With the growing number of people being affected by newly discovered chronic degenerative diseases such as AIDS and chronic fatigue syndrome, Are you worried or wondering. Is it possible to maintain good health? What your body needs to function properly? Why conventional medicine is becoming more complicated and costly and in some cases simply ineffective? A growing number of people are turning to alternative medicine and natural healing--simple, traditional low-tech methods of preventing illnesses and solving everyday health problems. Do you have unanswered questions on. Why are people flocking to health food stores, with their lotions and potions, and what keeps them going back for more? What to do if you or someone in your family falls ill? Are these therapies really old wives tales or can they really work? Even mainstream doctors have begun to recommend natural drugless therapies' to treat both everyday complaints and serious illnesses.
Dietary modifications, for instance, has become the weapons of choice against a number of diseases that would have been treated mainly with prescription drugs a generation ago. It is now known that many conditions are caused by the wrong diet and can be reversed by the right diet. Heart disease, cancer, weight problems, arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure--they can all be treated to some degree with foods. Natural therapies found in alternative medicine are actually much older than Western treatments such as surgeries and antibiotics. Experts estimate that herbal remedies and Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, has been around for 5,000 years.
Many alternative medicine remedies began with scientific research or clinical impressions reported by physicians working with safe, natural substances. But we live in a generation now that has been cut off from this age-old tradition of self-reliance. Healing and health care have become almost- -the exclusive province of duly licensed physicians. While doctors and other professionals-are indeed great to have around, what is not so great is when you cannot do anything without them. Shouldn't we be able to do something to save our health--maybe even our lives--without a doctor? What happens when medical help is not so readily available? What happens when doctoring simply does not work? Some of us go to doctor after doctor, and still no help. Is that the end of the line? While antibiotics have saved millions of lives, they have not really solved some resurgence of germs that are turning up in new forms that do not respond to conventional therapies. There has been a real shift in the way people think about their health. Rising health care cost is a factor in the recent surge of interest in alternative medicine. Many people are attracted to the alternative physicians emphasis on treating the whole person--body, mind and spirit. Most importantly some physicians use intensive counseling to help patients find out whether aspects of their daily lives, such as job stress, marital problems, diet or sleeping habits might be behind their symptoms.
In this age of managed care and impersonal group practices patients find this individualized approach of alternative medicine particularly appealing. One of the principal goals of alternative medicine and natural healing is to break the cycle of dependency and allow people to be more in control of their own lives.


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Diversity & equality in business
Government intervention in MG Rover collapse could cost £250m, says spending watchdog
· National Audit Office says plans only made for failure
· Tories call loans a 'bung' to buy time before election
Mark Milner, industrial editor
Thu 9 Mar 2006 19.11 EST First published on Thu 9 Mar 2006 19.11 EST
The taxpayer faces a bill that could top £250m from the demise of MG Rover and the government's efforts to mitigate the impact on the West Midlands economy, according to the National Audit Office.
The bill includes £40m in redundancy payments and £50m for retraining the company's workforce of nearly 6,000 as well as support for the carmaker's suppliers and dealers as a result of the collapse last year. It also includes £90m from 2000, when BMW sold MG Rover, used to help the region's economy modernise and diversify. Another £5.2m represents the balance of a £6.5m loan to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the administrators, to keep the Longbridge plant running for a week after the carmaker collapsed and which is now likely to be written off.
The NAO's figures do not include likely losses of £18m on taxes, which MG Rover was allowed to defer, nor the costs, of about £3m, of the Department of Trade and Industry inquiry into the demise of the last British-owned mass carmaker.
The spending watchdog's report into the closure of MG Rover is sharply critical of the DTI's failure to draw up plans early enough to cope with any scenario other than the collapse of the carmaker.
It also criticised the decision to lend the administrators £6.5m to keep the plant going while they tried to sell it as a going concern or, if that could not be achieved, to allow regional and employment authorities to cope with the job losses.
