Saturday, April 19, 2014

Welcome to ITCCS.ORG and The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State | Our Mandate: (1) To bring to trial those persons and institutions responsible for the exploitation, torture and murder of children, past and present, and (2) To stop these and other criminal actions by church and state.

Public Information Update from The Prosecutor's Office of The International Common Law Court of Justice

Bulletin No. 3: Thursday, April 17, 2014 – 10 pm GMT

In the Matter of the People v. Bergoglio, Pachon, Welby and others charged with global child trafficking and ritual murder

Summary:

The Court adjourns for two weeks after the first round in the Prosecutor's Case discloses the startling testimony of eight witnesses.

Two separate witnesses describe their alleged rape and ritual torture by chief defendant Jorge Bergoglio (alias "Pope Francis") in 2009 and 2010.

The Chief Prosecutor establishes a link between the British, Dutch and Belgian royal families and the disappearances and killing of Mohawk children at the Church of England's Brantford Indian residential school in Canada.

Jesuit records are introduced as evidence detailing the so-called "Magisterial Privilege" decreeing papal involvement in "Ninth Circle" ritual murder of newborn children. The same records identify Joseph Ratzinger as a member of the "Knights of Darkness" S.S. sacrificial cult during World War Two.

ITCCS Field Secretary Kevin Annett is scheduled to testify before the Court during its second round of sessions in early May to corroborate witnesses' testimonies from his own work and experience.

A prominent Vatican official initiates back channel communication with the Court and offers key evidence, as Magistrates consider extending closed Court sessions during May.

The Court and its affiliates will issue an Easter Proclamation this Sunday, April 20 and endorse public actions at the Vatican and Catholic churches across the world. Rev. Kevin Annett will lead a public ceremony of "exorcism and replacement" at a prominent Catholic cathedral on that day.

The Details:

Following eight days of Court procedure and the commencement of the Citizen Prosecutor's case against the three chief defendants, the first Common Law adjudication of evidence concerning global child trafficking has adjourned for two weeks, until 10 am GMT on Monday, May 5, 2014.

Commencing on Tuesday, April 8 after an opening Court session the day before, the case by the Citizen Prosecutor's Office presented evidence directly linking all three chief defendants with the planning and execution of child trafficking networks within the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, and with the practice and concealment of the ritual rape, torture and killing of children.

Along with considerable documentation, the Prosecutor introduced notarized affidavit statements from eight eyewitnesses to these crimes, including videotaped interviews with two adolescent women who claim to have been tortured and raped by chief defendant Jorge Bergoglio, alias "Pope Francis", during the spring of 2009 and 2010, at horrific cult functions connected to the "Ninth Circle" child sacrifice network.

"Survivors of these rituals describe newborn babies being chopped to pieces on stone altars, and their remains were then consumed by the participants" described the Chief Prosecutor to the Court.

"The survivors during the 1960′s period were forced to rape and mutilate other children, and then cut their throats with ceremonial daggers. Former Pope Benedict, Joseph Ratzinger, Dutch Cardinal Alfrink, and Prince Bernhard were among the cult participants, according to these survivors. But significantly, the more recent incidents in 2009 and 2010 involved exactly the same kinds of ritualized murder of newborn infants in rural Holland and Belgium."

Other witnesses described their personal knowledge of efforts by the defendants to conceal the involvement of not only the Catholic and Anglican church, but the British, Belgian and Dutch royal families, in the ritual killing of Mohawk Indian children at the Brantford residential school in Ontario, Canada.

These killings span over seventy years and include the period between 1942 and 1945 when exiled Dutch Queen Wilhemina and her family lived in Canada, and participated in Ninth Circle rituals at the Mohawk Indian school.

Introduced documentation* indicates that, to assist and conceal such involvement of Dutch "royals" in these cult killings, the Canadian government and Privy Council Office in London granted "extra-territorial exemption" to the Dutch royals from all criminal, civil and military jurisdiction while in Canada. (* The Canada Gazette , Issue No. 232, December 26, 1942, Ottawa)

Dutch and Belgian royal participants in the rape and killing of Mohawk children and newborns included Bilderberger founder Crown Prince Bernhard and King Hendrick, consort to Queen Wilhelmina of Holland.

As part of the Prosecutor's corroborating evidence, secret archives from the Jesuit Order were introduced into the Court record that describe in detail the so-called "Magisterial Privilege" compelling the participation of every new Pope in the Ninth Circle sacrifice of new born children.

The records suggest that the Ninth Circle was established by the Jesuits just prior to their staged "disbandment" in 1773 and their establishment three years later of the so-called Illuminati cult, although references are also made to organized child sacrifice rituals at Catholic cathedrals in Rome as early as the year 1528.

The Chief Prosecutor told the Court,

"These archives clearly indicate a premeditated plan for centuries by the Jesuits to ritually murder kidnapped newborn babies and then consume their blood, born of a twisted notion of deriving spiritual power from the lifeblood of the innocent and thereby assuring the political stability of the Papacy in Rome. Every Pope was expected to and did in fact participate in these monstrous rituals … These acts are not only genocidal but systemic and institutionalized in nature, and indict the Roman Catholic Church and the Jesuits as a whole, and every Pope since at least in the year 1773."

