Monthly Archives: August 2017

The Esoteric Improtance of Our Hair

by in Eating to Die vs. Eating to Live, Food for Thought, Randomness..., Reposts | 4 Comments

For some random reason this morning I was researching the esoteric meaning of gray hair for kicks and giggles. Yours truly has a hint of gray hair (LOL) and I’m barely 31 (SMH.) I’m pretty sure you all have heard that old wives’ tale that gray hair signifies wisdom. I wanted to see if there were any other information regarding the significance of gray hair that I hadn’t heard of before. Eventually I came across a post that not only touched on that a bit, but also the esoteric significance of hair in general.

Although the post seems geared to all sets of humanity, from the actual information that was presented, it seemed to be specifically geared toward Black Melanin-Dominant folk . Especially when it mentioned the idea hair is designed to be like antennas for absorbing energies of all sorts.

Now from recent conversations I’ve had along my spiritual journey, I’ve heard this type of knowledge before. So the idea of hair functioning as antennas wasn’t particularly shocking to me. But it didn’t really sink in until I read the following post. It broke down in detail, where a common individual would understand, the importance of our “hair” (or antennas) in regards to staying tuned into the energies of Nature and the universe as well as how it can enhance our spiritual growth.

Now, the majority of Black Melanin-Dominant peoples have hair that is wiry and spike-like with sharp ends, which arguably would be the most conducive to imitating the nature and function of an antenna (transmitting frequencies, or energies.) I know from time to time just from gently rubbing my beard I’ve accidentally poked my fingers, creating a small open wound.

And it would hurt too!

I do believe the ones who discovered this knowledge were people who definitely were melanin-rich,…Black Melanin-Dominant individuals!

Unfortunately, at some point in time those ancestors of ours were conquered and were forced to cut their hair, succumbing to lesser men who did not understand nor could comprehend (and to this day is still the case) its true importance. Thus, vanity and economic survival is the foundation of the relationship Black Melanin-Dominant folk have with their hair…in this reality.

Knowledge, true knowledge, is priceless. I can only imagine what this type of information could do for us. We’d honor and respect our hair in a totally different manner.

We wouldn’t want to put any type of deadly chemicals (or weave!!!) in our heads, my sistas! Nor would we be placing rubbing alcohol on our scalps after getting it cut (if we cut it all!!!) fellas!

I know some of my fellow brothers and sistas who make their ends meet with the MAN-ipulation of hair may not like this, but sometimes (if not most) the truth hurts.

That whole Samson and Delilah story takes on a WHOLE new meaning now.

Check out the post below, fam!

Peace and Love to my melanated family,

The Melanin Man

“The Spiritual Meaning of Hair” –from Waking Times

Deva Kaur Khalsa, 3ho on August 9, 2013

“Our hair fashions might be just a trend, but if we investigate, we may find that we have been depriving ourselves of one of the most valuable sources of energy for human vitality.” –Yogi Bhajan

Consider the possibility that the hair on your head is there to do more than just look good. Man is the only creature who grows longer hair on his head as he grows into adulthood. Left uncut, your hair will grow to a particular length and then stop all by itself at the correct length for you. From a yogic perspective, hair is an amazing gift of nature that can actually help raise the Kundalini energy (creative life force), which increases vitality, intuition, and tranquility.

Cut Hair

Long ago people in many cultures didn’t cut their hair, because it was a part of who they were. There were no salons. Often, when people were conquered or enslaved, their hair was cut as a recognized sign of slavery. It was also understood that this would serve as punishment and decrease the power of those enslaved.

The bones in the forehead are porous and function to transmit light to the pineal gland, which affects brain activity, as well as thyroid and sexual hormones. Cutting bangs which cover the forehead impedes this process. When Genghis Khan conquered China, he considered the Chinese to be a very wise, intelligent people who would not allow themselves to be subjugated. He therefore required all women in the country to cut their hair and wear bangs, because he knew this would serve to keep them timid and more easily controlled.

As whole tribes or societies were conquered, cut hair became so prevalent that the importance of hair was lost after a few generations, and hairstyles and fashion grew to be the focus.
The science of hair was one of the first technologies given by Yogi Bhajan when he came to America.

“When the hair on your head is allowed to attain its full, mature length, then phosphorous, calcium, and vitamin D are all produced, and enter the lymphatic fluid, and eventually the spinal fluid through the two ducts on the top of the brain. This ionic change creates more efficient memory and leads to greater physical energy, improved stamina, and patience.”

Yogi Bhajan explained that if you choose to cut your hair, you not only lose this extra energy and nourishment, but your body must then provide a great amount of vital energy and nutrients to continually re-grow the missing hair.

In addition, hairs are the antennas that gather and channel the sun energy or prana to the frontal lobes, the part of the brain you use for meditation and visualization. These antennas act as conduits to bring you greater quantities of subtle, cosmic energy. It takes approximately three years from the last time your hair was cut for new antennas to form at the tips of the hair.

Kundalini Hair Care

In India, a Rishi is known as a wise one who coils his or her hair up on the crown of the head during the day to energize the brain cells, and then combs it down at night. A ‘rishi knot’ energizes your magnetic field (aura) and stimulates the pineal gland in the center of your brain.

“This activation of your pineal results in a secretion that is central to the development of higher intellectual functioning, as well as higher spiritual perception.” -Yogi Bhajan

During the day, the hair absorbs solar energy, but at night it absorbs lunar energy. Keeping the hair up during the day and down at night aids in this process. Braiding your hair at night will help your electromagnetic field balance out from the day.

Split Ends

Loose scattered hair can develop split ends. Instead of trimming them and losing your antennas, Yogi Bhajan recommends applying a small amount of almond oil to your hair overnight so that it can be absorbed before you wash it the next morning. Keeping your hair coiled on your crown and protected with a head covering during the day will help your antennas heal. If you have long hair, see if your experience is different when it is clean and coiled at your crown, or down and loose.

Wet Hair

One year after Winter Solstice, when Yogi Bhajan was sitting in our living room with wet hair, he explained that he was drying it before putting it up in order to avoid a headache. When you put your hair up wet, it will tend to shrink and tighten a bit and even break as it dries. A better idea is to occasionally take the time to sit in the sun and allow your clean, wet hair to dry naturally and absorb some extra vitamin D. Yogis recommend shampooing the hair every 72 hours (or more frequently if the scalp sweats a great deal). It can also be beneficial to wash your hair after being upset to help process emotions.

