Billme, you made an excellent point that supporting gm in any way makes you complicit in it's continuation. It is my understanding that the word "may" is used because the research is ongoing. Here are some samples of ongoing research from PubMed, each concluding that more research is needed: "1: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 Nov;71(11):6719-29.Click here to read Click here to read Links Impact of Bt corn on rhizospheric and soil eubacterial communities and on beneficial mycorrhizal symbiosis in experimental microcosms. * Castaldini M, * Turrini A, * Sbrana C, * Benedetti A, * Marchionni M, * Mocali S, * Fabiani A, * Landi S, * Santomassimo F, * Pietrangeli B, * Nuti MP, * Miclaus N, * Giovannetti M. Istituto Sperimentale per lo Studio e la Difesa del Suolo, CRA, Florence, Italy. A polyphasic approach has been developed to gain knowledge of suitable key indicators for the evaluation of environmental impact of genetically modified Bt 11 and Bt 176 corn lines on soil ecosystems. We assessed the effects of Bt corn (which constitutively expresses the insecticidal toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis, encoded by the truncated Cry1Ab gene) and non-Bt corn plants and their residues on rhizospheric and bulk soil eubacterial communities by means of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analyses of 16S rRNA genes, on the nontarget mycorrhizal symbiont Glomus mosseae, and on soil respiration. Microcosm experiments showed differences in rhizospheric eubacterial communities associated with the three corn lines and a significantly lower level of mycorrhizal colonization in Bt 176 corn roots. In greenhouse experiments, differences between Bt and non-Bt corn plants were detected in rhizospheric eubacterial communities (both total and active), in culturable rhizospheric heterotrophic bacteria, and in mycorrhizal colonization. Plant residues of transgenic plants, plowed under at harvest and kept mixed with soil for up to 4 months, affected soil respiration, bacterial communities, and mycorrhizal establishment by indigenous endophytes. The multimodal approach utilized in our work may be applied in long-term field studies aimed at monitoring the real hazard of genetically modified crops and their residues on nontarget soil microbial communities." "1: Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao. 2005 Mar;16(3):524-8. Links [Effects of Bt corn straw decomposition on soil enzyme activities and soil fertility] [Article in Chinese] * Wang J, * Feng Y, * Luo S. Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Ecology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. wangjw@scau.edu.cn An incubation test with the straws of Bt corn 34B24 and its non-transgenic isogenic line 34B23, Bt corn Nongda 61, and non-transgenic Nongda 3138 was conducted to study the potential effects of Bt corn straw decomposition on soil enzyme activities and soil fertility. No significant difference in soil protease and acid phosphatase activities was found between treatments 34B24 and 34B23; but on day 75 of incubation, soil dehydrogenase activity was significantly higher in treatment 34B24 than in treatment 34B23. The same was true for soil invertase activity on days 15,45, 60 and 75. Soil urease activity in treatment 34B24 was significantly increased on day 30, but decreased on days 45 and 75. A significant difference in several soil enzyme activities was also observed between the treatments of two Bt corn hybrids and their conventional cultivars at some sampling days. After incubation for 90 days, the contents of soil available P and K were significantly lower in treatment 34B24 than in treatment 34B23. The differences mentioned above resulted from the composition of test corn straws, which may be affected by the Bt gene transformation process. In order to accurately assess the effects of Bt corn straw decomposition on soil ecosystem, a standard classification system of soil enzyme activities should be established for different soil types from different regions." "Erratum in: Mol Ecol. 2003 Aug;12(8):2279. Effects of transgenic Bt corn litter on the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris. * Zwahlen C, * Hilbeck A, * Howald R, * Nentwig W. Zoological Institute, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland. claudia.zwahlen@gmx.net A 200-day study was carried out to investigate the impact of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn on immature and adult Lumbricus terrestris in the field and in the laboratory. Another objective of this study was to develop test methods that could be used for standard testing of the impact of transgenic plants on different earthworm species in the field and in the laboratory. For this purpose two different experiments were involved, a laboratory experiment with adult L. terrestris and a field experiment with immature L. terrestris. No lethal effects of transgenic Bt corn on immature and adult earthworms were observed. Immature L. terrestris in the field had a very similar growth pattern when fed either (Bt+) or (Bt-) corn litter. No significant differences in relative weights of (Bt+) and (Bt-) corn-fed adult L. terrestris were observed during the first 160 days of the laboratory trial, but after 200 days adult L. terrestris had a significant weight loss of 18% of their initial weight when fed (Bt+) corn litter compared to a weight gain of 4% of the initial weight of (Bt-) corn-fed earthworms. Further studies are necessary to see whether or not this difference in relative weight was due to the Bt toxin or other factors discussed in the study. Degradation of Cry1Ab toxin in corn residues was significantly slower in the field than at 10 degrees C in the laboratory. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results indicated that earthworms in both experiments were exposed to the Bt toxin throughout the whole experimental time."

She said she saved every penny she could and worked double shifts - no wonder her mother is sick of taking care of her grandchildren - free babysitting. If you can't afford the first 6 children - will adding more help the situation? Not by my calculations. May I add that there are plenty of people in other countries who have children and barely have enough to eat. There is NO ONE to bail them out, help them out or anything. They have what they have and don't have what they don't have. She consciously made this decision; there was no gun to her head. I'm not for children suffering either, but my parents grew up in the Depression. They grew their food and wore what they could afford or sew. I hope she gets busy planting a garden and might consider buying a cow. I did think it was curious that they showed her hands during the interview and she had enough money to get her nails done (and looked like collagen injections in her lips).

I live the Virgin diet every day. It should be called the Virgin Lifestyle. This is a good diet for people with intolerances and who have a very difficult time losing weight, but it's great for everyone I think because it makes complete sense and is super natural. It's a ten-week plan to lose weight and discover intolerances. Take out 7 foods for three weeks then reintroduce them one at a time for the next seven weeks. Below I've explained the reasons for taking out these 7 foods. Gluten: contains lectins that bind to insulin, which creates insulin resistance and can make your blood sugars rise, making it hard to lose weight. Gluten is also an inflammatory. Soy: a phyto-estrogen, a plant source of the hormone estrogen. It's also heavily genetically modified. Dairy: like gluten, acts as an isulin resistant. It's nearly impossible to find hormone-free milk. So, hormones and rising blood sugar=acne and fat. There are studies out there that show countries with the highest dairy consumption have the highest levels of osteoporosis. On the contrary, countries that rely on calcium rich foods have a much lower rate of osteoporosis. I've read that the pasturization process of milk breaks down the protein that allows our bodies to absorb the calcium. I believe all this but there is still a huge debate about it. Corn: inflammatory and a high-glycemic food Peanuts: inflammatory and high in lectins. Eggs: inflammatory. If you have sensitivity to corn and soy, eggs might affect you because the chickens are probably fed corn and soy. I have a huge intolerance to fat so another reason eggs bother me. Sugar: we all know that's bad! And don't be fooled by agave necter...higher in fructose than high fructose corn syrup. I'm 5'8 and was 148 lbs. I'm now 135 and holding. In two weeks, my injured knee from subluxation over a year before wasn't hurting and felt stronger. My ankles reduced by 1/2 inch, something I thought was genetic but I guess was just excess fluid. I never really had bad acne, but what I did have cleared up and my blackheads reduced significantly. Also, my menstrual cycle went from seven days to three. My head felt clearer and I had more energy. I rarely have wind or bloated belly as well. The cellulite on my legs reduced by about 50%. I made a point to not exercise the first three weeks to see how effective just changing my diet was. ALL these changes happened without exercise, though of course after the three weeks I went back to yoga. I don't think everyone needs to cut out all of these foods. I also know some people won't have as many changes as I did. But I don't see how it will hurt to try, just to see what changes might happen to you! I think JJ knows what she's talking about. In regards to sticking to it, I cheat every once in a while but I usually feel so bad when I do that I find myself cheating a lot less. Good luck!

Answering three at once here... We also thought that 100 reasons was too long, but we weren't about to go against BM's instructions for this. If she had made him come up with 100 reasons to finish his lunch, then we probably would have shortened it, but fighting is a big deal. Since you all think that his negative/defeatist/self-loathing reasons are a part of being 9 and knowing he did something bad, I'll try to not be too concerned. And we'll just try to emphasize the individual behaviors as single incidents. We often bring up a past good incident as an example of what he should be doing, and to remind him of that has made good decisions in the past, so we know he can do it in the future. Once in awhile we bring up a past bad incident as an example of what not to do, but that's rare. He's generally pretty confident and proud of his academic and sports achievements. Once in awhile he'll say "I only got 24/25 my math facts because I'm pretty dumb." We reply something like "24/25 is not the grade of dumb person! You did great on it! Nobody knows everything all the time, and everyone is allowed to make mistakes. You're smart and don't you forget it!" I don't know if keeping consequences non-personal would work... I've mentioned before that I suspect he has some ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder) on top of his ADHD. Well, he REALLY blames others for his own mistakes and problems. For example, there was a recent battle to get him to admit that HE left his bike on the driveway (he insisted that Papa moved it, the neighbour moved it, a thief came to steal it but then changed his mind halfway down the driveway, etc) even though Papa and FDH saw him leave it there. We're trying to get him to take responsibility for his own actions at this point. My 4yo niece is that same as JNM's DS though. If she thinks that anyone is disappointed in her, the waterworks begin and she is apologizing left and right. She's also VERY well behaved, but she feels absolutely awful when she does something wrong. I like the idea of writing some of the scenarios we talk about. I'll suggest it to FDH and maybe next time we have something we have to do hypothetical situations for, I will write them too and he can write down what he will do in each case. This idea just keeps getting better - it could be photocopied so BM knows EXACTLY what we've talked about at our house. I think this could work well. I'll also talk to FDH about the diary of how A__ should behave at GM's house. Since it's her mom's house, she obviously gets to make the decision. I think it probably would be helpful to have a list to refer back to of what he needs to do. We wrote down his grounding rules this time and that made it easier for him to remember/understand when he was restricted from something he wanted. Rewards for checks hasn't worked in the past for him (he cheated on his star chart), but the last attempt was a few years ago, so maybe he's old enough now to handle it. Thanks for the help and encouragement!