“
Why would we need to experience the Comforter if our lives are already comfortable?
”
”
Francis Chan (Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit)
“
The fundamentalist seeks to bring down a great deal more than buildings. Such people are against, to offer just a brief list, freedom of speech, a multi-party political system, universal adult suffrage, accountable government, Jews, homosexuals, women's rights, pluralism, secularism, short skirts, dancing, beardlessness, evolution theory, sex. There are tyrants, not Muslims.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that we should now define ourselves not only by what we are for but by what we are against. I would reverse that proposition, because in the present instance what we are against is a no brainer. Suicidist assassins ram wide-bodied aircraft into the World Trade Center and Pentagon and kill thousands of people: um, I'm against that. But what are we for? What will we risk our lives to defend? Can we unanimously concur that all the items in the preceding list -- yes, even the short skirts and the dancing -- are worth dying for?
The fundamentalist believes that we believe in nothing. In his world-view, he has his absolute certainties, while we are sunk in sybaritic indulgences. To prove him wrong, we must first know that he is wrong. We must agree on what matters: kissing in public places, bacon sandwiches, disagreement, cutting-edge fashion, literature, generosity, water, a more equitable distribution of the world's resources, movies, music, freedom of thought, beauty, love. These will be our weapons. Not by making war but by the unafraid way we choose to live shall we defeat them.
How to defeat terrorism? Don't be terrorized. Don't let fear rule your life. Even if you are scared.
”
”
Salman Rushdie (Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992-2002)
“
I do not say that all lawyers are bad, but I do maintain that the general tendency is bad: standing up in a court for whichever side has paid you, affecting warmth and conviction, and doing everything you can to win the case, whatever your private opinion may be, will soon dull any fine sense of honour. The mercenary soldier is not a valued creature, but at least he risks his life, whereas these men merely risk their next fee.
”
”
Patrick O'Brian (The Reverse of the Medal (Aubrey/Maturin, #11))
“
I’ll risk the madness. When it comes to you, I always have.
”
”
May Dawson (Rebel Queen (Lost Fae, #3))
“
...Why would we need to experience the Comforter if our lives are already comfortable? It is those who put their lives at risk and suffer for the gospel who will most often experience His being "with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20).
”
”
Francis Chan (Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit)
“
But how true it is that every pleasure has also its reverse side, in brief, its pain. Or, if not wholly true, how nearly so. Therefore, I have added to most of my pleasures the little flavour of bitterness, the flaw in their perfection, the canker in the damask, the worm at the root, the fear of loss, or of satiety, the fearful risks involved in their very existence, which tang their sweetness, and mind us of their mortality and of our own, and that nothing in this world is perfect.
”
”
Rose Macaulay (Personal Pleasures)
“
Even the richest person, provided the riches comes from mutually beneficial exchange, does not need to give anything "back" to the community, because this person took nothing out of the community. Indeed, the reverse is true: Enterprises give to the community. Their owners take huge risks, and front the money for investment, precisely with the goal of serving others. Their riches are signs that they have achieved their aims.
”
”
Jeffrey Tucker
“
It was almost a direct reversal of the old rules of conduct, under which a woman had to remain virginal or risk being cast out of society. Nowadays young women were apparently supposed to count being a sexual dynamo among their accomplishments—a far riskier avocation than embroidery or playing the harp.
From damned if you do to damned if you don’t: the story of women’s lives
”
”
Amanda Sellet (By the Book)
“
But for most of the leading causes of death, the science shows that our genes often account for only 10–20 percent of risk at most.15 For instance, as you’ll see in this book, the rates of killers like heart disease and major cancers differ up to a hundredfold among various populations around the globe. But when people move from low- to high-risk countries, their disease rates almost always change to those of the new environment.
”
”
Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
“
Despite widespread misconceptions in the United States today that the institution of slavery was based on race, for most of the thousands of years in which slavery existed around the world, it was based on whoever was vulnerable to enslavement and within striking distance. Thus Europeans enslaved other Europeans, just as Asians enslaved other Asians and Africans enslaved other Africans, while Polynesians enslaved other Polynesians and the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere enslaved other indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere. The very word “slave" derived from the word for Slavs, who were enslaved by fellow Europeans for centuries before Africans began to be brought in chains to the Western Hemisphere. Africans were not singled out by a race for ownership by Europeans, they were resorted to after the rise of nation-states with armies and navies in other parts of the world which reduced the number of places that could be raided for slaves without great costs and risks. Slave-raiding continued in Africa, primarily by Africans enslaving other Africans and then, in West Africa, selling some of their slaves to whites to take to the Western Hemisphere. Meanwhile, the growing range of ships and the growing wealth of nations eventually made economically feasible the transportation of vast numbers of slaves from one continent to another, creating racial differences between the enslaved and their owners as a dominant pattern in the Western Hemisphere. Such a pattern was by no means limited to Europeans owning non-Europeans, however. There were many examples of the reverse, quite aside from vast regions of the earth where neither the slaves nor their owners were either black or white.
”
”
Thomas Sowell
“
What it mainly revealed was that one of the most insidious of the “hidden injuries of class” in North American society was the denial of the right to do good, to be noble, to pursue any form of value other than money – or, at least, to do it and to gain any financial security or rewards for having done. The passionate hatred of the “liberal elite” among right-wing populists came down, in practice, to the utterly justified resentment towards a class that had sequestered, for its own children, every opportunity to pursue love, truth, beauty, honor, decency, and to be afforded the means to exist while doing so. The endless identification with soldiers (“support our troops!) – that is, with individuals who have, over the years, been reduced to little more than high tech mercenaries enforcing of a global regime of financial capital – lay in the fact that these are almost the only individuals of working class origin in the US who have figured out a way to get paid for pursuing some kind of higher ideal, or at least being able to imagine that’s what they’re doing. Obviously most would prefer to pursue higher ideals in way that did not involve the risk of having their legs blown off. The sense of rage, in fact, stems above all from the knowledge that all such jobs are taken by children of the rich.
”
”
David Graeber (Revolutions in Reverse: Essays on Politics, Violence, Art, and Imagination)
“
Jack was led out of the dark room into the strong light, and as they guided him up the steps he could see nothing for the glare. 'Your head here sir, if you please,' said the sheriff's man in a low, nervous, conciliating voice, 'and your hands just here.'
The man was slowly fumbling with the bolt, hinge and staple, and as Jack stood there with his hands in the lower half-rounds, his sight cleared: he saw that the broad street was filled with silent, attentive men, some in long togs, some in shore-going rig, some in plain frocks, but all perfectly recognizable as seamen. And officers, by the dozen, by the score: midshipmen and officers. Babbington was there, immediately in front of the pillory, facing him with his hat off, and Pullings, Stephen of course, Mowett, Dundas . . . He nodded to them, with almost no change in his iron expression, and his eye moved on: Parker, Rowan, Williamson, Hervey . . . and men from long, long ago, men he could scarcely name, lieutenants and commanders putting their promotion at risk, midshipmen and master's mates their commissions, warrant-officers their advancement.
'The head a trifle forward, if you please, sir,' murmured the sheriff's man, and the upper half of the wooden frame came down, imprisoning his defenceless face. He heard the click of the bolt and then in the dead silence a strong voice cry 'Off hats'. With one movement hundreds of broad-brimmed tarpaulin-covered hats flew off and the cheering began, the fierce full-throated cheering he had so often heard in battle.
”
”
Patrick O'Brian (The Reverse of the Medal (Aubrey/Maturin, #11))
“
While in the past people of rank or status were those and only those who took risks, who had the downside for their actions, and heroes were those who did so for the sake of others, today the exact reverse is taking place. We are witnessing the rise of a new class of inverse heroes, that is, bureaucrats, bankers, Davos-attending members of the I.A.N.D. (International Association of Name Droppers), and academics with too much power and no real downside and/or accountability. They game the system while citizens pay the price.
”
”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder)
“
We slip into thinking that always being connected is going to make us less lonely. But we are at risk because it is actually the reverse: If we are unable to be alone, we will be more lonely. And if we don’t teach our children to be alone, they will only know how to be lonely. Yet
”
”
Sherry Turkle (Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age)
“
Even just living next to a restaurant may pose a health hazard. Scientists estimated the lifetime cancer risk among those residing near the exhaust outlets at Chinese restaurants, American restaurants, and barbecue joints. While exposure to fumes from all three types of restaurants resulted in exposure to unsafe levels of PAHs, the Chinese restaurants proved to be the worst. This is thought to be due to the amount of fish being cooked,28 as the fumes from pan-fried fish have been found to contain high levels of PAHs capable of damaging the DNA of human lung cells.29 Given the excess cancer risk, the researchers concluded that it wouldn’t be safe to live near the exhaust of a Chinese restaurant for more than a day or two a month.
”
”
Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
“
According to the American Lung Association, smoking tobacco contributes to up to 90 percent of all lung cancer deaths. Men who smoke are twenty-three times more likely and women thirteen times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonsmokers. And smokers aren’t just harming themselves; thousands of deaths each year have been attributed to secondhand smoke. Nonsmokers have a 20–30 percent higher risk of developing lung cancer if they’re regularly exposed to cigarette smoke.3
”
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Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
“
foods like avocados, almonds, and sunflower seeds, actually improve insulin sensitivity. That’s why the risk of diabetes among vegans is closer to zero. The most common question I get from
”
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Eric Adams (Healthy at Last: A Plant-Based Approach to Preventing and Reversing Diabetes and Other Chronic Illnesses)
“
Is that true?” I asked Dad. “Are they gone for good?”
Dad shifted in his seat, uneasy. “Not necessarily. But Sophie, the risk involved in bringing them back…It’s almost too great to fathom.”
“I can fathom all kinds of things,” I told him. “Try me.”
I think I might have seen pride in Dad’s eyes. Or maybe it was just a gleam of Why is my offspring so insane? Still, he answered me. “If you destroy both the ritual and the witch or warlock who used it, the spell itself can be reversed.”
I shrugged. “That doesn’t sound so hard.”
“I wasn’t finished. They must be destroyed simultaneously.”
Swallowing, I tried to sound cheerful. “Again, not so bad. Get Lara to hold the piece of paper, zap them both with, um, some fire or something, and bam! Instant demon reversal.”
