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To: Bill Harmond who wrote (140034)3/1/2002 2:34:39 PM
From: craig crawford  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 164684
 
how about a compromise. can i write on the blackboard 500 times?

the recession is over
the recession is over
the recession is over
the recession is over
the recession is over
the recession is over
the recession is over
the recession is over
the recession is over
the recession is over

what happened to all your bullish comrades? where are they hiding? gosh bill, don't tell me you've given up on this market too!



To: Bill Harmond who wrote (140034)4/11/2002 5:29:55 PM
From: craig crawford  Respond to of 164684
 
more reasons to eat lots of red meat! more babies! we need more babies! popeye had it right all along, spinach is loaded with folate.

Study Finds Folic Acid, Zinc Raise Sperm Count
story.news.yahoo.com

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Good nutrition has long been the key to a healthy pregnancy, but it may also be a crucial element of male fertility, a new study has found. Folic acid, a well-established birth-defect preventative for pregnant women, together with zinc, which is also involved in DNA synthesis, improves sperm quality in men with fertility problems, according to the study by the University Medical Center Nijmegen in the Netherlands.


Researchers theorized that the two nutrients might affect semen quality since they play key roles in gene function. In addition, since enzymes involved in testosterone synthesis also need zinc, supplements of the mineral may stimulate testosterone production, and consequently the volume of sperm, said Regine Steegers-Theunissen, associate professor in obstetrics and gynecology at the Dutch university and author of the study.

Folic acid, a B vitamin found in leafy green vegetables and legumes, is known to protect against congenital neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Zinc, found in foods like red meat and poultry, is needed for uptake of some folate enzymes.

The researchers studied 108 fertile men, whose wives had conceived within a year of unprotected intercourse, and 103 men with fertility problems of unknown cause, whose wives had failed to become pregnant and whose semen had a sperm concentration of 5 million to 20 million per milliliter. Men considered fertile have sperm counts of more than 20 million per milliliter. The study did not involve men who were infertile, defined as a sperm count of less than 5 million per milliliter.

Before the study, both groups of men had similar concentrations of folate and zinc in their blood and seminal fluid. Over 26 weeks, men in both groups followed one of four regimens: daily doses of folic acid and zinc sulfate, folic acid alone, zinc sulfate alone, or placebos. After treatment, the subfertile men given both supplements showed a 74 percent increase in the number of normal sperm in their semen and a 4 percent increase in abnormal sperm. Men in the fertile group had small increases in sperm count when given folic acid plus zinc, or zinc alone, according to the study.

The 74 percent was not always enough to boost sperm levels into the normal range, but the cut-off point of 20 million per milliliter is somewhat arbitrary and even fertile men can experience subpar sperm levels due to factors like illness or stress, Steegers-Theunissen said. Unlike genetic factors, nutrition can be changed, but more studies need to done to establish whether nutritional supplements will boost conception odds, the researchers said.

"Both genetics and environmental influences play a part in the complex process of sperm production," said Dr. William Keye Jr., president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. "... The next step is to see whether the effects of nutritional supplements can result in any increase in pregnancy rates."

The study is published in the March issue of "Fertility and Sterility."



To: Bill Harmond who wrote (140034)4/17/2002 7:02:06 AM
From: craig crawford  Respond to of 164684
 
Fighting the Eurofascists
worldnetdaily.com

Twice in the previous century, misguided European political experiments have resulted in American soldiers shipping out and fighting Over There. On Jan. 1, 2002, the euro made its debut, the latest in a long chain of events which will, sometime in the next two or three decades, result in the citizen-soldiers of the New World being forced to administer yet another bloody lesson on the battlefield to the Old World's freedom-hating elitists.

While the attention of most Americans has been understandably focused on the continuing war on terror, the significance of the successful implementation of the 12-nation euro should not be ignored. This new currency is the latest and most important step in accomplishing what Hitler and his National Socialists failed to do, namely, establishing a single centralized and anti-democratic European state.