The same collection of Jesuit archival records make reference to a child sacrificial cult known as The Knights of Darkness, established by the Nazi Waffen S.S. Division in 1933 with Jesuit backing. The archives identify former Pope Benedict, Joseph Ratzinger, as a member of the Knights and as an S.S. Chaplain's assistant at the Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany, where he participated in sacrificial rites using children transported to the camp or kidnapped from political prisoners.

The latter practice was a common Jesuit undertaking in Spain, Argentina and other fascist regimes, and one implicating chief defendant Jorge Bergoglio while he was a priest, Bishop and front man for the military junta in Argentina during the 1970′s.

ITCCS Field Secretary Kevin Annett is scheduled to appear as a witness during the second session of the Court commencing Monday, May 5. Annett will provide thorough corroborating evidence and personal testimony to support the Prosecutor's case and the evidence concerning the Brantford killings, gained over twenty years' work with residential school survivors in Canada, including during his targeted persecution by church and state. (www,hiddennolonger.com)

Meanwhile, in startling related news, a senior Vatican official initiated a back channel communication with the Court last week in order to offer key evidence to the Prosecutor's Office concerning its case against the chief defendants.

The Vatican official has requested strict anonymity and security, prompting the Court Magistrates to consider extending the closed sessions of the Court during its next round in May.

Finally, this Easter Sunday, April 20, the Court and its affiliates in twenty one countries will issue a Public Proclamation to be read at Catholic churches in Rome and dozens of other cities.

Rev. Kevin Annett will lead a public ceremony of "Exorcism and Replacement" at a central Catholic facility on that day, and similar ceremonies will be held at the Vatican and at many other catholic churches. Details of the event will be posted this Sunday evening GMT atwww.itccs.org .

Stay updated regarding further Court and related news at www.itccs.org and www.iclcj.com .

Issued by The Public Information Agency of The Office of the Citizen Prosecutor.

The International Common Law Court of Justice, Brussels.

Now THAT is news....

17 April, 2014


~A.

Friday, April 18, 2014

The Healing Properties Of Water | Silva Life System Blog

The Healing Properties Of Water | Silva Life System Blog

The Healing Properties Of Water

75% of our bodies are made of Water. Ever wondered if thoughts had an effect on water?

There has been some interesting research done by Dr. Masuru Emoto, which was conducted on crystals of frozen water.  The results are rather shocking.  As it turns out, thought, sound, words, and prayer have an effect on the water itself.

Using a device called a Magnetic Resonance Analyzer (MRA), Dr. Emoto found that each substance has its own magnetic resonance field.  Now, how does this apply to us?  Well, remember how humans are made primarily of water.  Knowing that each substance has its own magnetic resonance field may be the key to making fresh discoveries about the human body and even understanding illness and disease.

This research exemplifies the power of positive and negative thinking.  If thoughts and words have an effect on water crystals, imagine the effect that would be carried onto us.

Have a look at this Silva Report on Dr. Emoto's discoveries.  The research is ground breaking and is directly applicable to your lives.

healing-properties-fo-water

Download the full report here

w/o the fluoride, please.

~A.

"Not Cecil B deMille, but she's our....

BBC News - A 13-year-old eagle huntress in Mongolia

A 13-year-old eagle huntress in Mongolia

Ashol-Pan on a mountain top with her eagle

Most children, Asher Svidensky says, are a little intimidated by golden eagles. Kazakh boys in western Mongolia start learning how to use the huge birds to hunt for foxes and hares at the age of 13, when the eagles sit heavily on their undeveloped arms. Svidensky, a photographer and travel writer, shot five boys learning the skill as well as the girl, Ashol-Pan. "To see her with the eagle was amazing," he recalls. "She was a lot more comfortable with it, a lot more powerful with it and a lot more at ease with it."

The Kazakhs of the Altai mountain range in western Mongolia are the only people that hunt with golden eagles, and today there are around 400 practising falconers. Ashol-Pan, the daughter of a particularly celebrated hunter, may well be the country's only apprentice huntress.

Ashol-Pan at school and a portrait image of her

They hunt in winter, when the temperatures can drop to -40C (-40F). A hunt begins with days of trekking on horseback through snow to a mountain or ridge giving an excellent view of prey for miles around. Hunters generally work in teams. After a fox is spotted, riders charge towards it to flush it into the open, and an eagle is released. If the eagle fails to make a kill, another is released.

Bahak Birgen on a mountain cliff edge with his eagle Bahak Birgen is renowned as Mongolia's youngest male eagle hunter

The skill of hunting with eagles, Svidensky says, lies in harnessing an unpredictable force of nature. "You don't really control the eagle. You can try and make her hunt an animal - and then it's a matter of nature. What will the eagle do? Will she make it? How will you get her back afterwards?"

The eagles are not bred in captivity, but taken from nests at a young age. Female eaglets are chosen since they grow to a larger size - a large adult might be as heavy as seven kilos, with a wingspan of over 230cm. After years of service, on a spring morning, a hunter releases his mature eagle a final time, leaving a butchered sheep on the mountain as a farewell present. "That's how the Kazakh eagle hunters make sure that the eagles go back to nature and have their own strong newborns, for the sake of future generations," Svidensky says.

Irka Bolen on a mountain cliff edge with his eagle Irka Bolen is one of the male apprentice eagle hunters photographed by Svidensky
Irka Bolen training his eagle

Svidensky describes Ashol-Pan as a smiling, sweet and shy girl. His photographs of her engaging in what has been a male activity for around 2,000 years say something about Mongolia in the 21st Century.