“And they must be destroyed in the pit where the demons were raised,” Dad continued, as if I hadn’t said anything. Seriously, he had to stop doing that. “Oh, and as the piece de resistance, you’ll need to do a spell to close the pit itself, with both the ritual and the witch inside it. And that’s such an intense ritual that it could actually pull whatever’s around the pit into it as well.”
“Like, the person doing the spell?”
“Like, the whole damn island the put is on.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, that is definitely…challenging. But not impossible. And we have the grimoire, that’s one bonus, right? Even if the demon-raising ritual isn’t in it.”
“Sophie Alice Mercer,” Mom said warningly, just as Dad said, “Atherton,” and Aislinn said, “Brannick.”
I threw my hands up. “Look, it doesn’t matter what you call me. I’ll hyphenate, how about that?
”
”
Rachel Hawkins (Spell Bound (Hex Hall, #3))
“
A recent study of 150,000 Americans was able to examine the issue more thoroughly. Higher stroke rates were found among individuals sleeping six hours or less, or nine hours or more. Those at lowest risk got around seven or eight hours of sleep a night.
”
”
Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
“
protein, or HSCRP. This test measures the levels of a specific blood protein that increases with inflammation of the coronary arteries, and it is considered by many cardiologists to be even better than a standard cholesterol measurement at assessing your risk of heart attacks. All those patients who failed turned out to have elevated HSCRP levels.
”
”
Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. (Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure)
“
Having greater self-esteem Looking better in jeans or a bathing suit Being able to participate in sports and other activities I used to enjoy Having a better relationship with my spouse Reversing diabetes, heart disease, or other health risks Decreasing my risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases of aging Having the confidence to apply for the job I really want
”
”
Daniel G. Amen (Unleash the Power of the Female Brain: Supercharging Yours for Better Health, Energy, Mood, Focus, and Sex)
“
If the change be not from outward circumstances, it must be from within; it must be nature, man’s nature, which has done the business for Captain Benwick.’
‘No, no, it is not man’s nature. I will not allow it to be more man’s nature than woman’s to be inconstant and forget those they do love, or have loved. I believe the reverse. I believe in a true analogy between our bodily frames and our mental; and that as our bodies are the strongest, so are our feelings; capable of bearing most rough usage, and riding out the heaviest weather.’
‘Your feelings may be the strongest,’ replied Anne, ‘but the same spirit of analogy will authorise me to assert that ours are the most tender. Man is more robust than woman, but he is not longer-lived; which exactly explains my view of the nature of their attachments. Nay, it would be too hard upon you, if it were otherwise. You have difficulties, and privations, and dangers enough to struggle with. You are always labouring and toiling, exposed to every risk and hardship. Your home, country, friends, all quitted. Neither time, nor health, nor life, to be called your own. It would be to hard indeed if woman’s feelings were to be added to all this…
”
”
Jane Austen (Persuasion)
“
How contaminated are U.S. pork products? Consumer Reports magazine tested nearly two hundred samples from cities across the country and found that more than two-thirds of the pork was contaminated with Yersinia.129 This may be because of the intensification and overcrowding that characterizes most of today’s industrial pig operations.130 As noted in an article in National Hog Farmer entitled “Crowding Pigs Pays,” pork producers can maximize their profits by confining each pig to a six-square-foot space. This basically means cramming a two-hundred-pound animal into an area equivalent to about two feet by three feet. The authors acknowledged that overcrowding presents problems, including inadequate ventilation and increased health risks, but they concluded that sometimes, “crowding pigs a little tighter will make you more money.”131
”
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Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
“
What Happened to Male Birth Control? A 2016 trial of injectable male contraceptive was suspended after determining that the risks to men’s health outweighed the benefits. What brought researchers to that conclusion? Out of 320 men, 20 said they couldn’t tolerate the side effects, which included pain at the injection site, acne, and depression. Yes, based on 20 men saying they were uncomfortable with these symptoms, researchers discontinued the
”
”
Jolene Brighten (Beyond the Pill: A 30-Day Program to Balance Your Hormones, Reclaim Your Body, and Reverse the Dangerous Side Effects of the Birth Control Pill)
“
Don't misunderstand, but how dare you risk your life? What the devil did you think, to leap over like that? You could have stayed safe on this side and just helped me over." Even to her ears, her tone bordered on the hysterical.
Beneath her fingers, the white lawn started to redden.
She sucked in a shaky breath. "How could you risk your life-your life, you idiot!" She leaned harder on the pad, dragged in another breath.
He coughed weakly, shifted his head.
"Don't you dare die on me!"
His lips twisted, but his eyes remained closed. "But if I die"-his words were a whisper-"you won't have to marry, me or anyone else. Even the most censorious in the ton will consider my death to be the end of the matter. You'll be free."
"Free?" Then his earlier words registered. "If you die? I told you-don't you dare! I won't let you-I forbid you to. How can I marry you if you die? And how the hell will I live if you aren't alive, too?" As the words left her mouth, half hysterical, all emotion, she realized they were the literal truth. Her life wouldn't be worth living if he wasn't there to share it. "What will I do with my life if you die?"
He softly snorted, apparently unimpressed by-or was it not registering?-her panic. "Marry some other poor sod, like you were planning to."
The words cut. "You are the only poor sod I'm planning to marry." Her waspish response came on a rush of rising fear. She glanced around, but there was no one in sight. Help had yet to come running.
She looked back at him, readjusted the pressure on the slowly reddening pad. "I intend not only to marry you but to lead you by the nose for the rest of your days. It's the least I can do to repay you for this-for the shock to my nerves. I'll have you know I'd decided even before this little incident to reverse my decision and become your viscountess, and lead you such a merry dance through the ballrooms and drawing rooms that you'll be gray within two years."
He humphed softly, dismissively, but he was listening. Studying his face, she realized her nonsense was distracting him from the pain. She engaged her imagination and let her tongue run free. "I've decided I'll redecorate Baraclough in the French Imperial style-all that white and gilt and spindly legs, with all the chairs so delicate you won't dare sit down. And while we're on the subject of your-our-country home, I've had an idea about my carriage, the one you'll buy me as a wedding gift..."
She rambled on, paying scant attention to her words, simply let them and all the images she'd dreamed of come tumbling out, painting a vibrant, fanciful, yet in many ways-all the ways that counted-accurate word pictures of her hopes, her aspirations. Her vision of their life together.
When the well started to run dry, when her voice started to thicken with tears at the fear that they might no longer have a chance to enjoy all she'd described, she concluded with, "So you absolutely can't die now." Fear prodded; almost incensed, she blurted, "Not when I was about to back down and agree to return to London with you."
He moistened his lips. Whispered, "You were?"
"Yes! I was!" His fading voice tipped her toward panic. Her voice rose in reaction. "I can't believe you were so foolish as to risk your life like this! You didn't need to put yourself in danger to save me."
"Yes, I did." The words were firmer, bitten off through clenched teeth.
She caught his anger. Was anger good. Would temper hold him to the world?
A frown drew down his black brows. "You can't be so damned foolish as to think I wouldn't-after protecting you through all this, seeing you safely all this way, watching over you all this time, what else was I going to do?
”
”
Stephanie Laurens (Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue (Cynster, #16; The Cynster Sisters Trilogy, #1))
“
doubled your odds of getting pancreatic cancer.89 What about people who eat chicken? The largest study to ever address that question is the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, which followed 477,000 people for about a decade. The researchers found a 72 percent increased risk of pancreatic cancer for every fifty grams of chicken consumed daily.90 And that’s not much meat, under two ounces—just about a quarter of a chicken breast.
”
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Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
“
We must return to the first question of philosophy: "Do we want the truth?"
We indict others when they ignore it or twist it to their own agendas. But do we honestly want the truth above all else, even when the truth will cost us, even when we must reverse our stance and run the risk of others' derision? Are we willing to radically change our lives in order to pursue it? Are we willing to change, to let go of lifelong, cherished, character-bound beliefs? Are we willing to pay?
”
”
Daniel Ionson (And the Truth Shall Make You Flee)
“
Besides the changes in technology, we’re told to believe in our uniqueness above all else. We’re told to think big, live big, to be memorable and “dare greatly.” We think that success requires a bold vision or some sweeping plan—after all, that’s what the founders of this company or that championship team supposedly had. (But did they? Did they really?) We see risk-taking swagger and successful people in the media, and eager for our own successes, try to reverse engineer the right attitude, the right pose.
”
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Ryan Holiday (Ego Is the Enemy)
“
Like most people, when I look back, the family house is held in time, or rather it is now outside of time, because it exists so clearly and it does not change, and it can only be entered through a door in the mind.
I like it that pre-industrial societies, and religious cultures still, now, distinguish between two kinds of time – linear time, that is also cyclical because history repeats itself, even as it seems to progress, and real time, which is not subject to the clock or the calendar, and is where the soul used to live. This real time is reversible and redeemable. It is why, in religious rites of all kinds, something that happened once is re-enacted – Passover, Christmas, Easter, or, in the pagan record, Midsummer and the dying of the god. As we participate in the ritual, we step outside of linear time and enter real time.
Time is only truly locked when we live in a mechanised world. Then we turn into clock-watchers and time-servers. Like the rest of life, time becomes uniform and standardised.
When I left home at sixteen I bought a small rug. It was my roll-up world. Whatever room, whatever temporary place I had, I unrolled the rug. It was a map of myself. Invisible to others, but held in the rug, were all the places I had stayed – for a few weeks, for a few months. On the first night anywhere new I liked to lie in bed and look at the rug to remind myself that I had what I needed even though what I had was so little.
Sometimes you have to live in precarious and temporary places. Unsuitable places. Wrong places. Sometimes the safe place won’t help you.
Why did I leave home when I was sixteen? It was one of those important choices that will change the rest of your life. When I look back it feels like I was at the borders of common sense, and the sensible thing to do would have been to keep quiet, keep going, learn to lie better and leave later.
I have noticed that doing the sensible thing is only a good idea when the decision is quite small. For the life-changing things, you must risk it.
