# 14 P.T. Barnum Would Approve Kevin Trudeaus's Ways !

Did a search on the net to see what all the fuss is about regards Kevin Trudeau's two "Cures" books. From what I can find Trudeau is one slick operator. He admits to being a convicted two time felon and has been in prison, yup. He's in all kinds of FTC and FDA trouble, yup. He thinks like all government agencies, if you have a buck in your pocket, I want it, yup. He is supposedly well off financially, partially due to scams, yup. He admits that he is cheat, yup. In his second book he states," some truths are sprinkled in to spice things up", and that the book is for entertainment purposes only, yup. Hmm, reminds me of numerous local, state and federal politicians, with the same credentials as Trudeau's. Read on for the good, the bad, and the ugly.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Latest statistics (2002) on cancer, states that 1500 Americans will die every day of 2002, from cancer.
http://www.cancure.org/statistics.htm
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Researching and Reducing Cancer-Related Health Disparities One in four deaths in the United States is attributable to cancer, and one in three Americans will eventually develop some form of cancer. Each day, 3,400 people in America are diagnosed with cancer and another 1,500 die from the disease. But the burden of cancer is too often greater for the poor, ethnic minorities, and the uninsured than for the general population.
http://crchd.cancer.gov/
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Between 1971 and 2005, the age-standardised incidence of cancer increased by around 21 per cent in males and 44 per cent in females.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=915
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Not to worry though, these deaths, sad as it is, was not due to any of Trudeau's books. Of course nothing is said about the chemo and radiation treatments that failed. Mostly it's stated that the cancer was to advanced for effective treatment. Now comes along people like Trudeau the delusional fraudster, daring to publish a few tomes on health and in taking responsibility for and care of your own health. How dare he do that. Well if everything in his books were pure garbage, I'd have to agree. That's not the case though. There are many chapters of good solid advice on gaining and regaining good health. Regards weight loss diet information, there are thousands of offerings, they will work for some , but not for all. $o whats new here! I like the phrase the TV doctor, Dr House uses, "everybody lies". So Trudeau lies, our government lies, the Cancer Society lies, most companies lie, advertising people lie, doctors flavor the truth, I even flavor it once in a while. Fairly broad brush painting a nasty scenario. Of course you realize I'm just joking, everyone is actually honest and above board in all their dealings, right! Use common sense folks. If your using 10 / 20 prescription drugs a day, and have been doctoring for years, maybe it's time to check out a snake oil salesman. There is toxic poisons being dispensed in the world every day, via our food chain, and approved by the powers that be! But that's big money so don't rock the boat. I think that there is sanity and common sense creeping in, but it is a slow tedious process.I don't know, you check it out. At least I read the books.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

New Statistics Show Increase, Not Decline, in Cancer Rates By SHARON BEGLEY Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
America isn't winning the war on cancer after all.
Contrary to optimistic reports from the National Cancer Institute showing the incidence of several devastating cancers has leveled off or even declined in recent years, rates for at least some of those cancers has been rising, according to a new analysis by NCI scientists.
http://www.chelationtherapyonline.com/PreventCancer/p10.htm
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/electro.html
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"England is the most unhealthy country in Europe and America is the most unhealthy country in the world," Oliver told a Reuters reporter. He nonetheless acknowledged that he did not expect to repeat his British campaign for healthier school food in America, noting that as an "English boy in America, they might not appreciate my honesty".
Not that Oliver is necessary wrong in his observations. The number of overweight Americans has tripled since 1980, according to new figures from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the obesity rate among children and young people is expected to hit 20 per cent by the end of this decade.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=printer_friendly&forum=102&topic_id=2616002
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._T._Barnum
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

# 13 Talkers Thoughts on Common Sense and All Wars

When I see numbers in the billions, its difficult to comprehend just how large those numbers are, now toss in trillions and I'm totally lost. So easy to become inured to the actual meaning of large numbers, where human life, dollars or the earth is involved. Massive public outrage builds rapidly under certain conditions, like a single murder, rape or robbery. Yet when fathers, sons and daughters in their prime of life, are being killed and maimed in wars by the hundreds or thousands, what happens? Where is that same massive public outrage! Ah, the large numbers got you didn't it. So overwhelming that you really don't comprehend the magnitude of it. Apathy takes a hold and only a few good men and women raise the alarm.
Are we listening?
Maybe I'm just to naive, ignorant, or plain stupid to see the whole picture, as regards the value of wars and the waste of human lives, with the vast amounts of money used to accomplish that act, while the true needs of a country suffer.
Human lives lost due to any wars reflects the "my dad can beat your dad" mentality that exists in some nations and their leaders, along with:
The mentality of "my beliefs or your punished".
The mentality of " fungible people".
The mentality of "profit at any cost".
The mentality of "pork barrel".
The mentality of " race superiority".
The mentality as some regard "whistleblowers".
The mentality of "wrong color skin".
The mentality of "wrong religion".
Many more are there though, give it thought.
So, are these easily correctable? No. Correctable, yes, it is a doable process using common sense thinking. Is God going to help you! No. We messed it up, so why ask God to correct the situation. Until corrected common sense thinking is applied, we would revert right back to messing it all up again. Lets start with correcting it now, using common sense application.
OK now, so a war may be neccessary with the attendent loss of life, and the vast amounts of money spent in the process. But is it truly a valid common sense application by "good men"!
Or is it the hands of a few evil men, in the pockets of the many good men at work! What allows the few evil minded men to take power over the many good men! "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)
Ah yes the ingenuity and foibles of the human mind.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The numbers here may not be precise, but do give perspective of lives of men, women and children destroyed, talent lost, and families left grieving.

World War I mortality, between 13 and 15 million.
The Armenian Genocide of 1915, 1 million
The Russian civil war of 1918–1922
Polish-Soviet conflict towards its end, deaths of over 12.5 million
in Russia alone.
The Chaco War, between Paraguay and Bolivia, 1928–1933,
approximately 3 million deaths.
The Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939, 600,000 deaths.
Various colonial wars, approximately 1.5 million deaths.
World War II, deaths of between 55 and 65 million.
Wars/conflicts between 1945 and 2000, deaths of 40 million.
Soviet collectivization and "dekulakization" 16 million to 50 million,
though some included in World War II totals in these estimates.
Deaths under Mao, between 16 million and 30 million.
Adding in a variety of other pogroms and civil wars, he comes to a final estimate of 216 million.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Major mass killings of the Twentieth Century

50 000 000 World War II 1937-1945
40 000 000 China: Mao Zedong's regime 1949-1976
20 000 000 USSR: Stalin's regime 1924-1953
15 000 000 World War I 1914-1918
8 800 000 Russian Civil War 1918-1921
4 000 000 China: Warlord & Nationalist Era 1917-1937
3 000 000 Congo Free State 1900-1908
2 800 000 Korean War 1950-1953
2 700 000 2nd Indochina War (incl. Laos & Cambodia) 1960-1975
2 500 000 Chinese Civil War 1945-1949
2 100 000 Expulsion of Germans after World War II 1945-1947
1 900 000 Second Sudanese Civil War 1983-1999
1 700 000 Congolese Civil War 1998-1999
1 500 000 Turkish Genocide against Armenia 1915-1923
1 000 000 Cambodia: Khmer Rouge regime 1975-1979
1 400 000 Afghanistan Civil War 1980-1999
1 400 000 Ethiopian Civil Wars 1962-1992
1 250 000 Mexican Revolution 1910-1920
1 250 000 East Pakistan massacres 1971
1 000 000 Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988
1 000 000 Nigeria: Biafra 1967-1970
800 000 Mozambique Civil War 1976-1992
800 000 Rwanda 1994
675 000 French-Algerian War 1954-1962
600 000 First Indochina War 1945-1954
600 000 Angolan Civil War 1975-1994
500 000 Indonesia: Massacre of Communists 1965-1967
500 000 India-Pakistan Partition 1947
500 000 First Sudanese Civil War 1955-1972
500 000 Amazonian Indian decline 1900-1999
365 000 Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
350 000 Somalia 1991-1999
400 000 North Korean Communist regime 1948-1999
300 000 Yugoslav wars 1991-2001
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

