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Diesel emissions scandal spreads to Audi

30/9/2015

VW dirty birdie

Like an epidemic, the diesel scandal started in the Volkswagen Corporation is spreading to other German manufactured vehicles. When the initial information that VWs had software designed to defeat the auto emissions testing the company stock plummeted. About 40% of the value of VW has been lost as shareholders dump their stock. Now other German vehicles are under the spotlight.

So far we have approximately 11 million VWs of various models starting in 2009 and continuing through the 2016 model year that have ‘fooler’ software. Two million Audi vehicles, the A1, A3, A4, A5, TT, Q3 and Q5 diesels are under suspicion. Both VWs and Audi are produced by the same corporation. Another production of the VW Corp. are Porsche vehicles. The CEO of Porsche has been named the new CEO of the parent company. Questions are being asked about that luxury line’s software as well.

BMW’s diesel model BMWX3 has been accused of emitting 11 times that which is allowed under European regulations. Their spokesperson has vehemently denied that their vehicles have spoofing software.

The shadow continues to spread. VW also makes Skoda vehicles in the Czech Republic. This adds a further 1.2 million diesel vehicles to the diesel duping scheme.

Now that the International Council on Clean Transportation has cast its sight on three more brands of diesel vehicle.

"And the International Council on Clean Transportation, the same group that discovered the Volkswagen deception, said Renault, Hyundai and Volvo each have single diesel models that would not pass real-world emission tests" - CBC News

It’s not just money that’s at stake in this scandal. Air pollution caused by dirty engines kills people. The exhaust contains fine particles which may work their way into the lungs but there have been 40 toxic substances identified which are present in the vehicle exhaust. A few of them are benzene, arsenic, formaldehyde, nickel and nitrogen oxides.

These toxic substances are known cancer causing agents and the fine particulate matter may contribute to eye and lung irritation. As in many pollutants, the very young and the very old are most susceptible.

Opinion: Whoever is finally tagged with approving the writing of the software and its installation should be charged with a much more serious crime than swindling and defrauding the trusting customer.

Sources:
CBC News
CNBC
OEHHA

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Chinese kids victims in expired vaccine scandal

29/9/2015

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Real or Fake?

Hundreds of Chinese kids in Shenqui county are sick and two have died after being vaccinated with expired vaccine. The vaccine was administered for whooping cough (pertussis) June of last year. The children have been reacting with fever and breathing problems.

After some sleuthing, parents have found that the vaccine expired in December 2013.

Health officials did not deny the use of vaccine that was out of date but concluded that the rash of youngsters with serious breathing problems is not connected with the vaccine. One of the hallmarks of whooping cough is a cough so severe that as the victim struggles to get a breath the intake produces a whooping sound.

Also not connected with vaccinations but following closely after them are reports of hundreds more children falling ill. In 2010 following compulsory measles vaccination many children suffered severe illness and some died. January 2014 after inoculation for Hepatitis B, 17 deaths resulted that followed closely but were deemed unconnected.

In addition to the worry over expired vaccines causing harm, there is also worry that poor quality control in the production of vaccines will allow toxic materials and metals into the fluid.

Drug cheaters are an ongoing problem in the PRC. 2012 saw 77 million drug capsules seized because tainted industrial gelatine was used. Undeterred by the authorities’ arrests and prosecutions for the poisonous gelatin, an even larger batch of chromium laced gelatin capsules were produced and sold two years later. 90 million capsules have gone out to the public. Authorities have arrested some and seized a relatively small amount of product.

The illegal workshop’s owner, identified by his surname Pan had hired 10 people from the county who were involved in a tainted capsule scandal in 2012, the report said. South China Morning Post

Unfortunately for us in Western Europe and N.America the counterfeiting and poor quality controls are increasingly affecting pharmaceuticals. Many generic drugs or their precursors are produced in China. The situation is compounded when people seeking lower priced pharmaceuticals order from shifty online sites. The American FDA has extensive warnings and tips to distinguish reputable sellers from the cheaters – FDA BeSafeRx.

Buying fake drugs can kill you.

At NEWTEKWORLDNEWS:
Counterfeit goods in Fake Britain

Sources:
Radio Free Asia
China Real Time
South China Morning Post
FDA

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Chocolate may be a health food

28/9/2015

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The new health food?

Finally scientists have postulated that the phytochemicals (plant chemicals) in chocolate may have real health benefits. This seems too good to be true, but serious research is being done on cocoa extract and health.

It is early days yet, but preliminary work is pointing to the special set of plant chemicals in cocoa that may help fight cancer, improve cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure and improve blood flow to the brain.

Research by a team led by Giulio Maria Pasnetti has published preliminary findings in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Diseases. His research with animal models has shown that one of the cocoa chemicals can reduce the build-up of protein plaques which characterize the degenerative brain disease. In addition the polyphenols may delay cognitive decline often seen in the elderly.

