Ten games to keep away from your kids

The National Institute on Media and the Family, a conservative media watchdog group that has repeatedly criticized the game industry for failing to adequately warn families about inappropriate content, issued its 13th annual video game report card on Tuesday. And for the first time, the industry got nearly straight A's, receiving high marks in its ratings system and retail policies.

"This year the industry has improved its ratings enforcement and given parents new tools when choosing the right video game for their child," said NIMF president David Walsh. "That's a significant step in the right direction."

Significant is right. As recently as 2005, the NIMF gave the Entertainment Software Ratings Board a resounding "F."

The NIMF still points out one problem-spot: parents. This year's report gave parents an 'Incomplete' for not paying enough attention to ratings and failing to use parental controls built into game consoles.

To remedy the situation, the NIMF has red-flagged ten violent games concerned parents should keep away from the under-17 crowd this holiday, citing excessive bloodshed and brutality:

Blitz: The League II
Dead Space
Fallout 3
Far Cry 2
Gears of War 2
Legendary
Left 4 Dead
Resistance 2
Saints Row 2
Silent Hill: Homecoming

Notably, all ten are already rated M for Mature, so for once the industry and the watchdog are in agreement. On the flipside, the NIMF recommends these Teen-rated alternatives:

Guitar Hero World Tour
Rock Band 2
Rock Revolution
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Shaun White Snowboarding

Intel to release DCC (like AMD OverDrive)

Intel is going to release DCC (Desktop Control Center) overclock software.

It was designed for the coming Core i7 platforms. It can allow the users to adjust CPU multiplier, voltage, memory settings and so on under Windows. It also can control and display QPI, Turbo Boost, etc.

Giant spider eating a bird caught on camera

Photographs of a giant spider eating a bird in an Australian garden have stunned wildlife experts.

The pictures show the spider with its long black legs wrapped around the body of a dead bird suspended in its web.

The startling images were reportedly taken in Atheron, close to Queensland's tropical north.

Despite their unlikely subject matter, the pictures appear to be real.

Joel Shakespeare, head spider keeper at the Australian Reptile Park, said the spider was a Golden Orb Weaver.

"Normally they prey on large insects… it's unusual to see one eating a bird," he told ninemsn.com.

Mr Shakepeare said he had seen Golden Orb Weaver spiders as big as a human hand but the northern species in tropical areas were known to grow larger.

Queensland Museum identified the bird as a native finch called the Chestnut-breasted Mannikin.

Mr Shakespeare told ninemsn the bird must have flown into the spider web and become stuck.

"It wouldn't eat the whole bird," he said.

"It uses its venom to break down the bird for eating and what it leaves is a food parcel," he said.

Greg Czechura from Queensland Museum said cases of the Golden Orb Weaver eating small birds were "well known but rare".

"It builds a very strong web," he said.

But he said the spider would not have attacked until the bird weakened.

The Golden Orb Weaver spins a strong web high in protein because it depends on it to capture large insects for food.

Source

Cell phones, cancer: Interview with an expert doctor

Stephen King: There are only two hospitals in the world people can reach out to for help with concerns about radiation from cell phones affecting their health.

One is in Hemel Hempstead, England and the other one is The Environmental Health Center of Dallas (EHCD) in Dallas, TX USA. We at EMFScience.com gained an interview with Dr. Rea and Carolyn Gorman a representative at the EHDC in Dallas, TX. Following are the questions we asked and the responses they had concerning EMF.

Interview With: Dr. Rea
Environmental Health Center of Dallas

EMF SCIENCE: “What concerns should people have, if any, about health issues that could be caused by cell phones and electrical devices that give off electromagnetic frequencies?”

Dr. Rea: “The concerns are excessive exposures to excessive EMF. Illness can be related to length of time of exposure and magnitude of exposure. Distance negates fields. Each person may have a different tolerance level due to current health status and past environmental exposures. Any fat stored chemicals or heavy metal toxicity or metal in the body may affect exposure tolerances.”

EMF SCIENCE: “Your health center provides diagnostic testing called electromagnetic challenge testing (ECT) for patients. What is that?”

Dr. Rea: “The patient is tested in a room with porcelain on steel walls and an electrically desensitized floor. They are exposed to different HZ or frequencies by an oscillating generator. This is a blind study. Symptoms and other health parameters are recorded.” The American Environmental Health Foundation (1-800-428-2343) has an article dealing with this.

EMF SCIENCE: “At what point, and how, did the medical community determine that a problem was occurring within people biologically that lead them to decide that diagnosis and treatment was needed for problems related to electromagnetic sensitivity?”

