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Another Case Of Overreaction: Crest Micro-bead Toothpaste

Procter & Gamble has been manufacturing Crest brand fluoride toothpaste since 1952. In these 63 years, backed by scientific evidence, Crest has proven itself an effective and safe product in the prevention of tooth decay. Of course, there is always someone on the Internet to disagree with the facts, and argue based on nothing more than personal opinion. That is not science.

Crest used micro-beads in some of its toothpaste. These micro-beads were an added ingredient to help remove such substances as plague that are harmful to the health of teeth. Toothpaste already has abrasive ingredients to remove plague because physical action is needed to remove plague from teeth. Plague is not easily removed from teeth, and around the gums. One must essentially scrub to remove plague from teeth. This is why it is important to see a a dentist for professional cleaning of one's teeth on a regular basis. Crest adding the micro-beads was to improve the effectiveness of the toothpaste, and to increase the benefit of the product to consumers. That was until the fools on the Internet once again proclaimed to have all the answers, and decided we must all be saved.

Trish Walraven, and dental hygienist in the U.S.,appears to have helped in succeeding to get Procter & Gamble to cave in and discontinue the micro-bead toothpaste not only in the U.S., but also here in Canada where the U.S. made toothpaste is also sold. Her evidence against Crest micro-bead toothpaste? It contains plastic. Nothing more. She arbitrarily decided plastic was bad.

After allegedly seeing specks of beads still in her patient's mouth, Trish Walraven decided to sound the alarm. Instead of asking her patients if they were experiencing any discomfort, or continuing monitoring the oral health of her patients to see if there were any negative changes, or consulting with the dentist she worked for, or others in her profession, or doing any kind of research, she has caused the gradual removal of the product from store shelves without presenting a shred of evidence to support her claim.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada both found the product to be safe. The Canadian Dental Association has not received a single complaint regarding the product. Even Trish Walraven admits she has proven nothing. But logic and reason has no place here it seems.

Maybe the reason Trish Walraven was finding the micro-beads in her patient's mouths was because, like many other dental patients, they had simply brushed their teeth shortly before arriving for their dental appointment.

Companies offer products for sale. If one does not like a product, one has the right to choose not to buy a product. One does not have the right to remove freedom of choice of other consumers from the marketplace.  

© Trevor Dailey

Snopes: Gum Balls

Crest Toothpaste

How does toothpaste work?

Forest City Comicon's Contiunued Success

Do you remember the boon the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships held here in London was? The one that cost taxpayers millions of dollars? Neither do I. It was not a boon.

Vendor space has sold out.  Forest City Comicon is returning Sunday, October 18, 2015, and it looks like it is going to be an even bigger success than the first event in 2014. That is not an easy thing to do. The 2014 Forest City Comicon is a hard act to follow.

I think it is fantastic to see a capitalist system event increasing to an even bigger success. I am really looking forward to it happening again. And that is the important part; a capitalist system event happening again. 

This is not a flash in the pan scheme by socialist City planners and politicians, or the communist downtown BIA (Business Improvement Area, Association, or whatever the latest name change is) it was created and made a success by private business.

© Trevor Dailey

Why Pay Property Tax?

Property tax is a confusing tax almost everyone must pay. If one is a property owner, one pays property tax. If one is a tenant, one pays the landlord's property tax through one's rent. Why must one pay property tax?

If one asks the municipality that determines the rate of and collects property tax, one might be told the tax is to pay for the roads, sewers, sidewalks, street lamps, traffic lights, garbage collection, snow removal... basically the essential services and the city infrastructure. This is partly true.

This City also uses the property tax money to spend on other things, like arenas, tourism, culture, promotions, festivals, and just about any impractical idea incompetent city councillors can come up with. But that isn't the only reason. The most important reason one must pay property tax is to keep the City from stealing one's property.

If property tax is not paid for three consecutive years, the City has the legal authority to expropriate the property. Do the municipal services and the infrastructure development and maintenance continue for the property owner in those three years? Yes. May a property owner ever opt out of paying the property tax for certain city services such as garbage collection? (arranging private garbage collection) No.

