Mesothelioma Awareness Ribbon

Spread the word about Mesothelioma with the Mesothelioma Awareness Ribbon. Post the ribbon icon on your blog or site. The Mesothelioma Awareness Ribbon can be found on the left column of our blog. If you have a Blogger (Blogspot) blog, simply click on the Add to Blogger widget button. If you have a non-Blogger blog or site, simple copy and paste the code underneath the Mesothelioma Awareness Ribbon widget button. Tell the world that you are concerned about the effects of Asbestos with the Mesothelioma Awareness Ribbon.

What is Mesothelioma?

1. Were you in New York City on September 11th, 2001? Have you visited New York since September 11th, 2001?

2. Have you taken a once in a lifetime vacation to Far Off Lands?

3. Have you been around building materials or work sites?

If so, you should tell your doctor when you’re diagnosed with – Mesothelioma.

What is Mesothelioma?

The National Cancer Institute states: "Malignant Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, is a disease in which malignant cancer cells are found in the sac lining the chest (the pleura), the lining of the abdominal cavity (the peritoneum) or the lining around the heart (the pericardium)."

If you or a loved one is diagnosed with Mesothelioma, by Googling Mesothelioma you will also discover hundreds of attorneys offering legal services and advice.

In plain, old, everyday English, Mesothelioma is cancer. Mesothelioma is a cancer that is solely caused by being exposed to asbestos.

Refreshing of the Online World

Online - online, and online every day to be saturated as well, not fun, but as a blogger anyway, I also need a really refreshing to withdraw. 

Search of an idea what can I do in fact also refreshing to not be easy, because my reading pile (which is still waiting list) was all the content related to internet marketing. So confused as well, like browsing, later tail-buntutnya even-even return to business online, and free holiday moment (take a break gitu loh). 

Friends online suggest that many travel, read, hear music, all I have to do every day but I still bored ya gitu loh: really need to charge n i recharge. 

And apparently I'm not just the noo, some friends online same tuh (who do I call ya, nggak ethical, hihi 

Finally yesterday with my spirit dech travel to bookstores, to store the bag, to the stationery store, so to some place, and ended with an entire magazine n philosophy books. 

It is true that the word love when we have a field, it is difficult to turn away from it, book selection that I'm not far from perencanaannya also blogging, because in addition to books that entertain, I also have plans to cultivate what I will read it the article also blog. 

Since a blogger, I want to share anything with anyone. What about people can be useful for others, it does not itch to be processed into an article and updated to the blog. 

Yes, that's the end of my refreshing, gather for weekend reading material, while to update itself. 

Indeed refreshing sometimes means really should avoid that which we become routine. If we continue to impose themselves, will not only saturated (low Batt) but even-even our creativity so mandeg (stop).

Asbestos Oddities Found in the Home and on eBay

by: amianthus

Since 1873 asbestos research and application began bringing safety, comfort and economy to millions of people. By the 1950's and 60's nearly an alphabet of products contained asbestos. Like asbestos, a natural oddity, this guide will deal with some of the more peculiar asbestos-containing materials that found there way into our everyday life.

Asbestos, to start, is derived from the Greek word 'unquenchable' or 'inextinguishable'. Asbestos is actually a commercial term for a naturally occuring mineral that could be one of six minerals that are fibrous, resistant to acid and alkaline solutions and stable at high temperatures.

Commercially, the asbestos mineral could be seperated by fibers to produce a mass of fibers that could be used in weaving cloth or be added to other building products such as cement to create an estimated 3,000 different materials.

From those 3,000 a few oddoties have been available on eBay. These oddoties are as follows:

* Sports Equipment Padding
* Books and Pages
* Cigarette Filter
* Home Hot Pads
* Artificial Snow
* Modeling Clay
* Sad Irons
* Tokens, Tags and Poker Chips

Sports Equipment Padding - Padding for sports equipment has evolved from bulk cotton and bulk wool to wool tubing, jute, pressed wool felt, and asbestos felt. Padding was used in baseball gloves and football helmets.

