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DO IT NOW WHEN IT'S FRESH IN YOUR MIND
The Saga Of Pinehill Book II
Money, Marriage And The Way
is now published and available.
Buy direct from:
http://www.publishamerica.com
(enter the name Saga of Pinehill in
the search box)
If you enjoyed the first book, you
won't be able to put
this one down until you've finished
it. Enjoy.
DO IT NOW WHEN IT'S FRESH IN YOUR MIND
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TODAY'S TRIVIA - - -
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How is the disease transmitted?
Can animals besides cows contract mad-cow disease?
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ANSWERS TO LAST TRIVIA - - - -
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Is it true that babies born in certain months live longer?
Yes. In a 2001 study of birth and death data for people
living in Austria, Denmark, and Australia, researchers found
that birth month was associated with total lifespan. People
born between October and December in Austria and Denmark
lived longer than those born between April and June. The
pattern is shifted half a year for those born in Australia,
leading the researchers to speculate that seasonal
differences in nutrition and disease environment early in
life (such as in the womb) could explain the relationship.
They note that in past decades, food supplies (including the
availability of fresh fruits and vegetables) differed from
season to season and that mothers who gave birth in autumn
or early winter had access to plentiful food and fresh fruit
throughout most of their pregnancy. Those who gave birth in
spring and early summer experienced periods of inadequate
nutrition.
What is "mad-cow disease"?
"Mad-cow disease," or bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE), is a strange disease that can kill both cows and
humans who contract it from cows. It's called "MAD-cow
disease" because it destroys the brain, filling it with
small cavities resembling the holes in a sponge. Symptoms of
the disease in humans include paralysis, blindness,
dementia, and psychosis. Scientists believe mad-cow disease
is not caused by a bacteria OR a virus, but by prions -
normal protein molecules that become infectious when folded
into abnormal shapes. No one knows how the disease first
came about, but when it affects humans it's referred to as a
variant of "Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease," normally a very rare
disease. Prions are extremely hardy. You can freeze them,
boil them, and even soak them in harsh chemicals, and
they'll still be infectious. Worse - they're invisible to
the immune system, so you can't count on your body fighting
the disease off.
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I'LL SEE IT WHEN I BELIEVE IT!
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There are a lot of ways to become a failure,
but never taking a chance is the most successful.
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thePEBBLE CONTENTS:
1. STRANGE BITS AND PIECES!
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2. COVER STORY . . .
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TIPS AND TIDBITS . . .
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3. MEDICAL COLUMN with Karin Henderson
Headlines & Stress - A Simple Filtering System
That Might Help You Deal With Health News Headlines
PART 2 of 5
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4. PERCEPTIONS by Ken Darby
Don’t Let The Bugs Out!
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5. WHY DO WE SAY IT?
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6. THINK ABOUT THIS TODAY!
7. HA! HA!HA!
8. CONTACT INFO
9. THE LAST LINE - - - - -
DO IT NOW WHEN IT'S FRESH IN YOUR MIND
The Saga Of Pinehill Book II
Money, Marriage And The Way
is now published and available. Buy direct from:
http://www.publishamerica.com
(enter the name Saga of Pinehill in the search box)
If you enjoyed the first book, you won't be able to put
this one down until you're finished it. Enjoy.
DO IT NOW WHEN IT'S FRESH IN YOUR MIND
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STRANGE BITS AND PIECES!
Iguanas are a delicacy in Nicaragua.
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COVER STORY . . .
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TIPS AND TIDBITS . . .
Lawyers, Lawsuits, and statistics in the peanut butter wars
By Bill Marler - MarlerClark.com
Mar 11, 2007 - 9:56:03 AM
The CDC reported in a statement March 7, 2007, that 425
people in 44 states had been infected with the strain of
Salmonella Tennessee also found in Peter Pan and Great Value
peanut butter products, and that 71 people had been
hospitalized and no deaths. That same Salmonella strain was
also found by FDA investigators in the Con Agra plant, but
where it was located has not been announced. Two-thirds of
the reported 425 cases began after December 1, 2006. At
last count there were also at least 25 lawsuits filed with
at least 13 competing Class Actions.
Putting this in context, the CDC estimates that 76 million
foodborne illness, or food poisoning, cases occur in the
United States every year (6.3 million per month), which
means that one in four Americans contracts a foodborne
illness annually after eating foods contaminated with such
pathogens as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Hepatitis A,
Campylobacter, Shigella, Norovirus, and Listeria.
