Friday, December 20, 2019



Diet Coke linked to ’weight gain’, according to new Australian research

God! I get sick of reading this repeated stupidity.  Any Statistics 101 course will tell you that correlation is not causation.

So: Who are the fattest?

The poor

So who are least likely to be restrained eaters?

The poor

Who therefore are under most pressure to lose weight?

The poor

So who drink most lo-cal stuff?

The poor

So who are the people most likely to gain weight while drinking lo-cal stuff?

The poor

So the findings below are nothing mystical or surprising.  The findings simply reflect what the poor do.  All the high-flown theories they put forward below are completely superfluous as an explanation of the findings.  Drinking lo-cal drinks WON'T make you fat.  It's mostly fat people who drink lo-cal drinks



People who choose diet versions of their favourite soft drink over full-sugar varieties may end up gaining weight, say doctors.

The warning comes after researchers from the University of South Australia found that people who consumed low calorie sweeteners (LCS) didn’t reduce their overall sugar intake.

The study, published in the journal Current Atherosclerosis Reports, also found consuming the sweetners could be contributing to type 2 diabetes.

Professor Peter Clifton, who led the research, said: “There has been a 200 per cent increase in LCS usage among children and a 54 per cent increase among adults in the past 20 years.”

His team reviewed previous research and came across a US study of 5158 adults over a seven-year period.

It showed that those who consumed large quantities of artificial sweeteners gained more weight than the non-users.

Prof Clifton said: “Consumers of artificial sweeteners do not reduce their overall intake of sugar.

“They use both sugar and low-calorie sweeteners and may psychologically feel they can indulge in their favourite foods.

“Artificial sweeteners can also change the gut bacteria, which may lead to weight gain and risk of type 2 diabetes.”

Low calorie sweeteners are used in place of sucrose, glucose and fructose and have an intense sweet flavour without the calories.

Artificially sweetened beverages (ASB) are also linked with increased risks of death and cardiovascular disease and strokes and dementia among older people, but it is not clear why.

Prof Clifton cited 13 studies that investigated the effects of ASB intake on the risk of type 2 diabetes – all of which found either no link or a positive one.

One study found that substituting ASB for sugar-sweetened beverages or fruit juices was associated with a 5 to 7 per cent lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

He said: “A better option than low-calorie sweeteners is to stick to a healthy diet, which includes plenty of whole grains, dairy, seafood, legumes, vegetables and fruits and plain water.”

Previous studies have also found links between calorie-free drinks such as Diet Coke and weight gain.

Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital have found the breakdown product in the drink’s sweetener – aspartame – disrupts the metabolic rate.

Dr Richard Hodin, the study’s senior author, said: “Sugar substitutes like aspartame are designed to promote weight loss and decrease the incidence of metabolic syndrome.

SOURCE 






Feminist policies backfire: Men invade their spaces

The problem the women are having below was created by women. It's quite the just deserts and a lesson in thinking ahead, rather than not. As was said to men when they protested: Suck it up!!! Deal with it!!! After feminists spent decades ruining mens' spaces

The Wing was supposed to be the ultimate sanctuary for women: decidedly feminine in design, with walls and furniture in shades of millennial pink and a thermometer set at a women’s-clothing-friendly 72 degrees. Conference rooms and telephone booths are named after feminist icons like Anita Hill and fictional literary heroines such as Hermione Granger of “Harry Potter” fame. It offers perks that other co-working spaces can’t match — showers stocked with high-end beauty products and events featuring big names such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Critics of the Wing were quick to point out the lack of diversity in the spaces, but the company’s expansion and popularity has brought up a completely different issue that was never expected to arise: straight men wanting to come in and hang out.

Sure, it’s not against the rules for men to be at the lady lair, which costs anywhere from $185 to $250 a month in the US to join. But that’s only because legally the company can’t ban men.

“There’s usually at least one [man] whenever I visit,” says Kaitlin Phillips, 29, a member in New York for the past two years. “It’s bizarre to choose to occupy a space women specifically wanted for themselves. Classic patriarchal entitlement complex.”

‘It’s getting worse. A guy even checked me out a few weeks ago.’
The problem, multiple members have told The Post, is that the men physically take up too much space with their bigger bodies and belongings. They hog the phone booths. And they aren’t respectful of some of the rules, ignoring the four-hour cap on guest visits and bringing in outside food. While they aren’t using the members-only changing rooms and showers (yet), they are in the guest bathrooms.

