#2 Aphorism of the week: Truth

"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act" 

George Orwell 

A century passed by, but things still remain the same. 

                                       Kali 

#1 Aphorism of the week: Love

"Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love" 

Albert Einstein 

So don't ever try to neither make questions nor give scientifical answers about love, 'cose you'll be far away from the truth.

                                       Kali

Art in a Showcase

The purpose of this article is not only reminding the parameters and 

goals to keep in mind during the realization of a showcase because you 

probably already know them. Certainly it's necessary to highlight the 

importance of creating the right balance between the commercial aim, 

for which showcases are simply a promotional element for selling 

products, and the artistic aim which considers windows as purely 

aesthetic elements meant to highlight the quality and beauty of products. 

The difference between the two aims is evident, since in the first case 

the economical aspect and profits prevail (typical of shops with 

affordable prices, where they tend to sacrifice the aestethic aspect in 

order to show as many items as possible). In the second case they 

prefer to point out the artistic aspect (there will be certainly a 

bigger budget) to underline the fame of a certain brand by impressing 

the peaton with unicity and originality. 

As a general rule the previous aims should coexist in the same showcase 

in order to create that essential balance for building up a 'fidelity' 

between the seller and the customer. Nowadays unfortunately the 

artistic matter has been almost forgotten by the majority of sellers 

because of the impellent need of incrementing purchases, so you might 

spontaneously wonder if the cause of this unbalance is the actual 

economical crisis, but this supposition might be a reason of discussion 

so we'll leave it there for another occasion. By now we could just talk of 

'creative crisis', since generally speaking there is not a great difference 

among the various shops'showcases where the banality and the 'already 

seen' reign. This is even more clear when we look at those showcases 

in which they follow a standarized model without adding that personal 

touch imprescindibile to affirm their own vision of fashion and style. 

I'd like to make clear that the decoration of a showcase is a form 

of art and the window-dresser first should be an artist, that's why 

I'd like to compare him to a musician or a painter: what would 

happen if someone forced them to follow a default scheme so that they 

couldn't express their own feelings and their own 'Myself'? 

First of all art is freedom and freedom is risk. Who is not ready to risk 

can't affirm he's an artist, neither he is free for real. 

So a window dresser sould be allowed to express his own 

view of fashion and decoration, after giving him the general 

concept the shop owner wants to communicate. 

It's worthwhile to contact a professional window-dresser since 

showcases have an incredible attractive strenght. Just imagine that 

in a medium town (100000/150000 citizens) 20000 people every day might pass next to your shop , that's why the effectiveness of the shop windows 

compared to the realization cost is very high. 

Finally I'm gonna address an appeal to the shop owners: rely upon 

a professional decorator who could transform your showcase into 

an unique piece thanks to his originality,creativity which will 

distinguish your shop from others attracting the attention and desire 

of new potencial customers. 

Also remember that in many occasions a single word changed is enough to 

give a different meaning to a whole sentence. 

Good Luck.   

Kali

What's rBGH?

In 1994 dear Monsanto discovered 
the way to synthesize bovine somatotropin (the peptide hormone produced by the cow's pituitary gland) or recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) using recombinant DNA technology through a genetically engineered E.coli   in order to increase the production of milk by stimulating cows glands. Saint Monsanto called Posilac this revolutionary 'pump' and started to market it aggressively all around. Luckily it has been banned in Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Israel and all European Countries.
By law, Monsanto lists on Posilac label over 20 toxic side effects that rBGH has on cows, so how could US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) allow Monsanto to sell this transgenic poison to farmers? There are voices that talk about strong pressures placed by Monsanto and its lobbyists on the FDA, but surely there are many ties between the multinational and the US government, including Supreme Courts of Justice, the cited FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency. 
So what are the most evident side effects on cows health? Despite a low increase in milk output (11%-16%), there are huge consequences on animals health: a 25% increase in the risk of mastitis (infection of the udder), a 40% reduction in fertility and a 55% increased risk of developping clinical signs of lameness. What about the effects on human health? rBGH-dairies induce a 70% to 1000% increase in the levels of the hormone IGF-1, which is not destroyed by digestion because it's protected by casein so it might be easily absorbed by our body. 
In 1995 Renato Baserga's laboratory has shown that IGF-1 is required for the establishment and maintenance of tumors because it protects cells from apoptosis (programmed cells death), it accelerates tumor growth and affect its aggressiveness. Moreover as I said before, cows that are injected with rBGH are prone to develop infections of the udder, so they are treated with antibiotics. This leads to an increase in pus as well as antibiotics residues in the milk you drink.  


Don't be blind. 
Kali

Milk Fairy Tale

Cow's milk has become a point of controversy among doctors and nutritionists. 'Got milk?' is the slogan that big companies used to depict this white liquid as the white gold for our health, nothing consciously claimed could be more wrong. Milk's main selling propaganda is its high content of calcium and milk-drinking is said to build strong bones in children and preventing osteoporosis in older persons, but clinical researches have been showing that dairy products have little or no benefit for bones. Let's highlight that in no mammalian species, except for western humans -and their lovely cats- milk consumption is continued after the breast-feeding, because as eastern wisdom says, it's unfit for consumption in adults. 
Why even infants or children shouldn't drink cow's milk? Because it is meant to turn a 90-pound calf into a 450-pound cow in less than one year, hence it contains four times more calcium than human milk. An infant doesn't require such huge levels of calcium so the high mineral content in cow's milk puts a strain on his kidney. However generally infants produce lactase (the enzyme capable of breaking down lactose, milk's sugar) until the age of around 2, then they lose this ability, that's one of the most intuitional reasons why people shoudn't consider natural and healthy a daily intake of milk. 
Together with refined sugar, cow's milk is the largest contributor to food induced ill health in the USA: it introduces significant amounts of cholesterol and saturated fat to your diet, it is an important cause of cramps and diarrhea in much of the world population and of a variety of allergies as well, plus it may play a central role in the origins of arteriosclerosis and heart attacks. Prostate and breast cancers have been linked to consumption of dairy products, presumably related to increases in a compound called Insuline-like-Growth-Factor (IGF-1), which promotes the transformation of human breast and colon cells in cancerous ones, supporting their progression and invasiveness. Besides dairy products can impair a child's ability to absorb iron and in very young children could even cause subtle blood loss from the digestive tract, increasing the risk of iron-deficiency; milk's proteins are a common cause of colics and may contribute to juvenile diabetes, might cause sensitivities showing up as respiratory problems, chronic ear problems or skin conditions. 
Whereas dairy products are also contaminated with cow's pus and blood, and frequently with pesticides, hormones and antibiotics, shall we finally consider alternatives for our calcium needs? Dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, broccoli and spring greens provide plenty of well-absorbed calcium, while reducing calcium losses; other important sources are dried fruits, sesame seeds and soy. 
There's no excuse to finally open your eyes and realize that the 'healthy cow's milk' is one of the biggest billions' value gimmicks of the 20th century, perpetuated by huge companies that shamelessly buy the proves in order to hide the evidence. [...to be continued...]


Kali