Cigareets And Whiskey And Wild Wild Women

As an example to others, and not that I care for moderation myself, it has always been my rule never to smoke when asleep, and never to refrain from smoking when awake. - Mark Twain
For most readers, I need not list all the people in the PTB set that have said on the record that they want to wipe out a fair chunk of humanity.  There's Prince Charles and His Royal Daddy, Bill Gates, Henry Kissinger, and the Bush Gang, along with the Georgia Guide Stones.  It's hardly a secret.

They stage wars to kill off thousands of the future leaders and thinkers.  They LOVE cars that burn all that delicious petroleum.  They fill up our drinking water with God knows how many nasty chemicals.  They promote drug addiction, as long as a doctor scribbles on a piece of paper.  They pump us to the hilt with vile, dangerous and killer vaccines.  In fact, they promote just about everything that will kill you while making money for them.

So what's the big deal with cigarettes?  Why the decades-long war on tobacco?  Why the brainwashing and laws and draconian efforts to rid the planet of this self-promoting cash crop?

It's but a vague memory now.  I live in Indonesia where cigarette smoking is still a right, a net exporter of tobacco and one of the few places left on Earth that still allows cigarette ads in print and on TeeVee (just can't show anyone actually smoking).  But I do remember the way people thought they had every right to treat you like a social deviant if you so much as mentioned Marlboro.

So, if the PTB/W are so damned hot to kill everyone while making a profit, why are they pushing this whole anti-smoking craze?

Adolf Hitler was a rabid anti-smoker and vegetarian.  Look what that got the world.  On the flip-side, nearly every artist I know is a closet smoker.

Sure, it causes all kinds of nasty things, but Xanax makes you suicidal, and they push that crap like it's going out of style.  Sure, stale smoke is not one of the more pleasant smells, but the BPA in nearly every plastic food container in your house is a really nasty little molecule.  Sure cigarettes are dirty, what with all that ash and the filters, but BP killed the Gulf of Mexico with its oil and Fukishima is killing all the rest of the world.

One could say that they really have a heart after all.  One could say that they need to have something they can point to for credibility in the 'caring and sharing' department.  I don't buy for a Jogjakarta minute.

The other day, I was listening to one of the dozens of interviews I peruse every week.  Someone said something that piqued my interest.  She said that some evidence pointed to cigarettes protecting the pineal gland from certain chemicals like fluoride.  If you don't know, fluoride makes people docile and open to suggestion, and since the pineal gland (also called the third eye) is associated in vastly different cultures with insight, intuition and wisdom, it makes a weird sort of sense.

It did get me to thinking.  Why would such murderous, evil bastards, who love making money and majik off of killing people, want to eradicate cigarettes that hook the smoker into a lifelong money-spending habit, and which has been a major cash crop for centuries?

And while we're at it, we could say the same thing about marijuana.

It does lead me to conclude that there is something about tobacco that they don't like.  Yet many of them are fierce smokers themselves.  I can't imagine they don't want us all riddled with cancer and shot-out lungs and heart attacks.  They love that stuff.  Packs hospitals, sells drugs and gets spiteful health care legislation passed.

Let's say the pineal gland does have a sort of metaphysical function.  It is, after all, the only part of the brain that doesn't come in a pair.  Suppose it does aid and abet things like insight and higher wisdom.  We know that fluoride has a negative effect on the gland, and Lord only knows what other chemicals the bastards are pumping into us and the effects they have on the little peanut-sized lump of flesh.

In my mind, I connect things like creativity and smoking.  Certainly, being a smoker causes you to take at least a couple of breaks a day just to stare into space while you enjoy sucking plant smoke into your lungs.  They sure don't like people sitting around thinking.  That's why they keep inventing all the Asian gee-gaws to keep our monkey minds occupied.

Cigarettes have seemingly always been associated with tough, independent and rebellious spirts.  Look at James Dean, Humphrey Bogart and the Marlboro Man.  How many times have you seen the image of the rough and tumble cowpoke plopping down by the fire after a long day in the saddle and sparking up a butt?

Could there be something to this?  Could cigarettes be the bane of Them?  Do cigarettes somehow neutralize some effort on their part to neutalize us?

It's an interesting idea to noodle on.  When you think about it, it really doesn't make sense that they would zero in on cigarettes with all the far greater threats to health out there.  Hell, most of the rabid anti-smokers I know think nothing of going jogging next to a busy street at rush hour.  There they are pumping gobs of nasties into their lungs and raising their heart rate to really get all the crud well circulated, while they're at it.

Certainly anyone who's read this site long enough knows that I'm rather independent and have no hesitation thinking outside the box.  I've also had a long, illustrious career in the performing arts.  And I've been a pack-a-day guy since I was about 13.

