Erich Honecker,( 1912 – May 29, 1994)
was a German Communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East
Germany) from 1971 until 1989.
After German re-unification, he first
fled to the Soviet Union but was extradited by the new Russian government to
Germany, where he was imprisoned and tried for high treason and crimes
committed during the Cold War. However, as he was dying of cancer, he was
released from prison. He died in exile in Chile about a year and a half later.
Honecker was born on Max-Braun-Straße
in Neunkirchen, now Saarland, as the son of a politically militant coal miner,
Wilhelm, who in 1905 had married Caroline Catharina Weidenhof. There were six
children born to the family: Katharina (Käthe), Wilhelm (Willi, Hungary),
Frieda, Erich, Gertrud (b. 1917; m. Hoppstädter), and Karl-Robert.
He joined the Young Communist League
of Germany (KJVD), the youth section of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD),
in 1926 and joined the KPD itself in 1929. Between 1928 and 1930 he worked as a
roofer, but did not finish his apprenticeship. Thereafter he was sent to Moscow
to study at the International Lenin School and for the rest of his life
remained a full-time politician.
He returned to Germany in 1931 and was
arrested in 1935, two years after the Nazis had come to power. In 1937, he was
sentenced to ten years for Communist activities and remained a prisoner until
the end of World War II. At the end of the war, Honecker resumed activity in
the party under leader Walter Ulbricht, and, in 1946, became one of the first
members of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (Sozialistische Einheitspartei
Deutschlands, SED), which was formed by the merger of the KPD and the Social
Democratic Party (SPD) in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. Louis J.
Sheehan, Esquire
Following the SED victory in the
October 1946 elections, Honecker took his place amongst the SED leadership in
the first postwar East German parliament, the German People's Congress
(Deutscher Volkskongress). The German Democratic Republic was proclaimed on 7
October 1949 with the adoption of a new constitution, establishing a political
system similar to that of the Soviet Union. Honecker was a candidate member for
the secretariat of the Central Committee in 1950; by 1958, he had become a full
member of the Politbüro.
In 1961, Honecker, as the Central
Committee secretary for security matters, was in charge of the building of the
Berlin Wall. In 1971, he initiated a political power struggle that led, with
Soviet support, to himself becoming the new leader, replacing Walter Ulbricht
as First Secretary of the SED Central Committee and as chairman of the National
Defense Council. In 1976, he also became Chairman of the Council of State
(Vorsitzender des Staatsrats der DDR) and thus the head of state.
Under Honecker's leadership, the GDR
adopted a program of "consumer socialism," which resulted in a marked
improvement in living standards—already the highest among the Eastern bloc
countries. More attention was placed on the availability of consumer goods, and
the construction of new housing was accelerated, with Honecker promising to
"settle the housing problem as an issue of social relevance." Yet, despite improved living
conditions, internal dissent was not tolerated. Around 125 East German citizens
were killed during this period while trying to cross the border into West
Berlin.
In foreign relations, Honecker
renounced the objective of a unified Germany and adopted the
"defensive" position of ideological Abgrenzung (demarcation). He
combined loyalty to the USSR with flexibility toward détente, especially in
relation to rapprochement with West Germany. In September 1987, he became the
first East German head of state to visit West Germany. http://louis2j1sheehan2esquire.blogspot.com/
In the late 1980s Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev introduced glasnost and perestroika, reforms to liberalize
communism. Honecker and the East German government, however, refused to
implement similar reforms in the GDR, with Honecker reportedly telling
Gorbachev: "We have done our perestroika, we have nothing to
restructure." However, as the reform movement spread throughout Central
and Eastern Europe, mass demonstrations against the East German government
erupted, most prominently the 1989 Monday demonstrations in Leipzig. Faced with
civil unrest, Honecker's Politbüro comrades colluded to replace him. The
elderly and ill Honecker was forced to resign on 18 October 1989, and was
replaced by Egon Krenz.
After the GDR was dissolved in October
1990, the Honeckers stayed with the family of the Lutheran pastor Uwe Holmer.
Honecker then stayed in a Soviet military hospital near Berlin before later
fleeing with Margot Honecker to Moscow, to avoid prosecution over charges of
Cold War crimes. He was accused by the German government of involvement in the
deaths of 192 East Germans who tried to leave the GDR. Following the
dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Honecker took refuge in the
Chilean embassy in Moscow, but was extradited by the Yeltsin administration to
Germany in 1992. However, when the trial formally opened in early 1993,
Honecker was released due to ill health and on 13 January of that year moved to
Chile to live with his daughter Sonja, her Chilean husband Leo Yáñez, and their
son Roberto. He died in exile of liver cancer in Santiago on 29 May 1994. His
body was cremated and the remains are believed to be in the possession of his
widow Margot.
Honecker married Edith Baumann in 1950
and divorced her in 1953. They had a daughter, Erika (b. 1950). In 1953 he
married Margot Feist and they remained married until his death. They had a
daughter, Sonja, born in 1952. Margot Honecker served for several years as the
GDR Minister for People's Education.
