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Whopper Freakout… Did you see this video on what would happen if they stopped serving Burger King’s Whopper?

Funny how people freakout…

ikely we haven’t seen the end of this: A series of apparent ethics rules violations by Washington political figures, with the commonality of involvement with a company called Hythiam Inc. Odds are, we also haven’t seen the last of things like it.

Hythiam sells “comprehensive behavioral health management services to health plans, employers, criminal justice, and government agencies,” and there’s something highly useful about this. One of the videos on its corporate front page suggests “there’s a movement from incarceration to treatment,” and eventually probably there will be - prisons are becoming so unwieldy and immensely expensive that smarter solutions (for not all but a significant chunk of inmates) are going to be needed.

Thus, providers like Hythiam. Among its key products is this: “Hythiam currently offers initial disease management offerings for substance dependence built around its proprietary PROMETA Treatment Program for alcoholism and dependence to stimulants. The PROMETA Treatment Program, which integrates behavioral, nutritional, and medical components, are available through licensed treatment providers.”

It sounds good enough you might want to just leap, maybe before you look. One of the results is incorrect reporting on ethics documents by two Pierce County political figures, County Executive John Ladenburg (who had disclosed an investment interest in Hythiam but less than it really was) and state Representative Dennis Flannigan of Tacoma (who owns 4,000 shares in Hythia but didn’t disclose it), both Democrats. (Washington law, much like Oregon’s, requires annual disclosure to the state of asset interests by a large number of public officials.)

Kicker A is that, as the Tacoma News Tribune reports, “Flannigan, Ladenburg and other Pierce County lawmakers helped secure a total of $900,000 in state and local funding for Prometa.”

Kicker B is that, the paper also reports, “The [county] council and executive agreed in April to spend $400,000 to try the program on offenders in the county’s drug court. But the council suspended funding Oct. 23 after a preliminary report by the county audit staff found little evidence that Prometa is effective.”
The personal financial linkage to Hythiam spreads beyond the politicians. The TNT also says that Terree Schmidt-Whelan, who runs the nonprofit adminstration of Prometa treatment for Pierce County, also is a Hythiam stockholder.

Flannigan has a long history of failures to properly report; the Hythiam thing for him is one in a series. But probably we shouldn’t be too surprised that as private contractors take on increasingly sensitive and significant activities for governments, that some of them will attract direct involvement from people in government. It’s easy to justify: As a stockholder, a public official actually has a say, albeit likely a small one, in the private entities doing the public’s business. But that say, that link and that tie, bind in both directions.

County Executive John Ladenburg’s last-ditch effort to save funding for the Prometa drug-treatment program did not sway the County Council.

Instead of setting aside $400,000 for Prometa in the 2008 budget, the council Tuesday designated the money for “decreasing the Pierce County jail population or evidence-based programs that are directed towards breaking the cycle of drug addiction.”

The council also set aside the $175,000 in unspent 2007 Prometa funding for the same purpose, bringing the total to $575,000.

The council took no action on  to spend the money on Prometa.
Council Chairman Terry Lee, R-Gig Harbor, said Prometa could qualify for the funds “if it becomes a program based on evidence-based results.”

Councilman Shawn Bunney, R-Lake Tapps, said the council will ask the Performance Audit Committee to devise performance measures that will be applied to programs like Prometa, with the ultimate goal of reducing the jail population.

“We need to do a much better job of measuring and holding people accountable for outcomes,” Bunney said.

The council last month  2007 funding for Prometa – used to treat addicts in county drug court – after a performance auditors report found little evidence the program is effective.
On Tuesday Ladenburg made a last effort to revive Prometa funding by offering budget language addressing several council concerns.

The executive’s plan would have prohibited managers and board members of the nonprofit Pierce County Alliance – which administers Prometa for the county – from owning stock in Hythiam Inc., the company that licenses the treatment. The plan also would have removed language from the alliance’s contract with Hythiam that required it to market Prometa.