Wooden Comb

Yogis also recommend using a wooden comb or brush for combing your hair as it gives a lot of circulation and stimulation to the scalp, and the wood does not create static electricity, which causes a loss of the hair’s energy to the brain. You will find that, if you comb your hair and scalp front to back, back to front, and then to the right and left several times, it will refresh you, no matter how long your hair is. All the tiredness of your day will be gone. For women, it is said that using this technique to comb your hair twice a day can help maintain youth, a healthy menstrual cycle, and good eyesight.

If you are bald or balding, the lack of hair energy can be counteracted with more meditation. If you are finding some silver strands in your hair, be aware that the silver or white color increases the vitamins and energy flow to compensate for aging. For better brain health as you age, try to keep your hair as natural and healthy as you can.

Tagore’s Hair

Yogi Bhajan told us this story about hair many years ago at Women’s Camp in New Mexico: Recognize how beautiful and powerful your hair is—when you keep it, you live a life of fulfillment in this world. When Rabindranath Tagore, the great poet who found God within himself, tried to meet a friend on a steamer ship, the friend didn’t recognize him and so wrote him a letter. “We were on the same steamer, but I didn’t find you.” Tagore said, “I was there.” His friend said, “I understand you are now a God-realized man, and I would like to know what your first action was when you became aware of the Oneness in all.” Tagore said, “When I realized the Oneness of all, I threw my shaving kit into the ocean. I gave up my ego and surrendered to nature. I wanted to live in the form that my Creator has given me.”

When humans allow their hair to grow, they are welcoming the maturity, the responsibility of being fully-grown, and fully powerful. That is why you will find grace and calmness in a person with uncut hair from birth, if it is kept well. The Creator has a definite reason for giving you hair.

It is said that when you allow your hair to grow to its full length and coil it on the crown of the head, the sun energy, pranic life force, is drawn down the spine. To counteract that downward movement, the Kundalini life energy rises to create balance. In Yogi Bhajan’s words, “Your hair is not there by mistake. It has a definite purpose, which saints will discover and other men will laugh at.”

About the Author

Deva Kaur Khalsa trains Kundalini Yoga Teachers and teaches Kundalini Yoga in South Florida. She was a student of Yogi Bhajan for over 39 years. She is co-owner of Yoga Source in Coral Springs, Florida, and can be reached at www.MyYogaSource.com.

a repost: Studies Show What Happens To The Human Body When We Walk Barefoot On Earth

by in Mother Earth, Randomness..., Reposts | 2 Comments
“This SHOULD be common sense. Unfortunately we’ve become so disconnected from the Earth and nature in general we now believe that being “grounded” is beneath us (no pun intended.)
When did we become to good to be natural?”
-The Melanin Man
Originally posted on Collective-Evolution

The picture above represents Improved facial circulation (right image) after 20 minutes of grounding, as documented by a Speckle Contrast Laser Imager (dark blue=lowest circulation; dark red=highest circulation).

Arjun Walia on August 24, 2017

Grounding, or ‘earthing,’ as some people call it, involves placing your feet directly on the ground without shoes or socks as a barrier. The logic behind this practice relates to the intense negative charge carried by the Earth. This charge is electron-rich, theoretically serving as a good supply of antioxidants and free-radical destroying electrons.

Dr. James Oschman, a PhD in biology from the University of Pittsburgh and an expert in the field of energy medicine, notes:

Subjective reports that walking barefoot on the Earth enhances health and provides feelings of well-being can be found in the literature and practices of diverse cultures from around the world. For a variety of reasons, many individuals are reluctant to walk outside barefoot, unless they are on holiday at the beach.

It makes sense if you think about it; in our most natural state, we wouldn’t really be wearing any sort of cover on our feet. Putting your feet on the ground enables you to absorb large amounts of negative electrons through the soles of your feet which, in turn, can help to maintain your body at the same negatively charged electrical potential as the Earth.

The Science

A study published a couple of years ago in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health titled “Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons” postulates that earthing could represent a potential treatment/solution to a variety of chronic degenerative diseases.

It concluded that simple contact with the Earth, through being either outside barefoot or indoors connected to grounded conductive systems, could serve as a natural and “profoundly effective environmental strategy” against chronic stress, ANS dysfunction, inflammation, pain, poor sleep, disturbed HRV, hyper-coagulable blood, and many common health disorders, including cardiovascular disease. The study concludes:

The research done to date supports the concept that grounding or earthing the human body may be an essential element in the health equation along with sunshine, clean air and water, nutritious food, and physical activity. (source)

Another study, conducted by the Department of Neurosurgery from the Military Clinical Hospital in Powstancow Warszawy, along with other affiliates like the Poland Medical University, found that blood urea concentrations are lower in subjects who are earthed (connected to the earth potential with the use of copper wire) during physical exercise and that earthing during exercise resulted in improved exercise recovery.

It concluded:

These results suggest that earthing during exercise inhibits hepatic protein catabolism or increases renal urea excretion. Earthing during exercise affects protein metabolism, resulting in a positive nitrogen balance. This phenomenon has fundamental importance in understanding human metabolic processes and may have implications in training programs for athletes. (source)

A study published last year from the Developmental and Cell Biology Department at the University of California at Irvine found that grounding the human body improves facial blood flow regulation. (source)

As mentioned earlier, studies have found grounding to reduce blood viscosity, which is a major factor in cardiovascular disease. (source)

One study, published in the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine, even concluded that earthing may be “the primary factor regulating the endocrine and nervous system.” (source)

According to a review published in the Journal of Inflammation Research: (source)

Grounding reduces or even prevents the cardinal signs of inflammation following injury: redness, heat, swelling, pain, and loss of function (Figures 1 and 2). Rapid resolution of painful chronic inflammation was confirmed in 20 case studies using medical infrared imaging (Figure 3). . . . Our main hypothesis is that connecting the body to the Earth enables free electrons from the Earth’s surface to spread over and into the body, where they can have antioxidant effects. Specifically, we suggest that mobile electrons create an antioxidant microenvironment around the injury repair field, slowing or preventing reactive oxygen species (ROS) delivered by the oxidative burst from causing “collateral damage” to healthy tissue, and preventing or reducing the formation of the so-called “inflammatory barricade”. We also hypothesize that electrons from the Earth can prevent or resolve so-called “silent” or “smoldering” inflammation. (source)

There seem to be dozens of studies which confirm the physiological effects of grounding, which include anything from anti-aging and heart health benefits to improved sleep and much, much more.

