Posts by sammielee24

52

Old People Should Hurry Up and Die - says the New Japanese Finance Minister

by fulltimestudent in

the newish japanese government is conservative in bent, and its finance minister recently raised eyebrows with the above statement.

japan, as you may know, is a rapidly aging society as the long falling birthrate bites into the demographics.. here's how the english guardian reports this tale:.

let elderly people 'hurry up and die', says japanese ministertaro aso says he would refuse end-of-life care and would 'feel bad' knowing treatment was paid for by government.

sammielee24

I can tell you today in my Bioethics class--and in every policy-making discussion in the civilized world--we discussed the following: Just how do we tell "we the people" that we no longer will pay $1,000 daily to feed grandma while she dies? (JT)

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Well, I suppose that it would be in the same way we would be forced to cull the same human herd by telling people that their disabled child will no longer be fed, educated and housed. The cost of raising a disabled child, the cost of saving a premature baby in some cases is in the millions and with aftercare, sometimes for life, is a huge cost. Last figures I saw were that almost 50 million are classified in the USA as disabled, two thirds of those severe enough to use long term disability benefits. During this last economic depression, the numbers of people on disability pension jumped by approximately 7 million people.

I used to work within the health care sector for challenged invidiuals - residential homes, day care, full time staffing, supplies, special education, specialists, doctors, transportation, administration - there is whole industry out there with budgets in the millions of dollars - so how does society tell all of them and their families 'we the people' will no longer pay for you to exist - since many of them require assistance to survive?

If we deem grandma to be too costly to keep alive because she's past her 'due date', how do you justify the expense to the rest of the population in keeping disabled persons or babies alive that in many cases, don't have the potential that even old grandma had? Or still has.

It's a slippery slope that I'm sure some would like to travel down - I wouldn't want to. Nobody can agree to allow voluntary assisted end of life programs - that might be a first step in the move before it gets to 'letting granny endure forced starvation'.

sammieswife

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No More Million Dollar Babies

by James Leonard Park 1. THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE WAYS TO USE HEALTH-CARE DOLLARS FOR BABIES.

Caring for a premature baby in an incubator
in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
can cost $5,000 per day.
Thus, 100 days in the NICU costs about half a million dollars.
And if the premature infant needs surgery or other specialized treatments,
the costs can easily mount to more than a million dollars.

Instead of treating one premature infant to a million dollars of health-care,
it might be wiser to spent $1,000 each on 1,000 other babies,
giving their mothers prenatal care
so that these babies will not need intensive care after birth.

If the individual family had to pay the costs themselves,
how many would impoverish themselves in order to save one premature infant?
Is there a family that has sold everything they own — house, car, jewelry, stocks — to provide intensive care for an infant born too soon?

Instead of spending all of these assets to save one newborn,
most families would probably allow nature to take its course,
resulting in the death of an infant that had little chance of surviving.
They would grieve deeply for this loss.
And then perhaps they would try for another baby,
a child that will not have overwhelming medical problems as soon as it is born.

But our present system of medical care automatically assumes
that each premature infant should be saved no matter what the costs .

How can we shift the money available for premature babies
so that there will be fewer of them ?
Preventing premature births is much more cost-effective
than giving intensive care to babies born at a very low birth-weight and size.

Insurance companies routinely pay to care for infants born before they were fully formed.
And even mothers who have no health insurance
have their premature infants routinely placed in the NICU.

Emotionally it is difficult to let an individual baby go,
especially when we have some technical capacity to save that premature baby.
But health-care costs do matter.
Would it do more good to apply that million dollars
to perhaps 1,000 other newborn babies?
Frequently, inexpensive health-care can make a dramatic difference.

More healthy babies will result if we discover how to say "yes"
to health-care for the one thousand expectant mothers
who will have routine births and "no" to that one in a thousand
who will give birth to an infant so early in its gestation
that there is no way to save it from death
without spending one million dollars before it will be ready to go home.

In another cyber-sermon,
I have set a limit for my own life-time medical care .
I choose not to absorb more than one million dollars
of the money available for my health-care:
"Voluntary Rationing of Health-Care":

52

Old People Should Hurry Up and Die - says the New Japanese Finance Minister

by fulltimestudent in

the newish japanese government is conservative in bent, and its finance minister recently raised eyebrows with the above statement.

japan, as you may know, is a rapidly aging society as the long falling birthrate bites into the demographics.. here's how the english guardian reports this tale:.

let elderly people 'hurry up and die', says japanese ministertaro aso says he would refuse end-of-life care and would 'feel bad' knowing treatment was paid for by government.

sammielee24

You are very naive Was..

