And Now For the News...

[Haggis@wk]

THIS ISN’T GOOD: Totally drug-resistant TB emerges in India.

It’s the result of mismanagement.

“Resistance is man-made, caused by exposure to the wrong treatment, the wrong regimen, the wrong treatment duration.”

Plus this: “The fact that no new first-line TB drugs have been developed for half a century has probably contributed to the emergence of strains that are unresponsive to treatment.”

[Haggis@wk]

HERE’S A ROUNDUP
on that Italian cruise ship disaster, which is sounding almost like a real-life Poseidon Adventure, sans Gene Hackman. “We were crawling up a hallway, in the dark, with only the light from the life vest strobe flashing . . . . We could hear plates and dishes crashing, people slamming against walls.”

The capitan has been arrested for abandoning the ship and manslaughter although "Abandoning ship is the more serious of the potential charges, authorities said."

There were early reports that some the crew didn't help the passengers and "some men" didn't like the idea of women and children first. What a difference a 100 years makes, eh?

[Trumpetmaster]

The 10 Worst Kids’ Breakfast Cereals

Here are the EWG study’s top 10 sugar-bomb kids’ cereals, ranked by percent weight in sugar:

1.Kellogg’s Honey Smacks: 55.6% sugar
2.Post Golden Crisp: 51.9% sugar
3.Kellogg’s Froot Loops Marshmallow: 48.3% sugar
4.Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s OOPS! All Berries: 46.9% sugar
5.Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch Original: 44.4% sugar
6.Quaker Oats Oh!s: 44.4% sugar
7.Kellogg’s Smorz: 43.3% sugar
8.Kellogg’s Apple Jacks: 42.9% sugar
9.Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries: 42.3% sugar
10.Kellogg’s Froot Loops Original: 41.4% sugar

You don't have to wonder why we turn into fat americans.....

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Re the kids' cereals: parents buy it and the nutritional panel is clearly marked on the outside of the box. I always treated these cereals as cookie-equivalent snacks. Breakfast, they're not.

Also, for what it's worth, since I was raised by a nurse and cooked for a diabetic for 25 years, I tend to eat low on the glycemic index. Lots of veggies and whole grain carbs and modest protein allotments. Everything the health and weight-loss gurus advise, I already do.

I'm fat. Always been fat. It ain't always the cereal...

[dai bread]

One thing I've noticed now that I can no longer just eat anything and everything (cf someone close to me at Fat Ivor's) is that I can eat icecream by the plateful with no noticeable effect on the scales next morning. Half a dozen or so biscuits are good for an extra kg.

[BigJon]

The 10 Worst Kids’ Breakfast Cereals

Here are the EWG study’s top 10 sugar-bomb kids’ cereals, ranked by percent weight in sugar:

1.Kellogg’s Honey Smacks: 55.6% sugar
2.Post Golden Crisp: 51.9% sugar
3.Kellogg’s Froot Loops Marshmallow: 48.3% sugar
4.Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s OOPS! All Berries: 46.9% sugar
5.Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch Original: 44.4% sugar
6.Quaker Oats Oh!s: 44.4% sugar
7.Kellogg’s Smorz: 43.3% sugar
8.Kellogg’s Apple Jacks: 42.9% sugar
9.Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries: 42.3% sugar
10.Kellogg’s Froot Loops Original: 41.4% sugar

You don't have to wonder why we turn into fat americans.....

They are all 100% sugar as the simple carb flour in them breaks down easily into sugars. Your body can't tell if the bloodstream sugar came from table sugar, white flour, oat flour or corn flour, and they all hurt you just the same. Give up the whites and that insidious yellow and live.

[Trumpetmaster]

I'm fat. Always been fat. It ain't always the cereal...

I'm fat too.... It is the sugar snacks, eating on the run (fast food) and lack of exercise.
I have yo-yo'd with my weight all my life using different diets.
When I have been able to be on a normal eating schedule, I have lost weight.