Famous quotes
* "The Wall will be standing in 50 and even
in 100 years, if the reasons for it are not removed." (Berlin, 19 January
1989)
(Original: "Die Mauer wird in 50
und auch in 100 Jahren noch bestehen bleiben, wenn die dazu vorhandenen Gründe
noch nicht beseitigt sind")
* "Neither an ox nor a donkey is able to
stop the progress of socialism."
(Original: "Den Sozialismus in
seinem Lauf, halten weder Ochs' noch Esel auf", Berlin, 7 October 1989)
* "The future belongs to socialism"
(Original: Die Zukunft gehört dem Sozialismus) (early 1980's)
Honecker's autobiography Aus meinem
Leben is translated into English as From my life. New York : Pergamon, 1981.
ISBN 0080245323 http://louis2j2sheehan2esquire.blogspot.com/
Andrei Gromyko was born into a peasant
family in the Belarusian village of Starye Gromyki, near Gomel. He studied
agriculture at the Minsk School of Agricultural Technology and graduated in
1936. Later he worked as an economist at the Institute of Economics in Moscow.
Gromyko entered the department of the
foreign affairs in 1939 after Joseph Stalin's purges in the section responsible
for the Americas. He was soon sent to the United States and worked in the
Soviet embassy there until 1943, when he was appointed the Soviet ambassador to
the United States. He played an important role in coordinating the wartime
alliance between the two nations and was prominent at events such as the Yalta
Conference. He became known as an expert negotiator. In the West, Mr. Gromyko
received a nickname "Mr. Nyet" (Mr. No) or "Comrade Nyet"
or "Grim Grom" for his obstinate negotiating style. He was removed
from his Washington post on April 10, 1946 in order to be able to devote his
full attention to UN matters.
Andrei Gromyko signing the Charter of
the United Nations, 26 June 1945
In 1946 he became the Soviet Union's
representative on the United Nations Security Council. He served briefly as the
ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1952-1953 and then returned to the Soviet
Union, where he served as foreign minister for 28 years. As Soviet foreign
minister, Gromyko played a direct role in the Cuban Missile Crisis and met with
U.S. President Kennedy during the crisis. Gromyko also helped negotiate arms
limitations treaties, specifically the ABM Treaty, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty,
SALT I and II, and the INF and START agreements. During the Brezhnev years, he
helped construct the policy of détente between the superpowers and was active
in drawing up the non-aggression pact with West Germany.
Sculpture of Andrei Gromyko in Gomel,
Belarus
Gromyko always believed in the
superpower status of the Soviet Union and always promoted an idea that no
important international agreement could be reached without its involvement.
Gromyko was minister of foreign
affairs from 1957 until 1985, when he was replaced as foreign minister by
Eduard Shevardnadze. Gromyko entered the Politburo in 1973, eventually becoming
chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (i.e. head of state of the
Soviet Union) in 1985. However, the position was largely ceremonial, and he was
forced out three years later because of his conservative views during the
Gorbachev era. Gromyko died in Moscow a year later. http://louis2j2sheehan2esquire.blogspot.com/
He had a wife named Ludmila (died
2004) and a son named Anatoli (born 1932).
Doctors and politicians in search of
the magic bullet to solve the so-called medical malpractice crisis have focused
on a pie-in-the-sky solution that won’t fly politically or constitutionally –
the $250,000 cap on pain and suffering. That would take a constitutional
amendment, which requires something close to a political consensus. That
political consensus will never happen due to the determined and effective
opposition of the trial lawyers and most consumer organizations, and the
difficulties inherent in passing any constitutional amendment at the state or
federal level. What’s worse, the public, even if half-informed, would reject
the concept, of a cap on damages. It is obviously unfair and off the wall.
In the process of primary focus on a
solution that will never happen these interest groups are missing the more
obvious, the more practical and the more immediate solutions that may produce
bigger and quicker premium reductions. To find these solutions all the doctors
and politicians would have to do is to read a memo dated February 28, 2002,
entitled “Suggestions to Effect Immediate Premium Savings for Health Care
Providers.” The memo was written by John H. Reed, then the Director of the Cat
Fund (now an attorney in private practice in Sellingsgrove, Pennsylvania), and
his Deputy Director, Robert W. Waeger.
Here are a few of their
recommendations, which should be given immediate and serious consideration, but
which have been ignored by doctors and politicians and legislators and by the
insurance commissioner and the insurance industry (the latter two groups being
in perpetual hibernation when it comes to new ideas or basic reforms of the
present system).
LET STATE PROVIDE MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
COVERAGE THROUGH CAT FUND. Now doctors have to go to commercial insurers for
the first $500,000 of coverage (the excess over that $500,000 primary limit is
now provided by the CAT Fund).
The commercial insurance companies
don’t want to write the business. Fine. They should have no complaints when the
state of Pennsylvania fills the vacuum. As the memo in question indicates, the
Cat Fund could provide the first $500,000 coverage for 40 percent less than the
commercial insurance industry. That would be possible, as the state through the
Cat Fund, would have a lower expense ratio. They would not have to pay
commissions to agents or support a major marketing structure. The Cat Fund
would not have to earn and pay a profit to shareholders. It would not have to
pay taxes. It would not have to support the corporate structure that goes with
any commercial insurance operation. The CAT Fund pays out in claims 99 cents on
the dollar of collected premiums; commercial insurers, in contrast, pay out 60
to 65 cents on the dollar in claims, with 35 to 40 cents going for marketing,
commissions, profits, etc. http://louis-j-sheehan.net/
CUT REQUIREMENT OF $500,000 IN PRIMARY
COVERAGE TO $200,000. Now each doctor must buy $500,000 in commercial insurance
and the rest if sold by the state-operated CAT fund. If this $500,000
requirement were cut to $200,000, the Reed-Waeger Memo estimates premiums would
be reduced by at least 25 to 35 percent. This would also increase the market
for malpractice as commercial insurers would have to shoulder less risk, and
that in turn would improve the competitive environment. It would also make it
easier for doctors to use self-insurance, risk retention groups (RRGs), fronted
captives and other alternatives to commercial insurance (see next reform on
RRGs). This change could come about without adoption of the first recommended
change.
PROMOTE USE OF RRGs. The Risk
Retention Group is a self-insurance device, which involves doctors banding
together in non-profit groups to self-insure their coverage. It is a
min-insurance company. The reduction of the primary requirement from $500,000
to $200,000, as suggested above, would make this approach easier to undertake.
Although not mentioned in the MEMO, Reed recommends that a solvency fund be
created to cover RRGs for medical malpractice. This was a recommendation he did
make in testifying before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce on
February 10, 2003. Now RRGs are not so covered, and this means that doctors
would have a dangerous exposure if the RRG would go under. With commercial
insurance companies, there is a solvency fund back-up and if this were extended
to RRGs, they would become more popular and could make a larger contribution to
the solution of any problems in obtaining reasonably priced medical malpractice
insurance. The MEMO estimates that some specialists could cut their premiums by
60 to70 percent with RRGs.
COMPRESS RATE SCHEDULE. Now there is
incredible variation in premiums between so-called high-risk specialists and
lower-risk categories of doctors. Premiums are so tailored to each category of
doctors that the insurance function of spreading risk does not work as
effectively as it might. Compressing rate schedules means that the differences
between the highest and lowest risk categories would be reduced, thus lowering
the burden on the higher risk specialties and spreading risk more evenly. The
Memo says, if the lowest risk groups paid $1,000 more, the higher risks groups
could be cut by up to l/3rd.
CONCLUSION. The MEMO has a good
summary of what these recommended changes might do: “What now seems to be a
looming crisis can be averted. All of the above options … will immediately
reduce malpractice premiums to health care providers. Most importantly, they
can accomplish that result without taking money from taxpayers, without
triggering the additional expense of borrowing, without burdening future
generations of health care providers, and without having to bar the door of the
courthouse to those individuals having legitimate claims.” http://louis-j-sheehan.net/page1.aspx
When it comes to trade, chimps are far
from venture capitalists. Our closest relatives almost always prefer a sure
bet, according to a recent study, choosing value in hand over risk for higher
returns. The finding brings us closer to understanding chimps’ trading habits
and gives us precious insight into how trade, an essential cooperative
behavior, works for humans.
To conduct the study, researchers
started with two groups of chimps: one with little exposure to social and
cognitive testing and no trading experience, and one with extensive bartering
practice and language training. The scientists determined which food each chimp
liked best. Then they assigned values to the foods. Finally, they taught the
inexperienced chimps how to trade with tokens and food.
The results? When chimps possessing
items of medium-high value, such as carrots, were offered high-value items,
like grapes, they kept the lesser food. This tendency held true for both
groups, despite different rearing histories, suggesting that their
disinclination to barter is innate, says Sarah Brosnan of Georgia State
University, the lead researcher in this study.
The chimps’ risk-averse behavior,
Brosnan speculates, is attributable to a lack of language skills. “If one chimp
could say to another, ‘OK, you crack nuts while I hunt meat, and then we’ll
trade,’ they’d be able to specialize and have a developed economy,” Brosnan
says. Because humans can specialize, she adds, we can generate surplus to
purchase or barter for better foods from one another.
There's no other major item most of us
own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal
computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help. http://louis-j-sheehan.info/page1.aspx
Here are a few questions about
computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have
edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.
Q. I have moved from a PC to the iMac.
In the Windows environment, I felt a need to run utilities to clean out the
registry and defragment the hard disk frequently. Is this also needed on the
iMac? If so, what programs are recommended?
A. The Mac operating system, called OS
X Leopard, doesn't include a registry, which is a feature of Windows that holds
information that programs need to operate properly. So there's no need to clean
or maintain any registry on a Mac.
Mac hard disks, like those on Windows
computers, can get fragmented -- a condition in which parts of files are so
scattered around on the disk that the disk runs slowly. However, the operating
system has some under-the-covers features that generally obviate the need to
run a defragmentation utility. In fact, Apple, which calls defragmenting a disk
"optimizing" it, flatly claims that "You probably won't need to
optimize at all if you use Mac OS X." There are some Mac defragmentation
utilities, but I don't believe you will need them unless you have large numbers
of extremely large files and almost no free disk space.
Q. My son's computer frequently gets
infected with adware, pop-ups. Recently it was hit with a continuing pop-up ad
called VirusHeat that touted itself as a solution to the computer's problems.