Do you realize that there are millions of kids who would love to head on out to a program distributing flyers but that those kids are forced to stay at home to raise their siblings because they have NO choice? Do you really not understand that it isn't just a color issue but a real life issue. There are kids who are drugged by 8 years old because thats what is around them - their choices are determined by their environment.

Do you know how many kids want to just make it to school alive or use school as a safe haven? They don't have choices that are their own - they are owned by others and by their environment.

Where you come from has everything to do with where you go. There are many people who go where they are taught they should by the experiences they have. Opportunity does not come often enough for the poor and they are put down at every turn. Poor neighborhoods. Poor school districts. Poor clothes. Poor social abilities. Poor food. Poor support systems.

It's nice to say it's more important where you are going - I've seen a whole whack of people who made decisions based on all they knew and all they knew was from their life experience. I've seen a great many make choices within the only life they ever knew and from the outside, anyone can point and say 'look, you made a choice'...sometimes for them the choice is a or b but both are going to trap them. That's reality. There are millions of kids who never make it to school because they can't - lack of food, lack of clothes, lack of sleep, fear - that is the life for many a child and their decisions in life are applied to relieve those fears or inadequaties sometimes just to survive - choice and taking the time to make a decision about life is a lot easier when you are wrm, well fed, safe and loved. Millions of kids don't have that. They survive. This is not specific to one pregnant girl or one color - it is within all segments of society. sammieswife

52

Old People Should Hurry Up and Die - says the New Japanese Finance Minister

by fulltimestudent in

the newish japanese government is conservative in bent, and its finance minister recently raised eyebrows with the above statement.

japan, as you may know, is a rapidly aging society as the long falling birthrate bites into the demographics.. here's how the english guardian reports this tale:.

let elderly people 'hurry up and die', says japanese ministertaro aso says he would refuse end-of-life care and would 'feel bad' knowing treatment was paid for by government.

sammielee24

Sulla, regaurdless of ones circumstance, they still have a choice Yes, it is harder for some to climb out. But it starts wit a choice

What is MOST important to recognize is that the circumstances that one lives in is often the result of the choices made. ALL the circumstances. A child raised in an environment of abuse and hunger, surrounded by addiction may have little support in their life - they may have NO experience or real understanding of life outside their own parameters and therefore, they make choices and decisions that they see as offered up within that environment.

You can say that "I had a child'..or 'we weren't rich'..but that means nothing. There are people who are not economically wealthy but who have a solid, firm foundation and expectation for their children. A mother perhaps who might work in Walmart but who does not drink, or do drugs, who engages with her child on a daily and consistent basis, is involved with the life of the child and that foundation of security and expectation can propel a child into making different or better choices than the child in the same neighborhood, with a mother who works at the same store, but who is more involved in her own life than that of her child. We see it all the time. sammieswife

191

Have You Prepared For The "Flu" And Do You Get A Flu Shot?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i try to keep my hands clean regularly and stay away from areas and people that i know are sick.. i have never gotten a flu shot and i do know that many that do get one, get the flu anyway.. still, the flu is considered very very bad this year..

sammielee24

Barrold - get a grip.

My point was not name dropping Dr Oz - and again, I could care less who you read, listen to or learn from because it doesn't matter to me.

What it makes you appear to be, is someone less interested in varying opinions and more interested in only name dropping anyone saying anything that you deem absolute in your world.

My point about Dr Oz was in that he had THREE different sources on his show in order to provide THREE opinions. One of them was from the CDC. If you care to object to the spokesperson for that organization because he is tainted by Dr Oz, then who are you willing to listen to? Oh wait - the next buy was a researcher for John Hopkins..so you don't like his opinion either because he was on Dr Oz? Pulleez. Get a grip. sammieswife

38

Top Ten most SHOPLIFTED items?

by Terry in

jw
friends

i realize that such stolen items would have to be in some way portable and this eliminates most large items from the list.

still, i was surprised!.

does anybody have any thoughts as to whether this list is indicative of any special need trends among humanity today?.

sammielee24

The problem as with most things is that if demand goes up, the price keeps going up. Test strips are paid for on a lot of insurance plans and in the USA they might be covered by State plans or Medicare. In Florida they reported that testing for diabetes was decreasing but the cost of strips was increasing dramatically. There are people who get the strips paid for through insurance, who then turn around and sell them for cash thereby earning a 100% profit. The more they do it, the greater the cost to everyone else. Apparently it's in the millions of dollars in abuse. Kind of like meds - people will cut them in half and then sell half a prescription - it's a cycle. This quote is from a State insurance plan - as you can see the strips are free - for some people that means they can sell them - and at a cost of $1.00 a strip in some places, it's a good chunk of change for them depending on how many strips they are allowed. Do I blame someone who needs them and wants to save money from buying gray market? No. sammieswife

EGINNING JANUARY 1, 2011, A PREFERRED DIABETIC SUPPLY LIST (PDSL) WILL BE IMPLEMENTED.