Dr. Rea: “I didn't know the medical community has recognized this. We look at symptoms, past history, and use several other diagnostics tests to help us determine if EMF sensitivity is a factor in their illness and presenting symptoms. However, there has been much literature dealing with animal studies and the effect of EMF on their health. I believe the EPA recognizes the impact that extreme exposure to high voltage lines can create.” Louis Slesin, of Microwave News, also has many articles dealing with the health effects of cell phones and electromagnetic fields. One overt clue to a person’s sensitivity is symptoms created in the patient by exposure to operating appliances, computers, etc.

EMF SCIENCE: “What are some of the major and common problems seen in patients that come to the EHCD for (ECT) treatments?”

DR. Rea: “We see fatigue, chemical sensitivity, headache, food and inhalant intolerances, immune problems, just a myriad of symptoms. In many instances the organ or system affected depends on medical history and environmental history of chemical or metal exposure.”

EMF SCIENCE: “Are electromagnetic sensitivity issues accepted fully by the medical community today and, are there problems that are affecting the awareness of these issues?”

Dr. Rea: “We need knowledge of what are acceptable limits of EMF exposure. What are acceptable limits of chemical exposure? There is controversy on this knowledge. Thus, each individual needs to keep all exposure at a minimum, and when possible avoid exposures. Wise choices need to be made in every aspect of life.”

EMF SCIENCE: “Do you meet patients who first went to their normal doctor for electromagnetic issues and find they could not determine or treat them for it?”

Dr. Rea: “Yes, many of our patients have sought other medical treatment before coming to the Center. Many have been misdiagnosed, and many feel that the treatments they have received have not been helpful to them.”

EMF SCIENCE: “What can people do, if anything, to help prevent issues concerning electromagnetic sensitivity?”

Dr. Rea: “People need to reduce exposure to chemicals in air, food and water. They need to assess nutritional, immune, and toxicity status. Allergies need to be evaluated as well as the ability of the chemical enzyme detoxification to handle environmental exposures.

They need to monitor where they live in relation to high voltage lines, power stations, and cell towers. They need to be aware of excessive cell phone usage and associated listening devices. They also need to be aware of location of chemical generating industries. Living in chemically contaminated areas challenges the body and can make one susceptible to the effects of viruses, bacteria, chemicals, metals, allergens and magnetic fields.”

EMF SCIENCE: “Would you like to mention anything else about your health center or treatments concerning electromagnetics?”

Dr. Rea: “We do many diagnostic tests and procedures to assess your health status. This provides a basis for determining which treatment programs are appropriate to improve and maintain a healthy body and healthy lifestyle. The body is bombarded by many factors. Treatments and avoidance of illness are complex. Health must be a lifestyle choice.”

If you have more questions or concerns about EMF or want to watch videos of doctors about EMF visit http://emfscience.com/.

Article Copyright© Stephen King

Microchip implants “induce” tumors

Stephen King: On Sep 9th , the Associated Press(AP) released an article stating that it had uncovered information pertaining to the Verichip Corp. test results of its implantable microchips that they tested on animals and saw several reports showing it “induced” tumors in the lab animals. The Verichip Corp., who leads the world market in implantable microchips with currently over 2,000 human’s subjects, has denied these reports and says there is no cause for alarm. The company is eyeing the entire world population as future consumers of its products and claims all its products are safe and that the microchip has been approved already by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Neither the company nor the FDA revealed the information to the public but a series of scientific studies conducted in the mid-1990’s report that the chip implants “induced” malignant tumors in some lab rats and mice. Keith Johnson, a retired toxicologic pathologist, stated he led the studies that occurred at the DOW Chemical Co. in Midland Michigan. His response to the findings was that, “the transponders/microchips were the cause of the tumors.” The Verichip Corp. was "not aware of any studies that have resulted in malignant tumors in laboratory rats, mice and certainly not dogs or cats," The FDA declined repeated attempts to find out what studies they looked at to approve the product onto the market.

Dr. Steven Stack, an AMA board member with knowledge of the committee's review, stated the FDA did not review the literature on cancer in implanted animals and that they were not aware of the studies. Published in veterinary and toxicology journals between 1996 and 2006, the studies found that lab mice and rats injected with microchips sometimes developed subcutaneous "sarcomas" - malignant tumors, most of them encasing the implants. In 1997, a study in Germany found cancers in 1 percent of 4,279 chipped mice. The tumors "are clearly due to the implanted microchips," the authors wrote. "There's no way in the world, having read this information, that I would have one of those chips implanted in my skin, or in one of my family members," said Dr. Robert Benezra, head of the Cancer Biology Genetics Program at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Before microchips are implanted on a large scale in humans, he said, testing should be done on larger animals, such as dogs or monkeys. "I mean, these are bad diseases. They are life-threatening. And given the preliminary animal data, it looks to me that there's definitely cause for concern." This again is just one more story of another product being released to the public from regulatory groups with little or no knowledge of test results that could have major implications for human usage.

For more information about how these devices cause tumors and to ask questions you can go to http://emfscience.com/ .

Article Copyright© Stephen King