“This simple process of grounding is one of the most potent antioxidants we know of. Grounding has been shown to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, improve sleep, enhance well being, and much, much more. Unfortunately, many living in developed countries are rarely grounded anymore.”  – Dr Jospeh Mercola (source)

When grounded, the diurnal rhythm of the stress hormone, cortisol, begins to normalize. Cortisol is connected to your body’s stress response and helps control blood sugar levels, regulates metabolism, helps reduce inflammation, and assists with memory formulation. The figure below shows the results of a study that examined the effects of being grounded while sleeping over the course of eight weeks.

 

How  You Can Get Grounded

We all spend most of our time walking on the earth wearing shoes with rubber or plastic soles. These materials are insulators, used to insulate electrical wires. They also disconnect you from the Earth’s electron flow, which we are supposed to (naturally) be connected to. If you wear leather-soled shoes (or vegan leather!) or walk barefoot on sand, grass, soil, concrete, or ceramic tile, you will be grounded. If you walk on asphalt, wood, rubber, plastic, vinyl, tar, or tarmac you will not be grounded.

So the next time you are outside, take off your shoes! You can also use conductive systems while sleeping, working, or spending time indoors for a more convenient and lifestyle-friendly approach.

Schuman Resonance

In 1952 German physicist Professor W.O. Schumann, of the Technical University of Munich, began attempting to answer whether or not the earth itself has a frequency — a pulse. His assumption about the existence of this frequency came from his understanding that when a sphere exists inside of another sphere an electrical tension is created. Since the negatively charged earth exists inside the positively charged ionosphere, there must be tension between the two, giving the earth a specific frequency. Following his assumptions, through a series of calculations he was able to land upon a frequency he believed was the pulse of the earth. This frequency was 10hz.

hertzIt wasn’t until 1954 that Schumann teamed up with another scientist (Herbert König) and confirmed that the resonance of the earth maintained a frequency of 7.83 Hz. This discovery was later tested out by several scientists and verified. Since then, The Schumann Resonance has been the accepted term used scientifically when one is looking to describe or measure the pulse or heartbeat of the earth.

Even though the existence of the Schumann Resonance is an established scientific fact, there remain few scientists who fully understand the important relationship between this frequency and life on the planet.

I thought I would include this information here because I feel it’s relevant to this article. You can continue reading it HERE.

a repost: Mainstream media finally starting to ask why TUMERIC isn’t being promoted as a safe, affordable treatment forCANCER

by in Eating to Die vs. Eating to Live, Randomness..., Reposts | Leave a comment

Originally posted on Natural News

Image: Mainstream media finally starting to ask why TURMERIC isn’t being promoted as a safe, affordable treatment for CANCER

By Amy Goodrich  8/17/2017

A common kitchen staple has saved the life of a 57-old woman who had been battling blood cancer for five years. After undergoing three rounds of chemotherapy and four stem cell transplants to treat myeloma, Dieneke Ferguson thought she had exhausted all her options.

Myeloma develops when the white blood cells produced in the bone marrow start to multiply uncontrollably. When this happens, the body stops producing the normal antibodies needed to fight infection, resulting in bone damage, intense pain, fatigue, and nerve damage. Usually, people who develop the disease do not live beyond five years of diagnosis.

Speaking to the Daily Mail Online, Ferguson, who lives in North London and runs Hidden Art, a not-for-profit business helping artists market their work, explained that she had been on all sorts of toxic drugs with terrifying side-effects. At some point these toxic substances made her lose her memory for three days and two vertebrae in her spine collapsed so she couldn’t walk. Despite everything she tried, the cancer seemed unstoppable.

As conventional cancer treatments let her down, she thought she was losing the battle. As a last resort, Ferguson turned to a natural product called curcumin. Curcumin is the yellow pigment extracted from turmeric, the healing spice known used in Indian curries and golden milk.

How a kitchen staple changed this woman’s life

Since she had nothing to lose and learned about curcumin’s cancer-fighting properties via an internet support group, she decided to try this ancient remedy. Since turmeric only contains two percent of the cancer-fighting compound curcumin, Ferguson started taking eight grams of concentrated curcumin in tablet form daily.

“I told my oncologist I was taking it and he was very interested, especially when it apparently made such a difference,” said Ferguson.

Where all other conventional treatments failed, curcumin supplements had a tremendous effect. After five years of taking the curcumin tablets, Ferguson’s cancer cell count is negligible.

Many studies have shown curcumin’s ability to stop cancer in its tracks, inhibiting cancer cell growth and triggering programmed cell death. Over 2,000 scientific studies have displayed curcumin’s ability to combat cancers of the breast, prostate, liver, colon, lung, pancreas, and more. Though curcumin’s powerful anticancer properties have been known for ages, the medical world and mainstream media remained silent until now.

Dieneke Ferguson’s recovery was so incredible it has been featured in a case report published in the eminent British Medical Journal (BMJ).

“When you review her chart, there’s no alternative explanation [for her recovery] other than we’re seeing a response to curcumin,”  said Jamie Cavenagh, professor of blood diseases at London’s Barts Hospital and co-author of the report.

The cancer-fighting properties of curcumin are real

Ferguson is convinced curcumin could help other people battling cancer. The problem, however, is that the medical world cannot recommend it, she noted. In eastern medicine curcumin has been used for centuries, not only to combat cancer but also in the successful treatment of a host of illnesses, including heart disease, infection, depression, and dementia.

The scientific world has extensively researched its anti-inflammatory, cancer-fighting, and antiseptic effects. Nonetheless, turmeric isn’t being promoted as a safe, affordable treatment.

“Curcumin is a strong anti-inflammatory agent and chronic inflammation is the precursor of 99 per cent of all cancers,” explained Angus Dalgleish, a professor of cancer at St George’s Hospital in South London

Before it can be widely prescribed by doctors, it must be tested in large-scale trials. Sadly, nobody is willing to take up the challenge since these trials cost millions of dollars. An investment that could never be repaid as there is no big money to be made from sales of a natural compound that cannot be patented, the Daily Mail Online reported.

Julie Ryan, a cancer specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, told the journal Nature that the biological activity of curcumin is real. She believes that chemically modified forms may be even more effective at reaching certain tissues.

a repost: Acidic water stripped the lead out of water infrastructure pipes in Flint, analysis reveals

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Originally posted on Natural News

Image: Acidic water stripped the lead right out of water infrastructure pipes in Flint, analysis reveals

By Rhonda Johansson  8/18/2017

Research conducted by a team from the University of Michigan finally exposed the cause of the water crisis in their state. Contrary to a regulator’s claim earlier this year, the difficulty can be attributed to a lack of anti-corrosion treatment for the aging water systems in Flint, Michigan. The study analyzed the lead service lines in the city and saw a Swiss cheese pattern within the pipes’ interior crust, with holes in the system where the lead used to be. This is indicative, the authors say, of a water network that was not treated to prevent corrosion. This is the first direct evidence that preventive action could have easily prevented the water crisis.