What does this mean for me?

You will need to start using one of the blood glucose monitors listed in the table below. If you have a blood glucose monitor that is not on the list below, you will need to speak with your doctor to get a new prescription for one of the blood glucose monitors and test strips listed below. New blood glucose monitors and test strips will be provided at no cost to you. If you already have one of the blood glucose monitors listed below, you do not need to do anything.

38

Top Ten most SHOPLIFTED items?

by Terry in

jw
friends

i realize that such stolen items would have to be in some way portable and this eliminates most large items from the list.

still, i was surprised!.

does anybody have any thoughts as to whether this list is indicative of any special need trends among humanity today?.

sammielee24

They do steal makeup etc Cheech. I twice got home with an item that had been sealed up only to find it completely empty inside. As for allergy medicine - I can get it here right off the shelf no problem but when we were in the midwest last time and had to pick some up, we felt like criminals when we had to stand in line and ask the pharmacist behind the counter for a box. Then show photo identification and then get restricted to one package and eyeballed....

I think the economy has a lot to do with some people stealing these things - last year it was diapers and laundry soap - the thieves would steal it and then resell it on the very cheap to people on the street - they made a mint off of it and the consumer was mighty happy at the savings...

Here is some info from a few years back on baby formula - sammieswife

he Food Marketing Institute, maintains a list ofthe 50 most shoplifted items. While the number one most shoplifted item is a 50 count packet of Advil, Similac makes the list three times. A case of Similac with Iron formula ranks #7on the top 50 most shoplifted items while a single can of Similac with iron ranks number #8. Similac concentrate with iron ranks number 21 on the list.

One question that would surely arise would be why are all of these people stealing infant formula. Is this infant formula being used for infants? The answer is yes and no. There is a black market out there for infant formula. The item can be stolen and sold to a mom in need for half the retail price. This does happen but it is not the most common use.

Infant formula is often used in the drug world. Drug dealers use powdered baby formula to cut the strength of cocaine and heroin. According to a recent article in Chicago's Journal Standard, "the popular powdered baby formula is primarily used in the drug world to dilute heroin and methamphetamine or to stretch the product when supplies run low." Special Agent Joanna Zoltay states that, "The consistency and the way it looks is what makes it a good cutting agent," Zoltay said. Infant formula is non-toxic and relatively safe to cut with any number of drugs.

The DEA also had a case several years ago where street gangs in Chicago were using baby formula containers to conceal illegal drugs, she added.

64

Anyone Else See Les Miserables?

by BizzyBee in

jw
friends

i went to see it today - by myself (mr bee is on a golf junket).

i was glad that that i was by myself because i cried so much at the end, i wouldn't have wanted to be with anyone who wasn't crying - and that would not have been mr bee!.

les miserables the current film is adapted from what is considered one of the half-dozen greatest novels of the past 150 years and one of the longest novels ever written.

sammielee24

Absolutely loved it! Would watch it again. The stage only allows you to physically see so much although the voices always tend to be superior - I felt the movie allowed you to see the emotion so much better that it could be felt than just heard. With the movie I could become part of their anguish - with the stage it's like watching their anguish.

I thought Ann Hathaway was phenomenal - I was leery when I heard all the acolades she got but that changed when her voice became her emotion. Crowe was not great but then again, I didn't expect him to be and Hugh did a good job of Jean.

This is a movie that I will watch a few times over again - it exceeded my expectations. sammieswife

191

Have You Prepared For The "Flu" And Do You Get A Flu Shot?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i try to keep my hands clean regularly and stay away from areas and people that i know are sick.. i have never gotten a flu shot and i do know that many that do get one, get the flu anyway.. still, the flu is considered very very bad this year..

sammielee24

Barrold - don't care much whether or not you like who printed the data - if you are that concerned, go into the websites and read the data that you can find by reading the article. Your choice.

