(http://www.huffingtonpost.com)Senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) recently introduced a new bill to the Illinois State Senate. If passed, that bill, SB 1666, would require labeling for foods made with genetically modified products.
Hearings on the bill are set for August 7 in Carbondale and September 17 in Chicago.
Since food products already require labeling of ingredients and other important information, labels indicating that the product was made with GMOs wouldn't add any extra cost for the companies selling them. The only consequence would be that consumers would be able to know what their foods are really made out of, giving them the freedom to choose whether to eat healthy, organic food products or continue being poisoned by cheap, convenient food.
Though not everyone affected by this issue is aware of it, polls have shown that a vast majority of consumers want GMO products to be labeled. If this bill passes, it will be a step in the right direction and will certainly help similar bills pass in other states. The rights of individuals should be held in higher regard than corporate profits. If you as an Illinois consumer want to help support this bill, you can attend the public hearings on it which will be taking place this summer or you can write your state senator and ask them to co-sponsor the bill.
(http://www.inquisitr.com)Scientists in Brazil have recently developed an AIDS vaccine. The vaccine was designed to treat patients already infected HIV, hopefully preventing the infection from developing into AIDS.
Vaccine testing will begin later this year. Initial trials will use rhesus monkeys, who have a similar immune system to humans. Furthermore, HIV is a genetic mutation of SIV, the Simian Immuno Virus, carried by monkeys.
Vaccines in use today don't prevent or treat infections, but subscribers to allopathic medicine use them to increase antibodies, which can make people less susceptible to developing certain diseases. Brazil's AIDS vaccine however, operates on a different principle. It is supposed to suspend HIV infection at an early stage, and though HIV would stay in the patient's system, it would not be able to develop into AIDS or be passed on to others.
The monkey trials are expected to last two years, after which, testing may begin on humans.
http://www.tennessean.comAccording to an editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, written by an advisory panel to the National Cancer Institute, only the lesions that typically kill if left untreated should be classified as cancer. Too many people hear only "cancer" when diagnosed with non-growing carcinomas and end up on operating tables when they don't need surgery, the authors said.
They went on to say that cancer has been overdiagnosed and often leads to overtreatment. They suggest that the term "cancer" not even be applied to non-growing or slow-growing carcinomas. Instead, they propose calling them "IDLE," which stands for "indolent lesions of epithelial origin," referring to their seemingly lazy behavior.
Dr. Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society agrees with the panel, which includes some of the nation's top cancer researchers. He said that a new classification for this disease is necessary to replace the outdated one based off of the observations of German pathologists in the 1850s.
"The truth be told, this is very much kind of like racial profiling," Brawley said. "It looks like what killed somebody 160 years ago, but that doesn't mean it is going to grow, spread and kill. It may very well be genomically programmed to stay just a 5-millimeter lesion for the next 70 years."
One such example is ductal carcinoma in situ. Although it is considered a type of breast cancer, Brawley says it is actually an IDLE condition. When women are diagnosed with this condition, they tend to focus on the word "carcinoma," which scares some patients into having their breasts surgically removed, even though these tumors might never grow or spread.
Dr. Jeff Patton, chief executive officer of Tennessee Oncology, said true cancer cells invade other cells, while ductal carcinoma in situ cells stay within the milk duct.
"As long as those cells don't do something that hurts you, it's not cancer," said Patton. "It's not just the cell itself. It is the biology of how it behaves."
Physicians may find it hard to implement such proposals for cancer classifications.
"It's a double-edged sword," Patton said. "We want people to be comfortable with cancer, but we don't want them to take it lightly."
Men with prostate cancer often experience widespread complications after surgery or radiation therapy, according to research by Vanderbilt University. Most men are rendered impotent by either therapy and more than one third who receive the radiation treatment develop issues controlling their bowels.
Dr. David Penson, the senior author of the Vanderbilt study, said that the tumors in at least a third of men with prostate cancer are slow growing and can be closely monitored. He agrees that new terms are necessary to better define lethal cancer.
"Whether you are using a term like IDLE, indeterminate or indolent, if you take away the word 'cancer,' people get to see things a lot differently," Penson said.