And here is the shock – when you risk it, when you do the right thing, when you arrive at the borders of common sense and cross into unknown territory, leaving behind you all the familiar smells and lights, then you do not experience great joy and huge energy.
You are unhappy. Things get worse.
It is a time of mourning. Loss. Fear. We bullet ourselves through with questions. And then we feel shot and wounded.
And then all the cowards come out and say, ‘See, I told you so.’
In fact, they told you nothing.
”
”
Jeanette Winterson
“
An uncomfortable thing happened now. He realised suddenly all the possibilities of this chance acquaintanceship, plainly and cinematographically. He was seized with panic. He must make a good impression. From that moment he ran the risk of doing the reverse. For he was unaccustomed to act with calculation. There he was like some individual who had gone nonchalantly into the presence of a prince; who—just in the middle of the audience—when he would have been getting over his first embarrassment —is overcome with a tardy confusion, the imagination in some way giving a jump. It is the imagination, repressed and as it were slighted, revenging itself. Casting about desperately for means of handling the situation, he remembered she had spoken of getting a dog to guide her. What had she meant? Anyway, he grasped at the dog. He could regain possession of himself in romantic stimulus of this figure. He would be her dog! Lie at her feet! He would fill with a merely animal warmth and vivacity the void that must exist in her spirit. His imagination, flattered, came in as ally. This, too, exempted him from the necessity of being victorious. All he asked was to be her dog! Only wished to impress her as a dog! Even if she did not feel much sympathy for him now, no matter. He would humbly follow her up, put himself at her disposition, not be exigent. It was a role difficult to refuse him. Sense of security the humility of this resolution brought about, caused him to regain a self-possession. Only it imposed the condition, naturally, of remaining a dog.
”
”
Wyndham Lewis (Tarr)
“
Merry Christmas,Ja-"
To which he immediately cut her off with a very testy, "Bloody hell it is." Though he did halt his progress to offer her a brief smile, adding, "Good to see you,Molly," then in the very same breath, "Where's that worthless brother of mine?"
She was surprised enough to ask, "Ah,which brother would that be?" when she knew very well he would never refer to Edward or Jason, whom the two younger brothers termed the elders, in that way.But then,Jason shared everything with her about his family, so she knew them as well as he did.
So his derogatory answer didn't really add to her surprise. "The infant."
She winced at his tone,though, as well as his expression, which had reverted to deadly menace at mention of the "infant." Big,blond, and handsome, James Malory was,just like his elder brothers, and rarely did anyone actually see him looking angry. When James was annoyed with someone, he usually very calmly ripped the person to shreds with his devilish wit, and by his inscrutable expression, the victim had absolutely no warning such pointed barbs would be headed his or her way.
The infant, or rather, Anthony, had heard James's voice and, unfortunately, stuck his head around the parlor door to determine James's mood, which wasn't hard to misinterpret with the baleful glare that came his way. Which was probably why the parlor door immediately slammed shut.
"Oh,dear," Molly said as James stormed off. Through the years she'd become accustomed to the Malorys' behavior, but a times it still alarmed her. What ensued was a tug of war in the reverse, so to speak, with James shoving his considerable weight against the parlor door, and Anthony on the other side doing his best to keep it from opening. Anthony managed for a bit. He wasn't as hefty as his brother, but he was taller and well muscled. But he must have known he couldn't hold out indefinitely, especially when James started to slam his shoulder against the door,which got it nearly half open before Anthony could manage to slam it shut again.
But what Anthony did to solve his dilemma produced Molly's second "Oh,dear."
When James threw his weight against the door for the third time, it opened ahead of him and he unfortunately couldn't halt his progress into the room. A rather loud crash followed. A few moments later James was up again suting pine needles off his shoulders.
Reggie and Molly,alarmed by the noise, soon followed the men into the room.
Anthony had picked up his daughter Jamie who had been looking at the tree with her nursemaid and was now holding her like a shield in front of him while the tree lay ingloriously on its side. Anthony knew his brother wouldn't risk harming one of the children for any reason, and the ploy worked.
"Infants hiding behind infants, how apropos," James sneered.
"Is,aint it?" Anthony grinned and kissed the top of his daughter's head. "Least it works."
James was not amused, and ordered, barked, actually. "Put my niece down."
"Wouldn't think of it, old man-least not until I find out why you want to murder me."
Anthony's wife, Roslynn, bent over one of the twins, didn't turn about to say, "Excuse me? There will be no murdering in front of the children.
”
”
Johanna Lindsey (The Holiday Present)
“
Here are my simple rules for identifying market tops and bottoms: 1. Market tops are relatively easy to recognize. Buyers generally become overconfident and almost always believe “this time is different.” It’s usually not. 2. There’s always a surplus of relatively cheap debt capital to finance acquisitions and investments in a hot market. In some cases, lenders won’t even charge cash interest, and they often relax or suspend typical loan restrictions as well. Leverage levels escalate compared to historical averages, with borrowing sometimes reaching as high as ten times or more compared to equity. Buyers will start accepting overoptimistic accounting adjustments and financial forecasts to justify taking on high levels of debt. Unfortunately most of these forecasts tend not to materialize once the economy starts decelerating or declining. 3. Another indicator that a market is peaking is the number of people you know who start getting rich. The number of investors claiming outperformance grows with the market. Loose credit conditions and a rising tide can make it easy for individuals without any particular strategy or process to make money “accidentally.” But making money in strong markets can be short-lived. Smart investors perform well through a combination of self-discipline and sound risk assessment, even when market conditions reverse.
”
”
Stephen A. Schwarzman (What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence)
“
AGE IS SUPPOSED TO create more serenity, calm, and detachment from the world, right? Well, I’m finding just the reverse. The older I get, the more intensely I feel about the world around me, including things I once thought too small for concern; the more connected I feel to nature, though I used to prefer human invention; the more poignancy I find not only in very old people, who always got to me, but also in children; the more likely I am to feel rage when people are rendered invisible, and also to claim my own place; the more I can risk saying “no” even if “yes” means approval; and most of all, the more able I am to use my own voice, to know what I feel and say what I think: in short, to express without also having to persuade.
”
”
Gloria Steinem (Moving Beyond Words: Essays on Age, Rage, Sex, Power, Money, Muscles: Breaking the Boundaries of Gender)
“
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). H. pylori is frequently accused of contributing to the development and progression of autoimmune disease (and is also one of the best-understood persistent infections). As mentioned in the previous section, H. pylori is a bacterium found in the upper gastrointestinal tract of approximately 50 percent of the population and is known to cause stomach ulcers in susceptible individuals. It also modulates the adaptive immune system through a very complex interaction. In fact, the interaction is so complex that acquiring H. pylori early in life prevents immune and autoimmune diseases. By contrast, acquiring H. pylori as an adult (which is more common in Western countries) increases the risk of immune dysfunction.
”
”
Sarah Ballantyne (The Paleo Approach: Reverse Autoimmune Disease, Heal Your Body)
“
This tragic sequence helps explain the fearful loss of cognition in coronary artery bypass patients.3 But neuroradiologists also report that using magnetic resonance imaging, they can detect little white spots in the brains of Americans starting at about age fifty. These spots represent small, asymptomatic strokes (see Figures 18 and 19 in insert). The brain has so much reserve capacity that at first these tiny strokes cause no trouble. But, if they continue, they begin to cause memory loss and, ultimately, crippling dementia. In fact, one recently reported study found that the presence of these “silent brain infarcts” more than doubles the risk of dementia.4 We now believe, in fact, that at least half of all senile mental impairment is caused by vascular injury to the brain.
”
”
Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. (Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure)
“
When fat is heated to frying temperatures, whether it be animal fat, such as lard, or plant fat, such as vegetable oil, toxic volatile chemicals with mutagenic properties (those able to cause genetic mutations) are released into the air.22 This happens even before the “smoke point” temperature is reached.23 If you do fry at home, good ventilation in the kitchen may reduce lung cancer risk.24 Cancer risk may also depend on what’s being fried. A study of women in China found that smokers who stir-fried meat every day had nearly three times the odds of lung cancer compared to smokers who stir-fried foods other than meat on a daily basis.25 This is thought to be because of a group of carcinogens called heterocyclic amines that are formed when muscle tissue is subjected to high temperatures.
”
”
Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
“
The thing is, if you’re good at what you do, you’re going to fail, because it means you’re out there taking risks. As people who have failed will often attest, failing isn’t that bad; it’s the fear of failure that can be paralyzing. That’s what keeps less successful people up at night, causing them to disengage, to hold back and not commit their full energies to their companies and coworkers. It causes them to quit a difficult task, refuse a promotion, avoid their boss, or hold their tongue in meetings. Fear of failure drains companies of their innovative lifeblood. Organizations that accept failure as a natural part of the creative process, however, can see tremendous increases in productivity, morale, and innovation, so it’s worthwhile for managers to figure out how to create a safe environment where their ensembles won’t be afraid to let loose. It’s not enough just to tell people it’s OK to fail and hang a bunch of posters emblazoned with platitudes; you have to model fearlessness.
”
”
Kelly Leonard (Yes, And: How Improvisation Reverses "No, But" Thinking and Improves Creativity and Collaboration--Lessons from The Second City)
“
While irrational faith is rooted in submission to a power which is felt to be overwhelmingly strong, omniscient and omnipotent, and in the abdication of one's own power and strength, rational faith is based upon the opposite experience. We have this faith in a thought because it is the result of our own observation and thinking. We have faith in the potentialities of others, of ourselves, and of mankind because, and only to the degree to which, we have experienced the growth of our own potentialities, the reality of growth in ourselves, the strength of our own power of reason and of love. The basis of rational faith is productiveness; to live by our faith means to live productively. It follows that the belief in power (in the sense of domination) and the use of power are the reverse of faith. To believe in power that exists is identical with disbelief in the growth of potentialities which are as yet unrealized. It is a prediction of the future based solely on the manifest present; but it turns out to be a grave miscalculation, profoundly irrational in its oversight of the human potentialities and human growth. There is no rational faith in power. There is submission to it or, on the part of those who have it, the wish to keep it. While to many power seems to be the most real of all things, the history of man has proved it to be the most unstable of all human achievements. Because of the fact that faith and power are mutually exclusive, all religions and political systems which originally are built on rational faith become corrupt and eventually lose what strength they have, if they rely on power or ally themselves with it.
