Health Myths

The Top 15 Lies You’re Being Told About Health and Mainstream Medicine

 

Valued sources of information are hijacked by much bigger interests than you can imagine

The Top 15 Lies You're Being Told About Health and Mainstream Medicine


Do you ever question what doctors, nutritionists, institutions and even science tells you about your health, food, environment and lifestyle? You should, because we live in an era of deception and duplicity where the most trusted and valued sources of information are hijacked by much bigger interests than you can imagine. The internet is one of the last frontiers for truth, informing and educating billions on why our systems of health, agriculture, medicine and many other areas we depend on are failing us. The reason they’re failing us is because corrupt governments, corporations and the media are constantly feeding us lies on a daily basis, which through repetition, the public eventually accepts as truth.

LIE #1. GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS (GMOs) CAN FEED THE WORLD
A lot of food that we eat today contains genetically modified ingredients and usually without our knowledge. Supporters of this technology maintain that it ensures and sustains food security around the world as the population increases. As well as scientific debates on the merits of genetically engineered food, there are equally, if not more important, debates on the socioeconomic ramifications of the way such science is marketed and used.

The dangers of GMO foods can no longer be denied. Researchers havelinked organ damage with consumption of Monsanto’s GM maize.

Biotechnology companies erroneously claim that their manipulations are similar to natural genetic changes or traditional breeding techniques. However, the cross-species transfers being made, such as between fish and tomatoes, or between other unrelated species, would not happen in nature and may create new toxins, diseases, and weaknesses. When genetic engineers insert a new gene into any organism there are “position effects” which can lead to unpredictable changes in the pattern of gene expression and genetic function. The protein product of the inserted gene may carry out unexpected reactions and produce potentially toxic products. There is also serious concern about the dangers of using genetically engineered viruses as delivery vehicles (vectors) in the generation of transgenic plants and animals. This could destabilise the genome, and also possibly create new viruses, and thus dangerous new diseases.

Unlike chemical or nuclear contamination, genetic pollution is self-perpetuating. It can never be reversed or cleaned up; genetic mistakes will be passed on to all future generations of a species.

LIE #2. ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AND WIRELESS RADIATION ARE NOT HARMFUL TO HUMANS

The danger of magnetic, electric, wireless, radio (microwave), ground current, and high frequency radiation is that it is mostly invisible until great damage is done – like the increased risk of some brain tumors in long term cell phone users.

Sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation is a very big health problem of our youngest generations. The media and medical community dismiss it, but it is imperative health practitioners, governments, schools and our entire society learn more about the risks because the human health stakes are significant.

Studies suggest that women briefly exposed to very high-intensity EMFs have an increased risk of miscarriage, especially EMFs emitted by power lines and electrical appliances.

A growing percentage of people are now heeding the advice of holistic health experts and disposing of their microwaves due to the dangers of microwaved food.

The effect of EMFs on biological tissue remains controversial. Virtually all scientists agree that more research is necessary to determine safe or dangerous levels. It’s like one big human experiment which we won’t know the results of for several decades. Now, with the increasing proliferation of wireless handheld and portable devices, it is literally impossible to escape EMFs in any major city.

What they do know is that iron, which is necessary for healthy blood and is stored in the brain, is highly affected by EMFs. The permeability of the cell membranes of nerves, blood vessels, skin and other organs is also affected, as well as the intricate DNA of the chromosomes. Every bodily biochemical process involves precisely choreographed movement of EMF sensitive atoms, molecules, and ions.

Not only do EMFs impact your own health and that of your children and pets, but also the Earth as a whole, as our overuse of electricity contributes greatly to pollution from coal-fired electricity plants. Those who are wise will heed the warnings of the electrically sensitive and reduce the EMF radiation in their homes through good design and reduction of dependence on electric appliances.

LIE #3. MEDICAL SCREENING AND TREATMENTS PREVENT DEATH

Even though the medical community advocates for regular screenings for those with illnesses, they may bring little benefit and may actually pose harm to your health. This applies to almost every type of medical screening for cancer and several other diseases. Medical screening carries an immense risk in itself, not only due to the damage inflicted by screening techniques on the human body, but by the very nature of medical follow-up protocols. These protocols usually encourage patients to enter deeper into more invasive techniques, which further cripple health and lead to a very high percentage of fatalities.

Doctors are often criticized for prescribing unneeded tests and procedures that harm more than they help and add to medical costs that could otherwise be avoided. 12 medical tests and procedures now being questioned worldwide as unnecessary and potentially cause — sometimes harmful results to patients.

Radiation-induced cancers have tripled in the last two decades and diagnostic imaging has been already been admitted as a cause by the U.S. government.


There is a secular trend between breast cancer mortality and screening programs specifically medial diagnostic techniques such asmammography. In a Swedish study of 60,000 women, 70 percent of the mammographically detected tumors weren’t tumors at all. These “false positives” aren’t just financial and emotional strains, they may also lead to many unnecessary and invasive biopsies. In fact, 70 to 80 percent of all positive mammograms do not, upon biopsy, show any presence of cancer.

A prostate (PSA) blood test looks for prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by the prostate gland. High levels are supposedly associated with prostate cancer. The problem is that the association isn’t always correct, and when it is, the prostate cancer isn’t necessarily deadly. Only about 3 percent of all men die from prostate cancer. The PSA test usually leads to overdiagnosis — biopsies and treatment in which the side effects are impotence and incontinence. Repeated biopsies may spread cancer cells into the track formed by the needle, or by spilling cancerous cells directly into the bloodstream or lympathic system.

News coverage of many diseases focus too much on treatments and not enough on prevention, a trend that could prove risky in the long run for most people who don’t understand how to take care of their health.

LIE #4. FLUORIDE PREVENTS TOOTH DECAY

A growing number of communities are choosing to stop adding fluoride to their water systems, even though the federal government and federal health officials maintain their full support for a measure they say provides a 25 percent reduction in tooth decay nationwide.

There are now serious facts and health risks regarding fluoridation which can no longer be ignored and the practice itself is being questioned by most of the world.

Austrian researchers proved in the 1970s that as little as 1 ppm fluoride concentration can disrupt DNA repair enzymes by 50%. When DNA can’t repair damaged cells, we get old fast.

Fluoride prematurely ages the body, mainly by distortion of enzyme shape. All systems of the body are dependent upon enzymes. When fluoride changes the enzymes, this can damage every system and function of the body.

Dr. Paul Connett, PhD stated “When historians come to write about this period, they will single out fluoridation as the single biggest mistake in public policy that we’ve ever had.”

David Kennedy, DDS President International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology said that “water fluoridation is the single largest case of scientific fraud, promoted by the government, supported by taxpayer dollars, aided and abetted by the ADA and the AMA, in the history of the planet.”

