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I failed to mention COVID-19 stocks, sorry.
So what's good here?
APT did it again 1.61 nice panic attack on my finger.
HEAT.. I played the bounce off of short term support $3.40-$3.58 -- sold at $3.50 for + .10
Once it lost $3.40 it was into the abyss, not touching any China stocks LT until their accounting gets sorted out.
ONBI back to $30 this is going to be a monster.
C_R-K-P- the ailment not the stock is rampaging....need some stocks:
http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/drug-resistant-bacteria-los-angeles-1312/
APT 1.54 not buying yet as sales just fell off cliff and i do not see world wide mask demand only one of their divisions.
SDIX (food testing) CLWT (water safety) PESI (reactor safety).
Ok who makes the Iodine pills, the Hepa masks etc?
OK: rare earth metals had recent selloff, flight to OIL and GOLD today maybe good for MLLOF .48 and DCHAF .39.
Worldwide protests and falling Gov'ts what to buy?
Tim-buck 2 holding up nice,lol.
ITI 1.77 was nice play.
Confirmed: We’re Literally On the Brink of Catastrophic Collapse
For those 17% of people who think the economy is in recovery and the other 33% who believe it will happen soon, we point you to the latest statement from current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geitherner, who outlines the severity of the problem in a January 6, 2011 letter to Congress writes: I am writing in response to your request for an estimate by the Treasury Department of when the statutory debt limit will be reached, and for a description of the consequences of default by the United States.
Never in our history has Congress failed to increase the debt limit when necessary. Failure to raise the limit would precipitate a default by the United States. Default would effectively impose a significant and long-lasting tax on all Americans and all American businesses and could lead to the loss of millions of American jobs. Even a very short-term or limited default would have catastrophic economic consequences that would last for decades. Failure to increase the limit would be deeply irresponsible. For these reasons, I am requesting that Congress act to increase the limit early this year, well before the threat of default becomes imminent.
…
Treasury would prefer not to have to engage again in any of these extraordinary measures [suspension of the issuance of certain types of government debt and government investment vehicles]. If we are forced to do so again, these measures could delay the date by which the limit is reached by several weeks. Once these steps have been taken, no remaining legal and prudent measures would be available to create additional headroom under the debt limit, and the United States would begin to default on its obligations.
The Treasury Secretary of The United States of America just said that if we don’t get another $1 trillion or so dollars by March of this year then this country will begin to default on its debt obligations. These remarks are extremely serious and should be understood for what they are.
We are, literally and without mixing words, on the brink of economic catastrophe.
Read more: http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/confirmed-were-literally-on-the-brink-of-catastrophic-collapse_01062011
LLWL .0922 hope no one reads this as ready to pop if no scam for many reasons.but if outbreak need disinfectant will triple!!!!
Tax selling can still weaken till Jan.
HOMS: ..019 bomb detection outfit will be in event mode soon.
ITI 1.37. can be a "oh no" stock as per Chineese 8 day road snooze.
VIFL is actually an undiscovered monster bargain. One day not so far into the future the share price will reflect the company. growth continues. What is most important. The company has all the elements in place for a higher volume of production. Does not need marketing money either.
bp catastrophic play of 2010?
oddly, being that there's a lot of liberals in this area, I would have thought there'd be some major boycotting but see business as usual at the pumps around here.
VIFL - So presently if all costs stay as they are which shows no reason to change. If revenue stays at least the same. VIFL will be on track to show $0.478 net per share for 2010.
As of December 31, 2008 the Company owed MDS Nordion $628,629. On December 9, 2009 the debt was paid in full. The debt bears interest at prime plus 1%. The total interest paid on the debt for 2009 was $20,976.
Weighted average common
shares outstanding,
assuming dilution 2,816,458
Weighted average number of common shares
used in computation
-Basic 2,756,458 2,756,458
-Diluted 2,816,458 2,816,458
Net Income $ 698,358
698,358 + $628,629 + $20,976 = $1,347,963
$1,347,963 divided by 2,816,458 = $0.478 weighted average common share
So presently if all costs stay as they are which shows no reason to change presently. If revenue stays at least the same. VIFL will be on track to show $0.478 net per share for 2010.
disclaimer: opinion based on company information.