To have faith requires courage, the ability to take a risk, the readiness even to accept pain and disappointment. Whoever insists on safety and security as primary conditions of life cannot have faith; whoever shuts himself off in a system of defense, where distance and possession are his means of security, makes himself a prisoner. To be loved, and to love, need courage, the courage to judge certain values as of ultimate concern—and to take the jump and stake everything on these values.
”
”
Erich Fromm (The Art of Loving)
“
Trump's view of the United States is dark. Among his favorite mantras are that U.S. courts are biased, the FBI is corrupt, the press almost always lies, and elections are rigged. The domestic impact of these condemnations is to demoralize and divide. Americans have never heard a president speak with such persistent scorn about U.S. institutions. But Trump’s audience is a global one. Instead of encouraging others to respect and follow the example of the United States, he invites the opposite. That reversal has a harmful effect, particularly in countries where there are few practical checks on executive power. In such places, the lives of investigative reporters, independent jurists, and others who pursue truth are at risk under the best of circumstances. The danger intensifies when the occupant of the White House ridicules the credibility of their professions. This is not to say that journalists and judges should be beyond criticism, but Trump’s allegations are so thoughtless and broad that they can be—and are—used to discredit entire callings that are essential to democracy.
”
”
Madeleine K. Albright (Fascism: A Warning)
“
What are they doing?” he whispered.
The pinball machine’s scoreboard was full, the bank’s windows fogged. They were so involved- so cofaithed- that they didn’t know we were there.
The VW’s face joined, “Are they hurting each other?”
I took a breath. “There’s risk involved, because of what they can’t see. Plus the risk of trust. But no-they’re not hurting each other.”
The bank whispered something in the pinball machine’s ear and the pinball machine giggled.
“What are they saying to each other?” the VW said.
“They’re expressing their faith, VW-sharing it.”
Just then I heard a rustle, soft at first, then louder…Distracted by other things-the VW, the faith in the trees- I had forgotten to keep the mountain straight in my mind. I had let it go, and now it was changing, reversing itself, growing young: the leaves were turning from brown back to green… THIS was western Massachusetts-unpredictable; a changing moving bitch; a switcher of faces…how could I have many any progress here when mountains were mountains one moment and something else the next; when people were here one day and then GONE?
”
”
Christopher Boucher (How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Novel)
“
As we close out the second decade of the twenty-first century, we can draw some conclusions about the post–Cold War era. This has been a period in which new information and communication technologies have burst onto the world scene in forms that have made them widely available. There have also been great advances in development, including in medicine and life expectancy. Economic growth has been considerable and widespread. Wars between countries have become rare. But this has also been an era in which the advance of democracy has slowed or even reversed. Inequality has increased significantly. The number of civil wars has increased, as has the number of displaced persons and refugees. Terrorism has become a global threat. Climate change has advanced with dire implications for both the near and the distant futures. The world has stood by amid genocide and has shown itself unable to agree on rules for cyberspace and unable to prevent the reemergence of great-power rivalry. Those who maintain that things have never been better are biased by what they are focusing on and underestimate trends that could put existing progress at risk.
”
”
Richard N. Haass (The World: A Brief Introduction)
“
To summarize the VWAP Reversal Strategy: After I build my watchlist in the morning, I closely monitor the shortlisted stocks in the first five minutes after the Open. I identify their opening range and their price action. The stocks will either move higher or below the VWAP. Depending on the price action, I may be able to take an Opening Range Breakout to the long or short side. I monitor the price when it moves away from the VWAP and look for a sign of weakness. If it is above the VWAP, failing to make a new high of the day may be a sign that the buyers are exhausted. If it is below the VWAP, failing to make a new low of the day or a new 5-minute low can be a sign that the sellers are gone, and the stock can be ready for a squeeze back to the VWAP. I take the trade only if I can get a good entry and a good risk/reward ratio. Remember, most of the time stocks move really fast without offering a good entry and a good risk/reward ratio. If I am short above the VWAP, I cover my short at the VWAP and bring my stop loss to break-even. If I am long below the VWAP, I sell part of my position at the VWAP, and keep the rest for a squeeze above the VWAP (or as some traders would call it, a VWAP Pop). Do ensure you bring your stop loss to break-even, because sometimes the stock can bounce back from the VWAP as well.
”
”
Andrew Aziz (Day Trading for a Living (Stock Market Trading and Investing))
“
Base your understanding of the world on data, rather than journalism.
Journalism is a highly non random sample of the worst things that have happened in any given period.
It is an availability machine, in the sense of Tversky and Kahneman's availability heuristic; namely - our sense of risk, danger and prevalence is driven by anecdotes, images and narratives that are available in memory.
A lot of good things are either things that "don't happen" (like a country at peace, or a city that has not been attacked by terrorists, which almost by definition are not news), or things that build up incrementally, a few percentage points a year, and then compound (like the decline of extreme poverty).
We can be unaware, out to lunch about what's happening in the world if we base our view on the news. If instead we base our view on data, then not only do we see that many (although not all) things have gone better (not linearly, not without setbacks and reversals, but in general a lot better... and that paradoxically, as I've cheekily put it, progressives hate progress), but also that the best possible case for progress - that is, for striving for more progress in the future, for being a true progressive - is not to have some kind of foolish hope, but to look at the fact that progress has taken place in the past; and that means: why should it stop now?
”
”
Steven Pinker
“
THREE BIG MISTAKES. But, of course, it’s never that simple. Before we even got to the third one, we were down and done. As much as our willingness to believe in the constant rise felled us, as much as our eagerness to conquer risk opened us up to more risk, as much as Greenspan stood by as Wall Street turned itself into Las Vegas, there was also Greece, and Iceland, and Nick Leeson, who took down Barings, and Brian Hunter, who tanked Amaranth, and Jérôme Kerviel and every other rogue trader who thought he—and it was always a he—could reverse his gut-churning, self-induced free fall with one swift, lucky strike; it was rising oil prices, global inflation, easy credit, the cowardice of Moody’s, the growing chasm of income inequality, the dot com boom and bust, the Fed’s rejection of regulation, the acceptance of “too big to fail,” the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, the feast of subprime debt; it was Clinton and Bush the second and senators vacationing with banking industry lobbyists, the Kobe earthquake, an infatuation with financial innovation, the forgettable Hank Paulson, the delicious hubris of ten, twenty, thirty times leverage, and, at the bottom of it, our own vicious, lingering self-doubt. Or was it our own willful, unbridled self-delusion? Doubt vs. delusion. The flip sides of our last lucky coin. We toss it in the fountain and pray.
”
”
Jade Chang (The Wangs vs. the World)
“
Ultimately, it's as predictable as it is disappointing. All we need to concern ourselves about is other people's passions/ their core values. Get to the matter of this from the outset and nothing else in truth needs to be much considered or thereafter discussed regarding the nuts and bolts that inherently thus follow and will fall into place invariably surrounding their character and larger viewpoints. In a sense, it's a reverse consideration of understanding the macro big picture, in that everything can fall into place about another's wider ethos - albeit here from the root, regarding all other significant matters and hardwired thought patterns, whereby you can immediately assess a person's openness and also limitations from this immediate micro standpoint.
Fascinating also is how our blueprint /survival instinct instructs or continually bothers and reminds us where we may be wasting time and energy on all other vast aspects of life - with the grand exception of where it comes to our deepest passions and core values - as this must be expressed at all costs!! Always and every time, immediately and in any situation. Even if we know it is totally futile to speak and act our deepest truths, we must nonetheless imperatively still do so - or else we surely pay a far greater price, increasingly punishing, outwardly and certainly inwardly compared to any of the distress and risks involved in our doing so.
”
”
MuzWot
“
Statisticians say that stocks with healthy dividends slightly outperform the market averages, especially on a risk-adjusted basis. On average, high-yielding stocks have lower price/earnings ratios and skew toward relatively stable industries. Stripping out these factors, generous dividends alone don’t seem to help performance. So, if you need or like income, I’d say go for it. Invest in a company that pays high dividends. Just be sure that you are favoring stocks with low P/Es in stable industries. For good measure, look for earnings in excess of dividends, ample free cash flow, and stable proportions of debt and equity. Also look for companies in which the number of shares outstanding isn’t rising rapidly. To put a finer point on income stocks to skip, reverse those criteria. I wouldn’t buy a stock for its dividend if the payout wasn’t well covered by earnings and free cash flow. Real estate investment trusts, master limited partnerships, and royalty trusts often trade on their yield rather than their asset value. In some of those cases, analysts disagree about the economic meaning of depreciation and depletion—in particular, whether those items are akin to earnings or not. Without looking at the specific situation, I couldn’t judge whether the per share asset base was shrinking over time or whether generally accepted accounting principles accounting was too conservative. If I see a high-yielder with swiftly rising share counts and debt levels, I assume the worst.
”
”
Joel Tillinghast (Big Money Thinks Small: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing (Columbia Business School Publishing))
“
We want things to return to normal, back to a world in which we do not have to waste time rebutting demented conspiracy theories and fact-checking farcical lies every single day. We want a government that operates competently and honestly, headed by a president who behaves with dignity and integrity. If we were at risk of under-appreciating the quiet grace of decency, Trump has cured us of that. But after we evict the squatter, we must repair the house he trashed. Trump became president because millions of Americans felt that a self-satisfied elite had created a pleasant society only for themselves. Millions of other Americans felt disregarded and discarded. They determined to crash their way in, and they wielded Trump as their crowbar to pry open the barriers against them. Trump is a criminal and deserves the penalties of law. Trump's enablers and politics and media are contemptable and deserve the scorn of honest patriots. But Trump's voters are our compatriots. Their fate will determine ours. You do not beat Trump until you have restored an America that has room for all its people. The resentments that produced Trump will not be assuaged by contempt for the resentful. Reverse prejudice, reverse stereotyping, never mind whether they are right or wrong--they are wrong--just be aware that they are acids poored upon the connections that bind a democratic society. [...] Maybe you cannot bring everybody along with you. But you still must try--for your own sake, as well as theirs.