Ashol-Pan at school

"The generation that will decide what will happen with every tradition that Mongolia contains is this generation," says Svidensky, who showed Ashol-Pan's family the photographs on his laptop. "Everything there is going to change and is going to be redefined - and the possibilities are amazing."

Ashol-Pan's family is shown the photos by Asher Svidensky
Ashol-Pan on horseback
Ashol-Pan cuddling her eagle

Wow.
~A.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Honorairium.....

George Bush Presidential Library opens offshore drilling exhibit


The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University has a new exhibit that tells the story of offshore drilling and the 41st President's previous life as an oilman. The Library's web site explains:

George Bush was a successful and pioneering Texas oilman, first on land and then offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. As a tribute to his role in the development and use of the innovative independent leg offshore jack-up rig Scorpion launched by LeTourneau in 1956, the exhibit tells the story of offshore drilling. It focuses on the history, development and future of offshore drilling, with an emphasis on the work of George Bush, emerging technologies and ongoing research at Texas A&M University.

With Shell as title sponsor and supporting sponsorships from Ensco, Schlumberger and Move Resource Group, the exhibit covers all aspects of the search for oil offshore, with a special look at the geology of finding oil, focusing on exploration of the Gulf of Mexico. Industry pioneers recount their personal experiences. Visitors will be taken from start to finish — developing the "play" to platform production — via an interactive display.

Energy – especially oil – is an important part of Texas's story, including its universities. My alma mater, UT Austin, has a prominent exhibit of the Santa Rita #1 drilling rig, which was moved from its well out in the Permian Basin. The Santa Rita well is on university-owned land and contributed land royalties to both UT Austin and Texas A&M until it was plugged in 1990.

The Bush Library offshore exhibit runs through Feb 1, 2015.

Photo credit: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum



~A.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

DIWire Bender: Pensa Launches First Desktop CNC Wire Bending Machine at Engadget Expand DIWire Bender - Gallery Page 1 – Inhabitat New York City

Gallery: DIWire Bender: Pensa Launches First Desktop CNC Wire Bending M...

Makers have numerous 3D printers to choose from these days, but the vast majority of them accomplish pretty much the same exact task. Brooklyn-based design consultancy Pensa wanted to create a completely different kind of desktop manufacturing machine that could open up new avenues of fabrication by bending wires instead of printing plastic, and they recently launched their new DIWire Bender at Engadget Expand NY. The DIWire Bender (see what they did with the name there?) is the world's first desktop CNC wire bender of its kind, and is capable of translating 2D computer line drawings into bent wire shapes that can be assembled into just about anything. Click through to see a video of the DIWire Bender in action, and read on to see how you can reserve one for yourself through their just-launched Kickstarter campaign.

Waaaaay Cool!

A.

Forget wearable tech, embeddable implants are already here

Forget wearable tech, embeddable implants are already here

We've found electronic throat tattoos, password pills and memory chips. Find out how "grinders" are already embracing<strong> our cyborg future...</strong> We've found electronic throat tattoos, password pills and memory chips. Find out how "grinders" are already embracing our cyborg future...

Biohack yourself!

Editor's note: Make, Create, Innovate is a new science and technology series that tells the stories behind the inventions and technological breakthroughs that are reshaping our world.

(CNN) -- Smartphone mapping features are great for getting directions, until you lose signal. But you could avoid getting lost in the woods with a guiding system embedded in your body.

Electronic engineer and biohacker Brian McEvoy has designed the first internal compass, and will be the first test subject. The 'Southpaw' -- inspired by the North Paw bracelet - works by sealing a miniature compass inside a silicon coat, within a rounded Titanium shell, to be implanted under the skin. An ultra-thin whisker juts out, which is activated when the user faces north, to lightly brush an alert on the underside of the skin.

"For a disc shape, it would be best located near shoulder", says McEvoy, ahead of the procedure. "I don't foresee any safety issues". Materials and shape have been chosen for the body's tolerance of them, but the Minnesota biohacker is working with experts to minimize risk before going under the knife.

Although McEvoy alone will take the implant, Southpaw has been a collaborative project, developed through the leading forum Biohack.me, that draws on the shared knowledge of citizen science labs around the world. For these dedicated blue-sky enthusiasts with stated goals that include eternal life and learning to fly, the paradigm for technology has gone beyond wearable, to implanted.

Magnets and microchips are standard for community members, often for aesthetic or novelty value. But the implants are growing in sophistication to offer practical applications, such as the 'Circadia' micro-computer developed by Biohack.me offshoot company Grindhouse Wetware, which CEO Tim Cannon embedded in his arm last year, and was able to collect and transmit temperature data via Bluetooth.

Another of the forum's stars, Rich Lee has pioneered the use of magnets. With one embedded in each ear he can listen to music through them, via a wire coil he wore around his neck, that converts sound into electromagnetic fields, creating the first 'internal headphones'.

But his experiments go far beyond sound. "It is a sixth sense", says Lee. "The implants allow me to detect different sensors, so I can 'hear' heat from a distance. I can detect magnetic fields and Wi-Fi signals, so much of the world that I had no awareness of."

There is a practical purpose to Lee's experiments, as he suffers deteriorating eyesight and hopes to improve his orientation through greater sensory awareness, and is learning to navigate through echolocation. But he sees his self-hacking as a voyage of discovery rather than a medical trial.

"It's almost erotic when you feel something totally unexpected when there was no sensation before. You want to enquire and learn more. This is an adventure for me."

