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“Everyone Knows Someone Who Needs This Information!” (TM)

How would you like to end up in jail for growing your own healthy herbs and vegetables and fruits and maybe for giving some to your neighbor? If you think it’s absurd and will never happen here in the Land of the Free, think again! The bill is in the US Senate now!

Congress is back in session after a late-summer recess, and one one of the first bills they will consider is Senate Bill 510.

This bill imposes draconian oversight on food production.

Undoubtedly fronted and financed by Big Pharma, Big Agriculture and Monsanto – the Frankenfood genetically-modified organism (GMO) chemical giant, it imposes extremely burdensome requirements on thousands of small farmers and food processors, and many of these may be who you depend on for your food, already. In fact, if you shop in Farmer’s Markets or stores showcasing local suppliers, these small food producers might be selling directly to you in your local area.

This bill easily could wipe out the small organic farmer.

But it could be much worse. It aims to take away your right to garden, and to grow your own food!

Conceivably, you could even become a criminal simply for growing herbs and giving them to your friend. We don’t have the full understanding yet of how far the “benevolent” government wants to go in “protecting your food”.

We have to stop this bill. But it won’t be easy.

After the big egg recall, recently, Americans are clamoring for protection by the government.Well, it was US Government inspections which failed to protect us. In looking at the records for that egg farm, there were hundreds of previous violations. Yes, we need to be protected against unscrupulous corporations, of all types, including the ones financing the Bill!

Dr. Robert Rowen, MD says he has” little doubt that the unseen pushers of bills like this are Big Agri which seeks to destroy the small farmer. But they’re not the only ones behind this horrible bill.

My sources say that this bill will remove our rights to own and store seeds and place that otherwise inherent right into the hands of the likes of GMO Frankenfood giant Monsanto.”

In the name of  (pseudo) “food safety”, the government could move to promote antibiotics, hormones and GMO Frankenseeds, likely wiping out the small conscious farmer” who uses safer, organic, natural seed.

Bills like this present a great danger to freedom.

Right now, the U.S. Code mandates that the government must find “credible evidence” before launching an attack on a food producer.

The authors of this bill and their minions want to replace that phrase with “reasonable probability.”

Hold on! You don’t need to be an attorney to see where this is heading. Who will be making that determination of “reasonable probability”? Some bureaucrat 3,000 miles away?

Dr. Rowen, MD continues – Might s/he decide that the raw milk which restored your health be removed for “reasonable probability”?

We certainly  do NOT need this bill.

Dr. Robert Rowen, MD states: “I’d rather take my chances on a rare outbreak of food bacteria than let the government control what comes to the food stores or what I personally can produce.”

He says, “I can treat the food-borne bacteria. I can’t easily treat pasteurization’s toxicity, Monsanto’s Frankenfood, the hormones, pesticides or other petrochemicals that are dumped into your food in the name of “safety.” ” That says it all.

This is our natural birthright – to garden, to forage and to store our seeds. It is fundamental to our independence and therefore to our Freedom!

Prevent this Power Grab!

Read the Bill and watch its progress, here:
Senate Bill 510

And, learn about the actual influence peddling and desire to pressure public health officials and scientists –
Pressure from Big Business

Please call your senators and demand that they stop this bill dead in its tracks. Tell them you want to demand oversight on the use of chemicals, GMO Frankenfood, hormones and antibiotics, and that freedom for you and the small farmer is essential to our Liberty.

Look under US Government in your phone book for your US Senator’s local office, and write to their office at the Capital in Washington, DC by searching for the URL for your 2 senators, online.

If you are outside America, make sure your legislators are not helping these multinational corporations take over your lives, too!

The time is NOW. Don’t sit back and do nothing. Once lost, home-production and small farming will be outlawed!

Having the right to grow your own food is the most basic human right, and it is foundational for your Health, especially as a diabetic! Well cared for home-grown will always be best. Small farm production by a knowledgeable farmer, preferably organic, will always be next best. Both are far superior to the product produced by Big Ag’s factory farms. Period.

And, while you’re at it, tell your legislators to not allow high fructose corn syrup – one of the most deleterious substances in the food supply, and a cheap sweetener for Big Ag – to be allowed a name-change to benign-sounding “corn sugar”. What crafty S.O.B.s they are.

You can read many articles about high fructose corn syrup dangers, in my article archive, above on the tool bar. Thanks.

Please share this article with your favorite Web 2.0 site.

(c) 2010 Em at https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com
Please respect my copyright. You may quote 2 short paragraphs of my article, with credit to me, but for more, please write for permission at About Me, above. Thanks!

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“Everyone Know Someone Who Needs This Information” (TM)

Start watching a fascinating video which aired last night on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in America. (It’s also available for purchase at pbs.org).

The video, “Journey of Man”,  highlights an update of the work of geneticist Spencer Wells, whose first documentary I saw in the 90’s and have never forgotten it (wished for years I had taped it!).

Wells collaborated with and builds on the work of renowned geneticist Dr. L. Luca Cavalli-Sforza at Stanford University and Venice, Italy.

This is seminal science — basic for Understanding and fostering World Peace — yes, it’s that amazing. It’s also enjoyable, as it is the world’s Ultimate Puzzle and Mystery Chase — the best REAL  “reality TV”.

It’s easy to understand if you are not a science major, too.

Have fun watching it in pieces on YouTube. Go to

You can learn lots more about many topics and find diabetic-friendly recipes at the Titles Archive tab, on the upper navigation bar. Enjoy!

Best to all — Em

(c)2009 Em at https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com

If you desire to use or quote from my post, please write for permission at the About Me tag, on the upper navigation bar.

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biggest-loser-trainer-bob-harper-diners-journal-nyt-2-2009

 

 

 

 

 

“Everyone Knows Someone Who Needs This Information”(TM)


The cat is out of the bag about The Biggest Loser, backstage. Trainer Bob Harper answered many of the 65 questions posed to him about the show,  at the New York Times. TBL is one reality show which many overweight and obese people use as inspiration and to try to glean knowledge from, when they do not have money for a personal trainer. With the nation’s obesity rate rising to even new, extreme levels, and when many other countries, worldwide, rich and poor alike, are facing severe overweight, anything we can learn about this flagship, high-profile show is important. Is it realistic; is it setting reasonable goals? Is it detrimental, in the long run?

As The Biggest Loser is in its 7th season (I’ve missed only one season — maybe #4, so I speak from my own opinion and experience with it too), they are taking on older and more massive, sick, people. So, I was especially interested when they showed just about all the contestants in physical rehab after daily sessions of  4 -6 hours of exercise in nearly 400 pound bodies.  Bob says they do 1 -2 hours of it as intense cardio exercise per day. This is the first time they have ever shown the physical daily toll.

Massive physical therapy is needed apparently, and when injured, Bob says they still do low-impact water aerobics and chair weight work until well enough for more varied exercise.

It appears that as they lose weight, then exercise time will increase, but with this biggest group, ever, that’s where they are starting.

Interestingly, Bob says that at TBL, just as much time as exercise is spent re-educating the people about food and healthy food preparation! We KNOW that food is key, if you are a regular reader of this blog. Wrong foods undo right exercise (tm).

Many participants do not cook or don’t know how to cook! And, in that sense, they are all too representative of current America. In 1965, the family chef (usually a woman, still) spent an average of 13 hours a week preparing food for the family. Now, we are lucky if ANYONE spends even 30 minutes a day!

We just can’t be healthy with those priorities (or rather lack of priorities!).

A current researcher even goes as far as to say:

“Even if home cooking is of the fried-chicken-and-mashed-potatoes variety, it rarely produces extreme obesity, said Barry Popkin, a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Almost any kind of cooking you can produce in a kitchen is healthier than fast food.” The decline of home cooking worldwide, he said, is an underlying cause of obesity.

In that same time period, from 1965 to now, the percentage of women who are overweight has risen to about 65 percent from about 30 percent in the 1960s.

The chef of The Biggest Loser cookbooks also says that 20 minutes of proper healthy food preparation in your home kitchen will save you 3 hours on a Stairmaster. So, make better choices about your food, period!

Cooking at home and eating well is being perceived as much harder than just eating less. But, cooking at home really can be very time and health effective, and it holds the key to being able to truly satisfy hunger.  Because the food is healthier, you can have reasonable portions, and you can stage your eating into the “every four hours” scenario Bob suggests, while awake (as does Dr. Barry Sears, PhD of The Zone Diet system) to retune your metabolism and have your insulin and glucagon balance be better controlled.

Bob Harper says that many of TBL participants arrive diabetic, and in the course of their physical training, losing weight, food re-education, they manage to get off medications for diabetes and often for other medical issues, too.  We highlighted that for 400+ pound Dan, at 19 years old, last week.  See link below.

