Could Dandelion Tea Cause Cancer Cells to Commit Suicide?

Researchers in Windsor, Ont., have received an additional $157,000 grant for a total of $217,000 to study how effective dandelion root extract is in fighting cancer.

Siyaram Pandey, a biochemist at the University of Windsor, has been studying the anti-cancer potential of dandelion root extract for almost two years.

His team’s first phase of research showed that dandelion root extract forced a very aggressive and drug-resistant type of blood cancer cell, known as chronic monocytic myeloid leukemia, to essentially commit suicide.

Researchers then discovered that repeated treatment with low dose dandelion root extract was effective in killing most of the cancerous cells.

Those initial findings landed the research team a $60,000 grant from Seeds4Hope, which provides money for local cancer research.

Pandey then applied for continued funding from the Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation. That $157,000 came through earlier this week bringing the total to $217,000.

Pandey admits he was skeptical when he was first approached by local oncologist, Dr. Caroline Hamm, who was curious about cancer patients who had been drinking dandelion tea and seemed to be getting better.

"To be honest I was very pessimistic," Pandey said in a statement. "She said it could be coincidental but it couldn’t hurt to see if there is anything."

Hamm was convinced that the weed contains an active ingredient, but warned earlier this year that "it can harm as well as benefit."

She told CBC News in February that taking dandelion extract tea could interfere with regular chemotherapy, and she urged patients not to mix the natural remedy with other cancer drugs without speaking to a doctor first.

Pandey conducted a literature review and could only find one journal article suggesting dandelions may have cancer-killing properties. But he and his team of graduate students collected a bunch of the weeds anyway, ground them up with a mixture of water in a food processor and developed a simple formula they could experiment with.

They tested the formula on several lines of commercially available leukemia cells and much to their surprise, found that the formula caused those cells to kill themselves, a process called apoptosis.

"It was startling, but it was not that startling until we saw that it was non-toxic to the normal cells," he said.

john-dicarlo-dandelion-tea

John DiCarlo, 72, was admitted to hospital three years ago with leukemia. Even after aggressive treatment, he was sent home to put his affairs in order with his wife and four children.

The cancer clinic suggested he try the tea. Four months later, he returned to the clinic in remission. He has been cancer free for three years.

He said his doctor credits the dandelions.

"He said, 'You are doing pretty good, you aren't a sick man anymore'," DiCarlo told CBC News in February.

Iran Just Weeks from Nuclear Bomb Capability

From Joel C Rosenberg's Blog

Former IAEA deputy director Olli Heinonen confirmed to The Times of Israel, a report released last week by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, which stated Iran could muster enough uranium for a bomb by converting all of its 20-percent enriched stockpile within 1 to 1.6 months.

Excerpts from the Times of Israel story:

Earlier on Monday, IAEA Director Yukiya Amano met in Vienna with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator, ahead of two days of technical talks between Iranian representatives and the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Amano described his meeting as important in addressing 'the outstanding issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program.'

P5+1 and Iran Meeting in Geneva

Speaking to journalists on a conference call organized by The Israel Project, Heinonen contrived to sound optimistic and pessimistic at the same time."

“They are forward looking,” he said about the Iranian negotiators. “And I think they have realized that they don’t get away from this situation unless they answer properly the questions raised by the IAEA and concerns raised by the international community. So I’m to a certain degree hopeful. But we have to make sure that everything is covered.”

"Asked specifically if Iran had passed the 'point of no return' in its nuclear program, Heinonen, today a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, replied, “Yes, in a certain way. But we have to remember what are the capabilities of Iran. People have slightly different definitions of breakout capability.”

In his assessment, which appears to concur with that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a critical level is reached when the Iranians have enriched enough uranium to weapons grade, in the form of hexafluoride gas enrichment, to create a nuclear bomb.

“But you still don’t have a nuclear weapon,” Heinonen added. Preparing the highly enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb would take another month or two, “assuming that someone has all the knowledge.” After that, assembling an actual nuclear weapon that can be delivered with a ballistic missile would take perhaps another year, he said.