LIE #5. FOCUS ON LOWERING BAD CHOLESTEROL TO PREVENT HEART DISEASE

Perhaps one of the biggest health myths propagated in western culture and certainly in the United States, is the misuse of an invented term “bad cholesterol” by the media and medical community. Moreover, a scientifically-naive public has been conned into a fraudulent correlation between elevated cholesterol and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cholesterol has not been shown to actually cause CVD. To the contrary, cholesterol is vital to our survival, and trying to artificially lower it can have detrimental effects, particularly as we age.

We have become a culture so obsessed with eating foods low in cholesterol and fat that many health experts are now questioning the consequences. Could we really maintain a dietary lifestyle that was so foreign to many of our ancestral populations without any ill effects on our health? Many researchers are now concluding that the answer to that question is “NO.” Current data is now suggesting that lower cholesterol levels predate the development of cancer. Scientific papers prove that people with high so-called “Bad” LDL cholesterol live the longest.
The ‘noddy-science’ offered by marketing men to a generally scientifically-naive public has led many people to believe that we should replace certain food choices with specially developed products that can help ‘reduce cholesterol’. Naturally this comes at a price and requires those who can afford it to pay maybe four or five times what a ‘typical ordinary’ product might cost. But is this apparent ‘blanket need’ to strive towards lowering our cholesterol justified? And, indeed, is it healthy?

The cholesterol itself, whether being transported by LDL or HDL, is exactly the same. Cholesterol is simply a necessary ingredient that is required to be regularly delivered around the body for the efficient healthy development, maintenance and functioning of our cells. The difference is in the ‘transporters’ (the lipoproteins HDL and LDL) and both types are essential for the human body’s delivery logistics to work effectively.

Problems can occur, however, when the LDL particles are both small and their carrying capacity outweighs the transportation potential of available HDL. This can lead to more cholesterol being ‘delivered’ around the body with lower resources for returning excess capacity to the liver.

We need to reform education on what really causes heart disease and why cholesterol, whether high or low, is not an evil process in the body, but a natural part of our biology. When we stop listening to medical doctors, suddenly we start listening to what our bodies crave… to be the healthiest version of ourselves.

LIE #6. SUNLIGHT IS HARMFUL AND SUNSCREEN IS YOUR BEST DEFENSE

Sunscreen is full of some of the most toxic chemicals known. Yet both the cancer and sunscreen industries insist on their use to ironically prevent cancer from “bad” sunlight. People still fall for this nonsense, slather on the sunscreen in hopes to protect against a non-existent foe. If the sun was really that harmful, we’d all be dead long ago. Meanwhile, a growing body of evidence shows that blocking the sun’s rays from reaching our skin dramatically influences our optimal vitamin D levels, leading to higher mortality, critical illness, mental health disorders and ironically, cancer itself. Here’s why you need to make your own sunscreen.

There are well over 800 references in the medical literature showing vitamin D’s effectiveness–both for the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Blocking the sun’s rays from reaching our skin dramatically influences our optimal vitamin D levels, leading to higher mortality, critical illness and mental health disorders. Ironically, sunscreen itself causes cancer.

Exposure to sunlight and ultraviolet light has been repeatedly shown to NOT be the cause of skin cancer. Scientists from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported UVA exposure is unlikely to have contributed to the rise in the incidence of melanoma over the past 30 years.

The idea that sunscreen prevents cancer is also a myth promoted by pharmaceutical companies, conventional medicine and the mainstream media for one purpose…profit. The sunscreen industry makes money by selling lotion products that actually contain cancer-causing chemicals. It then donates a portion of that money to the cancer industry through non-profit groups like Cancer Societies which, in turn, run heart-breaking public service ads urging people to use sunscreen to “prevent cancer.”

LIE #7. VACCINES PREVENT DISEASE AND INCREASE IMMUNITY

The term “immunization”, often substituted for vaccination, is false and should be legally challenged. Medical research has well established that the direct injection of foreign proteins and other toxic material (particularly known immune-sensitising poisons such as mercury) makes the recipient more, not less, easily affected by what he/she encounters in the future. This means they do the opposite of immunize, commonly even preventing immunity from developing after natural exposure. There are 5 phases of awakening to the dangers of vaccination and many lie in different phases.

The actual frequency of health problems has been estimated by authorities to be possibly up to 100 times, or more, greater than that reported by government agencies. That difference is due to the lack of enforcement or incentive for doctors to report adverse effects. With the anti-vaccination movements now exposing the truth on the internet, the medical community is now on high alert, defending their claims and being told by vaccine manufacturers that they must never let their patients (or parents) think that the risks could outweigh the benefits, when in reality, it is precisely the opposite that is true.

Convincing evidence is finally coming forward from peer reviewed studies which show that the rapid increase in the number of vaccines given to children is creating synergistic toxicity and a state of immune overload in the majority of vaccine recipients manifesting in related health issues including epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and autism.

The benefit risk ratio is an important decision in anyone deciding whether to vaccinate or not. Contrary to popular belief and marketing, childhood diseases in a developed country are not as dangerous as we are led to believe. Catching a particular disease does not mean you will die from it. Vaccines were actually introduced at a time when diseases had already declined to a low risk level. This fact is proven, scientifically.

The main advances in combating disease over the last 200 years have been better food and clean drinking water…not vaccines. Improved sanitation, less overcrowded and better living conditions also contribute. This is also borne out in published peer reviewed research which prove that vaccine did not save us. The is irrefutable evidence which shows that the historical application of vaccines had no health benefit or impact on prevention of infectious disease.

All vaccines contain sterility agents, neurotoxins, immunotoxins, and carcinogenic compounds. Some examples include formaldehyde, a carcinogen found in almost every vaccine, neurotoxins such asmonosodium glutamatepotassium chloridethimerosal, sterility agents such as Triton X-100octoxynol-10, polysorbate 80, and immuntoxins such as neomycinmonobasic potassium phosphate,sodium deoxycholate to name a few of many.

It is no coincidence that the more educated you are, the less chance you will vaccinate which contradicts the misconceptions of many health professionals who profess that parents don’t vaccinate because they are under-educated, poor or misinformed. Those who become fully informed of the dangers of vaccines never see them in the same light again, as their motives then become clear.

LIE #8. CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE AND THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM HELPS SICK PEOPLE

Perhaps the biggest health myth today is the public’s misconception that mainstream medicine and the healthcare system helps sick people. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Why do people follow medical authorities who prescribe toxic vaccinations, medications and treatments which only serve as a detriment to human health?

The freedom of people to choose natural healing, alternative medicine and methods of disease prevention could soon be threatened by corporate lobbyists who will do anything to protect their wealth at the expense of your health.

