It Must Be Christmas: A Rare Example of the Parties Working Together

I do a lot of work with Russia and Ukraine...even real estate work, but mostly scientific and business projects. I work with some senior members of Vladimir Putin's cabinet. It is always interesting to hear their impression of events that happen here. However, I discovered a Congressional House bill that was passed by House and then the Senate and signed by President Obama this month. The House authored the bill and the Senate made few changes and Obama made no changes. Yes, Veronika, there is a Santa Claus after all. The parties can work together. It was refered to as the Magnitsky bill. It was named after a Russian lawyer who exposed widespread corruption in Russian business. He was jailed and then mysteriously perished just prior to his release from prison because he was not brought to trial within one year as required by Russian law. The bill mandated that those responsible for the human rights atrocities that were committed against Magnitsky woud be denied access to the USA and they could no longer do business with the USA. The bill was opposed by Russian authorities. However, the bill effectively repealed the Jackson- Vanek amendment which affected trade with non economic market countries (i.e. Eastern Blcok countries). Jackson-Vanek was signed in 1974 during the height of trade relations difficulties with the former Soviet Union. The new bill normalizes business relations with Russia, Moldova and other former Eastern block countries so it appears to be a good thing....but more importantly, it indicates that the parties are capable of working together. It would be truly a Christmas dream for the press to write stories like this once in awhile....

Sergei Magnitsky Paddy Deighan J.D. Ph.D http://www.medicalandspaconsulting.com

The Healthy Way to Enjoy the Flavors of Christmas

Many of us that maintain a healthy lifestyle are left with either indulging in the decadent tastes of the Christmas season, or felling left out because there are no healthy alternatives. That has changed!! Well, there is one way that I have found that really helps. Celestial Seasons makes a variety of Christmas cookie teas. They not only taste like the cookies they mimic, but they smell like them too!! The whole house can smell like Christmas sugar cookies by brewing this tea: Celestial Seasons Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride Tea . There are many great flavors such as ginger bread and candy cane too. If Starbucks is more to your liking then try Starbucks Christmas Blends So, if you are trying to watch your calories but you want to enjoy the flavors of Christmas, these teas are the ticket. Disclaimer: This is not a paid endorsement for Celestial Seasons LOL

Paddy Deighan J.D. Ph.D http://www.homesavers.pro

Bank of America and Wells Fargo Weigh in on Housing Recovery

There are many “experts” that weigh in on the housing market recovery. All purport to be “experts” and their opinions are always based on recognized economic theory. Yet, the experts can never agree on the status of the housing market. My personal view is the fundamentals for recovery are very poor: too many homes with negative equity, high unemployment, huge shadow inventory, and tight lending. I do not see any scenario in which these factors support any semblance of a housing recovery. However, it is interesting to note the opinions of Wells Fargo and Bank of America. Both banks recently released statements describing how they “feel” about the state of the housing market. Their take on the situation is interesting. Wells Fargo optimistically announced that of all the economic sectors out there, housing remained “essentially unshaken” despite fiscal cliff worries. No word on whether or not that “unshaken” aspect was due to the fact housing is pretty near bottom in most areas of the country. The bank also noted that it felt reasonably good about housing because the Fed “appears to be banking on a housing recovery.” Wells Fargo may well also feel good about housing because it owns the lion’s share of mortgages in the country right now. The bank predicted that property would start appreciating slowly (“between 2.5 and three percent per year”) starting in 2013. Bank of America’s CEO Brian Moynihan was not quite so certain about the state of the market. He warned that not only might it be possible that homeownership is not actually for everyone, but that conventional lending might actually be hurting the market rather than helping. Moynihan pointed out that household income volatility has risen 30 percent since the 1970’s, adding that “a 30-year mortgage does not provide flexibility in some cases” and speculating that homeownership might not be a good option for many Americans at this time. He also said that there “is no practical alternative to government participation [in the housing market] at this time,” adding that a federal exit is probably “a decade or two in transition” if it happens at all. Paddy Deighan J.D. Ph.D http://www.homesavers.pro

Another SEO and Marketing Expertise Opportunity from Zintro!!

I know that we are inundated on a daily basis with SEO opportunities and opportunities to market our particular area of expertise. It is difficult to know which ones are out best options. Today, I discovered one that looks promising and it is early enough to get a strategic opportunity with them. The opportunity is from Zintro.com . It only took a few moments to complete a profile. An hour after I enrolled, I received a message on LinkedIn . The referral was from a very good contact with an immediate need for services that I render. The agent that contacted me was very relieved and I was obviously happy too. So it seems that Zintro is a worthy new option for many of us. I suppose in these days of multi-level marketing and skepticism, I should disclose that I do not receive anything for mentioning them!! LOL I do not receive bonus points, coupons for a free oven mitt or even a personalized eyeglass case from a referral to them!! One of the things that I liked about the website is that there are unlimited opportunities to describe your area of expertise to maximize your exposure. You can literally fill in the fields with anything that you want and that enables you to focus upon a geographical area for example. Many opportunities such as this try and push you into pre-defined categories via a drop down menu. Zintro must have decent SEO opportunity – at least with LinkedIn because I received the referral within an hour of uploading my profile. It is a goal for many of us to optimize our time spent on SEO, Social networking and online marketing. It may make sense to give Zintro a try. I already received a great referral and I hope that you do too!! Good luck, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! Paddy Deighan J.D. Ph.D http://www.medicalandspaconsulting.com

Update on Aesthetic Medical Devices

It never ceases to amaze me how many medical products are marketed for use to the non-medical market. There are so many skin care products making outrageous claims and product manufacturers making claims about their devices and all the while, marketing them to people who cannot legally perform services with the device. This problem is more prevalent today than ever before and this is counter intuitive since there has never been more regulation in the health industry and the FDA has stepped up compliance.

