(Subjects: Religion/Worship, Lightworkers, Food, Health, Prescription Drugs, Homeopathy, Innate (Body intelligence), New Age movement, Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text version)

“…… Should I use Doctors and Drugs to Heal Me or Spiritual Methods?

"Dear Kryon, I have heard that you should stay natural and not use the science on the planet for healing. It does not honor God to go to a doctor. After all, don't you say that we can heal with our minds? So why should we ever go to a doctor if we can do it ourselves? Not only that, my doctor isn't enlightened, so he has no idea about my innate or my spiritual body needs. What should I do?"

First, Human Being, why do you wish to put so many things in boxes? You continue to want a yes and no answer for complex situations due to your 3D, linear outlook on almost everything. Learn to think out of the 3D box! Look at the heading of this section [above]. It asks which one should you do. It already assumes you can't do both because they seem dichotomous.

Let's use some spiritual logic: Here is a hypothetical answer, "Don't go to a doctor, for you can heal everything with your mind." So now I will ask: How many of you can do that in this room right now? How many readers can do that with efficiency right now? All of you are old souls, but are you really ready to do that? Do you know how? Do you have really good results with it? Can you rid disease and chemical imbalance with your mind right now?

I'm going to give you a truth, whether you choose to see it or not. You're not ready for that! You are not yet prepared to take on the task of full healing using your spiritual tools. Lemurians could do that, because Pleiadians taught them how! It's one of the promises of God, that there'll come a day when your DNA works that efficiently and you will be able to walk away from drug chemistry and the medical industry forever, for you'll have the creator's energy working at 100 percent, something you saw within the great masters who walked the earth.

This will be possible within the ascended earth that you are looking forward to, dear one. Have you seen the news lately? Look out the window. Is that where you are now? We are telling you that the energy is going in that direction, but you are not there yet.

Let those who feel that they can heal themselves begin the process of learning how. Many will be appreciative of the fact that you have some of the gifts for this now. Let the process begin, but don't think for a moment that you have arrived at a place where every health issue can be healed with your own power. You are students of a grand process that eventually will be yours if you wish to begin the quantum process of talking to your cells. Some will be good at this, and some will just be planting the seeds of it.

Now, I would like to tell you how Spirit works and the potentials of what's going to happen in the next few years. We're going to give the doctors of the planet new inventions and new science. These will be major discoveries about the Human body and of the quantum attributes therein.

Look at what has already happened, for some of this science has already been given to you and you are actually using it. Imagine a science that would allow the heart to be transplanted because the one you have is failing. Of course! It's an operation done many times a month on this planet. That information came from the creator, did you realize that? It didn't drop off the shelf of some dark energy library to be used in evil ways.

So, if you need a new heart, Lightworker, should you go to the doctor or create one with your mind? Until you feel comfortable that you can replace your heart with a new one by yourself, then you might consider using the God-given information that is in the hands of the surgeon. For it will save your life, and create a situation where you stay and continue to send your light to the earth! Do you see what we're saying?

You can also alter that which is medicine [drugs] and begin a process that is spectacular in its design, but not very 3D. I challenge you to begin to use what I would call the homeopathic principle with major drugs. If some of you are taking major drugs in order to alter your chemistry so that you can live better and longer, you might feel you have no choice. "Well, this is keeping me alive," you might say. "I don't yet have the ability to do this with my consciousness, so I take the drugs."

In this new energy, there is something else that you can try if you are in this category. Do the following with safety, intelligence, common sense and logic. Here is the challenge: The principle of homeopathy is that an almost invisible tincture of a substance is ingested and is seen by your innate. Innate "sees" what you are trying to do and then adjusts the body's chemistry in response. Therefore, you might say that you are sending the body a "signal for balance." The actual tincture is not large enough to affect anything chemically - yet it works!

The body [innate] sees what you're trying to do and then cooperates. In a sense, you might say the body is healing itself because you were able to give it instructions through the homeopathic substance of what to do. So, why not do it with a major drug? Start reducing the dosage and start talking to your cells, and see what happens. If you're not successful, then stop the reduction. However, to your own amazement, you may often be successful over time.

You might be able to take the dosage that you're used to and cut it to at least a quarter of what it was. It is the homeopathy principle and it allows you to keep the purpose of the drug, but reduce it to a fraction of a common 3D dosage. You're still taking it internally, but now it's also signaling in addition to working chemically. The signal is sent, the body cooperates, and you reduce the chance of side effects.

