Sunday, August 08, 2004
My Incisive Political and Philosophical Analysis:
I just watched John Howard on the TV news, at some Pacific Island country, sitting "in state" with the local politicos and his entourage, taking in the local entertainment. They were all wearing the same blue Hawaiian-looking-print shirts.
The idea I suppose was to show a solid front, but the effect (especially on some of the more dignified-looking Pacific statesmen) was totally stupid. That's sad. Understandable on Johnny, he manages to look silly a lot these days does't he?
And it's made me wonder - what happened to STATESMEN? To Hell with political correctness here, statesmen covers anyone who carries out their task of managing their assigned task of running their particular aspect of their country, and who carries it out well, with style and INDIVIDUALITY.
What I saw on the news wasn't statecraft, it had no style, no dignity, and put me in mind of a mob of sheep. Gah and we apparently voted for that man!
Categories - ::/:: posted at 11:19 PM Ted
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Sunday, August 01, 2004
Why is there no fluoride free toothpaste anywhere?
Some people *like* fluoride. There must be an awful lot of them because there's an awful lot of fluoride out there.
Convince me that fluoride is good for you. It's a waste byproduct of other chemical processes. Dentists and specialists say that fluoride is good for your teeth and provides hardening and protection. They say that it has no discernible side effects, is naturally present in water in some springs, and is in fact the best thing since sliced bread.
Other, just as reputable dentists and specialists say that fluoride has no discernible benefits for teeth, that side effects include effects on learning performance, neurological and stomach/colon problems, and a variety of other side effects. They in fact revile fluoride and claim it's only used because the poison has to be put somewhere, in this case, our toothpaste, our water, and pur bodies...
All I know is that way before I ever thought seriously about stuff like that, toothpaste made me want to throw up, so I used it very sparingly. Later, I discovered a major brand manufacturer who made one that I could use without problems. I discovered that the only thing that really made it different was a herbal flavour, and a lack of any mono-wotsit flouri-anything. I tried a similar herbal flavour toothpaste - nausea. Another (at that time I was spoilt for choice it seems) non-fluoride toothpaste - fine...
A few years ago, all non fluoride toothpastes disappeared from major supermarket shelves, with the exception of that one major manufacturer's line. And now, that one has been discontinued as well...
I wonder what possesses people to make such choices? Pick a product with a chemical in it which will make your children slow learners, which will give you neurological problems, and which is heavily advertised as being good for you despite the research, or pick a product without that poison in it. You'd think the choice would be obvious wouldn't you?
And so now I am having to crawl markets and small healthfood shops to find such a toothpaste. I don't mind, but I've never had a health-conscious bone in my body, and it feels a bit odd to be in such shops... %)
I'd also like to point out that my grandfather worked as the industrial chemist for a huge confectionery firm in Europe, and he brushed his teeth with salt and water. Despite this being in an age of poorly understood dental care, and despite his tasting (and bringing home for me to taste - yum!) every product in the entire line, he died with all his teeth, at age 93.
It was only after he came to Australia to stay that he began to use fluoridated products, and he complained that his teeth finally were starting to hurt and gove him trouble. He flew back to Austria to attend his affairs and get them in order so that he could move to Australia permanently, and died in Austria of a bowel cancer. Which he'd never had before he came here...
So why isn't there a balanced choice of product on supermarket shelves? I've now checked Coles and Woolies and Dewsons, and found that not ONE of their range of toothpastes is fluoride free. That means that the average person will never even think about the alternative, and will instead stick something in their mouth that's used in industrial processes...
Trust me on this - both fluorine and chlorine are reactive chemicals and not very good for you. If you use a good water filter to remove as much of them and other crap as possible out of your drinking and cooking water for just a few weeks, you'll notice a difference in your wellbeing.
And as I said I am not a health nut or a conspiracy theorist, just a person who keeps alert to changes in my own body. I now tend to taste chlorine in the water used to make my coffee at restaurants and usually send it back, it tastes so bad.
UPDATE:
I've found ONE major chain supermarket that now sells a supposedly healthy organic toothpaste which has no fluoride compounds. The toothpaste tastes horrible, is less than effective, and while it's certainly inexpensive, it's obviously very cheap.
I also found one toothpaste by Red Seal at a healthfood shop in the Fremantle Markets and it's excellent. So there you go...
Categories - ::/:: posted at 1:01 PM Ted More Comments: (3)
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Must be something about Teds and IT
Hmmm must be something about IT attracting people named Ted: System Administrator Appreciation Day was last Friday. And this part caught my eye.
I think I've already added some admin/support stories to that list (see CN>K a few articles back) but one or two of these was new to me. Enjoy!
Categories - ::/:: posted at 12:56 PM Ted
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