When I paid for VirusHeat, the problems went away. Is it legitimate?
A. According to numerous reports on
the Web, including some from security companies, VirusHeat is a form of
malicious or misleading software. It falls into a category that attempts to
scare people into thinking their computers are badly infected, or exaggerates
any problems you may have. This is a common tactic now used by creators of
malware.
Some of these fake or misleading
"security programs" may be designed merely to make you pay. Others
may even be designed to install the very kinds of viruses, spyware or adware
that they claim to fight. http://louis-j-sheehan.info/
Q. I have updated to a new PC. My data
are on a floppy disc. There is no floppy disc drive on this new computer. How
can I transfer my data?
A. For around $25, you can buy an
external floppy disk drive that plugs into a new PC using its standard USB
port. If you do so, and connect it to the new PC, you should be able to copy
your data to the new computer's hard disk.
Ohio AG Marc Dann has resigned amid
the scandal of a sexual harassment investigation in his office and his
extramarital affair. Dann, 46, led the state on a 10-day odyssey, at first
refusing to resign despite demands by Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and others
within his party, a growing number of investigations into conduct at his
office, and the filing Tuesday of articles of impeachment against him. (Find
past LB coverage of the Dann scandal here and here.)
Two Fridays ago, Dann admitted to a
“romantic relationship” with a member of his staff, prompting Democratic
leaders such as Governor Ted Strickland to call for his Dann’s head. But
despite a letter that Strickland and others sent to Dann, arguing that he’d
lost “even the most remote hope” of continuing to serve effectively as AG, Dann
told his staff that he was optimistic about plans to stay in office despite an
impeachment threat. “I think that there is a great chance that we can continue
to do great work for the people of the state.”
The great work that Dann, who was
elected to his first term in 2006, referred to may have been his crusade
against ratings agencies and his pursuit of mortgage lenders and brokers for
allegedly inflating home prices and contributing to the subprime crisis. Click
here for a past WSJ profile of Dann, titled “The Mortgage Cop.”
But yesterday, when Ohio democrats
sprung into action, filing articles of impeachment against Dann, he appeared to
lose his mettle. What followed was 24 hours of speculation that Dann would
resign.
How would you like to carry around
your entire DVD collection on a single disk? That is the promise of a new holo–graphic digital storage technology
being developed by General Electric and coming to a computer near you around
2012. Although not the first commercial holographic storage system—that honor
goes to InPhase Technologies’ Tapestry™ 300r holographic drive—GE’s system
could be the first one aimed at consumers. (InPhase’s holographic drives, which
debuted last year, sell for $18,000 and target broadcasters who need to archive
television programs.)
Holographic media can store huge
amounts of data because information is encoded in layers throughout the entire
disk, not just on a single reflective surface as in today’s optical media. In
GE’s system, a single CD-size disk made of plastic will be able to store about
1 terabyte of data, equivalent to 110 typical movie DVDs. http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-jmbPCHg9dLPh1gHoZxLG.GpS
Louis J. Sheehan Esquire
This kind of capacity would make it
possible to back up all your music, photos, home movies, and e-mails in one
place; it would also allow for totally new, extremely data-intensive
applications, such as Micro–soft’s
MyLifeBits project, which aims to capture in digital form every–thing that happens in an individual’s
life. Besides automatically archiving and indexing things like e-mails and text
documents, the project includes a wearable camera that snaps a picture at least
once every 30 seconds, creating a visual index of every day. http://louis-j-sheehan-esquire.us/page1.aspx
To store data holographically, a laser
beam (1) is split in two (2). One half of the beam passes through an array of hundreds
of thousands of gates (3). Each gate can be opened or closed to represent a
binary 1 or 0. The gates either block or pass the beam, filtering it into a
coded pattern, or signal. The other half of the beam, known as the reference
beam, is bounced off a mirror (4), so that the reference beam and the signal
beam encoded with digital information intersect somewhere within the plastic
storage medium (5). Light waves from the two beams interfere with each other,
imprinting into the plastic a hologram—a three-dimensional pattern. By varying
the angle of the mirror, millions of holograms can be created in the same piece
of plastic. To read data from storage, the reference beam alone is used to
illuminate the hologram. The resulting image can be read by a sensor and
converted back into 1s and 0s.
Contrary to public opinion, salted
nuts aren't necessarily high in sodium. Because salt is present on the surface
of the nut, it's tasted immediately. In actuality, a 1-ounce serving (or 49
kernels) of pistachios only contains 5% DV of sodium. As an option, raw
pistachios are sodium free.
A good snack can be part of a healthy
eating plan by helping stabilize blood sugar, satisfy hunger between meals,
supply extra nutrients including fiber, and keep energy levels high and your
mind alert.
Naturally trans-fat and
cholesterol-free, and one of the lowest calorie, lowest fat nuts, pistachios
make an ideal snack choice. Tasty and delicious, pistachios are the most
nutrient dense nut, offering a good source of eight important nutrients
including thiamin, vitamin B6, copper, manganese, potassium, fiber, phosphorus
and magnesium. http://louisjsheehan.blogstream.com/
Also, among snack nuts, pistachios
contain the highest amounts of polyphenol antioxidants. While the role of
antioxidants is still unknown, research suggests that a diet of foods
containing antioxidants is smart eating.
