Archive for the ‘Post Topics’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Canning: Problems with the new Ball canning lids

Friday, October 27th, 2017

By Catherine Haug, October 27, 2017

Have you noticed that Ball canning lids have changed? They have a new name, ” Sure Tight,”  and have a silver rather than gold color. The packaging states “BPA-Free,” and states they will hold their seal for 18 months. Ball states these new “Sure Tight” lids will replace all prior lids, but you can still buy the old-style lids while stock is still available.

The new lids feature (1):

  • Doubling of the tinplate coating;
  • Additional rust resistance;
  • A storage life for unused lids for up to five years from purchase;
  • A new guarantee of a seal that would last up to 18 months.

But there are reported problems with these new lids. (more…)

Tags:
Posted in Canning | No Comments »

Dicamba pesticide for GMO crops causing trouble for trees and bees

Tuesday, October 24th, 2017

Frankenfood

By Catherine Haug, Oct 24, 2017 (Image, right, from Organic Consumers Association, used with permission; photo below from Bug-Guide)

GMO Alert!

When Roundup-resistant GMO crops like corn, soy, cotton and canola started to get sick, Monsanto developed Roundup Ready Xtend cotton and soy, and you can be sure that cotton and canola will follow. This new GMO is resistant not only to Roundup but also Dicamba herbicide. There is much concern that use of this herbicide may be even more troublesome for bees and certain trees. (more…)

Tags:, ,
Posted in Ecology, GMO | No Comments »

Recent phishing/scam email examples

Tuesday, October 10th, 2017

By Catherine Haug, updated Oct 2018 – see example 4, below (previous updates:  Oct 2017  – see Example 3, below; original published Jan 15, 2017)

I continue to get several phishing/scam emails, so I thought I’d share them with you to help you know how to recognize them.

Phishing is fishing for private information such as usernames, passwords and credit card accounts. Wikipedia (1) defines it as:

“the attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and, indirectly, money), often for malicious reasons, by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.”

A scam is “fraudulent scheme performed by a dishonest individual, group, or company in an attempt obtain money or something else of value” according to the Business Dictionary (2).

The examples below appear to be from the trusted businesses: FedEx, USPS, and Earthlink. But if you look at the sender’s email address or other clues in the screen-caps of the email text, you can tell the sender is pretending, in an attempt to gain your trust and get your information. (more…)

Posted in Security | No Comments »

How to protect yourself from identity theft (and 2017 credit reporting data breach)

Friday, September 8th, 2017

By Catherine Haug, Sept 8, 2017 ; updates: added SSN section on 9/10/17

Yesterday (Sept 7, 2017), Equifax announced it had a major credit breach affecting a vast majority of people in their database. The hackers got names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, some driver’s license numbers, and about 209,000 credit card numbers.
Your Social Security number (SSN) and date of birth allow hackers to open new accounts in your name but for their own use. Or they can use your existing accounts for their own purchases. Either way, someone eventually comes after you for payment. You could lose your money and government benefits (social security, medicare).
See the following for more information; most of the information in this post is from these sites:

Posted in Security | No Comments »

“Food Evolution”: New GMO technology even worse than Roundup-resistance

Monday, August 28th, 2017

Frankenfood

By Catherine Haug, Aug 28, 2017 (Photo, right, from Organic Consumers Association (14), used with permission)

By now we should all be familiar with herbicide ag chemicals like Roundup, and harm they can cause to the herbicide-resistant crops on which it is sprayed. But the harm they cause to humans who eat those crops, and the soil in which they are grown, is not as well known. For example:

  • Roundup is a patented broad-spectrum antibiotic, which means that as the plant takes it up, it moves to the roots where it kills the soil microbiome that enable to plant to take up nutrients from the soil. This explains why after just a few plantings of the Roundup-resistant crops, they suffer root damage and do not yield a good crop. And other crops planted in the same soil likewise suffer root damage.
  • Its antibiotic nature also means that if you eat any part of a Roundup-resistant plant, you are taking up this antibiotic which then kills/damages the microbiome in your mouth and gut, lowering your resistance to disease and interaction between your brain and your primitive brain (the gut), which can ultimately lead to inflammation in both organs. Inflammation in the brain can manifest as depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s.

And while the harm of existing GMOs is more broad than this one example, new GMO technology pose even more harm. With advances in ag-chemical research, genetic modification techniques are even more sophisticated, and can do even more harm to nature as a whole, including humans. To me, this is downright scary – even more so than the worst horror film you could watch. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Ecology, GMO, Health | No Comments »

Preparing for forest/grass fire near your home

Monday, July 31st, 2017

By Catherine Haug, July 31, 2017

This summer there is high risk for forest and grass fires; are you prepared?

The following is by C. Wyn, an ESP member from Columbia Falls; I’ve edited it and added headings in bold. See also his 2015 posting on this site: Preparing for Disaster or Prolonged Power Outage; and my recent post: Preparing for disaster, advice for seniors. Here’s his new article:

“A lot of houses are lost many minutes or even an hour or two after the fire sweeps by. If a lot of homes get swept by fire in a short time, there are never enough fire fighters to get back in there and find all these little smokes before the grow. (Read on for more).

(more…)

Posted in Emergency Preparedness | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »