Dental amalgam fillings not dangerous
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Tuesday announced the mercury used for tooth fillings is not a significant health risk.
So don’t rip them out.
The FDA says the amount of mercury contained in the fillings isn’t enough to cause harm. Nonetheless, they’ve classified them as a moderate-risk device which requires specific controls and labeling. So now when you buy a mercury-containing filling it’s required to have:
- A warning against the use of dental amalgam in patients with mercury allergy;
- A warning that dental professionals use adequate ventilation when handling dental amalgam;
- A statement discussing the scientific evidence on the benefits and risk of dental amalgam, including the risks of inhaled mercury vapor. The statement will help dentists and patients make informed decisions about the use of dental amalgam.
Read more about fillings here.
Also, the FDA cracked a joke today. It told consumers to not buy supplements that claim to contain steroids or marketed as having “steroid-like substances.”
Just in case you’ve been hiding out in a hole and thought it was ok, the FDA is now telling you it’s not. Again. Not even in supplements.
In all seriousness, there have been companies marketing sauce-like supplements and the agency has apparently sent out a warning letter telling them to quit.
The products listed in the Warning Letter to American Cellular Laboratories Inc., include “TREN-Xtreme,” “MASS Xtreme,” “ESTRO Xtreme,” “AH-89-Xtreme,” “HMG Xtreme,” “MMA-3 Xtreme,” “VNS-9 Xtreme,” and “TT-40-Xtreme,” and are sold on the Internet and in some stores. These products, which claim to contain steroid-like ingredients but in fact contain synthetic steroid substances, are unapproved new drugs because they are not generally recognized as safe and effective. In addition, the products are misbranded because the label is misleading and does not provide adequate directions for use.
Craigslist apartment/home rent scam
It’s easy armchair browsing, harmless window shopping for houses or apartments for rent.
But you never know who is on the other side of a Craigslist listing. Case in point:
I was perusing home sales and postings on Craigslist this week. I found a cute little house in Oklahoma City for a very reasonable price. The listing included pictures, descriptions of the home and nearly everything but an address. I contacted the listing poster and encountered yet another Craigslist scam.
I’ll outline the scam, just in case you don’t want to read the email exchanges.
- The scammer finds an old Craigslist posting with real information or scours the internet for a rental listing on another site.
- The scammer posts a detailed listing on Craigslist.
- When you contact the person who posted the listing on Craigslist, someone emails you back pretending to be the person whose name was listed with the rental in the past.
- The scammer gives you a way-too-detailed account of how he is in another country and wants to entrust his home to you.
- He asks you to fill out an easy application (of course, you’ll be approved.)
- Then, the shyster asks you to send a rental deposit. Via Western Union, of course.
I know most people would never send a person in another country money for a home they’ve never seen, but certainly there are people falling for this.
Here is the email exchange. (It is kind of funny, and I enjoyed stringing them along.)
Rick Marfil [mailto:rickmarfil@ymail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 12:34 PM
To:Vallery Brown
Subject: Re: $800 / 3br – 3BR/2BA Single Family House For Rent (Oklahoma City, OK)
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— On Tue, 7/14/09, Vallery Brown wrote:
From: Vallery Brown
Subject: RE: $800 / 3br – 3BR/2BA Single Family House For Rent (Oklahoma City, OK)
To: “Rick Marfil” <rickmarfil@ymail.com>
Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2009, 8:14 PM
Rick,
I am very anxious to get this process started…….. Could you please email me back with what you need to get this started? Also, can I mail the application form and whatever else you need?
Thank you.
From:Rick Marfil [mailto:rickmarfil@ymail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 4:14 PM
To:Vallery Brown
Subject: RE: $800 / 3br – 3BR/2BA Single Family House For Rent (Oklahoma City, OK)
IF YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE
RENT APPLICATION FORM.
From:Rick Marfil [mailto:rickmarfil@ymail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 6:59 PM
To:Vallery Brown
Subject: APPLICATION ACCEPTED….CALL ME ASAP
Thanks for getting back to me with the Rent Application Form. I just wanted to let you know that we have decided to let you live in our house. As we have found your application very satisfactory and acceptable by my family. So we would want you to go through this email and get back to us on what you feel so we could proceed in renting the house to you.We would like to send the following documents and keys to you via FedExto the address you sent to us and the tracking number will be sent to you so that you can possibly occupy our house, Please once again, we are giving you this on trust and do not dissapoint us and i promise you that, you will love the house so we are with the below document and keys here with us.. You will need to make Payment for the first ($800) to enable shippment of the Keys and document to the address you have to provide to us, afterwhich you could move in at your convenience. The rent starts counting when you move in, so you could go ahead with the payment straight away to make things faster….Here are the contents of the document that needs to be sent.after the deposit of ($500) i will have to send you the laese agrrement form so that you can sign for prove and send back to me asap.