The NAO said yesterday: "The report recognises the benefits obtained by the loan but concludes that it is doubtful whether those benefits and the remote prospect of a going-concern sale represented the DTI with sufficiently good value for the loan."
Of the £6.5m, some £3m went on wages, £1m on operating costs and legal fees, and £1.2m on PwC's fees. The DTI has recovered £1.3m but the NAO said "some or all of the remaining £5.2m will not be repaid". Last night PwC said the £1.2m was part of £6.6m paid for its work on MG Rover to date. It refused to comment on the period covered by the DTI fee.
MG Rover called in the administrators last April after failing to strike a deal with the Chinese carmaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation after almost a year of talks. The collapse came just ahead of the 2005 general election when the government was defending several marginal constituencies in the region.
Yesterday the shadow trade and industry secretary, Alan Duncan, criticised Patricia Hewitt, the industry secretary at the time, and her predecessor Stephen Byers over the demise of MG Rover. Mr Duncan described the loan as "no more than a bung to buy the government a few weeks to get them through the general election".
The NAO noted that if a deal with SAIC could have been struck, it would have taken three months and £70m to £100m to keep the plant running for that time, though it was unclear where that money would have come from. In the event, SAIC said on April 15 that it had no intention of buying MG Rover as a going concern.
That in effect meant the end of efforts to sell the business as a viable entity and MG Rover's assets were sold to another Chinese carmaker, Nanjing Automotive.
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, noted that by the time MG Rover collapsed, the DTI knew how it and other public agencies would cope with closure. He added: "Decision-making could, however, have been easier if it had been founded on earlier and more comprehensive contingency planning for other scenarios that could well take place, and in this case did."
Yesterday a DTI spokeswoman said: "The department is confident it did a good job in challenging circumstances and carried out its duties fully and diligently."
Cost of collapse
· To help modernise West Midlands economy after BMW sold: £90m
· Direct financial support for MG Rover May 2000-April 2005: £4.7m
· Writing off part of DTI loan: £5.2m
· Support package (inc redundancy, dealer and supplier support): £146m
Total: £246.6m
Source NAO

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Episode #103 - "Wholesome All-American Porn" - Show Notes
Download Episode (105MB, Running Time: 3h 49m)
Alternate Titles: "Everyone's Named Peanut Butter Banana Sandwich" or "Hogwarts Miami"
Tonight's Beverages: Ococim beer (Dirk & Bob); Kentucky Ballslap (Otto).
Third Vulture Bob "I'm Gonna Kill Somebody" Koski is in the house.
The actual pronunciations of a listener's Latin name and musician Kawehi, the latter learned from this VOA show.
The T.Swizzle GQ cover and her bikini shot with Haim:
Referenced: The SNL sketch about Taylor Swift's Squad:
Taylor Swift doesn't name names.
Dirk gifts Otto and Bob.
The End of the World As We Knew It: Playboy will no longer have nudity because Facebook and Twitter don't allow it.
Referenced: Otto's soundbite:
Dirk's first Playmate. (NSFW photos!) Referenced: The Denise Crosby photos. (NSFW Google Image search)
We don't talk sports, so of course we digress into 5 minutes of sports talk. Sigh.
Referenced: The Detroit-area bar that offered free food if the Lions won at Green Bay, something that hadn't happened since Jesus was a sophomore in high school. (i.e. 1991) They lost (duh) and the bar offered the same deal for their one-and-done playoff appearance.
First Music Break: J. Giels Band, "Centerfold"
St. Vincent was waitressing last weekend.
Katy Perry sang backup for P.O.D. in 2006. Check out the videos at the link.
We run down this year's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees, their odds of getting in and whether they should or not.
Referenced: Kathy Valentine's post about the latest snub of The Go-Go's.
Fact Check: The R&RHoF FAQ page says, "Ballots are then sent to...about 1000 rock experts. Those performers who received the highest number of votes, and more than 50 percent of the vote, are inducted. The Foundation generally inducts five to seven performers each year."