90 percent of all diseases (cancer, diabetes, depression, heart disease, etc.) are easily preventable through diet, nutrition, sunlight and exercise. None of these solutions are ever promoted by conventional medicine because they make no money.

No pharmaceuticals actually cure or resolve the underlying causes of disease. Even “successful” drugs only manage symptoms, usually at the cost of interfering with other physiological functions that will cause side effects down the road. There is no such thing as a drug without a side effect.

There is no financial incentive for anyone in today’s system of medicine (drug companies, hospitals, doctors, etc.) to actually make patients well. Profits are found in continued sickness, not wellness or prevention.

The main error of the biomedical approach is the confusion between disease processes and disease origins. Instead of asking why an illness occurs, and trying to remove the conditions that lead to it, medical researchers try to understand the biological mechanisms through which the disease operates, so that they can interfere with them. These mechanisms, rather than the true origins, are seen as the causes of disease in current medical thinking and this confusion lies at the very centre of the conceptual problems of contemporary medicine.

Almost all the “prevention” programs you see today (such as free mammograms or other screening programs) are nothing more than patient recruitment schemes designed to increase revenue and sickness. They use free screenings to scare people into agreeing to unnecessary treatments that only lead to further disease.

Nobody has any interest in your health except you. No corporation, no doctor, and no government has any desire to actually make you well. This has served the short-term financial interests of higher powers in the west very well. The only healthy, aware, critically thinking individuals are all 100% free of pharmaceuticals and processed foods.

LIE #9. THERE ARE ACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF CHEMICALS

The levels are “acceptable” by industry and regulatory standards, but our exposure to other “acceptable levels” of toxic chemicals that then interact with each other and dance with our cells within our bodies is never taken into consideration.

We have over 200 synthetic chemicals in our bodies right now. Our exposure to toxins is that pervasive. Most of us do not detect their presence every moment of every day, but we have to wonder–how are they affecting us? What does this mean for future generations? This is all ignored by all industries.

Chemicals account for an annual $3.7 trillion in sales across the globe–the United States makes up almost 19 percent. Many jobs rely on this industry, yet 85 percent of the chemicals in commerce today have not been tested. How are the products containing those chemicals impacting our health? What’s the impact on those who work or live near the chemical plants?

Is it really that hard for most people to believe that we are being assaulted on a daily basis by chemical terrorism? Genetically modified foods, artificial flavours, colors, preservatives, emulsifiers, and sweeteners all made with toxic chemicals, all of which are proven toxic to human health.

Artificial sweeteners, preservatives, nitrates, artificial colors, MSG…if it’s processed, chances are it contains one or more of these ingredients. Sodium benzoate and potassium benzoate are preservatives that are sometimes added to sodas to prevent mold growth, but benzene is a known carcinogen. Butylated Hydroxynaisole (BHA) is another preservative that’s potentially cancer-causing. Reading labels is an easy solution–if you don’t recognize an ingredient, don’t buy the food product.

There are no acceptable levels of any chemicals that belong in our foods and it’s time we get the chemical industry out of our foods.

LIE #10. DISEASE CAN’T BE REVERSED WITHOUT DRUGS

Many combinations of natural products are as effective as man-made drugs, but without the side effects when acting against specific diseases. For empirical evidence, look no further than the indigenous tribes and cultures which still use many formulations pre-dating the historical record and with great success. A comprehensive study and first of its kind published in PLoS One assessed 124 natural product combinations and found that in the right combinations, they can match drug level potency.

Plants are better than drugs on many levels. Specific herbs, fruits and vegetables have been found on many instances to work better than medication for specific diseases. For example, Soursop Fruit has been found to kill cancer up to 10,000 times more effectively than strong chemotherapy. Consuming apples daily has been found in some studies to be more effective than statin medications at reducing heart disease.Cranberry juicegarlic and turmeric are just three of dozens of other foods which beat drugs in treating and preventing disease.

There are herbs that boost and heal the lungs, others which increaseenergy and vitality, many that stabilize the thyroid and even lower blood pressure.

** The 7 Most Prescribed Drugs In The World And Their Natural Counterparts **

Despite the medical model which relies on pharmaceutical intervention for every known illness, there are well over one hundred common diseases that can be reversed naturally. That’s the difference between treatment for profit and healing for wellness. Arthritis (both rheumatoid and osteo) diabetes (both Type I and Type II), hypertension and cancer are all reversible with proper herbal strategies, nutrition and exercise.

LIE #11. THE BEST WAY TO TREAT CANCER IS WITH CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIATION

Doctors and pharmaceutical companies make money from it. That’s the only reason chemotherapy is still used. Not because it’s effective, decreases morbidity, mortality or diminishes any specific cancer rates. In fact, it does the opposite. Chemotherapy boosts cancer growth and long-term mortality rates. Most chemotherapy patients either die or are plagued with illness within 10-15 years after treatment. It destroys their immune system, increases neuro-cognitive decline, disrupts endocrine functioning and causes organ and metabolic toxicities. Patients basically live in a permanent state of disease until their death. The cancer industry marginalizes safe and effective cures while promoting their patented, expensive, and toxic remedies whose risks far exceed any benefit. This is what they do best, and they do it because it makes money, plain and simple.

The reason a 5-year relative survival rate is the standard used to assess mortality rates is due to most cancer patients going downhill after this period. It’s exceptionally bad for business and the cancer industry knows it. They could never show the public the true 97% statistical failure rate in treating long-term metastatic cancers. If they did publish the long-term statistics for all cancers administered cytotoxic chemotherapy, that is 10+ years and produced the objective data on rigorous evaluations including the cost-effectiveness, impact on the immune system, quality of life, morbidity and mortality, it would be very clear to the world that chemotherapy makes little to no contribution to cancer survival at all. No such study has ever been conducted by independent investigators in the history of chemotherapy. The only studies available come from industry funded institutions and scientists and none of them have ever inclusively quantified the above variables.

LIE #12. SCIENCE IS REPUTABLE AND HONEST

The pursuit of truth in modern scientific query is marred by greed, profit and only a concept of truth built on the assumption of an unexamined good. While pharmaceutical drug approvals, genetically modified foods and various other controversial technologies may appear to be based on “science”, corporate interests and profits often interfere with the true meaning of what science represents to both academics and the public.

The primary methodology of science is to prise apart reality into its component parts in order to better understand how the whole functions. Cartesian logic began with the separation of mind and matter and the scientific method depends upon the separation of the observer from the observed. The absolute separation between mind and matter has now been shown to be entirely fictitious the importance of objectivity within the scientific method remains undiminished.