Appropriately enough, a priority among Lee's 130 projects are 'adult industry' implants for erogenous zones to maximize pleasure, for which he anticipates major commercial interest. Another device for the nose would aim to control the body temperature, which could increase endurance and physical capacity.

Lee is convinced that improving implants equate to a better body and a better life, and puts no limit on what procedure he would undergo. "If better models come out every 18 months I would buy them. The way people are with cellphones, I feel the same way about implants."

Availability looks set to improve. Writer and biohacker Frank Swain, who with degenerative hearing, has secured commercial backing for a new type of implant that would convert environmental data -- such as Wifi signals, into sounds that allow the user to orientate themselves. A prototype will be unveiled this fall.

On a larger scale, several hundred RFID tags are being shipped around the world to backers of a successful crowd funding campaign. Amal Graafstra, an implant enthusiast who received his first tag in 2005, launched the campaign through his start-up Dangerous Things and claims it is the largest non-medical implantation program yet.

It's almost erotic when you feel something totally unexpected when there was no sensation before.
Implant pioneer Rich Lee

"We're the first to put near field communication (NFC) compliant implants on the market like this", says Graafstra, adding that recent breakthroughs have facilitated chips with greater memory and potential. "There are 880 bytes of space, relative to 97 in the previous generation, so before you could keep a name and phone number but now it has far greater capacity."

Graafstra already uses his implants as universal passwords, unlocking physical and electronic barriers. Similar technology is already widely used in contactless card payment systems and clothing tags, and Motorola are developing an RFID-activated 'password pill' that a user can swallow and access their devices without the hassle of remembering them.

Graafstra recommends the people buying his tags have the procedures professionally implanted through vetted specialists, but includes a DIY guide for those who insist on going it alone. "I mainly got into this to encourage safety standards", says Graffstra. "When I first started people were using the wrong equipment and having horrible accidents, this is a step to standardizing procedures."

In the US and across much of Europe, professional medics would be forbidden from implanting the device, and there is widespread distrust of biohackers. "Anyone doing this to themselves should stop", says Dr. Anthony Guiseppe-Elie, professor of bioengineering at the University of South Carolina, and editor of 'Bioengineering' journal, stressing the medical principle to solve problems rather than enhance healthy people.

Yet Guiseppe-Elie accepts the biohackers could be drivers for public acceptance of emerging technologies such as cochlear and retina implants, that have had dramatic successes in improving the conditions of hearing and sight-impaired people.

Wave to unlock doors: Dangerous Things sells a password tag for implanting at home.
Courtesy Dangerous Things

"Public perception has been the main barrier -- implants make people uncomfortable", says Guiseppe-Elie. "But we have seen that they can have a huge impact." RFID implants are also of proven value with Alzheimer's patients, he adds, and their use could be extended.

To minimize the invasiveness, Guiseppe-Elie suggests two major considerations. "They must be small, and easily powered, so that repeat operations are not necessary." For the latter consideration, induction coils and biofuel cells that use the body's energy are evolving solutions.

Anyone doing this to themselves should stop.
Dr. Anthony Guiseppe-Elie, professor of bioengineering

A further direction, which his team is researching, are "electronic tattoos" equipped with sensors that sit on the skin and can measure vital signs without invasive surgery, and transmit them via wireless technology. The tattoos have been a popular concept and are in commercial development, marketed for versatility -- they can be applied on the body, as well as relatively casual use -- they could be applied by patients themselves.

The tattoos could also be applied to the head to read brainwaves, although the distance would limit accuracy. Implants for the brain could tell more, but represent the highest risk as well as reward. Should the body reject any material it could kill the patient.

Yet the Wellcome Trust in the UK has begun a trial with Alzheimer's patients carrying a silicon chip on the brain itself, to predict dangerous episodes, and able to stimulate weakened neurons. Military researchers Darpa are also experimenting with a chip implant on humans to help control mental trauma suffered by soldiers.

This latter case challenges the medical principle against using implants to do more than return to humans their natural faculties, as Darpa believe their chip could eventually condition soldiers to battle-readiness through improvements such as awareness, memory and mood. Whether it is industry or enthusiasts pushing the limits, it seems 100% is no longer enough, as the add-ons become available and increasingly powerful.

Read more from Make, Create, Innovate:

Feeling glum, happy, aroused? New technology can detect your mood

Forget text messaging, the 'oPhone' lets you send smells

Wireless electricity? It's here


Yip pee...
~A.

Meet you new implant.....

Bend It, Charge It, Dunk It: Graphene, the Material of Tomorrow

Graphene transistors visible on a piece of flexible plastic. Graphene is not only the hardest material in the world, but also one of the most pliable. Nicholas PetroneGraphene transistors visible on a piece of flexible plastic. Graphene is not only the hardest material in the world, but also one of the most pliable.

I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.

No, fans of "The Graduate," the word isn't "plastics."

It's "graphene."

Graphene is the strongest, thinnest material known to exist. A form of carbon, it can conduct electricity and heat better than anything else. And get ready for this: It is not only the hardest material in the world, but also one of the most pliable.

Only a single atom thick, it has been called the wonder material.

Graphene could change the electronics industry, ushering in flexible devices, supercharged quantum computers, electronic clothing and computers that can interface with the cells in your body.

While the material was discovered a decade ago, it started to gain attention in 2010 when two physicists at the University of Manchester were awarded the Nobel Prize for their experiments with it. More recently, researchers have zeroed in on how to commercially produce graphene.