Books and Pages - Asbestos in book making has a long history as paper that resists high temperature, humidity, chemicals, micro-organisms, rodents and the sun rays. Also two books have been bound in asbestos cloth as promotional items.

Cigarette Filters - The P. Lorillard Company produced Kent cigarettes between 1952 and 1956 with a 'Micronite' filter. This filter was made of Crocidolite asbestos.

Home Hot Pads - Modern comfort and convenience in the home would be inconceivable without this mineral curiosity. Iron holders, mats and pads are just a few of the items lined or made with asbestos. These household items proved to be indispensable in protecting from heat and fire.

Modeling Clay - As a home made 'Asbestos Meal' in the children's craft book published in 1949 by the Children's Press Inc. of Chicago, Il. to a manufactured product called 'Fibro-Clay' by Milton-Bradley Company in 1967.

Sad Irons - Old style of iron placed on the top of a wood or coal stove and heated. The most common style of 'asBESTos' sad irons were manufactured by Dover Manufacturing Co. and consisted of a solid iron core with an asbestos-lined hood. The hood was also the handle that would clamp over the heated iron.

Tokens, Tags and Poker Chips - Carnival tokens, army dog tags and poker chips were all made out of a asbestos vulcanite material in various colors and numerous advertisements.

These oddoties and more can and have been found for sale on eBay. Use the Asbestos Historical Products and Literature guide for help searching.

The idea for Blogwalking

Friends - friends certainly know what it is blogwalking, ya .. blogwalking activity is walking to the other blog (most blog to friends, blog idol, rival blog, news, blogs are interesting and we like the attention). 

I own, including rare blogwalking, because I was often surprised at their own blog to see friends - friends of my good-good and interesting. Even so I rarely do not own minder. 

Anyway, blogwalking activities that are actually very useful for a internet marketer, because through blogwalking is an internet marketer can observe what happens with the surrounding, see the competitors, or simply to learn and explore new ideas from blogs other friends. 

I often get the benefit of a blog my friends, sometimes with something to read other people's blogs, so the idea arose to been in the 'land' itself. 

One thing that friends should avoid, namely action 'mencontek' blog the other, a creative banget dech, especially if that friend own blog, I feel ya man? 

When we like something on the blogs of others, and full of ideas developed into something new (memodel may, mencontek do not). 

Mencontek is not the creative, I'm sure my friends all have the ability to create a work of their own. A paper should not be perfect, because sometimes originality (authenticity) and the distinctive style of friends who become attraction. 

Ideas can come from anywhere, including from blogwalking, but 'work' must come from themselves, because the 'typical' friends is what will be the attractiveness of this paper.

Asbestos: A Lesson in Shame

Cancer Monthly, LLC

How can a tiny mineral kill tens of thousands of people and cost industry billions of dollars?

It's actually pretty simple when the mineral is a carcinogen called asbestos and companies tried to hide its dangers.

Outrageous Behavior Leads to Death Sentences

We are all vulnerable when companies act outrageously. If a corporation discovers that its products contain a substance that is dangerous to human health we want companies to do the right thing and warn employees and consumers and get the danger out of the product fast. But history has shown that such expectations are often unrealistic.

We have all heard about the exploding Ford Pinto and the more recent children's toys from China filled with lead, but asbestos is the classic example of industry's greed, belligerence, and criminal behavior that kills innocent people.

Asbestos was put into thousands of products - cigarette filters, hair dryers, brakes, basement and roof materials, pipes, boilers, insulation, and many other products found throughout the home and at work. Millions of people were exposed to this carcinogen and, as a result, many have been diagnosed with asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. These diseases tend to be incurable and deadly. For example, people with mesothelioma generally have a life expectancy of less than a year.

"Deadly Hug" from Parents to Children

Children were also vulnerable especially if the parent worked with or near asbestos. Parents would often bring the dust home on their clothes. The so-called "deadly hug" would follow. Children greeted their parents with a hug and the dust would be transferred from parent to child. Many of these children are also diagnosed with asbestos caused diseases years later.

Chronology of Shame

The following are just a sample of events that occurred that provided companies with knowledge that asbestos was dangerous. This information comes primarily from two books: "Outrageous Misconduct: The Asbestos Industry on Trial," written by Paul Brodeur and "Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects," written by Barry I. Castleman.

• 1922: Louis Dublin, a statistician for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, writes that asbestos workers are at risk of injury to the lungs.


• 1930: One major asbestos company, Johns-Manville, produces a report, for internal company use only, detailing the fatalities and medical injuries of asbestos workers.


• 1932: A letter from the United States Bureau of Mines to asbestos manufacturer Eagle-Picher states, "It is now known that asbestos dust is one of the most dangerous dusts to which man is exposed."
  
• 1933: Metropolitan Life Insurance Company doctors find that 29% of the workers at one Johns-Manville plant are suffering from asbestosis. Johns-Manville settles lawsuits by eleven employees on the condition that the lawyer for the employees agrees that he will not bring any new actions against Johns-Manville.


• 1934: Officials at Johns-Manville and Raybestos Manhattan, rewrite an article about the diseases of asbestos workers written by a Metropolitan Life Insurance Company doctor to minimize the danger of asbestos dust.


• 1935: Johns-Manville and Raybestos Manhattan instruct the editor of Asbestos Magazine to publish nothing about asbestosis.
  
• 1936: A group of asbestos companies agree to sponsor research on the health effects of asbestos dust, but require that the companies have complete control over the disclosure of the results.
  
• 1942: An Owens Corning corporate memorandum refers to "medical literature on asbestosis . . . [and] scores of publications in which the lung and skin hazards of asbestos are discussed."
  
• 1942-43: The president of Johns-Manville says that the managers of another company were "a bunch of fools for notifying employees who had asbestosis." When one of the people in attendance ask, "Do you mean to tell me you would let them work until they drop dead?" According to deposition testimony, the response was, "Yes. We save a lot of money that way."
  
• 1944: Metropolitan Life Insurance Company finds 42 cases of asbestosis among 195 asbestos miners.
  
• 1944: The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that asbestos is one of the "agents known or suspected to cause occupational cancer."
  
• 1951: Asbestos companies remove all references to cancer before allowing publication of research they sponsor concerning exposure to asbestos.
  
• 1953: National Gypsum's safety director wrote to the Indiana Division of Industrial Hygiene, recommending that acoustic plaster mixers wear respirators "because of the asbestos used on the product." Another company official notes that the letter was "full of dynamite," and urges that the letter be retrieved before reaching its destination. A memo from those files notes that the company "succeeded in stopping" the letter which "will be modified."
  
• 1964: Dr. Irving Selikoff publishes a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, proving that people who work with asbestos containing materials have an abnormal incidence of asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.
  
• 1989 and 1991: In 1989, the United States Environmental Protection Agency bans asbestos and most of its uses, but, in 1991, asbestos companies win a federal lawsuit which overturns the EPA's asbestos ban.

Civil Liability "Hits Them Where They Hurt"

You can only keep a secret so long. These facts and many others finally did come out. Because workers and consumers were exposed to asbestos thanks to the outrageous behavior of these companies, these corporations were now exposed to civil liability costing billions of dollars. But money, no matter how much, does not reimburse for a dead father or mother or brother or sister. More than anything, the money hits corporations where they hurt. It punishes them because for decades they placed profits above human life.

Lessons in Shame?

But, you will note that while the EPA tried to ban asbestos in this country, some asbestos companies were able to overturn the ban. This means that asbestos, albeit in much smaller concentrations, is still used in some products in the U.S. especially products imported from countries with lax environmental rules.

So what are the lessons? They are not new. One is that companies will act belligerently, irresponsibly and dangerously if they decide it is in their best interest to do so. Another lesson is that even when the truth comes out, it does not mean that the problem goes away. Asbestos is still here and people are being diagnosed with asbestos caused disease, including deadly cancers, from exposure decades before.

