Someone Worth Knowing: Amos Tamam

Amos Tamam is the epitome of the American dream. Arriving in America from Israel almost thirty years ago, Amos has made huge strides in the very tough taxi cab industry, but he’s also a self-made businessman.

After arriving here to start a new life, Amos Tamam began by doing mechanical work on taxis then worked his way up to become CEO of Verifone Transportation Systems. However, his biggest accomplishment was making life more convenient for taxi cab passengers, and safer for cab drivers.

Amos Tamam is the reason taxi cabs in New York and Philadelphia can now accept payment via credit card. This movement was so astronomical not only a an innovation that had always been dreamed of but never conceptualized, but is shows everyone around the globe how big dreams can be realized through hard work, determination, and dedication.

Steve Stevanovich: Numb3rs in Real Life?

Ever watch the show Numb3rs about the university professor, Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz) and his FBI agent brother, Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) who fight crimes using mathematical equations? At least Charlie uses the math, Don states emphatically in one episode that he was a C student where physics was concerned. This is what I thought of when I read about Steve Stevanovich and the Stevanovich Center for Financial Mathematics.

There's probably no real relation between the two, but being a Numb3rs fan, that's just what comes to mind when I read about the kind of emphasis on math that Steve Stevanovich expresses in his support of the Center.

Actually, the October 30, 2009 Conference on Liquidity, Credit Risk, and Extreme Events in downtown Chicago is probably more what the Stevanovich Center for Financial Mathematics is all about I'd say. Just my mind searching for mysteries. ;o)

Interesting, though, don't you think? I wonder what Steve Stevanovich thinks of Numb3rs...

MSG: A Slow Poison

I was cleaning off a flash drive after one of my files on it was corrupted and came across an email I received awhile back. Having been fighting my diabetes and trying to get my blood glucose under control, this really hit home with me. I've been reading about MSG and from my research, there is a lot of truth in this information. If you know who wrote this, let me know and I'll credit them. I have no idea who it was, but you need to read this!

MSG (A Slow Poison)

The food additive MSG (Mono-Sodium Glutamate) is a slow poison. MSG hides behind 25 or more names, such as "Natural Flavoring." MSG is even in your favorite coffee from Tim Horton's and Starbucks coffee shops!

I wondered if there could be an actual chemical causing the massive obesity epidemic and so did a friend of mine, John Erb. He was a research assistant at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and spent years working for the government. He made an amazing discovery while going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called The Slow Poisoning of America.

In hundreds of studies around the world, scientists were creating obese mice and rats to use in diet or diabetes test studies. No strain of rat or mice is naturally obese, so scientists have to create them. They make these creatures morbidly obese by injecting them with MSG when they are first born.

The MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates, causing rats (and perhaps humans) to become obese. They even have a name for the fat rodents they create: "MSG-Treated Rats."

When I heard this, I was shocked. I went into my kitchen and checked the cupboards and the refrigerator. MSG was in everything -- the Campbell 's soups, the Hostess Doritos, the Lays flavored potato chips, Top Ramen, Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Swanson frozen prepared meals, and Kraft salad dressings, especially the "healthy low-fat" ones.

The items that didn't have MSG marked on the product label had something called "Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein" which is just another name for Monosodium Glutamate.

It was shocking to see just how many of the foods we feed our children everyday are filled with this stuff. MSG is hidden under many different names in order to fool those who read the ingredient list, so that they don't catch on. (Other names for MSG are "Accent", "Aginomoto," "Natural Meat Tenderizer," etc.)

But it didn't stop there.

When our family went out to eat, we started asking at the restaurants what menu items contained MSG. Many employees, even the managers, swore they didn't use MSG.

But when we ask for the ingredient list, which they grudgingly

provided, sure enough, MSG and Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein were everywhere.

Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, every restaurant -- even the sit-down eateries like TGIF, Chili's, Applebee's and Denny's -- use MSG in abundance. Kentucky Fried Chicken seemed to be the WORST offender: MSG was in every chicken dish, salad dressing and gravy. No wonder I loved to eat that coating on the skin -- their secret spice was MSG!

So why is MSG in so many of the foods we eat? Is it a preservative or a vitamin?

Not according to my friend John Erb. In his book The Slow Poisoning of America, he said that MSG is added to food for the addictive effect it has on the human body.

Even the propaganda website sponsored by the food manufacturers lobby group supporting MSG explains that the reason they add it to food is to make people eat more

A study of the elderly showed that older people eat more of the foods that it is added to. The Glutamate Association lobbying group says eating more is a benefit to the elderly but what does it do to the rest of us?

"Betcha can't eat [just] one" takes on a whole new meaning where MSG is concerned! And we wonder why the nation is overweight!

MSG manufacturers themselves admit that it addicts people to their products. It makes people choose their product over others and makes people eat more of it than they would if MSG wasn't added.

Not only is MSG scientifically proven to cause obesity, it is an addictive substance. Since its introduction into the American food supply fifty years ago, MSG has been added in larger and larger doses to the pre-packaged meals, soups, snacks and fast foods we are tempted to eat everyday.

The FDA has set no limits on how much of it can be added to food. They claim it's safe to eat in any amount. But how can they claim it's safe when there are hundreds of scientific studies with titles like these:

"The monosodium glutamate (MSG) obese rat as a model for the study of exercise in obesity." Gobatto CA, Mello MA, Souza CT, Ribeiro IA. Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol. 2002.

"Adrenalectomy abolishes the food-induced hypothalamic serotonin release in both normal and monosodium glutamate-obese rats." Guimaraes RB, Telles MM, Coelho VB, Mori C, Nascimento CM, Ribeiro. Brain Res Bull. 2002 Aug.

'Obesity induced by neonatal monosodium glutamate treatment in

spontaneously hypertensive rats: An animal model of multiple risk factors." Iwase M, Yamamoto M, Iino K, Ichikawa K, Shinohara N, Yoshinari Fujishima. Hypertens Res. 1998 Mar.

"Hypothalamic lesion induced by injection of monosodium glutamate in suckling period and subsequent development of obesity." Tanaka K, Shimada M, Nakao K Kusunoki. Exp Neurol. 1978 Oct.

No, the date of that last study was not a typo; it was published in 1978. Both the "medical research community" and "food manufacturers" have known about the side effects of MSG for decades. Many more of the studies mentioned in John Erb's book link MSG to diabetes, migraines and headaches, autism, ADHD, and even Alzheimer's.

So what can we do to stop the food manufactures from dumping this fattening and addictive MSG into our food supply and causing the obesity epidemic we now see?

Several months ago, John Erb took his book and his concerns to one of the highest government health officials in Canada. While he was sitting in the government office, the official told him, "Sure, I know how bad MSG is. I wouldn't touch the stuff." But this top-level government official refuses to tell the public what he knows.

The big media doesn't want to tell the public either, fearing issues with their advertisers. It seems that the fallout on the fast food industry may hurt their profit margin. The food producers and restaurants have been addicting us to their products for years and now we are paying the price for it. Our children should not be cursed with obesity caused by an addictive food additive.

But what can I do about it? I'm just one voice! What can I do to stop the poisoning of our children, while our governments are insuring financial protection for the industry that is poisoning us?

This message is going out to everyone I know in an attempt to tell you the truth that the corporate-owned politicians and media won't tell you.

The best way you can help to save yourself and your children from this drug-induced epidemic is to forward this article to everyone. With any luck, it will circle the globe before politicians can pass the legislation protecting those who are poisoning us.

The food industry learned a lot from the tobacco industry. Imagine if big tobacco had a bill like this in place before someone blew the whistle on nicotine?

If you are one of the few who can still believe that MSG is good for us and you don't believe what John Erb has to say, see for yourself. Go to the National Library of Medicine www.pubmedcom. Type in the words "MSG Obese" and read a few of the 115 medical studies that appear.

We the public do not want to be rats in one giant experiment, and we do not approve of food that makes us into a nation of obese, lethargic, addicted sheep, feeding the food industry's bottom line while waiting for the heart transplant, the diabetic-induced amputation, blindness, or other obesity-induced, life-threatening disorders.

With your help we can put an end to this poison. Do your part in sending this message out by word of mouth, e-mail, or by distribution of this printout to your friends all over the world and stop this "Slow Poisoning of Mankind" by the packaged food industry.

Blowing the whistle on MSG is our responsibility, so get the word out.

Someone Worth Knowing: Sakwinder Narwal

I've never cared for fishing, personally. If I'm going to sit on a creek bank, I'd prefer to read a book, not handle a live fish or a worm. But I love to eat fish, so I admire true fishing fanatics like Sakwinder Narwal.

While Sakwinder Narwal is a catch and release fisherman, meaning he throws back the fish and doesn't keep them, it still impresses me that a man would travel the country to find the best fishing hole. And that's what he does, fishing everywhere from California to Florida, Long Island to Louisiana.

And fishing for anything from salmon to shark, American shad to redfish, Sakwinder Narwal enjoys the beauty of God's creation and a past time that Jesus encouraged. Who could find fault with that?

BBB Accreditation: K-Designers

You know the name... the Better Business Bureau (BBB). You know, in essence, what they stand for -- honesty and integrity in business. But what, specifically, does it mean to be accredited by the BBB for a company such as K-Designers, a home remodeling specialist?

When you visit the K-Designers website, one of the first features you'll see is their BBB seal. Click on that seal and it will take you to the BBB website where you can see that they confirm them as a member, but more than that, they state "K-Designers meets all... accreditation standards and is authorized to display the BBB Accredited Business seal."

BBB accreditation means a a business such as K-Designers (only one of thousands of examples) is committed "to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints." That's an excellent statement for any business to be able to make. Can yours?

Someone Worth Knowing: Muhammad Babangida

In a day when everything labeled "Nigeria" is looked upon as a scam or a fake, it's refreshing to find someone authentic like Muhammad Babangida, African businessman, avid sportsman and polo player, and music lover from Nigeria.

Muhammad Babangida is a special advisor to the Santa Isabel Petroleum Company, a subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Company, working as a government liaison of sorts for Santa Isabel in Equatorial Guinea, Africa. His blog posts make it easy to see that he is an enthusiastic and energetic man who loves the rich history of African, especially its music and its influence on jazz, R&B and other musical genres.

In addition, Muhammad Babangida is a dedicated family man, and an active philanthropist, working to improve public education in his home of Niger State, Nigeria. He's also a member of the Kaduna Polo Club, a board member of Unity Bank, PLC and the former chairman of the board and credit committee head of Intercity Bank, PLC.

All in all, it's encouraging to know that good things do come from Nigeria. Mr. Babangida proves that to be true.

Boca Raton, Florida: Home of Epsilon Investment Management

While I've visited Florida a few times over the years, I've never been to Boca Raton, home of Epsilon Investment Management. But I've seen photos such as the one at the right that portray it as a tropical paradise.

Companies like Epsilon Investment Management who've built their corporate offices in Boca Raton, provide jobs and resources for its nearly 84,000 residents.

With an estimated median income of $72,512, well above Florida's $47,804 median income, Boca Raton employer's such as Epsilon Investment Management provide a good living for those who've chosen to call Boca Raton their home. With a median age range of 42.9 years, Boca Raton is a relatively young town, unlike other Florida communities known mainly for their "snow bunny" population of retirement folks who visit only during winter months.

Of course, in addition to its high income standards, Boca Raton boasts high rent and housing standards as well, with $1,487 being the median rent and $460,800 being the median home value (up from $195,200 in 2000).