• News Home

 

 

 

 

If you would like to promote your product in any news iterm, call 828-254-6620

 

 

 

 

 

Asheville Magazine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See
Zeitgeist
A DVD exposing Christianity, the Banking System and 9/11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to promote your product in any news iterm, call 828-254-6620

Marijuana More Mainstream Than Ever,
More Arrests Than Ever

from Alternet.org --
Need more evidence that marijuana has gone mainstream in America? This past Wednesday on the Today Show, Matt Lauer chatted up a piece on so-called stiletto stoners -- educated, professional women with killer careers and enviable social lives who favor marijuana as their intoxicant of choice and are increasingly comfortable admitting it. The Today show said 8 million women tried marijuana in the last year.

The TV piece draws its inspiration from an article titled "Stiletto Stoners" in the current issue of Marie Claire magazine. The story raises the question: Why are so many smart, successful women lighting up in their off hours?

The sympathetic article and TV piece feature interviews with a wide range of successful women who wind down at the end of the day with a joint instead of a martini. The women see no need to apologize for their drug of choice and offer various reasons for choosing pot over booze: Some don't like alcohol, others say they enjoy more rewarding conversations with friends when they are indulging in marijuana.

The coming-out party is happening in more and more places.

Variety  recently ran a feature story on the depiction of marijuana as an everyday, normal occurrence on TV shows and in movies. The story references NBC's Parks and Recreation, the CBS pilot, Accidentally on Purpose and AMC's Mad Men -- all portraying marijuana use matter-of-factly, without the "reefer madness" storyline.

There's more: Emblazoned on the cover of the September issue of Fortune magazine is a photo of actress Mary Louise Parker, star of the popular Showtime hit series Weeds, teasing the lead story: "How Marijuana Became Legal”"

And let's not forget what President Obama, New York Mayor Bloomberg and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger all have in common: They are all elected officials who have admitted to smoking marijuana, and it didn't hurt their political careers.

While these examples of public figures owning up to marijuana use without suffering adverse consequences are a sign of progress toward overcoming the "couch potato" stereotypes of marijuana users, we sadly still have a ways to go when it comes to public policy.

In the United States more than 750,000 people are arrested every year on marijuana possession. In New York, under "moderate" Bloomberg, there were 40,000 pot arrests last year, and the city now has the unfortunate distinction of being the marijuana-arrest capital of the world.

'Anti-Atkins' Low Protein Diet
Extends Lifespan In Flies

from Science Daily --
Flies fed an "anti-Atkins" low protein diet live longer because their mitochondria function better. The research, done at the Buck Institute for Age Research, shows that the molecular mechanisms responsible for the lifespan extension in the flies have important implications for human aging and diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cancer. The findings, which appear in the October 2 edition of Cell, also provide a new level of understanding of the regulation of mitochondrial genes and open new avenues of inquiry into the interplay between mitochondrial function, diet and energy metabolism.

Mitochondria act as the "powerhouse" of the cells. It is well known that mitochondrial function worsens with age in many species and in humans with Type II diabetes and obesity.

The research provides the first genome-wide study of how proteins are translated under dietary restriction in any organism. The researchers report the unexpected finding that while there is a reduction in protein synthesis globally with the low protein diet, the activity of specific genes involved in generating energy in the mitochondria are increased which takes place at the level of conversion of RNA to protein, is important for the protective effects of dietary restriction

The research calls into question the health benefits of high-protein diets which are often used by humans to lose weight . The long-term impacts of such diets have not been examined in humans; but they are likely to be harmful.

The work was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health; and portions of the research were carried out by the National Center for Research Resources, and Genomics Laboratory at California Institute of Technology among others.

Eating Candy in Childhood
Linked to Adult Crime

from therxform.com --
What parent hasn't used candy to pacify a cranky child or head off a brewing tantrum? When reasoning, threats and time-outs fail, a sugary treat often does the trick. But while that chocolate-covered balm may be highly effective in the short term, say British scientists, it may be setting youngsters up for problem behavior later. According to a new study, kids who eat too many treats at a young age risk becoming violent in adulthood.

The research was led by Simon Moore, a senior lecturer in Violence and Society Research at Cardiff University in the U.K., who specializes in the study of vulnerable youngsters. Moore had been investigating the factors that lead children to commit serious crimes, when, during the course of his work, he discovered that "kids with the worst problems tend to be impulsive risk takers, and that these kids had terrible diets - breakfast was a Coke and a bag of chips," he says.

Intrigued by this association, Moore turned to the British Cohort Study, a long-term survey of 17,000 people born during a one-week period in April 1970. That study included periodic evaluations of many different aspects of the growing children's lives, such as what they ate, certain health measures and socioeconomic status. Moore plumbed the data for information on kids' diet and their later behavior: at age 10, the children were asked how much candy they consumed, and at age 34, they were questioned about whether they had been convicted of a crime. Moore's analysis suggests a correlation: 69% of people who had been convicted of a violent act by age 34 reported eating candy almost every day as youngsters; 42% of people who had not been arrested for violent behavior reported the same. "Initially we thought this [effect] was probably due to something else," says Moore. "So we tried to control for parental permissiveness, economic status, whether the kids were urban or rural. But the result remained. We couldn't get rid of it."

In other words, regardless of other environmental and lifestyle factors, like family-income level, parenting style or children's level of education, the data suggested it was only the frequency of confectionery consumption in childhood that strongly predicted adult violence. "The key message is that this study really raises more questions than answers," says Moore

One of those questions is whether sweets themselves contain compounds that promote antisocial and aggressive behavior, or whether the excessive eating of sweets represents a lack of discipline in childhood that translates to poor impulse control in adulthood. It's possible that children who are given sweets too frequently never learn how to delay gratification - that is, they never develop enough patience to wait for things they want, leading to impulsivity in adulthood. It's also possible that children who are poorly behaved from the start tend to get more candy.

Final Boarding Call:
Empty Bladders Please

from ABC News.com--
Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) is asking its passengers to go to the toilet before boarding so it can reduce aircraft weight. The unusual request is part of an experiment by the airline to cut carbon dioxide emissions. Japan's NHK television is reporting that ANA began the one-month experiment today on 42 international and domestic flights. The airline will place staff near boarding gates to ask passengers waiting for flights to go and use the restroom. ANA hopes it will reduce the weight of the aircraft and cut nearly five tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from flights. The airline says it may expand the trial if it is well received by passengers.

If you read or hear of some interesting news for us, let us know. Call 828-254-6620, or go to our website, viratolive.com and contact us.