In a fitting (almost) ending to my six day cross county road trip to move myself from Atlanta to San Francisco, I landed in glamorous Las Vegas last night just in time for the Spike TV Video Game awards. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect having never attended a “major” awards show before, but I sat down fueled by five days on the road and a few drinks with my pad and paper to bring you all the big announcements.

One of the things I found amazingly odd was that the awards themselves really seemed to take a back seat to the musical performances, commercials, myriad non video game related guest stars, and occasional World Premier Trailers for games like Little Big Planet, Rainbow 6 Vegas 2, Borderlands, TNA Wrestling, Prototype and Gran Turismo 5. It was almost like the awards were an afterthought, tacked on to an evening of oohing and ahhing over the next big name to take the stage. But, they did eventually get around to the awards and while there were no huge surprises, in general the winners seemed pretty in line with most people’s guesses.

*Caution: Spoilers ahead. If you don’t want to know any of the winners until the show airs tonight, read no further!*

BioShock took home three awards including Best Original Score, Best Xbox 360 Game and the big daddy of them all, Game of the Year. Fan favorite Halo 3 had two wins with Best Multiplayer Game and the highly dubious Most Addictive game fueled by Dew. Seeing as Mountain Dew launched a full fledged advertising campaign that revolved around a new soft drink devoted to Halo 3 this was hardly a surprise even though this category was allegedly voted on by the fans.

Call of Duty 4 and The Orange Box were the other big winners with two awards each and Harmonix rocked the house by taking Studio of the Year as well as Best Rhythm Game and Best Soundtrack for Rock Band. Nintendo games in general were highly underrepresented although they did manage to net three awards: Best Handheld Game for The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Best Action Game and Best Wii Game for Super Mario Galaxy. The Best PS3 Game was given to Insomniac’s Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and a special award was given to Kristen Bell for Best Newcomer for her work on Assassin’s Creed although there didn’t really seem to be any other nominees in the category and if there were, they weren’t mentioned.

The evening was also marked by celebrity appearances by the likes of show host and badass Samuel L. Jackson, freaky magician Criss Angel, “TNA” wrestling stars Kurt and Karen Angle, the still smokin’ Tia Carrere, legendary Marvel comics god Stan Lee, the godfather of skateboarding Tony Hawk, Simpsons creator Matt Groening, flag toting boxing promoter Don King, much too pretty reality stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, NFL quarterback Matt Leinart, complete douchebag Dave Navarro, diminutive bisexual Tila Tequila and comedians Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn and Raphie May. Musical guest performers included multiple performances by the Foo Fighters, a song from southern fried rocker Kid Rock and a far too short old school game medley by Tommy Tallarico’s Video Games Live Orchestra.

Some of the other hilights of the evening were great quotes by Samuel L. Jackson (”Mr. Miyamoto, lay off the weed!”) and Matt Groening (”Thanks to the game industry for proving that game executives aren’t nearly as big assholes as TV executives.”) and a particularly funny video clip parodying anti-video game violence commercials. It showed Kim Jong Il, Stalin, Saddam Hussein and other dictators playing violent video games with the punchline “Paid for by the friends of Jack Thompson.” Ah Jack, such an easy target…

All in all it was a pretty entertaining event (if not somewhat predictable) with the only real ants-at-the-picnic moment coming at the very end. I had seen the guys from Gamecock roaming about in the audience in costume all night and wondered if they were going to do some sort of performance of speech and as it turns out, they did although it wasn’t really part of the scheduled show. Just as Ken Levine was taking the stage to accept the Game of the year award for BioShock, the feisty Gamecockers leapt on the stage, hijacked the mic with some of self promotional banter effectively taking up the time that had been alloted for Ken’s acceptance speech. I have been a big proponent of Gamecock and what they are doing for independent titles, but this was seriously bad form on their part. Briefly hijacking the show to make a point is one thing, but stealing another man’s hard earned thunder is quite another.