Hell, even Bammy is a heavy huffer.  If nothing else, you gotta give him credit for being creative.  He spins some good ones.  Got him the presidency, after all.

So it's just one of those ponders.  You have to sit up and take notice when evil murderous bastards seem to care about people's health.  It's not in character, and when people do things out of character, there's usually an ulterior motive.  It usually belies a weakness, too.

Next time you spark up, think about it.  Are you a rugged individualist with a strong creative streak?  It just might be because of the stogie you're sucking on.

Adventures In Acupuncture IX

Could it be THAT simple?

It seems almost too easy, yet intuitively true.  It also answers some nagging questions I've had in my own research.  But first, a little review...

I was diagnosed with MS about 2 1/2 years ago after going completely blind in a matter of minutes, while feeling like I had a severe flu (energy crashed, joint pain, etc.).  Since then, I've been on a mission to figure out what happened and more specifically, what can be done to fix it?

In short, multiple sclerosis is defined as a neurological problem, where the body's immune system attacks the myelin sheath (insulation) on the nerves, causing plaques that more or less short-circuit the electrical signals.  This, in turn, causes all sorts of problems with muscle cramps, sensory loss, 'pins and needles' sensations, loss of balance/vision/hearing, cognitive dysfunction, and the list goes on.

Research shows that MS primarily affects northern Europeans, with a slightly higher occurrence in women than men.  First major symptoms tend to cluster around the age of 40, or so, though in many cases, lesser symptoms may show up beginning shortly after puberty.  It is not known what causes MS or triggers the first attacks.  There is evidence that supports both genetic and environmental causes.  There is no generally accepted cure and only a few treatments to control symptoms.

I was not interested in controlling symptoms.  I wanted to get at the cause and remediate the damage already done.  I was focused on nerve damage and the immune system, which is why I chose acupuncture, as a means to stimulate the nerves and reduce the various pains from that problem.  I also began a program of vitamins and supplements, in conjunction with dietary modification.  I cut out all MSG and carefully noted any positive or negative changes when I ate certain foods.

I noted that very spicy foods and overheating in the sun caused an increase in cloudiness in my vision.  Eating cassava root caused a major decline in brightness.  Both of these things lasted up to 24 hours, then subsided.

I began acupuncture, and this column, to test the modality for effective relief.  I found that it did increase my color vision and brightness, but played hell with my focus.  I definitely relieved muscle spasms, pins and needles, balance issues, sinus problems, and various other complaints related to neuro-muscular problems.  It was very effective to a point, but then it leveled off, and it certainly wasn't a cure.  For the neuro-muscular problems, reflexology massage is a helpful adjunct to acupuncture.  It offers a number of benefits that enhance what acupuncture has to offer.

Dr. Paolo Zamboni

All of this was helping manage the symptoms without nasty pharmacological pill-popping, and a lot cheaper, too.  But, it wasn't getting to the root cause.  That's when one of my readers, Larry, sent in a link to a story about Dr. Paulo Zamboni, who is having some remarkable success in treating folks with MS.


Zamboni's wife was stricken with MS and it prompted him to research the issue, looking for a cure.  That 73% of his patients are symptom-free after two years argues that he found at least part of the answer.


Zamboni reasoned that MS was caused by poor circulation in the brain, which was itself a result of blockage in certain veins caused by excessive iron in the blood.  Seems that excess iron causes a large number of free radicals to be produced in the body.  In turn, that oxidizes cholesterol in the blood, which makes it 'sticky'.  The sticky cholesterol binds to the walls of veins and arteries, causing plaques that cause strokes, heart disease and dozens of other problems.


Zamboni performs a simple angioplasy, and POOF!  Symptoms go away.


Well, that sparked a whole line of inquiry for me.  It resonated with something a friend had told me years ago, that a lot of Celtic folks get non-rheumatoid arthritis because of high iron content in the blood.  Seems the Celtic race doesn't have a way to easily get rid of excess iron, which builds up in the body and leads to arthritis, cancer, stroke, heart disease, and a dozen other health problems.


Here's where the eureka moment came in.  Too much iron is called hemochromatosis.  It's an actual disease, and it's hereditary, but it has environmental triggers.  It usually strikes in middle age  I causes all sorts of problems, including cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and so on.


What Zamboni figured out was that high iron in the brain from bad drainage was causing small tears in the arteries and veins that were allowing the immune cells to escape and start gnawing on the nerves.  By opening up the veins from the brain, he improved circulation, the arterial walls healed and the nerves were able to start repairing.


If we put multiple sclerosis and hemochromatosis side by side, the common factor seems to be too much iron in the blood.  They both have elements of genetic and environmental causes.  They both affect multiple systems in the body.  They both favor northern Europeans, and they both have onset of major symptoms in middle age.  The only difference seems to be that hemochromatosis favors men, and multiple sclerosis favors women.  Could it be that the symptomology varies by gender?


So, this opens up a simple blood test that will tell me the next step.  I just need to check the iron levels in my blood. If they are elevated, then I could be on to something here.  The only problem is there's no pill or supplement or treatment to get rid of the excess iron.  The best and, really, the only way to bring it down to normal is positively medieval.  Blood-letting.


Forturnately, there's a modern form of blood-letting that is not only more sterile, but uses the resulting blood to save other lives.  It's called donating blood, and I can do that once every couple of months.


Unfortunately, I need to also cut back on high iron foods in my diet, and eliminate supplements that have iron in them.  In fact, the only supplement that the literature talks about for this condition are strong anti-oxidants.  Seems all that iron is a major cause of free radicals in the body, which is where all the other health problems come from.

Celtic Warrior

The supplements don't bother me, but cutting out steak, dark green leafy vegetables, pork, and pate de fois gras puts a pretty massive hole in my comfort foods.  The other problem is cutting out soy, which in Asia is all but impossible. Hell, just the MSG problem keeps me running in circles.


At any rate, I have a new course of action, in addition to Dr. Cigarettes (see AIA VIII).  I'll get a blood test next week and we'll see where to go based on that.


Could all this be as simple as too much iron in the blood?  And could the solution be as elegant as donating blood and a regular basis?


Stay tuned!


This is part 9 of an on-going series of articles about the use of acupuncture in treating the effects of multiple sclerosis, especially blindness.  See Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, part 4 here, Part 5 here, Part 6 here, Part 7 here, and Part 8 here.  The standard Western medical approach gave no hope for recovery, and the use of life-long drugs (with distasteful side-effects) offered a ‘possible’ protection from further attacks.

Adventures in Acupuncture VIII

UPDATE: One of our great readers sent me a link to Dr. Paolo Zamboni, in Italy, who has been making headlines for a while with an apparently successful new MS treatment.  If any of our Italian readers can provide further info, we'd be happy to share it around.  Thanks Larry!

Well, we're back again.  I took a little break to do some research, and also because I had hit a plateau in the treatments.  I wasn't getting any additional benefit, but I wasn't losing ground either.

I stopped the treatments a couple of weeks ago for several reasons, but the two biggest being the lack of advancement and the desire to see if the benefits I had gotten were permanent, or dependent on on-going treatment.

I've also found some new options to pursue.  One might be quite interesting to those looking for alternative health care options.  But first...

On the benefit side, I have regained some vision in my right eye, which is remarkable in itself.  I've also regained a good amount of red/green vision, which has applications for folks who are red/green color blind.  Might want to try it.  I've also regained brightness and some contrast and depth perception.  Not a lot, but a noticeable amount.  That helps with navigation, especially when facing my nemesis -- going down stairs.

Drawbacks?  It's played hell with my focus ability.  Before,

I had one spot in the center of my left field of vision that was sharp as a pin, though black and white.  It was very small, allowing me to read signs at a distance or focus on vehicles coming my way.  Now, I have several small spots like that, with color, that cause me to constantly move my eyes to try to bring something into the clear area.  It's hard to curse this, since having more is better, one supposes, but my eyes tend to be very tired at the end of the day for all the moving and focusing.

Overall, I am very pleased with the results, and I haven't abandoned acupuncture, by any means.  I have gotten the name of a local doctor/sin she who is trained in Western medicine, so is familiar with the effects of MS.  I hope that his better understanding of the disease will allow him to focus the treatments for better effect.

Of course, I'm still maintaining my daily supplements and I attribute the goji berry juice with enhancing my eyesight and helping me focus my mind more.

One drawback I need to mention, though, is that the leg spasms have returned since stopping the acupuncture.  Applying a certain natural herb to the problem is very effective, but only lasts for about an hour or so, requiring a re-application if I haven't managed to get to sound sleep by that time.

As for new courses to explore, about a year ago, I got word of a woman here in Jakarta who was having miraculous success treating cancers and various other ailments.  At that time, she had a fairly wide-spread reputation among the expats here.  Her name is Dr. Griya Balur, but a lot of folks call her Dr. Cigarettes.  She made international headlines a few months back with claims of stunning cures, but what got the attention was her method.

Tobacco

Dr. Balur uses tobacco in her treatments.  Pure, unadulterated leaf straight from the field.  To read some of the articles, it's a bit misleading.  She doesn't actually use the tobacco as a cure.  Rather, it's a diagnostic tool.

What she does is coat a table with a proprietary mixture of herbs and such.  The patient then lies on the table and she proceeds to blow tobacco smoke into every orifice of the body.  She quite literally blows smoke up your [blessed assurance].