Approximately 325,000 people are hospitalized with a
diagnosis of food poisoning, and 5,000 die.
The CDC also reports that 40,000 cases of Salmonella are
confirmed yearly in the U.S. As only about 3% of Salmonella
cases are officially confirmed nationwide, and many milder
cases are never diagnosed, the true incidence is undoubtedly
much higher (approximately 1.3 million per year or 111,000
per month). It is estimated that 1,000 deaths are caused by
Salmonella infections in the U.S. every year.
In 2004 only 52 cases of Salmonella Tennessee were reported.
Using the same estimate that only 3% of Salmonella cases are
every actually reported, it is likely that only 1,500
Salmonella Tennessee cases occur annually.
It is unclear how many tests have been run on jars of peanut
butter. It is my understanding that it may be as few as a
dozen jars, and that the jars tested may have only come from
the homes of people who were actually stool-culture positive
for Salmonella Tennessee (some of the 425). I have no idea
why the FDA and Con Agra are not aggressively testing
left-over jars of peanut butter.
The FDA and Con Agra made the original recall announcement
on February 14, 2007. On March 9, 2007, the FDA announced
that the recall had now been extended back to October 2004
(2 years and 4 months of production). No explanation has
been given as to what prompted the temporal expansion. I
assume that is was because of a link between a Salmonella
Tennessee stool-culture positive person in 2004 to the
consumption of Con Agra peanut butter. This certainly is
ample evidence of at least an ongoing, but sporadic,
contamination in the plant.
I wonder how many jars of peanut butter were produced at the
Con Agra Sylvester, Georgia plant during those 28 months?
During that same 28-month period of time, over 177 million
Americans became ill from eating food and there were
approximately 3 million Salmonella cases. If the statistics
for Salmonella Tennessee held during that time frame, we
would expect approximately 3,500 cases generally.
So, here is an interesting quandary:
We have received over 4,500 calls and emails from people in
the U.S. and from many corners of the world. Most report
illnesses consistent with a Salmonella illness. Of those
people, nearly 3,500 still have jars with code 2111 (we have
started testing). Many, however, did what the FDA and Con
Agra advised, and threw the product away. Nearly 1,000 of
the people who contacted us sought some level of medical
treatment (ER visit to hospitalization), seven families
report the death of a love one. Interestingly, only 125
people (part of the 425) report that they are stool-culture
positive for Salmonella Tennessee and only 2 are both
Salmonella Tennessee positive in stool and peanut butter
testing.
Although we have seen 4,500 inquires, lawyers from around
the country (without previous foodborne illness litigation
experience) report hundreds, if not thousands of additional
cases. So, what does this all mean? Are we seeing an
enormous increase in Salmonella, specifically, Salmonella
Tennessee, illnesses tied to eating Con Agra peanut butter?
Or, are we seeing some part of the 177 million Americans who
became ill in the last 28 months, who also just happened to
eat Con Agra peanut butter?
By the way, this is how you read the lid code – 2111 is the
Con Agra plant in Sylvester, Georgia; the next digit, a 6,
is the production year, 2006; the next digit, 165, is the
day the peanut butter was produced; the next two digits, 00,
mean nothing; the next four digits, 2036, is military time
for 8:36 PM; and, the last letter, A, is the line that the
peanut butter was produced on.
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Believe in the laws of your Maker. The rest of life
will be anything you desire.
---- Ken Darby
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MEDICAL COLUMN - - - - with Karin Henderson
Headlines & Stress - A Simple Filtering System
That Might Help You Deal With Health News Headlines
PART 2 of 5
What does a headline actually mean? Often it has little relation
to the actual information. You have to read most, if not all, of
the article and may still be confused. Some of the headlines are
a bit scary or negative. Many of them are positive but with a
caution. Nothing offers an absolute or clear picture that helps
you learn something of value immediately. Just more confusion.
Nothing to rely on. Nothing to feel confident and relaxed
about. Just more heart-racing stress.
Why did it catch your attention in the first place? Do you have
heart disease in your family like the very first article? (By
the way, it was a very interesting article!) Are you anxious to
find things to help someone you love? This may not be the first
and best place to go for that sort of help.