American Revolution: $3.2 billion.
War of 1812: $1 billion.
Mexican War: $1.8 billion.
Civil War: $50 billion Union, $21.8 billion Confederacy.
Spanish-American War: $6.5 billion.
World War I: $588 billion.
World War II: $4.8 trillion.
Korean War: $408 billion.
Vietnam War: $584 billion.
Persian Gulf War of 1991: $82 billion. Contributions from U.S. allies ended up covering more than 90 percent of this war's costs.
Operation Iraqi Freedom: $197 billion, as of March 2006
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

http://members.aol.com/usregistry/allwars.htm
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

# 12 God, Man and the Bible Thoughts

God, Man and the Bible Thoughts
Simple words that superficially appear easy to understand. Yet those very words, like God, man and bible can easily reach, what I call tangelfoot conversations. I enjoy God, Man, and bible conversations that are from ones belief factors, from ones own thoughts, as questions on these subjects. When, as often happens, another person tries to sway my thoughts using only the bible as the final word, is where tangelfoot comes in. Have had my thought chain rattled, long ago, when I first realized, that the bible was not the final answer to all my questions about God and man. So while I do enter into conversations on those subjects, I will not enter into arguments on or over them. Thoughts expressed. some what like on these forums, is appreciated and enlightening.
http://www.ourultimatereality.com/forums/index.php
http://www.hbinavigators.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
http://forum.mind-energy.net/
The information on the sites listed below, were extremely helpful in sorting out the tangelfoot understanding process. Notice that I said "sorting out", not providing all the"answers".
There are many thought provoking concepts presented in the information presented at these web sites.
http://www.sethmaterial.com/
http://www.ourultimatereality.com/our-ultimate-reality/welcome.html
http://www.ourultimatereality.com/who-is-the-logos.html
http://www.hbinavigators.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

The Handbook of the Navigator
http://catalog.higherbalance.com/category.php?cat=5

# 11 Autism Ray of Hope and Progress: Jenny McCarthy

Was pleased to read an article in The Chicago Tribune - Q Section 13, on 10-21-2007, regards autism. Julie Deardorff, the reporter, wrote a touching story, about Jenny McCarthy, and her four year old child. The most telling words in the article are " Autism is treatable". Get online to the Trib, and read the whole article. The next telling part, is one paragraph " Not everyone agrees, which is part of what makes McCarthy's current media blitz so controversial. But Evan, who was diagnosed with autism after a series of seizures at age 3, something McCarthy believes was triggered by vaccines - is now a typical and communicative 5 year old, who makes eye contact and no longer flaps his arms." Further stated was that," though he's not completely cured", she credits much of his turnaround to "biomedical" interventions, that included, nutritional changes, detoxification therapies, gastrointestinal treatments and dietary supplements, on top of intense behavioral and speech therapy.Removing wheat gluten and casein (dairy) from Evan's diet, doubled his language and regained eye contact, within two weeks.
See also:
DAN! ( autism.com )
My blog, Razors Edge, posts # 12 and # 100
Hope this helps some, in coping with the autism situation.

