Secret Sex Video Linked To Student’s Suicide

Tyler Clementi. (Facebook)

Tyler Clementi committed suicide last week after pictures of him having a sexual encounter with another male were shown online. Clementi’s roommate and another freshman at Rutgers University have been charged with invading the young man’s privacy.

NJ.com: Tyler Clementi, Rutgers freshman, commits suicide after secret broadcast of sex encounter
Watch: The “It Gets Better Project” on Youtube

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The Skinny On Supplements

(Andrei Z/Flickr)

More than half of all adult Americans spent nearly 27 billion dollars last year on dietary supplements to get healthy, stay healthy, lose weight and gain an edge on the sports field and in the bedroom. And in the process, some of them got seriously sick. We talk with Nancy Metcalf, senior program editor for Consumer Reports-Health about the findings of their recent investigation, “Dangerous Supplements, What You Don’t Know, Could Hurt You.”

FDA: Dietary supplement regulations

N.Y. Tea Party Candidate Boils Over

Carl Paladino, New York State Republican gubernatorial candidate, speaks at the Buffalo Yacht Club. (AP)

“You send another goon to my daughter’s house and I’ll take you out, buddy,” is one of the printable lines uttered by Carl Paladino, the Tea Party member and Republican nominee for New York governor in his fracas with a reporter yesterday. Paladino has shown increasing anger over media interest in the daughter he fathered during an extramarital affair, and has suggested, without substantiation, that his Democratic opponent has had affairs of his own. We get the latest on the fight, captured on video, with Alan Chartock, CEO of WAMC/ Northeast Public Radio.

Watch the Video: Paladino, Dicker have to be restrained

Americans Flunk Religious Literacy Test

(Svadilfari/Flickr)

What religion was Mother Teresa? What day of the week does the Jewish Sabbath begin? And what religion do most people in Indonesia practice? The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life recently asked Americans these and other basic questions about Christianity, the Bible and World Religion and most of the people in the study flunked. The group that scored the highest? Atheists! We explore the results and what they mean with Stephen Prothero, religion scholar at Boston University and author of “God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World.”

Quiz: How Well Do You Know Religion?

‘Our Boys’ Holds Smith Center, Kansas Together

The high school football team in Smith Center, Kansas holds the small town together. That’s what attracted New York Times sportswriter Joe Drape to this rural community two years ago. He followed the team as it won its fifth consecutive state championship, documenting it in his book, “Our Boys: A Perfect Season On the Plains With The Smith Center Redmen.” Smith Center nearly won a sixth straight title, losing in the state championship game, breaking a 79-game winning streak. This season, Smith Center has a 3-1 record going into Friday night’s game. We’re rebroadcasting our interview with Drape today.

New York Times: In Kansas, Affirmation of Values Even as Winning Streak Ends

Music From The Show

Kevin Micka, “Vibraphonium”

Volcano Choir, “Sleepymouth”

Ken Vandermark, “New Acrylic”

Herbie Hancock, “Watermelon Man”

The Ventures, “Green Onions”

The Wee Trio, “About a Girl”

Dean & Britta, “Herringbone Tweed”

Art Blakey, “Free for All”

http://hereandnow Rosemary

Many more people are hurt by our “Medications” that have been approved by the FDA than hurt by supplements.
http://www.sologuitar.com Steve Rapson

RE: Supplements:

After achieving a ripe old age and avoiding just about every pill ever made (including aspirin). My wife and I did a ton of research and as a result and have been taking a daily dose of the following:

Fish Oil 1500mg
low dose aspiring 80 mg
simvastatin 20 mg (by prescription)
and a multivitamin.