1) Entrance and the rooms Keys
2) Paper/Permanent house form
3) The house documetary file.
4) Full Description of the house
5) Payment Receipt
All i need now is for you to make the deposit of ($500) so that the keys and documents can be send to the address you send to me in your rent applications form, so get back to me asap.so next time you will be getting back to is on how you will be making the payment via western union
i will be looking forward to your reply.
Thanks And God Bless You.
From:Rick Marfil [mailto:rickmarfil@ymail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 7:10 PM
To:Vallery Brown
Subject: WESTERN UNION INFORMATION GET BACK TO ME ASAP
Below is the information on how you are to make the payment to my shipping agent from the shipping company..
Attn;Vallery Brown
Thanks for your response…All you need to do now is to send the month which is $500 which is the Month to the underlisted informations of my shipping agent which is from my shipping agent company so you are to send the money through Western Union in order for him to be able to send the keys and other documents to you via FedEx…Please i want you to note that i am taking this bold step of sending you the keys based on trust and i really hope you wont let me down…. i am just coming back from the FEDEX company and i told them everthing they said no problem that as soon as the payment is comfirm that they are going to send the keys the next day…
below is his information from FEDEX
RECEIVER’S NAME:RICHARD LEWIS
ADDRESS: 142 VICTORIA ISLAND RD
STATE: EDO
COUNTRY: NIGERIA
CITY;BENIN
ZIP CODE: 23401
TEST QUESTION: WHO MADE YOU ?
ANSWER: GOD..
AMOUNT SENT : $500
ALSO GET BACK TO ME WHEN PAYMENT IS BEEN MADE WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATIONS
SENDERS NAME……………..?
SENDERS ADDRESS………………………?
AMOUNT……….$500
MTCN#………………………………..?
TEST QUESTION…………..AS INSTRUSTED ABOVE
ANSWER…………………….AS INSTRUCTED ABOVE
as soon as you have maked the payment today Kindly get back to me with the 10 digits MTCN (money transfer control number) given to you at Western Union after you have made the payment today,and also the Sender’s full name and address so that he can immediately arrange for the delivery of keys to you through FedEx next day delivery…..I will instruct you on how to make the monthly rent payment to me after you have moved in,and concerning the utilities,that will be taken care of by me every month so you need not to worry about that because the rent paid already covers that……Have a very wonderful day and your prompt response is awaited…….
Remain Blessed,
Thanks And God Bless You.
— On Wed, 7/15/09, Vallery Brown wrote:
From: Vallery Brown
Subject: RE: WESTERN UNION INFORMATION GET BACK TO ME ASAP
To: “Rick Marfil” <rickmarfil@ymail.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 15, 2009, 12:15 AM
Ok. I will do that tonight or tomorrow and get back to you.
If I have any problem while I am there, is there a way I can have them call you from Western Union?
From:Rick Marfil [mailto:rickmarfil@ymail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 7:33 PM
To:Vallery Brown
Subject: RE: WESTERN UNION INFORMATION GET BACK TO ME ASAP
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Hello Vallery
Thanks for the swift response,i will advice you to do the transaction tonight as you have said so that you are going to get the keys and documents of the house first thing tommorrow morning by 8.00am your time over there..i am so happy you say such a thing i will like you to get back to me with how many people that will be living in my home with you when getting back to me with the western union information and also you are to call me with those numbers listed in the application form when you have any problem in my home…i will be waiting to read from you as soon as possible…
like i said in my last email you that anytime you have any problem in the house that you should call on those number in the application form and i will tell you what to do next,i don”t have anybody in the area i and my family are both here together so you have nothing to worry about…i know you are very excited about you renting the house from me but i will like you to take good care of it when you move in…do get back to me with the western union details when you make the payment today….
Thanks And God Bless You..
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More on teen sex offenders
The Chicago Tribune recently looked at the the plight of juvenile sex offenders who names soon could be added to public registries.
This story features a 19-year-old who was convicted of a sex crime five years earlier.
“Tim, who asked that his last name not be disclosed, said he was rejected by military recruiters and a college admissions office after he informed them of his history. And he is concerned that a year from now, a federal law might cause his full name, photo and address to be displayed on the Internet, just like adult sex offenders,” wrote Tribune reporter John Keilman.
The article also has insight from University of Oklahoma psychologist Barbara Bonner, who treats teenage sex offenders.