Food Technology Service, Inc. Reports Earnings
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Food-Technology-Service-Inc-bw-1597385997.html?x=0&.v=1
Press Release Source: Food Technology Service, Inc. On Tuesday March 30, 2010, 9:00 am
MULBERRY, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Food Technology Service, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIFL - News) today announced financial results for the year ending December 31, 2009. The Company had revenue of $2,515,978 in 2009 which is comparable to the $2,507,078 realized in 2008. Income before taxes was $559,358 in 2009 compared to $505,387 in 2008, an increase of about 10.7 per cent. Income per share before taxes was $0.203 for 2009 compared to $0.183 for 2008.
The Company periodically evaluates the value of tax-loss carry-forward credits on its financial statements as required by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. In 2008, the Company increased the value of the tax-loss carry-forward credits which increased net income in 2008 and stockholders equity at December 31, 2008 by $525,000. Based on increased profitability in 2009 and potential future profitability, the Company again increased the value of the tax-loss carry-forward credits which increased net income in 2009 and stockholders equity at December 31, 2009 by $139,000. Due to the tax credit adjustments, the Company had net income of $698,358 or $0.253 per share in 2009 compared to net income of $1,030,387 or $0.374 per share in 2008.
Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $640,039 compared to $641,731 during the same period in 2008.
Food Technology Service, Inc. CEO Dr. Richard Hunter said, “I am pleased by our increased profitability despite the loss of a large customer that was purchased and moved to Texas early in 2009. The fact that annual and fourth quarter revenues were nearly identical between 2009 and 2008 is an indication that the Company has replaced much of that business. We continue to generate over $1,000,000 per year in cash flow and retired nearly $630,000 in debt during 2009. This negates all stock conversion rights held on that debt and we are debt-free.”
Food Technology Service, Inc. provides irradiation services for food items, medical products and consumer goods to enhance the safety of those products. The Company is certified to ISO 13485:2003 standards for radiation sterilization services for medical devices.
Except for historical matters contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect assumptions and involve risk and uncertainties that may affect business and prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Food Technology Service, Inc.Richard G. Hunter Ph.D., President/CEO, 863-425-0039
Haitan earthquake, hard to say what companies could, would, can or will, benefit.
You are you are!
Happy New Year's gorgeous!
Farmers and ranchers across the state are experiencing significant losses due to record temperatures and the worst drought some parts of Texas have ever seen.
Funny post given the dumb little chicken clucking about global warming.
Texas' tough ag producers will prevail against long drought
Farmers and ranchers across the state are experiencing significant losses due to record temperatures and the worst drought some parts of Texas have ever seen. Of course, this is not the first time farmers and ranchers have faced seemingly insurmountable odds. The hard work and ingenuity of Texas farmers and ranchers has always carried them through, and I am confident the same will occur this time.
Texas AgriLife Extension economists reported last week that this year's crop losses in Texas are already estimated at $2.6 billion, and livestock losses are close to $1 billion since November 2008. The U.S. Drought Monitor indicated Texas has the most land in the worst stage of drought in nearly a decade.
In some parts of central Texas, half of the cotton, corn and sorghum crops - Texas' primary exports - have already been wiped out by the drought. Grazing pastures are too dry for livestock, and many Texas ranchers are being forced to sell their cattle because they cannot feed them.
As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I will continue to do all I can to bring the concerns of Texas farmers and ranchers to the table in Washington. First and foremost, in light of the severe drought, is the issue of timely disaster relief. I recently wrote to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, demanding to know why the $3 billion in emergency drought relief funding, which was approved and signed into law more than one year ago as part of the 2008 Farm Bill, has yet to be released.
I've heard from hundreds of farmers and ranchers who have completed the paperwork and have been assured they qualify, but have yet to receive any relief or news of when to expect it.
This is unacceptable and I will continue to press for an answer.
The roots of Texas' farming and ranching run deep. The Texas livestock industry first got its start in Spanish Texas, with a focus on cattle, goat, sheep and hog production. Similarly, some of the first farms in Texas were established in small plots of land next to Spanish missions and settlements in San Antonio, Ysleta (modern-day El Paso), and Nacogdoches. It was not until after Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, however, that Texas' farming and ranching industries would undergo significant development.
In 1825, Stephen F. Austin brought 300 families, today known as the Old Three Hundred, into a region that stretched from Central Texas down to the Gulf Coast. These settlers were given a square league of land, called a sitio, which amounted to more than 4,000 acres, along with a labor for farming, which was 177 acres. Soon, Austin's group of settlers had introduced cotton plantations, developed a commercial livestock industry, and started many small family farms.
These industries quickly expanded. From 1850 to 1860, cotton production in Texas rose from 58,000 bales to 431,000 bales. Cowboys had begun annual cattle drives from
south Texas to points in Louisiana,
Arkansas and Mississippi. By the 1850s, herds of Texas cattle were being driven to Illinois, California and Iowa.
Germans settled farming communities such as New Braunfels, Boerne and Brenham, while Czechs established small farms in Brazos and Fayette counties. These mainly subsistence farms were typically divided into plots for cattle and hog raising, hunting, gathering firewood, and growing corn. An acre or two was sometimes set aside for growing fruit, herbs and tobacco.
By 1900, Texas was home to nearly 350,000 farms. The railroad played a central role in the expansion of Texas' farming and ranching industries, while subsistence farming began to decline. Cattle and cotton continued to dominate Texas exports, but the 1900s also saw the rise in importance of wheat, sorghum, rice, hay and dairies in Texas.
Today, Texas leads the nation in cotton, cattle, and sheep and goat production. Texas is the second most productive agricultural state in the country. Our agriculture industry is a source of pride for all Texans and central to our state's economy.
Over the course of its history, the Texas agriculture industry has survived setbacks, droughts, hurricanes and other serious challenges.
The steadfastness and innovation of the Texas farmer and rancher has always prevailed. I know that today, despite the discouragement and devastation of the current drought, the hard work of thousands of Texans dedicated to farming and ranching will carry them through.
I pledge to do all I can to help these enduring industries make it through this trying time and emerge even stronger and more successful.
Here's a cute one....poor chicken :*(
I think our chicken little friend needs updating
any suggestion for 2006 - 2009?
Baxter Pharmaceutical Mixed Avian Flu with Flu Vaccine
But it’s worse than that.
H5N1 is not easily transmissible between people. However, the common flu virus that it was mixed with does easily infect people. The real danger in this incident is that the two viruses could have mixed genetic material and mutated when injected into tens of thousands of people, and could have created a hybrid virus that was both deadly, and transmissible.
http://www.birdflubreakingnews.com/templates/birdflu/window.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.google.com%2Fnews%2Furl%3Fsa%3DT%26ct%3Dus%2F19-0%26fd%3DR%26url%3Dhttp%253A%2F%2Fwww.opednews.com%2Farticles%2FStill-Think-They-re-Not-Tr-by-Mr-M-090305-202.html%26cid%3D1311401874%26ei%3D4IyxSdmmGaikggPMp7j4BQ%26usg%3DAFQjCNGdbFwW9oBFz1W3X6GwP_0Ge0yNhQ
Resistance to flu drug widespread in U.S.: study
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090302/ts_nm/us_flu_tamiflu
GlaxoSmithKline, which makes the rival flu drug Relenza, said there was no indication influenza viruses were resistant to its drug. Relenza, known generically as zanamivir, is squirted into the nose and is used even less commonly than Tamiflu
Judge orders Illinois TB patient into isolation
ETCHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A tuberculosis patient who failed to take precautions to avoid spreading the illness will be tracked by GPS and could go to jail if he violates court orders requiring him to remain isolated.
Champaign County Circuit Judge John Kennedy imposed those conditions on 20-year-old Clasance Botembe (CLAY-sahnce bo-TEM'-bay) on Wednesday.
Health officials and prosecutors say Botembe failed to take precautions to avoid spreading the disease. Court records say his girlfriend got TB after being exposed to him.
Botembe is being treated at home. He, the judge and others wore masks during the hearing.
Botembe will be isolated for 30 days. He could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor if he defies the judge's order.
(This version CORRECTS day of court action to Wednesday sted Tuesday; APNewsNow.)
NBC national news tonight noted that almost all the flu cases in the US this year is a strain or strains resistant to Tamiflu.
Salmonella outbreak spreads to 42 states
Health officials don't yet know how the bacteria is spreading
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28545378/
updated 6:40 p.m. ET, Wed., Jan. 7, 2009
ATLANTA - Health officials are investigating a salmonella outbreak that has reportedly sickened nearly 400 people in 42 states, but they don’t know how the bacteria is spreading.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not named all the states.