Pistachios help your heart in four
ways. First, most of the fat found in pistachios is "good"
unsaturated fat, which can lower blood cholesterol and the risk of heart
disease when replacing saturated fat in the diet. Second, pistachios offer the
highest levels of cholesterol-busting phytosterols among snack nuts, and are a
good source of fiber, both of which reduce the absorption of cholesterol from
the diet. Also, among snack nuts, pistachios are the highest in polyphenols,
antioxidants with potential heart health benefits6. Finally, pistachios offer potassium.
An inadequate intake of potassium is characterized by increased blood pressure
and may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
You'll also find pistachios included
in the FDA's first ever qualified health claim for conventional food, which
states: "Scientific evidence suggests, but does not prove, that eating 1.5
ounces per day of most nuts, such as pistachios, as part of a diet low in
saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease." http://www.soulcast.com/post/show/117748/move
Your body needs fat to function. But
the wrong kind - saturated fat - can raise cholesterol levels increasing the
risk of heart disease. Most of the fat found in pistachios - almost 90% - is
"good" unsaturated fat. When unsaturated fats replace saturated fats
- those found in meats, baked goods and full fat dairy products - they can help
lower blood cholesterol along with the risk of heart disease.
Many nutritionists agree that, when
eaten in moderation, good fats, along with protein, helps dieters feel full
longer. It's also good to know that because pistachios are dry roasted, they
are naturally trans-fat free. According to the American Heart Association,
trans-fats raise total blood cholesterol levels and LDL ("bad")
cholesterol and lower HDL ("good") cholesterol levels; in turn
increasing the risk of coronary heart disease and increases the risk of stroke.
Pistachios make a superior snack
choice for dieters. One reason is that they are nutrient dense - good news when
every calorie counts. Also, many experts believe that because pistachios have
both protein and fiber they help you feel full for longer - so you eat less at
your next meal. One such expert is Tanya Zuckerbrot, registered dietitian,
mother of three and author of the "F Factor Diet: Discovering the Secret
to Permanent Weight Loss," who recommends foods containing fiber, such as
pistachios, to help weight loss.
Did you know that most Americans fall
short of the recommended daily amount for fiber? Fiber is important because it
aids digestion, promotes satiety and helps maintain a healthy body weight. Tanya
recommends a handful of delicious pistachios as a morning or afternoon snack as
an easy way to add an extra 3 grams or more of natural fiber to your diet along
with protein.
You may be surprised to know that nut
consumption, in general, is associated with a lower body mass index and has not
been shown to cause gain. In fact, many popular diet plans including DASH Diet,
Mediterranean Diet, Weight Watchers and the USDA Food Pyramid, highlight nuts
in their healthy eating plans. Some even believe that the simple act of
shelling a pistachio may have the added benefit of slowing down consumption
time.
Herb Denenberg has been an
investigative and consumer reporter and columnist for over 25 years. Before
that he served as Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner, Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commissioner, and Professor at the Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania.
He was the consumer and investigative
reporter for the CBS and then the NBC TV station in Philadelphia for 25 years,
and more recently served in that capacity at the Harron Cable Update and the
Adelphia Cable update, both nightly newscasts, and for the Tri-State Media
All-News Cable Network. He is also a columnist for a group of papers in
Pennsylvania and New Jersey and appears as an expert witness cases against
insurance companies involving bad faith denial of claims and other matters.
He is now an adjunct professor of
information science and technology at Cabrini College. He has also served as an
assistant professor of insurance at the University of Iowa and a professor of
law at Temple University.
He has won hundreds of awards for his
media work, including 40 Emmys, the Consumer Service Award of the Consumer
Federation of American, the Award of Achievement from the American Board of
Trial Advocates, an award for the best in consumer journalism from the National
Press Club and a Lambert Award for contributions to the health care delivery
system.
During Denenberg's tenure as
Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner, Ralph Nader wrote, "He's clearly the
most consumer-oriented insurance commissioner in American history." As a
result of the health care reforms he implemented as Commissioner, he was
elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. His
motto as Insurance Commissioner, was "Populus Iamdudam Defutatus Est"
which translated from the Latin is "The Consumer Has Been Screwed Long
Enough."
Denenberg is a graduate of Johns
Hopkins University (B.S.), Creighton University School of Law (J.D.), Harvard
University School of Law (LL.M.), and the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D.).
He also received two honorary degrees, a Doctor of Humane Letters from Spring
Garden College and a Doctor of Laws from Allentown College. He is a CPCU
(Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter) and a CLU (Chartered Life
Underwriter).
For three years he served in the Judge
Advocate General's Corps of the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant and and was a
captain in the reserves.
He is the author of seven books and
hundreds of articles on insurance, law, and consumer affairs. He has testified
many times before Congressional committees, state legislative committees, and
the City Council of Philadelphia.
He has served on the board of
Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, and is now on the board of
the Sapio Institute (on interactive learning) and the Center for Proper
Medication Use. He served as President of the American Risk and Insurance
Association. He recently authored a Shopper's Guide to Herbal Medicine,
published by the Center, and a more complete version of that guide which is to
appear on their Web Site at www.cpmu.org.
