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San Diego police slapped a cell phone camera out of a man’s hands Saturday, claiming it could be a weapon, before pouncing on him and handcuffing him, lacerating his chin in the process.

Adam Pringle ended up jailed overnight on charges of obstruction because he refused to hand the phone over when the cop ordered him to do so.

But it’s already been established by numerous court cases as well as the U.S. Department of Justice that police do not have the right to take your camera unless it is being used in a commission of a crime.

In this case, Pringle’s only crime was smoking a cigarette on a Mission Beach boardwalk, a violation for which he was already getting cited.

“It is against the law to smoke cigarettes on the boardwalk, so I admit I was breaking the law,” Pringle said in a telephone interview with Photography is Not a Crime Tuesday.

The incident took place at 7 p.m. Saturday evening as Pringle and two buddies were walking on the boardwalk and came across two cops on bicycles who stopped them and started writing Pringle a citation.

Pringle pulled out his Samsung Galaxy smartphone and began recording, which as you can see below, can easily be confused for a weapon – if you find yourself starring in a futuristic science fiction drama.

It all seemed pretty civil until the cop writing the citation told him to stop recording, which Pringle refused to do.

“Phones can be converted into weapons …. look it up online,” the cop told him.

Last month, a South Florida cop confiscated a man’s phone citing the same reason, so maybe this is a new trend.

When Pringle tried to talk sense into the cop, the cop slapped the phone out of his hand where it fell onto the boardwalk and broke apart.

The other cop then pounced on him, slamming him down on the boardwalk where he ended up with a laceration on his chin.

“Blood was everywhere,” Pringle said. “I was laying on my stomach and he had one knee on my back and the other knee on the side of my face.

“They kept telling me ‘to calm down,’ that ‘you’re making this worse for yourself,’ that ‘you have no right to record us.’”

They hauled him up and marched him to the patrol car, telling his two friends that they would be arrested if they chose to follow.

His friends picked up his phone, which was damaged but not to the point where it was unsable, which is why the video survived.

Once out of sight, the officer who tackled him elbowed him to the face.

Because he had several wounds on his body, including his knees, hands and face, an ambulance was called.

An internal affairs officer, Lt. Misty Cedrun, was also called, who spoke to him in the back of the ambulance, but who didn’t seem to think the officers did anything wrong because she allowed the two officers to transport him to jail, even though he told her he fear them.

Unfortunately, Pringle was not provided with their names and it’s difficult to make out the cop’s nametag in the video.

He wasn’t released from jail until 4 a.m. His first hearing will be on May 23 where he hopes to have obtained an attorney. He said he has reached out to the ACLU but hasn’t heard back.

However, this incident is still very fresh and this is a case that is ripe for them.

Pringle said he is an Eagle Scout who is actively involved in his community. He doesn’t mean to be a troublemaker but he is just not afraid to stand up for his rights.

And that obviously makes him a criminal in the eyes of the law.

But because the video survived the assault, we are able to see whom the real criminals are in this matter.

Paranormal activity appears to have invaded this house - as waves of light roll over a lifeless body...

Armed with a child's LED finger torch, coupled with a camera set on a slow shutter speed, Janne can spend up to half-an-hour tracing an image around his house in Vantaa, Finland

A man who lived like a hermit for decades in a makeshift camp in the woods and may be responsible for more than 1,000 burglaries for food and other staples has been caught in a surveillance trap at a camp he treated as a "Walmart," authorities said Wednesday.

Christopher Knight, 47, was arrested last week when he tripped a surveillance sensor set up by a game warden while stealing food from a camp for people with special needs in Rome, a town of about 1,000 whose population swells with the arrival of summer residents.

Authorities on Tuesday found the campsite where they believed Knight, known as the North Pond Hermit in local lore, has lived for 27 years.

Some residents say they've been aware of the hermit for years, often in connection with break-ins that have occurred. He was so well known to some summer cottage owners that they left food out for him so he wouldn't break in during the colder months, state Trooper Diane Vance said.

But others were hardly aware of the hermit living within their midst without detection since 1986.

"I was born in 1987. He was there before I was," Rome resident Melissa Witham said outside her home.

Paul Anderson, a selectman in the town about 20 miles northwest of Augusta, acknowledged local talk about a man living alone in the woods.

"I've lived in the town for 32 years, and I've never, ever met the guy," Anderson said.

Attempts to reach people who might be Knight's relatives were unsuccessful Wednesday. Officials said they had no information on whether Knight has an attorney. A message could not be left after hours for officials at the Kennebec County Jail in Augusta, where Knight was being held.

Knight's living quarters in the woods included a tent covered by tarps suspended between trees, a bed, propane cooking stoves and a battery-run radio, which he used to keep up with the news and listen to talk radio and a rock station, authorities said.

Since vanishing from his Maine home for no apparent reason and setting up camp when he was about 19, Knight sustained himself on food stolen from dozens of cottages, but his favorite target was the Pine Tree Camp, where game warden Sgt. Terry Hughes, who's been trying to nab Knight for years, set up a surveillance alarm, authorities said.

Knight was caught Tuesday as he left the camp's kitchen freezer with a backpack full of food, they said.

"He used us like his local Walmart," said Harvey Chesley, the camp's facilities manager.

Ron Churchill, owner of Bear Spring Camps in Rome, said employees who maintain his camp's lakeside cabins have seen the man thought to be the hermit in the past. Churchill said his business has lost propane containers to thefts, the latest of which were discovered Wednesday.

"I did an inventory this morning, and we're missing two," Churchill said.

Despite Maine's harsh winters, during which temperatures sometimes struggle to get above 10 degrees for a week at a time, Knight stayed at his encampment and avoided making campfires so he wouldn't be detected, and he used propane only for cooking, Hughes said. To stay warm, he would bundle himself in multiple sleeping bags, authorities said.

When arrested, Knight was clean-shaven and his hair was cut short, in contrast to the iconic hermit with a shaggy beard and long hair. He was still using his aviator-style eyeglasses from the 1980s.

"When we went to the site where he has been living, it only took a few minutes looking around and making observations such as ropes that were imbedded in the trees that had grown around them that he used to hold his tarps up, shoes that were under rocks that had been there for years, there was enough indication to me ... that he had been there for a lot of years," said Hughes.

During questioning after his arrest, Knight said that the last verbal contact he had with another person was during the 1990s, Vance said.

"He passed somebody on a trail and just exchanged a common greeting of hello and that was the only conversation or human contact he's had since he went into the woods in 1986," Vance said.

The trooper said that the case of the North Pond hermit sometimes seemed a "myth" that might go unsolved and bringing it to a conclusion is "amazing."

"I think it's still sinking in," Vance said. "I don't think I will ever be involved in such an incident or case it this magnitude."

Knight had been charged only with the Pine Tree Camp burglary, in which $238 worth of goods were taken, and was being held at the jail on $5,000 bail on burglary and theft charges.

Knight had attended a high school in Fairfield, about 20 miles away.

Why he decided to disappear in the woods remained a question on Wednesday.

The Internal Revenue Service doesn't believe it needs a search warrant to read your e-mail.

Newly disclosed documents prepared by IRS lawyers say that Americans enjoy "generally no privacy" in their e-mail, Facebook chats, Twitter direct messages, and similar online communications -- meaning that they can be perused without obtaining a search warrant signed by a judge.

That places the IRS at odds with a growing sentiment among many judges and legislators who believe that Americans' e-mail messages should be protected from warrantless search and seizure. They say e-mail should be protected by the same Fourth Amendment privacy standards that require search warrants for hard drives in someone's home, or a physical letter in a filing cabinet.

An IRS 2009 Search Warrant Handbook obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union argues that "emails and other transmissions generally lose their reasonable expectation of privacy and thus their Fourth Amendment protection once they have been sent from an individual's computer." The handbook was prepared by the Office of Chief Counsel for the Criminal Tax Division and obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Nathan Wessler, a staff attorney at the ACLU's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, said in a blog post that the IRS's view of privacy rights violates the Fourth Amendment:

Let's hope you never end up on the wrong end of an IRS criminal tax investigation. But if you do, you should be able to trust that the IRS will obey the Fourth Amendment when it seeks the contents of your private emails. Until now, that hasn't been the case. The IRS should let the American public know whether it obtains warrants across the board when accessing people's email. And even more important, the IRS should formally amend its policies to require its agents to obtain warrants when seeking the contents of emails, without regard to their age.

The IRS continued to take the same position, the documents indicate, even after a federal appeals court ruled in the 2010 case U.S. v. Warshak that Americans have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their e-mail. A few e-mail providers, including Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Facebook, but not all, have taken the position that Warshak mandates warrants for e-mail.

The IRS did not immediately respond to a request from CNET asking whether it is the agency's position that a search warrant is required for e-mail and similar communications.

Before the Warshak decision, the general rule since 1986 had been that police could obtain Americans' e-mail messages that were more than 180 days old with an administrative subpoena or what's known as a 2703(d) order, both of which lack a warrant's probable cause requirement.

The rule was adopted in the era of telephone modems, BBSs, and UUCP links, long before gigabytes of e-mail stored in the cloud was ever envisioned. Since then, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Warshak, technology had changed dramatically: "Since the advent of e-mail, the telephone call and the letter have waned in importance, and an explosion of Internet-based communication has taken place. People are now able to send sensitive and intimate information, instantaneously, to friends, family, and colleagues half a world away... By obtaining access to someone's e-mail, government agents gain the ability to peer deeply into his activities."

A March 2011 update to the IRS manual, published four months after the Warshak decision, says that nothing has changed and that "investigators can obtain everything in an account except for unopened e-mail or voice mail stored with a provider for 180 days or less" without a warrant. An October 2011 memorandum (PDF) from IRS senior counsel William Spatz took a similar position.

A phalanx of companies, including Amazon, Apple, AT&T, eBay, Google, Intel, Microsoft, and Twitter, as well as liberal, conservative, and libertarian advocacy groups, have asked Congress to update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act to make it clear that law enforcement needs warrants to access private communications and the locations of mobile devices.

In November, a Senate panel approved the e-mail warrant requirement, and last month Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat whose district includes the heart of Silicon Valley, introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives. The Justice Department indicated last month it will drop its opposition to an e-mail warrant requirement.

We waste a lot of food in the United States. We grow food at the farm that the farmers sometimes cannot sell. We lose food during processing and transportation. We overstock food at retail stores and throw away whatever goes unsold. We leave food on our plates in restaurants and in our homes.

Sometimes, this thing that we call food is actually the remains of a sentient and cognitively agile animal who wanted to live but who we killed anyway to serve as our food. Most vegans and vegetarians would agree that no animal should have to suffer or die for our food. But, even most omnivores would agree that there is something deeply wretched about inflicting lifelong pain and misery and finally death on an animal for food we are not going to eat.

The following bar graph shows the percentage of the edible weight of animal products that enters the retail market as food but which is not eaten and is just thrown away into our landfills. There are two kinds of loss depicted in this graph: losses at the retail level and losses at the consumer level. Losses at the retail level arise due to overstocked inventory, prepared food that has to be thrown away if not purchased within a few hours (e.g., rotisserie chickens), expiration of “sell-by” dates, and half-a-dozen other reasons. Losses at the consumer level also occur for a variety of reasons including impulse buying, large portion sizes at restaurants, spoilage, expiration of “use-by” dates, and our habit of over-filling our plates at buffets and in our homes.

The data used in the bar graph above are deduced from estimates used by the USDA in its loss-adjusted food availability reports. The estimates of the losses at the consumer-level come from a USDA-commissioned study using the Nielsen Company’s Homescan data on retail household purchases in the US and the NHANES survey of food consumption in the US. This data does not include losses before reaching the retail market such as at the farm or during processing, transportation or distribution.

There are several additional factors that play a role in what ends up eaten and what ends up in the landfill. Large portion sizes at restaurants mean that those animal products we are more likely to eat outside the home are also more likely to be wasted in larger quantities. The products that we more frequently use as ingredients in prepared foods—such as eggs and cheese—are also more likely to be thrown away without being eaten. Foods that are more often eaten by children are also more likely wasted in larger quantities. Picky consumer expectations about exactly how “done” a meat should be can lead to waste; for example, 2 to 5% of red meat is thrown away at some restaurants because it would be considered overcooked by the customer. Animals that are more often eaten during the holidays—such as turkeys—are left uneaten on our plates more often. Higher-income families waste more than lower-income families. It is a complex interplay of all of these and other factors that lead to the numbers in the bar graph above.The most significant factor in what gets wasted is whether or not it is perishable. The longer the shelf-life of a perishable food, the less likely it is to be wasted. Consumer-level waste depends also on whether the processing of a carcass happens at the consumer level with likely poorer efficiency. Fish and shellfish are more often trimmed, cut and processed at the consumer level in homes and restaurants; other meats are more likely to be processed before reaching the retail market. This is part of the reason that a larger percentage of fish and shellfish is wasted at the consumer level than of any other animal product.

Overall, we waste 26.2% of all the meat that enters the US retail market. Based on the data here, this corresponds to over 25 billion fish, over 15 billion shellfish, over a billion chickens and over a hundred million other land animals that we kill to serve the US food supply.

Not only do we waste a larger percentage of fish and shellfish than of any other animal product, we also use a larger number of them than any other animal we use for food. Eliminating just half of the waste at just the consumer level could spare the lives of more than 15 billion fish and shellfish that are killed for the US food supply each year.

Even though we waste less of the chicken we buy than of any other animal product, we do use chickens for food in larger numbers than any other land animal. Eliminating just half of the waste at just the consumer level would spare the lives of over 500 million chickens used for their meat, over 35 million egg-laying hens, over 15 million pigs and over 3 million cows each year.

Now, it is worth examining the magnitude of these numbers more closely. Meat consumption in the US has been on a steady decline since 2006. Eliminating just half of the food waste at just the consumer level, a not too far-fetched a goal, would spare at least as many additional animals each year as are being spared by the reduced meat consumption since 2006!

The idea for the topic of this post was suggested to me by my friend, Kenny Torrella. He makes the argument that this issue offers a compelling motivation for the animal advocacy movement to join forces with the environmental groups working on reducing food waste. This is an easy cause with wide support; authors,environmental organizations and some of our government agencies have all advocated reducing food waste in the United States. Even the food industry, led by the Grocery Manufacturer’s Alliance, has formed the Food Waste Reduction Allianceto increase food donations and decrease waste.

Most environmental campaigns around food waste do not consider the animals in their arguments. However, our use of animals for food and the hidden cruelty behind our plates, I think, adds significantly to the rationale for reducing waste. Certainly, to the hen who spends almost all her life cramped in a battery cage with not enough room to even spread her wings, it does not matter at all whether her eggs get eaten or end up in our landfills; she just wants to be freed from her suffering. The screaming pig about to be slaughtered does not care if we will eat his meat or throw it away; he just wants to live. But, we have to care because cutting waste in our food supply chain offers us an opportunity to substantially reduce the number of hens who will endure lifelong misery and the number of pigs who have to scream in vain for their lives.

All animals who die for our food die for nothing. Because we can thrive just fine without eating them. So, the tragedy of animal suffering today is no more poignant because hundreds of millions of animals suffer and die only to end up in our landfills instead of on our plates; the tragedy is that this waste simply adds to the already large number of animals we use, abuse and kill for no good purpose.