Unity, union – these words strike a harmonious chord in the ears of those of us who are so fortunate as to be born in these United States. But not all unions are the same, nor should the consummation of all unions be desired. To unite can also mean, "to bind together, to fasten together as one." Thus was derived the ancient symbol of Roman authority, the fasces (an axe, surrounded by a bundle of sticks), from which the epithet fascist evolved.

Fascist is an apt word to describe the true nature of the European Union, for like their Italian and German forebears, the state socialists, the fascists of the European Union are gaining power through an illusion of democratic approval. While not one European country contains a popular majority supporting the full integration and complete abandonment of national sovereignty sought by the Eurofascist elite, the long march towards the single central state continues. Indeed, in most referendums wherein the people of Europe have been given a voice, the euro and the EU have been defeated.

Do not be misled by the naïve cheerleading from businessmen intrigued by the prospects of stable 4-percent growth in unionwide GNP. Fascists have always appealed to business leaders, as I pointed out in a previous column about Larry Ellison, Oracle, and the national ID card. The European Union has little to do with business and everything to do with the concentration of power. Indeed, the promise of free trade has been its stalking horse from the very beginning, taking in even the best and wisest of Europe's conservatives. In the memoirs of her Downing Street years, Margaret Thatcher writes:

"The wisdom of hindsight, so useful to historians and indeed to authors of memoirs, is sadly denied to practicing politicians. Looking back, it is now possible to see the period of my second term as prime minister as that in which the European Community subtly but surely shifted its direction away from being a community of open trade, light regulation and freely co-operating sovereign nation-states towards statism and centralism."


There is simply no question about the anti-democratic nature of the new regime. The European Union is like the Hotel California, a place from which you can check out, but never leave. As with Germany in 1933, one final vote takes place and then the wolf is within the door, and it is no longer considered necessary to revisit the issue ever again.

"The euro is forever," said Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, giving fair warning to the Danish public on the eve of their vote on monetary union. The Danes, surprisingly, braved the disapproval of their Eurofascist leaders and voted no.

When Austria voted the anti-EU Freedom Party into power, the foreign ministers for the other EU countries immediately imposed diplomatic sanctions on Austria for daring to voice an opinion contrary to the will of the Union. And when Irish voters declined to ratify the Treaty of Nice, EU leaders ominously demanded another, and illegal, vote on it within months. But as an English Member of Parliament writes:

"In practice, EU leaders have rarely allowed the letter of the law to stand in the way of deeper integration. After Denmark's 'no' to Maastricht in June 1992, the Danes were told to think again. A second referendum was held in which they were told that they had been given concessions although these were described in the rest of the EU as 'explanations' of the previous text."

Every step along the way to the single central state has been marked with similar dishonesty and lies. Lady Thatcher adds:

"We had to learn the hard way that by agreement to what were apparently empty generalizations or vague aspirations we were later held to have committed ourselves to political structures which were contrary to our interests."


We Americans have a strange reluctance to believe what is right in front of our eyes. It took eight years and thousands of lives being lost before we could bring ourselves to respond to the threat posed by radical Islamicists opposed to our government and our way of life. Perhaps it is because the mundane dishonesty of our political system encourages us to ignore all statements of purpose as meaningless, or maybe it is a fundamental sense of decency which prevents us from comprehending the reality of naked evil when it presents its face. Remember that Stalin, Mao, and even Lenin have all had their apologists here in our country, not in benighted backwaters, but in important places, in academia and the New York Times.

Americans want to believe well of even the worst of men, and we strive to do so until it becomes impossible to continue denying what is undeniably true.

And so it is still possible, at this time, for some to deny the fascism that beats at the heart of Brussels. It is possible to look past the violations of national sovereignty, the shattered promises, the raw hypocrisy and the outright lies. But deny it or not, the beast is nevertheless there. Sooner or later, it will be exposed so that none will be able to dispute the truth. The European Union has no legions, but an empire of stealth and wealth is an empire all the same, and its grip is no less iron for all that it does not wield a sword – yet.

European union is not inevitable. That lie is no more true today than it was in Hitler's time, or Napoleon's. But now, as then, the lie must be resisted or it will begin to become reality, and the world will once more rue that which was never supposed to happen again. My hope is that we'll fight the Eurofascists sooner rather than later, but either way, you know we're going to win.

Britons, Spaniards, Italians, Germans – we've already beaten everyone but the French, and if we can't beat the French, well, we might as well go ahead and surrender to Omar and Osama right now.

Question of the week: [Referring to the mainstream media] Why waste your time with them?

Thus spake Vox: I don't think that anyone should waste their time with the mainstream media, indeed, I encourage every reader of this column to cancel their subscription to papers like the Washington Post, the New York Times and USA Today. I encourage everyone to turn off the ABCNNBCBS news, and Fox News too if they're going to continue collecting CNN's excremental leavings such as Geraldo Rivera and Greta van Susteren instead of giving us more voices like Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity.

However, we cannot successfully oppose the enemy unless we know them, and so as long as the mainstream media can make a rightful claim at being America's "opinion leaders," I will continue to track the propaganda they attempt to pass off as truth and expose it for what it is. After all, you can't hit a target at which you're not looking. That being said, I look forward to the day when we can all safely ignore them with impunity.



To: Bill Harmond who wrote (140034)4/26/2002 7:27:30 AM
From: craig crawford  Respond to of 164684
 
U.N. SCHOOL ISN'T FLYING OLD GLORY
nypost.com

"It is the sacred principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter to which the American people will henceforth pledge their allegiance."
--President George Bush, February 1, 1992



To: Bill Harmond who wrote (140034)4/28/2002 6:00:34 AM
From: craig crawford  Respond to of 164684
 
The Delusion of Free Trade
nytimes.com

April 25, 2002
By ERNEST F. HOLLINGS
.........
This failure to protect American workers is of relatively recent vintage. Since American independence, controls on trade gave government a way to shelter industries from foreign competition so they could grow or restructure. Tariffs were also an important source of government revenue. (There was no income tax until 1913.) President Lincoln protected steel, President Franklin Roosevelt instituted protectionism for agriculture and President Eisenhower for oil. The industrial giant of America was built on careful protectionism.

This changed after World War II. We were the world's leading industrial power. Devastated countries in Europe and Asia were given aid, equipment and the expertise to rebuild — and the cold war was won. Fundamental to this victory was the American treatment of foreign trade as foreign aid. We set an example by opening up the American market. But our competition refused to follow suit. Instead, they protected their manufacturers.

As our competitors began to prosper, American managers were learning a different lesson from their experiences with overseas rebuilding. They learned that moving work overseas could save money. Labor costs in manufacture can be 30 percent of sales. A company that retains its executive offices in America but moves its production to a low-wage area could save as much as 20 percent in sales volume. Thus, a corporation with $500 million in sales could increase its pretax profits by $100 million. Accordingly, manufacture has been leaving the United States in droves. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, little South Carolina has lost 53,900 textile jobs since the free trade agreement with Mexico. Since the 1979 Tokyo Round agreements — in which fast-track authority took on its current form — America has lost more than four million manufacturing jobs, or 20 percent of our manufacturing work force. Giving fast-track authority to President Bush will only worsen this problem.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, hundreds of millions of people have entered the world's workforce ready to accept a minimal standard of living. In contrast, America continues to protect or raise its standard of living with requirements for a minimum wage, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, safe workplaces and machinery, clean air and water, plant closing notice and unpaid parental leave. A plant can move to Mexico and find a workforce with none of these requirements and an average individual wage that is 11 percent of the American equivalent.

Today, more than half of what we consume as a nation is imported, and we produce little to export. Recently I rode Acela, the fast train from Washington to New York that was made in Canada. Advanced technology, which was supposed to be the motor of domestic growth, is now imported. We have a deficit in the balance of trade in semiconductors, according to the International Trade Commission. My insurance policy is administered in Dublin, my light bill in Bangalore, India.