Denenberg has served as consultant to
the US Department of Labor, the US Small Business Administration, the National
Commission on Product Safety, the FTC, the US Department of Justice, the US
Department of Transportation, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts, the Philadelphia School Board, the State of Alaska and Nevada, the United
States Commission on Civil Rights, and other government agencies. He was special
counsel and research director of the President's National Advisory Panel on
Insurance in Riot-Affected Areas; associate director of the Wisconsin
Legislature's Law Revision Committee, special counsel to the Mayor of
Washington D.C., and general counsel of the Pennsylvania Public Utility
Commission. He was a co-author of the first no-fault law passed in a United
States jurisdiction (the Social Protection Plan of Puerto Rico). He also
instituted a long list of fundamental reforms as Pennsylvania Insurance
Commissioner.
Denenberg has an entry in Who's Who in
America, Who's Who In Insurance, Who's Who in Health Care, Who's Who in Science
and Engineering, Current Biography, American Men of Science, Who's Who In World
Jewry and other standard biographical reference. His biography, authored by
Howard Shapiro, is entitled "How to Keep Them Honest" and was
published by Rodale Press.
1 oz serving size of pistachios, about
30 grams shelled, yields about 160 calories. That measures out to be about 49
kernels per ounce - which can make for a very satisfying snack. http://louis_j_sheehan.today.com/2008/03/08/gravity/
Pistachios are naturally low in
carbohydrates and rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), making them a
perfect snack for diabetics following recommended dietary guidelines. Clinical
trials have found that diets following such guidelines help maintain blood
sugar and insulin levels and reduce risk factors for heart disease, a consequence
that accounts for greater than 65% of diabetic deaths. In fact, a 2007 study
conducted at the University of Toronto showed that when pistachios are eaten
with other high-carbohydrate foods, they slow absorption of carbohydrates into
the body, resulting in lower-than-expected blood sugar levels. MUFA-rich foods
of plant origins, such as pistachios, contain fiber, phytosterols and
antioxidants, which confer a variety of cardiovascular benefits including
glycemic control, improved lipid profiles, and reduced LDL oxidation.
It's important to know that the true
prevalence of food allergy in the U.S. is not as great as the public perceives
it to be. According to the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology
(AAAI) estimates for 2006 suggest that food allergy of all types affects about
4% of the total population, with prevalence in children generally higher than
that for adults. About 90% of food allergies in the US and in many other parts
of the world derive from milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat
and soy. Diagnosis of food allergy, including allergies to nuts, can be
problematic because no single laboratory test available today can conclusively
confirm that a person will exhibit clinical symptoms in response to consumption
of a suspect food. For most people with food allergies, symptoms that occur
after consuming the offending food are merely annoying such as a runny nose or
itchy skin.
Tree nut allergies are rare in the
general population. The best estimates available suggests that allergy to no
single tree nut exceeds about .4% of the U.S. population, whereas separate
estimates for peanuts suggest the prevalence is about 0.8 percent. If you're
concerned about any food allergies, consult your physician.
A 1-oz serving of in-shell pistachios
(about 30 grams or 1⁄2 cup), typically retails for about 30¢, a favorable
comparison, price-wise, to popular salted snacks such as ready-to-eat popcorn.
More importantly, however, you'll find that a handful of pistachios provides
significant nutritional value and helps keep hunger satisfied.
You probably already know that junk
snacks provide little nutritional value per calorie and can lead to obesity and
a number of related illnesses. http://sheehan.myblogsite.com/
When you consider food on a dollar per
nutrient basis, healthy choices are not necessarily more expensive. In fact,
while you may think you're saving money by choosing a processed
"junk" snack, in the long run the choice may be more expensive.
Consider the following:
Healthy foods such as fruits,
vegetables and nuts are more satiating - so you feel fuller, longer. Plus they
provide your body with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients needed to stay
healthy. Pistachios offer good nutritional value: the most nutrient-dense tree
nut*, pistachios are also among the highest fiber nuts, and also offer the
highest amounts of phytosterols and antioxidants. One of the lowest calorie,
lowest fat nuts, pistachios are also fun to eat.
And for those people with moderately
high cholesterol levels, studies show that a snack of pistachios, when used as
a replacement for high-fat snacks, can cut both total and "bad" LDL
cholesterol while offering cardioprotective nutrients such as magnesium,
potassium and copper. http://louis9j9sheehan.blog.com/2841488/
http://louis2j2sheehan.us/page1.aspxGood news for heart health!
Many people are surprised to learn
that studies show pistachios actually help lower cholesterol. That's because
almost 90% of the fat in pistachios is unsaturated (monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fats), which can reduce blood cholesterol levels when they
replace saturated fats in the diet. In addition to offering heart healthy
unsaturated fats, pistachios provide important antioxidants and amino acids
that reduce the risk of heart disease. And among nuts, pistachios have the highest
content of phytosterols, a plant sterol shown to reduce cholesterol absorption
from other foods.
microkernel family.