You can't put things in boxes of yes or no when it comes to the grand system of Spirit. You can instead use spiritual logic and see the things that God has given you on the planet within the inventions and processes. Have an operation, save your life, and stand and say, "Thank you, God, for this and for my being born where these things are possible." It's a complicated subject, is it not? Each of you is so different! You'll know what to do, dear one. Never stress over that decision, because your innate will tell you what is appropriate for you if you're willing to listen. ….”

Monsanto / GMO - Global Health


(Subjects: Big pharma [the drug companies of America] are going to have to change very soon or collapse. When you have an industry that keeps people sick for money, it cannot survive in the new consciousness., Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text version)
"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Lose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Pedal wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)
"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)
"THE BRIDGE OF SWORDS" – Sep 29, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: ... I'm in Canada and I know it, but I will tell those listening and reading in the American audience the following: Get ready! Because there are some institutions that are yet to fall, ones that don't have integrity and that could never be helped with a bail out. Again, we tell you the biggest one is big pharma, and we told you that before. It's inevitable. If not now, then in a decade. It's inevitable and they will fight to stay alive and they will not be crossing the bridge. For on the other side of the bridge is a new way, not just for medicine but for care. ....) - (Text Version)

Pharmaceutical Fraud / Corruption cases

Health Care

Health Care
Happy birthday to Percy Julian, a pioneer in plant-drug synthesis. His research produced steroids like cortisone. (11 April 2014)

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Malaysian drug smuggler nabbed at airport

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang | Tue, 05/31/2011

Officials say they arrested a Malaysian woman for allegedly smuggling Rp 1.1 billion (US$129,000) of heroin through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta.

Airport customs deputy chief Mama Sulaiman said the suspect, Febi, 26, arrived in Jakarta on Saturday night from Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia flight AK-388 with almost a half kilogram of heroin.

“Customs Tactical Unit team members in charge at Terminal 2 became suspicious of the suspect, who looked nervous when passing the checkpoint. So they decided to examine her,” he said.

An inspection turned up 51 capsules containing a brown powder in the suspect’s luggage and pants pockets.

“Test results confirmed that the brown powder in the capsules was heroin,” he said.

China shuts battery factories due to lead poisoning

BBC News, 30 May 2011

Related Stories

Battery factories across China have been closed amid fears about poisoning from metals used by the industry.

About 74 people have been detained this year after reports that more than 100 people were affected by lead and cadmium poisoning.

Reports from China suggests hundreds of factories have been closed as a result of efforts to tackle poisoning.

The rechargeable lead batteries are used in scooters, cars and some mobile phones.

The detentions and closures are part of moves by regional governments in China to decrease environmental damage and improve working conditions.

Increased demand for electric scooters alongside higher car production has driven up the demand for lead batteries.

In Zhejiang's Deqing county 53 people were hospitalised following tests earlier in the year which found high levels of lead in the blood of 332 residents.

Several major battery manufacturers with shares traded in China have issued notices saying production is suspended.

"We are already seeing an economic process where the Chinese are moving up the value chain and away from low cost production which has quite serious environmental impact," said Roderic Wye, an associate fellow at Chatham House.

But environmental concerns were not the only factor driving China to moderate its policies. "It is because wages are going up and the costs of inputs are going up," he added.

A statement on the website of the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection warned that companies must meet environmental standards.

"These situations are completely avoidable," it added.


The Alzheimer Experience

RNW, 30 May 2011, by Eric Beauchemin

A series of videos has been put online in The Netherlands to try to increase people's awareness about Alzheimer's. What makes the Alzheimer Experience unique is that you can see the 10 scenes from the point of view of the patient, family members and caregivers.

The producers of the Alzheimer Experience hope the videos will help reduce the gap between the 275,000 people in the Netherlands who suffer from Alzheimer's and the rest of society.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

3 Malaysians arrested at airport carrying 9 kg crystal meth

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang | Wed, 05/25/2011


Busted: Customs and excise officers at the Soekarno-Hatta International
Airport hold a press briefing following the arrest of several suspected drug
smugglers on Wednesday. The office recently foiled three attempts to
smuggle crystal methamphetamine into Indonesia, confiscating a total
of 9 kilograms of the drug. (JP/Multa Fidrus)

Customs officers have reportedly foiled three attempts to smuggle drugs into Indonesia at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, confiscating a total of 9 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated Rp 15 billion.