There is little real science to be found in the common practice of mainstream medicine. Rather, what passes for “science” today is a collection of myths, half-truths, dishonest data, fraudulent reporting and inappropriate correlations passed off as causation. Correlational studies can NOT prove causation, yet the end result of most scientific studies in mainstream medicine make a causal claim without any proof and then pass those suggestions to the public to sell the medical model to the public.

Advertisers and product manufacturers have certainly used this inherent cognitive bias towards trusting “scientific facts” in order to market products which they claim have a scientific basis in their effectiveness. The same is of course true within ideologies and politics. While many choose to focus on the large scandals such as the drug research fraud, countless fraudulent scientific claims are made every day in advertising, often with no repercussions.

LIE #13. THERE ARE SAFE DOSES OF CHEMICALS IN MEDICATIONS

Ask any scientist in the field of health and safety and they will tell you that toxicity is all about the dose. Not really. While you can die from anything taken in excess, even water, you can also run into serious fatal complications from any poison at any dose if you take it long enough. There is no safe dose of a poison because the body recognizes even the smallest dose and immediately creates inflammatory cascades and immune responses to combat these foreign entities. Toxic chemicals are now invading every facet of our lives from our schools to our workplaces. They are gradually deteriorating every single system in our bodies and causing so many diseases, that it’s now difficult to isolate exactly which chemicals are causing each disease.

The chemical testing we currently do to establish if a chemical is safe may not be sufficient. In particular, we may not be targeting nor understanding the effects of extremely low levels of chemical contaminants during critical phases when the organism is “listening” for chemical messengers. This occurs, for example, during fetal development and during changes that occur in puberty. The first question we need to be asking is: does this chemical mimic any of the messenger chemicals that organisms depend upon for survival?

What most of these chemical management companies, their regulatory agencies and scientists do not apprecite, is what a delicately balanced organism we are especially at the molecular level. At this level, chemicals act more like a handshake than like that third pint of beer.

LIE #14. PEOPLE ARE HEALTHIER TODAY THAN IN PREVIOUS GENERATIONS
Life expectancy at birth rose by a few years for both men and women in the last two decades of the 20th century. This has come at an enormous cost in the quality of life of our elders, for they are suffering with more pain and greater disability than ever before in last 15 years of life. People globally are living longer but chronic debilitating conditions are becoming more prevalent.

A recent Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 involved 486 authors in 50 countries who aimed to offer a comprehensive update on diseases and injuries since the last such report in 1990. It found the leading risk factor accounting for the disease burden in most developed nations is diet.

Perhaps most worrisome is the medicalization of childhood which is leading us to illness if adulthood. If children cough after exercising, they have asthma; if they have trouble reading, they are dyslexic; if they are unhappy, they are depressed; and if they alternate between unhappiness and liveliness, they have bipolar disorder. While these diagnoses may benefit the few with severe symptoms, one has to wonder about the effect on the many whose symptoms are mild, intermittent or transient.

Each successive generation is sicker and more diseased than its predecessor. Autism, learning disabilities, ADHD, asthma, diabetes and many other diseases continue to skyrocket. No government agency has ever done, or will ever do anything about it except continue to compile statistics.
LIE #15. THERAPEUTIC PLANTS ARE DANGEROUS DRUGS

The reason cannabis is so effective medicinally is directly related to its ability to interact with receptors in the body which inhibit inflammation and prevent disease. Cannabis does this so well, that few drugs can compete with its level of potency which come essentially with no side effects. Consquently cannabis is labeled a threat to mainstream medicine.

The question is no longer which disease cannabis can cure, but which disease can’t it cure? A study published in Nature Reviews-Cancerprovides an historic and detailed explanation about how THC and natural cannabinoids counteract cancer, but preserve normal cells.

It’s no surprise that the United States has decreed that marijuana has no accepted medical use use and should remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin. Accepting and promoting the powerful health benefits of marijuana would instantly cut huge profits geared towards cancer treatment and the U.S. would have to admit it imprisons the population for no cause. Nearly half of all drug arrests in the United States are for marijuana.

According to MarijuanaNews.com editor Richard Cowan, the answer is because it is a threat to cannabis prohibition “…there really is massive proof that the suppression of medical cannabis represents the greatest failure of the institutions of a free society, medicine, journalism, science, and our fundamental values,” Cowan notes.

Many researchers have noted that there was “inadequate” data for decades to determine whether smoked marijuana was safe or effective in treating symptoms of pain and preventing disese. The primary reason for the s lack of data had to do with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA, which was the only source of cannabis for research and they were blocking the most meaningful studies due to close ties with pharmaceutical companies.

This view was supported by Dr. David Bearman, the executive vice president for the Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine/Society of Cannabis Clinicians. “Part of the problem in the United States is that the NIDA has blocked almost all meaningful studies on cannabis,” Bearman said. Bearman argues that while synthetic cannabis pills do offer pain relief, marijuana is cheaper, has fewer side effects and can be more effective.

Now decades of propaganda is being reversed as scientists and the public are being exposed to the true potential of cannabis and its ability to both heal and prevent disease.

Marco Torres is a research specialist, writer and consumer advocate for healthy lifestyles. He holds degrees in Public Health and Environmental Science and is a professional speaker on topics such as disease prevention, environmental toxins and health policy. 

from:    http://www.newrealities.com/index.php/articles-on-health/item/3379-the-top-15-lies-you-re-being-told-about-health-and-mainstream-medicine

On the Effects of Antibiotics

Antibiotics Have Turned Our Bodies From Gardens Into Battlefields

Antibiotics save lives, but they also wipe out a lot of beneficial organisms that our bodies rely on, says Martin Blaser.    João Canziani

We’re in the midst of an extinction crisis, and it doesn’t involve Siberian tigers. Microbiologist Martin Blaser of New York University School of Medicine says that many species of germs are disappearing from our bodies—and that’s a problem.

In his new book, Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues, Blaser argues that while antibiotics have saved countless lives, they’re an assault on our microbiome. His experiments have linked the resulting extinctions to disorders from asthma to obesity. wired spoke to Blaser about the need to look at our bodies less as battlefields to be conquered and more as gardens to be tended.

You’ve studied the Helicobacter pylori bacterium, which causes ulcers and gastric cancer. That sounds like something you would want to wipe out.

H. pylori is responsible for 80 percent or more of stomach cancer cases. But as we were studying it, we kept finding it in healthy people all over the world. I began to think, “Well, if everybody has it, maybe it’s not so bad.”

What’s so good about it?

Our research shows that people who have H. pylori are less likely to have childhood-onset asthma and hay fever.

If one species can have that effect, it’s fascinating to think about what all the other species we harbor are doing. How many species are we talking about?