The American Chemical Society said in 2012 that graphene was discovered to be 200 times stronger than steel and so thin that a single ounce of it could cover 28 football fields. Chinese scientists have created a graphene aerogel, an ultralight material derived from a gel, that is one-seventh the weight of air. A cubic inch of the material could balance on one blade of grass.

"Graphene is one of the few materials in the world that is transparent, conductive and flexible — all at the same time," said Dr. Aravind Vijayaraghavan, a lecturer at the University of Manchester. "All of these properties together are extremely rare to find in one material."

So what do you do with graphene? Physicists and researchers say that we will soon be able to make electronics that are thinner, faster and cheaper than anything based on silicon, with the option of making them clear and flexible. Long-lasting batteries that can be submerged in water are another possibility.

In 2011, researchers at Northwestern University built a battery that incorporated graphene and silicon, which the university said could lead to a cellphone that "stayed charged for more than a week and recharged in just 15 minutes." In 2012, the American Chemical Society said that advancements in graphene were leading to touch-screen electronics that "could make cellphones as thin as a piece of paper and foldable enough to slip into a pocket."

Dr. Vijayaraghavan is building an array of sensors out of graphene — including gas sensors, biosensors and light sensors — that are far smaller than what has come before.

And last week, researchers at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, working with Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, said that Samsung had figured out how to create high-quality graphene on silicon wafers, which could be used for the production of graphene transistors. Samsung said in a statement that these advancements meant it could start making "flexible displays, wearables and other next-generation electronic devices."

Sebastian Anthony, a reporter at Extreme Tech, said that Samsung's breakthrough could end up being the "holy grail of commercial graphene production."

Samsung is not the only company working to develop graphene. Researchers at IBM, Nokia and SanDisk have been experimenting with the material to create sensors, transistors and memory storage.

When these electronics finally hit store shelves, they could look and feel like nothing we've ever seen.

James Hone, a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University, said research in his lab led to the discovery that graphene could stretch by 20 percent while still remaining able to conduct electricity. "You know what else you can stretch by 20 percent? Rubber," he said. "In comparison, silicon, which is in today's electronics, can only stretch by 1 percent before it cracks."

He continued: "That's just one of the crazy things about this material — there's really nothing else quite like it."

The real kicker? Graphene is inexpensive.

If you think of something in today's electronics industry, it can most likely be made better, smaller and cheaper with graphene.

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley made graphene speakers last year that delivered sound at quality equal to or better than a pair of commercial Sennheiser earphones. And they were much smaller.

Another fascinating aspect of graphene is its ability to be submerged in liquids without oxidizing, unlike other conductive materials.

As a result, Dr. Vijayaraghavan said, graphene research is leading to experiments where electronics can integrate with biological systems. In other words, you could have a graphene gadget implanted in you that could read your nervous system or talk to your cells.

Reuters

But while researchers believe graphene will be used in next-generation gadgets, there are entire industries that build electronics using traditional silicon chips and transistors, and they could be slow to adopt graphene counterparts.

If that is the case, graphene might end up being used in other industries before it becomes part of electronics. Last year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation paid for the development of a graphene-based condom that is thin, light and impenetrable. Carmakers are exploring building electronic cars with bodies made of graphene that are not only protective, but act as solar panels that charge the car's battery. Airline makers also hope to build planes out of graphene.

If all that isn't enough, an international team of researchers based at M.I.T. has performed tests that could lead to the creation of quantum computers, which would be a big market of computing in the future.

So forget plastics. There's a great future in graphene. Think about it. 

A version of this article appears in print on 04/14/2014, on page B6 of the NewYork edition with the headline: Bend, Charge or Dunk It: Graphene, Ever Versatile.
 (Skin deep, eh?)

~A.

Fwd: Did you know all of these tips?

Hang a bundle of chalk in the closet to keep everything fresh and dry.
The chalk absorbs excess moisture – a thrifty alternative to an electric dehumidifier!
Add half a teaspoon of baking soda to the water when hard-boiling eggs
to make the shells incredibly easy to peel off.

WD40 can be used to remove crayon marks from any surface!
The simplest way to slice a bunch of cherry tomatoes is to sandwich them between two plastic lids and run a long knife through all of them at once!

Keep brown sugar soft by storing with a couple of marshmallows.
Boil orange peel and cloves to get rid of unpleasant smells in the kitchen.
When hanging a picture frame, put a dab of toothpaste on the frame where
you need the nails to be. Then simply press against the wall to leave marks
(which can later be wiped) as guides for hammering in.
Store bed sheets inside their pillowcases for easy storage and access.
Use ketchup to remove the tarnish from copper pans.
Slather the pan with ketchup and leave for 30 minutes
for the acid to break down the tarnish, then rinse clean
and buff with a soft cloth.
Use rubber bands to help open a jar easily: place one around the jar
lid and another around the middle of the glass. The rubber provides
friction to prevent your hands from slipping.
Cut the top off a screw-top bottle and use to seal open bags.
A ball of aluminum foil makes a great glassware scrubber!
Use chalk to remove grease stains from clothes. Simply rub white
chalk on the affected area and wash as normal. The chalk will absorb
the grease and be washed away in the cycle.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
=
 
 
 
 

Monday, April 14, 2014

What Is Cholesterol and Why Do You Need It?

What Is Cholesterol, and Why Do You Need It?