After it was all over, quite a few of us were milling about in the lobby area and I got a chance to see Ken and congratulate him. As usual he was gracious and didn’t seem to be ruffled at all by what had happened to him on stage. His lovely wife whom I had met at the BioShock launch party was also present with her parents and they all seemed very proud and happy with the big win. The Insomniac boys rolled by, slightly tipsy and happy as two kids on Christmas morning with their award although they did express some disappointment in not being able to take the award with them (they mail it to you later) on their tour of the strip. Super foxy Helen McWilliams and her dapper cohort Daniel Sussman arrived and the cheerful mood of booze and camaraderie was high. Helen was quite the bombshell in her tight black dress and heels although once the crowds had passed, the shoes came off. When some fans asked to take a picture with her I graciously accepted the duty of holding the goddess of video game rock’s shoes and having hit the bar a few times myself throughout the night, I just couldn’t help taking a token lick. Tiff may lay claim to her famous PSP licking picture, but who else can say they licked Helen McWilliams’ shoes?

Stay tuned later today when I bring you all the action from the red carpet where I spoke with some of the nominees and celebrities and took a ton of pictures. For the full list of all the nominees and winners, merely scroll down the page. The winners of each category are in bold.

Game of the Year
BioShock
Halo 3
Mass Effect
The Orange Box

Best Shooter
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
BioShock
Halo 3
The Orange Box

Best Action Game
Super Mario Galaxy
Assassin’s Creed
God of War 2
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

Best Rhythm Game
Rock Band
Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Jam Sessions

Best RPG
Mass Effect
Eternal Sonata
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

Best Driving Game
Colin McRae: DiRT
Forza Motorsport 2
Need for Speed ProStreet
Project Gotham Racing 4

Best Military Game
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
World in Conflict

Studio of the Year
Harmonix
Bungie Studios
Irrational Games
Valve

Best Graphics
Crysis
BioShock
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Mass Effect

Breakthrough Technology
Portal
Crysis
Halo 3
Rock Band

Best PS3 Game
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Heavenly Sword
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Warhawk

Best Wii Game
Super Mario Galaxy
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Super Paper Mario

Best Xbox 360 Game
BioShock
Halo 3
Mass Effect
The Orange Box

Best PC Game
The Orange Box
BioShock
Crysis
World in Conflict

Best Individual Sports Game
Skate
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground
Virtua Tennis 3

Best Team Sports Game
Madden NFL 08
NBA 2K8
NHL 08
Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007

Best Handheld Game
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show
The Simpsons Game
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja
Stranglehold

Best Soundtrack
Rock Band
BioShock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground

Best Original Score
BioShock
God of War 2
Halo 3
Mass Effect

Best Multiplayer Game
Halo 3
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Rock Band
The Orange Box

Most Addictive Game Fueled by Dew
Halo 3
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Team Fortress 2
Wii Sports

 New Addiction treatment drug from Hythiam called Prometa claims treatment from alcoholism and other addictions, but Prometa is not FDA approved.

Few days ago Hythiam’s prometa was featured on ABC’s nightline, and today it was presented in CBS’s 60 minutes, where CBS discussed Prometa as a possible treatment for alcohol and other addictions.

CBS reports that “Terren Peizer is selling hope to the desperate. If what he says is true, he’s hit on the first medical treatment for methamphetamine addiction — a therapy that he says works for cocaine and alcohol, too.

“An alcoholic getting treatment with Prometa visits a clinic three times, getting one drug, flumazenil, by infusion, and two more, gabapentin and hydroxyzine, in the form of pills; meth and cocaine addicts require two additional treatments later in the month. And patients take gabapentin daily for a month. Prometa’s treatment plans also call for nutritional supplements and counseling sessions. ”

FDA has not yet approved Prometa treatment from Hythiam Inc, but CBS says Peizer has commisioned four studies.

Below is Hythiam’s news release on Prometa from Nov. 1, 2007

PROMETA® Demonstrates Statisitcally Significant Reduction in Methamphetamine Cravings in Randomized Double-Blind Placebo Controlled Study

The 30-day study on cravings and neurocognition was designed as a follow-up to Dr. Urschel’s 90-day open-label study on the effects of the PROMETA Treatment Program in treatment-seeking, methamphetamine-dependent subjects.

Hythiam’s Prometa treatment program demonstrates statistically significant reduction in methamphetamine cravings in randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study.

Hythiam, Inc. (NASDAQ:HYTM) today announced statistically significant reduction in methamphetamine cravings with the PROMETA Treatment Program, a primary study endpoint from a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study conducted by addiction expert and Board Certified Psychiatrist Harold C. Urschel, III, M.D., M.M.A.  The 30-day study on cravings and neurocognition was designed as a follow-up to Dr. Urschel’s 90-day open-label study on the effects of the PROMETA Treatment Program in treatment-seeking, methamphetamine-dependent subjects.

A total of 134 patients, 67 for each treatment arm, were randomized in this trial and 88 (44 PROMETA Treatment Program, 44 placebo) completed the study protocol.  Both groups received counseling during the study period.  Results from the subjects who completed the study protocol demonstrated that the PROMETA Treatment Program was superior to placebo in reducing cravings for methamphetamine.  All craving measures declined for both groups, however results for the PROMETA Treatment Program group were numerically superior to the placebo group at study end for all measures.  More importantly, at the end of the 30-day treatment period, the PROMETA Treatment Program group was significantly superior to placebo for most measures, including the combined craving measure (P=0.0032) and strongest cravings (p=0.0069).  Mean combined cravings score for the PROMETA treatment group decreased from 50.2 to 19.1, compared to reduction in the placebo group mean score from 48.7 at baseline to 27.8 at study end.  For strongest cravings, the PROMETA group experienced a reduction from a baseline mean score of 9.3 to 3.7 at study end, and the placebo group mean score reduced from 9.0 to 5.7 at the last visit.

Cravings for methamphetamine in this trial were assessed at each data collection visit by having subjects provide an estimate of their peak craving for methamphetamine on a 10-point visual analogue scale (VAS), anchored at one end with no craving for methamphetamine and at the other end with most intense craving for methamphetamine ever experienced.

We are pleased to share our top-line findings on the reduction of cravings in methamphetamine-dependent subjects seeking-treatment, said principal investigator, Harold C. Urschel, III, M.D., M.M.A.  We believe, this is the first study to show statistically significant reduction of cravings over placebo in treatment-seeking, methamphetamine-dependent subjects.  These placebo-controlled outcomes confirmed the findings in our prior study, that there was indeed an immediate reduction of cravings within the one-month treatment period.  In our prior study, we also observed a substantial and persistent reduction of meth use during the post-treatment follow-up period.  Currently ongoing, longer-term randomized, placebo studies designed to elucidate the efficacy of the PROMETA Treatment Program against the primary endpoint of reduction of methamphetamine use will hopefully demonstrate this.  The results of this study add to the growing body of evidence supporting clinical use of the PROMETA Treatment Program as a treatment option to address the persistent cravings that are so prevalent in stimulant-dependent individuals, in order to better allow them to participate in and benefit from behavioral aftercare.

Urschel continued, I am also very excited to evaluate the neurocognitive data from this trial as well in the coming weeks, as I believe that we may see a significant, rapidly evolving cognitive improvement in the active arm of these methamphetamine addicts. We tentatively plan to present that data at the AAAP conference at the end of November.

The benefit of The PROMETA Treatment Program in decreasing methamphetamine cravings was demonstrated despite an anticipated magnified placebo response in this relatively short trial.  Both treatment groups had significant reductions from baseline in cravings.  The reduction for placebo may have been related to the intensity of treatment, the multiple medications administered, as well as attention and counseling that placebo subjects received during the 30-day study period.  High placebo responses are particularly common in studies of psychotropic and analgesic medications, and are often related to patients’ expectations and the high degree of attention that they receive from healthcare professionals in many trials.

