Health care tips to be shared

A presenter at the Aberdeen Area Senior Center Friday will share tips on how to improve clinic visits.

 A student from the University of Mary will share information on health care. The public is invited to attend.

 The program is called "Access to Healthcare, Health Communication and Health Information Technology." The presentation is at 10 a.m. in the Helen Schultz Activity Room at the Aberdeen Area Senior Center, 1303 Seventh Ave. S.E.

Source  http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/aan-health-care-tips-to-be-shared-20130409,0,6757150.story

Spring Health Tips From Dr. Marty Becker

Although some sections of the country still are experiencing below-average frigid temperatures, I find it hard to believe that spring arrives in only four days.

To help pet parents gear up for springtime, Dr. Marty Becker, “America’s Veterinarian” shared some of his timely tips and tricks for the upcoming seasonal transition.

With spring shedding upon us,you might be already seeing an abundance of pet hair settling on furniture, carpets and floors. To deal with this spring shedding, brush your pet thoroughly to help get rid of the loose hair and finish by giving your pet a bath.

Since animals have a different skin pH than humans, only use a shampoo made specifically for pets. Dr. Marty highly recommends the Furminator as an excellent grooming tool for cats. This easy to use accessory not only reduces up to 90 percent of pet shedding, it also helps kitties from producing those nasty and potentially dangerous trichobezoars (aka hairballs). Be sure to check out the included directions so your kitty’s experience with the Furminator is purrfect. Our own cats love it!

During the winter months, pets tend to get less exercise and gain those extra pounds. Now that the weather is getting warmer, while pets don’t worry much about the upcoming “bikini season”, maintaining our pet’s optimum weight is essential to keep them healthy.

Did you know that 52.5 percent of dogs, and 58.3 percent of cats in the United States are overweight? Since obesity in pets is the cause of many serious medical conditions, it’s a no brainer that Dr Marty encourages getting that excess weight off.  Please consult with your veterinarian prior to putting your pet on exercise and weight reductions programs.  And since pets age at a much faster rate than humans, Dr. Marty stresses the importance of pets having semi-annual veterinary wellness exams in order to nip in the bud any underlying medical problems.

Providing your pet with excellent nutrition is the cornerstone of robust health. At the same time, to prevent weight gain and keeping it off, Dr. Marty recommends feeding pets smaller portions several times a day. Using food puzzles is an excellent way to give pets some exercise pets and to keep them from getting bored.  However, most food puzzles for cats are configured to dispense dry food only, so for guardians who feed moist food, Dr. Marty suggests putting small amounts of their food on plastic container lids, hidden in different locations throughout the house.

Maintaining healthy teeth and gums is crucial to keep pets in great condition. While many owners brush their pet’s teeth regularly, Dr. Marty also recommends the C.E.T. Oral Hygiene Chews for dogs and cats, which are available online.

Speaking of nipping medical conditions in the bud, Dr. Marty strongly recommends year-round pet parasite control--no matter in what part of the country you reside. Indoor pets are at just as high a risk of becoming infested as those who live outdoors.  Fleas, ticks and other “heinous hitchhikers” can enter homes on the pant legs or shoes of an unsuspecting human. They can gain access through an open screened in window, and hop right onto an unwary cat or dog. In fact, just one tiny mosquito carrying heartworm larvae can transmit this extremely dangerous parasite to your beloved furry companion.

Source  http://www.petside.com/article/spring-health-tips-dr-marty-becker

Top 4 Health Tips: Keep your fruits and veggies safe

An apple a day will keep the doctor away … but only if you clean it first. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say 23 percent of all food-borne illnesses are caused by contaminated vegetables. That's 2.2 million out of 9.6 million reported cases. And produce foods — which include vegetables, fruits and nuts — sicken 4.4 million people a year.

Scary stuff. Here are ways from Women's Health magazine, published by Rodale, to help you take precautions to lower the number of harmful microbes that could be present.

CHECK FOR BLEMISHES

1 Fruits and vegetables with bruises, cuts and nicks have a greater risk of being contaminated with a food-borne illness. Make sure you inspect every surface of produce you intend to buy beforehand so that you don't contaminate other foods in your shopping cart.

WASH BEFORE YOU EAT

2 It's tempting to sneak a few grapes between shopping aisles, but hold off until you're home. Most of the harmful bacteria are on the outer skins of produce. For bananas and oranges, peeling the outer layers will leave you with safe food on the inside — just make sure your hands are clean. For other foods, a minute of thorough rinsing will reduce potentially dangerous bacteria.

COOK AT A HIGH TEMPERATURE

3 You may prefer your veggies raw, but washing them is only half the battle. Cook vegetables at 160 degrees Fahrenheit will kill most of the harmful microbes. Boiling and steaming will get the job done, but if you're grilling, heat the outer surfaces well.

STORE SAFELY

4 Don't let your food sit in your fridge uncovered. Store food in closed plastic containers or cover with plastic wrap and cool them in a temperature of at least 38 degrees. Vegetables last three or four days, so be sure to eat them in that time frame. Keep these closed foods away from raw meat on a separate shelf or compartment so juices won't drip on them.

Source  http://articles.mcall.com/2013-02-15/entertainment/mc-top-4-health-tips-lehigh-valley-0216-20130215_1_food-borne-safe-food-fruits-and-veggies

Rebellion a topical shifting idea: Jeet Thayil

 Booker-nominated author Jeet Thayil, who was caught up in a controversy for reading out portions of Salman Rushdie's banned book during last year's Jaipur Literature Festival, today said there are people in every gathering who are quick to take offence.

"It seems (that especially here) there is a contingent of people at every gathering looking at a sentence or a gesture to get offended. It is cheapening of the idea of rebellion," said Thayil addressing a session titled "A rebel state", at the the Lit Fest here.

In the spirit of the theme of the session, when invited to read out from his debut book "Nacropolis", the Delhi-based poet and author chose to read out a section filled with a very common Hindi swear word.

Issuing a disclaimer before he began to read, Thayil said, "My apologies to anyone who might feel offended. But this is being said by a character in my book."

"It contains a word that is very commonly heard in Mumbai but is not very often employed in English literature," he said.

As the audience applauded at the end of his reading, Thayil expressed his gratitude to the small gathering at the first session of the last day of the five-day festival.

"Thanks for being a sport," he said.

Thayil was in conversation with Marathi writer Bhalchandra Nemade who extended his support to the author, and said "there is ample scope for rebels like Jeet to exist".

The discussion that centred around rebellion in literature.

Nemade also argued that every rebellion is necessary in some way. "Every rebellion has a constructive value," he said.

Thayil also pointed out the idea of rebellion changes over time.

"The writers or poets who were once considered rebels are now thought of as part of the cannon. So rebellion is a topical shifting idea," he added.

What remains to be seen, according to him, is how any writing considered rebellious now is perceived in the future.

"We need to see how these books are read in the 30 to 50 years," Thayil said.

At the the end of the session, Nemade had a message for the young generation to go much ahead of just rebellion in books. "A bit of revolution will clear the country forever. So, this would be my message to the younger generation."

At the JLF 2012, Thayil was at the center of a row after he read passages from Salman Rushdie's banned book "Satanic Verses". The aftereffects were seen even this year when some groups voiced opposition to his inclusion in this year's festival and also when he bagged this year's DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. 

Source  http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/news/rebelliontopical-shifting-idea-jeet-thayil/115551/

Kitty Seawall road best site for 1823 Slave Rebellion monument- Sculptor

Amid controversy over government’s location of the1823 Slave Rebellion Monument, Sculptor Ivor Thom insisted that the Kitty Seawall Road is the best site.

“The land space was there, place for parking and everything was there and more than , anything else, the viewing was very good,” he told a news conference.

He said “we thought that that would have been the best place to put it” because it could be easily seen by persons traversing to and from East Coast Demerara from different directions.

“I still think that…it is the best of all the areas that were suggested,” said Thom.

A broad cross section of African Guyanese groups had planned to meet with Thom to urge him to make a public statement about the location. Those groups plan to ignore the government-built monument and go ahead with plans to build their monument on Parade Ground. They say that it was there slaves were tried, convicted and executed.

However, Culture Minister Frank Anthony has said that a monument on Parade Ground would not be widely seen by Guyanese and it would obstruct the playing of football and other games there.

The state-run Government Information Agency (GINA) said Thom explained the sequence of events that led to the selection of the current location, which he said fulfills the criterion.

Thom outlined the circumstances regarding the site’s selection.    He noted that while preparing his model for the monument he had Paradise, on the East Coast of Demerara, as a possible site however, after being awarded the contract he became aware that certain criterion had to be met regarding the monument’s location. This includes emotional and physical connection to the rebellion, ambience, adequate land space, accessibility, public view, parking and connection to African people.

Currently the base for the monument is being completed and when that is done the monument will be unveiled.

A number of areas were suggested and visited including the Victoria Law Court, Parade Ground, National Park, Success/Montrose, Château Margot, LBI, Old RDC office at Paradise, Melanie Damishana, Ann’s Grove, Belfield, Bachelor’s Adventure and Mahaica.

Thom explained that points were awarded to the suggested areas on the site selection criteria, and based on that Paradise and LBI received the most points. However, LBI was ruled out since it is a predominantly East Indian community and does not tie in with the criterion which entails connection to African people.

After reviewing the other areas, Melanie was identified since Paradise didn’t have the adequate land space. Thom noted that challenges arose with regards to locating the owner of the available land space in Melanie. Indications of its unavailability were clear after a basketball court was constructed on the said land.

With regards to the protests, Thom stated that it was being peddled that Former President Bharat Jagdeo had turned the sod for the 1823 monument however, after visiting the archives it was found that the former President had turned the sod for an Emancipation monument, and not for the 1823 monument.

Additionally, advertisements were issued in the newspapers seeking suggestions for the monument site and only one person responded with Parade Ground. It was found that there was not suitable for several reasons, one being that the monument had to be of a certain height and based on that its viewing would have posed as challenge.

In this regard, it was decided that if there was no suitable place on the East Coast for the monument then it should be placed as close as possible to the ECD, hence the current site, at Carifesta and Vlissengen Roads, was viewed as the gateway to the ECD.

Thom recalled that in 2007 one of the African groups in Guyana contacted him to design a monument based on the contributions made by Africans to Guyana and such was done. Thom brought a model/scale version to Guyana to show the group that said it was sexist because it only had a male figure. The necessary changes were made, and to this date the group has not made contact with Thom again.

Source  http://www.demerarawaves.com/index.php/201301045252/Latest/kitty-seawall-road-best-site-for-1823-slave-rebellion-monument-sculptor.html

After a Decade of Hardship, State Spending Still Up

As Virginians ponder the amendments to Virginia’s two-year budget proposed this morning by Governor Bob McDonnell, it is worth remembering the extent to which state government spending has increased over the past 10 years despite three years of hardship occasioned by the 2008 recession.

Over the last decade, Virginia’s operating budget increased by $15.4 billion (62%) — a 35% increase in general funds and an 86% increase in non-general funds. When controlling for growth in population and inflation, total budget growth was 18% over the ten-year period.

So says “The Review of State Spending: 2012 Update” released November by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC). After adjustments, General Fund spending actually declined 1% over the decade but non-general fund spending more than made up the difference.

Nine of 196 programs — including health care, education and transportation — accounted for 78% of the total budget growth over the 10-year period. Interesting… health care, education and transportation are three of the most dysfunctional sectors of Virginia’s (and the United States’) economy. All three sectors are exempt from market discipline, and all three are resistant to  fundamental re-thinking or reform. While tinkering on the margins, Virginia’s political establishment continues to pump more money into these broken institutions.

Source  http://www.baconsrebellion.com/2012/12/after-a-decade-of-hardship-state-spending-still-up.html

ALMS: Rebellion Confirms Single P1 Entry For 2013

As first revealed in a SPEED.com exclusive last month, Rebellion Racing made its plans official Wednesday to enter the American Le Mans Series, committing to a single full-season entry for its Lola B12/60 Toyota.

The Anglo-Swiss squad, which took overall honors in October's Petit Le Mans, will additionally field a second P1 class contender in the 2013 season-opening Twelve Hours of Sebring, with driver lineups for both cars yet to be confirmed.

A parallel program in the FIA World Endurance Championship, where Rebellion won this year's Endurance Trophy for Private LMP1 teams, is also being evaluated, which could see the team's other two Lola-Toyotas put into action in the global sports car championship.

"We want to build upon those results in 2013 and aim to add to our tally of overall race wins," said team manager Bart Hayden. "The visibility generated by overall wins is more in line with what our partners require and desire.

"The WEC is a World Championship and we would like to find a way to continue racing there too. Over the coming weeks, we will be striving to put together a program to complement our presence in the ALMS.

"We are a team that has grown up with the Le Mans spirit since our involvement in the GT class in the early 2000’s and we want to continue racing in championships that mix the very best professional prototype and GT teams. I will be particularly pleased if we can succeed in finding a way to run cars in both the ALMS and the FIA WEC in 2013.”

On the driver front, SPEED.com has learned that 2012 European Le Mans Series champion Mathias Beche has already signed with the team, with the remainder of the lineup set to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

The official confirmation of Rebellion's presence in the premier prototype ranks of the ALMS will see no fewer than three full-season entries in 2013, joining at least one Dyson Racing Lola B12/60 and reigning champions Muscle Milk Pickett Racing with its soon-to-be-upgraded HPD ARX-03c.

Source  http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/alms-rebellion-confirms-single-p1-entry-for-2013/