Daniel Rubin: Prohibition drove Philadelphians to “medicine”
Rooting around in my attic a couple of years ago, I discovered a dusty box of medicine bottles wrapped in a 1921 edition of the Public Ledger. The coolest things were the swollen pills and slimy tonics still sealed in these cobalt blue, emerald green, and pewter-capped relics.
Only a dull brown bottle of Rexall’s Beef, Wine and Iron lay empty. I didn’t really appreciate its significance until I read Daniel Okrent’s book Last Call.
After passage of the 18th Amendment, which in 1920 banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcoholic beverages, Philadelphia, Okrent found, led the nation in criminal invention.
By phone from his Manhattan home, the author and former New York Times ombudsman said it was likely a previous owner of my house, Miss Mary Jackson, had more uses for the bottle than as a treatment for tired blood.
Key to Okrent was the Rexall bottle’s alcoholic content: 19 percent.
“That’s 38 proof!” he said. “There were many such patent remedies in the years before Prohibition that stuck around and did really well during Prohibition. These were usually a way for women to drink without drinking.”
Though that particular tonic was made in New York, Philadelphia’s speciality during Prohibition was the masking of liquor as alcohol intended only for industrial use.
“In this carnival,” he wrote, “Philadelphia was the big top.”
Some credit is due to geography: Philadelphia was close to the chemical factories surrounding the DuPont company. But the larger factor was the strength of the Seventh Street Gang, led by gambler and boxing promoter Max “Boo Boo” Hoff.
Hoff and his boys – operating under such anodyne handles as the Quaker Industrial Alcohol Co. or the Consolidated Ethyl Products Co. – controlled all aspects of the process, from manufacture to transport to refining in “cutting houses” where it was repackaged as brand-name hooch.
Hoff made millions at this racket. Over two weeks in 1925 he produced enough bootleg liquor to pack 40 freight cars headed west, Okrent found.
Going into the story Okrent knew a little about the flinty man hired to combat Philadelphia’s flagrant lawlessness: Gen. Smedley P. Butler.
The 5-foot-4 Marine was nicknamed “Old Gimlet Eye” and “The Fighting Quaker.” He’d commanded U.S. troops in China during the Boxer Rebellion as well as in Southeast Asia and South and Central America. He won two Medals of Honor.
Taking the Philadelphia job, Butler put saloon keepers, bootleggers, corrupt cops, and pols on notice that no one was untouchable.
“This story could end no other way,” Okrent wrote. “Butler failed miserably.”
Hoff turned out to have friends in all places. A grand jury estimated his annual graft payroll was $2 million in the Police Department alone. He paid off street cops and the chief detective. He owned federal agents. His lawyer was U.S. Rep. Benjamin Golder, a key player in the local Republican machine.
Hoff got the Union National Bank to launder his cash and the Reading Railroad to ship his supply to the Canadian border. To a prosecutor who came up short against him, Boo Boo was “a giant spider in the middle of a great web with eyes in front and behind.”
Butler raised the white flag after he was denied permission to raid the Ritz-Carlton and Bellevue-Stratford Hotels. His orders to stay away came from none other than Mayor W. Freeland Kendrick.
Trying to enforce the law in Philadelphia, Butler said upon his return to action in China, “was worse than any battle I was ever in.”
Okrent’s history examines the forces that brought Prohibition upon this land, and those that showed it the door in 1933.
What happened to America’s drinking habits has relevance today, Okrent noted, as Philadelphia officials contemplate loosening the enforcement of marijuana laws.
After a period of intense revelry once Prohibition was repealed, the amount of booze people drank fell.
Okrent thinks that could hold true for pot as well if it becomes legal and regulated.
“Very few states have laws against driving while stoned,” he said. “If you legalize marijuana, you can guarantee there will be one.”
DNA referees
Your life story depends upon a combination of the DNA you’re stuck with plus your environment, including all the little choices and events that happen over that lifetime.
But in recent years, researchers have discovered that, while DNA lays out the options, many of those life experiences — the foods you eat, the stresses you endure, the toxins you’re exposed to — physically affect the DNA and tell it more precisely what to do.
