Thank goodness for my DVDs

Thank goodness for my collection of DVDs. After a week of this 'the sky is falling!' nonsense, I have watched every movie and TV show worth watching on Netflix and Amazon. (yes, I realise that thousands of folks are dying but check the stats - tens of thousands of us (mostly old folks like me) die every flu season)

A reality check for those of us who think that Italy's death toll is an exception

According to the study, 68 000 deaths were attributable to flu epidemics in the winter months between 2013 and 2014, and 2016 and 2017 respectively.

This is likely due to the fact that Italy has an ageing population, and the elderly are more at risk, generally.

 According to Italian health officials, the great majority of victims are elderly people. In fact, all those who died are above the age 60. And most of them had pre-existing health conditions, the officials have said.

Read the story HERE in Science Direct 

Venice, Italy rebounds!

Gotta love the resilience of Mother Nature!

Enough with the COVID-19 insanity!

OK! Enough of this fear mongering!

The economic and social damage done by this 'self-isolation' mania far outweighs the health benefits. More people die daily of smoking and obesity-related disease than 'the virus'. Half of Canadians live paycheque to paycheque. The economic damage done this 'Isolationism' and the resulting thousands of layoffs will result in people losing their homes, not paying their rent, or affording food or contributing to their children's education, suicide, and marital breakdowns.

Let us go back to work, to school, to living our lives. Just like every flu season - resources should be focused on the very young, the very old, people who are immune- compromised and health care workers.

Everyone else - let's get back to our lives - wash our hands - keep them away from our face and stay home if we're sick with 'the virus', the regular flu, measles, mumps or the common cold.

If our politicians really care about the health of Canadians - start by banning cigarettes and sugar-saturated beverages.

Kudos to Antonella Bundu of Italy

Read the story in the Guardian

Italian geneticists create Frankenstein mosquitoes

"This is a technology where we don't know where it's going to end. We need to stop this right where it is," says Nnimmo Bassey, director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation in Nigeria. "They're trying to use Africa as a big laboratory to test risky technologies."


Read the story HERE

U.N. expert slams American race problem - Brazilian butt lift - Rome cops cook for lonely couple

The United Nation's special rapporteur Maina Kiai , a lawyer and human rights activist from Kenya has authored a 6,500 word report that warns, in part, that extreme “racial, social and economic inequality, which are often intertwined.” Then, according to the article, goes on to say that "It also shows how harsh, police state-like conditions in the U.S. are threatening the basic rights of Americans, particularly Americans of color."

Read the article on Salon

Behind the hype of the 'Brazilian butt lift' and its founder

Ivo Pitanguy died last Saturday at the age of 90. Now you may not of heard of Mr. Pitanguy but he is the world famous, Brazilian plastic surgeon who pioneered the "Brazilian butt lift".

What the heck is that?.... well, it's a surgical 'butt augmentation' technique in which fat is injected into the patient's butt. Or silicon implants are surgically inserted under the skin. 

Ladies and gentlemen - a word of advice....you want a firm, well-rounded butt? Try exercising... it's free and painless.

Read the story on BBC News

Italian cops cook pasta for lonely senior couple

When Rome cops responded to a complaint from neighbours that an elderly couple were shouting and crying in their apartment, instead of finding a crime being committed, they found Jole, 84 and her husband Michele, 94.

Evidently the couple were arguing, in part over their meal, and in part out of loneliness because no one had visited them in "a long time" the couple said.

So the cops cooked them a pasta dinner then sat with the couple and chatted while they ate.

Kudos to Rome cops Andrea, Alessandro, Ernesto and Mirko.

Read the story on CTV News

Bug spray companies exploiting Zika, Assad's chlorine, congrats to the Italians

Mosquito brands OFF, Cutter, Pynamite Mosquito Misting Systems, companies with anti-mosquito wristbanks, and untested 'anti-Zika condoms' made by Australia's Ansell Ltd. are jumping on the Zika bandwagon by promoting their products to the frightened public. Shame on them!

Read the story on CTV News

It seems as if when the US made Syria get rid of the deadly sarin gas that Assad used to massacre his own people the US allowed him to keep a stockpile of chlorine. Now that chlorine, which kills within minutes, is being used as a weapon.

Read the story on New York Times Books

Congrats to Italy for initiating a plan to save food.

The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation figures that we earthlings waste a third of our food. And that the food wasted daily just by Europeans could feed 200 million hungry people.

Read about Italy's food saving plan on BBC News