is what Joe Biden’s proposed plan on rebuilding America’s infrastructure should address, instead of “climate change”.

Courtney Teague reports for Patch.com, June 18, 2021, that the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and National Security Agency recommended in July 2020 that operators of critical infrastructure take immediate action to safeguard against “foreign powers attempting to do harm to U.S. interests or retaliate for perceived U.S. aggression,” because more and more companies are shifting to remote operations and monitoring, outsource operations, and a decentralized workforce.

Already, two water treatment plants have experienced hackers trying to poison the water:

  1. NBC Bay Area reports that in January, 2021, the FBI investigated a hacker’s attempt to poison an unnamed San Francisco Bay Area water treatment plant. The hacker knew the username and password of a former employee’s TeamViewer account, which allowed them to remotely obtain access to the plant’s computers. The hacker deleted computer programs used to treat drinking water. The plant discovered it had been hacked the next day, then reinstalled the water treatment programs and changed its passwords. There were no reports of anyone being sickened by the water. NBC’s report marked the first time this incident was made public.
  2. The Washington Post reports that the same method was used in February, when an Oldsmar, Florida water plant operator watched as his computer mouse moved around his screen and opened programs, eventually raising the levels of sodium hydroxide, or lye, by more than 100 fold to a level that could cause illness and corrode pipes. As in the California water treatment plants, the hacker also used TeamViewer to gain access to the Florida employee’s screen. Fortunately, the employee quickly reversed the lye levels and water quality was not significantly impacted. Nobody was sickened.

~E

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