The average person probably has at least several thousand. But we don’t really know. We’re in the early days of discovery.

And where are all these germs?

Maybe everywhere. Each of the major skin zones—oily skin, moist skin, and dry skin—has its own predominant microbiota. The mouth is a very rich ecosystem: Each tooth has its own series of niches. The top of the tongue and the bottom of the tongue are different. Where the tooth goes into the gum, what’s called the gingival crevice, that has a very rich microbiota—it’s probably as bacterially dense as the colon. But obviously smaller volume.

So what do all these bacteria actually do for us?

They help us extract energy from food. We’ve outsourced the ability to make certain vitamins to our microbes. And then there’s defense: The good guys help us fight off the bad guys. They can also affect the brain, because a lot of serotonin is made in the gut by neuroendocrine cells that are in conversation with the microbiota.

Where do the antibiotics come in then?

“Why don’t we just give some antibiotics, because it can’t hurt?” That’s how people think—doctors and patients alike. But our data says it does hurt. So we’re going to have to change our approach. If every time a baby takes a course of antibiotics, it’s going to increase their chance of getting diabetes or Crohn’s disease or obesity or asthma, maybe doctors will say, “Well, this is not without risk, so let’s wait a day and see if your baby gets better.”

My hypothesis is that every time someone takes antibiotics, a few species go to extinction in that person. I don’t have proof of this. But we know that the popu­lation sizes of some of the organisms are pretty small. For 50 or 70 years, every­body thought that if you take an antibiotic it will have some short-term effects and then everything will bounce back to normal. But why should they bounce back? If certain less common organisms disappeared, we might not even know.

So how can we take fewer antibiotics but still use them when they’ll save our lives?

We need better diagnostics so we can tell bacterial infections from viral ones. And if it’s a bacterium, which one is it? We’d have to develop drugs for each. That’s a sea change from the impetus over the past 70 years to create broad-spectrum antibiotics. We can either pay for the development of the diagnostics and the drugs, or we can pay for it at the clinic with the illnesses that are coming from this.

What about hand sanitizers?

I have a small photo gallery: When I see a hand sanitizer in a new place I take a picture of it. They’re very important in hospitals, but what’s the rationale for hand sanitizers everywhere? They don’t have antibiotics in them, but they have antibacterials like triclosan. Triclosan is in our soaps and our deodorants, in our clothes, in our pizza cutters, in our staplers. It’s everywhere. This is a germophobia that is unsupported.

What do you think of the probiotics sold in grocery stores?

In general they’re safe—they don’t seem to be associated with health problems. But with few exceptions, they haven’t been tested in rigorous clinical studies. The future will hold a lot of probiotics, but we’re going to have to discover what their specific activities are and when we need to use them. Maybe there will be particu­lar bacteria that are good to give to kids with asthma. Maybe if there’s one that turns off Th1 immune cells, that will be a good probiotic for people with rheuma­toid arthritis. I think we’ll be able to harness these microbes, just as we’ve har­nessed the microbes that make bread and beer for us.

from:    http://www.wired.com/2014/04/martin-blaser-antibiotics/

Southern California Earthquake 10/06

Earthquake close to Ridgecrest, Southern California

Last update: October 6, 2014 at 12:41 pm by By

Update : A light shaking is expected to be felt in Ridgecrest.
Screen Shot 2014-10-06 at 14.17.07

14km (9mi) ENE of Ridgecrest, California
73km (45mi) NE of California City, California
96km (60mi) NNW of Barstow, California
98km (61mi) NNW of Barstow Heights, California
435km (270mi) SSE of Carson City, Nevada

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 3.7

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2014-10-06 04:35:21

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2014/10/06/minor-earthquake-southern-california-on-october-6-2014/

Gunug Padang Pyramid

The Mysterious Ancient Pyramid In Indonesia That Is Rewriting History


The archaeological establishment is scrambling to find some reason to reject and pour scorn on the extraordinary consequences of the excavations now taking place at Gunung Padang in Indonesia.

Since its first exploration by archaeologists in 1914 the site was thought to be a natural hill with 2500 year-old megalithic structures on top of it. But in 2010 geologist Dr Danny Hilman Natawidjaja (who earned his doctorate at Cal Tech) recognized this “hill” as a possible man-made pyramid and began to explore it using ground penetrating radar, seismic tomography, resistivity survey and other remote sensing techniques, as well as some direct excavations and deep core drilling.

The results were immediately intriguing (see this article I wrote in January for background) producing evidence of deeply buried man-made chambers and yielding carbon dates going back as far as 26,000 years. This was the last Ice Age when our ancestors are supposed (according to the orthodox archaeological model) to be have been nothing more than primitive hunter gatherers incapable of large-scale construction and engineering feats. Was it possible that geologist Natawidjaja was unearthing the proof of a lost advanced civilization of prehistoric antiquity? Such ideas are heresy to mainstream archaeologists and sure enough the archaeological establishment in Indonesia banded together against Dr Natawidjaja and his team, lobbied the political authorities, agitated locally and succeeded in slowing down, though not completely stopping, the further exploration of Gunung Padang.

Dr Natawidjaja fought back, doing some high-level lobbying of his own, taking the matter to the President of Indonesia himself. There were further delays to do with elections in Indonesia but just a couple of months ago, in mid-August 2014, the final obstacles were lifted and Dr Natawidjaja and his team moved back onto the Gunung Padang site with full approval to go ahead with their work, including permission to excavate the concealed chambers.

Archaeologists were furious and immediately began lobbying to get the work stopped – fortunately to no avail as preliminary excavations have produced results that prove beyond doubt that Gunung Padang in indeed a man-made pyramid of great antiquity as Dr Natawidjaja had long ago proposed. Even the relatively young layer so far excavated (the second artificial columnar rock-layer beneath the megalithic site visible on the surface) has yielded dates of 5200 BC (nearly 3000 years older than the orthodox dating for the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt) and there are firm indications from the original remote sensing and core drilling work of much older layers below. In short, it is now evident to all that the site is vastly older than the 2500 years that archaeologists had insisted upon for decades. Even the most hostile amongst them are therefore now reframing their assessment of the site and referring to it as “a gigantic terraced tomb, which was part of the biggest megalithic culture in the archipelago.”

For a flavor of the sour grapes the archaeological establishment feel towards Dr Natawidjaja and his team see this recent article from the Jakarta Post.

