Wednesday, April 29, 2009

From Mercola.com

This is NOT the First Swine Flu Panic

My guess is that you can expect to see a lot of panic over this issue in the near future. But the key is to remain calm -- this isn't the first time the public has been warned about swine flu. The last time was in 1976, right before I entered medical school and I remember it very clearly. It resulted in the massive swine flu vaccine campaign.

Do you happen to recall the result of this massive campaign?

Within a few months, claims totaling $1.3 billion had been filed by victims who had suffered paralysis from the vaccine. The vaccine was also blamed for 25 deaths.

However, several hundred people developed crippling Guillain-Barré Syndrome after they were injected with the swine flu vaccine. Even healthy 20-year-olds ended up as paraplegics.

And the swine flu pandemic itself? It never materialized.

More People Died From the Swine Flu Vaccine than Swine Flu!

It is very difficult to forecast a pandemic, and a rash response can be extremely damaging.

As of Monday April 27, the worldwide total number of confirmed cases was 82, according to WHO, which included 40 cases in the U.S., confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control. But does that truly warrant the feverish news headlines?

To put things into perspective, malaria kills 3,000 people EVERY DAY, and it's considered "a health problem"... But of course, there are no fancy vaccines for malaria that can rake in billions of dollars in a short amount of time.

One Australian news source,3 for example, states that even a mild swine flu epidemic could lead to the deaths of 1.4 million people and would reduce economic growth by nearly $5 trillion dollars.

Give me a break, if this doesn't sound like the outlandish cries of the pandemic bird-flu I don't know what does. Do you remember when President Bush said two million Americans would die as a result of the bird flu?

In 2005, in 2006, 2007, and again in 2008, those fears were exposed as little more than a cruel hoax, designed to instill fear, and line the pocketbooks of various individuals and industry. I became so convinced by the evidence AGAINST the possibility of a bird flu pandemic that I wrote a New York Times bestselling book, The Bird Flu Hoax, all about the massive fraud involved with the epidemic that never happened..


Read the full article at MERCOLA

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Hello Folks,
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This will be a very short blog. I must notify everyone. Ahem .... quite back there .... thank you ...
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There may be some changes over the next few weeks to this blog. Things have been getting crazy with starting a family, business, apartment etc. etc. etc. and I'm getting to the point where I need to either live life or record it. Something has to give, and I fear it may be the blog. I'd hate to see it just go and die (KERSPLAT!!! like a dead frog skuished by a Mac truck), so I'm going to try and reduce the frequency of posting or amount, or both. We'll see. 
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The Art must live on ...... however, thanks to ALL for your enthusiastic support, emails and encouragement.
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Gotta run.
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As Always,
Love in Christ Jesus,
Michael & Rebekah Thomas

House gift and garden

Bekah still working on thank you cards discovers DUPLICATION!


Unveiling a very (though certainly never overly) belated wedding gift ...

Put in your orders today ...

Stunning! Mark ... you are absolutely and totally somethin' else.

Installing our "greenhouse"

Those little seedlings are gonna think they died and went to heaven. Theologically, that is actually 1/2 right since Jesus did talk about a seed dying and bringing forth life. I'd scratch the heaven part of the analogy though.


Mixing some seedling mix

The rough an' ready repair guys

Well, not quite rough, but certainly ready.

Only Ben ... (well, actually, I think somewhere inside of me was a guy like this ... come to think of it, let me up there)

Picnic on the porch ... guess who's pregnant (and yes, totally setting a bad dietary example, hint, it's NOT me since I'M the one with the healthy red pepper sticks.

An afternoon in Newport

Do you ever have one of those weeks that leave you thinking to yourself, "WOW! That was some week. I got a TON accomplished. Now ... now ... I just need hear the sound of the ocean and listen to the soothing sounds of the waves?"

Having had just one of those weeks, Bekah and I take some time to ponder the Big Blue Wet Thing


Bekah ponders the exclusivity of modern Newport Estates

Things you see


"Praise Him in His sanctuary,
Praise Him in His mighty Firmament"

I think I remember seeing pictures of Jordan and Melissa right here

I believe they kissed that time too

"But the rich ... as the flower of the grass, he shall pass away"

Well folks, that's all for now. 
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Catch ya later!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Hello Folks,
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Thanks to all those who prayed for Rebekah. She is feeling a lot better. Please do not discontinue those prayers, of course. She is down from morning sickness, afternoon "morning sickness" to random bouts of "Michael, I just feel really sick".
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Spring has sprung, we have video clips of the Russian trip thanks to NR productions, and plenty more.
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Enjoy!
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As Always,
Love in Christ Jesus,
Michael & Rebekah Thomas
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P.S. Thanks a MILLION times over to the Flynn family for donating almost 1/2 the pics to this week's blog.

Workin' men ...

John and our valiant steed

Day's done

Art

One man took a shower
And another man did not
One man kissed his wife
The other was struck by a pot

Dinner is served

Spring now rules in New England ... Winter is conquered

Where better to celebrate the triumph of spring then in one of New England's finest garden estates ... how did you guess it? Yes. Blithewold, AGAIN!!!

Touring

Feasting

Align CenterAlmost exactly a year apart, we celebrate Sean and my birthday (yes, 25 will be me on the 21st!!)

Kombucha, the elixir for "aging men"

Art

"In spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love"


With Kombucha proudly displayed, Sean & Bridget take pics with some of the younger ones

Portrait of spring


Art


Dwarfed by magnificence (just so we are clear, I'm talking about the tree)

Safe in his arms

A jungle respite. Unfortunately, after diligent searching and much funding by scientific sponsors across the nation, it is my unfortunate duty to report that we did NOT find Mokele Mbembe beneath these green fronds. Alas!

Yes, it would have been quite the discovery. Instead, we pause for another shot.

Perhaps he runneth from the Mokele creature


Well, when I actually think about it, that IS a rather small jungle for Mr. Mokele to have remained hidden all these years undiscovered.

Posing

Anyone remember this spot?

Hanneke discovers that the larger the rock, the larger the splash. Smart girl! Huh?

What?

Catching up to all the long legged folk

Amidst the ruins, beauty stands

Art


Billy and the two Sillies

Down lover's lane we walked
Hand around each other
Heart's closer then sister and brother.

Hmm ... I fit


Sort of

Well SHE fits