# 10 Medical Paperwork & You

Had to chuckle, when I read this article. Many people that sign papers, of contractual nature, read a line or two , and then sign. They gotcha now. Well, I drive the people, asking me to " sign here ", nuts. I actually read the stupid fine print. I have actually " crossed out and initialed ", that which I had crossed out, from a given legal type document. Of course I receive the " Oh, you can't do that ", reply, "that is our standard form ". My reply, mostly has been " Yes, so what! " " Well you are not allowed to change the form ", they reply. So the verbal battle continues. Have gone through group heads, supervisors, managers, lawyers, and administrators. Did I win all my battles, no, not always to my full satisfaction, but mostly, I get what I want, and is what I can " honor ".
Everything is negotiable. Why sign that, which you cannot honor? One interesting episode went like this:
" We can't release her until the bill is paid in full".
" Bye ".
" Where are you going ".
" You said you can't release her until the bill is paid in full, I'm unable to pay the full bill".
" What about her! "
" Keep her until the bill is fully paid, bye ".
" Wait, lets talk this over ".
So read this article and you will see some of the things, I've done and battled over.
...........................................................................
Making Medical Paperwork Easier
Medical bills are incredibly complicated and expensive, even for those with health insurance. But here's what you may not know: Hospital bills aren't "unavoidable" in the same way as, say, taxes and death. The number at the bottom of the bill may not be the amount you have to pay at all. In fact, there are a number of things you can do to protect yourself from unfair medical charges, including working with a professional "medical billing advocate."
For information on this I called Nora Johnson, CCP (Certified Compliance Professional), a medical advocate with her own company, Med-X (Medical Expense Review & Recovery), and director of education and compliance for Medical Billing Advocates of America. Though most of these strategies relate to those with health insurance, which fortunately is still most of us, Johnson assured me that she has plenty of advice for both groups -- insured and uninsured.
BE SURE YOU GET WHAT YOU'RE INSURED FOR
Here's Johnson's first rule for those with health insurance: Know thy policy. It's boring as anything, she acknowledged, "so most people never bother to find out what their policy covers and -- often even more important -- what it doesn't." If you know in advance that a treatment or procedure you need is not covered, you can negotiate the price with the physician or facility beforehand, while you still have some room to do so. Most health care policies exempt emergency room doctors and procedures from needing to be "in network." But emergency coverage is policy-specific.
Another common trap for the insured is inadvertently going "out of network," she says. Say you are having gallbladder removal, which is typically an elective surgical procedure. You've chosen a surgeon covered by your plan and he's chosen a team, including the anesthesiologist and pathologist, all of whom you assume are on the plan as well. However, that's not necessarily true, says Johnson. Often radiologists, anesthesiologists and pathologists are out of network or even do not participate with any insurance companies. Always confirm by calling your insurance company (the published list of participating providers may not be up to date) before a procedure and confirm with the physician. If a provider is not covered, you have the right to one who is. Ask for the names of participating providers in your area and request in writing that the hospital use one of them. If the hospital refuses, tell them you will sign an agreement for the provider(s) they want to use on condition those providers will accept the out-of-network fee from your insurance company as payment in full. As further protection, Johnson suggests noting on the back of the hospital admissions form that you are responsible only for participating providers' billing. On the same form there will be an item that says you will pay all "usual and customary charges." Cross that out, she says, inserting the words that you are responsible only for "fair and reasonable" charges for anything your insurance does not cover.
WHAT'S "FAIR AND REASONABLE": DECIPHERING THE CHARGES
This brings us to a brief discussion of what hospitals charge. They say they charge all patients the same rates, says Johnson, which is basically true -- but what's also true is that not everyone has to pay the same fees. When negotiating for clients, she bases what they should pay on that same phrase mentioned above, "fair and reasonable," which is the reimbursement most commonly accepted by that hospital, usually from Medicare. Rule of thumb: The hospital's billed charge is the gross charge and it is more than the hospital accepts from most other payers for the same service, she says.