I just watched Dr Oz and he had 3 panel members on discussing this very issue. He himself is a huge supporter of everyone getting a flu shot - but everyone there had a different opinion. Just like people. Do what you need to for yourself but as long as there is no vaccine that is completely safe and totally effective, it is a personal decision. Here is the summary interview with Oz - so Barrold if you don't like the good Doctor either - or the CDC rep on there - or the John Hopkins researcher on there - then you aren't actively looking for all the information on why people are making the decisions they do. sammieswife

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Dr Oz: Flu Season 2013

The flu is hitting America hard and many of the country’s hospital emergency rooms are overflowing with patients after the biggest flu outbreak in a decade. Dr. Oz is concerned and today he was addressing everyone’s biggest questions about the flu season.

Dr Oz: Hospitals Overflowing With Flu Patients

Cities all over the country are experiencing a flu epidemic, so Dr. Oz decided to visit the emergency department of the hospital where he practices in New York. What he saw when he walked in shocked him. There were so many patients in the ER that the hospital’s lobby had to be turned into makeshift exam rooms for numerous patients. One patient even believed he had done everything right in order to stay healthy, including getting a flu shot, but he still wound up extremely ill.

Dr. Oz assembled a group of medical experts to debate whether or not young and elderly people should get a flu shot even if it is only 62 percent effective.

Dr Oz: Flu Vaccine Only 62 Percent Effective

With one person saying he got the flu shot and he still wound up in the hospital, can we believe the flu shot works? Dr. Oz wanted to answer that question. He assembled a panel of experts with varying opinions to discuss whether flu shots are worth getting.

Dr. Dan Jernigan from the Center for Disease Control explained flu shots are designed to fight specific strains of the virus and this needs to be adjusted every year. If you got a flu shot in the fall, you are only protected from the strain that was around in the fall. Now that the winter months have arrived, so have new strands if the flu virus, strands that are impervious to the fall flu shot.

Dr. Jernigan shared the fact that the flu vaccine is just 62 percent effective, but is the best tool for preventing the flu. Dr. Oz was a bit stunned and said he thought the flu shot was around 90 percent effective.

Dr Oz: No Studies Show Flu Shot Works In Elderly

Dr. Peter Doshi, a flu vaccine researcher from Johns Hopkins University, believes Americans have been misled as to the benefits of the flu vaccine. Our primary focus in the past has been to save the lives of the elderly by vaccinating them against illnesses like the flu and pneumonia, but studies have shown there is no evidence the elderly can lower their incidence of the flu, pneumonia or death by getting a flu shot.

Even in healthy, younger people, they would need to vaccinate between 33 and 100 of them them in order to prevent just one from getting the flu. One woman in the audience, a younger woman, said she decided to get the flu shot this year and has felt more sick this year than in past years.

Dr Oz: Flu Vaccine Alone Does Not Prevent Flu

Dr. Jernigan said they would certainly love to see a better flu vaccine and more patients getting the shot to protect themselves, but noted it is also very important to take other influenza prevention matters.

Dr. Neal Flomenbaum, who works in emergency medicine, added the biggest mistake people make is thinking that if they get a flu shot they are fully protected, but that is not the case. There are a number of things that must be done to stay healthy, from washing your hands often to not sharing germs through the same cup or bowl with other people.

Dr Oz: Flu Shot Not Necessary For Young People

Dr. Susan Blum does not get a flu shot for herself and she does not recommend them to all of her patients. She only recommends the vaccine to patients with chronic illness who are at higher risk for complications. She also suggested her patients over the age of 65 get the shot because of a weakened immune system. She does not recommend the flu shot for her younger patients who are healthy individuals because there are other ways for them to prevent themselves from getting sick from the flu.

Dr Oz: Everyone Needs To Get the Flu Shot

In the end, everyone on Dr. Oz’s panel was split on whether every single person watching his show should get the flu vaccine. Dr. Oz on the other hand, did believe everyone should get the flu shot because it is a good measure of prevention during such an extreme outbreak of the illness. Dr. Oz said it is everyone’s responsibility to stop the spread of the flu by getting vaccinated.

He also said everyone should get the flu shot because it can lessen the severity of the flu if you do end up getting sick from it.