He continued, saying that patients diagnosed with cancer often demand aggressive treatment, even for non-growing or slow-growing forms. If the physician refuses to offer aggressive treatment, that doctor can then be sued for malpractice, putting them in a tough situation.
"You are painted in a corner," Penson said. "It's almost the perfect storm because you have a patient who, even though they have been told it is slow-growing and it is not a problem, they have been told they have cancer. What they want is certainty."
(http://www.blogforiowa.com)Monarch butterflies have experienced a drastic drop in their population this year. According to official counts by the World Wildlife Fund and the Mexican government, there were only 60 million butterflies spending winter in Mexico this year. While this may seem like a lot, it's actually an 80 percent decrease from the annual average of 350 million butterflies.
This is the lowest count since the populations were first recorded 20 years ago.
The population decline was noticed in Canada as well. Monarch butterflies migrate north to Canada during the warm summer months, usually being spotted there in early June. This year, the first sightings came as late as mid-July. In certain areas the population was previously seen to be over 100 butterflies, now, fewer than five have been observed.
The number of monarch butterflies has been in gradual decline over the past eight years, according to Donald Davis, chair of the Monarch Butterfly Fund.
"I have never seen them this low," said Davis. "Ever. In all my years of studying monarchs."
In a recent interview, Orley Taylor, founder and director of Monarch Watch, talked about the possible factors leading to the decline in population. One of the reasons, according to Taylor, is the increased planting of genetically modified corn in the Midwest United States. The increased usage of GMOs correlates to an increase in the use of herbicides, which in turn kills milkweed plants that butterflies depend on for sustenance.
What we're seeing here in the United States," Taylor said, "is a very precipitous decline of monarchs that's coincident with the adoption of Roundup-ready corn and soybeans."
There is no clear answer yet as to why monarch butterfly populations, however, one can safely assume that it is due to something that has been introduced to their environment. More study is needed on this phenomenon to ensure the survival and propagation of this majestic species.
(http://documentarylovers.com)After Chef Jamie Oliver showed how McDonald's makes its hamburgers, the franchise announced that it will change its recipe.
According to Oliver, the fatty parts of beef are "washed" in ammonium hydroxide and used in the filling of the burger. He says, "Basically, we're taking a product that would be sold in the cheapest way for dogs, and after this process, is being given to human beings."
Besides the low quality of the meat, the ammonium hydroxide is harmful to health. Oliver calls it "the pink slime process."
"Why would any sensible human being put meat filled with ammonia in the mouths of their children?" asked the chef, who wages a war against the fast food industry.
In one initiative to get kids to eat healthier, Oliver demonstrated the process of how McDonald's makes its chicken nuggets. After selecting the best parts of the chicken, the remains (fat, skin, and internal organs) are processed for these fried foods.
Fast food companies Burger King and Taco Bell have already abandoned their use of ammonia in food products in the United States. Ammonium hydroxide is used in the food industry as an anti-microbial agent in meats, allowing them to sell what would otherwise be "inedible meat."
Because ammonium hydroxide is used as a "component in a production procedure" and not an official ingredient, companies are not required by the USDA to let consumers know when it is used in their food.
McDonalds has denied a link between James Oliver's campaign and their decision to change their recipe.
(http://www.breitbart.com)The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy shouldn't be surprised that director Neil Blomkamp's "latest politically tinged sci-fi feature" falls apart during the third act. So did Blomkamp's first politically tinged sci-fi feature, the overrated but promising "District 9." According to McCarthy's astute review, though, Elysium goes a step further into the arena of wild left-wing, Hollywood hypocrisy.
Here is how McCarthy describes the world and plot of what is likely another box-office bomb from star Matt Damon:
"Blomkamp sets the dystopian juices flowing with images of future sprawling slums and urban ruin that one might initially take to be Mexico City or Sao Paulo but that are soon identified as belonging to Los Angeles in 2154. Most of the beleaguered inhabitants seem to speak Spanish and do menial labor if they do anything at all, while good health care is very difficult to come by.
By contrast, hovering far above Earth and appearing like a five-spoked wheel in the sky is Elysium, an enormous space station where the rich live in a stress-free country club environment enhanced by marvelous technology that can cure any ailment, meaning that life can theoretically go on indefinitely."