I asked Dr Natawidjaja for his response to the Jakarta Post article and he replied as follows:

“The article has got the story all wrong.  All excavations were supervised by archeologists from Agency for Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites (BPCB) and University of Indonesia.  The excavation sites have also recently been inspected by the Director for Conservation of Archeological Sites (who is the boss of Miss Desril Shanti ), by the head of the BPCB, and by the Minister of Education and Culture himself.  Afterward, they gave a press conference confirming that all excavations are good and proper.  For information, the head of the National Archeological Center, which is the main office above local Archeological Centers including Bandung Archeological Center, is also a member of the National Team for Gunung Padang. The Jakarta Post article is also wrong about the funding.  The Minister of Education and Culture did indeed announce in the press conference that he would allocate about Rp 3 billion for the research but it has not begun to be disbursed yet.  So far, I and my team are still working willingly on our own funding with the help of the soldiers (TNI) who have been working alongside us.  Of course the TNI have their own funding – but not from that Endowment Fund.”

As to the progress of the work at Gunung Padang, Dr Natawidjaja writes as follows:

“The research progress has been being great.  We have excavated three more spots right on top of the megalithic site in the past couple weeks, which give more evidence and details about the buried structures.  We have uncovered lots more stone artifacts from the excavations.  The existence of the pyramid-like structure beneath the megalithic site is now loud and clear; even for non-specialists, it is not too difficult  to understand if they come and see for themselves.    We have found some kind of open hall buried by soil 5-7 meters thick; however we have not yet got into the main chamber.  We are now drilling to the suspected location of the chamber (based on subsurface geophysic) in the middle of the megalithic site.”

from:    http://realitysandwich.com/223675/the-mysterious-ancient-pyramid-in-indonesia-that-is-rewriting-history/

Some Thoughts on Mercury Retrograde

Revisioning Mercury Retrogrades 10.4.2014


Today Mercury turns retrograde in the sign of Scorpio…it’s a great day to discuss the mythology of Hermes and to eliminate some of the the negative hype surrounding Mercury retrogrades.

One of the first things to note about Hermes in Greek myth is that he is a journeyer rather than a traveler. Whereas a traveler has a goal, a mission, or a heroic deed to perform, a journeyer is someone for whom motion is a constant, and goals, however noble or lofty, are often rejected because of their limiting nature. Mercury represents the sudden turn of plot that provides a strange exit from a deterministic story line, or a sudden abundance of opportunities in contrast to an overly restrictive sense of fate or destiny that is possessing our consciousness.

It is so easy for us to plan the future and live in the present according to preexisting ideas. We often feel beholden to a certain fate or course of action and we forget that there are green pastures surrounding us everywhere, if we can only open our eyes.

Hermes, not coincidentally, ruled sleep, enchantment, dreams, and the sudden snap of the fingers that awakens us.

So when we talk about delayed or cancelled travel plans, or breakdowns of communication or the planned flow of events or activities during a Mercury retrograde, we’re missing the point. In fact, we’re trying to stay asleep by these explanations. For all of these events, Mercury’s gesture is always toward the limitless and overflowing multiplicity of options that for whatever reason we are forgetting about. It’s therefore important that we not bemoan, begrudge, or rant against Mercury when things break down during these times…but rather turn our eyes toward the winged footed god, and learn to pay attention to the interesting alternatives and the immediate freedom he brings.

However, this doesn’t mean that Hermes is always benefic or kind.To the Greeks, Hermes was a god who took people for a ride, enjoyed deception, trickery, and lies for the purpose of a lesson, and loved catching people with their pants down, so to speak. What looks to us like misfortune, in other words, looks like something else to Mercury.

For example, when Hermes stumbles across a mountain turtle outside of the cave he was born in, he talks to the turtle and delights in knowing that it’s greatest gift will be found in its death (when he kills the turtle and invents the Lyre).
During Mercury retrogrades there is sometimes a sense that someone with a sick sense of humor is trying to screw everything up for us. But if we learn to appreciate Mercury’s dark comedy, then the metaphorical death or breakdown we experience becomes the simultaneous crafting of a magical instrument. Hermes is always giving us gifts by stealing things away from us that we prize or hold with the most stubborn and moronic kind of ignorance. He’s like the fart in a yoga class that comes from the stuck up person whose totally vain and ruining it for everyone. And if he has his way with you, then you’ll laugh along with him the next time that person is you!

The story of how Hermes was created is also important because Hermes was born out of a love affair between Zeus and a nymph, hidden away in a secret cave. Hermes is thus a god of secrets. He is in a sense the god most symbolically begotten out of Zeus’ hypocrisy.

Zeus’ hypocrisy represents the tyranny of monotheism. The proud, singular, unifying, all important, goal oriented, heroic, solar, upward climbing, spiritual elitist. Accordingly, Hermes becomes like a gadfly to both his father Zeus and his sunny brother, Apollo. In fact, in one of the most well known Hermes’ stories, Hermes steals his brother Apollo’s herd of cattle. Apollo is the god of clarity, integrity, marksmanship, rationality, divination, and archery. Of course it is Apollo who owns the cattle…where the cattle are to some extent the docile, the fertile, and the masses of submissive folk. Those who are easily won over by Apollo’s ultimate claims are represented by the cattle. Hermes theft of Apollo’s cattle is therefore about the destabilizing of certainty and absolute thinking in general. Hermes theft of Apollo’s cattle back to the cave where his nymph mother still dwells is about the heretic, the rabble rouser, the goddess versus the god, and the exposing of the hypocritical or “rational elite.”

Hermes is not surprisingly called the magician, the trickster, the heretic, the one who moves against the pregivens and the high priestly or kingly figures. During retrogrades we often encounter breakdowns of various kinds because Mercury’s work is almost always about exposing our hypocrisy, opening up ambiguity, and confusing us where our certainty is most dubious.

As the guide of souls, psychopompos, Hermes has easy access back and forth between Hades. As the prince of thieves, Hermes also has a relationship to sudden discoveries, finds, and lootings.

Often enough during Mercury retrogrades, things that went missing show up again, back from the underworld. We lose things and find things out of the blue. We are guided through a dark period, uncertain, and yet mysteriously confident because we can sense the winged footed invisibility of our soul guide just around the corner.

Since I’m getting married in just one week from now, under a Mercury retrograde, I’ve gotten a number of emails asking me why we chose the timing. Wouldn’t it have been better to choose a different time?