Fact Check: Google Play Music has the Cheap Trick Red Ant album (titled 1997) and Music For Hangovers available, but not The Latest, thus illustrating the f*ckery of streaming licensing.
Referenced: Los Lobos' 1988 Grammy performance of "La Bamba" (really quiet audio) with a 1:40 guitar solo in the middle of a 3-1/2-minute song; Billy Joel stopping in the middle of "River of Dreams" for 23 seconds (at 2:32) during the 1994 Grammys; Suzanne Vega doing "Luka" in 1988; Johnny Cash's stunning "Hurt":
The only good part of Fear the Walking Dead:
Dirk predicts Chicago, Janet Jackson, Nine Inch Nails, N.W.A. and Yes will be inducted.
Steven Tyler doesn't want Donald Trump using "Dream On" for copyright reasons.
Miley Cyrus and Flaming Lips to play "naked show."
Second Music Break: P.O.D., "Goodbye For Now"
TV News: Minority Report gets its run cut back; Blindspot got picked up for the whole season; Halle Berry's Extant is over;
Paul Ruebens to play Penguin's father (again) on Gotham.
The return of The Walking Dead is discussed. We forgot to mention the ratings were down, but did note Maggie's pregnant.)
Fact Check: The Community actress who appears on Talking Dead with copious notes is Yvette Nicole Brown.
Referenced: The real-life models for Archer's characters.
Referenced: The comic book death of Lori and Judith (video of comic panels set to music) and the scene between Eugene and Heath.
Discussion of The Flash, Arrow, The Vampire Diaries, and The Originals.
Referenced: Melinda May's look and Blondie t-shirt:
Referenced: Caroline of The Vampire Diaries with her normal fluffy hair...
...and her slutty "humanity off" hair:
(The pictures don't really sell the 2nd look.)
Netflix has cut back 2000+ titles in the past couple of years.
Referenced: A Bill Murray Christmas Special?!?
Date announced for the Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens awakens.
The video of Ultron with James Spader's dialog as Robert California on The Office dubbed over:
The two versions of Tarantino's Hateful Eight detailed.
Warner Bros. announces a trio of King Kong and Godzilla movies.
Fact Check: The name of Envy Adams' (Brie Larson) band in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was The Clash at Demonhead.
Ant-Man and the Wasp announced (interesting speculation at link), but will it kill the Inhumans movie?
The debunked rumor about Fantastic Four returning to Marvel.
Referenced: The Double Jeopardy trailer which spoils everything, but doesn't include the mentioned line.
The insane idea that Michael B. Jordan will play Boba Fett and our better idea for him.
The whining over racial bean-counting in The Martian which shows political correctness is antithetical to fun.
Seth Rogen attacks a black man. (Dirk's review of The Interview.)
Matt Damon also shoots his mouth off on diversity and gay actors.
A call for reader feedback. Write us!
Third Music Break: TORRES, "Strange Hellos" (official video); Garbage, "Parade" (fan video)
Xbox chief admits they screwed up the launch. Ya think?
Dirk explains at length his Bargain Ninja® method of getting a new Xbox One for $200 and why Craig's List sucks.
Gallery of Abercrombie & Fitch photos featuring models who went on to be stars, like 14-year-old Taylor Swift and 15-year-old J.Law.
Kayne West whines about his kid racking up in-app purchases.
Disney is allowing their licensed IP for children's prosthetics.
The winning New York Comic Con cosplay: A 9-1/2-foot-tall Iron Man Hulkbuster.
A real-life Mjolnir (Thor's hammer) that only one guy could pick up.
Drunk chick broadcasts her driving antics on Periscope and gets busted.
Naked woman trashes an Alaska Subway shop.
Total Biscuit has cancer again. Cancer sucks.
Podcast Exclusive commercial parody.
Episode #104 - "There Will Be Chewie" - Show Notes
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