Elysium opens in theaters this Friday, and according to early reviews, it is all about how the rich exploit the poor. What we are already seeing from the sci-fi film's star and director, is a startling lack of self-awareness. They apparently have no idea that their own film attacks everything they both stand for. The wealthy director had his working class crew film "Elysium" in a toxic environment:
To make "Elysium" was in many ways to live it -- a set in Vancouver provided the space habitat, a massive landfill in Mexico City was Earth. At one point a union representing some of the crew objected to the toxicity of the working conditions in the dump, and the production had to scrape off the top layer of silt and replace it with fake prop garbage. Before going to lunch, cast and crew had to pass through a clean zone.
Some have embraced Blomkamp's practice of neglecting his cast's health and safety, claiming that it enhances the artistic merit of the film and gives it a more genuine feel. While it might be a good way to "live" the movie, subjecting workers to a toxic environment for the sake of making a product certainly tells a lot about the director and his true values.
"You have this relatively wealthy First World crew coming into the abject slums of Mexico City with very high technology in amongst complete destitute poverty-stricken communities," Blomkamp said. "That is Elysium. We came from the space station of California and it ejected us right there."
The political message behind Elysium is clear. There is a disparity between the poor and the wealthy which correlates to health care access. Elysium, where everyone is rich, has good health care, and enjoys a relaxing life, is undoubtedly a metaphor for America. Earth, by contrast, must represent poorer countries, such as Mexico, where the Earth scenes were filmed. This is apparent as Elysium's ruling party makes it a point to keep out "illegal immigrants," not unlike conservative state leaders who are often criticized by liberal Hollywood elites. The irony in this message is that Elysium, has another symbolic meaning. It represents the very Hollywood Hills occupied by rich, well-off, disconnected elites, like film star Matt Damon. The mansions, lawns, and excessive decadent lifestyles of Hollywood Hills residents contrasted with the poverty and strife that surrounds them in the rest of Los Angeles, perfectly reflects the sociopolitical setting of Elysium.
(http://gmwatch.org)President Francois Hollande confirmed on Friday that France would continue its moratorium on the cultivation of Monsanto's GM maize MON810. This announcement contradicts the Council of State's decision on Thursday to annul France's ban on the GM crop. The Council of State ruled that France's ban on MON810 is illegal under EU law.
"There will be an extension of the moratorium," said the head of state, during a visit to the Dordogne, adding that it was necessary, however to "legally secure this decision at the national level and especially at the European level."
"Why did we impose the moratorium on GMOs? Not because we do not want progress, but in the name of progress. We cannot accept a maize product that may have adverse effects on other production," Hollande continued, speaking from a farm in the region of Sarlat.
After the announcement of the ruling of non-compliance with EU law, the Ministers of Agriculture and Ecology, Stephane Le Foll and Philippe Martin had, however, noted "the government's commitment to maintain the moratorium on the cultivation of GMO seeds."
(http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au)An Australian water treatment plant malfunctioned over the weekend, raising the fluoride levels to double the average requirement.
The fluoride levels reached 1.7 mg/L in one of two service reservoirs at Seqwater's Mt. Crosby plant for about ten minutes Friday night. Under the Water Fluoridation Regulation 2008, Seqwater is required to produce fluoridated water of between 0.7 mg/L and 0.9 mg/L averaged over a quarter. Seqwater is also required to notify the Queensland Water Supply Reglator (QWSR) if fluoride levels rise above 1.5 mg/L.
A spokeswoman for Seqwater stated that none of the contaminated water reached the drinking water supply and the incident did not pose a health risk.
"While dosing levels varied, the multiple layers of control and monitoring in place ensured no water was supplied into the drinking system above 1.5mg/L," she said.
"The QWSR was notified as required and they advised that the disruption did not pose a health risk. Queensland Urban Utilities was also advised."
Last year, the Newman government allowed councils to decide for themselves wether or not to allow fluoride in their water. Its addition to water supply was formerly mandated my the Labor government. Councils in southeast Queensland opted to continue the water fluoridation program, while Fraser Coast Regional Council joined Cairns, Bundaberg, Tablelands, Burdekin and Dommadgee councils in removing fluoride from their drinking water.
