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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Antidepressant Drugs May Also Suppress Basic Human Emotions


(Click Picture for Psychiatry Documentary)

Source: Wired

Antidepressant drugs, already known to cause sexual side effects, may also suppress the basic human emotions of love and romance.

That SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors — the most common type of antidepressant — cause sexual dysfunction is common knowledge. Of the 31 million adults in the United States who take the SSRIs, about 30 percent are believed to experience sexual dysfunction.

But a new theory suggests that SSRI antidepressants may also subtly alter the fundamental chemistry of love and romance, snuffing the first sparks between two people otherwise destined to become lovers, and preventing couples from bonding.

"There's every reason to think SSRIs blunt your ability to fall and stay in love," said Helen Fisher, a Rutgers University biological anthropologist who has pioneered the modern science of love.

For some people, of course, sexual side effects are an acceptable price to pay for curing debilitating depression. But as antidepressant use becomes more common, extending beyond full-blown clinical depression to disorders like anxiety and, in some cases, insomnia, the possibility of love-stunting is troubling.

SSRI antidepressants work by boosting circulating levels of serotonin, a mood-regulating neurotransmitter that also inhibits desire. The drugs also decrease dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in a wide range of cognitive and behavioral processes, among them desire and arousal. The new research suggests that dopamine may also play a part in romance.

During sex, a cocktail of hormones is released that appears to play important roles in fostering romantic attachment within the brain. Take away sex, and romantic love can dwindle. But this is just part of the problem, say Fisher and University of Virginia psychiatrist James Thomson.

Dopamine also appears central to the neurobiology of romantic love and attachment, conditions that Fisher believes to be affected by — but ultimately distinct from — sexual love and its effects. She and Thomson say that SSRIs may do more than cause sexual dysfunction: They also suppress romance.

"There are all sorts of unconscious systems in our brain that we use to negotiate romantic love and romantic attraction," said Thomson. "If these drugs cause conscious sexual side effects, we'd argue that there are going to be side effects that are not conscious."

According to Fisher, humans have three distinct but interconnected love-related brain systems: one for sex, another for attachment and another for romantic love. This is still hypothetical — nobody knows exactly what love does in the brain — but Fisher has been a pioneering researcher on romantic love's neurobiology, and dopamine indeed appears important.

When couples have just fallen in love, the mere sight of the other causes a jump in dopamine-related brain activity. If they manage to stay in love, with the early flush giving way to long-term affection, those brain patterns stay active.

Reduced dopamine levels, however, are an inevitable effect of SSRIs. Reduce dopamine, say Fisher and Thomson, and the possibility of love itself is reduced. 

Though biologically plausible, definitive evidence for this has yet to be found. The only study to specifically test the hypothesis was conducted by Saint Mary's University psychologist Maryanne Fisher, who found that women taking antidepressants tended to have muted reactions when showed pictures of attractive men. The effect was small, however, and the study has not been reproduced.

University of California at Los Angeles psychiatrist Andrew Leuchter acknowledged that increasing serotonin can decrease dopamine, but has not seen difficulties in forming emotional attachments among his patients. "I've seen people who have great difficulty with their emotional attachments, who think they've fallen out of love or want to isolate themselves, come alive again," said Leuchter, who receives funding from antidepressant drugmakers. "I'm not sure the syndrome [Fisher and Thomson] describe exists."

Thomson and Fisher, on the other hand, report the opposite: antidepressant takers who've lost the capacity for romantic feeling.


Clinical studies of antidepressant side effects do little to settle this debate. They've focused on sexual problems, which are far easier to measure than subtle effects on something so ephemeral as a spark.

Thomson recommended that psychologists investigating romance ask test subjects whether they take antidepressants. He also suggests that the possibility of romantic stunting be considered when deciding whether antidepressants should be prescribed to a child or young adult.

"Does it impact the development of those areas of the brain involved in love and sexuality? Does it impair the feelings and behaviors of romantic love and sexuality and the learning processes, which might be required to bring those areas of the brain online?" said Thomson. "We don't know."

Said Fisher, "We want to know about the side effects of other drugs. Why not know about the side effects of these drugs, which affect our reproductive future?"

Another alternative could be drugs that don't boost serotonin. Bupropion, also known as Wellbutrin, increases levels of dopamine and norepinephrine, another neurotransmitter; it's been associated with far lower levels of sexual dysfunction, but doesn't work for everyone.

Drug companies are currently designing next-generation antidepressants that raise dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine levels simultaneously, and might have fewer romantic side effects. However, none of these drugs are yet on the market, and projected side effects remain hypothetical.

"Any drug in development is always better than anything out there," said Leuchter. "And then, once they hit the market, nothing is perfect."

SOURCE

Pentagon Imposes Secrecy on U.S. Budget Process



“Let me say it as simply as I can, ‘Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency,’” Obama said during his first full day on the job.
(video)



WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Top Pentagon officials have had to agree in writing to keep this year's budget talks a secret as they confront thorny questions about the future of expensive U.S. weapons programs, a spokesman said on Wednesday.



Defense Secretary Robert Gates took the unusual step of requiring nondisclosure agreements of all senior officials who wanted to participate in the fiscal debate, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

President Barack Obama, who inherited a recession and a trillion-dollar deficit when he took office on Jan. 20, will send his first budget proposal to Congress on Thursday but a comprehensive fiscal plan is not expected until April.

Some budget watchers believe the Pentagon's base budget could rise as much as 4 percent from a current $515 billion but would remain well below the $581 billion initially sought for the new fiscal year by the Bush administration.

Up to now, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been funded by separate supplemental bills and not through the base budget.

Total U.S. government spending stands at more than $3 trillion a year.



"Everybody who's participating in this process -- these are the highest-ranking people in this department -- were asked to sign," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.

Obama has pledged to break with the unprecedented secrecy of the Bush administration and allow greater openness in government activities.

But Gates, a former CIA director, is trying to prevent leaks as his department weighs cuts in expensive programs and rebalances budget priorities to reflect the demands of unconventional warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Pentagon officials also said some budget details are classified and cannot be revealed without violating federal law, while others are commercially sensitive.

"This is highly sensitive stuff involving programs costing tens of billions of dollars, employing hundreds of thousands of people and go to the heart of national security," Morrell said.

Budget discussions are expected to include high-stakes decisions on the fate of programs such as Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) premier F-22 fighter jet.

Obama himself vowed to crack down on costly military programs this week, citing a project to build a new presidential helicopter that is more expensive than the president's plane.

Gates has also told Congress the global economic downturn and war costs in Iraq and Afghanistan would force tough decisions on weapons programs.

"We understand these (programs) involve huge corporations that have a lot riding on the outcome of these discussions," Morrell said.

Top Pentagon suppliers Boeing Co (BA.N), Northrup Grumman
Corp, General Dynamics Corp (GD.N), BAE Systems (BAES.L) and Raytheon Co (RTN.N) are anxiously awaiting news of possible cuts in their programs.

Lockheed defended its F-22 program this month in a full-page advertisement in the Washington Post that emphasized the number of jobs sustained by the program.
(Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by John
O'Callaghan)



SOURCE

US Orders Project ENDGAME To Begin, 775,000 Americans Targeted For Arrest


I Hope This Is NOT True!!!



From: WhatDoesItMean.com

February 24, 2009

A stunning Russian Foreign Ministry report is stating today that the President Obama has secretly ordered the ‘immediate’ opening of America’s vast gulag of concentration camps, built since 2001 and estimated able to hold a further 1 million of their citizens, which is aside from the 2.3 million currently imprisoned in what has become the World’s largest Prison Nation in all of history, in what they are calling Project ENDGAME.

These reports say that President Obama’s administration is being driven by the ‘outright fear’ over what they say will be an ‘explosion’ of massive social upheaval this coming summer due to their Nations economic collapse which has nearly totally destroyed their ability to maintain their food stocks as tens of thousands of US farmers have had to resort to the mass slaughter of their bird flocks, swine and cattle herds they are unable to feed due to their not being able to gain access to their much needed Farm Operating Loans they survive on until their crops come in and their flocks and herds are ready for market.

The American farmers being cut off from these operating loans is eerily reminiscent of the 1930’s Great Depression which likewise saw the total collapse of the United States being able to feed itself and which Russian historian Boris Borisov has estimated killed over 10 million Americans.

It is important to note that Dr. Borisov’s seminal research on the massive numbers of Americans killed during their Great Depression is still banned from being published in the United States though the figures supporting his claims come from the US’s own government compiled statistics, and as we can read as reported by the Russia Today News Service:





Continued...





SOURCE

Monday, February 23, 2009

Pope Warns Of New Type Of Eugenics Based On Perfection And Physical Beauty




VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said on Saturday there were worrying signs of a new type of eugenics based on perfection and physical beauty.

"Certainly, the eugenistic and racial ideologies that in the past humiliated man and provoked immense suffering are not being proposed again, but a new mentality is creeping in that tends to justify a different consideration of life and personal dignity," the pope said in a speech to the Pontifical Academy for Life.

"So it tends to privilege the capacity to operate, efficiency, perfection and physical beauty at the expense of other types of existence considered unworthy."

Eugenics is a belief in the possibility of improving the human race by weeding out those with what are considered undesirable traits and encouraging procreation by those with desirable traits.

The pope also spoke out against reducing humans to an object of "experimental manipulation" and allowing biotechnology to "surrender to the will of the strongest."

Pope Benedict has condemned genetic engineering and other scientific practices that allow people to select so-called "designer babies" by screening them for defects.

The Vatican considers pre-implantation diagnosis of embryos to avoid genetic defects or select for qualities like gender morally unacceptable. It is also against genetic enhancement for purposes other than medical treatment.

(Writing by Deepa Babington; editing by Robert Woodward)

Friday, February 20, 2009

The "OBAMA NATION" - The New Brown Shirts: Websites Ban?

I don't know what to say, so I am going to use excerpts from the Obama Forum.

Websites that must be banned! (brainstorm) is a thread on this forum. Remember, this is an Obama Grassroots support forum.




Posted by: Howard Dean

"Alright let's get the ball rolling. We must make the internet more "Obama" friendly, there are a whole bunch of conservatard sites that criticize our president. I have been assured by Sec of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano that she will take steps to make the internet more friendly but she needs sites that should be banned. Please brainstorm here

Sincerely,

Howard Dean M.D.

(Get the ball rolling here are some sites)

www.gop.org <---Opposing party

www.redstate.com <---Conservatard watering hole

www.freerepublic.com <---See redstate.com


www.mccain.senate.gov <---Ran against Obama and attacking him now.

www.sarahpac.com <---Sarah "Carabou Barbie" Palin's "Political Action Committee.""



Now, the above post was supposedly Howard Dean, the guy who almost became the Democratic Presidential Candidate in 2004. If it really is Howard Dean, the people of the US will see fascism like the world has never seen.

Here is another excerpt:




Posted by: SickleandHammer.

"The government should censor the entire Internet.

Only information constructive to the cause of the people and progress should be permitted.
__________________
Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas. ~ Stalin"



Yet another excerpt:




Posted by: D. McClellan

"http://ronpaulforums.com
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/
http://wikipedia.org
http://jbs.org
http://mises.org/
http://www.lp.org/
http://www.lewrockwell.com/
http://www.dailypaul.com/
http://www.infowars.com
http://infowars.net/
http://www.prisonplanet.com/
http://www.prisonplanet.tv/
http://www.cato.org/
http://www.rebuildtheparty.com/

This be the biggest, most treasonous list I ever seen. No TRUE Obama fanatic should go within 10 yards of those sites."



I hope this is a sick joke, because this is the most disturbing thing I have ever read. It is not looking good for the people of the USA, if this is real.

Please GO LOOK FOR YOURSELF!






UPDATE:

I am convinced this forum is a farce. There are some Obama supporters on the forum, but I think it is mostly people trying to make Obama's supporters look insane. They are insane, but lets let them show it on their own. We don't need fake websites to discredit those who dislike Obama's policies.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Being Deceived



Being Deceived

Wondering why I feel this inside
I see the problems with my eyes
Wondering why I don't cry enough
when I know in my mind
I know in my heart of hearts
it's falling apart
all around me
are they blind?

We've been so easily deceived
whatever they said, we believed
now they're offering relief
but we're just being deceived

What scares me the most is what comes after the crash
the world is changing faster than we comprehend
what will people do when they can't pay with cash?
the empire we've been living in's coming to its end


We've been so easily deceived
whatever they said, we believed
now they're selling us relief
but we're just being deceived

Saturday, February 14, 2009

FDA Declares Form of Vitamin B6 a Drug, Effectively Banning Pyridoxamine from Dietary Supplements

Thursday, February 12, 2009 by: Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

(NaturalNews) The FDA has effectively banned a naturally-occurring form of vitamin B6 called pyridoxamine by declaring it to be a drug, reports the American Association for Health Freedom. Responding to a petition filed by a drug company, the FDA declared pyridoxamine to be "a new drug."

Now, any nutritional supplements containing pyridoxamine will be considered adulterated and illegal by the FDA, which may raid vitamin companies and seize such products. See the history of FDA raids on vitamin companies here: http://www.naturalnews.com/021791.html

Pyridoxamine occurs naturally in fish, chicken and other foods (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B6), putting the FDA in the strange position of banning a substance from dietary supplements even though it is already present in the food supply.

The FDA's war on Mother Nature

It's not the first time the FDA has declared a natural molecule to be a "drug" while attacking nutritional supplements that contain the same molecule. A similar story unfolded with red yeast rice and the lovastatin molecules it contains that lower high cholesterol. The drug companies engaged in biopiracy, ripping off the molecule from red yeast rice to make their now-famous "statin drugs." Once the statin drugs were patented, Big Pharma and the FDA went after red yeast rice, claiming the supplement was "adulterated with pharmaceuticals."

It wasn't really adulterated, of course. It just contained a natural statin-drug-like molecule that the drug companies copied and patented.

It would be like Big Pharma patenting vitamin C, then the FDA claiming that all oranges and lemons were adulterated with drugs because they naturally contain their own vitamin C.

This is the insanity of the FDA as it operates today. You can read more about the FDA on our channel webiste www.FDAreform.org which is updated every few days.

So will this ruling on pyridoxamine affect nutritional supplements? Yes, any supplements containing this form of vitamin B6 can now be declared "adulterated" by the FDA. Manufacturers of such supplements can be arrested and shut down for engaging in "illegal drug trafficking." Such is the nature of the FDA's agenda to criminalize nutritional supplement companies and limit consumers' access to Mother Nature's remedies.

SOURCE

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Panasonic Orders Some Families Home on Pandemic Risk

Panasonic Orders Some Families Home on Pandemic Risk

By Kanoko Matsuyama and Pavel Alpeyev

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Panasonic Corp., the world’s largest maker of consumer electronics, ordered Japanese employees in several emerging markets to send their families back to Japan on concern of a potential influenza pandemic.

The company in December instructed staff assigned to parts of Asia, Africa, eastern Europe and South America to repatriate their families by September, Akira Kadota, a spokesman for Osaka- based Panasonic, said by telephone today. He declined to comment on the number of employees or households affected.

Panasonic said last week it will cut about 15,000 jobs and report a loss this year. More than half of the company’s 209 subsidiaries outside Japan as of April 2008 were in the Asia- Pacific region.

“It’s a bit of a surprise,” said Naoteru Teraoka, who helps oversee $21 billion at Chuo Mitsui Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “I would understand if there was a sudden outbreak that warranted concern, but there don’t seem to be any recent developments.”

Panasonic may be the first major company to order families home on concern people wouldn’t receive needed health care in case of a widespread flu outbreak. A pandemic could kill 71 million people worldwide and lead to a “major global recession” costing $3 trillion, according to a worst-case scenario outlined by the World Bank in October.

“This is part of our preparations for a new type of influenza,” Kadota said by telephone. “We chose areas after considering the prevalence of bird flu, and the capability of medical facilities and access to them. This is not part of the cost cutting.”

Singapore Staff Spared

The world is closer to another influenza pandemic than at any time since 1968, when the last of the previous century’s three pandemics occurred, according to the World Health Organization.

The company has been reviewing how to handle a pandemic, and decided to repatriate families after consulting Japan’s government and the Geneva-based WHO, Kadota said.

Honda Motor Corp., Japan’s second-biggest carmaker, considered bringing home families of expatriates in China after a woman in Beijing infected with bird flu died on Jan. 5, said Hideto Maekawa, a spokesman for the company. The carmaker has advised employees to cut down on “unnecessary and non-urgent” business trips, he said.

Panasonic isn’t concerned about any single country more than others, and Singapore staff won’t be affected by the repatriation, he said. The Nikkei newspaper reported the plans earlier.

International health officials have been monitoring the H5N1 strain of avian influenza for more than a decade for signs it could mutate into a form that is easily spread between humans. H5N1 has infected at least 406 people in 15 countries since 2003, killing 63 percent of them, according to the WHO’s Web site. The organization lists 11 cases of the virus in humans this year.

Panasonic shares added 0.9 percent to 1,130 yen. The stock plunged 52 percent last year.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Kanoko Matsuyama in Tokyo at
kmatsuyama2@bloomberg.net.

SOURCE