”
”
David Frum (Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy)
“
Also bearing witness to the unbearable nature of the vulnerability experienced by peer-oriented kids is the preponderance of vulnerability-quelling drugs. Peer-oriented kids will do anything to avoid the human feelings of aloneness, suffering, and pain, and to escape feeling hurt, exposed, alarmed, insecure, inadequate, or self-conscious. The older and more peer-oriented the kids, the more drugs seem to be an inherent part of their lifestyle.
Peer orientation creates an appetite for anything that would reduce vulnerability. Drugs are emotional painkillers. And, in another way, they help young people escape from the benumbed state imposed by their defensive emotional detachment. With the shutdown of emotions come boredom and alienation. Drugs provide an artificial stimulation to the emotionally jaded. They heighten sensation and provide a false sense of engagement without incurring the risks of genuine openness. In fact, the same drug can play seemingly opposite functions in an individual.
Alcohol and marijuana, for example, can numb or, on the other hand, free the brain and mind from social inhibitions. Other drugs are stimulants — cocaine, amphetamines, and ecstasy; the very name of the latter speaks volumes about exactly what is missing in the psychic life of our emotionally incapacitated young people. The psychological function served by these drugs is often overlooked by well-meaning adults who perceive the problem to be coming from outside the individual, through peer pressure and youth culture mores. It is not just a matter of getting our children to say no. The problem lies much deeper.
As long as we do not confront and reverse peer orientation among our children, we are creating an insatiable appetite for these drugs. The affinity for vulnerability-reducing drugs originates from deep within the defended soul. Our children's emotional safety can come only from us: then they will not be driven to escape their feelings and to rely on the anesthetic effects of drugs. Their need to feel alive and excited can and should arise from within themselves, from their own innately limitless capacity to be engaged with the universe.
This brings us back to the essential hierarchical nature of attachment. The more the child
needs attachment to function, the more important it is that she attaches to those responsible for her. Only then can the vulnerability that is inherent in emotional attachment be endured. Children don't need friends, they need parents, grandparents, adults who will assume the responsibility to hold on to them. The more children are attached to caring adults, the more they are able to interact with peers without being overwhelmed by the vulnerability involved.
The less peers matter, the more the vulnerability of peer relationships can be endured. It is exactly those children who don't need friends who are more capable of having friends without losing their ability to feel deeply and vulnerably. But why should we want our children to remain open to their own vulnerability? What is amiss when detachment freezes the emotions in order to protect the child?
”
”
Gabor Maté (Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers)
“
Leigh said that to be your life mate I’d have to be turned.” “Yes.” His voice was husky. Clearing it, he added, “Though not necessarily right away. Sam didn’t turn right away after agreeing to be Mortimer’s life mate.” “Leigh told me that too, but said that Mortimer was a mess, constantly worried that Sam would be killed in an accident or something before she agreed to the turn.” “But she wasn’t,” Anders said. “And I’d be willing to go through that if you needed me to.” Valerie smiled faintly and shook her head. She didn’t really want to make him suffer, but she was having trouble with this situation. She hadn’t considered that she would have to become a vampire to be with one. Stupid, she supposed. He had told her that Leigh used to be mortal. He’d also told her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. The rest of his life could be a hell of a long time. Certainly, it was longer than the fifty or so years she had left in her. But she hadn’t considered that his wanting her to be his life mate included turning her into an immortal until her talk with Leigh. Now the decision to be his life mate was that much bigger. It wasn’t like just saying, “Ah heck, let’s give it a go,” and then moving in with him, knowing she could always move out. It wasn’t even like taking a risk and marrying him. That could be reversed through divorce if it was a mistake. But this was not reversible. She would have to become one of them. And from her talk with Leigh, Valerie knew that wasn’t reversible. She had a decision to make that would affect the rest of her life. Did she want to become a vampire and spend forever with this man?
”
”
Lynsay Sands (Immortal Ever After (Argeneau, #18))
“
History favors the bold. Compensation favors the meek. As a Fortune 500 company CEO, you’re better off taking the path often traveled and staying the course. Big companies may have more assets to innovate with, but they rarely take big risks or innovate at the cost of cannibalizing a current business. Neither would they chance alienating suppliers or investors. They play not to lose, and shareholders reward them for it—until those shareholders walk and buy Amazon stock. Most boards ask management: “How can we build the greatest advantage for the least amount of capital/investment?” Amazon reverses the question: “What can we do that gives us an advantage that’s hugely expensive, and that no one else can afford?” Why? Because Amazon has access to capital with lower return expectations than peers. Reducing shipping times from two days to one day? That will require billions. Amazon will have to build smart warehouses near cities, where real estate and labor are expensive. By any conventional measure, it would be a huge investment for a marginal return. But for Amazon, it’s all kinds of perfect. Why? Because Macy’s, Sears, and Walmart can’t afford to spend billions getting the delivery times of their relatively small online businesses down from two days to one. Consumers love it, and competitors stand flaccid on the sidelines. In 2015, Amazon spent $7 billion on shipping fees, a net shipping loss of $5 billion, and overall profits of $2.4 billion. Crazy, no? No. Amazon is going underwater with the world’s largest oxygen tank, forcing other retailers to follow it, match its prices, and deal with changed customer delivery expectations. The difference is other retailers have just the air in their lungs and are drowning. Amazon will surface and have the ocean of retail largely to itself.
”
”
Scott Galloway (The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google)
“
[on interest from loans] Now that I have loaned you them (100 gulden), you cause me a double loss due to my not being able to pay on the one hand nor buy on the other, so that I have to lose on both sides, and this is called duplex interesse, damni emergentis et lucri cessantis.... on hearing that John sustained losses on his loan of 100 gulden and demands just damages, they rush in and charge double on every 100 gulden, such double reimbursement, namely, for the loss due to non-payment and to inability to make a profit on a bargain, just as though these 100 gulden had the double loss grown on to them, so that whenever they have 100 gulden, they loan them out and charge for two losses, which they have not at all sustained... Therefore you are a usurer, who takes damages out of his neighbour's money for an imaginary loss that you did not sustain at all, and which you can neither prove nor calculate. This sort of loss is called by the jurists non verum, sed phantasticum interesse. It is a loss which each conjures up for himself... It will not do to say, therefore, that there could have been losses because I could not have been able to pay or buy. Else it would mean ex contingente necessarium, which is making something out of a thing that is not, and a thing that is uncertain into a thing that is absolutely sure. Would not such usury devour the world in a few years? ... If an unhappy accident befalls him against his will, and he must recover from it, he may demand damages for it, but it is different in trade and just the reverse. There they scheme to profit at the expense of their needy neighbours, how to amass wealth and get rich, to be lazy and idle and live in luxury on the labour of others, without any care, danger, and loss. To sit by the stove and let my 100 gulden gather wealth for me in the country and yet keep them in my pocket, because they are only loaned, without any danger or risk; my friend, who would not like that?
”
”
Martin Luther
“
The only way to avoid encountering someone is to follow him (according to a principle opposed to the principle of the labyrinth, where you follow someone so that you do not lose him). Implicit in the situation, however, is the dramatic moment when the one being followed, suddenly intuiting, suddenly becoming conscious that there is someone behind him, swings round and spots his pursuer. Then the rules are reversed, and the hunter becomes the hunted (for there is no escaping laterally). The only truly dramatic point is this unexpected turning-round of the other, who insists upon knowing and damns the consequences.
This reversal does in fact occur in the Venice scenario. The man comes towards her and asks her: 'What do you want?' She wants nothing. No mystery story, no love story. This answer is intolerable, and implies possible murder, possible death. Radical otherness always embodies the risk of death.
S.'s anxiety revolves entirely around this violent revelation: the possibility of getting herself unmasked - the very thing she is trying to avoid. 'I cannot go on following him. He must be uneasy, he must be wondering if I am here, behind him - surely he is thinking about me now - so I shall have to keep track of him in some other way.'
S. could have met this man, seen him, spoken to him. But in that case she would never have produced this secret form of the existence of the Other. The Other is the one whose destiny one becomes, not by making his acquaintance in difference and dialogue but by entering into him as into something secret, something forever separate. Not by engaging in a conversation with him as interlocutor, but by entering into him as his shadow, as his double, as his image, by embracing the Other the better to wipe out his tracks, the better to strip him of his shadow. The Other is never the one with whom we communicate: he is the one whom we follow - and who follows us.
The other is never naturally the other: the other must be rendered other by being seduced, by being made alien to himself, even by being destroyed - if there is no alternative (but in fact there are subtler ways of achieving this end).
”
”
Jean Baudrillard (The Transparency of Evil: Essays in Extreme Phenomena)
“
Thus polyvictimization or complex trauma are "developmentally adverse interpersonal traumas" (Ford, 2005) because they place the victim at risk not only for recurrent stress and psychophysiological arousal (e.g., PTSD, other anxiety disorders, depression) but also for interruptions and breakdowns in healthy psychobiological, psychological, and social development. Complex trauma not only involves shock, fear, terror, or powerlessness (either short or long term) but also, more fundamentally, constitutes a violation of the immature self and the challenge to the development of a positive and secure self, as major psychic energy is directed toward survival and defense rather than toward learning and personal development (Ford, 2009b, 2009c). Moreover, it may influence the brain's very development, structure, and functioning in both the short and long term (Lanius et al., 2010; Schore, 2009).
Complex trauma often forces the child victim to substitute automatic survival tactics for adaptive self-regulation, starting at the most basic level of physical reactions (e.g., intense states of hyperarousal/agitation or hypoarousal/immobility) and behavioral (e.g., aggressive or passive/avoidant responses) that can become so automatic and habitual that the child's emotional and cognitive development are derailed or distorted. What is more, self-integrity is profoundly shaken, as the child victim incorporates the "lessons of abuse" into a view of him or herself as bad, inadequate, disgusting, contaminated and deserving of mistreatment and neglect. Such misattributions and related schema about self and others are some of the most common and robust cognitive and assumptive consequences of chronic childhood abuse (as well as other forms of interpersonal trauma) and are especially debilitating to healthy development and relationships (Cole & Putnam, 1992; McCann & Pearlman, 1992). Because the violation occurs in an interpersonal context that carries profound significance for personal development, relationships become suspect and a source of threat and fear rather than of safety and nurturance.