191

Have You Prepared For The "Flu" And Do You Get A Flu Shot?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i try to keep my hands clean regularly and stay away from areas and people that i know are sick.. i have never gotten a flu shot and i do know that many that do get one, get the flu anyway.. still, the flu is considered very very bad this year..

sammielee24

Minimus - if you are travelling, the best wipes to carry are alcohol based. That's the only thing that will kill the germs that linger on those phones and remote controls etc in a hotel room or a door know. sammieswife

191

Have You Prepared For The "Flu" And Do You Get A Flu Shot?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i try to keep my hands clean regularly and stay away from areas and people that i know are sick.. i have never gotten a flu shot and i do know that many that do get one, get the flu anyway.. still, the flu is considered very very bad this year..

sammielee24

I think people have a right to determine if they want to have a substance injected into them on an annual basis and that is not a guarantee of good health. Nobody knows how they will react and there are thousands of people who have reactions from the shots - some severe and debilitating and disabling and some causing death. Last report stated that at least half of all doctors and nurses refuse a flu shot and the push is on to get them injected as a PR campaign. I think if a person feels fine getting one they should but for those that look to stay healthy and choose not to get one, then I think that is their right. When even doctors and scientists can't agree on whether all the vaccines are safe or necessary - I think it's pretty well up to each individual to decide for themselves and their families. sammieswife

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BeWellBuzz) We were surprised by the overwhelming response for our “10 Reasons Why Flu Shots Are More Dangerous Than a Flu” article. Thanks for your comments – we are glad to know that the article was beneficial for most of you.

Some of you expressed your concerns over the authenticity of facts in the article, so we made it a point to cite more research studies conducted over the last one year to prove that flu shots are dangerous:

1) Sanofi Pasteur’s Fluzone High-Dose is a new influenza vaccine created in 2010 for people over 65 years of age. Even though the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) insists that the vaccine is as safe as any other seasonal vaccine, the fact is that the shot is replete with side effects like pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, headache, muscle aches, fever, and malaise.

All the listed negative symptoms were observed during clinical studies for Fluzone High-Dose.

2) The CDC says that the 2011-2012 flu vaccine may also have the same side effects the 2010-2011 vaccines had. These include soreness, redness, tenderness, or swelling where the shot is administered and nasal congestion after the flu vaccine nasal spray.

3) The 2009 package insert for Novartis’ Monovalent Vaccine which was leaked on the internet created a huge uproar. Why? Because, its side effects, as stated on the insert, include: Guillain-Barre Syndrome, anaphylactic shock, vasculitis, and get this- death.

This finding backed two studies conducted in 2007 and 2009, of which the latter found that out of every million people diagnosed with flu, between 40 and 70 developed Guillain-Barre after getting the shot. However, this information didn’t stop Government health officials from pushing the vaccine into the market in 2010 and 2011.

4) In December of 2010, however, the flu vaccine formulated specifically for children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years old was found to be causing a higher than normal incidence of febrile seizures

5) In February 2010, The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 12 countries had recorded a possible link between the development of narcolepsy, a chronic nervous system disorder that makes people uncontrollably fall asleep, and the H1N1 vaccine. Finland, was one of those countries who openly admitted that the swine flu vaccine “conclusively” causes narcolepsy. The Finnish government acknowledged that link and said that would pay for “lifetime medical care” for 79 children who have been irreparably damaged by the swine flu vaccine. Narcolepsy wasn’t the only side effect admitted to be caused by swine flu vaccines: 76 of the 79 children also suffered hallucinations and “paralyzing physical collapses”.

6) A series of miscarriages were recorded in the US after June 2010 due to the H1N1 vaccination. Hundreds of cases were reported across the country, and most miscarriages took place within days of the vaccination.

7) Dr. Hugh Fudenberg, a world renowned immunogeneticist announced that you have a ten-fold increased chance of Alzheimer’s after receiving five flu shots. That’sten times more likelythan no flu shots or one, not ten percent more likely.

8) In 2010 Australia baned flu vaccines in children. Vaccinated children were going into convulsions, began vomiting or exhibiting dangerously high levels of fever.

9) A study published in the Cochrane Systematic Review in 2010 stated that there was no scientific evidence to prove that regular or seasonal flu shots protect people over the age of 65. The study concluded: “Evidence for the safety and efficacy of influenza vaccines in the over 65 is poor, despite the fact that vaccination has been recommended for the prevention of influenza in older people for the past 40 years.”

10) A study conducted by The Lancet in 2010 brought out some startling revelations about the effectiveness of flu shots. The study involved a control group of 13,095 adults who were not vaccinated. The group was monitored to see if participants had been infected by the influenza virus, but 97% remained unaffected.

Only 2.7% or 357 people in the non-vaccinated group ended up contracting the virus. Of the group of adults who were vaccinated with a trivalent inactivated influenza shot, only 1.2% did not catch the flu. The difference between the two outcomes is that the flu vaccine only prevents the flu in 1.5 out of every 100 adults injected with the flu shot not 60% as you’ve been told.

Despite such studies and findings, you still have millions of Americans rushing to stand in line for annual flu shots. In 2010, 130.9 million people got the flu shot- an increase of 8 million people from 2009.