Why does Gleevec, a leukemia drug that costs $70,000 per year in the United States, cost just $2,500 in India?

It's seemingly simple. Gleevec is under patent in the U.S., but not in India. Accordingly, Novartis, its Swiss-based manufacturer, may prevent competitors from making and selling lower-cost versions of the drug in the U.S., but not in India.

Last week, India's highest court rejected an application to patent Gleevec. While the legal issue in the case is important -- the patentability of modifications to existing drugs under Indian law -- the impact of the decision will likely be broader than just that issue, escalating a long-simmering fight over patented cancer medications in emerging markets.

Rejecting the Gleevec patent application is not the only step that the Indian government has taken to circumvent patents on cancer drugs. Last year, India issued a compulsory license on Nexavar, a late-stage kidney and liver cancer treatment, enabling a local drug firm to produce a generic version of this medicine without the permission of Bayer, the patent holder. India has recently announced plans to grant compulsory licenses on another leukemia drug and two breast cancer therapies.

India is not alone. Indonesia recently issued a compulsory license for a treatment for liver cancer-causing hepatitis B. China and the Philippines amended their pharmaceutical patent laws, making it easier for those governments to take similar measures as India.

Three trends are driving these moves, suggesting more fights over patients, patents, and drug prices are forthcoming.

First, cancer rates are increasing fast in many developing countries. With rising incomes and better access to childhood vaccinations, people are living longer in most developed countries. The major health risks worldwide are now behavioral -- such as tobacco use and household air pollution. The increases in longevity and exposure to behavioral risks are outpacing the improvement in health and regulatory systems in developing countries. As a result, people in these countries are developing cancers younger, in greater numbers, and suffering more chronic disability for cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) than ever seen in developed countries.

Second, access to effective cancer treatment, patented or otherwise, is limited in developing countries. Most patients pay out-of-pocket for most of their medicines, and high prices put drugs beyond their reach. Cancers that are preventable or treatable in wealthy countries are death sentences in the developing world. Cervical cancer is largely preventable in developed countries with the human papillomavirus vaccine; in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, it is the leading cause of cancer death among women. Ninety percent of children with leukemia in high-income countries will be cured, but 90 percent of those with that disease in low-income countries will die from it.

Third, middle-income countries like India have both health and industrial policy reasons for encouraging domestic production of cancer drugs. Cancer rates are growing fastest in these populations, and governments are under pressure to better address the health needs of their ailing citizens. India, China, and other emerging nations are expanding coverage of medicines in their public sectors, but expenditures are rising astonishingly fast. IMS Health projects that annual drug spending in middle-income countries will double between 2012 and 2016, to more than $300 billion. Requiring local production of cancer drugs lowers their cost and also helps domestic manufacturers break into the oncology market, a lucrative therapeutic area in which multinational drug firms are heavily invested.

The measures that India and other countries have taken -- compulsory licensing and adopting strict standards on patentability -- are consistent with its international trade commitments, but will be corrosive to the way that pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) is funded internationally. More countries are likely to follow India's lead. Cancer is not the only NCD on the rise in developing countries, with rates of diabetes, cardiovascular, and chronic respiratory illnesses likewise increasing. U.S. patients will not indefinitely pay a 20-fold increase on the price of medicines that Indian consumers pay.

The fight over cancer drugs in India exposes a fundamental tension in the way we fund pharmaceutical R&D. Patents allow pharmaceutical firms to charge high prices for drugs for a limited period of time to recoup their investment in R&D. This results in more of the drugs that we need, but makes them less accessible to those who need them. The tension becomes greater in the global context because the income disparities between developed and developing country patients are so vast.

This tension in the patent system has been exposed before. A decade ago, courtroom battles and protests over access to patented HIV/AIDS medications in South Africa dominated international headlines. Those fights subsided when multinational companies donated their drugs, charged rock-bottom prices for them in poor countries, or allowed local companies to make generic versions. Yet the emerging fight over cancer medicines threatens to be bigger, as it involves the emerging markets and disease groups on which the multinational drug industry has banked its future.

The international community shows no appetite to agree on new ways to fund pharmaceutical R&D. Talks on alternatives like prize funds and R&D treaties at the World Health Organization have gone nowhere. The United States, Europe, and other developed countries have too much invested in the intellectual property (IP) system. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, IP in the U.S. is worth more than $5 trillion and is responsible for the employment of as many 18 million U.S. workers. On the other hand, countries like India are not about to agree to tightening standards on the flexibilities that the current IP system gives them on patentability and compulsory licensing.

The solutions to fights pitting cancer patients against patents in India are more likely to reside in making the current system of funding pharmaceutical R&D work better.

First, multinational drugs firms can, and should, reduce the cost of R&D, which would enable these firms to better function in the increasingly price-sensitive global marketplace for drugs. Last month, Andrew Witty, the CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, called the often-cited $1 billion price tag for developing a new drug an "industry myth," based on unacceptably high research failure rates. Government programs can help. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Critical Path Initiative is working with the drug industry to improve R&D productivity and could do more with greater funding.

Second, multinational firms must realize that there are low-income segments of the global marketplace that these firms cannot serve, but whose health needs must be met for international support of the pharmaceutical, trade, and IP system to persist. These companies must again be willing to license their patents to emerging country generic manufacturers better able to meet the low-cost, high-volume treatment needs of their poor. Novartis has protested that it was providing free Gleevec to nearly 16,000 patients in India, but more than 300,000 patients had been receiving the drug through local generic producers.

The international patent system has spurred tremendous pharmaceutical innovation. The inventors of Gleevec were awarded both the Lasker Award and the Japan Prize for their contributions to medicine and science. But the patent system must meet the legitimate needs of its constituents to function. If not, accommodations must be made, or last week's fight in the Indian Supreme Court will be simply one of many to come

Two Norwegian teens returned 467,200 kroner (some 62,000 euros, $81,500) they found left on a train by an elderly passenger, Norwegian media reported Thursday.

The pair found the treasure Wednesday in a bag left on the seat of a train running between Oslo and a small town in southeastern Norway.

“When I opened the bag, the first thing I saw were these wads and wads of bills,” one of the teens, identified as 16-year-old Bendik, told local daily Vestby Avis.

“My first thought was to call the police,” he said.

After looking in the bag more closely, the good samaritans found the passport of its owner, a man in his 70s who was expected to pick up his money from the police on Thursday.

Police said they did not suspect any foul play behind the man’s huge quantity of cash, and said they did not know if the two teenagers had been rewarded for their honesty.

With so many types of food products flaunted beneath our eyes, it can be rather difficult to dedicate the right amount of time into studying the labels on each of them.
In the US, almost every package containing food features a label that indicates the serving size and other nutritional information.
Upon a close check, you will discover that, for each “typical portion”, facts related to the content of fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, protein, vitamins, and minerals are calculated.
Nonetheless, one might not be always highly trained to read these labels to their full advantage. To protect yourself, you need to distinguish the good additives from the bad ones. Here are the top 5 most harmful ingredients that scream BEWARE!

BHA

BHA stands for butylated hydroxyanisole. This is a preservative used to keep away rancidity in the foods that include oils. So far, so good. But studies point out that this ingredient is harmful. When ingested by mice and rats, they were the cause of cancer. This has made the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) ban this ingredient, which was “reasonably anticipated to be a carcinogen”.

Parabens

Like me, most of you must have heard this word mentioned in the news or media. Parabens have been defined as synthetic preservatives. Their role would be to inhibit the spread to mold and yeast in food.
But there is a problem with parabens. A recent study performed by the Food Chemical Toxicology has shown that ingesting daily foods enriched with parabens can lead to a staggering decrease in sperm and testosterone production.

Caramel colouring

This ingredient consists of sugar treated with ammonia. This combination is not healthy because it can produce nasty carcinogens. This type of colouring, which is typically found in soda, account for more than 15,000 cancer cases in the US every year.

Castoreum

This is one of the many other “natural ingredients” used to provide flavor to food. Castoreum is not as harmful as the other additives but it is still dangerous. As you may have guessed from the denomination itself, castoreum is a substance made from beavers’ castor sacs, or anal scent glands. In the food industry, they are used to give foods, vanilla or raspberry flavored, a distinctive musky flavor.

Sodium Nitrite

The FDA allows the use of this ingredient only because it inhibits the bacteria that caused botulism and also maintains the pink hue of the processed meat. Nevertheless, once ingested, nitrite can fuse with aminoacids and form nitrosamines. The latter are powerful carcinogenic compounds. So, the best way to reduce the risk of getting sick is to limit your intake.

Natural juices have multiple benefits for our health, speeding our metabolism and having incredible healing properties and cell regeneration.

Vegetable juice- a gold mine for your health

Tomato juice, for example, contains lycopene, combats prostate cancer and reduces blood pressure. The pulp of the vegetable contains fibers, which keeps hunger under control and helps your digestion.
Even if they are bought from the supermarket, vegetables juices have less sugar and calories than natural fruit juices. But pay attention, they can contain a higher concentration of sodium.

Fruit juices from the supermarket are a trap

Even if they are called “natural juices” these types of juices contain a very small amount of juice. The main ingredients are water, sugar, fructose and flavours. A healthier and recommended alternative is to prepare the juice yourself from your favorites fruits and vegetables at home.

Pomegranate juice, a perfect choice for your health

If you don’t have the possibility to prepare a home-made juice, then choose the healthier option from the supermarket. Even if the sugar content it’s still high, pomegranate juice has a high quantity of antioxidants.
According to a recent study, 250 ml of pomegranate juice daily reduces the risk of prostate cancer.

Cranberry juice

There are more smart choices when we are talking about natural juices. Cranberry juice contains vitamin C which strengthens the immune system. It also reduces the risk of urinary infections.

Orange juice

Well, fresh orange juice has become almost a cliché when we are talking about a classic breakfast. And there are reasons why things orange juice is so famous.
Orange juice has a high content of vitamin C and folic acid, vitamin A, B-complex vitamins (B2, B3, B5, B6), vitamin E, antioxidants, minerals: potassium, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium,zinc.
Orange juice lowers cholesterol, improves digestion, combats constipation, improves blood pressure and stimulates the immune system.

Children and natural juices

All children love fruit juices, but doctors set some clear boundaries. Children younger than 6 years should not drink more than 120 to 150 ml of fruit juice per day and for children between 7 and 18 years are recommended between 250-350 ml of juice daily.

Fiddleheads—The young, coiled shoots of ferns that arrive in spring, fiddleheads are packed with potassium, vitamin C, niacin, chlorophyll, and beta carotene. They are delicious sautéed in olive oil with a bit of sea salt.

Asparagus—Asparagus is a nutritional powerhouse replete with vitamins K, C, A, folate, B1, B2, niacin, B6, manganese, potassium, magnesium, and selenium. It helps to cleanse and strengthen the kidneys due to its high content of the mineral potassium. Potassium helps reduce water retention in the body and balance blood pressure. Its rutin content helps maintain healthy blood vessels and aids the prevention of hemorrhoids. Bigger is not better when it comes to asparagus. Choose thin stalks for maximum flavor without the woody texture of thicker stalks. To use, flex the stalk with both hands and it will naturally break off the woody portion of the plant. Use the top portion.

Dandelion Greens—Instead of hunting these greens down to eliminate them from your garden, it’s time to give dandelions the respect they deserve. They strengthen the liver and kidneys by helping to reduce the body’s toxic burden. Their innate bitterness stimulates digestive juices, helping to improve digestion, particularly of fats. Their bitter properties also encourage bowel regularity. Avoid picking dandelion greens near road sides or in areas that have been sprayed with pesticides. The small dandelion leaves are best, particularly early in the season as they are less bitter. Pan-fry them in a little water, olive oil, and garlic. Cover until cooked (usually just a few minutes) and remove from the heat. Add a touch of fresh lemon juice or balsamic vinegar and sprinkle a little sea salt over them for a delicious side-dish.

Peas—Peas are surprisingly nutritious. They are packed with important nutrients like vitamins A, B1, B6, C, K, folate, and beta carotene, as well as the minerals iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc. Their combination of nutrients helps to reduce harmful homocysteine levels in the body that have been linked to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Add peas to soups, stews, curries, or eat them fresh by snapping them out of their pods as a snack.

Nettles—Most people are not aware that this common garden weed is a powerhouse of nutrition and an excellent addition to soups or stews. Nettles are proven to reduce seasonal allergy symptoms , and reduce water retention, while strengthening the liver, adrenal glands (the glands that deal with stress and boost energy), and kidneys. If you’re picking them yourself, be sure to find an experienced herbal guide and to wear thick gloves. Cooking destroys the stinging part of the plant. It is an excellent addition to soups and stews.

Artichokes—Studies show that artichoke helps with irritable bowel syndrome, eases digestive disturbances, and lowers high blood pressure. Globe artichokes contain a phytonutrient called cynarin that supports healthy liver function and boosts the detoxification of harmful chemicals. Recent studies show that artichoke helps with digestive troubles, irritable bowel syndrome, and lowering high blood pressure. To cook artichokes, choose ones that feel heavy, trim off the outer leaves and use only the “heart” or inner portion.

Garlic—Revered as sacred by the ancient Egyptians, garlic has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and even anti-cancer properties. Over 1000 scientific studies uphold garlic’s healing status, due largely to its natural chemical component, allicin.
Rhubarb—Did you know that only one cup of cooked rhubarb contains 348 mg of calcium, making it one of the best sources of usable calcium? Due to its high calcium content, rhubarb helps maintain strong bones and teeth. But, it is also been shown to be helpful against some forms of cancer and for maintaining healthy heart function. Eat only the stems since the leaves are toxic. Stew rhubarb by cutting it into 1-inch pieces, adding a bit of water, and cooking until soft. Sweeten with a bit of stevia or honey.

Leeks—Compounds known as allyl sulphides found in leeks are protective against many types of cancer, especially prostate and colon cancers. The same compounds also reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, while lowering high blood pressure. Leeks also contain zeaxanthin and lutein—two phytonutrients that help prevent macular degeneration and other eye disorders. They are also high in vitamins A and K, and the minerals iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus.

A woman who’s fighting City Hall over a whopping parking ticket bill, has lost a round in court.
Last November, WBBM’s Regine Schlesinger reported about Jennifer Fitzgerald, a single mother from Chicago.

She says the record $105,000 in tickets on her $600 clunker were incurred after her former boyfriend abandoned the car for nearly three years in an employee parking lot at O’Hare Airport.
Police kept ticketing the car over and over and over again.

She sued the city, but a judge has dismissed the lawsuit and urged both sides to reach a settlement.
The website, theexpiredmeter.com, reports the city offered to reduce what she owes to under $2,500 but Fitzgerald says she still can’t afford to pay.

"You can use this system to modify approximately everything related to the navigation of the plane... that includes a lot of nasty things"

Hugo Teso, a security researcher from German consultancy agency N.Runs, claims he can hijack an airplane's navigation systems using a smartphone app, radio transmitter, and flight software he purchased off eBay.

Speaking at this week's Hack in the Box conference in Amsterdam, Tesso "employed a Samsung Galaxy smartphone to demonstrate how he could adjust the heading, altitude, and speed of a virtual airplane by sending it false navigation data," reports InformationWeek.