“At first it was jarring,” says a 30-year-old longtime New York member, who asked to not be named. “It started about a year ago and it’s getting worse. A guy even checked me out a few weeks ago. The whole purpose of the space is to not have to deal with anything like that.”

The Wing, which started with one location in New York in 2016 and has grown to nine locations in seven cities, including a new international outpost in London, never had a membership policy, because, reps say, they didn’t think they’d need one. Instead, they simply billed themselves as a women’s co-working space and social club.

This lack of official paperwork garnered the attention of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, which in 2018 opened an investigation into the company. The Wing’s large membership — more than 11,000 worldwide, according to reps — meant it couldn’t pass as a “social club,” and therefore can’t discriminate based on gender. This, coupled with a lawsuit brought by a 53-year-old man earlier this year claiming gender discrimination, led the Wing to formally adopt a membership policy: “The Wing is a space designed for women with a women’s-focused mission. Members and guests are welcome regardless of their perceived gender or gender identity. Recognizing that gender identity is not always consistent with someone’s sex assigned at birth, we do not ask members or guests to self-identify.”

Based on the new policy, the commission confirms to The Post that it dropped its investigation this past summer.

But all of the women The Post spoke to had the same questions: Why would a man want to go to the Wing, anyway? Just because he can? To hit on women? To be a troll? The company’s magazine is called No Man’s Land!

Phillips says she thinks the problem is new members — who may not be as familiar with the original purpose of the space — bringing in men as their guests.

“I think they’re just losers,” she says of the male plus-ones. “Or cucked boyfriends. It’s a legal fluke.”

Up until about a year or so ago, when the space was truly a women-only sanctuary, members said they could comfortably walk around braless in a robe after a shower. Now, they say, they’re constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who the loud dude chewing his lunch is.

Numerous California members tell The Post that the phenomenon is getting out of hand.

“It’s just annoying,” says Caitlin White, a 31-year-old West Hollywood member who sees at least one man working in the space each day. “Why do men need to be there? Why can’t they respect the spirit of the place? Men have to have everything.”

The San Francisco location, numerous members tell The Post, “is really bad — like, filled with tech bros.”

“I usually see about five men coming in throughout the day,” says a 31-year-old San Francisco member who asked to remain anonymous. “I think it’s members bringing in men for investor meetings. Here, everyone is in [venture capital], and men still hold all the money and power. These women are trying to fund their businesses.”

When she first joined, she says, she made the mistake of bringing in her cis male boss for a meeting, something that she now regrets.

“I’ll never do that again,” she says. “He didn’t respect the space, acting like we were in a coffee shop or something. I was getting looks from other members.”

In New York, of course, the stares are no less subtle.

“I glare at the men and I glare at the members who bring them,” says the anonymous New York member.

White, meanwhile, says she hopes the company can work out some sort of happy medium.

“Maybe make it one day a week that men are allowed?” White says. “There has to be a legal way to work this out that still respects the space.”

SOURCE 






Leftist hostility to the police kills

Tessa Majors' father Inman doted on his beautiful daughter. On her 18th birthday in May, he posted the following on Facebook: '18 years ago today, my life got redefined in all the right way when this little bundle of fun came into the world. Happy Birthday to Tessa Rane Majors, a fantastic young lady. I can't wait to see what the next 18 years have in store.'

The answer is nothing. There won't be a 'next 18 years'. In fact, there won't be another day.

For Mr Majors, a professor at James Madison University and acclaimed novelist, there will only be a lifetime of pain and anguish, and he will never see his 'fantastic young lady' again because she is now dead.

Tessa Majors was as bright as she was beautiful. After graduating from high school in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this year, she enrolled at Barnard College, a private liberal arts college in Manhattan affiliated with nearby Columbia University.

The freshman, a keen musician, was excited to be in New York, and had recently played her first gig in the city with her band.

But on Wednesday evening, as she walked through Morningside Park, a few blocks north east of Central Park, she was murdered – stabbed to death by a group of young teens who police believe robbed her.

She was found lying on the ground, bloodied from vicious stab wounds to her face, neck and arms.

The horrific killing has stunned America and sparked an immediate blame-game furor.

Police union chief Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeant Benevolent Association, caused outrage when he appeared to partly blame Tessa for her own death by saying she had been in the park to buy weed.

'An 18-year-old college student at one of the most prestigious universities is murdered in a park, and what I'm understanding was in the park to buy marijuana,' he told radio host John Catsimatidis.

'And you think about that, we don't enforce marijuana laws anymore. We're basically hands-off on the enforcement of marijuana. So here, we have a student murdered by a 13-year-old and we have a common denominator of marijuana. You know, my question to the people of New York City is, 'Why is this happening?'

Tessa's family slammed his claims, which were made to police by one of her college friends but remain unconfirmed, as 'inappropriate', saying they 'intentionally or unintentionally direct blame onto Tessa, a young woman, for her own murder.'

And they're absolutely right to be outraged. Mullins should have known better than to spread unverified rumor, causing further distress to Tessa's loved ones. So, shame on him for doing that.

But there was a wider truth to what he said about New York's law enforcement that cannot be ignored.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has a 25-year-old daughter of his own, reacted emotionally to what happened. 'The idea that a college freshman was murdered in cold blood is absolutely not only painful to me as a parent, it's terrifying,' he said. 'It's unbelievable to me that that could happen here, next to one of our great college campuses. It's an unacceptable reality. We've lost a young woman full of potential in senseless act of violence.'

Strong words, yet I wonder how 'unbelievable' Tessa's slaying really is to De Blasio given that New York murder investigations have spiked nearly 10% this year under his watch, and violent crime in Morningside Park itself has more than doubled in the same period with 20 robberies in the past 12 months compared to just seven in 2018?

This sharp increase has been particularly worrying because the long-term violent crime trend for both the Park and New York has been falling for many years.

Many see it as indicative of a return to the bad old days when the Big Apple was awash with murders.

And they point the finger of blame firmly at De Blasio, his 'liberal' approach to policing, and the increase in anti-police rhetoric driven by a renunciation of controversial tactics like stop-and-frisk.

'I don't blame the NYPD,' said former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. 'I blame the Mayor. I blame the City Council. I blame the people that promote this anti-cop rhetoric. They took stop-and-frisk away from the cops. They took enforcement out of law enforcement. We're going right back to where we were, this homicide is reminiscent of the things that went on back in the 1970s, '80s and '90s and people ignore it.'

Kerik praised previous mayors Rudy Guiliani and Michael Bloomberg for introducing aggressive policing that led to a dramatic reduction in violent crime, including the stop-and-frisk policy that was later found to have discriminated against black and Latino communities.

Bloomberg, since announcing his presidential run, has now apologized for his most divisive crime-fighting initiative, saying: 'I was wrong, and I am sorry.'

And Kerik also acknowledged it went too far, cautioning: 'There wasn't enough oversight. The (stops) can be abused.'

But he added: 'At the end of the day, the men and women in the NYPD have to have the tools to do the job they are here to do. And when you take the tools away to do that job, crime is going to rise.'

It's hard not to look at the new surge in New York's murder rate, despicable homicides like that of Tessa Majors, a massive reduction in both police search powers and their pursuit of minor crimes, and not conclude the pendulum has now swung too far from overly-aggressive policing in the city, to under-aggressive.

Kerik's absolutely right that New York cops barely enforce marijuana laws any longer, despite it still being an illegal substance in the city.

We don't yet know if this was a factor in Tessa's death.

But we do know that a park that was once lethally dangerous but became a safe sanctuary in recent years, has now descended back into being lethally dangerous again.

And we also know that Tessa's murderers were a bunch of young kids who felt confident enough to carry knives and rob people in a public park.

Where did they get their confidence? Do they fear the police any longer? Would a more carefully controlled stop-and-frisk policy have deterred them from committing their heinous crime?

Did their own drug abuse – police say at least some of them were regular marijuana users – play a factor in their behavior?

These are all important questions. But ultimately, the stats don't lie.

Murders in New York are accelerating again, minor crimes are increasingly ignored, the whole city has begun to whiff with the stench of illegal marijuana, and young criminals have begun acting with fresh impunity.

And this is all occurring under Mayor De Blasio, a man widely criticized for a far softer approach to policing than his predecessors.

For a look into the potential future, New Yorkers point scathingly at liberal-infested California where drug-related homelessness is hitting disturbingly high levels, creating horrific slum camps in places like Santa Rosa.

When De Blasio branded Ed Mullins 'heartless' for shaming Tessa Majors, Mullins' union retorted in an angry statement: 'Heartless is you allowing lawlessness to run the city of NY. You've weakened the NYPD. This young lady should still be alive. Tell the TRUTH, Bill. Tell New Yorkers what really happens on the streets of NYC. YOU have created chaos. NYC is a becoming a cesspool thanks to the Mayor. Shame on DeBlasio.'

There will be a lot of New Yorkers who agree.

One thing's indisputable: crime in New York never plunged by telling cops to go soft on crime.

Mayor De Blasio needs to stop trying to be a police-bashing liberal hero and instruct the NYPD to get tougher with criminals – fast.

SOURCE 





UK: Brighton councillors will discuss stopping Harry and Meghan using Sussex title tomorrow after thousands signed petition branding the honours 'morally wrong and disrespectful' to the county

Brighton and Hove City Council is very "Green"

Brighton councillors will debate stripping Harry and Meghan of their Sussex titles after thousands signed a petition branding them 'morally wrong' and 'disrespectful'.

The petition claims Sussex residents should not have to refer to the royal couple as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as the titles are 'entirely non-democratic' and a 'symbol of oppression by the wealthy elite'.

Campaigner Charles Ross has accumulated more than 3,800 signatures, which means Brighton and Hove City councillors will have to discuss the motion on Thursday. 

But the council cannot strip the couple of their titles, which are given by the Queen, so the petition calls on officials to stop calling them the Sussexes in council documents.

The petition reads: 'We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to reject the usage of the titles 'Duke of Sussex' and 'Duchess of Sussex' by the individuals Henry ('Harry') Windsor and Rachel Meghan Markle as morally wrong and disrespectful to the county of East Sussex.

'As residents of Brighton and Hove we call on Brighton and Hove Council to not refer to these individuals by such titles which we believe to be entirely non democratic and symbolic of the oppression of the general public by the wealthy elite.

'Neither will Brighton Council invite or entertain these individuals nor afford them any hospitality or courtesies above and beyond that of an ordinary member of the public.'

The couple were well received on a visit to Sussex last October as they were greeted by huge crowds of well-wishers, with Hove MP Peter Kyle praising them at the time for reflecting Brighton's diversity and calling them 'a great example'.

The petition has been rubbished by royal commentator Robert Jobson, who told the Express: 'It's a bit unfair on them - they were there recently and massive crowds turned out.

The royal groom's dukedom is the highest rank in the British peerage and marked his marriage to the actress.

Meghan became the first ever Duchess of Sussex as her new husband was made the first Duke of the county in 175 years and the second in history.

Harry also received Scottish and Northern Irish titles, becoming the Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel, making Meghan the Countess of Dumbarton and Baroness Kilkeel.

All royal titles are given by the Queen and it was up to the monarch to choose which one to bestow on her grandson and his wife in May 2018.

Harry's thoughts on the title would have been taken into account by the Queen in a private discussion between the Prince and his grandmother.

Tradition dictates that royal men receive a title on their wedding.

Prince Augustus Frederick was the first Duke of Sussex. He married twice, but both took place without the consent of the monarch, so neither of his wives could become a 'Duchess of Sussex'.

'The Cambridges don't live in Cambridge, Prince Charles doesn't live in Wales…

'The titles are just ancient titles that are dished out by the Queen at marriage.'

Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills, founder of the British Monarchists Society, slammed the campaigners' views, telling the Mirror: 'We are utterly dismayed that said petition has been signed by so many.

'This certainly highlights that Brighton and Hove is a hotbed of Republican dissidents and is now proven to be so.

'Such a petition shows utter disdain and contempt for The Crown, not to mention copious amounts of disrespect to, and for, the Royal family.'

When Mr Ross's petition campaign launched in September, some residents were not entirely convinced.

Hove resident Liv Seabrook called the petition 'a waste of council time' and said it was 'patently absurd' to suggest the council could remove royal titles.

Ms Seabrook said: 'Our city has serious social problems and the council is going to waste time on the sentiment of a disgruntled citizen with nothing better to do than come up with a useless petition.

'There are financial aspects of the monarchy that can usefully be discussed. I for one can confidently say I have never felt the slightest bit oppressed by the fact that we now have as part of our Royal Family, a Duke and Duchess of Sussex.'

Brighton and Hove City Council said it would not comment until the matter has been discussed by councillors. 

SOURCE 

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Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the  incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of  other countries.  The only real difference, however, is how much power they have.  In America, their power is limited by democracy.  To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already  very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges.  They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did:  None.  So look to the colleges to see  what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way.  It would be a dictatorship.

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH,   EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and  DISSECTING LEFTISM.   My Home Pages are here or   here or   here.  Email me (John Ray) here.  Email me (John Ray) here

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