A group of street artists from Los Angeles and Oakland have combined graffiti with activism to help in the battle against GMOs. The group of artists included the names Mear One, Vyal One, Werc, Griffin One, and Ernest Doty. Last year, the group posted a video of them creating two murals in support of California's Prop 37, which, if passed, would have made it a requirement for companies to label food made with genetically modified ingredients.
The video began with Ernest Doty reading from the back of a Trix cereal box: "Ingredients: Whole grain corn, sugar, corn meal, corn syrup, canola and or rice bran, oil, salt, trisodium phosphate, red 40, yellow 6, blue 1 and other color added, natural and artificial flavor, citric acid, malic acid, BHT. You're being tricked."
He then pulls the bag of multicolored artificial food puffs out of its box to show the camera. "That's what's inside. That's what they're giving your kids there. Looks like spray paint," he said.
Mear One explains the reason for their work, "We want everyone to wake up, we want to wake up ourselves. Waking up is living a real life. Getting information to people is complicated you know, depending on which country you're from, what ethnicity is your background. How you're used to communicating your stuff to people. I just learned this recently. You can't just go up to humans and treat them like a human and say here's my idea. They aren't going to see it. So I think you have to use all forms of media."
Referring to the then-ongoing Prop 37 campaign, Vyal said, "So California is the first state to have the ballot initiative to label GMOs. Right now, there is no mandatory labeling of it so they can still be passed anywhere. I think its important for people to know what they're putting into they're bodies as well as to know what ... GMO is because a lot of people don't even know what it is."
Doty: "You know, literally you are what you eat, every seven years, every cell in your body is replaced by the foods you intake, the water you drink, the environment you're exposed to, everything that you take into your body. So, by filling your body with GMOs and by not being aware that they're even in the foods that you're eating, you're essentially replacing your cells, your new person, every seven years, is going to be all this polluted shit. We're literally just a science experiment for them. They're like, 'Well we're not sure what it does, so lets just feed it to them and make a few million dollars and in the end we'll figure out, you know, what works and what doesn't.' And it doesn't matter as long as they make their money."
Mear One: "My mural here is a protest and its an action against the world that mindless Americans are allowing to be built up around them. Prop 37 is about putting a mark on all of our food products that declares whether it does or doesn't have GMOs in it. I think that's the first step at attacking and destroying or dismantling the actions that Monsanto's trying to create. If we continue to ingest stuff like this, we're just going to become lab rats."
Vyal: "We've gone ahead and labeled them ourselves. The GMOs. I would actually encourage people to make little GMO stickers and if you go to a market that you know has GMO products, just go ahead and label them on their own."
Griffin One said, "It sucks to be the brunt end of an experiment. Growing up, I feel like, specifically, our generation was the first to be tricked. We were the ones fed that, you know by our parents. Now, as we're growing up, we are seeing that this shits bad, there's side effects to it, you know what I mean? Its not good food. We need to change something and I think it's up to our generation to make that change."
The murals painted by the street artists, while visually captivating and able to illustrate the issue well, were unable to convince the general public to vote yes for Prop 37. There will undoubtedly be more debates concerning GMO labeling in the future, and hopefully, more people will take this video as an example and become more involved.
(http://www.reuters.com)The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced new labeling standards for "gluten-free" foods. The new standards are designed to protect celiac disease patients who suffer from a condition of intestinal inflammation that is triggered by gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Celiac disease affects around 3 million people in the United States.
As per the new standards, food must have less than .002 percent gluten in order to be labeled gluten-free. This follows standards implemented in the European Union and Canada.
The same standards apply to labels claiming "no gluten," "free of gluten," and "without gluten." Food manufacturers have been given one year to comply to the new rule.
Although gluten-free labeled foods have not previously been held to any legal standard, the FDA believes that most foods currently with a gluten-free label already meet the new standard.
Despite this, the lack of regulation for "gluten-free" labels posed a threat to celiac disease patients, according to Francine Fazio, vice president of the Celiacs Resource Group. She said, "It's so hard to go through the aisles and buy foods that are safe and tasty. Now we can buy food with confidence that's safe to eat, just like the general public."