Ohio officials say at least 50 people there have been sickened by salmonella since October. California officials report 51 cases as of last week. Michigan had 20 cases and seven people there were hospitalized.
Most people infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours later. The illness usually lasts four to seven days. Most people recover without treatment.
Officials say steps to protect against illness include careful handling of raw meat and frequent hand washing.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Short article about zoonotic viruses.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/12/08/pip.zoonotics/index.html
AEMD covered for first time.
http://www.therobinsgroup.biz/files/12_03_08_AEMD_IC.pdf
Aethlon Medical Releases Shareholder Letter
Nov 18, 2008 10:24:00 (ET)
SAN DIEGO, Nov 18, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Aethlon Medical, Inc. (AEMD, Trade ) disclosed today that its Chairman and CEO, James A. Joyce has issued the following letter to shareholders.
To our Shareholders,
In my September shareholder letter, I referenced that our organization was heading into a pivotal month as we anticipated initial Hepatitis-C (HCV) treatment results from a safety study being conducted at the Fortis Hospital. The Fortis study allowed us the opportunity to enroll and test four HCV patients who each received a series of three, 4-hour Hemopurifier(R) treatments every other day during the course of five days. When considering the rapid replication of HCV combined with the disease being well established in each patient, we did not have tremendous clinical benefit expectations based on a short-term treatment schedule not optimized to reduce viral load. Much to our surprise, significant viral load reductions were observed in the first three patients. Patient #1 had a 95% reduction in viral load when tested three days post treatment and 89% reduction seven days post treatment. Patient #2 had an 85% reduction of viral load three days post treatment and 50% reduction seven days post treatment. Patient #3 had a 60% reduction of viral load three days post treatment and 83% reduction seven days post treatment. Initial data for the fourth patient has now been received for analysis and will be published in a formal clinical study report.
Since disclosing these outcomes, we have been overwhelmed, yet impassioned by heart wrenching stories of the many HCV-infected individuals who have contacted us seeking treatment. Continued demonstrations of safety and clinical efficacy should drive substantial demand for our Hemopurifier(R) in HCV care. Of the 180 million individuals infected with HCV worldwide, less than half will respond to the established pegylated interferon-ribavirin treatment standard. Our potential opportunities in HCV care include; treating individuals not responsive or unable to endure interferon-ribavirin treatment; serving as an adjunct therapy to improve the benefit of interferon-ribavirin treatment; and, controlling disease progression in the approximate 20% of kidney dialysis patients who are co-infected with HCV. As demonstrated in our clinical studies, this application would provide for our Hemopurifier(R) to be included in series with a dialysis cartridge during normally scheduled treatments. With initial HCV treatment outcomes under our belt, I want to provide guidance on disclosure expectations in the coming months.
HIV Treatment Data -- Initial data resulting from our first-in-man HIV treatment study. Individuals enrolled in the study will receive daily Hemopurifier(R) treatments for a period up to nine consecutive days.
Bioterror and Pandemic Threat Report -- We will publish a report that reviews our Hemopurifier(R) as an advanced broad-spectrum treatment countermeasure against drug and vaccine resistant bioterror and pandemic threats.
30-Day HCV Treatment Data -- We have extended the HCV treatment protocol conducted at the Fortis Hospital to allow for a one month-treatment case study. Completion of this study is expected towards year-end.
Cancer Treatment Report -- A report will be released that reviews the application of the Hemopurifier(R) as an immunotherapeutic strategy to control the spread of tumor secreted exosomes that suppress the immune response in cancer patients.
Government Biodefense Contract -- An update related to our response to a government biodefense contract opportunity submitted on June 4th of this year.
Manufacturing -- Details related to contract manufacturing discussions, including potential large scale manufacturing partnerships. Through these relationships, are working to establish Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) related to the control and management of manufacturing and quality control testing of our device. Once established, GMP allows the potential to initiate product sales in practitioner driven markets and other markets upon receipt of regulatory clearance to market our technology.
New Product Development -- We will report on a strategy to modify the principles of our Hemopurifier(R) as a means to expand our product pipeline and provide a commercialization pathway that previously did not exist for candidate drug agents.