The cause: a kind of secondary code carried along with the DNA. Called the “epigenome,” this code is a set of chemical marks, attached to genes, that act like DNA referees. They turn off some genes and let others do their thing. And although the epigenome is pretty stable, it can change — meaning lifestyle choices such as diet and drug use could have lasting effects on how the body works.
“The thing I love about epigenetics is that you have the potential to alter your destiny,” says Randy Jirtle, who studies epigenetics at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
http://www.latimes.com/news/health/la-he-epigenetics-20100503,0,5900529.story?track=rss
EU Bets $146 Billion in Greek Medicine Will Stave Off Contagion
By Emma Ross-Thomas and Jonathan Stearns
May 3 (Bloomberg) — Euro-region governments are betting $146 billion in economic medicine for Greece will be enough to inoculate the rest of their region from contagion.
Finance ministers yesterday approved the unprecedented bailout for Greece after a week that saw the country’s fiscal crisis spread to Portugal and Spain. At the same time, they refused to say how they would help other indebted nations if the need arose, saying that Greece is a “special case.”
The risk is that investors will shift their attention to other euro nations in the absence of a clear aid plan for the weakest members of the 16-nation bloc. The extra yield that investors demand to hold Portuguese debt over German bunds surged last week to the highest since at least 1997 and Spain’s IBEX 35 benchmark index dropped the most in three months. “It is far from assured that this program will forcefully counter contagion risk,” said Mohamed El-Erian, co-chief investment officer at Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach, California, which runs the world’s biggest bond fund. “Heavily exposed creditors” may try to head off potential losses and sell bonds, “increasing the pressure on core European governments to also provide a backstop for Portugal and Spain.”
Greece yesterday pledged to push through 30 billion euros ($40 billion) of budget cuts, equivalent to 13 percent of gross domestic product, in return for loans at a rate of around 5 percent for three years. The EU and the International Monetary Fund, which is co-financing the bailout, also agreed to set up a bank stabilization fund. Greece’s federation of civil servants responded by calling a 48-hour strike starting tomorrow.
Greek Distinction
European officials rushed to draw a distinction between Greece, whose misstated budget figures first roiled markets last year, and other countries.
“I don’t think the markets will put Portugal and Spain under attack because their situation is in no way comparable to Greece,” Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker said yesterday after chairing the talks. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said “Greece was a special case, because it reported special numbers, provided funny statistics.”
The IMF’s Poul Thomsen, who heads the mission to Greece, said the austerity plan was designed to “shock and awe markets and re-establish confidence.”
Spain’s budget deficit was nevertheless the third-highest in the euro region last year, at 11.2 percent of GDP. Portugal’s budget deficit was the fourth-biggest at 9.4 percent of output. Ireland had the highest deficit at 14.3 percent and Greece’s was 13.6 percent.
‘Breathtakingly Large’
“Unless Portugal and Spain proactively take additional measures to bolster their fiscal and growth outlook, markets will be tempted to test whether the EU has appetite for any further rescues after the breathtakingly large commitment made to Greece,” said Marco Annunziata, chief economist at UniCredit Group in London.
The Portuguese spread surged as high as 299 basis points on April 28 and the Spanish premium rose to 113 basis points, the highest since March 2009. The Greek spread touched a record of 827 points on April 28.
At stake is the future of the euro 11 years after leaving fiscal policy in national capitals. The euro has fallen 7 percent this year as the lack of a single finance ministry made it harder for governments to agree on whether and how to rescue Greece. That in turn exacerbated a selloff in Greek bonds.
Support
Governments first agreed to support Greece on Feb. 11 and didn’t make any concrete pledge of cash until two months later. The yield on the Greek 10-year bond, which was 6.63 percent at the start of February, stood at 8.96 percent on April 30.
Greece will eventually have to restructure its debt, undermining confidence in the euro, said Stuart Thomson, who helps oversee $100 billion at Ignis Asset Management in Glasgow, Scotland.
“The sovereign restructuring threat hangs over the euro, and makes it less likely to be a reserve currency over time,” said Thomson.