"You can use this system to modify approximately everything related to the navigation of the plane," Teso tells Forbes. "That includes a lot of nasty things."

The smartphone app he developed, nicknamed PlaneSploit, takes advantage of a plane's Aircraft Communications Addressing and Report System , which uses short transmissions to beam data between aircraft and satellites. The problem, says Teso, is that "ACARS has no security at all." Anyone can transmit fake data to alter an aircraft's trajectory.

The airplane has no means to know if the messages it receives are valid or not. So they accept them and you can use them to upload data to the airplane that triggers these vulnerabilities. And then it's game over. What kind of damage are we talking about, exactly? Here's Computerworld with the rundown:

Once he was into the airplane's computer, he was able to manipulate the steering of a Boeing jet while the aircraft was in "autopilot" mode. The only countermeasure available to pilots, if they even realized they were being hacked, would be to turn off autopilot. Yet many planes no longer have old analog instruments for manual flying. Teso said he could take control of most all airplane systems; he could even cause the plane to crash by setting it on a collision course with another plane. He could also give the passengers a serious adrenaline rush by making the oxygen masks drop down.[Computerworld]
Honeywell, one of the aerospace companies behind the ACARS system, says that it is taking the alleged exploit very seriously, and confirmed that it's been in talks with N.Runs to review Teso's research. However, a Honeywell spokesperson says Teso's ability to commandeer an aircraft remotely may be overblown.

The software is "normally available as an online pilot training aid," a Honeywell rep tells InformationWeek. "In other words, what Teso did was hack a PC-based training version of [the flight management system] that's used to simulate the flight environment, not the actual certified flight software installed on an aircraft."

Teso says his firm has alerted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Administration (EASA), and is working with them to fix the vulnerabilities.

After a confrontation with an 8-year-old girl and other activists, along with mounting opposition from fellow Republicans, state Sen. Stacey Campfield dropped his effort to tie welfare benefits to grades, asking that the legislation be held for further study.

Campfield withdrew his proposal to reduce payments to families whose children are failing in school before a vote could be taken on the Senate floor Thursday. But the measure appeared to be headed toward defeat after several senators — including a few former supporters — expressed doubts.

Before Thursday’s session, activists organized a demonstration in the corridors of Legislative Plaza and the state Capitol. An 8-year-old girl confronted Campfield with a petition signed by opponents of the bill, and a choir of about 60 people, including some in clerical garb, sang “Jesus Loves the Little Children” outside the Senate chamber as lawmakers filed in.

Campfield walked away from the confrontation, saying repeatedly that he didn’t think children should be used as political props. But it was a long walk, and the confrontation extended over several minutes as video cameras recorded the back-and-forth.

On the Senate floor, Campfield asked after 40 minutes of debate to have the bill sent to a committee that will study the legislation this summer. The move spared Campfield from potential defeat and some of his fellow Republicans from casting politically dicey votes.

Campfield expressed no misgivings about bringing the legislation and showed little disappointment in the outcome.

“Did I know what the final result was going to be? No, I never do,” he said. “I got a lot of good feedback from people. ... I think a lot of people were really close (to supporting it) but were just looking for a little bit more.”

About the bill

Senate Bill 132 — named the Education to End Poverty Act by its supporters and dubbed the Starve the Children bill by its opponents — would have reduced Temporary Assistance to Needy Families payments to the families of children who fail a grade unless their parents take corrective action. Those include attending an eight-hour parenting class, meeting twice with teachers, enrolling a child in summer school or arranging tutoring.

Families would see their payments, which average about $185 a month, cut by about 30 percent until they demonstrated that they had completed at least one of those tasks. Campfield had said rules would be drafted to allow families already complying with the directives to keep their benefits.

Campfield and other backers of the bill said its broader purpose would be to spur parents to get involved in their children’s education. Foes said it would add to the burdens of families that are struggling already.

Campfield’s request to put the bill off ended debate on one of the most controversial pieces of legislation before the General Assembly this year.

The proposal had earned attention nationwide, with protests intensifying as it moved through the legislature. Jon Stewart, host of “The Daily Show,” asked whether Campfield is a villain from a Dickens novel.

Opponents had a spectacle planned Thursday morning. Eight-year-old Aamira Fetuga and her mother, Rasheedat, presented Campfield with a petition signed by 2,500 opponents of the bill as the Knoxville Republican left a caucus meeting to head to the Senate floor.

“How are you? Thanks for coming,” Campfield said, taking the petition. “I love it when people use children as props.”

He then set off on the three-minute walk to the Senate chamber. Rasheedat Fetuga, founder of child advocacy group Gideon’s Army, which organized the protest along with Clergy for Justice and Stand for Children, shouted after him that her daughter was not a prop and that he works for the people. Aamira enumerated her worries.

“I’m worried about the lights being cut off,” she said.

“That won’t happen as long as you have a decent parent who can show up for two conferences,” Campfield replied.

Greeting them along the way were people holding “Stacey Campfield’s Walk of Shame” signs.

'A slight detour'

Campfield’s colleagues were more polite when the bill came up on the day’s agenda. Several commended Campfield for trying to get parents more involved in the schools, but they questioned whether his plan was the best way to go about it.

“You can say that withholding the money from the parents doesn’t harm the child, but you’re fooling yourself,” said Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Memphis.

Six other Republican senators said they would not vote for the bill — not quite enough to defeat it but enough to throw its fate into doubt. That group included state Sens. Steve Dickerson of Nashville and Doug Overbey of Maryville, both of whom had supported the bill in committee.

Campfield retreated. By asking to have the bill studied further, he preserved the ability to bring it up again next year.

He told reporters afterward that he intends to do so.

“To me, it’s not a dead issue at all,” he said. “This may be a slight detour, but honestly I think this could hopefully make it even better.”

He shrugged off the protests.

“It is what it is,” he said. “There’s always going to be detractors.”

Some people use cleansing tea for weight maintenance, strengthening their digestive system, and other intentions. Holy tea is a detoxifying blend of herbs formulated from natural ingredients. Its intended use is to clean out the digestive tract and detoxify the body.

The main ingredient that gives holy tea its reported benefits is holy thistle, a medicinal herb that has been used for thousands of years. The drink's name is based on this herb. Other ingredients may include malva leaves, persimmon leaves, blessed thistle, marshmallow, chamomile, ginger, myrrh, and papaya. These ingredients are generally considered edible and safe for most people.

Holy tea is sometimes called miracle tea. Some people claim that it has gentle but powerful effects that include cleaning out the colon, removing parasitic organisms, curing stomach ailments, promoting weight loss, purifying the blood, and other medicinal properties. It is considered a health tonic that works as a whole body cleanser.

People who have used holy tea report experiencing a variety of health and beauty benefits. Clearer, younger-looking, softer, and healthier skin may be a result from drinking holy tea. Drinkers of miracle tea report experiencing increased focus and mental clarity, better overall health, increased memory, increased energy, and a comfortable outlook of their own bodies. Some even report having a happier, more optimistic outlook on life in general.

Several organs are said to be cleansed during the tea's detoxification process. These include the kidneys, lungs, and liver. Makers of the tea claim that it can also help increase the absorption of minerals within the body, as well as aid in the removal of certain toxins from the organs and blood. Another benefit is said to be the reduction or removal of body odor originating in the sweat glands.

A typical dose of holy tea consists of two eight ounce (237 milliliter) cups of the beverage. This amount is usually ingested twice daily. Its detoxification benefits are provided through a colon cleansing effect. Due to this effect, bowel movements while drinking the tea will usually regulate to two to three per day.