Story at-a-glance +

By Dr. Mercola

The video above is a nice confirmation from the traditional media of the importance of vitamin D. However, they still get it wrong by stating that you can get the vitamin D you need from foods. Appropriate sun exposure can easily provide over 20,000 units per day, while food rarely provides over 400 units.

Back in 2011, I published a series of interviews with Dr. Stephanie Seneff, a senior MIT research scientist who, more recently, rocked the world with her discovery of glyphosate's mechanism of harm.

Three years ago, however, she was one of the first to point out the links between cholesterol and vitamin D, presenting a hypothesis that made me even more convinced that raising your vitamin D levels through sun exposure may be far more critical than previously thought.

Now, research published in the journal Menopause1, appears to offer support for Dr. Seneff's theories on the cholesterol-vitamin D link. But first, a quick review of cholesterol, and why your body actually needs it.

That's right, you do need cholesterol. This soft, waxy substance is found not only in your bloodstream but also in every cell in your body, where it helps to produce cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids that help you digest fat.

Cholesterol also helps in the formation of your memories and is vital for neurological function. Your liver makes about three-quarters or more of your body's cholesterol, and according to conventional medicine, there are two types:

  1. High-density lipoprotein or HDL: This is the "good" cholesterol that helps keep cholesterol away from your arteries and remove any excess from arterial plaque, which may help to prevent heart disease.
  2. Low-density lipoprotein or LDL: This "bad" cholesterol circulates in your blood and, according to conventional thinking, may build up in your arteries, forming plaque that makes your arteries narrow and less flexible (a condition called atherosclerosis). If a clot forms in one of these narrowed arteries leading to your heart or brain, a heart attack or stroke may result.

Also making up your total cholesterol count are:

  • Triglycerides: Elevated levels of this dangerous fat have been linked to heart disease and diabetes. Triglyceride levels are known to rise from eating too many grains and sugars, being physically inactive, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol excessively, and being overweight or obese.
  • Lipoprotein (a) or Lp(a): Lp(a) is a substance that is made up of an LDL "bad cholesterol" part plus a protein (apoprotein a). Elevated Lp(a) levels are a very strong risk factor for heart disease. This has been well established, yet very few physicians check for it in their patients. (Lp(a) also was not assessed in the featured study.)

Study Finds Vitamin D + Calcium Supplementation Improves Lipid Profiles

The featured study sought to evaluate whether increased serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3) concentrations are associated with improved lipid profiles in postmenopausal women.

The study had over one million people so it was a big deal. The test group received a daily dose of 1,000 mg of elemental calcium along with 400 IUs of vitamin D3. Please note that this dose of vitamin D is ridiculously low and will not provide help for most people. The control group received a placebo.

Blood levels of vitamin D, fasting plasma triglycerides, HDL, and LDL cholesterol levels were assessed at the beginning and end of the trial. After two years, women who received the vitamin D and calcium supplements had a 38 percent increased mean vitamin D level compared to the placebo group.

They also had a 4.46-mg/dL mean decrease in LDL. Furthermore, higher vitamin D concentrations were associated with higher HDL combined with lower LDL and triglyceride levels. According to the authors:

"These results support the hypothesis that higher concentrations of 25OHD3, in response to [calcium/vitamin D3] supplementation, are associated with improved LDL cholesterol."

After discussing the link between vitamin D and cholesterol with Dr. Seneff, I became convinced that raising your vitamin D levels through sun exposure may have far greater benefits than taking a supplement. I've even warned that vitamin D supplementation might not achieve optimal health results, the reason for which I'll discuss in just a moment.

Remember that this study used a virtually insignificant dose of vitamin D that will not increase levels to optimum in anyone. Yet despite this nearly homeopathic dose, it still led to small, yet noticeable, improvements in lipid profile (i.e. increased HDL, in combination with reduced LDL and triglycerides).

Imagine what they would have found had they given doses 10 to 20 times higher that we know will put people into optimum ranges? In my view, this strengthens the hypothesis that naturally-acquired vitamin D, created by your skin in response to UV exposure, would likely have an even greater effect, and here's why.

Cardiovascular Disease—A Compensatory Mechanism for Cholesterol Sulfate Deficiency?

Through her research, Dr. Seneff has developed a theory in which the mechanism we call "cardiovascular disease" (of which arterial plaque is a hallmark) is actually your body's way to compensate for not having enough cholesterol sulfate. To understand how this works, you have to understand the interrelated workings of cholesterol, sulfur, and vitamin D from sun exposure.

Cholesterol sulfate is produced in large amounts in your skin when it is exposed to sunshine. When you are deficient in cholesterol sulfate from lack of sun exposure, your body employs another mechanism to increase it, as it is essential for optimal heart and brain function. It does this by taking damaged LDL and turning it into plaque.

Within the plaque, your blood platelets separate out the beneficial HDL cholesterol, and through a process involving homocysteine as a source of sulfate, the platelets go on to produce the cholesterol sulfate your heart and brain needs. However, this plaque also causes the unfortunate side effect of increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease. So how do you get out of this detrimental cycle?

Dr. Seneff believes that high serum cholesterol and low serum cholesterol sulfate go hand-in-hand, and that the ideal way to bring down your LDL (so-called "bad" cholesterol, which is associated with cardiovascular disease) is to get appropriate amounts of sunlight exposure on your skin. She explains:

"In this way, your skin will produce cholesterol sulfate, which will then flow freely through the blood—not packaged up inside LDL—and therefore your liver doesn't have to make so much LDL. So the LDL goes down. In fact... there is a complete inverse relationship between sunlight and cardiovascular disease – the more sunlight, the less cardiovascular disease."