In vulnerable children, complex trauma causes compromised attachment security, self-integrity and ultimately self-regulation. Thus it constitutes a threat not only to physical but also to psychological survival - to the development of the self and the capacity to regulate emotions (Arnold & Fisch, 2011). For example, emotional abuse by an adult caregiver that involves systematic disparagement, blame and shame of a child ("You worthless piece of s-t"; "You shouldn't have been born"; "You are the source of all of my problems"; "I should have aborted you"; "If you don't like what I tell you, you can go hang yourself") but does not involve sexual or physical violation or life threat is nevertheless psychologically damaging. Such bullying and antipathy on the part of a primary caregiver or other family members, in addition to maltreatment and role reversals that are found in many dysfunctional families, lead to severe psychobiological dysregulation and reactivity (Teicher, Samson, Polcari, & McGreenery, 2006).
”
”
Christine A. Courtois (Treatment of Complex Trauma: A Sequenced, Relationship-Based Approach)
“
Speech to the Reichstag Berlin, December 11
Deputies! Men of the German Reichstag! Ever since the rejection of my last peace proposal in July 1940, we have been aware that this war has to be fought to the bitter end. That the Anglo-American, Jewish-capitalist world formed a front with Bolshevism does not come as a surprise to us National Socialists. At home, we found them in the same union, and we succeeded in our struggle at home by defeating our enemies after a sixteen-year-long struggle for power.
When I decided twenty-three years ago to enter politics in order to reverse the decline of the nation, I was a nameless, unknown soldier. Many of you know how difficult the first years of this struggle were. The way from a small movement of seven men to the taking over of responsible government on January 30, 1933, was so miraculous that Providence itself must have made it possible through its blessings.
Today, I head the strongest army in the world, the mightiest air force, and a proud navy. Behind me, I am conscious of the sworn community of the party, which made me great and which became great through me.
The enemies that I confront have been known to be our enemies for over twenty years. Alas, the road that lies ahead of me cannot be compared to the one lying behind me. The German Volk realizes the decisiveness of the hour for its existence. Under the most difficult circumstances, millions of soldiers are obediently and loyally doing their duty.
The American President and his plutocratic clique have called us a people of have nots. That is right! And these have-nots want to live. In any event, they will not allow the owners to rob them of the little that they have to live on. My party comrades, you know my relentless resolve to conclude a struggle victoriously once it has begun. You know my intention not to shy away from anything in such a fight and to break all the resistance that has to be broken.
In my speech on September 1, 1939, I assured you that, in this struggle, neither the force of arms nor time will defeat Germany. I want to assure my enemies that neither will the force of arms nor time defeat us, but neither inner doubts make us falter in the fulfillment of our duty. When we consider the sacrifices of our soldiers, how they risk their lives, then the sacrifices of the homeland become completely insignificant and unimportant. When we think of the numbers of those who, generations before us, fell for the existence and greatness of the German Volk, then we become all the more aware of the greatness of the duty imposed on us.
Whoever seeks to forsake this duty has no right to expect treatment as a Volksgenosse in our midst.
Therefore, no one can expect to live who thinks that he can depreciate the front’s sacrifices at home. Irrespective of the form of disguise for this attempt to disrupt this German front, to undermine this Volk’s willingness to resist, to weaken the authority of this regime, to sabotage the efforts of the homeland, the offender will fall! There will be only one difference: the soldier honorably makes this sacrifice at the front, while the other, who wishes to depreciate this honorable sacrifice, dies in shame.
Our enemies should not deceive themselves. In the two thousand years of the history known to us, our German Volk has never been more unified and united than it is today. The Lord of the Worlds has done so many great things for us in the last years that we bow in gratitude before Providence, which has permitted us to be members of such a great Volk. We thank Him that, in view of past and future generations of the German Volk, we were also allowed to enter our names honorably in the undying book of German history.
”
”
Adolf Hitler
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This city-and-corporate-led “pro-arts” agenda runs the risk of not only driving out present art-making residents out via a combination of gate-keeping and escalating living costs (including but not limited to rent), it also prevents people who co-habitated with or preceded underground artists – frequently communities of color and poor/working class people overall – from returning. Even leading up to periods of economic decline (which frequently include an influx of artists, due to the increase in more affordable housing), the potential of keeping people out when the gentrification cycle eventually reverses, and housing becomes affordable again – typically when middle-class and up whites leave the city, developers abandon future projects, and things start to decay – is real. In other words, the pro-arts agenda provides the convergence of moneyed, powerful interests that drive gentrification with an additional cultural and economic weapon against keeping undesirables out, if they so choose, by labeling them as “the bad sort of creatives” or otherwise less-than, while keeping the semblance of being pro-artist intact, to be utilized as needed. This utilization may include implementation during periods of decline, depending on the plans, interests and future needs of capital, in a local/global context. – The solution to this is for communities to organize for the sorts of transformative conditions that allow people the practical and life-altering means to make all kinds of art, not for artists to be played by corporate arts entities that collude with downtown interests – while collectively resisting gentrification as soon as it starts to happen. The Right To The City is real. We are not your puppets!
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Anonymous
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Instead of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ advice to “Consume fewer … sodas,”10 the AICR cancer prevention guidelines advise: “Avoid sugary drinks.” Similarly, the AICR doesn’t just say to cut back on bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausage, and lunch meats. The cancer guidelines tell you to “avoid processed meat.” Period. Why? Because “data do not show any level of intake that can confidently be shown not to be associated with risk.”11
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Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
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you got a scan and measured bone density, a number greater than 135 gm/cm2 means your osteoporosis risk is low—
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Mike Nichols (Quantitative Medicine: Using Targeted Exercise and Diet to Reverse Aging and Chronic Disease)
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researchers found that whether omega-3 oils were consumed in fish or as supplements, they offered no significant protection against cardiovascular disease, cancer, or risk of death.2
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Neal D. Barnard (Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs)
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Sometimes it feels like there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get everything done. So instead of trying to make your day longer, why not make your life longer by an extra two years? That’s about how long your life span may be increased by eating nuts regularly—one handful (or about 30 grams) five or more days a week.1 Just that one simple and delicious act alone may extend your life. The Global Burden of Disease Study calculated that not eating enough nuts and seeds was the third-leading dietary risk factor for death and disability in the world, killing more people than processed meat consumption. Insufficient nut and seed intake is thought to lead to the deaths of millions of people every year, fifteen times more than all those who die from overdoses of heroin, crack cocaine, and all other illicit drugs combined.2
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Michael Greger (How Not To Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
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Individual status of memory and cognitive functions can be tested to gauge one’s risk level for Alzheimer’s. A series of tests can be used for this, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) test. A normal MOCA score is between 26 and 30.
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Walker-Summary (Summary: The End of Alzheimer's - Dale Bredesen - The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline (The End of Alzheimer's: The First Program ... Cognitive Decline - A Book Summary 1))
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Yet despite the excessive hype, the concept behind probiotics is still sound.19 Given all the important roles that bacteria play in our bodies, it should be possible to improve our health by swallowing or applying the right microbes. It’s just that the strains in current use may not be the right ones. They make up just a tiny fraction of the microbes that live with us, and their abilities represent a thin slice of what the microbiome is fully capable of. We met more suitable microbes in earlier chapters. There’s the mucus-loving bacterium, Akkermansia muciniphila, whose presence correlates with a lower risk of obesity and malnutrition. There’s Bacteroides fragilis, which stokes the anti-inflammatory side of the immune system. There’s Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, another anti-inflammatory bug, which is conspicuously rare in the guts of people with IBD, and whose arrival can reverse the symptoms of that disease in mice. These microbes could be part of the probiotics of the future. Their abilities are relevant and impressive. They are well adapted to our bodies. Some are already abundant – in healthy adults, one in every twenty gut bacteria is F. prausnitzii. These are not D-listers of the human microbiome like Lactobacillus; they are the stars of the gut. They won’t be shy about colonising it.20
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Ed Yong (I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life)
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Lp(a). People with high concentrations of Lp(a), an LDL variant, are at increased risk of heart problem and should focus on heart-healthy practices (exercise, low carbs). APO-E4. Apolipoproteins are a family of proteins that coat LDL, HDL, and chylomicron particles in order to make them water soluble. The APO-E4 subtype is a strong risk factor for Alzheimer’s and heart disease. Again, the best way to fight it, indeed, the only way, is through heart-healthy practices. Celiac Disease. This is caused by a reaction to gluten, which is found primarily in wheat. It can be quite serious if undiagnosed. Some cannot digest wheat. The solution is simple, though: no wheat or other glutens. LDL particle size. A predominance of small LDL particles causes heart disease. The size is determined by diet and exercise, but also genetically. Again heart-healthy practices can counteract this. Homeostatic weight. If you are on a low-carb diet and exercise, your body will regulate to the weight that your hypothalamus thinks is your healthiest. Further weight loss is difficult. The specific level is largely genetic. MTHFR. A deficiency of this could result in high homocysteine. Homocysteine is a toxic breakdown product of the essential amino acid methionine. Stress
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Mike Nichols (Quantitative Medicine: Using Targeted Exercise and Diet to Reverse Aging and Chronic Disease)
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Lp(a). Already mentioned, Lp(a) is a lipoprotein (cholesterol) variant that increases heart risk. About 10% of the population is at risk. See the “Is Your Lp(a) High?” section in chapter 9 for details. APO-E4. Apolipoproteins are a family of proteins that coat LDL, HDL, and chylomicron particles in order to make them water soluble. The APO-E4 subtype is a strong risk factor for Alzheimer’s. See “Do You Have the APO-E4 Variant?” in chapter 9 for details. Again, the best way to fight it, indeed, the only way, is through heart-healthy practices, and knowledge of its presence provides strong motivation. Normally this test is ordered after it is too late. Caught early, the risk can be substantially reduced. TTG and Gliadin Antibodies - Gluten Intolerance. Gluten intolerance is a severe reaction to gluten, found primarily in wheat. In the extreme, it is called celiac disease. Some cannot digest wheat at all. The solution is simple though: cut out wheat and other glutens. See “Are You Gluten Intolerant?” in chapter 9 for details.