This also happened a few weeks ago for the Dad on the father-son team. When the Biggest Loser’s physician announced that, he stated, that even for a guy in his late 40’s or so, not only was he healthier, but at today’s costs, he’d save $176,000 just by no longer needing these drugs — and it would all be saved from his own pocket, for as we know, too many morbidly obese and diabetic people can’t get health coverage.

What a difference to not have to pay $176,000 and know that you were now HEALTHIER than you ever were on the drugs. Lifestyle changes get to the root cause of these dis-eases, and have the only chance to cure them. Drugs never do. But, if you aren’t willing to make the exercise and eating changes, then you have only 2 choices: take the meds or die. Please choose life.

Bob says the calorie amounts daily are personalized to each participant’s height, weight, age and gender. Bob stocks his team’s kitchen cupboards, and they spend a lot of time learning in the kitchen every day, even though this is NOT seen on television (what a pity!).

They have to make all their own meals, when they are beat, injured, whatever. I think the team concept would help here; hopefully it does, anyway.  Everyone spends a great deal of time rehabbing old favorite re ipes to become healthier, learning new recipes and altogether new ways to shop, cook and eat. Guest chefs appear once in a while to really show more of what can be done; that’s an inspiration and an eye-opener, as many don’t even know what fresh vegetables are or what to do with them!

As a vegetarian, Bob found that eventhough he had been in great shape, when he became vegetarian 3 years ago, he got even stronger and has better endurance now.  Unless he’s Blood Type O, then vegetarianism is productive, if it is not the fake-soy, heavy cheese and crunchy cereal version.

If the foundation of any diet is pure spring water, then fresh vegetables (especially the leafy ones), then whole grains (cooked only as grains — not made from flours), then healthy oils, a bit of fruit and a moderate amount of protein a day,  that sets the stage for health.

Remember, you must have carbohydrates for Health, but they are the food group you must be most careful about with your choices. Bob says that Atkins, low-carb diets will never be sustainable, and certainly not while doing heavy exercise. (I would say that may be possible to a great degree for Blood Type O, but even so,  fresh vegetables should still form the foundation of everyone’s diet).

In his report, Bob says that these massively clinically obese people arrive addicted to junk-foods and to fast-foods. Part of his strategy is to break that cycle, because otherwise, the recetivism will be tremendous. As it is, several of the prior years’ participants have been chefs. They have sold their businesses. You do what you need to do to get your life turned around. For one, it worked; for the other, it didn’t.

Looking at TBL site, digging deeply, I found out that many of the contestants (even the doctor, two seasons ago) re-gain about 40 – 50 pounds. I think this is too much of a bounce-back, and I would encourage anyone this large to never let themselves go beyond a 20 – 25 pound buffer zone. I don’t think it is reasonable to think that you can keep working out 4 – 6 hours a day, so knowledgeable food choice becomes even more imperative.

I think we all need to realize that we must exercise and eat decently if we expect to regain and keep our Health. There are NO short-cuts; Bob emphasizes that. The past participants who stay in their target zone, varying no more than 10 pounds from what they achieved on the show, do so because they stay focused and committed. There are quite a few of them, and that shows that life-long change is possible, with determination and then acceptance of a new, healthier way to guide your life — respecting your body, mind and spirit — dealing with stress in more constructive ways.

As far as artifically sweetened foods which are touted on the show, Bob gets no money from advertisers (but, I’m sure the show does). His rationale is that he is gradually changing their palates and reducing their cravings, but he says he would NEVER use artificially sweetened anything, himself, and neither do I.

Over time, their body starts to get rid of the massive, toxic load they are harboring, mostly by sweating it out. Then, as they eat more fresh, healthy food, that and the metabolism kicking-in to burn up toxins, too, starts progress toward some better Health, not just weight-loss. And, Health should be the goal.

To jump-start yourself, Bob suggests getting rid of all artificially-sweetened food, using no sodas of any kind, getting further and further away from eating fast foods (except for salads) and then MOVING – walk, walk, walk everywhere. Try to get your 10,000 steps a day built up (over time, maybe a month or more if you are very heavy).  Get a pedometer and use it to keep the step tally.

Make sure to check your blood sugars if you change your activity level.

Many people expressed the same frustration that I have with the show, and wanted to know if the rejected teams get any help after they are sent home. Many also said they did not feel this should have people being sent home. This and more concerns me too. There were a few bright spots.

All participants still have access to the show’s physicians and their trainer — online or by phone — after they head home, before their season ends. The sponsor 24 Hour Fitness gives them a year’s free membership (but acknowledges that only works if a facility is nearby). As many of these people come from tiny communities, they end up being dependent on the goodness of their neighbors. Bob says many local trainers have stepped in to help them for free, once they have been eliminated from The Ranch.

In one case, last season, the Physical Education coaches at the University of Michigan stepped in to help one of the moms, who was local for them, and she succeeded very well.

The show also fails to offer psychological support (other than the layman type provided by Jillian and Bob), but for binge eaters, this would be essential, I think.  However, I also opine that far too many people think that obese people cannot control their food intake, and I think that is very inaccurate. Study after study shows that often obese people eat way less food than regular weight people, but their biochenistry is SO out of whack, that even that bit can make them balloon.

Plus, many overweight people have a very efficient Thrifty Gene, which would have helped THEM to be the humans who survive. The skinny people sure won’t in times of famine.

So, all in all its a delicate dance of genetics, metabolism, exercise,  food choice and amount. We know that. The show should help people learn what they are showing participants better, but as TBL has published cookbooks and the trainers have written their books, maybe that’s the better way to go to learn, if you have massive weight to lose. They also have exercise DVDs.

For me, the show is there for inspiration and for warning. NEVER let yourself get into the terrible health bind these people did, because you see how HARD they have to work to undo it all.

Best to all — Em

P.S. – If you want to learn more, then use the Titles Tab on the upper Navigation Bar. If you learned a lot, please share this and any of my other articles at your favorite Web 2.0 site. Thanks!

REFERENCES:
https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com/2009/01/30/diabetes-gone-biggest-losers-dan-and-dave-a-new-start/

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/q-and-a-with-bob-harper-of-the-biggest-loser/?ref=dining 

BOB’S RESPONSES: http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/how-losers-lose/

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/more-from-bob-harper/

(c) 2009 Em https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com
If you desire to share any of my article, please respect my copyright and include the copyright citation and my web address in your footnote or reference section. Thanks.

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“Everyone Knows Someone Who Needs This Information!” (TM)

Of course I wanted to share a new honey cake recipe for diabetics in time for Rosh Hashannah (Jewish New Year) which begins next Monday evening, but this week, as the world’s financial markets have been reeling, instead, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about personal responsibility, corporate responsibility, government’s role and how to craft a better world, where the priorities are founded on the well-being of The People and The Planet and not a privileged “Few”, (who are often greedy and short-sighted); certainly, raiding the Treasury for undeserved corporate bail-outs severely impacts money for healthcare, health research and help for all who need financial assistance to buy their medications and essential items like diabetes equipment. 

I believe it is reasonable to expect that our Government should be ensuring an essential, fair economic sphere of opportunity and a social contract where all of us are able to have a job or business, buy healthy food and have a decently secure roof over our head, in return for the honest work of our own effort, know-how and innovation, and not to jeopardize that by giving imprudent help to a few irresponsible corporations from Wall StreetThis article will take you 15 – 20 minutes to read, but it may be one of the most important you ever read. So, read it in pieces, if you must, but DO read it!

First, some background, so please bear with me.

Yes, in the paragraph above I underlined “honest“. That’s been at the core of the most recent financial issues. Wall Street has made its own rules, which amounted to being basically, NO rules, while Main Street has HAD to play-by-the-rules or else The People lose everything!

And, as philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet have highlighted in their statements, they are concerned that even fewer philanthropists are emerging from the upper echelons of society, too. So, I wonder if everything is really even more topsy-turvy and fundamentally flawed at the level of personal responsibility and conscience.  I wonder how many millions (let alone billions) does a wealthy person “need” to be able to live one’s own life well, and help those you love have a good life, before you are willing to share your bountiful largesse!

Naturally, the next step in this cogitation is ‘how to put the situation aright’, as Rosh Hashannah is a time for soul-searching more than of celebration, this IS very appropriate.

Tikkun Olam – The Repair of the World – is a prime directive in Judaism; each of us is charged with the responsibility, by the Divine. We are stewards of the Lord’s creation as well as being our sisters’ and brothers’ “keeper”.

This year I am far more concerned about what we will experience as our lives next year, and whether we, as individuals, have ANY control over our destiny at this point in time, given that we are dealing with a stunningly-brutal, abusive and insensitive global corporate agenda! Every citizen, in every country, is caught in this web.