First, I’m not big on the perfect astrological timing of things. Mercury is constantly foiling our plans, all the more so when we get too controlling and Apollonic about these things. My experience thus far with strong Mercury signatures in my birth chart has been that Mercury seems to screw with things at any point in time if you’re too confident about being in the “right” about something.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, Hermes has a beautiful relationship to oaths in Greek myth that is worth talking about. Worth talking about because one of the classic pieces of advice is always to “watch out for contracts signed or oaths or promises or agreements made under Mercury’s retrogrades.”
When it comes to oaths and promises and holy vows we have to ask ourselves who values these things the most? In the story where Hermes steals Apollo’s cattle he is eventually questioned by Zeus and Apollo, at which point he swears and offers oaths of his innocence (which are lies). As much as these oaths may seem like simple lies, Hermes is far too crafty and humorous to be a simple charlatan. We have to ask ourselves why he would choose the oaths and vows as deceptions before Zeus and Apollo? And of course the answer is that sacred and holy oaths and vows are just the kind of high moralizing and egoic things that Zeus and Apollo love. An oath is also exactly what Zeus broke when he had his love affair in the cave with Hermes’ nymph mother. When Hermes uses a “vow” or an “oath” to try and trick and deceive Apollo and Zeus he is essentially pointing out their hypocrisy in a kind of humorous evasion of their accusations.

The point being that in many ways oaths are like the prescripted storylines that we try to live by that can become a big target on our unsuspectings backs. It’s not that Mercury retrogrades are bad for oaths or that oaths are bad either…it’s that oaths made under retrogrades of Mercury are more naturally inclusive to all the doubt and uncertainty that oaths and vows are always in sacred relationship with (just like Mercury is the unavoidable son of Zeus…born out of Zeus’ oath breaking).

When Ashley and I met, during our first few months of planning and when launching Sky House Yoga, Mercury was retrograde. When I first started Nightilght, Mercury was retrograde. When we signed the lease on our second studio after the first, Mercury was retrograde. In each circumstance there has been the sense of an oath or commitment that is completely inclusive to the unknown, the potential for breakdown, and the ambiguity of a future we were both uncertain about at the time. And yet we’ve found this awkward uncertainty to be a critical component of how these things have evolved, including our own romantic relationship.

In our composite chart Ashley and I are also a Sun/Venus conjunction in Gemini (ruled by Mercury!). We will be married under a Sun/Venus conjunction in Libra, opposite Uranus in Aries, while Mercury is retrograde. We elected the chart with an astrologer friend of mine who specializes in elections. What was most important to us was to bring out into the open on the date of our wedding the tensions most enduring to the heart of our relationship. The subject of independent ambition versus coupled unity, the deep respect and love for each other and the presence of vows while also honoring the ambiguity of the future and our inherent suspicion of vows in general. Our priest is a practicing Episcopal, but our altar is pagan. We love these kinds of contradictions!
It’s been our experience, and it’s my astrological advice for the day, to embrace making commitments, purchases, oaths and travel plans during Mercury retrogrades if they come up. Because it’s not any of these things per se that Mercury likes to screw with or wreak havoc upon. Nope. That’s our superstition and laziness speaking. Mercury simply wants us to embrace the unknown and the uncertainties that can enter into any “plan” or “envisioned future” at any point in time.

Mercury is the “yes I’d do it again this way,” even when something breaks down or didn’t go as you hoped it would. Mercury is the “uncertainty at the outset” that creates heightened awareness..a kind of openness conducive to finding unexpected treasures. Mercury is the friendliness with ambiguity that says “I’m here to be guided, and I know that I can only control so much.”

Prayer: Stop me from trying to interpret every little thing, controlling every little ounce of certainty for my future. Let me embrace the deepest ambiguity of my holiest vows and let me laugh along with Mercury if and when he gets the “best” of me…

***

To learn more about the Nightlight Astrology School, or to follow Adam Elenbaas:

www.nightlightastrology.com

from:    http://realitysandwich.com/223712/revisioning-mercury-retrogrades-10-4-2014/

Nevada Earthquake

Earthquake near Enterprise, Nevada (also felt in Las Vegas)

Last update: October 5, 2014 at 10:44 am by By

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Update 10:30 UTC : ER does not immediately expect damage from this earthquake

Screen Shot 2014-10-05 at 12.26.59

14km (9mi) SSW of Enterprise, Nevada
23km (14mi) S of Spring Valley, Nevada
24km (15mi) SSE of Summerlin South, Nevada
25km (16mi) SSW of Paradise, Nevada
399km (248mi) NW of Phoenix, Arizona

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 3.58

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2014-10-05 03:11:26

GMT/UTC Time : 2014-10-05 10:11:26

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2014/10/05/minor-earthquake-enterprise-nevada-on-october-5-2014/

Anchorage, Alaska Earthquake

Very strong deep and moderately dangerous earthquake at Anchorage, Alaska

Last update: September 26, 2014 at 9:37 am by By

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Your gift will be highly appreciated, Thank You

 

Final Update : As expected by ER NO structural damage has been detected but a lot of in-house, in-office etc damage like collapsed ceilings, fallen hanging objects, products fallen from shelves etc. Reason : the deep hypocenter. If shallower, structural damage may have been caused.

Are you one of the people who felt the shaking of this earthquake AND/OR are you aware of any damage (at your place or elsewhere)? If yes, may we kindly request you to let us know what you have felt and if you have damage or not. Please use the form below.

Update 18:40 UTC : Below the first damage pic from Alaska. Bill Falsey will not be the only one posting such images.

Screen Shot 2014-09-25 at 20.39.51

Update 18:25 UTC  : The theoretical Pager expects a MMI VI strong shaking (updated) for the Anchorage area, which reflects better what we receive as IHFI reports.

Screen Shot 2014-09-25 at 20.25.03 Screen Shot 2014-09-25 at 20.25.16

Update 18:09 UTC : Based on the first received experience reports we fear that slight damage will be possible. Max. theoretical shaking should be MMI V (moderate shaking). Moderate shaking is mostly harmless.

Screen Shot 2014-09-25 at 20.10.35

Update 18:07 UTC : ER is not expecting any damage from this earthquake mainly for 2 reasons: a) a too deep hypocenter (breaking point) which makes that the earthquake is felt in a wide radius but b) the distance from populated areas

A TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED (below land and too deep)

Screen Shot 2014-09-25 at 20.04.32

97km (60mi) WNW of Willow, Alaska
127km (79mi) WNW of Knik-Fairview, Alaska
131km (81mi) NW of Anchorage, Alaska
381km (237mi) SW of Fairbanks, Alaska
905km (562mi) WNW of Whitehorse, Canada

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 6.2

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2014-09-25 09:51:17

GMT/UTC Time : 2014-09-25 17:51:17

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2014/09/25/very-strong-earthquake-willow-alaska-on-september-25-2014/

Acid Reflux Treatments

acid

Acid reflux – Three classic home remedies

(NaturalNews) Acid reflux is a common medical condition in which digestive acids rise from the stomach into the esophagus. This causes the esophagus (the passage between the pharynx and the stomach) to become irritated, resulting in a burning sensation which, in the most acute cases, can last for up to 48 hours.