Iran continues to install hundreds of new advanced centrifuges every month, drastically reducing the so-called breakout time it would require in order to produce weapons-grade uranium if it decided to do so, he said.

Israel has called for Iran to be stripped of all enrichment capability, saying even low-grade uranium could be made suitable for a nuclear weapon in a short time with enough centrifuges running.

“Regarding Iran, we are not impressed by the discussion surrounding the issue of 20% enrichment,” Netanyahu said Sunday, referring to reports that Tehran has been insisting on retaining the ability to enrich uranium to that level.

“Its importance is superfluous as a result of the improvements the Iranians have made in the past year, which allow them to jump over the barrier of 20% enrichment and proceed directly from 3.5% enrichment to 90% within weeks, weeks at most.”

No Place for Christian Ethics in Quebec

A group of Christian doctors opposing Quebec’s proposed euthanasia legislation, denied permission to present its views to the committee studying the bill, is warning the bill could require physicians to act against their religious principles.

Quebec Minister for Social Services and Youth Protection Veronique Hivon

The Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada was only told last Thursday morning — the final day of consultations — that its request had been denied.

The Quebec bill controversially proposes “terminal palliative sedation and medical aid in dying” as part of a new set of rules for Quebec healthcare professionals and institutions.

The rejection of the Christian doctors’ bid to join the euthanasia debate comes amid the Quebec government’s aggressive secularism agenda, embodied by its proposed charter of values.

The Christian medical group — which represents 1,500 doctors across Canada and 50 in Quebec — is alarmed that the bill could require physicians in Quebec to betray their principles. The proposed law would force all doctors in the province to refer any patient who wants to end his or her life to a medical board, which the group said is ethically problematic for its members.

Christian ethics, or any religious ethics, are of no importance to the current government of Quebec. The 'Charter of Values' referred to above is proposed legislation that would forbid the wearing of any visible religious symbols by anyone who works for the Province of Quebec. That includes large crosses, hijabs, turbans, etc., etc.

What also strikes me from the statement above is that there are only 50 Christian doctors registered in the Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada. 1500 across Canada - 50 in Quebec, the second most populous province in the country. One would expect, based on population, there to be 250 - 300 Christian doctors registered there. Are they afraid to register, or is the number representative of the actual Christian population of Quebec?

Quebec used to be utterly dominated by the Catholic Church until the middle of the last century when people began abandoning the church and rebelling against it's self-proclaimed authority. There is still, I suspect, a lot of anti-religious sentiment in Quebec, and with the frequent revelations of sexual abuse by priests, it's not likely to improve any time soon.

We should be praying for spiritual revival in Quebec and literally sending missionaries to the spiritually third world province.

“We are disappointed that we were not told until the last day of hearings that we were unable to present,” said Larry Worthen, executive director of the group. “We are concerned about the bill’s lack of explicit conscience protection for physicians, pharmacists, and nurses.”

Furthermore, he says rejection by the committee fuels fears held by Christian doctors working in Quebec that their faith-based opinions on medical issues will not be taken seriously. Some doctors are even afraid of identifying themselves as Christian, said Mr. Worthen.

Dr. Liette Pilon, representative for the group’s doctors in Quebec said, “we cannot impose our values on a non-Christian society, but we hope the committee considers very carefully … the universal value of human life.”

Special consultations on the bill began Sept. 17, by invitation only. Groups not invited by the committee were required to submit an invitation request to committee secretary Anik Laplante, who passed requests along to leaders of the committee.

Fifteen uninvited groups submitted requests to present during the consultations, two of which were faith-based, said Ms. Laplante.

Ms. Laplante said information on the denied requests is “not available to the public.”

Briefs submitted to the committee, including those by groups unable to present, can be found on the bill’s webpage, said Laurie Comtois, a government spokesperson.

The National Assembly is “confident to get through the process before Christmas or … the beginning of the next year,” said Ms. Comtois.

National Post

Decision to Strike Iran's Nuclear Facilities Coming Soon

This is the year for decision on Iran, says former IDF intelligence chief.
by joelcrosenberg

Fmr. IDF intel chief Amos Yadlin

"In a probing interview with New Republic published on Wednesday, former IDF (Isreali Defence Force) intelligence chief Amos Yadlin made his assessment clear: the coming year would be the year of decision for Israel," reports the Times of Israel. "The next several months, he said, would provide the last opportunity for Israel to confidently and effectively strike Iran’s nuclear program, if that’s what it chooses to do."

"Yadlin, now the director of the Tel Aviv-based Institute of National Security Studies, was careful not to advocate for an attack in the interview, and he made clear that Israel also has the option in the coming months to decide to leave the Iranian issue to the Obama administration, or Jerusalem could decide to live with a nuclear-capable Iran," notes the Times. "According to Yadlin, the timetable for an American decision is different, as US capabilities leave the option of a military strike available for longer. 'For the US, because of their capabilities, it is at least a year post-Israel and will depend on many operational parameters that should not be public knowledge,' he told the magazine’s Ben Birnbaum. He assessed, however, that US opposition to an Israeli strike on Iran may lessen depending on the success of ongoing negotiations between the West and the Iranian regime."

“I think in late 2013 or early 2014, especially if America sees that Iran is not serious about reaching an acceptable agreement and only continues to buy time, the US will accept an Israeli attack because a nuclear Iran is absolutely against American vital national security interests,” Yadlin said.

"The negotiations over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, which resumed last week in Geneva and left P5+1 representatives upbeat about conditions for a possible deal, are a win-win for Israel, the former military intelligence chief reasoned," reports the Times. "If a deal is reached 'which is reliable and contains intrusive inspections and turns the nuclear clock backwards, it’s better than the dangerous options of the ‘bomb or the bombing.’ And if negotiations fail, then there will be legitimacy to take preventive action to stop Iran,' he said.

Yadlin, who helped persuade then-defense minister Ehud Barak and Netanyahu back in 2010 not to strike Iran, said that the probability for a successful Israeli attack against Tehran’s nuclear program would soon diminish. 'It can be the last quarter of 2013 or the first, second or even third quarter of 2014. There is not a certain deadline, but the probability of success will eventually decrease to a level that may change the decision to launch the attack.'"

The Bishop of Bling Suspended

The Vatican has suspended a senior German Church leader dubbed the "bishop of bling" by the media over his alleged lavish spending.

Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst is accused of spending more than 31m euros (£26m; $42m) on renovating his official residence.

Bishop's Residence

 The Vatican said it deemed "appropriate... a period of leave from the diocese" for the bishop.

The suspension comes two days after he met the Pope to discuss the matter. Good for you Pope Francis. You have been a long time coming to the Vatican.

"A situation has been created in which the bishop can no longer exercise his episcopal duties", a Vatican statement said.

It said a Church commission would rule on the matter, but did not say where Bishop Tebartz-van Elst, 53, would go or what he would do while the inquiry was held.

Bishop Tebartz-van Elst

The head of Germany's main lay Catholic group, the Central Committee of German Catholics, Alois Glueck, welcomed the Vatican's decision.

He said: "Pope Francis's decision offers the chance of a first step toward a new beginning in the Limburg diocese, because the situation has become an increasing burden for the faithful there, and in all of Germany, over recent weeks."

Bishop Tebartz-van Elst - and his spending habits - had become infamous in Germany, where many people pay Church tax to the state. The tax raised 5.2bn euros for Catholics and 4.6bn euros for Protestants in 2012.

Calls were made for the bishop to resign after he was accused of lying under oath about his spending.

He was criticised for a first-class flight to India to visit the poor. I wonder how much he gave in alms to the poor people of India?

But his official residence is at the heart of the criticism, after renovations were originally costed at 5.5m euros. But overruns increased that cost to  31 million euros - $42 million.

German media are reporting that the residence was fitted with a bath that cost 15,000 euros, a conference table for 25,000 euros and a private chapel that cost 2.9m euros.

The story has attracted heavy coverage and has stoked controversy among Catholics.

It was in Germany that Martin Luther launched the Reformation five centuries ago in response to what he said were excesses and abuses within the Church.

The BBC's Alan Johnston, in Rome, says all this was bound to play badly with the new Pope, who has repeatedly expressed his disapproval of senior clerics whose lifestyles seem a little too lavish.

Pope Francis has also signaled his intention to clean up the Vatican's finances, appointing a commission to advise him on reforms.

There is no surprise in Rome that the Vatican has ordered the bishop's suspension from his duties while the spending row is investigated, our correspondent adds.

Steffen Seibert, a spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is the daughter of a Protestant pastor, said that she had expressed "hope that there will be an answer for believers, for people's confidence in their Church".

Mass Shootings have Tripled in US - AG

The average number of mass shootings in the US has tripled in recent years, US Attorney General Eric Holder said at an annual conference of police chiefs on Monday.

US Attorney General Eric Holder

The yearly average of mass shootings has tripled from an average of five per year between the years of 2000 and 2008, the attorney general said. At least 12 mass shootings have taken place in 2013.
I guess that means he expects about 3 more before the year is over.

Holder’s remarks at the annual meeting of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) came the same morning as yet another mass shooting occurrence - this time at a middle school in Sparks, Nevada, where at least two were shot dead early Monday.

The last mass shooting event involving a school occurred in June in Santa Monica, California, when 23-year-old John Zawahri set fire to a home and killed five people near and on the campus of Santa Monica College. Zawahri was killed while exchanging gunfire with police at the school’s library.

From 2009 to 2012, 404 people were shot and 207 killed, according to the US Department of Justice. From 2000 to 2008, 324 people were shot and 145 were killed.

In the past ten years, the Justice Department has assisted in the training of 50,000 front-line officers, over 7,000 on-scene commanders, and more than 3,000 local, state, and federal agency heads on response tactics during active shooting incidents, Holder touted.

Despite the success, Holder cited instances like the Navy Yard shooting in September as proof that new strategies are needed for active shooter situations.

"Although research methods and results vary, it's become clear that new strategies - and aggressive national response protocols - must be employed to stop shooters in their tracks," Holder said.

He alluded to further arming and training for all levels of officers to avoid deaths in fast-moving events like the Navy Yard incident, where despite a seven-minute response time - claimed by DC Chief of Police Cathy Lanier for her force - 12 were ultimately shot and killed.

"To save lives, the first officers to arrive must sometimes be the ones to directly engage an active shooter," Holder said. "That's why all law enforcement officers must have the best equipment and most up-to-date training to confront these situations. We owe these officers nothing less."

The FBI’s Behavioral Threat Assessment Center works with all levels of law enforcement to assess those who could be potentially violent, Holder boasted, claiming hundreds of disrupted incidents by the center since 2011.

Though Holder spoke of ongoing improvement of coordination and success across law enforcement levels, he was chastised by IACP President Craig Steckler before the attorney general’s speech.

Steckler said in his introduction of Holder that his group “profoundly disagrees” with the Justice Department opting not to challenge laws legalizing the sale of marijuana that states like Colorado have passed - or may pass, in the case of California.

"This decision by the US Department of Justice, in our view, will open the floodgates for those who want to legalize marijuana throughout the country, those who have the resources to place initiatives and referendums on state ballots and those who've continued to profit from the sale of this unlawful drug," Steckler said to applause, CNN reported. 

Groom Forgets Bride at Gas Station

Yikes! Hope she has a good sense of humour.

The Associated Press, Berlin

A German couple’s marriage got off to a rocky start when the groom forgot his bride at a highway gas station on the way home from their honeymoon, only noticing she was missing after hours had passed.

Police said on Friday the couple was heading home to Berlin from France when the man pulled over near the central town of Bad Hersfeld late Thursday to fill up their van. The woman had been sleeping in the back but got up — unbeknownst to the man — to use the toilets and he drove off before she returned.

Only after 2 hours on the road did he notice she was gone and called police, who said she was patiently waiting.