Red Wine Researcher Accused Of Fraud

A researcher at the University of Connecticut may have committed scientific fraud with his studies of red wine. His work stating that the wine is healthy was published in 26 articles, in over 11 scientific journals. Dipak K. Das was the researcher at the university that supposedly found that red wine is healthy for humans. Dr. Das was granted money from the United States Government for his research, but he did not use all of the funds for his small-scale experiments. The University of Connecticut is returning two grants to the U.S. Government worth a combined total of $890,000. Dr. Das did not answer any of his emails or phone calls to the university when the fraud case was opened.

          
I believe that he should be charged and sued according to the amount of money he stole from the government. No scientists that work at universities should be allowed to handle the $890,000 on their own… They should have the university’s financial officers deal with the money in a closed account. Dr. Das was given the money directly instead of going through the university, which is why he was able to get his hands on it. I personally don’t want to be paying taxes to the government so they can pay people who steal the money. This is very serious (and a serious amount of money), so I am hoping this man receives either jail time or hefty fines.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Receiving Criticism About Their Obesity Ads

The Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is hearing strong criticism for their in-your-face advertisements concerning child obesity. The ads feature headlines such as “It’s hard to be a little girl if you're not.” The company will start to display ads on billboards with overweight children and uncomfortable messages. Later in the year, they will also start to release television advertisements. One of the TV ads shows a boy asking his overweight mother, “Mommy, why am I fat?” She simply sighs heavily while the commercial fades out.

The reason Children’s Healthcare decided to release these ads was a survey that they conducted in Atlanta, Georgia. They surveyed families with overweight children and 75 percent of parents did not see their children’s weight a problem. According to the data from the survey, over one-million children are considered obese in Georgia alone.

The campaign is called Strong4Life and is planned to cost $50 million over five years. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia Foundation recently donated $95,000 to help the cause, but Children’s Healthcare is expected to pay for at least $25,000,000 leaving the remainder for donations.

There are more advertisements upcoming and will feature different children from around Georgia. It’s sad that the country has to start a campaign to stop childhood obesity, but if that is what it takes, I am a supporter. Childhood obesity starts at home with what parents feed their kids, the amount of exercise children get, and if they have caring parents. Also, schools are removing physical education and recess time due to the costs. It is sad that the United States has to come to this, but I’m hoping organizations such as Strong4Life can turn this around.

Doctors Use Too Much Technology [Opinion]

While visiting the local urgent clinic earlier today, I noticed that the nurses and doctors rely far too much on the technology in their office - mainly the computer. When the nurse was asking me symptoms of my ailment, he tapped away on the keyboard of the computer. He would say, "Did you have a runny nose?" and then click the button on the computer that corresponded to my answer. In the end, the computer pretty much told him what medication I needed without him even having to think. This defeats the purpose of a nurse in the first place. If all I needed to do was fill out an online form, I could have done that myself.

Medical doctors used to be looked up to as helpers of the community and very knowledgeable. In this modern 21st century, doctors will only see you if your insurance covers their office and you have an appointment. When you show up, they punch a few buttons on the computer and then print out a prescription. Doctors should only use the computers for keeping track of records, not diagnosing symptoms.

Teen Violence Linked To Heavy Soda Use

Teenage violence can be very deadly.

A new study from the United States shows that teenage violence can be linked to increased soda use. A recent study in Boston shows that high school students who drank more soda during the day were 9-15 percent more likely to engage in violent acts than students who didn't drink soda. "What we found was that there was a strong relationship between how many soft drinks that these inner-city kids consumed and how violent they were, not only in violence against peers but also violence in dating relationships, against siblings," said David Hemenway, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The study was filled out by 1,878 public school students from ages 14 to 18. The majority were either Hispanic or African-American; few were white or Asian. It was found that many of the students who drank 14 or more cans per week either carried a knife or gun. Students who drank only one or two soft drinks a week were less likely to carry a knife or weapon.

I personally find this crazy... Soft drinks contain no alcohol or drugs, which can lead to the body not functioning properly. The deadliest substance in soda is sugar, which just makes people hyper. I've never heard about sugar causing people to have violent outbreaks against their friends or family. I even drink soda myself occasionally, and the only difference I notice is that I feel gross after consuming so much sugar. I personally don't think this can be true, but with crime rates rising in the U.S., how could it not be?

Denmark Now Taxing Foods With Saturated Fat

Don’t you love doughnuts, cookies, butter, milk, oils, pizza, etc? Don’t go to Denmark unless you’ve got extra money for these already expensive delicates. Denmark now enforces a tax on all foods with 2.3 percent or more saturated fat content. When you load up your cart with pizza, milk, cheese and other fatty foods, just be aware you’ll get a surcharge on every single item.

 In 2004, Denmark made it illegal for any foods to have more than 2 percent trans fat. In 2010, the country increased taxes on ice cream, chocolate, and sweets. Only 10 percent of Danes are overweight, so these taxes are obviously working.

 I feel that this is a great idea and the United States should defiantly start enforcing taxes on nasty, fatty foods instead of embracing them. In the United States, over 60 percent of the population is considered obese, which can be a nasty thing. I would really like to see some states creating laws about fatty foods to encourage people to eat smarter and shop smarter. Increasing the price and taxing nasty foods will prevent low-income families from unknowingly purchasing fattening foods.

Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized

It’s technically legal in sixteen U.S. states to smoke the drug marijuana, but it’s illegal to sell it. Medical marijuana is used to treat glaucoma and other illnesses and is given out in a prescription basis. The problem with this popular drug is that it’s a plant, which is easy to grow and highly valuable. Addicts would stop at nothing to get their hands on this plant. So why should it be legalized for creation and distribution?

 Many thugs have turned to the streets and drug traffic for cash. Marijuana is a main product of this drug trade, which gives many shady characters jobs. Not only is it a job to pay their bills, but many of them live luxurious lives in sports cars and mansions. Something needs to be done about this problem! I believe that if pot was legalized and sold in gas stations, Wal-Mart, and other places that sell tobacco products, that it would take away the drug dealers’ jobs. The United States’ justice system has many loop holes and it doesn’t do any good to throw dealers into jail for a few years, because as soon as they get out, they’ll be selling again.

 The U.S. police and court have enough on their plate already, so taking this crime away would free up some time to worry about the things that matter. The police should be worrying about serial killers and gangs instead of drug traffic. If they legalized marijuana, drug traffic would stop because it would be sold at the local Tom Thumb gas station.

9/11 Leading To Cancer, Lung, and Other Health Problems

World Trade Center in New York City on 9-11-2001

Newest studies show that on September 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked the Twin Towers in New York City, it created toxic gases. Terrorists crashed two commercial airplanes into New York’s World Trade Center, wrecking both enormous buildings to the ground. Some 20,000 firemen, police officers, and other rescue crew ran into the rubble, which will leave them wounded for life.

Aside from 9/11’s some 3,000 casualties, many workers have gathered illnesses, cancers, and have dramatic dreams. One man has to take over 30 pills every day because he was a hero of September 11^th (he can be found at this video). I think that this is very sad that heroes have to live the rest of their life affected by this tragedy.

Workers are still working to rebuild a new World Trade Center where the old one fell. Scientists say that the toxic fumes are still around and are dangerous to anyone working on site for any period of time. I think that it was a terrible act that the terrorists from the Middle East did to our nation. It effected more than the 20,000 responders and the 3,000 deaths… Our military services are now deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan ten years later to fight in a war concerning 9/11 and terrorists. Always remember September 11, 2011 and remember why we stop and pause for a moment of silence… God bless America!