| Chinese herbs catch on big in US
The import of medicinal herbs to the US from China has nearly doubled in the last five years, and Western doctors are taking note... The pharmacists of Kamwo Herbal Pharmacy in New York’s Chinatown spend their days weighing and mixing bear gallbladder, deer tail, wild ginger and other traditional Chinese botanical and animal ingredients. The owner, Tomas Leung, 38, comes from a long line of herbal pharmacists. His great-grandfather had an herbal pharmacy in Hong Kong. Leung’s father and grandfather, he says, opened their store in America in 1973. "It is the oldest continuous herbal pharmacy in New York City," he said. In recent years the demand for raw herbal remedies has put Kamwo at the forefront of a booming business. Importation of Chinese botanicals used in traditional medicines soared to $132 million in 2006 from $67 million five years earlier, an increase of 96 percent, according to figures from the U.S.
Torture Is A War Crime
Torture only compromises our soldiers' lives in the field as the US cannot credibly claim any kind of moral high ground if one of our soldiers is tragically captured. The abomination of Abu Ghraib is one of the reasons that the insurgency began on the day Casey was killed in Sadr City, Baghdad. I personally know three men who were illegally and wrongly imprisoned in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib who can testify to the fact that, yes, America does torture and does so with extreme, callous and cold-hearted cruelty. The Geneva Conventions are clear on prohibiting the use of torture and the 8th Amendment to our own Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. When torture is official policy, where will it end? When George can pick and choose who receives the centuries old right to habeas corpus and who doesn't, where will it end? Will it end with the "terrorists" in Guantanamo or will it be used here in the USA against those who stand up against tyranny and struggle for our Constitution, freedoms, peace and human rights? Torture has tarnished the soul of our nation and Congress has done little to restrain BushCo's Torquemadas and even when a bill is passed restricting the use of torture, George adds a signing statement saying that he is above the law.
Chinese Clinic Rapped For Making False Claims
In an adjudication published recently, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has fully upheld the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) complaints about a company in Maidstone, Kent. The Everwell Chinese Medicine Centre was advertising Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) and making inaccurate and misleading medicinal claims.
The MHRA raised its concerns with the ASA on 10 January 2007, that the public was at risk from claims being made in a leaflet produced by the company. The leaflet said that its Chinese medicines could treat terminal illnesses, as well as a wide range of other health problems such as ME, MS, paralysis, impotence, infertility, psoriais, arthritis, hypertension, blood pressure, strokes and depression, all of which are serious or prolonged medical conditions.
Obama Defends Foreign Policy Talk
She said, I don't I think we should talk about it. Well, I think we should talk about it. I think the American people ought to have a debate about our foreign policy because it's so messed up and if we don't talk about it we're going to end up repeating the same mistakes," Obama told an audience at a conference of the National Association of Black Journalists. In April 2006, Clinton was questioned about using nuclear weapons to prevent Iran from escalating its nuclear program. "I would certainly take nuclear weapons off the table," she said. The Clinton campaign said her comments were made in a different context. Obama told the group of more than 1,000 reporters and editors that judgment trumped experience and sought to link Clinton to the Bush administration. "Being experienced is not enough.
China Confronts Crisis Over Food Safety
A death sentence meted out to the former head of China's food and drug watchdog, together with the announced formation of a national food-recall system, suggests Beijing intends to send a stern message amid a series of contaminations that has drawn international attention.
The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court yesterday sentenced Zheng Xiaoyu for receiving bribes of cash and gifts worth at least $850,000 from eight pharmaceutical companies during his tenure at the helm of the State Food and Drug Administration, according to a report from the state-run Xinhua news agency. The court justified the death sentence by citing the "huge amount of bribes involved and the great damage inflicted on the country and the public by Zheng's dereliction of duty," according to the Xinhua report.
Acupuncture available locally
For thousands of years, people have used the Chinese healing practice of acupuncture to relieve an assortment of health concerns. This treatment is now available locally from S. Alex Young, MD, FACP.
"People often turn to acupuncture as a last resort," Young said.
Acupuncture is performed by inserting small needles into precise points on the body to relieve pain to the skelatomuscular system.
Although Young specializes in internal medicine, he does not treat ailments such as high blood pressure or gastric maladies with acupuncture.
His treatments concentrate on the 24 meridian points as well as the ventral and dorsal points.
The needles used in the treatments are 0.22 by 13 centimeters. The area of skin treated is sterilized with alcohol before the needle is inserted.
THE WEEKLY PIT REVIEW
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The Financials Pit Review
For the week of July 2nd, 2007
By PitGuru Larry Levin
Recap We were all over the map with the stock indices this past week. An immense amount of economic data kept these markets moving fast and furious as the S&P 500 futures even tested below the 1500 level briefly on Wednesday. We watched more home sales reports come out, all pretty much to the downside. Other economic data came out stronger but these markets still tested lower prices this past week. Also, crude oil continues to be a concern as it surpassed the $70 level. Its hard to find a trader who doesnt have at least one eye on the energy markets as the summer gets into full swing.
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