My problem is working 12 hours on my day job, trying to balance home life,
then running to music rehearsals, gigs, etc....

Good Grief... is it any wonder why I am always tired....

[jamiebk]

Have finally managed to drop 60+ unwanted, accumulated pounds from my carcass. Cut out fats, starches, desserts, watch portions and I don't snack. I look forward to my "Bear Naked Fruit and Nut" granola each AM topped with extra dried fruits like blueberries, apples, cherries, cranberries etc. Yeah...pretty heavy with sugar (fructose), but yum...and "everything in moderation"

[Haggis@wk]

Have finally managed to drop 60+ unwanted, accumulated pounds from my carcass.

GOODONYA!!!!! I normally range between 170 -180 but too much wine has pushed me past 200 on ocassion. I'm 182 now and, obviously, have cut the wine consumption down.

Staying in my weight range is easier than others (the MRHYN comes to mind, but good manners prevents further comment ) But I always cheers those, like you, who have made the sacrifices and show the commitment.

Actually, given your manly participation in your chosen sport of full contact shark/man knife fights left me surprised that you had to struggle with your weight to begin with!

[Trumpetmaster]

Have finally managed to drop 60+ unwanted, accumulated pounds from my carcass. Cut out fats, starches, desserts, watch portions and I don't snack. I look forward to my "Bear Naked Fruit and Nut" granola each AM topped with extra dried fruits like blueberries, apples, cherries, cranberries etc. Yeah...pretty heavy with sugar (fructose), but yum...and "everything in moderation"

Congratulations!!!

[Giant Communist Robot]

After moving to Hawaii I dropped 30 pounds. Keeping it off is the hard part.

[Shapley]

After moving to Hawaii I dropped 30 pounds.

I picked it up. Would you like it back?

[Giant Communist Robot]

Don't tell me it was that dim sum....

[Shapley]

Don't tell me it was that dim sum....

No, I think it was that dam rum... : )

[Giant Communist Robot]

Costa Concordia Captain says:

he made a "mistake" in colliding with rocks off the Italian island of Giglio.

Full article here.

[Shapley]

Army Silenced Chaplains, Told Them Not To Read Archbishop's Letter Condemning Contraception Mandate

Such is the world we live in today. Church-affiliated insurance and health care providers can be forced to offer contraceptives and abortion services contrary to their long-held beliefs, and the government can silence those who speak out against it.

And people are still whining about the Patriot Act?

[dai bread]

Unless military people have changed drastically since WW1 & 2, contraceptives are a vital part of health care. More specifically, condoms.

[Shapley]

Unless military people have changed drastically since WW1 & 2, contraceptives are a vital part of health care. More specifically, condoms.

They were available for sale when I was in the Navy, but they did not hand them out for free, as they did for generations before us.

However, the Catholic Church did not provide nor encourage their use. The new health care provisions seek to require them to do both. Catholic Priests, including military chaplains, seek to educate Catholics about this affront, but the Army sought to silence them.

[dai bread]

How do Catholics look after their health in that respect? If they abstain, they're made of very stern stuff. I should add that I'm thinking of wartime conditions here, on active service.

[Shapley]

Many Catholics use birth control, some even have surgical operations (vasectomies, etc.), contrary to the Church's teachings.

But, they generally understand that they are sinning in doing so. We aren't supposed to be perfect, but are supposed to try to be.

However, the Church itself is supposed to adhere to the directives of the Pope. Laws are not supposed to be passed in America which require them to do otherwise. It's a basic tenet of the First Amendment. For the government to now argue that health costs override those basic tenets flies in the face of the very foundation of our nation. To silence the ability to speak out against it further flies in the face of freedom.

Military men usually accept that they surrender basic freedom while fighting to preserve it for the rest of us. However, it is not the place of the government or her military to tell priests and preachers that they may not speak out against injustice, even when it is the government itself that is acting unjustly.