Self-reported methamphetamine use among patients who completed this study declined 60.8% from 89.5% of the 30 days prior to treatment, to 28.7% for the 30 days after the first visit among those in the PROMETA Treatment Program group and declined 49.6% from 83.1% to 33.5% in the placebo group.  While not statistically significant, nine patients randomized to the PROMETA Treatment Program and six randomized to placebo were completely abstinent during the 30-day treatment period.  The benefits of the PROMETA Treatment Program in decreasing both methamphetamine cravings and use are currently being evaluated in a second, ongoing, 120-day, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study being conducted by Walter Ling, M.D., and UCLA’s Integrated Substance Abuse Program.  This longer-term study will evaluate the effects of this therapy on cravings and post-treatment reduction of use for 90 days beyond the 30 day treatment period.

Results from a prior study have indicated that craving is a predictor of methamphetamine use in patients being treated for dependence on this drug. It has even been suggested that clinicians should use VAS measurements of cravings to predict future methamphetamine abuse. Intensity of cravings has also been shown to be correlated with relapse risk in patients being treated for cocaine dependence.

“We are extremely pleased by this clinically relevant, top-line data from the first placebo-controlled study of the PROMETA Treatment Program,” said Hythiam’s Chairman and CEO Terren Peizer. “These results appear to validate the reports we have heard from our licensed physicians, treatment providers, patients, and their family members as to the rapidity with which the PROMETA Treatment Program is able to reduce cravings.  Addressing cravings, which are believed to be a significant factor leading to relapse, provides an immediate benefit to the field of substance dependence treatment.  These results will allow us to take a more proactive role in accelerating the adoption of PROMETA, and will provide hope to those suffering from addiction that there is a treatment available to address their suffering.

As previously referenced, Dr. Urschel’s initial open-label study of the PROMETA Treatment Program demonstrated that this intervention significantly decreased methamphetamine use (P<.001) at 84 days after the initiation of treatment versus 90 days before treatment. In this study, where days with missing data are counted as days taking methamphetamine, the PROMETA Treatment Program still resulted in a 47% reduction in methamphetamine use.  Among 36 subjects (72% of all those enrolled) who completed the 8-week evaluation phase, there was a 65% reduction in methamphetamine use and a 66% decrease in methamphetamine cravings (both P<0.001 versus pretreatment).

The PROMETA Treatment Program, and other longer-term psychosocial treatments that have demonstrated modest efficacy but which may be limited by poor patient retention and high relapse rates, can potentially be integrated to promote long-term abstinence in the growing population with dependence on this drug.

1. prometa
2. hythiam
3. whopper freakout
4. whopperfreakout.com
5. new life church
6. univision debate
7. patriots steelers
8. anthony smith
9. hytm
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MODOT Worker Killed in Tragic Accident

Jeffrey McBride, a 37 year old MODOT employee from Arcadia, Missouri was tragically killed Friday in a freak accident involving a piece of machinery. According to witnesses, Mr. McBride’s clothing got caught in the drive shaft of a salt spreading machine that was affixed to a MODOT dump truck. This incident occurred at a service lot near Highway 55 and MM near Barnhart, Missouri.

Mr. McBride was transported to St. Anthony’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from his personal injuries.

In this tragic incident, Mr. McBride’s family will be able to file a claim for workers compensation since he was a Missouri worker. In addition, the Missouri personal injury lawyer that helps this family should take a close look at this salt spreading device. I have handled many wrongful death claims involving product liability and this incident is very suspect. Any drive shaft or shaft that turns should have a protective shield to protect people. It is unknown whether this particular device had a protective shield or adequate warnings to warn of this danger.