The City may say the property tax is for services, infrastructure, tourism, urban renewal, or whatever else, but it all boils down to a property owner pays property tax for the 'privilege' of ownership of his or her property because the City is always ready and willing to seize the property if the tax is not paid.

Property tax is set seemingly arbitrarily by the municipal government because there is no logical formula to setting the property tax rate. Property tax is a forced debt to the City, rent one must pay on one's own property, that can never be paid off, unlike a mortgage that a property owner enters into voluntarily. Pay the property tax, or the City will take the property.

Does property tax sound like the extortion tactics of gangsters and mobsters to you? If you think so, I do not think I would disagree. But I would add:

"In this sense, the theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property."

"We Communists have been reproached with the desire of abolishing the right of personally acquiring property as the fruit of a man's own labour, which property is alleged to be the groundwork of all personal freedom, activity and independence."

"In one word, you reproach us with intending to do away with your property. Precisely so; that is just what we intend."

- The Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

© Trevor Dailey

Make Work Does Not Work

As I looked through the latest Job Market Trends and News, I noticed the same old trends and news. So far, for the month of April, the government (Federal, Provincial, or Municipal) has spent hundreds of millions of dollars of tax money to 'create jobs'. Tax money 'job creation' is 62% of the total. Let me give my view of what government 'job creation' really is.

Suppose you are looking for a job (like I am). Suppose the way you get a job is an employer says to you that if you give the employer $1000 of your own money, the employer will hire you to do a job. Your wage will be deducted from the $1000. When you have been paid the $1000 you lose your job unless you come up with another $1000 to keep yourself employed. Sound familiar?

Government 'creates jobs' by taking money from one person and giving it to another. This has been going on for decades, and increased dramatically during the depression of the 1930s. Here in London, the Dominion Public Building (originally used by Canada Post) is a good example of a federal government make work project during this time. Millions of dollars of tax money has been spent since over the years to renovate the building, and to maintain it. Ironically, it now houses the Service Canada Centre facilities that provide Employment (Unemployment) Insurance benefits. Government spending of tax money to 'create jobs' must stop. It does not work. 

© Trevor Dailey

Just Another Day Downtown

Why does anyone want to live in downtown London? I live downtown, and I dislike it. I dislike the noise (sirens, student drunks, loud cars, loud motorcycles in the warmer months, etc), the lack of a grocery store or a gasoline station, the mentally ill and or the chemically addicted (drug users).

I've been asked many times for money by 'bums'. I have had many encounters with 'crazy' and 'high' people. My property has been damaged two or three times. I have seen a couple of fist fights. I have seen one or two drug deals. I have seen the police detaining and or questioning suspicious people many times. I have seen police arresting people, once at gun point. I have called 911 (police) twice, the only times I have ever called 911. I don't bother anymore. All this and more happens downtown. 

This afternoon I happened to look out of my apartment window to see three high school kids on the above level parking area. They were near my car, so I watched them. The three sat down on the ground between my car and another car, and one started smoking from a drug pipe. I really don't care if adults do drugs, but these are kids, however, my biggest objection is the smoking up on private property and next to my car. Don't do your drugs near me or my property. Don't trespass on someone's property and do your drugs.

I grabed my camera and I started photographing them. I kept the camera lens, which is large with a zoom, purposely stuck out from my window so they would eventually see it. They do and they get up and leave in a nonchalant manner acting innocent. Getting them to leave (and not come back) was what I wanted. I wasn't attempting to get incriminating photographs, and I don't think really I did anyway, but I did get clear shots of all their faces. I have since created a slideshow combining the photos with music (The Dope Show, by Marilyn Manson, of course.) for my own personal amusement. 

However, I had no intention of calling the cops as the police should be responding to real crimes (Police Headquarters is 400 metres away from my apartment building and all this stuff still goes on). Besides, London Police Services (isn't it suposed to be a police force?) does not have enough police officers. ("Police have been notified, but have no one to attend." But we are getting a "Rapid Transit" system from the City! Idiots.) The landlord should have private security guards patrolling the property and responding to calls, in my opinion.

This is all just typical living downtown. It is not a place I like living. City politicans seem to enjoy meddling with downtown, and that makes it the place it is. 

© Trevor Dailey