In America, whose economy seriously impacts other countries’, we cannot mortgage our childrens’, grandchildrens’ and potentially great-grandchildrens’ future or health solely on the audacious request to bail-out irresponsible corporations no matter how big or “important” they are supposed to be. If the American taxpayer offers any help, then The People must get a decent return-on-investment for the infusion of capital. After that topic is settled, one way or another, we must seriously address the viability of the American Dollar – the trashing of which, some say, is the aim of what is behind this recent Wall Street and rising-oil-prices “emergency”.

As background, nothing but the world’s “good-will” has stood behind the “value” of the US Dollar since 1971 when President Nixon took America off the “gold standard” (whereby “America’s” fortune in gold, in Fort Knox, Kentucky, really stood “behind” the paper dollar). The newly unsupported dollar was bolstered by President Nixon’s agreement with the Sauds in 1973 that oil would “always” be sold in US Dollars. That helped our currency, as other countries had to collect dollars, especially by trading with us. All of that is changing. 

Many of the oil-producing Persian Gulf countries are now experiencing a spill-over of inflation from America, because they are “tied” to the American dollar; this is unacceptable to them. They may change the ‘use of the dollar to buy oil’ and that can bring America’s financial world crashing down — a REAL and PRESENT DANGER, a national security issue, wouldn’t you say?

Next, the Iraq government under Saddam Hussein was selling its oil in Euros, NOT using US Dollars; this may have been one of at least 2 semi-secret reasons for the war in Iraq. And it may also be the real reason for saber-rattling from Russia (which says all its home-produced oil and gas WILL be sold in RUBLES, only). Iran is following it’s Russian ally’s path, also selling its oil by pricing it in rubles or non-dollar currency, to prevent “dollar slavery” bringing Iran in as a “target” for yet another morally unacceptable, pre-emptive American war-for-oil because by not using dollars, Iran has cost America dearly, financially, and it has a huge oil supply to sell. 

And, this Bush-American Government wants to spread its version of American hegemony when it is selling-out America to pay the bill, and other countries, including China, which have been paying our bills, are beginning to say, “No!”.

You can’t be a SuperPower when you can’t pay your bills. See more about this in the Blog articles in Reference. In reality, it appears that America is really bankrupt, and the last money we have borrowed, which is still in the Treasury, is what they want to “raid” now.

This purposeful, step-by-step financial breaking-of-America is also because of poor, abusive governance these past 8 years and due to no regulation of the insensitive and predatory behavior by globalist corporations and banksters, with Profit as their only concern. All of this is really coming home to every citizen now, shareholder or not, in many first-world countries and in America first and foremost. But later, you’ll find out here that there’s more to it all than just GREED and POWER.

I am not an economist, but I am well read, and I am an intelligent and dedicated researcher and data-miner. I have found that beyond conspiracy theory circles, the idea has been advanced that the real purpose of turmoil in these coming months is to destabilize, trash and otherwise bury the Dollar, and then institute the North American Union, with a new currency, already called the Amero.

Those who follow financial and other circles more closely than I do, say that the Basel Accords are designed to act powerfully (the one in 1988 brought down the Japanese banks, which previous to that, 9 of the top 10 banks in the world had been Japanese!) and the second Accord, aimed at being in place by 2007, began staging the Dollar’s demise! 

In fact, the policy currently being implemented by the private corporate and Governmental establishment is criminal, and litigation should start! By them devaluing the U.S. Dollar due to their actions or inactions, they are indirectly robbing from the American middle class, by destroying the purchasing power of everyone’s bank accounts, that are denominated in U.S. Dollars. This is another way to destroy the Middle Class, the back-bone of America and reservoir of her values.

The Poor do not have lots of savings, but are being robbed in other ways. The Wealthy have safe havens, off-shore banking and other ways to not be hurt, and often to profit, by this course of events.

Strangely, NO recent Federal Reserve Chairman has instituted policies to save the Dollar, and in fact, most citizens do not realize that the Federal Reserve is not even a legal entity.

Congressman Ron Paul and others are trying to educate the populace about the illegal, self-serving stranglehold the Federal Reserve and its fiat currency has in our financial life. “The Federal Reserve should be raising interest rates to defend the dollar” say the authors at www.funnymoneyreport.com. Indeed, in past decades, I remember them doing that, when it suited the Wealthy. Why not now?

Also, in the mix, the Russians announced a deal that was neither in the Canadian or American press. The Russians say  military treaties* have been concluded in February 2008, in Texas, whereby Canada and Mexico will have their specially-trained-for-this-purpose, elite military battalions “handle” the coming civil unrest in America, when this country’s financial base (and then the American Government) crashes early next year (possibly in February, according to a disinter blog posting from March 2008, which told some items of a closed-door session of the US Congress that also detailed the Wall Street crash would begin, specifically, in mid-September 2008!). Very scary. 

Just to be safe,  make sure you have plenty of meds and survival supplies, until things stabilize again, likely with the North American Union in place, as THAT is the preferred Plan all along. The powers-that-be can then get the American “dollar debt” off the books and be in-control still, with a new currency, and remain as the central bankers, or should I say banksters.

This scenario is aided by Dick Cheney’s actions. Yet again, with a 9% approval rating, Vice-President Cheney is still in office and machinating as much as ever. He has made sure that his former company, Haliburton, via its subsidiary KBR, has been paid handsomely, not just agregiously in Iraq, but also to train thousands of home-grown mercenaries to keep civil order (in the style of Blackwater Corporation), and several returning American Iraq military Veterans say they are being asked to fill out questionnaires about how far they are willing to “go” to kill Americans during civil strife! 

Can any recent Vets out there reading this verify by writing to me at the About Me page? Thanks!

All of this is even more ominous because the dollar actually IS fragile, at home and abroad, and this nefarious plan has been many decades in planning and follow-through. During the Reagan administration, another seemingly helpful, seemingly benign piece was put in place to contribute to the demise of America. What was this?

In addition to or as part of a bill passed about Martial Law, Reagan signed a bill which gave FEMA wide-ranging and unlimited power during civil emergency, answerable ONLY to the President; we just haven’t seen it applied to the anticipated, pre-planned level yet. Discredited Attorney General John Ashcroft was definitely involved in starting to build detention camps for Americans using Haliburton’s KBR (Kellogg, Brown and Root).

Just as we saw unprecedented, secret holding-tanks for “demonstrators” during the Democratic and Republican conventions, which were uncovered by reporters (doing their job, for once!), so too are up to 1,000 camps supposedly already  built in all 50 states (mostly on unused military bases, other Federal real-estate and in warehouses, but also on local and state lands like Water Districts, framed with the barbed wire facing INWARD etc.) to house (and possibly “dispose” of) dissadents and those likely to object to the dismantling of America and the rise of the North American Union, a planned part of the New World Order, instead.

The San Francisco Chronicle report below opens your eyes to how our Government has prepared again to put millions of its citizens behind barbed wire  (as it did to the Japanese-Americans, at the start of WW2, remember?) and maybe even worse atrocities.

The bills involved were railroaded through Congress as: 2007 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and Military Commissions Act of 2006, Presidential Director Number 54 in April of 1984 and at FEMA’s Mt. Weather underground facility, the Shadow Government establishment, circumventing the Constitution’s line of succession, is found in National Security Presidential Directive 51 (NSPD-51).

The Chronicle’s article is written by former Congressman Dan Hamburg! He concludes, ” The Constitution does not allow the executive to have unchecked power under any circumstances. The people must not allow the president to use the war on terrorism to rule by fear instead of by law.”

And Winston Churchill warns:

“The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government …”

I personally don’t know if these camps are true or not, but I’ve seen some good reports and enough other hanky-panky with all-too-ready willingness to abandon our Freedoms from this Administration, that nothing would surprise me. Keep your eyes and ears open. Assess this for yourself.

But, this I DO know —  in early 1977, not long after President Jimmy Carter began his Presidency, I lived in Washington, DC Metro area and saw him often on the LOCAL News, at lunch-time as well as later in the day on local and national newscasts. One noon time, I watched and listened as President Jimmy Carter said, unexpectedly, something SO strange, that I then had no idea what he was talking about — and because of that, I remembered it for 25 – 30 years before I found more Understanding.

So, what was it that I saw Carter say? ‘The President of the United States has no Power and is NOT the head of the country. The United States is ruled by a secret, world-wide Government.’ He was very clear and quick! Within moments, the TV transmission went blank (that’s scary, too!).