While acid reflux is rarely a serious issue, it is always an unpleasant one and can ruin the lives of people who suffer from chronic cases. In fact, drugs for acid reflux are a billion-dollar industry in the United States alone. However, these drugs are almost always created from unnatural ingredients and often create more problems than they fix in the long term. Fortunately, nature has provided us with several natural remedies for acid reflux that can treat the condition far more naturally, and gently, than Big Pharma’s offerings.

Baking soda

It is hard to find a food product more versatile than baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate. This soluble white compound, which was used as far back as Ancient Egypt, makes an effective deodorant, toothpaste, facial cleaner and even laundry detergent. However, baking soda is also highly effective at treating acid reflux, since its alkaline nature can neutralize excess stomach acid in no time.

To use baking soda for this purpose, dissolve a teaspoon of it into a cup of warm water and drink the mixture slowly. Be prepared for some burping, since adding baking soda to water releases carbon dioxide, causing an impressive fizz.

Apple cider vinegar

It might seem strange to recommend a highly acidic product like apple cider vinegar to treat a condition marked by excess stomach acid, but it really does work. One theory is that the acetic acid in the vinegar reduces stomach acidity (i.e. increases its pH), since acetic acid is much weaker than hydrochloric acid. Another theory is that acetic acid can buffer and maintain stomach acid at a pH level of around 3.0, which is strong enough to continue digesting food, but too mild to aggravate the esophagus.

Interested in using apple cider vinegar to treat acid reflux? Mix two or three teaspoons of it into a cup of warm water and drink it. Some people report that drinking this mixture before a heavy meal can actually prevent acid reflux from occurring afterwards.

Ginger root

The gastrointestinal benefits of ginger root have been known for centuries, and it remains one of the most popular and well known remedies for treating stomach-related conditions such as nausea, indigestion and morning sickness. We now understand that this is because ginger contains compounds similar to the enzymes found in our digestive tracts. However, due to its ability to lessen stomach acid, ginger is also ideal for treating acid reflux.

Although ginger can be consumed “as is,” most people prefer to consume it as a tea. To do so, soak the root (or mix ginger powder) into a cup of hot water and drink it once it has cooled. The ginger will reduce the existing acid build-up and also stimulate our digestive enzymes, thereby preventing future build-ups as well.

 

Neuroscience Reveals Past Thoughts

New Brain Tech Reveals Past Thoughts and Memories
image source
Nicholas West
Activist Post

An alarming new study (posted in full below) illustrates how fast neuroscience is developing in its attempt to uncover every aspect of the human brain. A specific brain wave called P300 has been identified by researchers as a marker that essentially encodes what we observe as we go about our daily activities. Based on this specific brain wave marker, researchers are able to conduct a Concealed Information Test. In fact, the test is already being used in Japan and Israel. Researchers are hoping that new data they have published will demonstrate that the test is reliable enough to meet the higher standard of U.S. courtrooms.

The massive influx of money into Obama’s BRAIN project, as well as similar research sponsored by the European Union , now exceeds $2 billion combined. Research continues full-steam ahead despite indications that human brain study is outpacing ethical parameters. Some scientists within the European arm of the project have recently threatened a boycott due to mismanagement and misuse along similar lines to what you will read below.

In our age of loosened constitutional standards and basic human rights that has permitted all innocent communications and movements to be tracked, traced and databased, any technology that aims to uncover our most mundane daily activities and thoughts must be heavily scrutinized for potential abuse. Moreover, I have highlighted some of the language in this press release that clearly demonstrates how this could move far beyond the courtroom and easily provide a new level of pervasive surveillance.

Bold emphasis is mine:

Brain activity can be used to tell whether someone recognizes details they encountered in normal, daily life, which may have implications for criminal investigations and use in courtrooms, new research shows.

The findings , published in Psychological Science , a journal of the Association for Psychological Science , suggest that a particular brain wave, known as P300 , could serve as a marker that identifies places, objects, or other details that a person has seen and recognizes from everyday life .
Research using EEG recordings of brain activity has shown that the P300 brain wave tends to be large when a person recognizes a meaningful item among a list of nonmeaningful items. Using P300, researchers can give a subject a test called the Concealed Information Test (CIT) to try to determine whether they recognize information that is related to a crime or other event.

Most studies investigating P300 and recognition have been conducted in lab settings that are far removed from the kinds of information a real witness or suspect might be exposed to. This new study marks an important advance , says lead research John B. Meixner of Northwestern University, because it draws on details from activities in participants’ normal, daily lives.

“Much like a real crime, our participants made their own decisions and were exposed to all of the distracting information in the world,” he explains.

“Perhaps the most surprising finding was the extent to which we could detect very trivial details from a subject’s day, such as the color of umbrella that the participant had used,” says Meixner. “This precision is exciting for the future because it indicates that relatively peripheral crime details, such as physical features of the crime scene, might be usable in a real-world CIT — though we still need to do much more work to learn about this.”

To achieve a more realistic CIT, Meixner and co-author J. Peter Rosenfeld outfitted 24 college student participants with small cameras that recorded both video and sound — the students wore the cameras clipped to their clothes for 4 hours as they went about their day.

For half of the students, the researchers used the recordings to identify details specific to each person’s day, which became “probe” items for that person.
The researchers also came up with corresponding, “irrelevant” items that the student had not encountered — if the probe item was a specific grocery store, for example, the irrelevant items might include other grocery stores.

For the other half of the students, the “probe” items related to details or items they had not encountered, but which were instead drawn from the recordings of other participants. The researchers wanted to simulate a real investigation, in which a suspect with knowledge of a crime would be shown the same crime-related details as a suspect who may have no crime-related knowledge.

The next day, all of the students returned to the lab and were shown a series of words that described different details or items (i.e., the probe and irrelevant items), while their brain activity was recorded via EEG.

The results showed that the P300 was larger for probe items than for irrelevant items, but only for the students who had actually seen or encountered the probe.

Further analyses revealed that
P300 responses effectively distinguished probe items from irrelevant items on the level of each individual participant, suggesting that it is a robust and reliable marker of recognition.

These findings have implications for memory research, but they may also have real-world application in the domain of criminal law given that some countries, like Japan and Israel, use the CIT in criminal investigations.

“One reason that the CIT has not been used in the US is that the test may not meet the criteria to be admissible in a courtroom,” says Meixner. “Our work may help move the P300-based CIT one step closer to admissibility by demonstrating the test’s validity and reliability in a more realistic context.”

Meixner, Rosenfeld, and colleagues plan on investigating additional factors that may impact detection, including whether images from the recordings may be even more effective at eliciting recognition than descriptive words – preliminary data suggest this may be the case.

Read more at http://www.activistpost.com/2014/09/new-brain-tech-reveals-past-thoughts.html#XoqIew6Z14ORLUjk.99