The tobacco suffuses the body and leeches out through the skin.  In turn, the residue mixes with the coating on the table forming a pattern.  She reads this pattern to show which areas of the body are healthy and which are not.  From that information, she can determine a course of treatment, which involves targeting selected organs and systems with minerals and herbs.

Basically, it's not unlike Western medicine, which sometimes uses a blue dye injected into a tumor to see which lymph nodes are feeding it.  They then surgically remove those nodes.

Dr. Balur, however, approaches it from the standpoint that the cancers are the result of improper flows and balances in the body's minerals and vitamins.  It's a very sensical approach and not unlike the treatments used by vets on large farm animals.

At any rate, I am intrigued by the process and the anecdotal stories I've heard second-hand about cures for cancers, diabetes, stroke, and various wasting diseases.  Though I haven't heard directly about MS, it is similar to other auto-immune disorders she has reportedly cured without trace.  By trace, I mean using standard assays recognized in Western medicine, such as blood tests, X-rays, etc.

As your faithful reporter in these matters, I will consult with Dr. Balur, and if possible, undergo her treatment and report anything I find.

As for other lines of investigation, I have started following tai chi.  I have never pursued any of the Eastern martial arts, so I am literally starting from ground zero.  I chose this route because it is a very low impact form of exercise, and because it promotes two things above all: relaxation and balance.  The motions are both fluid and slow.  There is no emphasis on power.  All strength comes from simply being and maintaining balance.

Every Saturday and Sunday, I meet with a group and have a trainer.  The rest of the week, I simply practice on the front porch in the early mornings.  I found it through the local Buddhist temple and there is no charge for it.  You may want to investigate this route if interested.  The masters are all between 70 and 80 years old, and strong as oxen.  I weight fully 200#/100 kilo and I can hang on their shoulders and cannot budge them when pushing on them.  They all promote tai chi as a means to achieving a long and healthy life.  At 50, they still consider me a youngster.

At any rate, because the MS attacks the neuro-muscular control, I figured this was a good route to go that focused on the very things I am having the most trouble with.  I've developed this old-man stoop both as a way to see the ground in front of me, and to compensate for my balance problems.  I'm hoping the tai chi will help correct that and give me more confidence in my movement and balance.  Plus, as a form of exercise, it can be done well into the old age, but unlike golf, requires no equipment or even special clothing.

So, I continue my two-pronged approach to the MS situation.  The first approach is to relieve the symptoms that I have.  These include the twitching leg muscles, lower back pains and blindness.  The second approach is to investigate possible cures, based on both my own theories regarding the genesis of MS, and the various alternative cures offered by Asian traditional medicine.

I have chosen the alternative path because I live in Asia and have access to these various traditions, and because Western medicine required me to surrender far too much of my quality of life for a bunch of legal weasel words.

My first, and so far only attack occurred two and a half years ago, which from what I've read means that I've already beaten the odds, which say the average MS patient will get hit once a year or so after the first attack. Whether I'm a statistical aberration or the things I've been doing are beneficial is still up in the air.  Certainly, nothing I am doing can be anything but beneficial, as they involve vitamins, minerals, herbs, exercise, and healthy eating.  Combined with the mental attitude that I will not be a victim nor surrender the fight (which is probably more attributable to being a hard-headed Irish Texan).

At any rate, I will continue to keep interested parties abreast of my findings.  I also wish to thank the readers who have been sending in scads of information.  I am still parsing it all, but will post more of the links and files in future reports.  Though my personal Odyssey involves MS, these things may have broad implications not only for other maladies, but also for general well-being.  I am sharing any and all observations and information that may be beneficial to others.

In an age when health care costs are soaring and Western medicine is dominated by a pharmacological beast that mucks around with the chemical balances of the body and brain, I want to find cheap and easy alternatives that are just as effective, if not more so.  Food supplements, exercise, fresh fruit and vegetable juices, and things like acupuncture and Dr. Balur's approach are all worthy of investigation.  There is no reason why popping pills and going under the knife are the only alternatives.

Certainly, as far as costs go, everything I've spent in two and a half years on alternatives have added up to about three days in an American hospital, and far more sanitary.  That I have so far beaten the odds on MS attacks at least gives me hope that I am on the right track.

Above all, it's the mind.  By maintaining the attitude that I will make lemonade from life's lemons is probably the most important weapon I have against anything that befalls me.  Like the old maxim says:

First, know thyself.


A loving, caring spouse doesn't hurt, either.  :)


This is part 8 of an on-going series of articles about the use of acupuncture in treating the effects of multiple sclerosis, especially blindness.  See Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, part 4 here, Part 5 here, Part 6 here, and Part 7 here. The standard Western medical approach gave no hope for recovery, and the use of life-long drugs (with distasteful side-effects) offered a ‘possible’ protection from further attacks.