A DOCTOR WHO SPEAKS THE TRUTH BECOMES A MARTYR.

If any doubt remains anywhere about the corrupt and brutal government of Iran, consider the case of Dr. Ramin Pourandarjani, a handsome and courageous 26-year-old physician. While serving in the military to fulfill his obligation to the government, he refused to sign false death certificates which covered up murders. He testified to a parliamentary committee that jailers were torturing and raping people who protested the regime. He told his family that he was being watched and followed, and he feared for his life. On November 10th he was found dead in the clinic where he worked. Officials first blamed his death on a car accident, then a heart attack, then suicide and then poisoning. His death "remains under investigation." Protestors now carry his picture as a banner in the streets of Iran, along side that of Neda Agha Soltan, the young woman philosophy student whose shooting death in June was captured on video. They represent a powerful symbol and a rallying cry for those opposing this rotten government.
 
TEN YEARS OF GLOBAL WARMING. NOT!! DON’T LIE UNTIL YOU HAVE TO.

The December journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science reported that negotiators are busy trying to formulate an international working agreement to be signed in Copenhagen in December on global warming. But wait, a problem has arisen. Climate researchers admit that the earth’s temperature has not risen in the last ten years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that earth would warm 0.2 deg. Celsius from 1999 to 2008, but found that it was actually 0.07 deg. and with correction for the natural temperature effects of El Nino and La Nina, it was a flat 0.0 deg. C. Experts are not surprised, and claim that this pause is a natural variability. Still, these data combined with the stolen e-mails from the United Kingdom East Anglia Climate Center have seriously damaged the scientific integrity of a backbone facility asserting global warming. Director Phil Jones was attempting to stifle any challenges from skeptics and stated, "keep them out somehow – even if we have to redefine what the peer review literature is." His e-mail stated that he used a "trick" to "hide the decline" in a chart detailing recent global temperatures. Any scientist who is ready to cook the books to establish his case does more than hurt his argument. He is dead meat for creditable research. He has "temporarily" stepped aside as director of the Climatic Research Unit.

FOR EVERY ACTION THERE IS AN EQUAL AND OPPOSITE GOVERNMENT PROGRAM.

Recent data collected by the National Cancer Institute and other health organizations reported that cancer diagnoses and deaths continue to decline in the United States. In the years 2001 to 2006 deaths declined by 1.6% each year. Overall cancer rates continue to be higher in men, but males experienced a greater decline than women. The drops in diagnoses and death in men were lung, prostate and colorectal; in women the decline was breast and colorectal. Cancer death rates were highest in black men and women, and lowest in Asian Pacific Islander men and women. Almost at the same time a federally funded task force said that women should wait until age fifty to begin annual mammography, and have breast exams and routine colonoscopy less frequently. That plan seems to imply screening has been too successful. Dr. Bernadine Healy previous director of National Institutes of Health said that the recommendation would seriously endanger women in their forties when breast cancer is often very aggressive: "It may save money, but it won’t save lives." The issue has become a partisan debate as Republicans claim it is an early attempt at rationing.

DON’T GAIN A HABIT THE FIRST HALF OF YOUR LIFE THAT SHORTENS THE LAST HALF.

A research team at the University of Michigan conducted a survey of teenagers to determine use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. Daily cigarette use by 12th graders dropped to 11.2%, the lowest point since the survey began in 1975. Moreover, the percentage of students who reported ever trying smoking has fallen dramatically to 20% from 49% in 1996. In the past year cocaine decreased from 4.4% to 3.4%, and methamphetamine and hallucinogens dropped also. About one-third of seniors admitted to using alcohol in the past year which was unchanged from the previous survey. The big however in this good report is the use of marijuana which is increasing. Almost one-third of high school seniors and more than one-fourth of juniors reported using marijuana, an increase from 11% in 2008. Speculation must arise about the increased use and availability of cannabis in relation to the change in federal action regarding marijuana for medical use.