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Mike Nichols (Quantitative Medicine: Using Targeted Exercise and Diet to Reverse Aging and Chronic Disease)
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Adult onset diabetes will be reversed and cured. Alzheimer’s will be slowed, and in the early stages even partially reversed. Atherosclerosis will be halted, and slowly reversed. Cancer in principle will be slowed, but if a tumor has resulted, it must be treated. Future cancer risk and risk of recurrence of a treated cancer will both be reduced. Osteoporosis can be stopped and reversed. Loss of stature will, in some cases, reverse also. Osteoarthritis can be reversed in some cases. Aging will noticeably slow.
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Mike Nichols (Quantitative Medicine: Using Targeted Exercise and Diet to Reverse Aging and Chronic Disease)
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NMR LIPO PROFILE LDL-P (actual number of LDL particles or particle concentration in the blood) Optimal - Under 1000 nmo/L Near Optimal - 1000 to 1299 nmo/L Borderline High Risk for Heart Disease - 1300-1599 nmo/L High Risk for Heart Disease - 1600 to 2000 nmo/L Very High Risk for Heart Disease - Over 2000 nmo/L
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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SMALL LDL-P (actual number of small LDL particles in the blood) Low Risk for Heart Disease - Less than 700 nmo/L High Risk for Heart Disease – 700 nmo/L or above Lowest Risk is if both LDL-P and Small LDL-P are low numbers of nmo/L
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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ApoB (Apolipoprotein B) Normal - 40-125 mg/dL Less than 100 mg/dL is considered desirable for low or intermediate risk individuals Less than 80 mg/dL is considered desirable for high risk individuals, such as those with cardiovascular disease or diabetes TRIGLYCERIDES Good - 149 mg/dL or lower Borderline - 150 to 199 mg/dL High - 200 mg/dL and above FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE (after not eating for at least 8 hours) Normal - 70 to 100 mg/dL Pre-Diabetes Fasting Blood Glucose -101 to 126 mg/dL Pre-Diabetes 2 Hours Blood Glucose - 140 to 200 mg/dL Diabetes Fasting Blood Glucose - 126 mg/dL or higher Diabetes 2 hours Blood Glucose - over 200 mg/dL HA1C (tests average blood sugar level for past two to three months) Normal - Below 5.7 percent Prediabetes - 5.7 to 6.4 percent (high risk of developing diabetes) Diabetes - 6.5 percent BMI (Body Mass Index which is the percentage of body weight that comes from fat Underweight - Below 18.5 Normal - 18.5 to 24.9 Overweight - 25 to 29.9 Obese - 30 or higher HOMOCYSTEINE Optimal - 10 to 12 µmol/L) 13.4 <10.4µmol/L Normal - 4 to 15 µmol/L) Moderate - 15 to 30 µmol/L) Intermediate - 30 to 100 µmol/L) Severe - Greater than 100 µmol/L) CRP (C-Reactive Protein)
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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Low Risk of Cardiovascular Disease - Less than 1 mg/L Moderate Risk of Cardiovascular Disease - 1 to 2.9 mg/L High Risk of Cardiovascular Disease - 3 or higher mg/L Further Testing Suggested to Find out the Cause of Severe Inflammation - 10 or higher mg/L CRP-HS (C-Reactive High Sensitivity) Lower Relative Risk - Less than 1.0 Average Relative Risk - Average Risk TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) Normal Range - 0.4 to 4.2 ml/L T4 (Free Thyroid) Normal Range - 0.78 to 2.19 ng/dL T4 (Total Thyroid) Normal Range – 5.53 to 11.00 mcg/dL T3 (Free Thyroid) Normal Range - 2.5 to 5.3 pg/mL SECTION 2
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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LDL-ASSOCIATED PLA2 (PLAC) This blood test measures the level of lipoprotein associated-phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), an enzyme associated with inflammation, stroke, and heart attack risk. However, high levels also may be due to non-arterial causes. Goal values Less than 200 ng/mL (normal value) for low relative risk of CVD Between 200-235 ng/mL for intermediate relative risk of CVD More than 235 ng/mL for high relative risk of CVD
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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LIPOPROTEIN a (Lp(a)) A “Non-traditional” blood protein associated with higher risk of heart attack and stroke. Goal values Desirable level for adults: less than 30 mg/dL Preparation Blood should be collected after a 12-hour fast (no food or drink, except water).
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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MPO level will be checked with a simple blood test. It is not necessary to follow any special instructions for the test. It can be done at any time of the day. Fasting is not required nor must a person stop taking any medications. However, if blood is being drawn for other tests, it may be necessary to follow special instructions not related to the MPO test. What do the test results mean? Goal: <400 pmol/L Low risk: 400 - 480 pmol/L High risk: ≥480 pmol/L
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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N-TERMINAL-PRO-B-type NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE (NT-proBNP) A "non-traditional" blood protein made in the heart and found in the blood. High levels are associated with increased risks of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and heart failure development. High levels are associated with development of heart failure and worse prognosis. Goal values Less than 125 pg/mL
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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URINE ALBUMIN/CREATININE RATIO (Ualb/Cr) Albumin is a protein found in urine that can be a sign of increased risk for kidney disease, diabetes complications, and cardiovascular risks. If high levels of Ualb/CR are present, close attention to blood pressure control, including use of specific blood pressure medications that help protect the kidney, may be recommended. Aggressive risk reduction efforts such as closer attention to lipid levels, blood pressure control, and diabetes control are suggested. Goal values More than 30 mg/g suggests increased risk for CVD and diabetic nephropathy More than 300 mg/g signals clinical nephropathy
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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APOLIPOPROTEIN A1 (Apo A1) Apo A1 is the major protein of HDL (good) cholesterol. Low levels of Apo A1 is associated with increased risk of early cardiovascular disease, and may be seen more often in patients with a high-fat diet, inactivity, and central obesity.
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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APOLIPOPROTEIN B (ApoB) A major protein found in cholesterol particles. New research suggests ApoB may be a better overall marker of risk than LDL (bad cholesterol) alone. Goal values Less than 100 mg/dL for those with low/intermediate risk Less than 80 mg/dL for high-risk individuals, such as those with cardiovascular disease or diabetes
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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CALCIUM-SCORE SCREENING HEART SCAN This is a test used to detect calcium deposits found in atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries. Computerized tomography methods, such as this one, are the most effective way to detect early coronary calcification from atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), before symptoms develop. The amount of coronary calcium has been recognized as a powerful independent predictor of future heart problems and is useful in making lifestyle changes and guiding preventive care to reduce their risk. The doctor uses the calcium-score screening heart scan to evaluate risk for future coronary artery disease. If calcium is present, the computer will create a calcium "score" that estimates the extent of coronary artery disease based on the number and density of calcified coronary plaques in the coronary arteries. Absence of calcium is considered a "negative" exam. However, there are certain forms of coronary disease, such as "soft plaque" atherosclerosis, that escape detection during this CT scan. It is important to remember that a negative test suggests a low risk, but does not exclude the possibility of a future cardiac event, such as a heart attack. The calcium-score screening heart scan takes only a few minutes to perform and does not need injection of intravenous iodine.
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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ECHOCARDIOGRAM (Echo) This test uses an ultrasound device to create a picture of the entire heart. The test evaluates how well the chambers of the heart are pumping and contracting and measures the size of the four chambers of the heart. It shows if the heart is normal sized or enlarged. It also measures the thickness of the heart muscle, which aids in the detection of high blood pressure. An electrocardiogram allows the doctor to take a look at all four valves of the heart. The heart’s valves can be damaged because of rheumatic fever or may show degenerative changes due to aging. These changes can lead to heart murmurs which cause the heart to work harder to pump the same amount of blood. This is one of the best tests doctors have to evaluate the heart at rest. It reveals the “ejection factor”, which is the amount of blood the heart moves with each beat. This should be 55% or more and underlying heart disease often shows up in a lower ejection factor. People with an ejection factor of 35% to 55% can lead a normal life with the help of medication. Below 35%, there is a risk of sudden death and a defibrillator should be installed surgically. A doctor may perform an echocardiogram to Assess the overall function of your heart Discover the presence of many types of heart disease Follow the progress of heart valve disease over time Evaluate the effectiveness of medical or surgical treatments
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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FASTING BLOOD SUGAR TEST Foolish people do try to outwit this common blood test by changing their eating habits a couple of days before the test. That is why it should be done at the same time as the H1AC test (below) which cannot be fooled. Ideally, blood sugar levels should be 70-90 mg/dl. Readings over 100 mg/dl are an indication of prediabetes and over 120 is full blown diabetes. Diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease.
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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FIBRINOGEN A protein found in the blood. Encourages blood clotting, but high levels are linked to an increased risk for heart attack and vascular disease. Goal vales Less than 300 mg/dL
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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GLOBAL RISK SCORE (GRS) An answer based test score that looks at a person’s risk factors. The GRS weighs risk factors in importance and then gives a percentage risk of the patient developing heart disease or having a heart attack within the next 10 years. Goal values Less than 10% = low risk 10% to 20% = intermediate risk Greater than 20% = high risk GRS information is important to develop a plan to improve your cardiovascular health. Call the Preventive Cardiology and Rehabilitation Program at 216-444-9353 or toll-free 800-2232273, ext. 49353 to be evaluated and get started … Monday thru Friday, Eastern Standard Time.
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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HIGH SENSITIVITY C-REACTIVE TEST (HS-CRP, US-CRP or CRP for short) A simple blood test that reports inflammation changes in the body. Inflammation puts a person at increased risk for heart attack and inflammation is now considered a driver of heart disease. Inflammation (swelling) of the arteries is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, heart attack, sudden death, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. It has also been linked to an increased risk of restenosis, or the re-closing of an artery that has been treated with balloon angioplasty. High Sensitivity (also called Ultra-sensitive) C-reactive protein is known as HS-CRP, US-CRP or CRP for short. It is a protein found in the blood and what we call a "marker" for inflammation, meaning its presence indicates a heightened state of inflammation in the body. Inflammation is a normal response to many physical states including fever, injury and infection. Inflammation plays a role in the initiation and progression of cardiovascular disease.