Like any other herbal mixture, holy tea may not be safe for certain people. Women who are nursing or pregnant, children, and elderly people should consult a physician prior to taking this or any herbal formulas. The drink may also produce averse effects if combined with certain medications or birth control. It should not be taken within two hours of another medicine.

According to a Columbia University survey, more than half of women ages 25 to 49 routinely withhold information from their physicians. And really, who hasn't stretched the truth just a little when pressed about personal details, whether it's how often you floss or when you last hooked up with a new guy?

"People don't want to be scolded or judged," says Barbara M. Korsch, M.D., a professor at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and author of The Intelligent Patient's Guide to the Doctor-Patient Relationship. "And often, they're simply embarrassed to talk about subjects they see as taboo." But honesty is the best policy at the doctor's office: If you've made one of the following misleading statements, you could be seriously sabotaging your health care.

1. Half-truth: "I don't smoke"

Truth: You bum a cigarette from a colleague now and then.

Consequences: More than one in 10 people who take at least an occasional drag hide the fact from their physicians, according to a recent survey by the American Legacy Foundation, an anti-tobacco group. But if you're not going through a pack a day, you're not really a smoker, right? Wrong. "There's no safe level of exposure, and even 'social smokers' are at risk for many conditions," says Steven Nissen, M.D., chair of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. In fact, research has shown that puffing just one to four cigarettes per day raises your odds of having a major heart-related event nearly threefold. Smoking is also linked to sinus and upper respiratory infections, emphysema, stroke, and, of course, lung cancer-so some screening tests may be in order.

If you fess up, your doctor will think twice about prescribing hormone-based contraception (like the pill), because you're more likely to suffer a blood clot or stroke. And if you get a bad cold, she may want to monitor you, because people who light up are more apt to develop pneumonia. Yes, your admission might lead to a lecture on quitting-but you could also walk away with some good advice about how to do it!

2. Half-truth: "I drink occasionally"

Truth: You frequently enjoy wine with dinner and often partake in several rounds during happy hour.

Consequences: Technically that would make you a heavy drinker, defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a woman who averages more than one alcoholic beverage per day. And if you knock back four to five at one time-as one in six Americans do-you're binge drinking, which increases your chance of developing heart and liver disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and a host of gastrointestinal and memory problems, says Eric Braverman, M.D., founder of PATH Medical Center in New York City. Heavy alcohol consumption also puts you at risk for addiction, and quaffing more than three drinks a day may hike your breast cancer odds by 30 percent.

Along with the dangers of taking in unhealthy amounts of booze alone, it can also be problematic when used in conjunction with many meds-even OTC ones. For example, in chronic imbibers, taking just four to five extra-strength acetaminophen pills in one day can cause liver damage, and mixing certain antibiotics with alcohol can lead to scary side effects like dizziness and rapid heart rate. If your doc knows your background, he can help you steer clear of bad interactions.

3. Half-truth: "I eat a healthy diet"

Truth: The scale says "healthy," but the lemonade-cayenne "detox" concoction peeking out of your tote suggests otherwise.

Consequences: "Cleanses and other extreme diets can interfere with kidney function and protein levels," says Wanda Filer, M.D., a spokesperson for the American Academy of Family Physicians. "And they may cause vitamin deficiencies, dehydration, bloodsugar imbalances, and loss of muscle mass."
If you're struggling to drop pounds, your doctor can help you choose a safer way to do it or refer you to an expert she trusts (like a registered dietitian). At the very least, being honest can help you prevent a misdiagnosis. Korsch tells the story of someone who came in with intestinal problems. "I was about to prescribe steroid medication when the patient admitted to following a raw, vegan diet," she says. "It was a simple nutritional problem rather than a medical one."

4. Half-truth: "I practice safe sex"

Truth: You sometimes skip condoms and have even been treated for an STD before.

Consequences: Aspects of your sexual history, including the number of partners you've had and having an STD in your past, are among the top things women routinely lie about to their physicians. But hiding your previous and/or current sexual behaviors can be dangerous. Left untreated, STDs like chlamydia and gonorrhea can lead to infertility, and HPV can turn into cervical cancer-which takes the lives of 4,000 women each year. The good news is that promptly addressing these conditions can help you avoid the fallout.

"You don't have to divulge the exact number of people you've slept with if you're feeling shy," says Donnica Moore, M.D., founder and president of Sapphire Women's Health Group, a health education firm in Far Hills, NJ. "But if you've had even one new partner since your last exam, ask to be screened." Make sure to mention any STDs you may have been treated for in the past too, as it can affect your care. For example, if you're having trouble getting pregnant or are experiencing painful cramping, your doctor should know to check for internal scar tissue that an infection could have left behind.

5. Half-truth: "I don't have digestive issues"

Truth: You experience embarrassing intestinal trouble, such as gas, bloating, or constipation, on a regular basis.

Consequences: Of the one in four Americans who suffer from gastrointestinal distress, 70 percent are women. "Our colons are longer, and they twist and turn like a Slinky, which makes it harder for food to get through," says Robynne Chutkan, M.D., founder of the Digestive Center for Women and assistant professor at Georgetown Hospital in Washington, D.C. That's one reason women are more prone to irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS (characterized by chronic constipation and/or diarrhea)-a condition that can often be controlled with dietary changes.

Switching up what you're eating could also make a huge difference if you suffer from celiac disease (an adverse reaction to gluten) or lactose intolerance (difficulty digesting milk). Sometimes these symptoms also warrant testing for more serious underlying conditions, says Chutkan. Bloating, for instance, could signal ovarian cancer; persistent stomach cramps could indicate an autoimmune disorder like Crohn's disease; and blood in the stool is a possible sign of colon cancer. To put your mind at rest, give your M.D. the disconcerting details. Trust us-she's heard it all.

6. Half-truth: "I'm not taking any medications"

Truth: You pop vitamins and herbal supplements without giving them much thought.

Consequences: "When we ask patients, 'What drugs are you taking?' they don't list herbs because they don't think of them as powerful," Filer says, "but they can be." So you may be trying out biotin for strong hair and nails like your mom recommends, the açaí that your gym buddy loves for weight loss, or the kava your sister swears is as relaxing as a glass of wine, without understanding the impact they could have on your body. For example, herbs like kava and comfrey can damage your liver, while vitamin E can cause bruising and bleeding. And if you mix supplements with medication, you could end up making them weaker or stronger. If you combine St. John's wort with an antidepressant, for instance, the effects could be magnified, Filer notes. Meanwhile, a multi with vitamin K, which increases blood clotting, could interfere with blood thinners.

The health benefits of dandelion include relief from liver disorders, diabetes, urinary disorders, acne, jaundice, cancer and anemia. It also helps in maintaining bone health, skin care and weight loss.
Perhaps dandelion is more popular as an ornamental flowering plant than as a medicine. The flowers of dandelion look brilliant and can be seen in various gardens and parks. There are many varieties of dandelion, but the common dandelion is scientifically known as Taraxacum Officinale. Dandelion, which literally translates into "lion's tooth" in French, is rich in vitamin-A, C, iron and calcium and detoxifiers which explains its use in medicines. We shall find out what we can do with dandelion apart from using it to decorate our gardens and rooms.

Health benefits of dandelion

The health benefits of dandelion include the following:
Bone Health: Dandelion is rich in calcium, which is essential for growth and strength of bones, and is rich is anti oxidants like vitamin-C and Luteolin, which protect bones from age related damages due to free radicals, such as weakening and loss in density.

Liver Disorders: Dandelion can help liver in many ways. While its anti oxidants such as vitamin-C and Luteolin keeps it functioning in full gear and protect it from aging, other compounds in it help treating hemorrhage in liver, maintaining proper flow of bile etc. It also stimulates liver and promotes digestion.