If we live long and prosper we’ll let you know.

steve R.
Drew

I wish the “war on drugs” applied to these companies like it does the average american. If I were to go around town selling brownies labeled as all natural, when really they have marijuana in them I would be arrested fairly quickly. I would believe putting steriods and perscription drugs in supplements sold to millions of people would also qualify as an illegal act.
Ellen Dibble

I wish Consumer Reports would study tourmaline, which is the active ingredient in the detox foot pads that are sold mostly in catalogues. This is put on the skin, not in the body, but I have been trying to persuade my insurer to pay attention, because in my experience use of this could pretty much hollow out their costs, both in alternative and mainstream medical expenses. I had frozen shoulder and was taking multiple codeines each day, and this went on for years. I had had back problems and wrist tendinitis for years. I didn’t have time to keep going to physical therapy and chiropractors and specialists and so on. I was getting worse, not better. Now I’ve been using foot pads on my wrist when it gets bad, on my shoulder/neck pretty much daily for about 3 or 4 years (after 10 years of having no relief from any professional of any sort), and various other complaints that I have found a way of using it.
Apparently it draws heavy metals out of the body, which I do have, but the test to determine that is not covered by insurance. It costs about $100 for the test, but my doctor says in this society, most people have heavy metals. Maybe not to my extreme. Furthermore, the treatment is not covered, and can costs $100,000s (chelation). And the “treatment” does not help any symptoms, and may be a lifelong undertaking.
So I’m thinking others might use this for pain. I’m thinking it would bring down my huge health insurance rates by a lot, if those seeking “professional” treatment for tendinitis and back pain and so on can treat that for about a dollar a day.
Wendell Wiebe-Powell

Thank you for your fantastic program and this segment on supplements. I am concerned that the focus of the report is on the sexual enhancer and athletic supplements with serious problems which will strike fear in many people who do not take those but basic vitrines such as vitamin B complex, D, C, and so forth.

Thank you,

Wendell
Linda Blinder

I wish that you would have a guest on who makes legitamate supplements.

There is an expensive and high tech procedure for making safe silver. It is expensive to buy and is not allowed to contain the labeling that would seperae it from the bad silver.

The chemist who makes it is right here in Norwood. He has a phd in chem and many awards including the presidents award for making and marketing biobased toner.

He manufactures many supplements. Why don’t you talk to him and see if he could clear up a lot of misinformation about this matter.

Many times people look to medical doctors for answers about vitamin supplements. Most doctors do not have the chemistry background to understand these issues.

Linda Blinder

PS: I take NanO/suk-10 every day and have for the past 4 years. I have not turned blue!
Linda Blinder

Oh, that is so funny. I meant NanOSil-10!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://ned.delaney@gmail.com Ned Delaney

It might have been beneficial to have invited a representative of a major herbal company to participate. Having to listen to Consumer Reports hardly qualifies as an authority on this particular industry, particularly considering how CR gets reimbursed for its services.
Jay

The “FDA has not evaluated the effectiveness on the supplement” was put there at the behest of big pharma who would otherwise lose a lot profit as there are simple solutions to a lot of ailments. There is an intense battle on to regulate the supplement industry and essentially eradicate it as has been done in Europe through CODEX Alimentarius. There is currently a bill in congress which has as its aim severely not only to regulate supplements, but also small farmers. The bill would criminalize anyone who give or sell there produce without going through expensive red tape that only big agra can afford. See Natural Solustions Foundation website for the details
http://LizTobin.com Elizabeth Tobin, Certified Resonance Repatterning Practitioner

I have used colloidal silver for years for a number of different reasons and I swear by it:

1. at the first sign of a cold or flu I take a few drops under my tongue and use a few drops in my neti pot to flush out my sinuses.

2. I put a drop or two on a pimple and it disappears without getting inflamed or ever coming to a head which can cause scarring.

3. I use a drop or two on cuts as a antibacterial,
4. Put a few drops on the affected area as an anti-fungal.

All of the colloidal silver that I have bought comes in a bottle with a dropper so it’s obvious that it’s to be taken in small doses, i.e., drops at a time.

The people who turn blue from colloidal silver take it in massive doses. When Oprah interviewed the man who turned blue, he said he was making it himself and drinking about 10 ounces a day. He also said that he had a number of health conditions that cleared up
as a result and that he never felt better.

I’ve heard so many reports (yours included) that taking colloidal silver makes you turn blue.
This is misleading because all of the reports fail to mention that the people who turned blue took
it in unusually large doses on a consistent basis over the course of months.

When used in moderation colloidal silver is a valuable supplement.
Newton

Robin’s piece on Paladino was extremely disappointing.
She allowed Alan Chartock to completely hijack the conversation and make it an attack on reporter Fred Dicker.

The news in that audio clip is twofold:

1) Paladino accused Cuomo of infidelity and refused to substantiate it when Dicker asked the entirely appropriate journalistic question: “Do you have any evidence for the charge you made?”;

2) In an attempt to get Dicker to back off, Paladino threatened him: “I’ll take you out, buddy!”

Incredibly, Robin never asked Chartock about the propriety of Paladino’s conduct on either point. Embarassingly for Chartock, he sided with Paladino in bullying the reporter.

No wonder politicians have such little regard for journalists: their fellow journalists’ response to a threat against a colleague is to say the colleague had it coming.
Leta Neustaedter

GUMMY VITAMINS!

I love gummy bears and have recently stocked up on gummy vitamins. For once I actually take my vitamins every day! I’m having faith that they are good for me – but am I wasting my money?
Leta
Dave

Don’t forget about homeopathic “medications” which do not physically include any of the supplements they claim they do!
lak

I’m glad to know that suppliments are being closely monitered and heavily regulated. Some can be dangerous when not taken correctly. I would like to see the same for pharmaceuticals… supposedly more rigously regulated-yet how many people have died or suffered horrible side effects from supplements? Where are the stats? I’m curious.
BrentH

I disagree with Stephen Prothero’s comment that Catholic education isn’t very good and that accounts for so many exCatholics. From personal experience (I am an exCatholic atheist), I think Catholic education is very good and that accounts for so many exCatholics. Most exCatholics that I know self-identify as atheist or agnostic. They are very well educated about Catholicism and religion in general. The problem isn’t with the education, but with the content or the doctrine itself. Most exCatholics I know have a very thorough knowledge of a specific doctrinal or other issue (e.g. the sex abuse of children by priests) that lead to their nonbelief. Bibles and catechisms are the best guides to atheism.
http://www.celestialceilings.net Diana Chika

Robin mentioned Glocosamine and stated it was for pain. It is not for pain, it is to rebuild joint tissue. It has not been proven to be effective for pain.
Thanks!
Lisa K

I sure wish I HAD a doctor to ask! I did have Kaiser Permanente insurance and it was almost like not having a doctor. Hard to ask questions in the fifteen minute allotted time you’re given. Plus, most of the doctors I dealt with, didn’t have a well-rounded sense of these things.

Just yesterday, I was browsing New Season’s supplement area, wishing I knew what was safe to take. I want to know what to take for my hypothyroid (currently taking something called Thyrolife including Levothyroxin. It’s amazing just how damaging having a dysfunctional thyroid is on your body and mind. I was looking for something to make me less depressed, for my new anxiety attacks, something for my piss poor memory, something for my sensitive teeth, something for my aching knees, something to help with weight loss, and for the myriad of problems I deal with thanks to my pathetic thyroid.

Western doctors didn’t help. Didn’t address that I was feeling absolutely terrible still…even though my levels were “normal”. But, I get off track on another rant. Sort of. All in all, some of us have no other option but these supplement areas at the natural stores. Would be nice to know what’s safe.
http://HereandNow Karen Maher

RE: Religion Literacy Test done by the Pew Forum.

Unless I am misreading the Pew Forum website, it is Jews who scored the highest at 65%. Robin Young stated, several times, that Atheists and Agnostics scored the highest. However, on the Pew Forum page that ranks answers by religious affiliation, Atheists and Agnostics scored 64%. The guest did not correct this error. Jews have traditionally made education a primary focus, that includes the history of our people and beliefs. I believe that even though it is a 1% difference, Jews should have been acknowledged.

Thanks for your wonderful program. We, in Portland OR, lost your show for awhile, and I am very happy that you are back on OPB.
Vincent R

The piece on supplements was informative and probably necessary for the general public. However, there are a few concepts that were left out:
No supplements have had the gold standard double blind, long term studies because it is too expensive and no patents can be obtained. As mentioned, there is no law requiring these types of studies. Research standards for prescription drugs will never be reached for these reasons.
The general public has free access to take as much of these supplements as they want; just like over-the-counter drugs. Many over-the-counter drugs are abused and have very adverse effects (ie NSAIDs); you can even end up in the emergency room from drinking too much water.
Certainly these products should be consumed with caution and in many cases with the advice of a physician. And the supplement companies should definitely list all of the ingredients contained in the product (it’s the law). However, I could not find in your report and interview the simple statistic: total number of deaths and adverse reactions per year related to supplements. Maybe those statistics could be compared to prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs to better inform the public of the entire scope of the problem. Stories like the baseball player who lost his scholarship seem to scare the listener instead of informing the listener.
Lori L.

There has got to be a non-combatative way to approach this question. “Consult your doctor” doesn’t work for many suppliments because they are not trained to deal with non-pharma suppliments.

My family relies upon several suppliments, including topical arnica, melatonin and combinations of herbs used for menopause symptoms. We also use homeopathic treatments and acupuncture. Pharma has an adversarial relationship to things they don’t own–that is the problem with getting rational regulations in regard to natural healing.
Kim

As a practitioner of Traditional Oriental Medicine, I am particularly concerned about FDA control of supplements. All Chinese herbs and formulas fall under this category. I always hear the side of the story where the consumer is protected, with which I agree, but I never hear the story about the practitioner being protected. Educated practitioners can safely recommend supplements. Ma Huang, aka Ephedra, was originally a chinese herb used within a formula in a very small amount to treat the common cold. It was big pharma that isolated the active compound and repurposed it as a weight loss drug. FDA intervention in supplement regulation poses a threat to traditional healing professions.
ted solis

Ah, yes,
Smith Center, a heart-warming example of small town happiness and caring. They don’t care who wins (at football, no less); they just want the kids to be good human beings. These are the same heart-warming small town qualities which also foster small-mindedness, colossal rates of meth addiction, and just about anyone with any gumption leaving for the Big Sodoms as soon as they can afford the bus fare. Oh, yeah, they don’t care who wins–with so little else to do, the Friday night game becomes THE event around which the community focuses. “Oh, ‘we’ lost 27-0, but the kids were such fine sportsmen.” I can just hear it now. The guy is happily selling a bag of fertilizer: small town romantic hooey.
BHA

You are right Karen, the Jewish respondents scored an overall 65%, the agnostic/atheist group scored 64%.

Mr. Prothero surmised that the reason the agnostic/atheist group scored much better that most other groups was that they had been raised with religion. I would disagree.

Look at the results. Where a question is specific to a religion, the followers of that religion (except the Protestants on the Martin Luther question) scored the highest. In almost all cases, the A/A group scored second highest with Jewish and Mormon most often being near the top as well. Heck, 1% more A/A (the highest) than Catholics knew that Mother Theresa was Catholic! Clearly all people in these religious groups had a religious upbringing, yet often they know little (in some cases VERY little) of other religions. I doubt that the A/A group tried most of the religions then gave up on all religion.

I would attribute the knowledge of Ramadan by the Jewish group to their LONG history of Muslim strife with Muslims. The relatively high rate for knowing that most Pakistanis are Muslim is clearly link to the war in Afganistan. Had this question been asked 10 years ago, I doubt the percentage correct for ALL groups would be below 10%, about as “important” to the masses as the “First Great Awakening”.

I attribute the agnostic/atheist knowledge to NOT shutting out information regarding religions other than ‘their own’ (or lack thereof) as seems to be the case for many of the groups. Just because we do not believe there is a supreme being overseeing our lives doesn’t mean that we have our heads in the sand regarding the religions of the world.

Those that follow ‘the one true religion’ (theirs) don’t see any reason to understand ‘the others’. Which is unfortunate since ‘Mine is right, yours is wrong’ is cause for many a conflict.
Jodi Smith

If the voters of New York elect Carl Paladino, they deserve what they get. I cannot believe this man is a serious candidate for governor. Being from Oregon, I don’t know that much about Cuomo, but Paladino has condemned himself from his own mouth. You don’t even have to take his words out of context. He is an outrageous bully. Even if you leave the adultery issue aside, his attitude is hardly helpful to repair the New York state government. I can’t understand why his wife would stay with him. Once she found out he had been keeping an affair and an illegimate child from her for ten years, she should have been out the door! There are people in New York who actually trust this man in the governor’s chair? Amazing!
God Bless that poor child.
Georgie

Good grief – how about pre-natal vitamins that pregnant and nursing mothers use? Are they safe????
http:/yahoo Seth Anawalt

I’m continually amazed at how objective truth gets lost in the midst of logical “straw-man, sleight-of-hand, and attacking the person” fallacies.

“Indeed it is a strange disposed time, But men may construe things after their own fashion, Clean from the purpose of the things themselves.” (Cicero)

Drugs relieve symptoms, they are not curatives. Herbs and plants have been used effectively since the dawn of time for medicinal purposes. As Hippocrates said, “Let food be your medicine.”

Natural abundance and diversity, wholesome organic foods and supplements, holistic (preventive) health care: these are the real essentials. Straw-man type examples of people turning blue from colloidal silver smack of Violet Boregard: she ate too much gum!!

We need to get back to basics. Organic bio-dynamic agriculture and horticulture must become the national standard. State and federal laws and incentives are needed to change the face of monoculture in America.

Profit driven drug companies influence both the FDA and CDC; this must stop! We need a Center for Preventive Medicine (CPM), and a Holistic Health Administration (HHA). We need to nurture nature!

Finally, speaking of icebergs, drugs are the tip, not supplements. The iceberg itself involves a monolithic monoculture including GMO’s, denatured foods, an arsenal of toxic chemicals, and a Machiavellian style monopolization of big-ag, big-pharma, and big-chem.

Where is Teddy Roosevelt when we need him? He was a total naturalist! At least Senator Grassly and his like have had the courage to root out corruption in the FDA. Attacking natural supplements is farcical: sleight-of-hand to the highest degree of absurdity!

We, the People, must continue to uphold our inherent right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, including natural foods and supplements.
Steve

I think I heard Robin say the other day that she keeps a list of word misuses that drive her crazy. I’ve seen such lists and they usually capture my pet peeves, but there are a few of mine that always seem to be missed:

Saying “ar-tic” instead of “arc-tic”. What’s up with that? It’s as bad as nuke-yew-ler.

Saying “reticent” instead of “reluctant”, especially when it’s also turned into a redundancy by saying “reticent to say”.

Saying “acronym” instead of “abbreviation”. This is so common now it’s becoming correct–an unfortunate loss of differentiation.

Whew! I’m glad I got that outa my system. Now I can work.

Steve

Hull
Mark Perra

Robin,

Here’s why we say “rabbit, rabbit”. I assume from our common British ancestry (my mother’s side):

“Rabbit rabbit white rabbit” is a common British superstition. The most common modern version states that a person should say “rabbit, rabbit, white rabbit”, “rabbit, rabbit, rabbit” or simply “white rabbits” upon waking on the first day of each new month, and on doing so will receive good luck for the duration of that month.
Jeri

In answer to yesterday’s broadcast please read
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2010/09/30/pomegranates-pommelled-by-regulators/

Your guest was just too defensive of the FDA. Makes me question Consumer Reports integrity.