In Missouri, manufacturers of products that are defective in terms of lack of warning or safety devices are held strictly liable for any and all damage their defective product causes, including personal injury or wrongful death. Strict liability means the claimant does not have to prove fault or negligence. The claimant must only prove that the incident happened and the manufacturer was responsible.

Product liability is a very complex area of law and is only handled by a very few lawyers in the St. Louis area.

Jason and the argonauts - *

Jason and the argonauts *

Adventure. Columbia. 1963.
D: Don Chaffey.
P: Charles Schneer.

“The legendary Greek hero leads a team of intrepid adventurers in a perilous quest for the legendary Golden Fleece”.

Plot moves forward economically and purposefully; the film becomes a series of set pieces showcasing the special effects artistry of Ray Harryhausen, here in one of its best forms. As mere spectacle, it works.

SPC: Music (Bernard Herrmann), Special effects (Ray Harryhausen)

Marathon likely to see fewer entrants
By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
 
Barring a last-minute surge, today’s 35th anniversary Honolulu Marathon probably will post its lowest number of entrants in three years.

The race, the third largest in the world last year, gets under way at 5 a.m. from Ala Moana boulevard.

As of Friday night, 27,394 runners had signed up for the 26.2-mile event, including 16,784 from Japan, 7,997 from Hawai’i, 2,033 from the Mainland and 780 from foreign countries other than Japan.

Nearly 13,000 runners will be attempting their first marathon.

Last year, 28,637 people entered the race and 24,575 completed it. In 2005, 28,048 entered and 24,295 finished.

Registration closed yesterday at 5 p.m. and final figures weren’t available last night.

Honolulu Marathon Association president Dr. Jim Barahal earlier expressed concern over weather conditions on race day.

According to the National Weather Service, runners can expect a partly sunny day with scattered showers, temperatures ranging from 75 to 80 degrees. Winds are forecast to be 10 mph or less.

While the forecast likely bodes well for middle- to back-of-the-pack runners, who might take anywhere from five to 13 hours to complete the course, continued showers could mean a slower finish for elite runners.

The Honolulu Marathon is considered a slower course because of its hills and the typically warm weather conditions.

That doesn’t matter to defending champion Ambesse Tolossa of Ethiopia.

“I can’t do anything about it, so I’ll keep fighting,” Tolossa said via an interpreter. “Whether it’s slippery or raining, it doesn’t matter. I’m here to improve my time.”

Tolossa’s main rival is likely to be five-time Honolulu Marathon champion Jimmy Muindi of Kenya, who finished second last year. Like Tolossa, Muindi, 34, is seeking to rebound from a disappointing year of competition.

Tolossa, 30, is also mindful of the other Kenyans who make up the elite men’s field.

“Muindi is one but everybody, when they come to America, thinks they can win,” Tolossa said. “Sometimes it’s the person you don’t think will win is the one who wins.”

On the women’s side, Russia’s Alevtina Biktimirova, 25, will look to improve on her second-place finish of last year.

However, many around the race are convinced that fellow Russian Tatyana Petrova, 24, who finished fifth here in 2004, has a good shot at pulling off an upset.

There’s much at stake. The first-place male and female finishers each get $40,000. Second- through fifth-place finishers get $16,000, $10,000, $6,000, and $3,000, respectively. There are also numerous cash incentives tied to finishing times, including $15,000 for breaking the existing records (2:11:12 for men; 2:27:19 for women).

The top three men and women finishers will be tested for performance-enhancing drugs following the race.

Last year’s women’s champion, Lyubov Denisova, tested positive for elevated testosterone in a random test by the World Anti-Doping Agency three months after last year’s race, and was banned from competing for two years.

 I love my bag, but it doesn’t have pockets, so I’m always digging around in there. This solves that problem. It’s an organizer with six pockets to help you keep track of your belongings. And it makes it a lot easier to transfer everything when you change purses.

$23.00, The Spoon Sisters