I have previously written about skin care products that claim to alter and repair DNA (this is really funny because it is so outrageous); other products that claim to treat rosacea (even though when you read the package insert it refers to treating “redness”) and devices that are marketed to the aesthetic market when they are being offered to treat medical conditions. Sometimes the problem is that the device is a medical device being offered to non-medical markets. Other times the problem is that the device is treating medical conditions or the use of the device is such that it constitutes the practice of medicine.

I was reading Day Spa magazine today and I ran across an advertisement that I have seen for MANY years. It was for the Lamprobe. Interestingly enough, I met the owner about ten years ago and asked how he is marketing the device to the non-medical market. He had an unsatisfactory answer. It is not my intention to malign any particular product, but this one typifies the problem.

The Lamprobe advertises that it treats skin tags, broken capillaries, cholesterol deposits, cherry angiomas, fibromas, spider nevi, clogged pores and milia. Very interesting. An esthetician can treat NONE of these proposed uses. How can this product be ethically marketed to the non-medical aesthetic market when the user cannot legally perform the treatments? Virtually all of these proposed uses are outside the scope of license of an esthetician and they are clearly and squarely within the parameters of medicine.

Paddy Deighan JD PhD
http://www.medicalandspaconsulting.com

Day of Prayer in SOME Schools but Not in the USA

Very interesting.....I do a lot of stem cell research in Russia and Ukraine and a lot of DNA research in Iceland...distressed real estate pays the bills since the grant from the Federal Govt stopped being paid in 2009...anyway....I am planning on being in Urkaine at the end of the month and one of the graduate students commented that I will be there for a day of prayer.

I inquired what that was since I am familiar with most Russian and Ukrainian holidays (and they have a LOT of them-LOL)!! It was explained to me that in their version of elementary school and high school, the students go to school on September 1 and it is called the "day of prayer". They dress in black and white and carry candles to pray for success in the new school year.

I was floored by this since if you tried to do that here, various organizations would file a lawsuit so fast your head would spin around like Linda Blair in the Exorcist.

It is really tragic that people have more freedom in previously Communist countries than we do in many regards. Also realize that they have religious diversity there too...Orthodox, Christian, Jewish, Muslim...pretty much the same mix that we have and yet they are able top come together for a "Day of Prayer" in school. No lawsuits, no bitterness and hatred...traditions honored, not torn apart.



paddy Deighan http://www.homesavers.pro

Deer Placenta as a Nutritional Supplement....OH, PLEASE!!!

Today was another interesting day….a client called and asked my legal and scientific opinion on deer placenta. Apparently, a raw food/vegan guru, David Wolfe is touting it as the next great nutritional supplement. The client indicated that she does seem to have thicker hair and better skin after taking this supplement for over a year. The first clue that this was quackery was that the “nutritional supplement” costs only $60 per month. Placenta extract (let’s call it what they really want to say, “stem cells”) is really expensive to formulate and the conditions under which placenta extract are formulated are extreme. There is no way that a legitimate source of animal placenta extract can be formulated and sold at such a price.

Secondly, why deer placenta?? Websites indicates that deer are a “higher order” animal and that it is appropriate to harvest placenta from such animals for human consumption. Well, folks, sheep is the closest animal genome to the human genome. Porcine (pig) is second. So, why deer??

Third, the FDA regulates any animal extract as a drug and these product s hawked by Ron Teeguarden and David Wolfe are not FDA cleared. The agency would shut them down in a minute if they knew about the claims made for these products. Teeguarden and Wolfe never mention the words “stem cells” because they probably know that the FDA utilizes proprietary software to search for such products. They are trying to avoid scrutiny …and as well they should because they are selling products that would be regulated and they are making outrageous claims.

Fourth, the harvesting of placenta extract is expensive. It requires rapid lyophilization of the tissue almost immediately after extraction. Again, this is costly, time consuming and logistically challenging. I can all but guarantee that these nutritional supplements are not lyophilized.

Finally, and legitimate product that is placenta based, would and should be stored in a cold environment. The stem cells derived from placenta extract cannot get warm or hot. They do not necessarily need to be cold, but they cannot get hot or even warm. The products sold by Teeguarden and Wolfe are shipped in a normal manner and hence, they get warm or hot at some point in the manufacturing or delivery process. Any active cells have been deactivated by the time a consumer ingests the cells.

Save your money folks and do not be sucked in by claims made by pirates such as David Wolfe and Ron Teeguarden.

Paddy Deighan, J.D. PhD