He never spoke of it again that I know of (he probably was threatened), and I know of only 3 other people brave enough to speak recently about the 10,000 year old power-grab by the original Illuminati from Babylon (Iraq) (not the false-scent of the German 19th century branch), now sometimes called the New World Order – and those courageous leaders are: 

___   the Meiji Emperor of Japan in the mid- 1800’s as Japan re-joined the world after centuries of isolation

___   President Dwight Eisenhower in his farewell address (calling them ‘the military-industrial complex, answerable to no-one’) and

___  President John Kennedy, whose family, along with the Bush family are “insiders“. Kennedys paid dearly, with 3 lives, for spilling the beans. Bushes and Kennedys are rival factions.

Did you realize that about 39 of the 44 US Presidents descend from the same Illuminati genealogical lineage? That’s NO co-incidence.

Not just during the last 2 illegal Bush Administrations, generations of Bushes have been full-speed ahead to railroad us into servitude, destitution and the Fascism Prescott Bush, tried to install when he attempted a Nazi-empathizer overthrow of FDR’s government around 1933!

So, no-one can tell me this is conspiracy “theory”, as I saw and heard one courageous President, Jimmy Carter, tell me very clearly that it is real, while I watched Kennedy’s more veiled comments without understanding at all. Thank-you President Carter; you are a true patriot.

Returning to the political-grab operating at the moment, the FDIC which “insures” American citizens’ bank accounts up to $100,000 per bank (only if it is an approved FDIC bank), is concerned about its resources. It used about 10% to cover the IndyMac bank failure earlier this year, but the failure of Washington Mutual (the nation’s largest Savings & Loan) will send FDIC belly-up, some think. So everyone hopes that WaMu will likely be sold to Morgan-Stanley (UPDATE: Friday, it has been seized and parts sold to JP Morgan – Chase, an Illuminati business), and then, only “maybe”,  will FDIC have enough to cover the other 150 banks which are expected to fail in this crisis.

Rep. Dr. Ron Paul has an interview below that is worth watching via YouTube.

Of course, there will be more money to help the little-guys’ savings and bail-out soon-to-be-foreclosed homes if 800 billion dollars is NOT given to Wall Street. The US Treasury is now close to 10 – 11 Trillion dollars in debt. Do you think we really can survive ANY part of this mismanagement?

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I despair that our nation can survive this. All of these agregious actions go to the heart of potential and actual abuse of power, as well as lack of honesty and transparency and oversight or concern for its citizenry by the leaders of this present American Government, (and past administrations, in varying degrees). 

And, in all the Changes to be wrought, just what is this present Government’s definition of Democracy; will the Constitution be upheld? Certainly the sovereign nation of the United States of America will cease-to-exist if the North American Union is instituted, as planned. This Bush Government has already been eroding personal freedoms seriously, all in the name of the so-called war on terror. Before any attempted North American Union take-over, are our free speech rights going to be protected as well as our rights to assemble and bear arms, or are we going to find that our Government IS the enemy?

The Founding Fathers instituted and ratified our most precious documents to protect us FROM our Government, and all rights which we do not grant Government, specifically, reside in the rights of the People. This is unique in the History of the World, and encompasses what is SO special and necessary for the real America to survive and prosper. This is why we must have representatives who do the People’s work NOT the Government’s, NOT the Corporations’, because once those rights are ceded to Government or Corporations, the People generally lose in the equation.

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As a solid financial foundation is necessary next, after our Rights, to establish a free and stable society, we need to look to how to clean up this recent financial debacle on Wall Street, if there is still a chance to do so.

David Brooks at the New York Times writes that there must be a new financial way; Progressive Corporatism, a term by Arnold Kling, is the chosen model for his discussion below. 

In this brave new world, Brooks only addresses the economic aspects of our life whereby “the American government will be much more active in economic management”; to get us out of the present mess, government activism will provide support to some needy corporations, banks and business and will be used to shore up the stable conditions all business needs to thrive (of  course this “support” has to be done well, and not with taxpayers holding the poor investments!); tax revenues from viable business activities will pay for progressive investments, in business-friendly causes, like: green technology, health care reform, infrastructure spending, education reform and scientific research. We would all benefit in some way from that approach, and America’s workers will be better off, with better jobs and more home-grown jobs.

In my opinion, we also need to reform the Tax Code, and yes, have wealthier people pay more than they have been. In this past decade, especially, more wealth has transferred to the top 1% of America’s population than in any time in World History. The wealthier are MUCH more wealthy; the middle-class has almost disappeared, and the lowest economic realms are struggling more than ever. What is wrong with this picture, especially in the dream-made-real which has been my America!

As Congressman Henserling (R) Texas said this week, maybe incentives can be given to the Rich, even while they pay more taxes. The capital gains tax could be reduced and those monies, if re-invested, will help the private sector start to gin-up. Then the Government will get the taxpayers’ money back to the Treasury faster, with good financial returns, because the economy will be in better shape with more diversified investments in place. And the wealthy will be keeping some of their money to re-invest, and will only be rewarded as they re-invest.

I also think that worker’s wages need to rise; that CEO compensation needs to be tied to a reasonable multiple of the common workers’ pay as well as to how well a company performs under that CEO’s guidance; that there be strict regulatory over-sight of corporations, especially in the finance sector; that unions be viable and that contracts between management and workers must exist; that anti-trust legislation be re-invigorated, so monopolies don’t exist; that there be harsh penalties for corporations and jail time for corporate officers for price-fixing, collusion and insider-trading etc. and absolutely, that there must be equal pay for equal work

Additionally, there must be a well-designed national health plan in America, building on the strengths of plans that other first-world nations already have AND there must be meaningful reform in the way pensions, savings protection and public safety-net plans are in place to care for Americans who can no longer work or who are ill, at any age.

All of this becomes more pressing, as I think retirement is a thing of the past, but if America corporations and small business are more generous with paid vacation time (6 weeks, as Europeans have long since had, as a minimum), then all of society will benefit from the experience and dedication of older workers. With more vacation time, people will be able to relax and not just be wage-slaves, as we are now in America.

If it weren’t SO serious, I’d say the usual American time-off as 2 weeks of annual “vacation” is a joke. High levels of stress and lack of time or energy each day lead to poor biochemistry, poor food choices and poor health!

I would say all this could have a chance if it was indeed “business as usual”. But, it is not. Estimates are that the Illuminati already are in control of 99% of all major corporations, and therefore farming, food distribution, fuel etc are all within their purvue. Los Angeles police are already being trained to control the population as food-riots are anticipated, when food-supply is artificially cut.

It seems that the Illluminati // New World Order shill, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulsen, may finally understand he is NOT going to get a carte blanche check, without any over-sight of his actions, from the American People, and that CEO’s pay, in these troubled businesses, has to be curtailed along with golden-parachute “deals” when corporations have been poorly managed.

If The People can manage to sort this out, I think that corporate profits have to be taxed differently than they have been recently, too, but any Plan must allow for plenty of profit to drive the economy. However, above a certain level, excessive profit IS gouging, definitely IS obscene and needs to be dealt with! I haven’t seen any Governments anywhere, recently, with the courage to do that.

Because of these falsely inflated prices, due solely to the profit-motive, people everywhere should NOT have to choose between buying their medication OR buying food OR having a roof over their head OR having no way but to buy gasoline, even if they car pool, to get to work, because there’s not enough public transportation.

Instead, much more relief, and actual salvation from foreclosure, needs to be given FIRST to the citizens who were entrapped by calculating, predatory lenders, and who without help, will lose their homes and life-savings. So far, as of Thursday, Rep. Barney Frank is giving indications that the present Plan gives the Citizens NOTHING!

It is NOT the borrower’s fault; it is the mortgage banker’s fault. They “approved” the loans. Foreclosure relief should have happened years ago! To denigrate the “sub-Prime” borrowers, or any borrowers, as the “Cause” is disingenuous.

The impotent and self-serving Congress failed to act, and otherwise responsible citizens have been losing Everything, while the bulk of Americans, and certainly their Government, didn’t care!

I know the tragedy of this first-hand, as, due to job loss in their professions, and inability to sell the property, 2 of my family have lost their homes, on which they have faithfully paid for decades and decades. This is an ongoing national catastrophe in which families do NOT recover on their own. Now, more than one million Americans have lost their homes, and all their savings, and their lives are trashed and their talents squandered. Neither of my families is on their feet again, after years. Professional and manufacturing jobs have been sent offshore and the only jobs Bush created are low-paying service “jobs”. What a sham.

So, at the core of it all, especially in America, is the Campaign Reform issue, which must be first on the new Administration’s agenda. Write! Speak! Rally! Make it so! Without Campaign Reform, we will still be in the clutches of influence-peddling from the greedy corporations’ lobbyists and wealthy panderers and will have a  continued “NOT concerned for us” but  “YES only to special interests” Government.

With Campaign Reform, which must include not only publically-financed campaigns but also short campaigns, then our representatives will hopefully really attend to The People’s business and their well-being. THAT is their only public duty! But, now, every Congress-person must raise $40,000 a day, just to have money for their next campaign. Does that start to explain why we have nothing happening to help The People, decade after decade?

I may write again during the week, as events change, but I encourage you to strive to Understand the Big Picture and the Hidden Agenda — do whatever you have to do to Understand what IS going on. You have this as your sacred-charge, too, as part of the Social Contract as a citizen, but even moreso, you need to do this to be involved, for your survival.

Best to all — Em

*  United States Northern Command Military Leader, US Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart of NORAD, and his Canadian counterpart, Air Force Lt.-Gen. Marc Dumais announced this new Military Pact (February  14, 2008) … and the only Canadian Troops available for any, so called, ‘civil emergency’ in the United States, are to be soldiers from its Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM), which Russian Military Commanders rate as being one of the top Special Forces Units among all of the World’s Armies. Why are only these the forces chosen to “handle” American citizens? This is very scary.

See more at: http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57228 and learn about the now-turned-terrorist criminal Zeta Mexican Commando mercenaries to be used at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/06/22/MNGK579U8H1.DTL

REFERENCE:

Last Year’s Honey Cake Recipes:

https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com/2007/09/18/rosh-hashannah-a-sweet-new-year-happy-5768/

David Brooks: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/opinion/23brooks.html?em

Destruction of the Dollar:

http://disinter.wordpress.com/2008/02/27/destruction-of-us-dollar-going-as-planned

http://www.funnymoneyreport.com/news.php?id=6920

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/25/business/place.php

http://disinter.wordpress.com/2008/03/17/a-look-behind-the-rare-closed-door-session-of-the-us-house/ 

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/08/22/1029114163381.html

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080922_fleecing_whats_left_of_america/

Dr. Ron Paul video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQsC-F9YRxk

Wall Street Journal:

http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2008/09/19/one-week-later-a-new-world-order/?mod=googlenews_wsj 

Ralph Nader’s Sober and Experienced View:

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080922_fleecing_whats_left_of_america/

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/ralph-nader-why-is-there-need-for-a-bailout

FEMA, Detention Camps`and Creation of An Illegal Shadow Government:

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/08/22/1029114163381.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/04/ED5OUPQJ7.DTL

http://www.lawfulpath.com/ref/sw4qw/index.shtml

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57228 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/06/22/MNGK579U8H1.DTL

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2008/may/105021.htm

The Federal Reserve is not working for you:

http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2008/02/200852514494345842.html

Fascism in America:

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/has-deregulation-sired-fascism-by-paul-craig-roberts

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/welcome-to-the-final-stages-of-the-coup-by-larisa-alexandrovna/

FDIC – Concerns:

Wall Street Journal article at http://www.gata.org/node/6031

Basel Accords I and II: Bank of International Settlement – I haven’t read these in detail. There are other sources online, too.

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa455.pdf

http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed22.html

http://www.mortgagebankers.org/cmnewslink/issues/2003/08/07.asp#regulatory1

Economic Signposts:

http://nqr.farmonline.com.au/news/nationalrural/grains-and-cropping/grains/panic-wheat-buying-across-the-us/81393.aspx

Martial Law:

This assessment of the true intentions of the United States Leaders granting power over their own citizens to Canadian Special Forces Troops, appears to be supported by information coming from US Troops returning from Iraq. Read report at: http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/february2008/020408_shoot_americans.htm

PHOTO REFERENCE: Jean Paul Avisse

I used this photo to represent the Shekinah, the Female Divine Principle, the closest-to-humankind, maternal, nurturing aspect of the  Divine, depicted as the first branch of the Tetragrammeton, the Holy Tree of Life representation of the Creator, which is at the foundation of Jewish and Sunni Kabbalah. (I am not speaking of the “modernized” versions of Kabbalah, like Madonna ascribes to.)

Shekinah is the Yin principle in Asian religions, which, when unified with the male Yang principle, (in Western religions, this is the paternal aspect of the Lord known as YHWH) the dual-energies (dual-aspects) of maternal and paternal is then combined into the One.

May the Lord watch over you and yours through this tribulation, which is being perpetrated by soul-less humans of EVERY gender, race, crede, religion and country, who owe allegiance to no-one and nothing we would want.

See more articles at Title Tab on the upper Navigation Bar.

(c)2008 Em https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com

If you desire to use this article or quote from it, please include my copyright citation and website address, either in your footnotes or the article. Thanks!

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“Everyone knows someone who needs this information!” (TM)

I salute the participants and Olympic champions from the four “directions” of our planet, and I hope to pass along some of the reasons I am inspired, especially by the veteran Olympians; I believe their Journey has much to help us on our own Life-way, whether we are old or young, healthy or not, although I tailor this post especially for lessons applying to diabetes.

RICHARD JOHNSON – ARCHERY    

SUSAN NATTRASS and LIBBY CALLAHAN – PISTOLS

 

 

 

 

 

RICHARD “BUTCH” JOHNSON

Butch has competed in 5 Olympic Games and survived through 2 successful rounds at the 2008 Games.  He has represented the United States in a 20 year archery career. Johnson’s first match had been an extraordinaryly long one, 4 rounds and shoot-off against Abramov of Russia, yet when the next match, with Korea’s Im started, Johnson shot a perfect 10, then a 9. However, Im bested him and in round 2, continued as Johnson’s tiredness appeared. Johnson lost 115 – 107. No shame there.

SUSAN NATTRASS

On Day 4 of the Beijing Olympics, while her country, Canada, had yet to still win one medal, Susan Nattrass began a journey that resulted in an 11th place finish in Trap-Shooting. She had been one of Canada’s best chances for a medal, and failed to move forward. Heading into the final qualification round, Susan was tied for 4th, but something unusual happened and she failed to score well on 7 of the 25 targets. That explains her 11th place finish.

Susan was so disappointed that she expressed her possible retirement, but friends who know her  well say that won’t happen! Susan says her prep was the same as usual, but because she felt this was going to be her final Olympics, possibly she just began “trying too hard”, rather than just relaxing and let her experience shine.

Susan was the first female shooter in any Olympic Games, and started in Montreal in 1976. At 58, Susan has never won an Olympic Medal, even though she has won 7 World Championships. Definitely, Susan earned her place in herstory/history and whatever she decides, she can look back on a sterling career.

ELIZABETH “LIBBY” CALLAHAN

At 56, Libby is the second oldest competitor on the US Olympic team and is the oldest woman on the team. She was the oldest US team member at the Athens 2004 Games. Born in South Carolina, she is a former Washington, DC police officer and is currently a Staff Sergeant in the US Army Reserve. Her sport is women’s pistol shooting and air rifle. 

Libby is a 5 time police champion in this sport, and she is a 4 time Olympian.  Each time, Elizabeth had improved in the Olympic Games; her best had been 19th. But, this time she placed 25th in Beijing (however, the points from 8th place to 25th are a almost a virtual dead-heat). The tiny margins are why Libby said she was frustrated with her performance; she said she just kept making small, mental mistakes that accrued and really cost her. She could very easily have been 8th, or better.

It was the men in the police force and army who saw her special potential and encouraged her to become the athlete she is. Libby is the 2007 US National Champion and she won a bronze medal in the 2005 World Cup. Elizabeth says she may try to compete in the London Olympics in 2012.

LESSONS LEARNED

___   prepare well and pace yourself; have a strategy and stick to it, otherwise you may not be able to reach your goal as easily as you might have

___   be prepared that you might not succeed; have a back-up plan that still meets your needs; be mentally strong

___   only deal with now / today. Let tomorrow take care of itself. Try not to let your mind force you into worry-mode. Have confidence that your knowledge and proper execution can help you succeed.

 

HAILE SATAYIN ( SETENG AYELE )  – MEN’S MARATHON

 

 

 

HAILE SATAYIN – also AYELE SETENGE / SETENG/ SATAIN

Haile is the oldest Olympic caliber marathoner in modern history, and his story is one of high drama – in the most altruistic and also in the most-painful ways.

Just as the transliteration of his name is confusingly inconsistent, Haile’s real age is also confusing. He was born in Ethiopia, which uses a calendar which started 7 years before our usual one.  What is believed to be the proper birthdate on our calendar is is one that Haile says makes him “only 46” rather than the soon-to-be 53 years stated in running records. Either age is phenomenal for a marathoner.

Haile is an Jew who was rescued from Ethiopia in 1991, as part of Israel’s massive re-patriation effort called Operation Solomon. Airlifted by the Israeli government, Haile found freedom and settled near Tel Aviv. All people, proven Jewish, have “the right to return” to their ancient homeland, and Israel has tried to keep her word, bringing tens of thousands of people “home”.

Not all the immigrants are skilled, especially those from African countries. Those often illiterate and destitute people have caused great economic strain for Israeli society, for these immigrants need a great many social service safety nets, which are difficult for Israel to provide, especially when it’s money most still mostly be focused on its very survival.