Diabetes: Dandelion juice can help diabetic patients by stimulating production of insulin from pancreas and thus help keeping low the blood sugar level. Since it diuretic in nature, it makes the diabetic patients urinate frequently which too helps remove the extra sugar from the body. Moreover, diabetics are prone to renal problems. The diuretic properties of dandelion can help removing the sugar deposition in the kidneys through urine. Moreover, dandelion juice is slightly bitter to taste, which also effectively lowers sugar level in the blood, as all bitter substances do.

Urinary Disorders: Dandelion is highly diuretic in nature. Thereby it helps clean deposits of toxic substances in the kidneys and the urinary system. Moreover, its disinfectant properties inhibit microbial growth in the urinary system. In fact, the diuretic properties of dandlion are so strong that in French its is also called "pissenlit" which means “urinate in bed”.

Skin Care: Dandelion sap, also known as dandelion milk, is useful in treating skin diseases which are caused due to microbial and fungal infection, as this sap is highly alkaline and have germicidal, insecticidal and fungicidal properties. Care should be taken while using this sap as to avoid its contact with eyes. This sap can be used on itches, ringworm, eczema etc. without risk.

Acne: Dandelion juice is a good detoxifier, diuretic, stimulant and anti oxidant. These four properties make it a good treatment for acne. Before we know how it treats acne, we must know what causes it. Acne is caused mainly during teens, when the body undergoes many physiological and hormonal changes. The hormones, which bring about changes in the body, if do not maintain proper ratio among themselves or are not regulated properly, tend to deposit as toxic substances in the body which tend to come out with sweat through the sweat glands or sebaceous glands on the skin. Now, during these changes, these glands secret more oils which, mixed with dead skin, block the pores and the secretion is obstructed. Due to this, these toxic substances cannot escape and result in acne. This is further worsened by the microbial infections on the effected places. Dandelion juice, being a stimulant, diuretic and detoxifier in nature, can help regulate proper secretion of hormones, increases sweating and widens up the pores facilitating removal of toxics through sweat and also through urine, as it is diuretic too. Its sap, if externally applied on acne, can inhibit microbial infection.

Weight Loss: Our urine contains up to 4% of fats. So, more we urinate, more water and fats are lost from the body. Dandelion, being diuretic in nature, promotes urinating and thereby helping lose weight without side effects.

Cancer: Dandelion is high in anti oxidants such as vitamin-C and Luteolin which reduce the free radicals (very much responsible for causing cancer) in the body, thereby reducing the risk of cancer. It also detoxifies the body, which also helps protect from cancer.

Jaundice: Jaundice is primarily a disorder of the liver in which it starts over producing bile, which ultimately gets into the blood stream damaging the whole metabolism. The excess of bile is also reflected through color of the skin, eyes etc. The treatment of jaundice includes three main steps. First, checking production of bile; second, removal of excess bile from the body and third, fighting the viral infection. Dandelion is very helpful in all of these. It promotes liver health and regulates bile production. Being diuretic in nature, it promotes urination through which the excess bile is removed. Finally, being anti oxidant and disinfectant in nature due to presence of vitamin-C and Luteolin, it fights viral infection too. It is more beneficial if taken with sugarcane juice, since it replaces the sugar in the body which is very much lowered due to action of bile, causing extreme fatigue and weakness.

Gall Bladder Disorders: Dandelion is very beneficial for gall bladder and liver, as it improves their functioning, protects them from ill effects of oxidants and infections and regulates secretions from them.

Anemia: Dandelion has pretty good iron, vitamin and protein content. While iron is the integral part of hemoglobin in the blood, vitamins (particularly vitamin-B) and protein are essential for formation of red blood cells and certain other components of the blood. This way dandelion can help anemic people.

High Blood Pressure: Urinating is an effective way of lowering blood pressure. In fact, most of the modern drugs for lowering blood pressure are based on this phenomenon. Dandelion juice, being diuretic in nature, increases urinating, both in quantity and frequency and thus helps lower high blood pressure. The fiber in dandelion is also helpful in reducing cholesterol and thereby assists lowering of blood pressure, since cholesterol is one of the factors which make blood pressure high. Then there is potassium, which is in plenty in dandelion juice and is very effective in lowering blood pressure by replacing sodium.

Other Benefits: Dandelion can also be used as a vegetable and is a good source of fiber. It promotes digestion. In old days it was also used to treat scurvy, due to presence of vitamin-C in it. It also has healing effects on dyspepsia, infections in the stomach, intestines and urinary system.

Just a little nutmeg grated into soup or sauce, or a few drops of nutmeg essential oil rubbed on the skin, can do a world of good for your health. Take a look at the healing benefits of this rich, aromatic spice.

Nutmeg aids sleep. When we were children, our grandmother would give us a glass of milk with a pinch of powedered nutmeg. “It will help you sleep better,” she would say. And it did.
A dusting of nutmeg adds aroma and enhances the taste of your food. It also gives you trace minerals that keep the immune system strong. Potassium, calcium, iron and manganese are among key minerals found in nutmeg.
Just a little nutmeg, ground and mixed with water or honey into a paste, can make skin look clearer and brighter within a few days, reducing scars and alleviating acne. You can also add nutmeg to your face scrub for the same benefits.
For centuries, nutmeg has been used as a medicinal spice that brings relief from digestive problems. So grate a little nutmeg into your soups and stews for a boost of flavor and a healthy gut!
The star spice in dental care has traditionally been clove. But few might know that nutmeg too has proven antibacterial properties that protect the teeth and gums. Nutmeg oil has eugenol, which brings relief from toothache. That’s why you often find it listed among the ingredients of toothpaste. Combined with cinnamon, it makes a powerful antiseptic, antimicrobial paste.
Nutmeg keeps the brain sharp! It contains a natural organic compound called myristicin, which is known to shield your brain against degenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s.
The essential oil of nutmeg brings relief from muscular and joint pain. Apply it to a localized area of swelling and discomfort, and feel the pain melt away.
In holistic medicine, nutmeg is often prescribed to rev up blood circulation and treat kidney infections. Traditional healers believe it also strengthens the liver.

A note of caution: It is almost impossible to overuse nutmeg, because all you need is a tiny dusting of it to reap its taste and nutrition benefits. Even so, I must state that overuse of nutmeg is known to cause palpitations, sweating, hallucination and other discomforts, so do use this wonder spice in moderation.

A New York state high school English teacher who asked students to imagine they were Nazis and give reasons why Jews were evil could be reprimanded or dismissed, aschool district superintendent said on Friday.

City School District of Albany Superintendent Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard apologized at a news conference and pledged officials would personally express regret to Albany High School students who were given the assignment and their families.

"This assignment for some of our students at Albany High School was completely unacceptable. It displayed a level of insensitivity that we will not tolerate in our school community," Vanden Wyngaard said.

"I'm deeply apologetic to all of our students, to all of our families and the entire community," she said, appearing with representatives of the Anti-Defamation League and the United Jewish Federation(UJF) of Northeastern New York at the UJF office in Albany.

The teacher, who Vanden Wyngaard declined to name, was removed from class for now and faced disciplinary action.

"It can go anywhere from a letter of counsel, to a letter of reprimand, all the way through to termination. There is a broad spectrum," Vanden Wyngaard said.

A letter would go out to all families in the school district, she said.

Vanden Wyngaard first issued an apology through the Times Union on Thursday night after the newspaper reported the assignment on its website. She responded with "absolute horror" when a parent presented her with the assignment on Thursday.

The teacher gave three classes of 10th grade students a persuasive writing assignment as part of a class project to demonstrate how Nazis thought and showed their loyalty to the Third Reich before World War Two.

"You need to pretend that I am a member of the government in Nazi Germany, and you are being challenged to consider that you are loyal to the Nazis by writing an essay convincing me that Jews are evil and the source of our problems," the assignment instructions said.

One-third of the students refused to complete the task, which was assigned following a class review of Nazi propaganda and directed them to imagine that their teacher was a Nazi official, said Ron Lesko, a spokesman for the district.

Students were asked for an introduction, conclusion and a list of arguments and were advised, "Please remember your life (here in Nazi Germany in the 30s) depends on it!"

The words are written in crayon, in the haphazard bumpiness of a child's scrawl.

"I am willing to give up some of my constitutional rights in order to be safer or more secure."

They're the words that Florida father Aaron Harvey was stunned to find his fourth-grade son had written, after a lesson in school about the Constitution.

Aaron Harvey's son wrote as part of a school lesson, "I am willing to give up some of my constitutional rights in order to be safer or more secure." TheBlaze has redacted the child's name.

Harvey's son attends Cedar Hills Elementary in Jacksonville, Fla. Back in January, a local attorney came in to teach the students about the Bill of Rights. But after the attorney left, fourth-grade teacher Cheryl Sabb dictated the sentence to part of the class and had them copy it down, he said.

The paper sat unnoticed in Harvey's son's backpack for several months until last week, when his son's mother almost threw it away. The words caught her eye in the trash, and she showed it to Harvey, who said he was at a loss for words. He asked his son, who said Sabb had spoken the sentence out loud and told them to write it down. Harvey said he asked some of his son's classmates and got a similar answer.

"Everybody has their opinions," Harvey told TheBlaze. "I am strongly for proper education, for the freedom of thought so you can form your own opinion and have your own free speech in the future... [but] the education is, 'when was the Constitution drafted, when was it ratified, why did this happen, why did we choose to do this...all these things, why did they particular choose those specific rights to be in our Bill of Rights.'"

Kandra Albury, a spokeswoman for Duvall County Public Schools, which includes Cedar Hills, told TheBlaze she didn't know what prompted Sabb to have students write the sentence.

She said the principal had fielded one parent's concern about the lesson in January, but it wasn't Harvey. She said Thursday the district and principal were "checking into" what had happened.

Harvey, rather than asking the school for answers when he found the paper, wrote his concerns in an email, which was then forwarded to TheBlaze. He said he did it that way because he wasn't sure he would have gotten a straightforward answer if he asked the school directly.

He said he just wants to see a "proper, unbiased education" system and doesn't want any kind of religion or politics brought into the classroom.

"I believe in our Constitution. I am a veteran, I served for six-and-a-half years proudly and I served to protect our rights," he said. "Now whenever I have someone coming in and trying to pollute my child's mind with biased opinions...there's no education in that."

Fox News reporter Jana Winter returns to the court house after a midday recess to face Arapahoe County District Judge William Sylvester regarding evidence in the case of Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes at the Arapahoe County Justice Center in Centennial, Colo. on April 1, 2013. Winter is facing contempt charges for not revealing her sources that broke a gag order in the case.

The attorney for the Fox News reporter facing possible jail time for refusing to reveal her sources in a report about the Colorado movie theater massacre said her client knows the consequences of not talking. And a media expert tells us the implications in the case are far-reaching.

Jana Winter exclusively reported days after the Aurora shooting that suspect James Holmes mailed a notebook "full of details about how he was going to kill people" to a University of Colorado psychiatrist before the attack. Winter cited confidential law enforcement sources for her report, and attorneys for Holmes want to know who they were -- arguing they violated a gag order and could jeopardize Holmes' right to a fair trial.

Winter has said she will not testify and give up her sources, and says Colorado's reporter shield law and the First Amendment protect her from having to do so. But if that doesn't hold up, it could mean jail time.

"She knows what the potential consequences are of being compelled to give up confidential news-gathering information and refusing to do it," Winter's attorney Dori Ann Hanswirth told TheBlaze in an interview Friday. "She can't give up who her sources are because if she gives up her source, then no journalist in the country is going to be able to definitively convince a source that 'journalists just don't do that sort of thing and therefore you can trust me with your information.'"

At issue is whether the judge decides the notebook Holmes mailed should be evidence against him. If the notebook is deemed to be communication between a patient and a mental health professional, it would be considered privileged and therefore inadmissible in court -- and the issue of forcing Winter to testify who told her about it would likely be over, Hanswirth said.

Judge Carlos Samour Jr. said Wednesday he was not ruling on the notebook issue yet, and said Winter did not have to return to Colorado until a hearing Aug. 19 -- staving off any potential jail time at least until then.

"Even if the judge does rule that the notebook is admissible, that doesn't mean necessarily that Jana will have to testify," Hanswirth said. That's because Holmes' attorneys would have to prove the information she holds would be "directly relevant to a substantial issue in the proceeding" and therefore an exception to Colorado's reporter shield law.

Shield laws to protect journalists vary by state -- there is no all-encompassing federal law. Hanswirth said there's case law in Colorado that's on Winter's side, but it's not as "robust or wide-bodied" as in, say, New York, which has a stronger shield law and is where Winter lives.

Hanswirth believes there is no way that the names of her client's sources are critical at all to the case against Holmes.

"We have a trial that's not scheduled to begin until February of 2014 -- by that time it will have been a year and half or so [since her reporting] -- it's really hard to understand how whatever conversation Jana Winter had with people back in July would really have any relationship to the issues in the case," she said. "And because of that tenuous connection between information she had and the case, it's even more troubling that Holmes is trying to make her disclose her confidential news-gathering."

A First Amendment issue

Kelly McBride, an ethics faculty member at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla., thinks it's more about the First Amendment than the shield law. When the Founding Fathers enshrined freedom of speech and a free press in the Bill the Rights, they specifically guaranteed the press -- journalists -- the ability to be critical of the government.

"When a government tries to force a reporter to reveal her sources for information, that is interpreted by the press as a hostile act meant to curtail the freedom of the press," McBride told TheBlaze.

The shield law, McBride said, creates a special class for journalists, but First Amendment protections for the press can extend to anyone, particularly given new technology and the proliferation of blogging.

"If a court did send Ms. Winter to jail...I would think that journalists everywhere would just go nuts," McBride said.

Anti-Fox bias?

There is the question of why it took so long for Winter's case to gain widespread attention; until this week, coverage was largely limited to Fox News itself. Judith Miller, a Fox News contributor and former New York Times reporter who spent 85 days in jail in 2005 for refusing to give up the name of a source, said an anti-Fox bias was to blame.

"If she worked for mainstream newspapers or CNN, I think the case would have been covered," Miller told BuzzFeed last week. "There's a certain reluctance because it's Fox News."

Starting Monday, coverage about Winter's case appeared in many of the major news outlets, including the Times and on CNN, where new anchor Jake Tapper demanded to know, "Where's the public outrage?"

But McBride said she's not convinced there was an anti-Fox sentiment in play, and thinks the general news blackout had more to do with the unbelievable nature of the case.

"The main thing I think is most people, when they look at the facts of the case, said 'oh, this couldn't possibly go anywhere," she said.

Hanswirth, Winter's lawyer, seconds that assessment.

"Probably people were thinking, 'oh that's never gonna happen, no judge is going to make her testify about that, that doesn't happen in the United States," she said. "I think that once it came to light that this was a potential reality, that the media indeed started to pay the appropriate attention to this matter."

If it goes much further, Winter's situation could have grave consequences for news and news-gatherers, Hanswirth said.

"As a society, we value our freedom of speech very highly...anytime somebody interferes with the relationship between a journalist and a source it is bad for journalism as a whole. It makes sources scared to come forward, it makes editors fearful, and it kind of chokes off the flow of news," Hanswirth said.

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