Don’t go out and overindulge on chocolate bars to make yourself smarter.

The scientists point out that in much of the usual processing as much as 90% of the precious plant chemicals are lost. The way that the crop is grown, how it’s handled and how it’s processed make for a wide range in the finished product.

What they are looking for is a standardized process that would extract the phytochemicals in question so that they may be available in a pill form.

An effective treatment to help preserve cognitive functioning would mean massive savings to health care programmes. In the US health care planners are looking at 28 million citizens who are classed as baby boomers. By 2050 of those still alive, 50% will have Alzheimer’s. If predictions are accurate, by 2040 a full 25% of medicare funds will be consumed to care for cognitively impaired elderly.

Until some breakthroughs occur, the best advice the physicians give is the old advice – exercise, maintain a healthy weight, eat nutritious food and don’t smoke. But I think I’ll add some dark chocolate to that prescription.

Sources:
Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease
Discover News
Web MD

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China arrests 19,000 in major crime bust

25/9/2015

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Organized crime steals from us all

China is in the midst of a giant dragnet of suspected triad members. A reported 19,000 people have been arrested in what has been dubbed Operation Thunderbolt 15. It involved a coordinated effort among law enforcement personnel in Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong Province.

Estimations of how many people were actually detained varies from a low of 19 000 to as many as 51 000 in the Chinese government’s attempt to halt the spread of organized crime in Mainland China. The name Triad refers to the international crime syndicate that has spread its influence over the globe.

The activities associated with the triads include drug marketing, prostitution and increasingly loan sharking.

In addition to the arrests, authorities seized cash and goods worth approximately $170 HK(roughly $22 USD).

China has been working to have others suspected of corruption and ties with organized crime repatriated to face justice in the PRC. Thursday a second person was deported from the US to China within one week. Kuang Wanfang fled the PRC in 2001 when she was suspected of corruption and bribery.

She had been convicted of criminal activity in the US and jailed. Yan Jinjun was returned to the PRC on September 18 to face charges of economic crimes.

China does not have formal extradition treaties with many of the western countries, but a few people have been deported to that country.

Corruption and lavish lifestyles have come under increasing scrutiny in the PRC. One of the latest powerful functionaries to fall is the former deputy minister of sport. Xiao Tian has been expelled from the Communist Party. He was a powerful figure during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The charges against him include:

"He also accepted bribes, invitations for luxury services and VIP cards of golf clubs for seeking profits for others by taking advantage of his governmental post, which are suspected criminal offenses" - China Daily

Sources:
China Daily
The Oslo Times
South China Morning Post

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NFL players risk permanent brain damage

24/9/2015

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Beautiful, but delicate

The sport of American football is inherently violent. Contact among the opposing teams is a major part of the action with large men crashing into each other. The sport is very popular with fans in N. America. It is also a lucrative industry with stadia devoted to the game and the spin off industries contributing to local economies.

Now medical researchers are producing hard evidence that repeated blows to the head may cause irreversible brain damage. Players for the NFL have been cooperating with scientists by bequeathing their brains for study post mortem. Researchers at the US Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University studied the brains of 91 donated brains and found evidence of damage to 87 of them. The damage is chronic traumatic encephalopathy CTE.

Forty percent of the deceased players were linemen. They smash into each other nearly every play in American style football. Symptoms of CTE range from cognitive impairment and depression to Alzheimer’s and ALS. While professional football players were as likely to live as long as their age cohorts, they were three times more likely to develop neurodegenerative diseases and four times as likely to develop Alzheimer’s and ALS.

The NHL has been aware of the growing evidence of brain damage in the sport and has limited full contact practice to once per week. They have made settlements to 4500 former players and/or their families for their injuries. Some colleges have also limited the full contact practises as have some of the secondary schools where they have programmes. Research is being done to develop helmets that will give a visual signal when they receive a blow strong enough to cause head trauma.

Other contact sports have had players suffer repeated head trauma. Hockey, pro-wrestling, mixed martial arts, Aussie rules football, rugby are a few sports where concussive blows to the head add up. Even soccer or football, “the beautiful game” can damage players who head the ball repeatedly.

Will things change soon in professional sports? Not likely. There is too much money to be made. Advertising, gambling, souvenirs all generate billions of dollars in addition to seat sales for one Super Bowl game. The men who aspire to play in these big-leagues are more like the old gladiators than they may realize.

Sources:
Bloomberg
Wikipedia
Medical News Today

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<<Previous

Diesel emissions scandal spreads to Audi

Chinese kids victims in expired vaccine scandal

Chocolate may be a health food

China arrests 19,000 in major crime bust

NFL players risk permanent brain damage

Barbara McPherson

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