Consequently, someone like Haile has to do ‘the best he can’, and as Haile’s gift is running, that’s what he has concentrated on, but it does not give him an income. He is supported by a monthly grant,  and it is barely enough for his family of 9 to survive. Friends in the running community also try to help him out financially, and he runs endlessly for “prize money” on tough surfaces that extract a significant toll with extra body stress. The races don’t bring in much financially anyway, but he works with the few opportunities open to him.

Haile is 5 foot 7 inches tall but only weighs only 119 pounds! He trains all the time, adding 120 miles every week (200km) since the Athens Games four years ago. Yes, in the streets of Hadera, near Tel Aviv, Haile’s been running through his impoverished neighborhood, year in and year out, in the hope that Beijing would help him gain attention and sponsors. It has been a lonely battle.

His personal best in the marathon was 2 hrs 14.21 mins in Venice, 2003. In Athens’ Olympics in 2004, he was 20th, and he was 19th in the 2007 World Championship in Osaka, Japan. This year in Beijing, he was 69 and said he had been injured during the race, but insisted he must finish it. That was true grit. Haile is still the oldest runner ever to finish a world-class marathon. At 52, all his hopes for the future were dependent on that race in Beijing.

Haile (also spelled Ayele) had debated as to how much to jeopardize his Health by running in Beijing’s filthy air. It was a serious risk to his long-term health, and as the sole bread-winner for his family, this was no easy choice. After all, the marathon is more than 26 miles.

The international favorite, Haile Gelbrselassie of Ethiopia, and Haile’s friend, decided not to compete for that very reason; Gebrselassie put aside his almost-certain chance for the Olympic gold medal, because Beijing would hurt his Health, but Haile Satayin did not feel he had that choice.

Both Hailes are also pushed harder as marathoners for, usually, most Ethiopeans do best at the middle distances, but right now several Ethiopeans are at the top in marathon; the Kenyans are often the best marathoners from Africa and the Nigerians usually are the best sprinters.

In just his 3rd world-class marathon race, 21 year old Kenyan, Samuel Wanjiru, got Kenya’s first marathon gold medal by winning the 2008 race in Beijing. A 36 year old Morocccan got the silver and an Ethiopean won the bronze. The defending Olympic champion, Stephano Baldini of Italy, running in his final marathon, finished 12th. The Africans definitely had the advantage in the 86F (30C) degree heat.

At least, as it turned out, a blasting rain storm the evening before, cleaned the air and the men’s marathon, which is always the last event of the Olympics, was run in clean air.

This was the 100th anniversary of running the marathon in the Olympic Games.

Where Haile Satayin will go from here, I have not read, but he holds 35 national titles and is the most-gifted, flowing runner, known world-wide as the “cheetah”. Haile began running because of his Health. He found that the richer and more plentiful Israeli food was causing him to gain too much weight. So, a door opened when he found his gift.

Hopefully, this new injury will not be threatening to his future, and maybe someone in the world will notice his courage and help him to craft a better life for his family. I most sincerely hope this happens.

Already having some knowledge of accounting, Haile now wants to study Economics and make a better life for his family. His natural-gift as a runner has cost him and his family dearly, fiscally. Hopefully, now, Haile will have the chance to use his excellent mind, and will be able to give his body a well-deserved rest.  I hope someone will step forward to help him have the resources needed to take time to study, so his family can have financial security.  Maybe it will even be someone who reads this post!

Haile says “My age is old, but my heart is young.” I wish him and his family all the best. He is a real hero.

 

CONSTANTINA TOMESCU-DITA —  WOMEN’S MARATHON

 

 

 

 

 

And, now, even though we are chronologically out-of-synch, I wanted to end this article on a high-note, and show that Haile Satayin’s dreams of winning the men’s Olympic marathon at an advanced age were not far-fetched, for the oldest female runner did indeed win the 2008 Women’s Marathon Olympic Gold Medal. Yes!

After years of leading marathons in world-class events, only to have them snatched away, this time Constantina triumphed. It took courage to constantly overcome years of regrets to place herself in contention one more time.

I watched the race on TV. Luckily NBC carried all of it. The other runners did not realise that Constantina had run away with it, because of the road configuration when the lead-pack shuffling and jockeying worked out. So the African and Chinese runners, in the pack of the second half, thought THEY were the front-runners!

We sat on the edge of our seats wondering whether Constantina, at age 38, could hold onto the lead which she had originally wrested from world champion British runner, Paula Radcliffe who had led the first half of the race, even though Paula was recovering from a stress fracture. She finished 23rd, in 2 hours 32.38 mins  (6 minutes behind); what an effort. Brava!

Maybe Constantina also got-away because the original leaders-of-the-pack at that time, were the only ones to see Constantina “take-off”. The news was not passed on to the “new”, younger runners who took over in the second-half, as the tired original leaders fell back, to a lonely race on the rain-slicked roads.

Constantina often has tried to dominate the last half of a race, usually to find a younger runner zoom-up at the end and deny her the win, so she did not look back at all, and ground along, digging deep, giving it everything she could from a place that even she had not plumbed before. It was the making of a champion happening before our eyes.

She amassed an 80 second lead, which is huge, as it dwindled to only 22 seconds by the end, and there was only one-hundredth of a second between second and third. 80 seconds, over 26 miles — how tremendous!

Only in the last 5km did Dita turn around for the first time. It was a place in the road where we are not sure she could see how far away the runners were. Constantina did look back a few more times, but when the “pack” finally got the chance to see she was there, and therefore “the leader”, even their youth was not enough to make up the ground, in the last 3 kilometers, although they nearly did.

The race was won by Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania in 2 hours 26.44 minutes. She, alone, had adapted well to the flat, humid, rain-slicked course. Kenya’s world-champion Catherine Ndereba won the silver in 2:27:06, China’s Zhou Xianiu the bronze at 2:27:07. 

At the end of the women’s marathon, like the crowd in the stadium, we were jumping up and down for Constantina. It was wonderful to see a veteran runner physically and mentally outwit, overcome and outlast the younger runners. The others had discounted her as a credible contender. Their loss.

Up until now, the oldest male marathon champion was aged 37, and the oldest female winner was aged 30. This Olympic marathon longevity record is owned by Constantina, at 38years old, now best-in-the-world, triumphing over a field of 81 starters and 69 finishers. Brava Dita!

NOTE: Fabulous American marathoner, Deena Kantor, and another one of my Jewish heroines, had to pull out a few miles into the Beijing race, as she felt something pop in her foot, and x-rays showed it was broken. Wise move. Courageous move. Heal well, Deena.

 

LESSONS LEARNED from Haile and Dita and Deena and Paula:

___   dream big! Never let your Life be ruled by “I can’t”. Figure out how “I can”.

___   work hard, but understand there are no guarantees. The only way to succeed is to be on the field, in the mix, and then you give yourself a chance.  Don’t sit on the sidelines of Life.

___   watch out for physical problems, and react with the attention you need, right away, regardless of where you are. Follow your physician’s recommendations when recovering.

___   always have a plan B, and if you need to change direction, use the same courage on your new course.

 

There are a few athletes I left out. One, James Tompkins, was on my original list, and I’ll try to slide him in during a revision sometime soon or in another post as an example. We are always looking for role-models. But, because I found other veteran Olympians participating at Beijing, along the way, I may add a Part 5 in the future.

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Meanwhile, what I want to do now is dedicate this series to 2 brave Olympic-caliber athletes who died before they could reach Beijing, and to Dara Torres’ coach.

 

Mike Lohberg, Dara Torres’ coach, could not accompany her to Beijing, as he is fighting for his life, in hospital at the National Institutes of Health, in Washington, DC. Knowing this, makes Dara’s accomplishments even more phenomenal. We wish Mike well.

 

American marathoner Ryan Shay, age 28, was a famous runner from Notre Dame, who unexpectedly died while trying to qualify for the US Olympic Team in November 2007. He collapsed about 5.5 miles into the race in New York City. Our thoughts are with his wife, Alicia, and the rest of Ryan’s family. Surely, the marathon for them was bittersweet.

 

And, we remember Gyorgy Kolonics, aged 36, Hungarian canoeist and Olympic Gold Medalist in 1996 and 2000.  He collapsed while training for Beijing and had won the most recent of his 15 world-titles this year. Our thoughts go out to Gyorgy’s family, too.

 

And, I want to make sure you also know about Aladar Gerevich, Hungarian fencer, who died in 1991. Between 1932 and 1960, Aladar won 7 Olympic Gold Medals in individual (2) and team (5)competition, at least one Gold Medal in each of  6 consecutive Olympics. It is the longest, unbroken winning streak of any athlete, ever, at the Olympics. He also won one silver and 2 bronze Olympic medals, too. His last gold medal was at age 50. Amazing!