Pistachio nuts, dry roasted, w/o salt
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 570 kcal 2390 kJ
Carbohydrates 27.65
g
- Sugars 7.81 g
- Dietary fiber 10.3 g
Fat 45.97
g
Protein 21.35 g
Thiamin (Vit. B1) 0.84 mg 65%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.158 mg 11%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 1.425 mg 10%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.513 mg 10%
Vitamin B6 1.274 mg 98%
Folate (Vit. B9) 50 μg 13%
Vitamin C 2.3 mg 4%
Calcium 110 mg 11%
Iron 4.2 mg 34%
Magnesium 120 mg 32%
Phosphorus 485 mg 69%
Potassium 1042 mg 22%
Zinc 2.3 mg 23%
Manganese 1.275 mg
Percentages are relative to US
recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient database
The pistachio (Pistacia vera L.,
Anacardiaceae; sometimes placed in Pistaciaceae) is a small tree up to 10 m
tall, native to mountainous regions of Iran, Turkmenistan and western
Afghanistan. It has deciduous pinnate leaves 10–20 cm long.
The plants are dioecious, with
separate male and female trees. The flowers are apetalous and unisexual, and
borne in panicles. The fruit is a drupe, containing an elongated seed (a nut in
the culinary sense, but not a true botanical nut) with a hard, whitish shell
and a striking kernel which has a mauvish skin and light green flesh, with a
distinctive flavour. http://blogs.ebay.com/mytymouse1/home/_W0QQentrysyncidZ526811010
When the fruit ripens, the husk
changes from green to an autumnal yellow/red and the shells split partially
open (see photo). This is known as dehiscence, and happens with an audible pop.
Each pistachio nut weighs around 1
gram, and each pistachio tree
averages around 50 kg of nuts, or around 50,000, every two years. Pistachios
(as part of the pistacia genus) have existed for about 80 million years
P. vera) was first cultivated in
Western Asia. It reached the Mediterranean world by way of central Iran, where
it has long been an important crop. Although known to the Romans, the pistachio
nut appears not to have reached the Mediterranean or most of the Near East in
any quantity before medieval times.
The kernels are often eaten whole,
either fresh or roasted and salted, and are also used in ice cream and
confections such as baklava. In July 2003, the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) approved the first qualified health claim specific to nuts lowering the
risk of heart disease: "Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove
that eating 1.5 ounces (42.5g) per day of most nuts, such as pistachios, as
part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of
heart disease". In research at Pennsylvania State University, pistachios
in particular significantly reduced levels of LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol, in
the blood of volunteers. Pennsylvania State University's Department of
Nutrition and Sciences has also conducted related research on other health
benefits of pistachios, including an April 2007 study concluding that
pistachios may calm acute stress reaction,and a June 2007 study on the
cardiovascular health benefits of eating pistachios. http://web.mac.com/lousheehan/Site/Garage_Before_and_After.html
On the Greek island of Chios, the husk
or flesh of the pistachio fruit surrounding the shell is cooked and preserved
in syrup.
The shell of the pistachio is
naturally a beige colour, but it is sometimes dyed red or green in commercial
pistachios. Originally the dye was applied by importers to hide stains on the
shells caused when the nuts were picked by hand. However most pistachios are
now picked by machine and the shells remain unstained, making dyeing
unnecessary (except that some consumers have been led to expect coloured
pistachios). Roasted pistachio nuts can be artificially turned red if they are
marinated prior to roasting in a salt and strawberry marinade, or salt and
citrus salts.
The trees are planted in orchards, and
take approximately seven to ten years to reach significant production.
Production is alternate bearing or biennial bearing, meaning the harvest is
heavier in alternate years. Peak production is reached at approximately 20
years. Trees are usually pruned to size to make the harvest easier. One male
tree produces enough pollen for eight to twelve nut-bearing females. Pistachio
orchards can be damaged by the fungal disease Botryosphaeria panicle and shoot
blight, which kills the flowers and young shoots.
Pistachio trees are fairly hardy in
the right conditions, and can survive temperature ranges between -10°C (14°F)
in winter to 40°C (104°F) in summer. They need a sunny position and
well-drained soil. Pistachio trees do poorly in conditions of high humidity,
and are susceptible to root rot in winter if they get too much water and the
soil is not sufficiently free draining. Long hot summers are required for
proper ripening of the fruit.
Pistachio nuts are highly flammable
when stored in large quantities, and are prone to self heating and spontaneous
combustion.
Share of a total 2005 worldwide
production of 501 thousand metric tonnes:
Country Production
(tonnes)
Iran 190
000
U.S. 140
000
Turkey 60 000
Syria 60
000
China 34
000
Greece 9 500
Italy 2
400
Uzbekistan 1 000
Tunisia 800
Pakistan 200
Madagascar 160
Kyrgyzstan 100
Morocco 50
Cyprus 15
Mexico 7
Mauritius 5
California produces almost all U.S.
pistachios, and about half of these are exported, mainly to China, Japan,
Europe and Canada. Almost all California pistachios are of the cultivar
'Kerman'. The tree is grafted to a rootstock when the rootstock is one year
old. Only a few years after California growers started growing pistachios, the
1979 crisis in Iran would give stronger commercial impetus to the
American-based pistachio nut industry. Previous to that time, most Westerners
were familiar with only the slightly smaller, deeply red-hued (dyed) nuts
produced mainly in Iran, where it is the second largest export after oil. http://louisajasheehan.blogspot.com/
So late to be “discovered” by the rest
of the world—Henry Stanley made the continent's first crossing only in
1877—Africa, it can be forgotten, is probably the cradle of humanity.