In closing, I want to thank those shareholders who made certain we were aware of the recent Grand Challenges in Global Health grant opportunity offered by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Interestingly, as we investigated the details of this grant opportunity, we learned that a highlighted area of interest was approaches for an artificial adjunct to the immune system. That said, I am not aware of any other therapeutic approach beyond our Hemopurifier(R) that could truly be considered an artificial adjunct to the immune system. As such, we did respond to the grant opportunity with a proposal to demonstrate that our device, acting as an artificial adjunct to the immune system can reduce viral load and improve immune function in HIV infected patients, including those fully resistant to drug therapy. Grant recipients will be announced within the next 90 days.
On behalf of our team at Aethlon Medical, I thank you for your continued support.
Very truly yours,
James A. Joyce Chairman, CEO
Certain of the statements herein may be forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements involve assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Aethlon Medical, Inc to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the Company's ability to raise capital when needed, the Company's ability to complete the development of its planned products, the ability of the Company to obtain FDA and other regulatory approvals permitting the sale of its products, the Company's ability to manufacture its products and provide its services, the impact of government regulations, patent protection on the Company's proprietary technology, product liability exposure, uncertainty of market acceptance, competition, technological change, and other risk factors. In such instances, actual results could differ materially as a result of a variety of factors, including the risks associated with the effect of changing economic conditions and other risk factors detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
SOURCE: Aethlon Medical, Inc.
Aethlon Medical, Inc.
Jeff Richardson
Senior Director, Communications
858.459.7800 x302
jrichardson@aethlonmedical.com
or
Jim Frakes
Senior VP Finance
858.459.7800 x300
jfrakes@aethlonmedical.com
or
James A. Joyce
Chairman, CEO
858.459.7800 x301
jj@aethlonmedical.com
High serum vitamin D cuts lung cancer risk by 70%
Vitami.n C Lowers Blood Pressure
Tarceva effective in treating certain type of lung cancer
Alright, there has been a lot of talking this weekend about an old drug Tarceva that may find new use in treating lung cancer after a press release issued on Friday by OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc and Genentech.
The drug makers said a new yet small study showed the drug Tarceva effectively slowed the progression of lung cancer when given immediately after chemotherapy.
Another study published early this year but not as widely publicized suggests that taking vitamin D supplements could reduce the risk of lung cancer by 70 percent in young men and women.
The details of the drug trial will reportedly be presented at an upcoming medical conference and will be also submitted to federal regulators for approval of Tarceva for expanded use in treating lung cancer.
The drug has been Okayed by the U.S. government in 2004 to treat patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer in the U.S in cases other treatments have failed to stop progression of the disease.
An early trial showed that patients receiving Tarceva had a median survival of 6.7 months compared to 4.7 months for those who were given a placebo.
This new study is good news that OSI and its partners badly needed. In early trials, Traceva failed to deliver much of additional benefit when used along with Avastin, a cancer drug made by Genentech.
High serum vitamin D cuts lung cancer risk in young people by 70 percent
Lung cancer is very dangerous and prognosis for the disease is very poor. Thus no one can afford to wait to develop the disease and then treat it. According to data from the U.S. government, more than 200,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed and more than 160,000 die from the disease each year.
Is there anything we can do in reality to prevent lung cancer?
We have already known that physical activity, diet high in fruits and vegetables, high in nutrients like vitamin C, E, or selenium may reduce the risk of lung cancer. High exposure to sunlight and or taking vitamin D supplements, getting enough sleep, avoiding stress and fatigue and environmental pollutants may also help.
A new study published in the Nov 2008 issue of Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. showed once again that high levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level was linked with reduced risk of lung cancer.
For the prospective cohort study, Kilkkinen A and colleagues of the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki, Finland looked at data on serum vitamin D levels and cases of lung cancer for 6,937 men and women. During a maximum follow-up of 24 years, 122 cases of lung cancer were recorded.
An association between vitamin D and lung cancer risk was observed for the highest versus lowest tertile with the odds ratio 0.72. But the researchers said the link was not statistically significant.
However, the significant association was found among women and young men and women.
For women, those who had highest levels of vitamin D in their blood were 84 percent less likely to develop lung cancer. For younger participants, those with highest levels were 66 percent less likely to have the disease compared to those with the lowest levels.
The researchers concluded that "although there was no overall association between vitamin D and lung cancer risk, women and young participants with a higher level of vitamin D were observed to have a lower lung cancer risk."
The study was not a trial, but there is a very good chance that the association is a causal relationship. Laboratory studies have already yielded evidence suggesting that vitamin D suppresses lung carcinogenesis.
Heart Failure Hospitalizations Up Sharply
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
Sunday, November 9, 2008; 12:00 AM
SUNDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Hospitalization rates for heart failure among older Americans have increased dramatically in the past three decades, an epidemic that represents a mounting burden on the health-care system, a new study has found.
In 2006, an estimated 807,082 men and women over 65 were hospitalized for heart failure, up from 348,866 in 1980 -- a 131 percent increase.
And the increase in hospitalization rates has been more dramatic among women than men, according to the Drexel University study, to be presented Sunday at the American Heart Association's annual scientific sessions in New Orleans.
"You could probably talk to any cardiologist, no matter what practice setting they're in, and even primary-care physicians who do hospital work, and you're going to find this is an extremely common scenario," said Dr. John Erwin III, an associate professor of internal medicine at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and a senior staff cardiologist with Scott & White Hospital in Temple.
"By far, heart failure is the leading diagnosis code when patients are admitted to the hospital, especially in those over 65," he said.
"Clearly we know that patients who are older in age require longer hospital stays and usually have other co-morbidities [illnesses] such as renal failure or anemia," Erwin added. "This is going to put a huge burden on the health-care system. It already is."
Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle can no long pump enough blood to the different parts of the body. More than 5 million Americans are thought to live with heart failure, with another 660,000 cases diagnosed each year.
Medical advances have, ironically, led to more heart failure, Erwin said. "Patients that used to come into hospitals with heart attacks and died in years past are living, but are living with heart failure," he said. "While we're successful now with heart attacks more frequently, this is part of what's left over."
The heart failure epidemic is mirrored by a number of other epidemics, such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes, all of which are also risk factors for heart failure, the study authors said.
The study, the first to look at heart failure hospitalization rates over the past three decades, examined hospital discharge data on more than 2.2 million people aged 65 and older from 1980 through 2006.
The researchers, from Drexel's School of Public Health in Philadelphia, found that:
The hospitalization rate for heart failure jumped 131 percent between 1980 and 2006.The number of women hospitalized for heart failure increased 55 percent annually, compared to 20 percent annually for men.The relative risk of being hospitalized for heart failure was 37 percent higher for those living from 2002 to 2006 than for those living from 1980 to 1984.People aged 85 and older had four times the risk of being hospitalized with heart failure, compared to those aged 65 to 74. People aged 75 to 84 had double the risk of hospitalization compared to those a decade younger.Hospitalization rates for coronary heart disease and stroke have decreased since the mid-1980s; heart failure is the only one of three major forms of cardiovascular disease to show an increase.
The trend is likely to get worse as the U.S. population continues to age, the study authors said.
But there are some efforts under way to lessen the current and future burden, Erwin said.
"Several organizations are working hard to develop disease management strategies, very basic things we can do for heart failure that, if we adhere to them, the likelihood that a patient will be readmitted due to exacerbation is very much lower," he said. "Those are going to be key, and national efforts to get diabetes and blood pressure and obesity under control are going to be key."
More information
The American Heart Association has more on heart failure.
SOURCES: John Erwin III, M.D., associate professor, internal medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, and senior staff cardiologist, Scott & White Hospital, Temple; Nov. 9, 2008, presentation, American Heart Association's annual scientific sessions, New Orleans
© 2008 Scout News LLC. All rights reserved.
I should have durkk update that to be more current!
I guess this needs to be updated...
1950s....a nuclear bomb from Russia is coming
early 2000s....Bush is coming "this president has failed on jobs" Kerry
mid-2000s....bird flu is coming, Bush is still here, jobs are exploding, Iraq is now a full-blown success, but he still dresses funny!
late-2000s...the end of the financial world is coming! Great Depression part 2 is coming!
Raw
The Predators’ Ball
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have helped defang laws that might have prevented the subprime mess.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/151722
By Michael Hirsh | NEWSWEEK
Published Aug 9, 2008
Aug. 18-25, 2008 issue
Roy Barnes is a self-described "small-town" lawyer with a mane of silver hair and an Andy Griffith drawl. But like Griffith's Ben Matlock, the TV character he resembles, Barnes is the furthest thing from a rube. He comes from a family of bankers, and back in the '90s Barnes saw, far before many in Washington, what was happening as deregulation took lending further away from the local banks and gave it to mortgage brokers and Wall Street. So when Barnes was elected governor of Georgia in 1998, he decided to push through the toughest antipredatory lending law in the country. The 2002 law made everyone up the line, including investment banks on distant Wall Street and rating agencies like Standard & Poor's, legally liable if the loans they sold, securitized or rated were deemed unfair. "There has to be accountability," Barnes told NEWSWEEK. "In the end you have to be able to say, do I really want to make this loan? Because I may have to eat it." "A victory for Georgia consumers," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called the new law, which was also hailed by AARP and the NAACP.
It was when Roy Barnes started talking about accountability that the Feds began marching into Georgia. Barnes found himself besieged by lobbyists from major banks and national regulators—as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage issuers whose mandate is to help people obtain affordable homes at fair prices; today, Fannie and Freddie are so financially fragile that the government has agreed to bail them out if necessary.
The major mortgage issuers hinted that they would turn Georgia into a financial pariah if the state made them liable. They let Barnes know in no uncertain terms that he was something of a "country bumpkin" when it came to banking, says his legislative aide, Chris Carpenter. As Barnes recalls, "They would say—and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were part of it—'This is a complex global market. If you start interfering with the free flow of money, then Georgia will become an island that has no credit'. I kept telling them, 'You're in for a crash here'."
Ultimately, the Georgia Legislature, under Barnes's successor, gutted his law in early 2003 after a dramatic eleventh-hour vote in which a Republican senator warned that Freddie Mac was about to cut off most of its business with the state. "It broke my heart," Barnes says. (Fannie and Freddie declined to comment specifically on any efforts against Georgia's liability law, but in general they say they have "always supported efforts to fight predatory lending," says Fannie spokesman Brian Faith.)
The saga of Roy Barnes's failed effort to protect Georgia from the subprime disaster is a reminder that states' rights can still be a good idea. It was state and local officials who saw the oncoming flood of failed loans first—not least because defaults and foreclosures were destroying their neighborhoods years before Wall Street or Washington noticed. But what happened in Georgia is also a warning about what lies ahead—because the kind of federal lobbying Barnes faced six years ago is still being directed against state legislation today. Critics say new federal legislation and rules fall short, and that Washington's regulators continue to try to pre-empt states from regulating national banks and thrifts. "In the face of this horrible mess, we still don't have firm, clear regulations to protect consumers, like prohibiting loans the borrower can't repay, or gouging on price," says Margot Saunders of the National Consumer Law Center in Washington.
Nowhere is the sense of state impotence greater than California, which became ground zero for subprime defaults. Last May, David Jones, chair of the California Assembly's Judiciary Committee, tried to resurrect Barnes's idea of liability in California. The result "was major jihad by the lending industry," which killed the bill, says Kevin Baker, the committee's chief counsel. New York state was somewhat more successful—it signed a bill into law this month—but "Freddie Mac was up in Albany working hard to gut the bill's language this past spring," says New York consumer advocate Sarah Ludwig.
Spokesmen for Fannie and Freddie say they've sought to work with states, not override them, and they have often backed consumer-friendly new rules, such as one banning unnecessary credit insurance. Late last month President George W. Bush signed a law that created a new regulator for Fannie and Freddie called the Federal Housing Finance Agency. But that law also offered Fannie and Freddie multibillion-dollar bailouts at taxpayer expense, with no demand for internal reform, critics say. Former Treasury secretary Larry Summers argues that
we're missing a "once in a generation opportunity" to reform Fannie and Freddie, which wield enormous lobbying power in Washington and on Wall Street. Summers, a Harvard economist, says the subprime crisis could end up costing taxpayers much more than the 1980s savings and loan bailouts, which left Americans with a $300 billion bill.