To head off future crises, EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn has proposed strengthening integration over budgets, for example by requiring national governments to submit spending plans to European authorities before parliaments approve them.
Some economists say European policy makers may have to take unprecedented steps such as allowing the ECB to buy government bonds on the secondary market. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said yesterday the central bank had made “no decision” on that.
Too Scared?
For now, the onus is on high-deficit economies to retrench before investors force them to, says Stephen Jen, managing director of macroeconomics and currencies at BlueGold Capital Management LLP in London who also once worked for the IMF.
“Governments have to get ahead of the market, it’s no longer good enough to just do enough and that’s the challenge,” said Jen. “There will be some rally in European assets, but long-term investors are still too scared to get back in. After the rally, reality sets in.”
–With assistance from Flavia Krause-Jackson, Gabi Thesing, Meera Louis, Ewa Krukowska in Brussels and Natalie Weeks, Christos Ziotis and Maria Petrakis in Athens. Editors: John Fraher, James Hertling
Children’s Medicine Recalled For Quality Issues
Parents and caregivers are being alerted to a sweeping recall of infants’ and children’s Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl products. McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, is recalling the over-the-counter medicine because of a manufacturing deficiency, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA said the manufacturing deficiency could affect the products’ purity, potency and quality and could cause some batches to contain more of the active drug ingredient than specified.
In a statement on its Web site, the company said that no adverse medical events had been reported. A complete list of the recalled products appears below.
“We want to be certain that consumers discontinue using these products and that they know what to do if they have concerns about a specific product,” said Commissioner of Food and Drugs Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “While the potential for serious health problems is remote, Americans deserve medications that are safe, effective and of the highest quality. We are investigating the products and facilities associated with this recall and will provide updates as we learn more.”
Some of the products included in the recall may contain a higher concentration of active ingredient than specified. Others contain inactive ingredients that may not meet internal testing requirements and others may contain tiny particles. While the potential for serious medical events is remote, FDA advises consumers who have purchased these recalled products to discontinue use.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/05/kids_tylenol.html#ixzz0mr4ymmhK
Pleasant’s Gandhi aims for career in medicine
Her accomplishments are a testament to that, and she’s prepared herself to take her experience and determination to the next level.
The Marion Star’s female Teen of the Month for May has a goal to lead the way to help others. She considers herself very fortunate in the opportunities she’s been given, and in pursuing a career in medicine, she hopes to bring such fortune to many lives.
“I know that in this stage of my life, my efforts are small, impacting few,” she writes in her essay, “but they are important to maintain my mission to better people’s conditions.”
She was selected as one of the “Best of the Class of 2010,” which recognizes valedictorians in the Central Ohio area; is an Advanced Placement Scholar; and participated in Youth Engaged in Philanthropy. She’s a four-year varsity letter winner in tennis, served as director for the school musical and captained the school’s academic challenge team.
Preeyam’s leadership in service is a long list and includes hundreds of hours volunteering at Marion General Hospital and the Red Cross. She spent eight weeks at summer college at Harvard last year, which helped her decide on her career path.
“To live life to the fullest, one must take part in every opportunity to explore the world,” she says. “Through my years of service, I have learned that often those in need have taught me more than I have been able to provide them. The relationship is truly reciprocal; in ways, I am more indebted to those I have served than they are to me.”
Pleasant Teacher Kyle Strzelecki says Preeyam’s intelligence and thirst for knowledge is exemplary. He is more impressed with her people skills.
She takes a heavier course load than others, and her mastery of the concepts and material would make it easy for her “take over” in a group situation, but she doesn’t.
“It is this ability to work with peers that helped not only herself, but also the students around her,” he wrote in his recommendation letter. “Additionally, Preeyam is very sociable with the students and teachers in our building, which allows her to build trusting relationships with the people she interacts with.”
Strzelecki has high praise for his student. He points out that she craves challenge, evidenced in her college course accomplishments and her high scores in passing all six advanced placement exams.
“I believe that Preeyam is one of the most intelligent students to ever walk through my doorway,” he wrote.
http://www.marionstar.com/article/20100502/NEWS01/5020315/-1/newsfront2