Further confusing matters, all medical billing is based on three coding systems -- ICD-9-CM, CPT and HCPCS -- used for reimbursement, and she estimates that about one-third of all billing errors result from incorrect coding, such as entering a code for a procedure you never had. While these codes aren't available to the public, you can and should request an itemized bill from your hospital, which includes explanations. Review it carefully, and if you're confused or see an error, ask for clarification from the hospital's billing office. Pay close attention to seemingly minor billing incidentals such as IV start kits (quoted cost, $57... real cost, 61 cents). Medicare does not allow independent charges for such incidentals, so it stands to reason that you should not have to pay them either. Reason: Supplies are calculated into the room/unit/procedure charge. Therefore they are duplicates when billed again for a separate dollar amount.
If there are mistakes in your bill, Johnson says you should address them immediately. If your insurance company refuses payment for something, figure out where it went wrong -- perhaps the statement was miscoded or the doctor's office filed incorrect information. Talk to both the insurance company and the doctor's office to learn if there is an error, and then correct it. Medical Billing Advocates of America say 90% of medical bills contain errors.
People with high deductible policies have one more consideration -- the hospital may charge its full (and inflated) fee up to that amount. Don't let them get away with that. Insist instead that fees against your deductible are the discounted rate (at least 35%) -- not the full -- charges.
EMERGENCY ROOMS CAN'T REQUIRE PAYMENT IN ADVANCE
Nearly all emergency rooms cannot, by law, withhold emergency medical treatment based on payment issues. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act requires all hospitals accepting Medicare to not withhold screening, stabilizing treatment or appropriate transfer of patients, regardless if patients are on Medicare or have no insurance or ability to pay. Some hospitals will attempt to get a credit card number up front in order to ensure payment. If this happens, warns Johnson, ask that they put the demand for payment prior to rendering treatment in writing, specifying whatever the amount or percentage they are requesting. Simply say "I won't pay unless you put it in writing." By asking for them to request payment in writing, you will find they quit bothering you for payment before service, since Federal law mandates that hospitals render emergency treatment that is medically necessary to save lives regardless of inability to pay. After that, if you feel you are being overcharged, you can get the official hospital policy about payment requirements in writing, which you can then take to an advocate for help in negotiating. Patients can also inquire about "charity care," says Johnson. All hospitals that participate with Medicare have to provide a certain amount of charity care to patients who qualify. Get the charity care forms from the hospital, fill them out, make copies and return them to the hospital.
WHEN TO CALL IN BACK-UP ASSISTANCE
If you have been unsuccessful at resolving your billing problems or feel that the fees charged are truly unreasonable, it may be time to call in a professional advocate to help. These professionally certified and trained specialists will advocate on behalf of individuals to combat unreasonable and/or outrageous medical fees. Although hiring an advocate to fight your battle might at first seem as though you are just adding another cost to already high expenses, in reality their training and negotiating savvy can actually reduce costs. The depth of their knowledge and experience working with complex medical billing enables advocates to negotiate fair fees for virtually everything including CAT scans and other imaging procedures, as well as hospital and doctor bills and fees. Johnson advises calling a medical billing advocate after you have reviewed an itemized bill yourself if you think it is not fair -- say, $6,000 for two stitches in the emergency room.
Advocate fees vary. Johnson says they charge by the hour or a percentage of the money saved. They aim to be "reasonable" and always negotiate up front to spare you yet more stomach-turning surprises. To find an advocate, you can go to the Medical Billing Advocates of America Web site http://link.dhn.bottomlinesecrets.com/h/D9G9/44FT/UP/LYS48, or call 540-387-5870.
Source(s): Nora Johnson, CCP (Certified Compliance Professional), medical advocate with her own company, Med-X, (Medical Expense Review & Recovery), in Caldwell, West Virginia, and director of education and compliance for Medical Billing Advocates of America, Salem, Virginia.
.....................................................
Need to contact us? http://www.bottomlinesecrets.com/cust_service/contact.html