“Officers also arrested three Malaysian-Chinese citizens as suspects in the smuggling attempts on Tuesday,” airport customs chief Iyan Rubianto said Wednesday.

Iyan said two of the suspects, identified as KLS, 20, and PSH, 28, had flown from Kuala Lumpur onboard AirAsia flight AK-388, while another suspect, STH, 40, arrived at the airport onboard AirAsia flight QZ-7695 the same day.

Following a profile analysis, the Tactical Unit Team at terminal II had suspected the three were carrying drugs.
“Officers decided to search their luggage and found 3 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine wrapped in food containers,” he said.

In a development of the case involving officers of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), customs officers also arrested two more Malaysian-Chinese citizens identified as LCG, 32, and WSP, 49, at a location not far from the airport.

“Based on the modus they used in the smuggling attempts, we believe LCG and WSP were the owners of the drugs,” he said, adding that LCG and WSP had given the drug to KLS and PSH in Kuala Lumpur before flying to Jakarta.

STH, who allegedly worked at palm plantation in Malaysia, said he was asked to carry the drug to Jakarta from Kuala Lumpur by another Malaysian man identified as A, and was promised MRY1,000.

KLS and PSH, who also worked at palm plantation said that they had been offered vacation in Jakarta by old friends LCG and KSL through a telephone conversation, and were given MRY700 each.

Drug busts have seen a steady increase at Jakarta’s main airport this year.

Since January, officers have foiled 26 smuggling attempts and seized a total of 64,272 grams of drugs, worth an estimated Rp 71.7 billion, comprising 36,028 grams crystal methamphetamine, 28,194 grams of ketamine and 10,140 ecstasy pills.

Officers have also arrested 10 Iranians, four Indonesians, four Malaysians, two Nigerians, two Taiwanese, one French man, a Filipino, a Kenyan, a Portuguese and an Italian as suspects in these cases.

Related Article:

Doctors agree: more Indonesians are constipated

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 05/25/2011

Unhealthy lifestyle changes are making more Indonesians constipated – and leading more gastrointestinal problems for young people, according to physicians at a conference.

“Recently, the younger generation [including] people in their 20s and 30s already show signs of constipation,” Dr. Herry Djagat Purnomo told listeners at a dialog on constipation on Wednesday in Jakarta.

“Constipation used to only affect those in their 40s or older, since people's digestive systems deteriorate as they grow older,” Herry, who heads the Indonesian Gasteroenterologists Association, added.

According to Health Ministry data, more than 75 percent of Indonesians surveyed regularly ate food containing additives and 93.6 percent said they currently ate fewer vegetables and fruits than they did five years ago.

"People who consume limited amount of vegetables have a higher risk of constipation," Herry said.

The combination of constipation and limited physical exercise increased a person’s risk of more serious medical conditions, such as heat attacks or colon cancer, he added.

Dr. Ari Fahrial Syam, a gastroenterologist at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Jakarta said that 8 percent of colon cancer patients were first stricken by constipation .
"Constipation is not a simple and harmless disease," Ari said.

Women, especially younger women working in cities who lacked time for exercise, were at greater risk for constipation, he said. (lfr)

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Parenting the Stone Age Way

Jakarta Globe, Nur Dianah Suhaimi - Straits Times Indonesia, May 22, 2011

Imagine what parenting must have been like during the dawn of civilization.

Women gave birth in their caves, surrounded by family members instead of nurses and doctors.

Their babies drank breast milk. There was no such thing as formula milk then. Nor were there milk bottles or pacifiers.

Mothers put their babies to sleep beside them. They didn't have prettily decorated nurseries.

During the day, mothers strapped their babies to their chest likely with a piece of pelt and held them close as they went about milking the goats or cooking dinner.

They cared for their babies without parenting manuals to tell them what to do. They followed their instincts, tried their best to read their baby's cues and respond to them accordingly.

Since Day 1, human beings have been programmed to care for their babies in this manner. That is until some time 100 years ago.

Something strange happened then, especially in the West.

Children who were breastfed for more than two years were deemed needy. Mothers who brought their babes into the family bed were chastised for spoiling them. Babies were expected to spend hours in baby cots and strollers instead of in their mother's arms.

I believe that was a tragic time for human babies, when parents abandoned their instincts and succumbed instead to unreasonable societal expectations.