JOB OPPORTUNITY, GATEKEEPER – MUST STAY AWAKE AND BE ABLE TO READ.

"We are fortunate that this diplomatic celebration did not become a night of horror," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (Dem. Miss.) chairman of the panel investigating how party crashers could get into the White House black tie soiree. The Secret Service, the agency that protects the president, placed three uniformed officers on leave while Director Mark Sullivan tries to sort out this ugly total failure of security. Tareq and Michaele Salahi maintained that they were led to believe they could have access to the nights events. They did not have an invitation and were not listed with Desiree Rogers the Obama administration’s social secretary. They talked their way past security by stating they were part of a quest to get on a reality TV series. Director Sullivan admitted that his agency did not even know about the breech until they saw the couple posing with Vice President Biden on Mrs. Salahi’s Facebook page, but he insisted that the President’s safety was never in doubt. Right, and an e-mail from Nigeria wants to give you five million dollars.

WHY TAKE A PILL? JUST GO OUTDOORS.

Published in the Archives of Internal Medicine researchers at the University of South Carolina and Harvard School of Public Health gathered data on 18,000 men and their blood levels of vitamin D. It isn’t just a matter of rickets in children or reduced bone mineral content in adults. Now it is apparent that vitamin D insufficiency affects health overall and increases risk of heart attack, cancer and infection. The individual drop in vitamin D level is attributed to spending less time outdoors with a lack of exposure to sunlight which is a known determinant of vitamin D status in humans. It was found that men with lowest levels were twice as likely to have a heart attack as men with the highest level. The authors’ conclusion is that lower levels of vitamin D are right up there with high blood pressure and smoking, and an adequate daily supplement appears to mitigate adverse outcomes of this growing epidemic.

SCANDAL IS AN ILL WIND THAT BLOWS NOBODY GOOD.

Gatorade Tiger Focus, a Pepsico Inc. product, has been dropped from television ads featuring Tiger Woods. Since the scandal broke other advertisers have simply discontinued running similar ads on prime-time, evening news, sports telecasts on major networks and 19 cable networks. Sponsors Nike, Gillette, TLC Vision Corp. (laser surgery) stated that their relationships with Tiger have not changed. Pepsico stated that Mr. Wood’s current difficulties were not related to their current plans for Gatorade, but are merely part of an overhaul of its brand which has been in the works for months.

A NEW LEGAL FIELD FOR DEMONSTRATING PRODUCT LIABILITY.

It sounds bizarre but Carolyn Bennet, M.D., a member of the Canadian Parliament, has asked the health minister for regulations on the use of sex toys. Her issue is that the manufacture of bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates in some products could pose a health risk to women. She pointed out that BPA cannot be used in the manufacture of baby bottles, and phthalates are also banned from use. The data regarding possible harm from these compounds has been challenged by manufacturers.

YOU CAN GO ANYWHERE YOU WANT TO WITH A BADGE AND A GLOCK.

In Jacksonville, Florida, an off-duty sheriff’s deputy forgot to leave her sidearm outside when she accompanied her mother to Shands Jacksonville hospital for an MRI exam. The powerful magnet snapped up the Glock pistol trapping the deputy’s hand between the firearm and the magnet. (Her gun was drawn?) After a lengthy delay for powering down and powering up plus repairs, the MRI was back in action. Estimated cost to the hospital was $150,000.

ADDENDA –

----- Number one quote of the year: "Keep your government hands off my Medicare!"
-----Winning bid on e-bay for a dinner with Sarah Palin $63,500.
----- The pharmaceutical industry spends $16 billion each year on free medication samples.
----- According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 6% of American drivers admit to reading while driving.
----- Here are a few real jobs you don’t want: portable toilet cleaner; crime scene cleaner, ape urine collector.

Aloha, and keep the faith. ----------rts

Contents of this Newsletter do not necessarily reflect the opinion, policy or position of the Hawaii Ophthalmology Society or the Hawaii Medical Association. Editorial comment is strictly that of the writer