Palaeoanthropologists, archaeologists and, more recently, geneticists have all
bolstered the “out of Africa” theory, which holds that early man wandered out
of the Rift Valley. Yet little is known of pre-colonial African cultures. Some
vanished out of history, along with their languages and beliefs, before they
ever came to be named. That is one reason why Africa's rock art is so precious.
The faintest ochre scratches of prehistoric antelope in a cave open a rare
window into Africa's—and humanity's—distant past.
Africa may have 200,000 rock-art
sites, more than any other continent. The oldest known site, in Namibia, is
between 18,000 and 28,000 years old. Several African universities now have
programmes to decipher the paintings and carvings. They are being helped by the
Kenya-based Trust for African Rock Art (TARA), which seeks to discover and
digitally archive as much of the art as it can for future scholars.
The best is in the Sahara desert,
particularly in Niger's Air mountains, in the Tibesti mountains of northern
Chad and southern Libya, and in south-east Algeria's Tassili n'Ajjer range.
Such desert sites are too remote to be damaged by graffiti, though wars
involving the local Tuareg have resulted in some being shot up or smashed apart
for sale to foreign collectors. David Coulson, one of TARA's founders, raves
about a recent find in the Tassili n'Ajjer range: an anatomically perfect
four-metre-long carving of a hippo hunted by an Egyptian-looking figure with a
superbly sinuous bow. This in a region that dried up several thousand years
ago.
Elsewhere in Africa, rock art often
chronicles the hunting magic of Bushmen and Pygmies. Not much rock art survives
in western Africa, and in eastern and central parts of the continent more
recent but still invaluable paintings have been poorly preserved.
But there is progress. Locals are
being encouraged to see the value of showing off their sites to tourists.
National museums are being overhauled, with new displays of lost peoples. New
history textbooks may follow. New finds are being made. A sensational discovery
in a cave in Kenya is being kept under wraps until it can be properly dated.
Some think African rock art should
provide a pan-African rallying point, free of politics or religion. A rich
rock-art heritage could connect Libya and South Africa, two of the African
Union's biggest backers, which sometimes struggle to find anything in common.
Kofi Annan, a former UN secretary-general, is a big rock-art fan. He reckons it
represents nothing less than the earliest record of the human imagination.
First, ask yourself how hungry you
are, on a scale of 1 (ravenous) to 7 (stuffed). http://louiscjcsheehan.blogspot.com/
Next, take time to appreciate the food
on your plate. Notice the colors and textures.
Take a bite. Slowly experience the
tastes on your tongue. Put down your fork and savor.
"Most people don't think about
what they're eating -- they're focusing on the next bite," says Sasha
Loring, a psychotherapist at Duke Integrative Medicine, part of Duke University
Health System here. "I've worked with lots of obese people -- you'd think
they'd enjoy food. But a lot of them say they haven't really tasted what
they've been shoveling down for years."
Over lunch, Ms. Loring is teaching me
how to eat mindfully -- paying attention to what you eat and stopping just
before you're full, ideally about 51⁄2 on that 7-point scale. Many past diet
plans have stressed not overeating. What's different about mindful eating is
the paradoxical concept that eating just a few mouthfuls, and savoring the
experience, can be far more satisfying than eating an entire cake mindlessly.
• Assess how hungry you are.
• Eat slowly; savor your food.
• Put your fork down and breathe
between bites.
• Notice taste satiety.
• Check back on your hunger level.
• Stop when you start to feel full.
Source: Duke Integrative Medicine
For more information on mindful eating
• "Mindless Eating" by Brian
Wansink
• "Eating Mindfully" by
Susan Albers
• "The Zen of Eating" by
Ronna Kabatznick
It sounds so simple, but it takes
discipline and practice. It's a far cry from the mindless way many of us eat
while walking, working or watching TV, stopping only when the plate is clean or
the show is over.
It's also a mind-blowing experience:
I'm full and completely satisfied after three mindful bites.
The approach, which has roots in
Buddhism, is being studied at several academic medical centers and the National
Institutes of Health as a way to combat eating disorders. In a randomized
controlled trial at Duke and Indiana State University, binge eaters who
participated in a nine-week mindful-eating program went from binging an average
of four times a week to once, and reduced their levels of insulin resistance, a
precursor to diabetes. More NIH-funded trials are under way to study whether
mindful eating is effective for weight loss, and for helping people who have
lost weight keep it off.
One key aspect is to approach food
nonjudgmentally. Many people bring a host of negative emotions to the table --
from guilt about blowing a diet to childhood fears of deprivation or
wastefulness. "I joke with my clients that if I could put a microphone in
their heads and broadcast what they're saying to themselves when they eat, the
FCC would have to bleep it out," says Megrette Fletcher, executive
director of the Center for Mindful Eating, a Web-based forum for health-care
professionals. http://louisgjgsheehan.blogspot.com/
Louis Sheehan 733
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