Until today, many parents try to program their babies to function in a certain way: drink milk once every four hours, sleep alone in a baby cot and self-soothe.

It is done because such a regimen is convenient for the parents. But each baby has its own rhythm and cycle.

Diann Bustamante, director of Parentlink, which conducts natural childbirth classes and provides other related services, observed: 'Some parents are devastated when their babies do not fit into a prescribed cycle. They think there is something wrong with the baby.'

But for some years now, parents are discovering the wisdom of stone-age parenting.

Some call this trend natural parenting while others call it attachment parenting. But it is usually one and the same.

It basically recognizes that human beings are meant to rear their young in pretty much the same way as child-carrying animals such as kangaroos, koalas and most monkey species.

The young of these animals stay close to their mothers because they need continuous feeding and attention.

They cry to remind their mothers when they need to be fed, to be carried or to be cuddled to sleep. Even when they are bigger, they stay close to their mothers for some time before becoming truly independent.

I first learned about natural parenting when I was pregnant, and to me, it sounded just like the right thing to do.

When my baby was born, everything just fell into place. She was a high-needs baby and wanted to nurse all the time. So I kept her close to me in a sling during the day. At night, she slept beside me on my bed. When she cried, I held her close.

Some people find it strange that I sleep with my baby and carry her all the time. They say I am spoiling my baby.

But after you've had a baby inside you for nine months, it doesn't seem right to put her anywhere else but in your arms.

Of course, there is a lot more to natural parenting than breastfeeding, co-sleeping and babywearing.

Some parents, recognizing that disposable nappies contain chemicals, choose the gentler option of cloth nappies for their children.

Others prefer their babies to go nappy-less. Instead, they read their babies' cues and take them to the potty instead.

Some parents prefer to eat organic food only and spend as much time in the great outdoors as possible. Then there are those who go on to homeschool their children because they feel it is a natural progression.

But natural parenting is not a prescribed package, explained Rita Kusumadi, the owner of local cloth nappy boutique Bumwear.

'While parents who use cloth nappies tend to be the ones who also practice extended breastfeeding and babywearing, you don't have to do everything. You can pick and choose to suit your lifestyle and needs,' she said.

Two weeks ago, I mentioned in a column here that I was teaching my six-month-old how to signal when she needs the potty. For the next week or so after it was published, I was inundated by e-mail messages from excited mothers who asked me about this method of toilet training.

I explained that this practice, called Elimination Communication, is not about toilet training the baby. It is about training us, the adults, to read the baby's signals to use the potty and responding to them.

To me, that is how parenting should be, and not just when my baby needs the potty. It's about meeting your baby's needs and responding to them in the best way possible.

A baby, who knows that she is loved and her needs are met and responded to, will naturally be an easier child to handle.

Here in Singapore, I must admit that practicing natural parenting has its challenges.

I find there to be a lot of societal pressure to have the baby kept away from its parents, especially by the older generation.

When I carry my child often, I am told I am spoiling her. When I breastfeed her, I am told to wean her off soon or if not she will demand to be breastfed until age 12. When I co-sleep, I am told my baby will grow up needy and dependent. When I teach my baby sign language, I am told I will impede her speech development.

After a while, I got tired of explaining why I do things the way I do. Plus, I realized that explaining the concept of natural parenting often made me sound like a wannabe hippie.

So my answer to pragmatic Singaporeans is: I breastfeed because formula milk is expensive. I put my baby to sleep beside me because I am too lazy to walk out of bed at night to feed her. I put her on the potty from such a young age because my baby develops rashes when she wears disposable nappies. And I teach her sign language because it's fun.

I wish I could tell them I simply parent by my instincts, the way animals care for their young and the way humans cared for their young when there were no parenting manuals, strollers or milk bottles. 

Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055

Turning herbs into cash

Indah Setiawati, The Jakarta Post, Wonogiri, Central Java | Sun, 05/22/2011


Workers are busy making herbal products at PT Deltomed company in Wonogiri,
Central Java. The company, which has been producing herbal products for 35 years,
works with farmers to provide raw materials for the products. JP/Indah Setiawati

Related News
Some cashew trees grew in Karto Satiman’s garden. But none of them produced ripe fruit.

“We did not have crops the past two years because of the weather. The heavy rain damaged the flowers of the cashew trees,” the 72-year-old resident of Rejosari village, Jatisrono district, in Central Java’s Wonogiri regency told The Jakarta Post.

He explained in a flat tone. No trace of sadness or bitterness in his voice. The old man did not even look very disappointed with the fact he had lost potential income from cashew nuts, which had become a high value commodity in his district.

His eyes turned bright when he talked about turmeric – a new favorite among local farmers – that would be ready in August. “Turmeric can survive in bad weather. It grows well during the rainy days,” he said.

Modern equipment is used in the
production of herbal commodities.
Karto, a spokesperson for the Sari Bumi farmers group, said farmers in Jatisrono were not too dependent on cashew nuts anymore thanks to turmeric, a commodity introduced in 2005.

During the past six years, the Sari Bumi farmers group has cooperated with PT Deltomed. They supply tons of turmeric to the Wonogiri-based company that has been producing herbal products for 35 years.

Previously, the farmers in the district had not realized that turmeric would grow well on their land. Planting rhizome plants such as turmeric, ginger and temulawak (Curcuma xanthorrhiza) were a tradition in the village. The villagers used to plant in small quantities for family consumption. Sometimes they sold the remainder at the market for additional income.

Karto said people in the village consumed turmeric for cooking and to reduce body odor. The herb was also good for breastfeeding mothers and women who just gave birth, he said.

“We used to plant rhizomes without treatments like preparing the land for cultivation and adding fertilizer because we thought they grew anyway,” he said.

Sari Bumi head Hardianto said farmers were enthusiastic when Deltomed officials offered cooperation after discovering their land was perfect for turmeric.

He said the development of turmeric farming was a good decision because the rhizomes could grow well on unused space under the shade of the many cashew trees in the village.

Turmeric is a new favorite among
farmers it survives bad weather
and grows well during rainy days.
The farmers received training about how to cultivate the soil in their yards to plant turmeric. They also make organic fertilizer from a mixture of teak leaves and goat and cow manure.

“The production cost is too small to mention because the seeds are accessible as we have planted it for generations and fertilizer material is available all around us,” Hardianto said.

With good treatment and nutrients from fertilizer, turmeric grows like crazy in the area and is of high quality. Farmers will dry the wet turmeric for three days until the water volume reaches 10 percent before selling it to Deltomed or other buyers.

“We try to maintain the quality by applying the right drying method. We dry the sliced turmeric without turning it upside-down to maintain the good color,” Karto said.

The 80 farmers in the village can normally produce 49 tons of wet turmeric a year. After drying, that is seven tons of dry turmeric.

PT Deltomed purchased each kilogram of dry turmeric for Rp 14,000 (US$1.64) last year. Karto said the company would purchase any quantity of the crop. It also let farmers sell the turmeric to other buyers if offered a higher price.

Larto, another farmer, said he initially planted turmeric because he had joined the farmers group, which required members to plant the same plants.

“I am happy now with the decision because the crop can give me additional income,” he said.

The farmers in the group were eager to plant other kinds of herbs in order to generate additional income. Hardianto said they are trying to plant small quantities of some types of ginger as requested by a Japanese company.

He said the village could produce good quality elephant ginger, but they could not sell it to Deltomed because the company only bought red ginger that contained high essential oils and were spicier.

“We tried to plant red ginger but failed because it requires colder temperatures,” Hardianto said, adding that the plant grew better in Kismantoro district in the eastern part of the regency.

Herb farming in the country faces good prospects, but its development remains slow compared to other developing countries.

The Forestry Ministry recorded that in 2005, the European Union imported over 358,000 tons of herbs and spices from developing countries.


It noted that around 60 percent of those imports came from other countries such as China, India, Morocco and Turkey, not Indonesia.

On the other hand, ministry data says that the country is home to 75 percent of the plants in the world. Of that, 940 are types of herbs that grow in Indonesia, or 90 percent of the herbs that grow in Asia.

The ministry reported that farmers only develop 20 to 22 percent of the hundreds of herbs in the country, with the remaining 78 percent taken from the forest.

Jatisrono may be taking baby steps with its turmeric farming, but those steps do count for herb development in the country.

Once its herbal industry develops, the district will make organic herbs its main product along with its delicious cashew nuts.


Related Article:

Minister to fire rouge penitentiary officers

Antara News, Sun, May 22 2011

Mamuju, West Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Justice minister Patrialis Akbar has vowed to fire penitentiary officers who mistreat prisoners.

"I do not like to hear anymore reports about penitentiary officers taking illegal levies from visitors to the penitentiary. Just tell me about it and I will fire the officers," he said here on Saturday.

He said a lot of people had complained about illegal levies at penitentiaries. He said such activity must be stopped to improve the image of the ministry of justice before the public.

Besides illegal levies, he said, officers often also use violence against prisoners.

"I ever met a prisoner who suffered a physical defect which I later found out was inflicted on him by penitentiary officers. This must never happen again," he said.

He called on all penitentiary officers to be good and treat prisoners well so that they could be useful later after they are free.

Moreover, he said, the ministry of justice and human rights as well as the Attorney General Office have recently been given remuneration of up to Rp1.6 trillion. "It would be unethical if illegal levies still continue," he said.

The minister also said he would also fire immigration officers found acting improperly in their workplace.

"The warning must also be given to immigration officers because a lot of violations of regulations still happen. It is too much if they still do them while the state has also given them remuneration," he said.

Editor: Suryanto

Related Articles:

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Malaysian Drug Smuggler Arrested in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, May 18, 2011

Malaysian man Ganesan Sanmugam, 24,has been arrested in Indonesia
 for attempting to smuggle 1.4 kilograms of heroin into the country,
a customs official said on Wednesday. (Antara Photo)   
       
Related articles


Surabaya. A Malaysian man has been arrested in Indonesia for attempting to smuggle 1.4 kilograms of heroin into the country, a customs official said on Wednesday.

Ganesan Sanmugam, 24, was arrested on Friday shortly after landing in Surabaya city on a flight from Malaysia with heroin worth an estimated 2.1 billion rupiah ($245,700) in his luggage, officials said.

“The heroin package was wrapped with aluminium foil and hidden inside the suitcase pocket,” customs official Buhari Sirait told reporters.

Sanmugam admitted he was carrying the drugs but claimed he was only a courier, the official said.

He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Agence France-Presse

WHO report: Diseases once linked to rich nations increasingly affect poor

Progress has been made on key MDG health targets, but non-infectious diseases have spread to developing countries
 
guardian.co.uk, Gustavo Capdevila for IPS, part of the Guardian Development Network, Tuesday 17 May 2011 

An Indian nurse collects a blood sample from a patient using a glucometer
 at a free Diabetic health check up camp in Hyderabad. India has the highest
 number of diabetic patients in the world. Photograph: Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images

The world is experiencing a change in the geographic distribution of diseases. Traditionally, infectious diseases, which claim the lives of so many children, have affected poor countries and non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, cardiac ailments and cancer, have plagued rich countries.

But the latest statistics released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday show that the income level of nations is no longer so important, and that all countries now face the burden of both kinds of diseases.

Up to now, non-communicable diseases tended to be identified as the ills of opulence, limited to high-income countries, WHO's director of health statistics and informatics, Ties Boerma, told IPS.

However, due to changes caused by the ageing population, improvements brought about by the global effort to meet the millennium development goals (MDGs), changes in birthrates and other factors, developing countries are now also fighting non-infectious diseases, he said.

Boerma noted that the phenomenon began in urban areas of developing nations, among the most highly educated population groups, but it is now expanding rapidly. That was one of the central conclusions reached by WHO experts on the basis of the World Health Statistics 2011 report published on Friday.

The study confirms that important progress has been made in improving the main health indicators, fighting poverty, bolstering gender equality and education, and moving towards the other goals outlined in the eight MDGs, which were agreed by the international community in the 2000 UN general assembly and have a 2015 deadline, Boerma said.

Over the past 10 years, the rate of improvement of infant and maternal mortality rates – key MDG targets – has been twice as fast as progress made in the 1990s.

Many countries are still lagging, some of them considerably, which means a huge effort is needed over the next five years to meet the MDGs, Boerma said. Nevertheless, the rate of progress is speeding up overall, he added.

In the case of child mortality, the world is only halfway to the MDG target, while in the case of maternal mortality, the world is only one-third of the way there, the WHO expert said.

The question of infant mortality will be evaluated again in September, when WHO and Unicef, the UN children's fund, release new statistics. For now, "we are still standing at 8.1 million" children under five who died in 2009, Boerma said, compared with 12.4 million in 1990.

With respect to the situation in the Americas, he said the statistics show that "very good progress" has been made in many countries.

In Brazil, Argentina and Chile, for example, "there have been steady but relatively fast declines in child mortality, and coverage intervention is high. And they also reduced the inequity between the poorest and the richest. Brazil has been a very good case study of where the poorest have benefited," he said, adding that Mexico has also progressed.

At the other extreme, of course, is Haiti, he said, adding that the health indicators are still worrying in countries like Bolivia and Peru, which have made some advances but "still have a much longer way to go".

Boerma cited the case of Cuba, pointing out that although it is not a rich country, it "spends quite a lot on health" and does so "in a very equitable way.

"Everybody has (free) access to health services," he said. "So in terms of life expectancy it ranks quite high and it has low child mortality and high coverage of intervention. So it is very successful in reaching the whole population and getting good value" for its investment, he added.

The expert noted that the US "is not at the top" in terms of health statistics in the Americas. He said: "They are at the top when it comes to the amount of money they spend on health. But they are not at the top in terms of getting good results for their investments in health services.

"One reason," he said, "may be that coverage of the whole population is not so good. So much of the expenditure goes to relatively expensive curative interventions or interventions that benefit a smaller proportion of the population."

The WHO study reported that average global life expectancy rose from 64 years in 1990 to 68 in 2009. In poor countries, the average is 56 years, while it has climbed to 80 years in wealthy countries.

Life expectancy for women is five years longer on average than for men. That difference has held fairly steady, between four and five years, over the past two decades.

The WHO figures show there is still a huge gap in health spending between low and high-income countries, averaging an annual $32 per capita in the former and $400 per capita in the latter.

The study reports that high-income countries have, per capita, 10 times more doctors, 12 times more nurses and midwives and 30 times more dentists, on average, than low-income countries.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

China's exploding watermelons caused by chemical

The Jakarta Post, The Associated Press, Tue, 05/17/2011

The overuse of a chemical that helps fruit grow faster is causing a rash of exploding watermelons in eastern China.

An investigative report by China Central Television airing Tuesday found farms in Jiangsu province were losing acres of fruit to the problem.

It said farmers sprayed too much growth promoter, hoping they could get fruit to market ahead of season and make more money.

China is battling rampant misuse of pesticides, fertilizers and food additives, like dyes and sweeteners, meant to make food more attractive and boost sales.


In this photo taken Friday May 13, 2011, a farmer shows a watermelon
that had bursted in his rented greenhouse in Danyang city in eastern China's
Jiangsu province. Watermelon fields in eastern China are a mess of burst fruit
after farmers abused growth chemicals in an attempt to make extra money but
ended up ruining their crops, state media reported Tuesday May 17, 2011.
(AP Photo) CHINA OUT


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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Malaysia arrests 2 Iranians in $12.6 mln drug bust

Antara News, Sat, May 14 2011

There has been a steep increase in the number of alleged Iranian drug traffickers caught in Malaysia, with 138 arrested from January to October last year compared with 16 in the whole of 2009.

Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News/AFP) - Malaysian customs officials said on Saturday they arrested two Iranian men and seized heroin worth $12.6 million in the country`s biggest drug haul of the year.

Central Selangor customs director Azis Yacub told state media that officials seized 278 packages of the drug during checks on five containers filled with cement bags at Port Klang on April 28, following surveillance by authorities.

"The drugs, wrapped in plastic sheets were found stashed in 560 bags of cement in the containers which were shipped from Karachi, Pakistan," he told Bernama, but did not say why authorities were only now announcing the bust.

"Investigations into the drug`s destination are under way," he added.

Azis told local papers that if the heroin had been processed, its street value would have been three times as much. "This is an astronomical amount," he told the New Straits Times newspaper.

There has been a steep increase in the number of alleged Iranian drug traffickers caught in Malaysia, with 138 arrested from January to October last year compared with 16 in the whole of 2009.

Iran`s ambassador to Malaysia has said international criminal gangs are using Iranians to smuggle drugs into the country.

The latest bust follows the arrest of two Iranians and the seizure of 4.5 kilos (10 pounds) of methamphetamine earlier this month in southern Malaysia.

In April, nine Iranians were arrested with the seizure of more than 70 kilos of methamphetamine as well as seven million ringgit ($2.3 million) in foreign currency in the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Police said the nine were believed to be using Malaysia as a base to supply drugs to Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

Editor: Ella Syafputri

Bio Farma wants RI to attain ‘vaccine independence’

Elly Burhaini Faizal, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 05/14/2011

Building up local basic research on vaccine development is the only way for Indonesia to gain “vaccine independence”, an expert says.

Iskandar, the president director of state-owned Bio Farma, said on Thursday that vaccine independence could be attained by increasing local capacities for conducting basic vaccine research.

“We may not be able to achieve vaccine independence in the absence of local basic research on vaccine development,” Iskandar said on the sidelines of a media gathering called “Towards the Independence of National Vaccine Industry”, held by state news agency Antara for Bio Farma’s 121st anniversary.

Indonesia is one of the few Asian countries with the capacity to produce vaccines. However, none of the locally produced vaccines are manufactured based on local basic research.

For example, Iskandar said Bio Farma had manufactured vaccines for years based on basic research developed by several global biotechnology companies from Australia, Japan, the Netherlands and South Africa.

“We have to pay royalties up to 5 percent of the total sales of the vaccines. It’s a huge amount,” he said, adding that such royalties would be moot if the vaccines were produced based on local basic research.

Bio Farma has exported vaccines to 110 countries since 1997. Ten were produced by Bio Farma, including those for diphteria, tetanus, pertussis-Hepatitis B (DTP-HB), DTP, measles, BCG and an oral polio vaccine (OPV).

Iskandar said developing local basic research was important to replacing the “clinical development” of foreign vaccine research.

Indonesia has been left behind by many countries which have developed “future vaccines”, such as vaccines for cancer, said Iskandar.

He said local vaccine research needed considerable funding. Bio Farma spent Rp 100 billion (US$11.7 million) per year on research.

Bio Farma, Indonesia’s only vaccine and antisera producer, plans to place representatives in several international bodies, including the World Health Organization and Unicef.

The placement would be to improve joint research and vaccine development needed to match the supply and demand for vaccine and antisera products.

“We need support from the government to facilitate the international placement,” Iskandar said.

He said the placement would improve the Indonesian pharmaceutical industry’s competitiveness, especially in vaccine production.

During the media gathering, Bio Farma gave influenza vaccines called “flubio” to the participants. Flubio, the newly introduced Bio Farma vaccine, prevents illnesses caused by Type A/California (H1N1), Type B/Victoria (H3N2), and Type C/Brisbane viruses.

“We developed the influenza vaccine when recent influenza cases hit Indonesia,” said Nurlaela, Bio Farma’s media relations officer.

Flubio can be given to people with chronic respiratory problems such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A person with a chronic medical condition such as cardiovascular problems or diabetes or those with weak immune systems such as those with AIDS or Lupus may also receive the vaccine.

“Health workers with higher risks for flu viruses, people who live in endemic countries for influenza, those who plan to travel to areas with higher potentials of influenza, children above six years old and the elderly are recommended to have this vaccine,” Nurlaela said.

However, people with a history of severe allergic reaction to eggs and other flu vaccines, pregnant women and people with a history of Guillen-Barre Syndrome (GBS) are not recommended to have the vaccine.

Influenza viruses can replicate every year, and each place may have different types of the viruses, enabling them to deliver new variants that cannot be prevented naturally by the body’s immune system. Globally, about 250,000 to 500,000 people die of influenza every year.

China bans several food additives to bolster food safety

Antara News, Sat, May 14 2011

Beijing (ANTARA News/Xinhua) - Chinese authorities have banned several types of food additives as part of new national regulations on food safety issued on Friday.

The new regulations also stipulated that all additives should be marked clearly on food product labels.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday issued four national food safety regulations concerning food additives, food product labels, honey products and the limit of mycotoxins in food. Mycotoxins are metabolites of fungi that can adversely affect animal and human health.

The use of benzoyl peroxide, calcium peroxide and methanal as food additives has been banned under the new regulations, as these additives are no longer necessary for the production of food, according to Chen Rui, an MOH food safety official.

Chen said the new regulations also prohibit the use of food additives for the purpose of concealing quality defects.

The new regulations cover the usage of 2,314 types of food additives, processing aids, gum bases and food flavorings, Chen said.

The revised regulations for food product labels state that labels for all food products should clearly state the names and amounts of food additives being used. The regulations also recommend food manufacturers to print warnings on products that may contain allergens.

The MOH banned the use of benzoyl peroxide and calcium peroxide in flour processing earlier this year, stating that the country`s improved processing techniques for wheat and flour had rendered the additives obsolete.

Editor: Priyambodo RH