# 9 Quality Service ! Sez Who ?

Well now, here is the situation. Have been through three computers, in recent years. So every new unit has a copy on of MS windows running. now go through all the hassle of updating the brand new unit ,with all the patches and SP1, SP2, etc, to update what is supposed to be a brand spanking new computer, running XP Home,So, I have in essence purchased another licensed copy of XP Home for each new computer, when I already had one. Am not aware if one can even buy a name brand computer new, but without an operating system. Used to be all units came with program disks and printed manuals. No more though. If and when a problem shows up, on a unit, whats the first thing you are told? Insert the program operating disks. Ha, can't be done. Why? There are no disks available. Well just use restore or copy the old drive to the new drive. Can't be done. Why? The original / old drive went kaput. Oh, then just use the install disks. What ! Are you even listening to me ? There are no available disks to use. Well then, send the unit in with the install disks. Do you have a problem listening to a conversation ? No, why? I just told you there are no disks, and none came with the unit. OK, just contact ( in this case ) Microsoft for another copy, we can't do anything for you. Microsoft ( in this case ) says each manufacturer, customizes the operating system for use on their computers, and we can't help you. Contact the computer manufacturer. Round and round we go. Call the store where you purchased the unit. They say "can't help you unless you have the install disks". Yes, but you sold me the unit five weeks ago. You can send the hard drive to a drive recovery company. How much does that cost? Anywhere between $ 100.00 to $ 200.00. You're kidding aren't you. Anyway, won't bore you with the " how and what ", of what then took place. Then there is the rebate ploy. Jump through all kinds of cut out that original, copy that number, copy this other number, send the original to each address. Huh! Come again. How can I send an original to three place , when there is only one original ! Well, just copy the original. But that's not an original then ! Well just try it. So in they go. Six to ten weeks later, comes the letter, rejected, due to no original documentation. On and on. Many discussions, if one can call it that. Then a few more weeks, give another call. There is no record of any transactions being processed. When did you , on and on. Ask for a supervisor, reexplain, suddenly there is a Oh here it is. So anyway the outcome here was worth about $ 300.00. So the added aggravation and persistence was worth it. While I'm in the compliant mode, another gripe is that as name brands that had high quality once, start becoming very poor quality, as companies are bought out. Now, as I understand it, groups will buy the once good brands copyrighted name only, and immediately drop the once famous quality of the item.In all fairness, I did on some dealings find some excellent customer service departments. Overall though, they are poorly managed. By the way, have you needed to contact a health insurance provider lately,about screwed up billing? Account number, name, address, city, state, last four digits of your social, date of birth, telephone number, and than how can I help you. Explain. Oh we don't handle that here, I'll transfer you to..... Than if your lucky, a voice asking again, yup you got it, Account number, name, address, city, state, last four digits of your social, date of birth, telephone number, and than how can I help you. This will happen every time you are transferred to another dept. Needless to say, and not mentioned, is the in between transfers, with the voice recordings, this call may be monitored for quality service, and your call is important to us, please stay on the line for the next available agent. Now comes the repeated, All agents are currently assisting other customers, please stay on the line. Over and over. Ah, a voice comes on, may I please have your .....................

# 8 To Manufacturers In China: Quality!

To My friends In China,
Peace, health and prosperity to all.
Manufacturers in China, need to take notice, that many products I have purchased, that show , " Made in China " are no longer on my buy list. While it is not my nature to be a complainer, my recent purchases of such products, have all been disgusting. Simple things , granted, but beyond saving grace. an emergency radio, gave a broken wind handle, on the second wind. Inspection showed a poor grade of plastic was used in a stress point, on the gears and handle, used to wind up the power generator.
A potato peeler that looked like the famous Ecko peeler, had sharp burrs, and a poor method to hold the cutting assembly in place. It lasted for one potato peel, before it fell apart. Of course it went into the scrap metal bin.
A can opener, that would not even cling to the can for the cans top to be removed.
Then there are the Ginsu type knife set, that looks and feels shabby, with a poorly made holding block, making it awkward to put the knife back in place. Wont go on with the listing, though there were other products that were also disposed of. Its not necessarily the assembly line people at fault, its also the design and quality of material used. Do recall that decades past Japan also went through the shabby product situation, reputation wise. So can only offer that the thinking process needs to focus heavily on design and quality. Meanwhile I will focus more on where my future purchases were produced.