Spokesmen and lobbyists for Fannie, Freddie and the banks say many of the problems that caused the current mess are being addressed. "The new law empowers our regulator to crack down on us in many ways," says Freddie spokesman Doug Duvall. At the Federal Reserve, chairman Ben Bernanke announced a new "Regulation Z," which created some common-sense rules, such as forbidding loans without sufficient documentation to show if a person has the ability to repay. As for now former governor Barnes, he may have turned out to be mostly right in his analysis of the subprime problem, but he says he's staying out of politics. Instead, as a real-life Ben Matlock, he will fight for consumers in the courts. "My law's a toothless tiger now," Barnes says. "We have one of the highest rates of foreclosure in the country." And the states still seem to be fighting a losing battle.
© 2008
Nebraska Beef recalls 1.2 million pounds of beef
E. coli contamination feared; firm had similar recall last month
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26101733/
updated 1:44 a.m. ET, Sat., Aug. 9, 2008
OMAHA, Neb. - Nebraska Beef Ltd. is recalling 1.2 million pounds of beef because the products may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
The recall comes a month after the Omaha-based company recalled 5.3 million pounds of meat that has been linked to at least 49 cases of E. coli.
Neither the company's spokesman nor Department of Agriculture officials immediately responded to calls about the recall after a news release was issued late Friday night.
Federal officials said at least 31 cases of E. coli poisoning in 12 states and Canada had been linked to the meat Nebraska Beef is now recalling, but officials did not name the states.
Some of Nebraska Beef's products were sold by Whole Foods Market, which also announced a recall Friday. Whole Foods is recalling fresh ground beef sold between June 2 through Aug. 6 because of worries about E. coli contamination.
A Whole Foods spokeswoman said it had received reports that seven people in Massachusetts and two people in Pennsylvania who shopped at Whole Foods Market became ill.
As in the earlier recall, all the beef being recalled now was sold to companies that planned to further process the meat. So product labels likely will not include the "EST 19336" code that identified Nebraska Beef.
Several lawsuits have already been filed against Nebraska Beef as a result of the earlier E. coli outbreak and recall.
The company slaughters about 2,000 head of cattle a day and employs about 800 people in Omaha.
Symptoms of E. coli infection include stomach cramps and diarrhea.
Cooking ground beef to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees should kill E. coli bacteria, if they are present.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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FOOD TECHNOLOGY SERV(NasdaqCM: VIFL)
Irradiation meat products
RDN still running. Knocking on the $3 mark.
If a water company has no water, and their charges are regulated. Do not be fooled into thinking that some water company is liquid gold. No liquid = NO SALE. I would tend to favor bottled water product companies in a drought as they are not regulated. Coca-Cola (KO) as one favorite
Drought threatens drinking water for a million Australians
SYDNEY (AFP) - Up to a million people in Australia could face a shortage of drinking water if the country's drought continues, a report on the state of the nation's largest river system revealed Sunday.
The report said the situation was critical in the Murray-Darling system, which provides water to Australia's "food bowl", a vast expanse of land almost twice as big as France that runs down the continent's east coast.
"We are in real trouble in the Murray-Darling basin," Climate Change Minister Penny Wong told Channel Nine television.
"We've had very low inflows, we've had a very dry June and the focus absolutely has to be critical human needs, that is the needs of the million-plus people who rely on the basin for drinking water.
"It just reminds us, yet again, the way in which this country, Australia, is particularly vulnerable to climate change."
Australia is in the grip of the worst drought in a century, which has stretched for more than seven years in some areas and has forced restrictions on water usage in the country's major cities.
The report said the Murray-Darling system, accounting for more than 40 percent of the gross value of Australia's agricultural production, should provide enough drinking water for 2008-09.
But the report from senior federal and state government officials warned there could be problems supplying drinking water after that if rains did not come.
"If inflows are less and losses greater than expected, further contingency measures may be required to be implemented to secure critical human needs," it said.
The Murray-Darling Basin, which stretches from Queensland in the north, through New South Wales to Victoria in the south and South Australia, is the country's key food growing area.
A report by the nation's top scientists this month said Australia was in for a tenfold increase in heat waves as climate change pushes temperatures up.
It found exceptionally hot years, which used to occur once every 22 years, would occur every one or two years, virtually making drought a permanent part of the Australian landscape.
TechKim
RDN and FRE up 6%
RDN, After Hours: up 7.20%,7:12PM ET
$1.34
RADIAN GROUP INC(NYSE: RDN)
RDN up 45% at one point and FRE up 31% presently
Great idea!
go for it - there's a section at the bottom for housing crisis :)
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