 

And, if you have any doubts that these athletes can be role-models for you, learn more about diabetic American swimmer, Gary Hall and about Sir Steve Redgrave, British rower, from Olympics 1984 – 2000, who in this even more physical endurance sport won 5 Gold Medals in 5 Olympics all while taking 6 insulin shots a day!

 

And, as the most heroic athlete of all in the 2008 Olympic Games — I nominate Natalie Du Toit, and I will tell you her story in a few weeks (you’ll learn why we have to wait, later).

Meanwhile, in summation:

I believe Life is all about taking your innate Gifts (everyone has some) and using them well.

If they are athletic gifts, great! Artistic gifts, wonderful! Interpersonal strengths are really special, are still seriously needed and seldom fostered. That is why true Humanitarians are so highly-regarded.

I believe in Life that there is no winning and losing. The medal is not the Ideal for a serious-player. Neither is the adulation a worthy goal. What I think is important are the Lessons learned on your Journey, and how they change your life, and then, most importantly, how you Change others’ lives.

And, all of this can be done in any venue. The Olympics is a showcase of the agony and triumph in one arena of Life. Importantly, as we vicariously share their Journey, we can apply what we learn to our own. That is their great and lasting contribution.

I hope you found the articles inspiring, and as diabetics, fighting diabetes requires the same determination as these athletes have.

As diabetics, it’s important to keep perspective and not be affected by what ignorance in others can wreke (but only if you let it happen).

Each of us is a winner, as long as we are doing our very best to particpate fully in creating our Journey through Life. No excuses!

Best to all — Em

You can read more articles by using the Titles Tab on the upper Navigation Bar.

Read the other parts of this series:

Part 1 at:
https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/the-oldest-olympic-champions-hardwork-makes-miracles-we-can-learn-from-part-1/
Part 2 at:
https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/the-oldest-olympic-champions-hardwork-makes-miracles-we-can-learn-from-part-2/
Part 3 at:
https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/the-oldest-olympic-champions-hardwork-makes-miracles-we-can-learn-from-part-3/

REFERENCES:

The horsemen design of Native American riders is from: Native Spirit Co.

The “Beijing” calligraphy is from Ralph Lauren.

(c)2008 Em https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com

If you desire to quote from or use my article, please respect my copyright and include the copyright citation and website address in your article’s reference section. Thanks!

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Before I begin my third post about some amazing veteran Olympic athletes and how their story will help diabetics, I want to say that the 2008 Olympics closing ceremonies are now just a memory in Beijing and what a mixed-bag this Olympic Games has been, for although we try to regard the Olympics as a positive societal endeavor, there always are elements of human and governmental behavior which demean or negate the positivity; this time, the most outstanding of those are the human rights abuses and lack of free speech at the Olympics in China, even though that was one of the criteria accepted by China in being awarded the Games.

The most in depth study of China’s real behavior that I have seen in the 16 days of the Games, so far, came last Friday night on Bill Moyers Journal, a Public Broadcasting program in the USA. Please read and watch renowned Washington Post bureau chief and journalist Philip Pan’s report at: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08222008/profile2.html

Now, in the rest of this post, I will try to highlight as many of the remaining Olympic veteran athletes from my list in Part 1as I have time and space for.  If I don’t finish, then look for a new post (or maybe 2, if I have time) early in the week, even though the Olympics will be over by then. I believe these stories should be told. I never forsaw a role as a sports reporter! These people and their stories are SO compelling and have lessons for every one – healthy or not.

Be sure to also read Part 1 of this series at:
https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/the-oldest-olympic-champions-hardwork-makes-miracles-we-can-learn-from-part-1/
and Part 2 at:
https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/the-oldest-olympic-champions-hardwork-makes-miracles-we-can-learn-from-part-2/

OKSANA CHUSOVITINA

 

 

 

 

Oksana, a gold medalist in Olympic gymnastics in 1992, on the Soviet team, is now 33 years old – an unheard of feat, as most gymnasts stop in their early 20’s, if they last that long!  But, in addition to winning medals in 8 out of the last 10 World Championships,  Oksana has competed in 5 Olympic Games, a record for any gymnast.

In addition to the Unified Team in Barcelona, after the Soviet Union was dismantled, she competed 3 times for Uzbekistan, where she was born and now, this year, for her new country, Germany.

Why she now competes as a German citizen is a serious and compelling story, and it has a happy ending on all levels. Oksana just won the silver medal for Germany in Beijing, and it’s her first individual Olympic medal, ever. With an excellent vault, she was barely edged-out of the gold medal by a lousy (but more complex) vault from the North Korean competitor, Hong Un Jong. None of her competitors had even been born when Oksana started competing in her first Olympics! Just to be there in Beijing was a triumph, but to win this individual medal was even better.

Five years ago, destitute and desperate in Uzbekistan, Oksana needed medical treatment for her son, Alisher, who was suffering from acute lymphotic leukemia, a rare form. Germany came to her rescue. The doctors at the University of Cologne saved his life, and now at nine years old, he is a healthy child and a budding gymnast.

In gratitude, Oksana became a German citizen and competed with all her heart, even though her 33 year old body knows it is competing with others half her age, usually 14 – 16 year olds! She still is the major bread-winner in her new country, and hopefully, with her silver medal, that will lead to coaching opportunities in the future. She is already a role-model and mentor to young gymnasts all over the globe during her competitions.

Her German coach, Ursula Koch, and her team-mates constantly marvel at Oksana, especially how she runs over everything so well in her mind, that she needs to expend far less energy and has less chance for injury, because after envisioning it perfectly, she does what she is asked physically, correctly, usually the first time. Her team-mate says that Oksana knows “how to focus her power”.  Oksana will not say how she “focuses”; she says that’s her secret, but as she comes from the Steppes, it would not surprise me that she has learned some important energy-healing techniques from Siberian shamans, who are in deed very powerful beings, as George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, Russian seer learned from them.

Valeri Luikin, father and coach of American gold-medalist Nastia Luikin, was a member of the same Soviet team, and says Oksana has always had an incredible work-ethic and has never shied away from anything because it was too difficult; her routines were ‘even harder than the men’s were’!  She is also incredibly precise in her preparation, he says.

In  World Championships, Indianapolis 1991, her debut, she also added three new moves to the Code of Points: the hop full and full-out on uneven bars and a layout full-out on floor exercise. She still competes all three elements today.

So, some of the lessons for us, as diabetics, are:

___   be aware that you are capable of massive change and sacrifice, and sometimes a complete reversal of all you know is the only way to success

___   learn everything that you need to know to succeed and be savvy about your actions and use of energy and resources

___   find Passion and Love in your Life, so when all the struggle Life always has coming-at-you arrives, you will KNOW that Life is “worth it”

Brava, Oksana! And, she says she may still compete in London 2010, if she can stay injury-free. She says “I still love gymnastics, and I still have fun everyday.” and “I don’t feel 33. I feel 18.”  We wish you and your family all the best in your new life!

 

IAN MILLAR, HIROSHI HOKETSU AND LAURIE LEVER – EQUESTRIANS


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IAN MILLAR

Veteran 9 time Olympian, Canadian rider, Ian Millar, aged 61, and 6 foot 1 inch, 167 pounds (185cm, 76 kg) along with his horse, In Style, helped to lead the Canadians to the Silver medal in the Equestrian Team Competition at the 2008 Olympics. The American team won the Gold Medal and Norway was third. Ian was not in the final roster for the Individual Medal. Other veteran riders in the Team quest included Nick Skelton, aged 50, on the British Team which came in 7th and Laurie Lever, aged 60, on the Australian team which came in 9th.

After competing in nine Olympic Games, it is Ian’s first Olympic medal, ever! He dedicated it to his wife, Lynne, who died last year, and who had been his coach throughout their 39 year marriage.

Millar will be in London 2010, on a horse he has already chosen named Redefin, when he will surpass Austrian sailor Hubert Rauschdal,  with whom he is now tied for 9 Olympic games’ particpation, the most of any athlete, ever. He would have already achieved that 10th, as he made the 1980 Moscow Games team, but Canada honored the boycott, so he did not get the chance to compete; however, this year, he still equaled Rauschdal’s record.

Ian says the sport has changed greatly since he started and that it is far more complex and sophisticated now, but that it is one that is solidly a mental-game, where experience really counts. So, this time he rode the anchor leg, and led Canada to the medal.

He’s still at it, and intends to own the 10 Olympics honor all on his own, next time. Bravo! His children, Amy and Jonathan, have already qualified at this level, so one or both may join him on the Canadian Equestrian Team in London. Bravo! yet again.

HOKETSU HIROSHI

Veteran Japanese dressage rider, Hoketsu Hiroshi, aged 67 is the oldest Olympic competitor on any team in the 2008 Olympics, and is the oldest athlete ever to compete for Japan. At 5 foot 6 inches, 137 pounds (168cm, 62kg) it is marvelous that he can control the raw power of such a huge, 1600 pound animal. Hiroshi is a retired top-level Johnson & Johnson executive who used to continue to ride each morning before he donned his corporate suit and went to work; that meant rising at 5 AM everyday. It was his labor of love. Hiroshi still does 50 sit-ups before breakfast!

Hiroshi is riding his 3rd horse, an 11 year old mare named Whisper, and finally, she seems to have the temperament and rapport to make a great pairing. Originally, Hiroshi competed for Japan in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, as a show-jumper, but he competed admirably, in Dressage this time. Dressage is a  perfectionist, detailed pursuit which fascinates him.

He now resides in Aachen, Germany and his German coach says Hiroshi is very talented, and both hope to return again for the 2010 Games. Hiroshi also qualified as an alternate in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and for the Team in 1988 Olympics in Seoul, but his horse suffered a respiratory problem, so Hiroshi could not ride in Seoul.

He has been riding since he was 12, and says his passion for riding has only increased over the decades. In Beijing, the strong German Team won the Gold Medal; the Japanese Team came in 10th.  Individually, Hiroshi beat his finish in the 1964 Olympics, when he came in 40th. This time, hounded by the Japanese Press, in a new sport on a new horse, he was 35th. Bravo!

LAURIE LEVER

The oldest member of the entire Australia contingent in 2008, Laurie was born in Manchester, England 60 years ago, and has been riding since age 10, in order to ‘keep him occupied’ after school.  Laurie is 5 foot 5 inches, 159 pounds (165cm, 72kg) and he has lived in Australia for a long time, but now he is the newest member on the Australian Equestrian Team and is riding Drossel Dan

He helped the Australian Team achieve 9th place. As an individual rider, he came in 23rd in Show Jumping. His four sons are all championship athletes, 3 of whom also ride. Laurie also sustained 2 broken legs in 2002 (with multiple compound fractures!) and a broken left leg in 1998, but Laurie never lost his dream. He says he trains 7 days a week.

Lessons to be learned:

___   it is never too late — to start something new that is very challenging; to find a way to become very disciplined; to strive daily and then see results over time

___   it is important to become part of a team – you learn from each other and grow in ways you cannot fortell, but produce results greater than you probably would have done on your own

___   find the passion that drives you, then harness it to be able to tackle all challenges

___   when you fall off, get back up!

 

JOHN DANE III, IAIN MURRAY – STAR CLASS KEELBOAT SAILING


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JOHN DANE III

At 58 years old, John Dane III is the oldest member of the Olympic team from the United States of America, and he sails with his son-in-law, Austin Sperry.

The Star Class is the oldest in Olympic sailing, starting in 1932, and now about 2,000 of these boats sail in competition globally. The results of the 2008 Olympic Star Class Sailing was:  GOLD: Switzerland Flavio Marazzi, Enrico De Maria  SILVER: France Xavier Rohart, Pascal Rambeau  BRONZE: Brazil Robert Scheidt, Bruno Prada. John and Austin were 4th. Bravo! 

Australia’s Iain Murray and  Andrew Palfrey were 8th, from a final field of 16. The circuit was called “The Torture Track” at Qingdao, China, and it was anything but smooth sailing. The final was in a tempest. The Star Class boats were built to sail in any conditions, so they were dependent on the skills of their masters and luck.

In the preliminary race, it went back and forth, as the breeze was inconsistent and troublesome, and many boats were becalmed, including the Australians. Many felt the race should have been called off, and they protested but were over-ruled.

At Qingdao, the wind always comes in start-up and drop-off mode, with pockets all over the course. Maybe it should not have been the venue at all. Each tactical decision for 2 men to control these 1,500 pound boats, is therefore relegated to a roll of the dice at Qingdao, instead of just real knowledge and skill.

Lessons for diabetics:

___   you never have control of everything. It’s a useless pursuit, but getting knowledge and experience will aid you toward success

___   understand the risks, and chart your best course, especially if you do not have everything in your favor. Try, no matter what!

___   Life does not have to “be fair” at all.

 

JUJIE LUANFENCER    and      DAVID ZHUANG – TABLE TENNIS

I have anglecized these two Olympians’ names as both are immigrants from China to the West. Four-time Olympian, Jujie, now aged 50, won China’s only fencing medal; that was in 1984, but afterwards in 1989, she emigrated to Canada, and is competing for the 3rd time as a Canadian. David Zhuang is a 44 year old table-tennis player who lives in New Jersey, and is America’s brightest hope in a sport which Asians have long dominated.

JUJIE LUAN

Jujie was buoyed that the Chinese did indeed remember her and welcomed her; she was relieved at that. A large segment of the 4,000 people in the Fencing Arena began chanting her name in Chinese, offering her support. Other fencers, from many nations, bowed to her in respect, as one of fencing’s legends, and were amazed that she was still able to come in at 50 to Olympic matches.  

Her goal was to win at least one bout, and she won her first, against a 19 year old Tunisian 12-5 but was defeated in her second round by a 32 year old Hungarian fencer, who had won 4th place at the Athens 2004 Olympics.  Score 15 – 7.  So Jujie walked away satisfied because she set her goals decently and attained them.  Just to compete at this level, at 50 years old, in a sport requiring such swiftness and accuracy is amazing. Brava!

Jujie is a mother of three and her husband of 24 years, Daijin Gu, took on all the house-hold and child-rearing aspects for the 15 months after Jujie decided to come out of retirement and try to get on the team for 2008, in order to give Jujie this chance. 

The whole family made sacrifices, and her community in Edmonton helped her raise the massive amounts of money needed to train, travel and compete in order to qualify.  Now, Jujie says “Jyah-ho! Let’s go!“. On to a next chapter of excellence.

Jujie ranks 52nd in the world now, and says she will help Chinese fencers, as a coach.  She will divide her time half-and-half with Canada, where she will also coach. It is her way to say “Thank you” to the two countries she loves, and who have enabled her to have such a wonderful life. Within two weeks, she was off to compete in the Canadian Master’s Championships.

DAVID ZHUANG

At 5 foot 11 inches tall and 165 pounds, David Zhuang entered into Olympic table-tennis in a sport that the Asians have made fiercely competitive. Born in China, but a resident of New Jersey for 17 years, Zhuang is America’s best hope in table-tennis for a long time. 

However, it was not to be, and David did not advance to the final.  He lost the best years of his career, as Chinese officials would not field him, even when he was the best, as he had applied for a visa to emigrate to America, at age 17. The visa took 10 years to materialize. He sacrificed much for this sport he loves.

In America, it is still very hard to get support for this sport which is wildly popular elsewhere, and well financed elsewhere, with phenomenal facilities and coaching. It is a lonely struggle in America, but he is excellent at it, and wants to represent his new country, as well as coach the next generation of players. 

This Olympics was a real David-and-Goliath scenario awaiting him. David was the only man to represent America in table tennis. But he’s a real winner just for trying to compete under these daily difficulties. So, thanks for all your hard work, David!

Lessons to be learned:

___   you have to decide what you value, and tailor your life to accomplish that

___   it is important to have support – whether family, friends, community, or if you are lucky, all 3

___   your journey may be incredibly difficult and lonely, at least in the beginning, but it is important and possible to persist and triumph

___   set reasonable, attainable goals and be happy when you reach them

___   “pay it forward”! Help someone else with all the knowledge and comapssion you have.

OK this is the longest post, and I’m not done with the list! Maybe I never will be, but I’ll try one more post next week. I hope all these stories inspire you, and help you to action!

Best to all — Em

Please use the Titles Archive tab on the upper Navigation Bar to read more articles.

(c)2008 Em https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com

Please respect my copyright, and if you desire to quote from or use my article, make sure you include my copyright citation and website address. Thanks!

REFERENCE:

If you want official results: http://results.beijing2008.cn

PHOTO REFERENCES:

1)  New York Times

2)   Adam Pretty, Getty Images – Traditional Drummers Heralding, Opening Ceremonies 2008 Olymics

3)   Doug Mills, New York Times –  New World of Possibilities, Opening Cermeony 2008 Olympics

4)  a New Year blessing  www.wealthmountains.com – China, it’s time to turn over a “new” leaf!

5)   Offical Olympic Roster site

6) possibly The Star Ledger

7) AP, Kin Cheung

8) http://www.regardinghorses.com

9) lost the reference, sorry

10) AP, Kin Cheung

11) US Sailing Team – official photo – Walter Cooper

12) official Olympic portrait – http://results.beijing2008.cn

13) ditto

14) ditto

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