The authors examined the lead rust inside 10 service lines around Flint. They took samples from each line, and noted the texture of the rust, along with its chemical composition. Using these variables, the authors calculated that the average service line around Flint released around 18 grams of lead during 17 months when the lines were not properly controlled for corrosion.

Lead author of the study, Terese Olson, says on Science Daily, “this is the amount of lead that would have entered a single home. If we average that release over the entire period the city received Flint River water, it would suggest that on average, the lead concentration would be at least twice the EPA action level of 15 parts per billion.”

Olsen and her team noted that the heavy metal seeped through the water system and caused the lines to become faulty. Moreover, due to the lines not being treated for corrosion, the lead could have been easily consumed by us unknowingly. The team further noted that while it is possible for some of the lead to have been washed down the drain, a larger percentage of the metal would have remained in home plumbing. This means that Flint residents could still be in danger of ingesting the metal in their drinking water, even after a lead service line is removed.

This is because galvanized steel pipe — the most common kind of pipe used in people’s homes — can act as sponges for lead, holding the metal for weeks or months, and then later releasing contaminated particles into the water.

Data from the Flint service lines perturbed the researchers. Aside from examining the pipes under a scanning electron microscope, they also inspected the chemical makeup of these lines. Flint pipes had a greater aluminum and magnesium ratio compared to similar figures from 26 other water utilities.

“We estimate how much lead was ‘missing’ in order to bring the Flint lead scale into line with the amount of aluminum and magnesium that was reported in other communities. That missing lead represents what was leached from the pipes during the Flint corrosion episode,” Olsen said.

The team explained that aging lead pipes become particularly problematic if not treated correctly. They disclaim, however, that even current water treatment technologies are not enough to prevent the oxidation process that occurs in all lead pipes. What these treatments are useful for, they said, is mitigating the formation of rust along the lines.

In Flint’s case, local government authorities decided to switch water utilities to save money; stemming the addition of a crucial compound called orthophosphates which prevents lead from rusting. In doing so, the Flint government changed the chemistry within their own pipelines. This caused the absurd rate in which lead leaked off and caused the water system to become defective. (Related: Flint, Michigan, isn’t the only U.S. city plagued by lead problems.)

 

 

 

a repost: Tanzania Goes Full Speed Ahead to Reclaim Africa’s Natural Wealth

by in Politics from a Black-Concious Perspective, Randomness..., Reposts | Leave a comment

Originally posted on Black Agenda Report

 

Tanzania's natural resources

by Mark P. Fancher    8/16/2017

“Tanzania’s National Assembly stops short of full nationalization, but nevertheless affirms permanent sovereignty over the country’s natural resources.”

An elephant can’t be ignored even in its natural habitat. There is however one figurative “elephant in the room” that is too often deliberately disregarded by Africa’s leaders. Too little attention is given to the domination of the continent’s natural wealth by foreign interests.

Libya, Nigeria, Algeria and Angola are in the top 20 countries with the largest proven oil reserves. Oil production is huge in many other African countries as well. Yet, according to UNICEF, nearly half of all children living in sub-Saharan Africa live in extreme poverty.

The incongruity of African poverty and Africa’s natural wealth has long been recognized and understood by at least some African heads of state. However, a well-entrenched system of global imperialism has strategically maintained a stranglehold on Africa’s resources.

Imperialism has dominated African wealth with many strategies, but perhaps the most significant has been not-so-subtle threats of a violent bloodbath if neo-colonial African governments make even the slightest move to seize oil and valuable mineral resources. In recent years the message has been driven home through the U.S. militarization of Africa under the direction of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). The willingness to pull the trigger was demonstrated by the western military intervention in Libya that preceded the brutal assassination of Muammar Khadafy.

Notwithstanding the military hammer that casts its shadow over the African landscape, Tanzania’s National Assembly enacted legislation this summer that stops short of full nationalization, but nevertheless affirms permanent sovereignty over the country’s natural resources and allows the government to renegotiate contracts and receive a bigger cut from foreign generated earnings.

“A well-entrenched system of global imperialism has strategically maintained a stranglehold on Africa’s resources.”

The Natural Wealth and Resources Act of 2017 notes in its preamble that the Tanzanian constitution requires the government to ensure “that the national wealth and heritage are harnessed, preserved and applied for the common good, and to prevent exploitation…” It further requires an “emphasis on the development of the People and the Nation, and in particular … the eradication of poverty, ignorance and diseases.”

Significant features of the legislation include:

* Guaranteed “returns into the Tanzanian economy from the earnings” derived from natural resources.

* Licenses granted to enterprises extracting, exploiting or acquiring natural wealth must ensure “that the Government obtains an equitable stake in the venture” and that the people of Tanzania are permitted to acquire equitable stakes in the enterprise.

* Raw resources cannot be exported outside of Tanzania for refining or beneficiation.

* All earnings from natural resources must be retained in Tanzanian banks.

* Legal challenges to Tanzania’s sovereignty over its natural wealth cannot be initiated or conducted in non-Tanzanian courts or tribunals.

There are also amendments to existing mining laws that allow for what some might regard as partial expropriation of foreign companies. A companion piece of legislation allows for the re-negotiation of unconscionable terms of existing contracts for extraction, exploitation or acquisition of natural resources.

“Tanzania included in the new legislation a requirement that all disputes be resolved in Tanzanian courts.”

The industry lobby group that opposed the legislation described the implications of the new laws as “vast,” while also commenting that “…[t]he industry is going to be affected big time.” Still another analyst noted: “…the retroactive wording of these laws signals that nationalization is being planned by the government and could be imminent.”

There are hazards connected with picking fights with imperialists, and it is understandable why some government leaders not committed to genuine liberation might be intimidated by the posture assumed by the West in Africa. But the history of countries taking control of their resources continues to unfold. Bolivia and Venezuela stand as two notable examples of countries that decided to control their own oil. Their actions have not been without consequences, and Tanzania and any other countries contemplating nationalization can learn from their experiences.