Those headlines are just enough of a taste to want to know more
and that's what the headline is meant to do. Both the author and
the publisher hope to catch your attention. Your response should
be one of interest and then simply file this for future
reference. Let it go. Don't dwell on it. Your original plan was
to get some groceries and go home. Keep your focus and leave the
headline at the checkout stand. Stick to your plan.
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Karin Henderson is a registered nurse and is thePEBBLE's
columnist for our MEDICAL COLUMN.
We appreciate her input very much. Thanks Karin.
You can send Karin questions at
mailto:kflh@shaw.ca
Health Information Newsletter.
http://www.prescotts-inc.com
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PERCEPTIONS . . . by Ken Darby
-----------------------DISCLAIMER
Some around me think I am an opinionated old goat.
Whether that be true or not I will sometimes, in this column,
talk about things people don't like to talk about - or don't want
out in the open. Take it all with a grain of salt.
Do your own thinking, and don't accept the things I say as
gospel. They are only mental meanderings from a simple soul.
-----------------------END DISCLAIMER
Don’t Let The Bugs Out!
As I was reading today’s Cover Story I couldn’t help
wondering if some of the lawsuits that appear to be
forthcoming toward the peanut butter manufacturer are the
“opportunists” variety. - ou know, people who see an
opportunity to grab some money even when they are not truly
entitled to it. I guess you could call it greed in action.
Another thing that bothers me about this story is the fact
that it happened at all. In an article some time back I
referred to this plus other recalls. Within one month there
were five major food recalls in the U.S. That disturbs me.
I know that people walk around today thinking they are
perfectly safe from all manner of calamity. It is truly a
case where ignorance is bliss.
I am just completing a book on the subject of global warming
and what it means to each of our lives - how it will affect
us personally. I am not sure you are going to want to read
it. Nonetheless, one part of it deals with transborder
diseases and another part deals with superbugs. Each of
those sections forecasts a major calamity from just the kind
of thing this peanut butter thing represents.
Is it that food processors are getting lazy, sloppy,
uncaring? Is it they no longer take pride in their work? Or
is it time for something like this to happen? It seems to me
there are a lot of things that are all coming together at
the same time and it is certain each of our lives will
change dramatically within the next 30 years.
Don’t let the bugs out!
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WHY DO WE SAY IT?
Sack: How did the expression "get the sack" come to mean
"discharged"
In the days when most artisans and mechanics lived on the
job they brought their tools to work with them in a "sack";
and then left the tools and sack with their employer for
safekeeping. when the mechanic was discharged his employer
gave him back his sack of tools - he literally "got the
sack".
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DO IT NOW WHEN IT'S FRESH IN YOUR MIND
The Saga Of Pinehill Book II
Money, Marriage And The Way
is now published and available. Buy direct from:
http://www.publishamerica.com
(enter the name Saga of Pinehill in the search box)
If you enjoyed the first book, you won't be able to put
this one down until you've finished it. Enjoy.
DO IT NOW WHEN IT'S FRESH IN YOUR MIND
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THINK ABOUT THIS TODAY!
"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say
you cannot do." –- Walter Bagehot
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HA! HA! HA!
A old snake goes to see his Doctor.
"Doc, I need something for my eyes...can't see well these
days". The Doc fixes him up with a pair of glasses and tells
him to return in 2 weeks.
The snake comes back in 2 weeks and tells the doctor he's
very depressed.
Doc says, "What's the problem...didn't the glasses help
you?"
"The glasses are fine doc, I just discovered I've been
living with a water hose the past 2 years!"
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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Complete Contact info on web site
http://www.the-pebble.com
To submit articles to thePEBBLE send a blank email to -
mailto:article.submission@emailsystemscentral.com
To subscribe to thePEBBLE just send any email to
mailto:pebble@rr-email.com
PEBBLE RELATED SITES OF INTEREST AND VALUE:
http://www.the-pebble.com
http://www.spiritual-underground.com
http://www.thenewsshop.com
http://www.thenewsshop.com/oursalespeople.html
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THE LAST LINE - - - - -
"We are never more discontented with others than when
we are discontented with ourselves. The consciousness
of wrongdoing makes us irritable, and our heart in its
cunning quarrels with what is outside it, in order that
it may deafen the clamour within." –- Henri Amiel
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REMEMBER! - IF YOU SEE IT IN thePEBBLE - IT IS SO!
Deep in your psyche exists the real you. The trick is
to find yourself and then give full expression to that force.
---- Ken Darby
