Are we really living better and prettier through chemistry?

At Democracy Now, Amy Goodman has put the spotlight on the many toxins currently used in beauty products. It’s just amazing that the cosmetics only now being sought to be regulated by the federal government are not currently being regulated. At present, any corporation can put any petro-chemical into any beauty product, yet it can get away with calling it “Natural” or “Herbal.” Stacy Malkan indicates that many of the ingredients contained in cosmetics aren't even listed on the labels. She summarizes her point with this: "There’s no need for it. There’s absolutely no reason on earth for baby shampoos to contain carcinogens." As expected, the industry rep counters that we can generally trust the industry and that there is no cause for concern:

The levels are very low. The exposures have been assessed and determined not to be a health risk to children. And the notion of cumulative exposure, I think, is one that needs to be explained a little further, because normal safety assessment by toxicologists will take into account margins of safety that will address issues of a cumulative exposure. So this is not really a problem with regard to these trace contaminants . . . We know what materials are unsafe. They are not used in products. This has been known for a long time. And the industry practices help.
Check out the excerpt for “The Story of Stuff” early in the video. Many of the ingredients we put on our skin are demonstrably dangerous. If you doubt this, check out your favorite personal care products at the Environmental Working Group. How does the U.S. compare to Europe regarding regulating these products. Stacy Malkan reports:
Europe has banned about 1,100 chemicals that are known or highly suspected of causing cancer or birth defects. And many other countries have followed suit. Japan has banned formaldehyde. These are chemicals—some of them are still being used in the United States. For example, we find dibutyl phthalate in nail polish, coal tar in dandruff shampoo, lead acetate in men’s hair dyes. Those are products you wouldn’t find in Europe. And so, the US is much further behind.
On a separate segment today at Democracy Now, Amy Goodman features Jane Houlihan of the Environmental Working Group. Here's what Jane has to say about dangerous products:
Dark permanent hair dyes are linked to cancer. When you use those for a long time over your lifetime, those can be quite toxic. Nail care products tend to contain some of the most hazardous ingredients. But we also find carcinogens in baby products. We find skin lighteners that contain chemicals linked to cancer. So, a really broad range of issues. One very problematic area is sunscreens, which are poorly regulated in the US. We found that we could recommend only eight percent of sunscreens on the market that could really give you broad spectrum protection you need to prevent—help prevent skin cancer and also that don’t contain hazardous ingredients that can seep through the skin and pose other kinds of health concerns.

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Pain in the wallet

It's delightful when there is a simple solution to a terrible problem. I had a pain in my lower back that was gradually getting worse. It got so bad that when I was tying my shoes two weeks ago, it took me five minutes to stand up straight, due to intense pain in my lower back. I also had difficulty getting in and out of my car. A quick Google search informed me about "wallet neuropathy," also called "wallet sciatica." My wallet has been growing over the past year because of accumulating receipts, membership cards and new credit cards because I'm in the process of switching from a big bank to a local credit union (I was provoked to do this by Arianna Huffington's "Move Your Money" campaign). The simple solution was to not carry my wallet in my back pocket (I've been carrying my wallet in my back pocket for year). The good news is that the pain has decreased to only barely noticeable, only two weeks after it was disabling. I'm thus sharing this simple advice to anyone else who has back pain who also carries a fat wallet: Think about carrying your wallet some other way. I'm also sharing this WebMD article with more straight-forward advice for taking care of your back. The section on computing and commuting was especially interesting to me.

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Tim Minchin

I've recently discovered a new comedian and I would like to share. He's an Australian, Mr. Tim Minchin. I forget now where I stumbled upon him, but he is a delight. For one he's a musician/composer, and, as a keyboard player myself, I have to admit to being envious of his chops. But his comedy...ah, this is something special. I urge everyone to go to YouTube and see all of the videos. He is a skeptic. This video gives a fair example.

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Matt Taibbi on Congressional corruption

Once again, Matt Taibbi says it like it is.

This is a classic example of how the Senate works . . . Bernie Sanders had put forth a proposal in the Senate to put a 15 percent cap on credit-card interest. Who isn't in favor of this kind of legislation? The only difference between credit card companies and loan sharks at this point is that you can choose to not patronize a loan shark. As an adult professional in this country one has to have a credit card - it's impossible to rent a car, buy a hotel room, shop online or do countless other things without one. But all the credit card companies use the same insane formulae based on FICO scores to charge exorbitant interest rates for anyone who slips up - and they don't exactly make it easy to not slip up . . . Almost everyone has horror stories about consumer credit and my guess is that if put to a national referendum, something like the Sanders 15% cap would pass pretty easily. In Washington, of course, it's another story.
If we had a national referendum, the 15% cap would pass 90-10 if we had an honest debate. Of course, if there were really a national vote on the issue, the airwaves would be filled with bank-financed fraudulent ads telling us how the entire country will go bankrupt if we don't charge a minimum of 30% interest rates on credit cards, or some similar bullshit.

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Rumors of God’s retirement

Direct from The Onion:

[T]he Divine Creator fielded questions regarding rumors of his possible retirement.

"I've been at this a long time," said God, ∞, the all-knowing, all-powerful being who has presided over the cosmos since forming it from sheer nothingness nearly 14 billion years ago. "And the truth is, this was never something I planned on doing forever. Lately, in fact, I've begun to wonder if I should move on sooner rather than later."

Over the past few centuries, God has on numerous occasions deflected speculation that his reign might be winding down, but his remarks Tuesday appeared to signal a shift in celestial policy. . . .

God mentioned that he deeply lamented missing his only child's once-in-a-lifetime crucifixion.

"Your son's down there being martyred in front of all these people, but you can't be there for it," said God, his voice cracking slightly. "He thought I'd forsaken him. Of course, I was tied up working on something that seemed important at the time but that I can't even remember now. And I'll never get that moment back."

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