In the short-term, the foreign enterprises impacted by nationalization may not wait for western governments to respond. In the case of Tanzania, an analyst from the global law firm of King & Wood Mallesons suggested that companies consider whether there have been breaches of bilateral investment treaties to which Tanzania is a party and that contain provisions that prohibit nationalization and expropriation without adequate compensation. Under the treaties, such challenges must be submitted for arbitration to the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes. Tanzania apparently anticipated this possibility when it included in the new legislation a requirement that all disputes be resolved in Tanzanian courts.

“The biggest threat to any African country that chooses to keep its own wealth is imperialist military intervention.”

In addition to fighting legal battles, foreign businesses can also make the decision to simply withdraw from Tanzania. The King & Wood Mallesons analyst said: “If these amendments are actually carried into operation it is unlikely that Tanzania will be able to attract any significant investments in mining or the oil and gas industries in the foreseeable future.”

However, the biggest threat to any African country that chooses to keep its own wealth is imperialist military intervention. U.S. State Department e-mails sent to Hilary Clinton include at least one explicit reference to the fact that a primary reason for French enthusiasm for military intervention in Libya was the prospect of gaining greater access to the country’s oil reserves. Nevertheless, even imperialists know that military intervention cannot be undertaken cavalierly. It requires a pretext that will be tolerated if not fully accepted by diplomatic and political forces around the world. Consequently, a prospective intervention would require a balancing of burdens versus benefits, and there is always at least the possibility the imperialists will decide use of armed force is just not worth it.

Africa’s need for total liberation and genuine independence is compelling enough that responsible African governments should cease being intimidated by imperialist bluff, bluster and bullying. While the actual motivation and objectives of all members of the Tanzanian government may not be fully known, their actions at least provide an example of how Africa can begin to boldly march forward in reclaiming its own natural wealth. This is a revolutionary process that ultimately must be carried out and completed by the united and organized masses of Africa’s people, but government actions of this kind help to create a vision of what can and must be Africa’s liberated future.

 

a repost: White Nationalism – A Main Element Of The Current Social System.

by in Politics from a Black-Concious Perspective, Randomness..., Reposts | 1 Comment

Originally posted on ThyBlackman.com

 

August 14, 2017

Recently, there was an incident in Charlottesville, Virginia that sparked riots for white nationalists groups like the Alt-Right, Neo-Nazis, and The KKK.

Now, the incident started when a group of white nationalists had gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday for an event called “Unite The Right” which was met by counter protestors which led to tainting, shoving, and then brawling.

The incident in Charlottesville, Virginia is an isolated incident and the colonial media is already humanizing the white people involved in the rioting as “crazy, out of control protesters”. It’s worth noting that no state of emergency and the national guard will ever get called up when white people are rioting.

If this was black people leading a rebellion against the oppressive, corrosive, and destructive social system or a police killing of a black person as we have seen in Baltimore & Ferguson, not only will the state declare a state of emergency, but the national guard, the police, and state licking negroes like Al and Jesse will also be called upon to stop us from fighting back against this corrupt, toxic, and destructive social system that has oppressed us and other groups of oppressed people for over 600 years.

White nationalism is all around us everyday from the 1st to 45th U.S. presidents who have committed acts of imperialistic terrorism against black people and other groups of oppressed people historically and today. Hell, even #44 was a white nationalist in black face who never condemned the police for killing Mike Brown, Freddy Gray, Sandra Bland, and Korryn Gaines and also carrying out attacks against oppressed people worldwide and even called the black people in Baltimore who were fighting back against the social system as “criminals and thugs”.

White nationalism even exists in the public schools in which white nationalist teachers and administrators constantly attack and criminalize black students for minor things that white students are actually allowed to get away with. White nationalism is the public school history curriculum that teaches black kids the lies of “Their history started with slavery”, “They’ve contributed nothing throughout world history”, and “They’ll always be inferior to whites”.

White nationalism is also the collusion between white judges, white juries, white defense attorneys, and even the white prosecutors to destroy the dreams and aspirations of young black men in particular by deliberately giving them horrendous and egregious sentences for mostly nonviolent drug offenses so that they can make money off of them.

White nationalism is even in the form of the police that come into our community and terrorize and kill us with impunity and absolutely face no sort of repercussion because police containment of the black community is the #1 priority for city governments across the country that are ran by mostly white nationalists.

The basis for the foundation of the current social system was built upon the ideology of white nationalism and the current social system historically and today parasitically sucked the labor, wealth, and resources from African people and other groups of oppressed people worldwide as well as carrying out some of the most horrendous, violent, and destructive acts of colonial terrorism against oppressed around the world historically and today.

These white nationalists groups that are deeply in bed with the social system like The KKK, Neo-Nazis, and Alt-Right are just a minority compared to the masses of the oppressed groups of people around the world have been systematically oppressed by U.S Imperialism, colonialism, and the social system for over 600 years.

And now, we are seeing the masses of oppressed people around the world are fighting back against U.S. imperialism, colonialism, and the social system that has oppressed them for over 600 years. Imperialism is in crisis and it’s only a matter of time before imperialism completely dies out.

The Conclusion – At the end of the day, we must understand that white nationalism is one of the main elements of the social system.

Staff Writer; Kwame Shakir (aka Joe D.)

The Folly of Big-Time Sports Pt.7 : Boycott the NFL for Colin Kaepernick’s cause?? Are You F**king Serious?!

by in Entertainment Industrial Complex, Having a Moment, Randomness... | 7 Comments

 

Image result for colin kaepernick protest

From the Melanin Man:

It’s been a process, but slowly but surely, I’m pulling away from the distraction of mainstream professional sports. Yet I’m compelled to write about the travesty of Colin Kaepernick not being signed yet by any NFL teams due to his protest of the National Anthem. For some strange reason, there are a good number of us who believe that Kaepernick is being punished for standing up for social justice for Blacks (Melanin-Dominants.)

So what do we do?

“BOYCOTT THE NFL!!” “PETITION NFL TEAMS TO SIGN COLIN KAEPERNICK!!”

(Sighing in disappointment as I shake my head)

Here are a few questions we need to ask ourselves:

  1. Why are we continuing to support this WALKING CONTRADICTION?
  2. WHYYYYY are we feeding into the fictitious drama the NFL manages to drum up before the beginning of EVERY season now?
  3. Do you understand the CRUEL paradox we’re trapped in?

 

Those individuals behind the scenes sure know how to rile up the emotions of us minions, especially through  nonsensical sports entertainment. Slaves Athletes are essentially bought off by the slave masters owners of these sports plantations franchises who run these sports leagues. So if I can you use one of my paid slaves players to drum up even more attention (i.e. increased viewership, jersey and ticket sales) towards my franchise and league  by using a genuine platform such as racial politics, why not take advantage?

We were/are being hooked, lined, and sunk through the fallacy of Colin Kaepernick’s protest!

Who cares about a f**king national anthem?!

We continue to gain acceptance from a majority white-Caucasian run nation and its majority white-Caucasian constituents which has not yet to this day acknowledged that we are fully human beings!!

REALLY?!!!!

If Black Melanin-Dominant folk (which we’re the ones mainly supporting this hypocrite) truly desired to break away from our benefactor Massa and fend for self, then WHY are we begging petitioning NFL teams to sign him in lieu of a boycott? Has it be encoded in our DNA to continuously ask for acceptance a handout? And to bring more validity to the madness,  fellow NFL players and shills celebrities such as Michael Bennett, Michael Jenkins, and Spike Lee* have joined in the chorus.

*Side note: There was a  time not too long ago when I thought highly of Spike Lee and his work. And I still do respect his talent. But  I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s an  agent to the system. You know what I’m talking about.

I do not believe Colin Kaepernick truly cares about the plight of his people, nor does he understand the paradox  we can’t seem to shake.  If he did, not only would he  would shun the NFL completely, he would denounce the entire game of football in general.

You know, timing is everything.

It’s funny how a couple of weeks prior to the Colin Kaepernick’s shenanigans were being drummed back into the news, there was a study  released that stated that 99% (or 111 out 112!) of the brains of deceased NFL players tested positive for the brain degenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy,  better known as CTE. In deceased college football players who didn’t even make it to the NFL, it is over 90%!

WHY have we totally forgotten that small bit of information? THAT WAS NOT EVEN A MONTH AGO!

Black Melanin-Dominant men make up roughly 60-70% of college and NFL rosters. Those of us who even flash any semblance of athletic talent are hounded down as early as middle school by recruiters who see only dollar signs for themselves and the plantations universities they work for. And after shucking and jiving (or juking and diving in this case)  for free for our respective plantations universities who make hundreds of millions in the process, the select few of us who are able to come out unscathed have the “opportunity” to make chump change in the NFL while the slave masters owners (as well as Vegas)  make billions upon billions every year.

Maybe some of us come out of college with a degree that we can use. Maybe a handful of us retire from the NFL as millionaires, if the agents and certain long-lost friends and family members haven’t sucked us dry. But at the end of the day our real wealth lies in our health…physically, emotionally, and spiritually! Unfortunately, the majority of us Black Melanin-Dominant men who travel down this road are broken inside and out.

We find ourselves not only suffering from brain diseases such as CTE, but suffering other permanent, debilitating physical ailments due to the game of football. If by some sort of miracle we don’t, we’re nevertheless still serving white supremacy and butt buddy capitalism (i.e. sportscasters, team ownership, etc.)

Damn, that is a very efficient assembly line they got going on!

How is this benefiting our collective?

(That’s a rhetorical question.)

We are being played, fam!

So get the f**k outta here with the Colin Kaepernick protest and this petition nonsense. He  (and other players who’ve jumped on the bandwagon) is NOT on our side whatsoever. They’re allies to the state and to those who wish to kept this DESTRUCTIVE PARADIGM ALIVE! The sad thing is that they may not even realize that.  They haven’t said  or done anything new; when has protesting done anything for our people besides enslave us even more?

Let’s use our THIRD EYE and look deeper into what is being given to us by those who do not have our best interests at heart.

Trust me…everything we see and feel ain’t real!

 

Peace and Love to my melanated family,

The Melanin Man

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a repost: The Outrageous Ways Big Pharma Has Bribed Doctors to Shill Drugs

by in Did You know?, Eating to Die vs. Eating to Live, Randomness..., Reposts | 1 Comment

Here is another post on our “paid assassins.” It’s a year old, but it’s still relevant nonetheless.

-The Melanin Man

 

By Martha Rosenberg July 19, 2016

 

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by The Influence, and is reprinted here with permission.

At the 2010 meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in New Orleans, a psychiatrist from the East coast shared her anger with me about the recent clamp down on Pharma financial perks to doctors. “They used to wine us and dine us. An SSRI maker flew my entire office to a Caribbean island… but now nothing,” she lamented.

She was right. Before news organizations and the 2010 Physician Financial Transparency Reports (also called the Sunshine Act, part of the Affordable Care Act) reported the outrageous amount of money Pharma was giving doctors to prescribe its new, brand-name drugs, there was almost no limit to what was spent to encourage prescribing.

At another medical conference I attended, soon after, when it was suggested that doctors not accept free meals from Pharma reps because of indebtedness, a doctor asked in all earnestness “but what do we do for lunch?”

He was right. Doctors seldom have to go hungry at lunchtime when Pharma reps are around. Not only do reps reliably bring lunch and free drug samples, until fairly recently they wielded thousand-dollar budgets to send doctors on trips to resorts, golf vacations and to sought after sports events. No wonder the docs saw them.

But by 2010, much of the over-the-top Pharma largesse had ended. Not just because the press and Sunshine Act exposed the huge payments, naming names—but because practically every major drug company from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Eli Lilly, Abbott, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson to Amgen, Allergen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cephalon, Novartis and Purdue had settled a wrongdoing suit. Both doctors and the public largely viewed Pharma’s safety and effectiveness claims as “bought” by such extravagance.

In fact, by 2010, the number of doctors even willing to see Pharma reps had fallen by almost 20 percent and the number of doctors refusing to see all reps increased by half.  Eight million sales calls were “nearly impossible to complete,” reported ZS Associates.

Still, here are some of the ways Pharma managed to get drugs into your medicine cabinet when the financial excess bestowed on doctors was tolerated:

1) Blue Cross Blue Shield said that Pfizer jetted 5,000 doctors to Caribbean resorts where they enjoyed massages, golf and $2,000 honoraria to try to increase prescriptions for its painkiller Bextra—a drug that proved so unsafe it was withdrawn from the market in 2005 for heart risks.

2) The Justice Department charged that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) “paid millions to doctors to promote Wellbutrin, approved at the time for depression, for off-label uses by funding meetings, sometimes at lavish resorts,” according to CBS News. Off-label uses ignore FDA approved indications in favor of whatever Pharma wants to say to sell a drug.

3) In China, GSK was charged with being even more brazen—employing a network of 700 middlemen and travel agencies and sex workers to convince doctors to prescribe its drugs.

4) Johnson & Johnson wined and dined Texas Medicaid officials, charged state authorities, treating them to trips, perks and honoraria to get its expensive antipsychotic drug Risperdal preferred status on the state formulary where it would be paid for by taxpayers. (Taxpayers were also bilked by the Department of Veterans Affairs expenditure of $717 million on Risperdal only to discover the drug worked no better than a placebo.)

5) Bristol-Myers Squibb enticed doctors to prescribe its drugs with access to the Los Angeles Lakers and luxury box suites for their games, according to California regulators.

6) And, in keeping with the marketing free-for-all that has hooked so many Americans on opioid drugs, opioid makerVictory Pharma was charged with treating doctors to mortgage assistance and… lap dances.

Golf Trips Are Not the Only Way Pharma Pays Doctors

Doctors may not get to go to the Caribbean as they once did, but they make a huge amount of money from Pharma by giving speeches promoting its drugs. The speech-givers, who sit on Pharma’s speakers’ bureaus, are considered “key opinion leaders,” capable of convincing other doctors of a drug’s benefits so they will then prescribe the drug.

According to ProPublica, Sujata Narayan, a family medicine doctor practicing in Stanford, CA earned an astounding $43.9 million promoting drugs for Pharma. Karen Underwood, a pediatric critical care doctor in Scottsdale, AZ received a walloping $28 million. Moreover, hospitals are also awash in Pharma money with the City Of Hope National Medical Center receiving $361 million and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation $22 million.

Pharma also pays doctors to conduct studies of its drugs often paying them for each subject they recruit and winning their loyalty because they are then familiar with the drug after monitoring subjects on it. A huge Pfizer trial of the drug Neurontin was conducted just this way charged Carl Elliot in the New York Times: 772 study investigators were recruited so they would personally prescribe the drug once they were familiar with it. The study was not conducted to establish effectiveness and safety and the joke was on them—and the public.

Traditionally, Pharma also paid for Continuing Medical Education courses, or CME, that are required for doctors to keep their state licenses and sometimes their insurance. Since the Pharma subsidized CMEs were “free,” doctors saved money they would have spent to enroll in a real course but of course had to listen to a Pharma sales pitch as a captive audience, instead.

Until transparency laws, CME course materials did not even hide Pharma funding. For example, a 2008 course called “Bipolar disorder: individualizing treatment to improve patient outcomes, part 2” was unabashedly taught by teachers funded by Abbott, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca; GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, Wyeth, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Shire and four more drug companies.

Pharma has also used CMEs for damage control when safety signals about a drug could tank sales. When dentists, oral surgeons and patients began seeing “jawbone death” from the popular bone drugs called bisphosphonates, Pharma told doctors in its free CMEs it was not the drugs but patients’ poor “hygiene” that was causing the serious and disfiguring side effect. Right. Seven years after hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was linked to increased risks of cancer, heart disease and stroke Pharma CMEs marketing HRT as if nothing had happened at Duke University, Penn State University and University of Oklahoma medical schools, the Cleveland Clinic and on Medscape.

Pharma funded CMEs also helped “disease awareness,” an insidious selling tactic. When Lilly’s antidepressant Cymbalta got FDA approval for use in fibromyalgia, Lilly gave nonprofits$3.9 million in CME grants to raise “awareness” of fibromyalgia. Have drug; need patients.

Defending Pharma Payments

Medical professionals have accused journalists of putting undue focus on Pharma payments, maintaining that it does not affect their prescribing and also that the world has bigger problems. New York University professor Lila E. Nachtigall, who received $124,000 from Pharma for speaking and other promotional fees, said “It kind of makes me laugh” that Pharma links are a concern, “with what goes on in the Senate.”

But journalists hew to a strict “no gifts” code themselves. According to the Reuters Handbook of Journalism, professional journalists do not accept “any payment, gift, service or benefit (whether in cash or in kind) offered by a news source or contact,” or “hospitality when there is no news value,” or travel “junkets.” Journalists must pay their own way on trips to maintain “accuracy, balance and the truth,” says Reuters. Other reputable news organization adhere to the same standards.

At medical conferences, doctors often show slides disclosing all the Pharma companies who pay them before segueing into their “objective” medical study. Imagine what would happen if a journalist disclosed financial payments from an entity or industry and then proceeded to “report” on it.

Free Lunches Still Common—and Sway Prescribing

In 2002, Pharma’s lobbying group PhRMA adopted a voluntary code discouraging free trips and tickets to the theater or sporting event for doctors. But the code still allows free meals. A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that even a lowly, $20 meal resulted in more prescriptions for Pharma.

The study found doctors who received even one free meal were 70 percent more likely to prescribe the brand-name beta blocker Bystolic, 52 percent more likely to prescribe the brand-name ACE inhibitor Benicar, 118 percent more likely to prescribe the brand-name antidepressant Pristiq and 18 percent more likely to prescribe the brand-name statin Crestor. Preference for the drug linked to a free meal existed even though generic equivalents exist for all four drugs which significantly save patients and the health care system money. The study found that more than one free meal increased the likelihood of doctors prescribing the drugs with the exception of Pristiq, a “me-too” antidepressant with significant risks that was included in a legal settlement charging misrepresentation.

Of course doctors can take umbrage at the suggestion that they “can be bought for a hero or a slice of pizza,” said the study’s lead author R. Adams Dudley, a professor of medicine and health policy at the University of California, San Francisco. But “it is human nature for a doctor to reciprocate by listening to the pitch of a sales representative bearing free food or beverages.”

An editorial accompanying the JAMA Internal Medicine study said, “There are inherent tensions between the profits of health care companies, the independence of physicians and the integrity of our work, and the affordability of medical care. If drug and device manufacturers were to stop sending money to physicians for promotional speaking, meals and other activities without clear medical justifications and invest more in independent bona fide research on safety, effectiveness and affordability, our patients and the health care system would be better off.” It is an understatement.

Not only do we now know that even a free meal can affect prescribing decisions, three years after the Sunshine Act, more than half of US doctors were still enjoying free meals, gifts and outright payments from Pharma.

a repost: Proof Surfaces Insurance Co Pays Massive Bonuses to Doctors for Vaccinating Babies

by in Did You know?, Eating to Die vs. Eating to Live, Randomness..., Reposts | 10 Comments

This is some bullshit! I’m not surprised by this, because I figured physicians were getting some sort of kickbacks for pushing the vaccine agenda so hard. The majority of us are not privy to this knowledge, but we need to be. Mannnn…your typical physicians (not all of them lol) are basically paid assassins.

STOP PLACING YOUR FAITH IN THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM!!!

YOUR HEALTH IS YOUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY!!!

-The Melanin Man

 

Originally posted on Waking Times

Alex Pietrowski on August 8, 2017

 

Here is a perfect example of the tactics that Big Pharma uses to incentivize doctors to push vaccines on the public. Insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) pays pediatricians $400 for EACH fully vaccinated child under the age of 2. This means that for every 100 vaccinated patients, the doctor gets a $40,000 bonus!

Moreover, it is now very difficult to find a pediatrician who will accept a family who doesn’t vaccinate. Even parents who partially vaccinate or follow a different schedule have a hard time finding a doctor. Here’s why: doctors have to vaccinate a certain percentage of their patients or they don’t get their bonus. BCBS says doctors need to vaccinate 63% of their patients to get the payout.

BCBS outlines the incentive program for vaccinating babies in the BCBS doctor incentives booklet. Below is an image of the childhood immunization incentives page.

BCBS incentives for vaccinating babies

 

The program specifies that patients under the age of 2 must receive 24 inoculations for the doctor to receive the $400 per-patient payout. Notice the list includes the flu vaccine, even though evidence suggests that the flu vaccine actually weakens the immune system long-term. Furthermore, during the 2012-2013 flu season, the flu vaccine’s effectiveness was found to be just 56 percent across all age groups reviewed by the CDC.

Exorbitant Payouts for Vaccinating Babies

So how much money can a doctor make by pushing vaccines on trusting parents? Here’s the breakdown:

The average American pediatrician has 1546 patients, though some pediatricians see many more. The vast majority of those patients are very young, perhaps because children transition to a family physician or stop visiting the doctor at all as they grow up. As they table above explains, Blue Cross Blue Shield pays pediatricians $400 per fully vaccinated child. If your pediatrician has just 100 fully-vaccinated patients turning 2 this year, that’s $40,000. Yes, Blue Cross Blue Shield pays your doctor a $40,000 bonus for fully vaccinating 100 patients under the age of 2. If your doctor manages to fully vaccinate 200 patients, that bonus jumps to $80,000. (source: CongitiveTruths.com)

Doctors Receive Bribes for More Than Vaccinations

The complete BCBS doctor incentives booklet was posted by CognitiveTruths.com here.

The booklet shows that payouts aren’t available just for vaccines. Doctors receive bonuses for making sure that patients “adhere to their prescribed drug therapy.” This falls under BCBS category of “disease management” and includes statins, drugs for hypertension, and oral diabetes medications. Doctors also receive bonuses for helping patients manage depression…but only if they do so using drugs.

You May Also Like: The Outrageous Ways Big Pharma Has Bribed Doctors to Shill Drugs

These types of practices by the medical establishment give rise to many questions. First, are doctors more concerned about earning their bonus than about children’s health? That would explain why so many doctors are no longer taking families that do not vaccinate. Further, do doctors even care if the one-size-fits-all approach to vaccination is safe?

Finally, if doctors receive payouts for disease management, then why would they want to cure their patients? This approach definitely illustrates the biggest problem of our medical establishment. Let’s face it, the establishment is creating long-term customers instead of curing patients.

a repost: Canada’s single-payer healthcare system is imploding due to skyrocketing costs

by in Did You know?, Eating to Die vs. Eating to Live, Randomness..., Reposts | Leave a comment

Nothing in THIS life, IN THIS PARDIGM, IS EVER FREE!! Always remember that fam!

-The Melanin Man

 

Originally posted on Natural News

 

Image: Canada’s single-payer healthcare system is imploding due to skyrocketing costs

By Tracey Watson August 9, 2017

 

We are all immensely grateful that advances in medical treatment mean that people no longer die from easily treatable diseases. Most likely you or someone close to you has had to obtain medical treatment for a serious condition which could have resulted in their death. Indeed, access to healthcare is no longer viewed as a privilege but as a right by modern 21st century people. Two countries that are upheld as examples of free healthcare being made available to every citizen are Canada and the United Kingdom. These countries promise easy access to necessary treatment at no charge. A shocking new report from the conservative think-tank The Fraser Institute, has just revealed, however, that the healthcare system in Canada is imploding, and treatment is anything but “free.” The situation is almost exactly the same in the U.K.

The Daily Caller is reporting that a “typical” Canadian family of four with an annual income of $127,814, will pay around $12,057 for healthcare each year – albeit indirectly; the money is derived from taxes.

Bacchus Barua, senior economist with the Fraser Institute’s Centre for Health Policy Studies, and lead author of the study noted, “Health care in Canada isn’t free—Canadians actually pay a substantial amount for health care through their taxes, even if they don’t pay directly for medical services.”

You might be thinking that even $12,057 a year is acceptable for comprehensive medical treatment, but that’s only half the story. The reality is that many procedures are excluded, and Canadians must provide for their own dental care, eye exams and glasses, and a host of other treatments. A shocking shortage of healthcare providers means a Canadian family can wait years to be accepted by a family practitioner. And, as the Caller noted, those who need either routine or urgent surgery have to wait their turn on a very long waiting list. (Related: Keep up with the latest developments and changes that impact your family at Medicine.news)

Back in 2010, Michael Tennant of The New American noted:

The Canadian healthcare system has been slowly but surely collapsing of its own weight, as all socialist systems eventually do, for years. … What is needed is not more government involvement in the healthcare sector but less.

According to an earlier Natural News article, in the United Kingdom, where the socialist National Healthcare System (NHS) has been collapsing for years, the latest solution is to punish those whose lifestyles put them at increased risk for illness, like smokers and the obese, by denying them necessary surgical procedures to cut back on costs. Instead, they will be referred to a health program for six months – by which time some of them could be dead.

Those with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more will be “offered a referral to either a weight management program or stop smoking service for a six-month period of health optimization before being considered for surgery.”

To add insult to injury, while being denied the coverage to which every U.K. citizen is supposed to be entitled, these patients will still have to continue sacrificing a portion of their earnings to the healthcare system.

While it is, of course, always best to make the necessary lifestyle changes to get to the root causes of serious illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, and nobody should be smoking anymore, this policy just goes to prove that “free” healthcare is never really free, and it is hardly ever available to everybody.

The best course of action is to get your health issues under control now, before you need expensive medical treatment. Maintaining a healthy weight, eliminating processed foods, eating plenty of non-GMO, organic fruits and veggies, and incorporating daily exercise into your lifestyle are the steps that will put you on the road to real health and longevity