What this also means is that when you artificially lower your cholesterol with a statin drug, which effectively reduces the bioavailability of cholesterol to that plaque but doesn't address the root problem, your body is not able to create the cholesterol sulfate your heart needs anymore, and as a result you end up with acute heart failure.



Total Video Length: 1:29:57
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Heart Disease Is the Number One Killer Worldwide

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), heart disease was the leading cause of death, globally, in 2011 and 2012. Even children are becoming increasingly at risk.3, Recent research suggests as many as one-third of children have or are at risk for high cholesterol, which conventional medicine views as a risk factor for heart disease.

Bear in mind that, contrary to the conventional ideology, your total cholesterol level—which includes HDL, LDL, triglycerides, and Lp(a)—is just about worthless in determining your risk for heart disease, unless it is above 300. Still, high total cholesterol can in some instances indicate a problem, provided it's your LDL and triglycerides that are elevated and you have a low HDL. I have seen a number of people with total cholesterol levels over 250 who actually were at low heart disease risk due to their high HDL levels. Conversely, I have seen even more who had cholesterol levels under 200 that were at a very high risk of heart disease based on the following additional tests:

  • HDL/Cholesterol ratio. This is a very potent heart disease risk factor. Just divide your HDL level by your cholesterol. That ratio should ideally be above 24 percent
  • Triglyceride/HDL ratio. Here, you divide your triglyceride level by your HDL. This ratio should ideally be below 2

That said, these are still simply guidelines, and there's a lot more that goes into your risk of heart disease than any one of these numbers. In fact, it was only after word got out that total cholesterol is a poor predictor of heart disease that HDL and LDL cholesterol were brought into the picture. They give you a closer idea of what's going on, but they still do not show you everything. Additional risk factors for heart disease include:

  • Your fasting insulin level: Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates like fructose and refined grains generates a rapid rise in blood glucose and then insulin to compensate for the rise in blood sugar. The insulin released from eating too many carbs promotes fat accumulation and makes it more difficult for your body to shed excess weight. Excess fat, particularly around your belly, is one of the major contributors to heart disease
  • Your fasting blood sugar level: Studies have shown that people with a fasting blood sugar level of 100-125 mg/dl had a nearly 300 percent increase higher risk of having coronary heart disease than people with a level below 79 mg/dl
  • Your iron level: Iron can be a very potent cause of oxidative stress, so if you have excess iron levels you can damage your blood vessels and increase your risk of heart disease. Ideally, you should monitor your ferritin levels and make sure they are not much above 80 ng/ml. The simplest way to lower them if they are elevated is to donate your blood. If that is not possible, you can have a therapeutic phlebotomy and that will effectively eliminate the excess iron from your body

Beware of Treating Elevated Cholesterol in Childhood with Drugs

Getting back to the study in question, a research team at Texas Children's Hospital examined the medical records of more than 12,000 children between the ages of nine and 11, and found that 30 percent of them were at risk of elevated cholesterol levels. Elevated LDL and triglyceride levels were found to be more common among boys. Not surprisingly, obesity and lifestyle were deemed to be significant factors.

Universal cholesterol screening guidelines were issued in 2011, which strongly recommend all children be screened between the ages of nine and 11, and again between 17 and 21. The authors of the featured study say they hope their findings will give added weight to these guidelines. However, there are serious concerns that universal screening will simply place children on cholesterol-lowering medications, which do absolutely nothing to address the underlying problem... As reported by Eurekalert:

"'There is concern by some in the medical community that children will be started on medication unnecessarily,' [lead investigator, Dr. Thomas] Seery said, emphasizing that adopting a healthy diet and engaging in routine physical activity are first-line therapies for children with abnormal cholesterol levels.

He adds that cholesterol-lowering medications are typically needed in one to two percent of children with dyslipidemia, primarily in those with very high cholesterol resulting from a genetic lipoprotein disorder. Genetic lipoprotein disorders, such as familial hypercholesterolemia, result in very high cholesterol levels that can be detected in childhood but are felt to be underdiagnosed, he said. 'Kids need to have their cholesterol panel checked at some point during this timeframe [9 to 11 years old],' Seery said. 'In doing so, it presents the perfect opportunity for clinicians and parents to discuss the importance of healthy lifestyle choices on cardiovascular health.'"

To Save Our Kids, We Must Address Their Lifestyle

It is indisputable that childhood obesity is placing an increasing number of people at risk of an early death. I address this topic in my book Generation XL. If the childhood obesity epidemic is not reversed, we will, for the first time in history, see children living shorter lives than their parents! Clearly, something must be done about escalating childhood obesity and "adult" diseases showing up in our children. But placing kids on statins is certainly NOT the answer. The cause of the problem is unhealthy lifestyle choices—and drugs do nothing to address this. On the contrary, statins have been linked to a wide range of devastating side effects, including but not limited to:

Muscle problems and muscle damage (including the heart muscle) Neurological problems, including memory loss and Lou Gehrig's disease Nerve damage
Liver enzyme derangement Kidney failure Elevated blood glucose
Tendon problems Anemia Sexual dysfunction

Recent research,9, which followed subjects for 25 years, suggests there's a very important relationship between your heart health and your brain function, and that this relationship starts much earlier in life than previously thought. The study links late-teen to early adulthood blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels with mental acuity in your mid-life years:

  • People with higher blood pressure and/or higher blood glucose early in life scored lower on all tests devised to assess memory and learning, brain aging, and decision processing speed
  • People with higher cholesterol early in life scored lower on the learning and memory tests

Now, when you consider the negative effects statins have on your heart muscle, combined with their detrimental neurological impact and their tendency to elevate blood glucose, it would seem like these drugs might actually significantly speed up the onset of dementia when given to young children, thereby doing more damage than simply living with health risk factors such as high blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol.

Vitamin D Also Plays a Role in Alzheimer's Prevention

Your brain function, as your heart health, is also dependent on both appropriate amounts of cholesterol and healthy vitamin D levels — a fact that again ties heart and brain health together. A recent article in the Daily Herald, written by Dr. Patrick B. Massey, MD, Ph.D., medical director for complementary and alternative medicine at Alexian Brothers Hospital Network, discusses the importance of vitamin D for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

"'Not by coincidence, vitamin D deficiency exists in 70-90 percent of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease,' he writes. 'Medical studies have demonstrated that increased vitamin D levels either through sun exposure or supplementation improves cognitive function in the elderly. These positive results have been seen in those diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease as well as those who do not have this illness.

The benefits of vitamin D supplementation may appear in four weeks resulting in enhanced processing speed as well as cognitive abilities. Indeed, one recent medical trial demonstrated that taking vitamin D and the Alzheimer's medication memantine resulted in better outcomes than either memantine or vitamin D alone. Vitamin D supplementation is a simple and effective way of treating and preventing Alzheimer's disease and may be the best option at this time.'"

As you can see, vitamin D and cholesterol are integral players in both heart disease and Alzheimer's disease, and that while statins can dramatically reduce your cholesterol, these drugs tend to have a detrimental effect on both your heart and brain. According to Dr. Seneff, insufficient fat and cholesterol in your brain play a critical role in the disease process, and she makes a compelling case for how statin drugs promote the disease. For more in-depth information about this, please refer to Dr. Seneff's MIT paper, "APOE-4: The Clue to Why Low Fat Diet and Statins May Cause Alzheimer's."

Tying It All Together

All in all, Dr. Seneff's research makes a very compelling case for getting appropriate sun exposure in order to normalize your cholesterol levels, thereby promoting both heart and brain health. While you can take oral vitamin D pills, there is virtually no doubt in my mind that future research (likely 20-30 years from now) will show that increasing your vitamin D levels through sensible sun exposure or a safe tanning bed is far superior to swallowing vitamin D. To summarize Dr. Seneff's research into layman's terms the two inter-related disease processes described earlier would look something like this:

Lack of sun exposure → cholesterol sulfate deficiency → plaque formation (to produce cholesterol sulfate that protects your heart) → cardiovascular disease (which places you at greater risk for decreased brain function)

Furthermore, Dr. Seneff and many others also stress the importance of reducing your refined sugar and processed fructose consumption to prevent heart disease. While not specifically addressed in this article, as I chose to focus on cholesterol and vitamin D, fructose consumption also significantly contributes to cardiovascular disease in the following manner:

High fructose consumption → over-taxed liver → impaired cholesterol formation → cholesterol deficiency → plaque formation to compensate for cholesterol sulfate deficiency → cardiovascular disease

The reversal of these disease processes would then look like this:

Appropriate sun exposure + low-sugar diet = optimal cholesterol production in your liver + optimal cholesterol sulfate production in your skin → healthy cholesterol levels and absence of arterial plaque

Naturally, while sun exposure and a low-sugar diet are important, if not critical, for optimizing your heart health, there are many other lifestyle factors that can make or break your cardiovascular health. For more suggestions on how to optimize your cholesterol levels without drugs, please see my previous article, "Statin Nation: The Great Cholesterol Cover-Up."

How Vitamin D Performance Testing Can Help Optimize Your Health

Additionally, a robust and growing body of research clearly shows that vitamin D is absolutely critical for good health and disease prevention. Vitamin D affects your DNA through vitamin D receptors (VDRs), which bind to specific locations of the human genome. Scientists have identified nearly 3,000 genes that are influenced by vitamin D levels, and vitamin D receptors have been found throughout the human body.

Is it any wonder then that no matter what disease or condition is investigated, vitamin D appears to play a crucial role? This is why I am so excited about the D*Action Project by GrassrootsHealth. It is showing how you can take action today on known science with a consensus of experts without waiting for institutional lethargy. It has shown how by combining the science of measurement (of vitamin D levels) with the personal choice of taking action and, the value of education about individual measures that one can truly be in charge of their own health.

In order to spread this health movement to more communities, the project needs your involvement. This was an ongoing campaign during the month of February, and will become an annual event.

To participate, simply purchase the D*Action Measurement Kit and follow the registration instructions included. (Please note that 100 percent of the proceeds from the kits go to fund the research project. I do not charge a single dime as a distributor of the test kits.)

As a participant, you agree to test your vitamin D levels twice a year during a five-year study, and share your health status to demonstrate the public health impact of this nutrient. There is a $65 fee every six months for your sponsorship of this research project, which includes a test kit to be used at home, and electronic reports on your ongoing progress. You will get a follow up email every six months reminding you "it's time for your next test and health survey."



~A.