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DISCLAIMER: This website is owned and managed by Cancer Monthly LLC. All of the information provided on this website is for informational purposes only. Neither Cancer Monthly nor this website renders medical advice or professional services. This website is not a substitute for professional medical advice, examination, diagnosis or treatment. This website should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease and it is not a substitute for professional care. You should always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment or making any changes to an existing treatment. You should not delay in seeking or disregard medical advice based on information on this website. Some information may be out of date. This website provides links to other websites for convenience only. Cancer Monthly is not responsible for the availability or content of these external websites, nor does Cancer Monthly endorse, warrant or guarantee the products, services or information described or offered at these other websites.

MIAMI ATTORNEY SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS

15 YEARS FOR MISAPPROPRIATING $13.5 MILLION IN CLIENT SETTLEMENT MONEY

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that defendant Louis S. Robles, 59, was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Alan S. Gold today to 15 years of imprisonment, and was ordered to pay $13,522,159.92 in restitution to the victims of his offenses, followed by three years of supervised release. Robles was previously charged with three (3) counts of mail fraud in connection with his misappropriation of $13.5 million of settlement monies from clients afflicted with asbestos-related injuries and illnesses.

According to the written statement of facts filed on September 18, 2007 by the U.S. Attorney's Office in connection with Robles's guilty plea, Robles was a Miami-based lawyer who represented clients who suffered from asbestos-related illness or injuries in lawsuits against companies that manufactured, distributed, or used asbestos. From the late 1980s through February 2003, Robles represented more than 7,000 asbestos clients. Starting as early as at least April 1994, Robles misappropriated settlement proceeds from trust accounts that he maintained on behalf of his asbestos clients.

According to the written statement of facts, Robles defrauded his asbestos clients through a pyramid-type scheme. Asbestos clients from whom Robles would misappropriate settlement proceeds would not be paid until after Robles misappropriated settlement proceeds from other clients. Because of Robles's continuing misappropriation of asbestos client funds, his asbestos clients experienced ever-increasing delays in receiving settlement proceeds, as Robles defrauded them of ever-increasing sums. By March 1996, Robles had misappropriated approximately $3 million in asbestos client settlement proceeds. By September 30, 2002, the total had grown to $13,522,159.92, which represents the sum that Robles siphoned from a total of 4,393 defrauded clients. In an attempt to stem off complaints from his defrauded asbestos clients, Robles sent out newsletters that falsely claimed that he was withholding settlement proceeds until the various clients' suits were settled against all asbestos defendants who had been sued on behalf of the clients.

According to court records, Robles used the misappropriated funds for purposes that included financing his personal lifestyle expenses. These included supporting his 9,000 square-foot waterfront home on Key Biscayne, Florida, that carried a monthly mortgage of over $48,000. Robles also paid substantial sums for domestic help and other household expenses and improvements on the property. At different times during the fraud scheme, Robles and his then-wife were spending over $2 million dollars annually in mortgage payments and various living and travel expenses. Robles also invested and lost millions of dollars in various start-up ventures in the motion picture business, the recording business, and the waste management and recycling business.

United States Attorney R. Alexander Acosta stated, “Attorney Louis Robles abused the special trust that his clients placed in him. Robles sought out clients who were dying and cheated them out of millions of dollars, so that he could finance his own extravagant lifestyle. We hope that today’s sentence and court-ordered restitution will alleviate some of the suffering he caused to asbestos victims and their families.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Jonathan I. Solomon stated, “Robles had a fiduciary responsibility to his clients to ensure that settlement funds were handled properly. The money was not to be used as his own personal piggy bank, funding a luxurious lifestyle on the backs of his clients' misfortune. The FBI will continue to give top priority to these types of cases that have such a tremendous impact on so many individuals.”

Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mr. Acosta also expressed appreciation for the assistance of the Florida Bar. The FBI's investigation was launched following a referral from the Florida Bar that stemmed from its investigation into Robles's billing practices. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Davis, Luis M. Pérez, and Charles E. Duross, with the assistance of Financial Auditor Harold Weiss, also of the U.S. Attorney's Office.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov