http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/22/1066631498886.html

It seems you've probably heeded the advice I posted on Oct-2, 2003 on
increasing (your already) astounding intelligence with carbon dioxide.

Congratulations!

However to deal effectively with attacks of asthma without resorting to
asthma drugs, try pursed lips breathing. To be successful this needs a
moderate degree of effort.  Or try the method recommended by Professor
D. Hillsman of UCLA on http://www.ohiou.edu/isarp/conf_00/papr_19.htm
entitled "The breathing rescue pattern"

To combat being constantly short of breath, see a doctor and try
step-synchronized breathing, i.e. simply walking along and doing a
definite number of steps (say 4) on an inhale and 4 on an exhale.  Go on
doing it for a few days till you feel breathing needs  less effort and
comes easier.  See details in various books on "breathwalking" and
"walking yoga", but IMO the method is simple enough.  Keep in touch with
a doc about what you are doing, if you have an asthma diagnosis.

However if you are still bent on increasing your intelligence with Peter
Kolb, this is the substance of what he is trying to tell us:

(http://www.winwenger.com/ebooks/guaran3.htm)

On the infinite opportunities of self-improvement with breath holding.

"Just go into one of these everywhere available swimming places and
start practicing at staying under and moving around on pool bottom for
longer and longer periods of time, an hour per day every day for 3-4
weeks. Play underwater retrieval games with your child, underwater tag
or whatever to keep him/her (and you) entertained, until you can
comfortably sustain a breath span of 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 minutes. (Most
people can go to 4 to 4-1/2 minutes within 3-4 weeks, but then might
find themselves "too bright" for their surroundings.)

One more sweetener is the fact that this underwater swimming activity
also makes you (and/or your child) look good, adding about an inch per
week for awhile to chest circumference, and toning up general bearing.

For those who are unable or disinclined to go swimming, this writer has
published details of other CO2 enrichment procedures, including certain
breathing exercises, which can accomplish some of the same results.
("Sip-breathing," for example, is a procedure which allows you to
conserve your supply of CO2 half again to twice as long as you could
from simply holding your breath, to force a much richer expansion of the
Carotids. Held-breath underwater swimming, though, is much the stronger
procedure for CO2 enrichment and, further, engages that marine diving
response to further expand circulation to the brain. Thus we strongly
recommend it, to open up some truly breathtaking possibilities for you
and yours.

Lastly, not only intelligence and awareness span, and water safety, and
good looks benefit from this self-training. The ability to sustain any
kind of effort at whatever activity, clearly are a function of your
"wind." Not all of life is a breeze, and some things do require
sustained effort. In many regards, then, through held-breath underwater
swimming, you (and/or your child) can become not only brighter and
better looking, but a much more potent and effective person.

Not everyone is bright enough to appreciate the desirability of becoming
brighter. For that reason we expect that it will be mostly those who are
already intelligent who will pursue such practices as held-breath
underwater swimming to improve intelligence ("the rich get richer . . .
. . "), rather than those who appear to most need that. Still, the
apparent value of such practices appears to stretch across all ranges of
intelligence ?high, low or ordinary. Now if the reader were to be ranked
in intelligence by how s/he responded to this information and invitation
to improve intelligence . . . . . . ? Starting, perhaps, by verifying
with a doctor the CO2/Carotid expansion effect? ? Then looking up the
nearest suitable pool . . . . . "
.......................................
Then you can do a simply test of your increased brain power by looking
at Kolb's instructions on http://www.wt.com.au/~pkolb/biochem.htm:

                 "I. THE THEORETICAL PREMISES OF THE ICDR METHOD

The Role of Carbon Dioxide in the Vital Processes of the organism
(Chemical and Biochemical Aspects).

1. Forms of Carbon Dioxide

It is well known from the results of many investigations that carbon
dioxide in the organism of Man and animals is not only a component of
buffer systems and a regulator of respiration but is also a factor in
the control of cardiac activity and of the vascular, hormonal, nervous
and digestive systems.

At present, it can be said that carbon dioxide takes part in the control
of many of the most important physical functions in the organisms of
humans and animals.

When carbon dioxide is mentioned, often only one of its forms is
implied, that is, the gaseous CO2 or carbon dioxide gas. When that is
the case, what is being overlooked is that five different forms of
carbon dioxide can be found in an organism:....."

But don't ask Kolb what ICDR means, because even Kolb is not that
bright.

Richard Friedel

My question at the head of this thread was a political one, i.e. "How is
the
Socialized Medicine in your country?"

Can we keep to this subject?  Or is this thread, like so many others, to
be commandeered by arguments.  Ones, indeed, not apropos to the  subject
of the thread.   ---Jack