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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Ultra-Sensitive C-Reactive Protein Blood (HS-CRP) C-reactive protein measures an inflammatory response in the body and has been shown to play a role in atherosclerosis and blood clot formation. Patients should ask their doctor specifically about HS-CRP, as this test helps determine heart disease risk. Elevated HS-CRP is related to increased risk for heart attack, restenosis of coronary arteries after angioplasty, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease (PVD). While elevated cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides plus low HDL are independent risk factors for heart disease and cholesterol build-up, HS-CRP provides added information about inflammation in the arteries. This cannot be determined by lipid testing alone. Results Less than 1.0 mg/L = Low Risk for Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD) 1.0 – 2.9 mg/L = Intermediate Risk for CVD Greater than 3.0 mg/L High Risk for CVD
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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HS-CRP, combined with a Global Risk Evaluation (GRE) can provide an overall view of cardiovascular risk. This information is important to develop a plan to improve your cardiovascular health. Call the Preventive Cardiology and Rehabilitation Program at 216-444-9353 or toll-free 800-2232273, ext. 49353 to be evaluated and get started … Monday thru Friday, Eastern Standard Time.
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Christopher David Allen (Reverse Heart Disease: Heart Attack Cure & Stroke Cure)
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People’s emotional response to extremely long odds led them to reverse their usual taste for risk, and to become risk seeking when pursuing a long-shot gain and risk avoiding when faced with the extremely remote possibility of loss. (Which is why they bought both lottery tickets and insurance.)
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Michael Lewis (The Undoing Project (Korean Edition))
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Men with more aggressive cancer who regularly ate chicken and turkey had up to four times the risk of prostate cancer progression.33
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Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
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The Canadian study relied on questionnaires asking people to self-report fruit and vegetable intake, a method that’s not always accurate. A nationwide American study took it one step further and measured the level of carotenoid phytonutrients in people’s bloodstreams. These phytonutrients include some of the yellow, orange, and red antioxidant pigments found naturally in some of our healthiest foods, including sweet potatoes and green leafy vegetables. Not only did people with higher levels of these nutrients in their bloodstreams have a lower risk of depression symptoms but there was also an apparent “dose-response relationship,” meaning that the higher the level of phytonutrients, the better people seemed to feel.66 Among the carotenoids, lycopene (the
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Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
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Several studies illustrate the dangers of giving insulin to the adult diabetic. In one such study, when diabetic patients were given insulin, compared to those given metformin (Glucophage), the risk of death from heart attacks tripled.5
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Joel Fuhrman (The End of Diabetes: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes (Eat for Life))
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not smoking, not being obese, getting half an hour of exercise a day, and eating healthier—defined as consuming more fruits, veggies, and whole grains and less meat. Those four factors alone were found to account for 78 percent of chronic disease risk.
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Michael Greger (How Not To Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
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We experience [procrastination] as fear. But fear of what?
Fear of the consequences of following our heart. Fear of bankruptcy, fear of poverty, fear of insolvency. Fear of groveling when we try to make it on our own, and of groveling when we give up and come crawling back to where we started. Fear of being selfish, of being rotten wives or disloyal husbands; fear of failing to support our families, of sacrificing their dreams for ours. Fear of betraying our race, our 'hood, our homies. Fear of failure. Fear of being ridiculous. Fear of throwing away the education, the training, the preparation that those we love have sacrificed so much for, that we ourselves have worked our butts off for. Fear of launching into the void, of hurtling too far out there; fear of passing some point of no return, beyond which we cannot recant, cannot reverse, cannot rescind, but must live with this cocked-up choice for the rest of our lives. Fear of madness. Fear of insanity. Fear of death.
These are serious fears. But they're not the real fear. Not the master fear, the mother of all fears that's so close to us that even when we verbalize it we don't believe it.
Fear That We Will Succeed.
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Steven Pressfield (The War of Art)
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To her horror, the man lifted the edge of the robe to look at her shoulder. Frantic, she jerked at the leather that held her hand behind her. This was her worst nightmare. Comanches. Not one, but two. And she couldn’t even fight them. If he yanked the robe off her, there would be nothing she could do but lie there in shame.
Hunter stirred and yawned, then rose up on one elbow to bark in Comanche, “What is it, tah-mah? Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep?”
“I just came to check the woman.”
Hunter squinted at the sun and sighed. “So, how does she look?” He sat up and drew the robe further down her shoulder, taking care not to uncover her breast, laughing softly at the horrified expression on her face. Of all the men, his brother, Warrior, would be least likely to harm her. He was a fierce fighter but otherwise gentle, more apt to defend her than attack her. “It seems better to me. The grease, maybe. Not such a deep red. Old Man was right about the cold water chasing away the fever, too. She’s hot, but nothing like she was.”
Warrior pressed a palm to her skin. “Old Man says if you don’t keep her cool, the fever will come upon her again.”
“Not another bath?” Hunter propped an elbow on his upraised knee and rubbed his forehead. All trace of laughter fled. He didn’t relish the thought of the battle he’d have with her. “Don’t wake me with news like that. Bring me coffee first.”
“Not another bath, but no traveling in the heat. We’ll have to stay here a few days.”
“You’re willing to risk that? What about the tosi tivo?”
Breaking open a mullein leaf, Warrior laved his fingertips with healing juice and applied it to the frightened girl’s cheeks. She shrank back--only to run into Hunter, which made her flinch. “We’re probably safer here, right under their noses, than we would be miles away. When we circled back, we covered our trail well. You have to remember how stupid the tosi tivo are. They will follow the trails the others laid and never even think to look for us here, so close.”
“Yes, but--”
“She’s your woman. If the situation were reversed, you would risk it.”
Hunter grew impatient with his struggling captive and caught a handful of her braid to hold her still. “There, I’ve got her. The nose is worst. On the end where it curves up. Her forehead, too, tah-mah.”
Warrior dabbed juice and smiled. “She doesn’t like me. Come to think of it, she doesn’t seem any too fond of you.
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Catherine Anderson (Comanche Moon (Comanche, #1))
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Based on a study of eighty-nine thousand Californians, flexitarians appear to cut their rate of diabetes by 28 percent, good news for those who eat meat maybe once a week rather than every day. Those who cut out all meat except fish appear to cut their rates in half. What about those eliminating all meat, including fish? They appear to eliminate 61 percent of their risk. And those who go a step farther and drop eggs and dairy foods too? They may drop their diabetes rates 78 percent compared with people who eat meat on a daily basis. Why would this be? Figure 1 Is it just because people eating plant-based diets are better able to control their weight? Not entirely. Even at the same weight as regular omnivores, vegans appear to have less than half the risk of diabetes.37 The explanation may lie in the difference between plant fats and animal fats.
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Michael Greger (How Not To Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
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The plasticity of the motor cortex might even underlie something so common, unremarkable, and seemingly inevitable as the tentative gait that many elderly people adopt. With age, walking becomes more fraught with the risk of a spill, so many people begin to walk in an ever-more constrained way. Old people become erect and stiff, or stooped, using shorter steps and a slower pace. As a result, they get less “practice” at confident striding—bad idea. Because they no longer walk normally and instead “overpractice” a rigid and shuffling gait, the motor-cortex representation of fluid movement degrades, just as in monkeys that stop practicing retrieving little pellets from wells. The result: we burn a trace of the old-folks’ walk into our brain, eventually losing the ability to walk as we once did. It is the sadder facet of the neural traces burned into our brain at the beginning of life. There is, though, a bright side: there is every reason to believe that practicing normal movements with careful guided exercise may help prevent, or even reverse, the maladaptive changes.
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Jeffrey M. Schwartz (The Mind & The Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force)
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People who drank more than six cups a day were 80 percent less likely to commit suicide,48 though drinking eight or more cups a day has been associated with increased suicide risk.49
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Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
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There are data suggesting that people with higher levels of arachidonic acid in their blood may end up at significantly higher risk of suicide and episodes of major depression.16 The top-five sources of arachidonic acid in the American diet are chicken, eggs, beef, pork, and fish, although chicken and eggs alone contribute more than the other top sources combined.17 Just a single egg’s worth of arachidonic acid a day may significantly raise arachidonic acid levels in the blood.18 Overall, omnivores appear to consume about nine times more arachidonic acid than those eating plant-based diets.19 The study showing improved moods and emotional states in those eating plant-based diets was a cross-sectional study, meaning it was a snapshot in time.
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Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
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The two most prominent dietary risks for death and disability in the world may be not eating enough fruit and eating too much salt.
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Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
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Regardless, why accept any risk at all when you can choose organic soy products, which by law exclude GMOs?
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Michael Greger (How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease)
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The severity of climate risk depends on the reversibility of the damage.
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Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma (Climate Flip - Climate Risk Reporting In Banks)
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Individuals with a ratio of total to HDL cholesterol higher than 4 are considered to have an exceptionally high risk of developing heart disease. So, the higher your HDL cholesterol, the better. However, people with exceptionally low LDL cholesterol do not have to worry about their HDL level. You don’t need the garbage collectors when there is no garbage.
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Joel Fuhrman (The End of Heart Disease: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease (Eat for Life))
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The best and largest cohort studies in nutritional epidemiology, such as the Adventist Health Study, the Iowa Women’s Health Study, the Nurses’ Health Study, the Physicians’ Health Study, and the CARE Study all confirm that eating nuts and seeds is associated with a 30–50 percent decreased risk of CAD death, primarily sudden cardiac death, and dramatic decreases in all-cause mortality.
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Joel Fuhrman (The End of Heart Disease: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease (Eat for Life))
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Certainly, I respect the right of all individuals to run their lives the way they see fit, and to live within their own risk tolerance. However, since conventional food is so addictive and unhealthy, many people feel that the addiction controls them and that they can’t live without those health-destroying foods. But that furtive love affair quickly dissipates after the lovers have been separated for a few months. In fact, with time, many food addicts are pleasantly surprised how good they feel and how easy it was to give up their previous comfort foods.
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Joel Fuhrman (The End of Heart Disease: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease (Eat for Life))