Gluten is naturally present in wheat, rye, barley, and hybrid crops. It can also be found in some nutritional supplements, lip balms and medications.
The FDA began examining potential regulations more than six years ago when Congress passed the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, requiring the FDA to develop guidelines for gluten-free labels. In 2007, the agency proposed regulations for gluten-free labeling, but they were left unfinalized as the agency waited for scientific assessments, interactions with the celiac community and a safety assessment to validate 20 parts per million as a safe cut-off level.
(http://www.michiganradio.org)The main law that regulates chemicals in products we use every day is called the Toxic Substance Control Act. Most people and organizations with an interest in the safety of the chemicals we use, including environmental groups and chemical companies, agree that the law is outdated.
Rebecca Meuninck, the Environmental Health Campaign Director with the Ecology Center in Arbor, says, "TSCA or the Toxic Substances Control Act, was passed in 1976 and it's never been reformed and unfortunately it's sort of been broken from the start. This is a bill that didn't actually have enough teeth for the EPA to ban asbestos for example. We have many thousands of chemicals; up to 80,000 have been approved at one point or another for use in consumer products or in the marketplace. Unfortunately there's a lot of data EPA doesn't have and that companies actually aren't required to give EPA."
According to her, around 65,000 chemicals were grandfathered in when the bill passed.
The U.S. Senate is considering a bill to overhaul TSCA. Wednesday, a Senate committee heard testimony from the chemical industry, health and environmental groups.
The bill has received bipartisan support and according to Cal Dooley, President and CEO of the American Chemistry Council, it will give the EPA more authority while also protecting business interests.
Not everyone supports this bill however, attorney generals from nine states signed a letter stating that they want their states to have the right to make their own laws on chemical safety. According to them, the new bill would make that difficult or even impossible to do.
Dooley says that a single uniform federal standard on chemical safety would be a better alternative, "We don't want to have 50 standards out there that impede commerce and impede the interests of manufacturers in Michigan or California or Maine or wherever they reside."
The attorney generals responded to that argument, saying that states have had a long history of regulating chemicals and state laws can complement federal regulations, making the laws more enforceable.
Environmental groups have different concerns regarding the bill. Rebecca Meunick says that although the bill is a step in the right direction, the Ecology center won't support it unless certain changes are introduced.
"We know a lot more through emerging science of the effects of chemicals on children, the developing fetus, pregnant women; communities that are disproportionately burdened by pollution, and the bill doesn't explicitly require the safety determinations in TSCA to consider those vulnerable populations," she says.
Two of the bill's sponsors say they're going to make some clarifications based on Wednesday's hearings. A rewrite could come in the fall.
(http://www.timesunion.com)The Illinois Department of Public Health says there's a new requirement this year. All students in grades 6 through 12 are now required to show proof of receiving one Tdap vaccine. Tdap was designed to protect against tetanus, diphtheria and perussis, commonly known as whooping cough.
Last year, only sixth- and ninth-grade Illinois students needed to receive the Tdap vaccine. Students must either show proof of having received one Tdap vaccination, must have an appointment to get it or have an approved medical or religious exemption on file.
A study recently published in the online peer-reviewed medical journal, BMJ, shows that the Tdap vaccine has an effectiveness rate of only 53 to 64 percent.
Side effects of being injected with the Tdap vaccine include: headaches, upper respiratory tract infection, stuffy nose, sore throat, joint pain, abdominal pain, coughing, nausea, diarrhea, fever, blood in urine or stool, pneumonia and inflammation of the stomach or intestines.
(http://www.thedailygreen.com)According to a study published July 25, baby mice exposed in the womb to low, not high, doses of bisphenol A (BPA) were fatter and had metabolic changes linked to obesity and diabetes.
BPA is a chemical found in polycarbonate plastics, canned food liners and some thermal receipts. It was once widely found in products aimed at young children and infants, but has since been mostly removed, either voluntarily or through government regulation. BPA, which can be found in nearly everyone's body, was first developed as a synthetic estrogen and has been linked to a range of health issues including obesity and diabetes.
"What's scary is that we found effects at levels that the government not only says is safe, but that they don't bother to test," said Frederick vom Saal, a University of Missouri, Columbia, professor and senior author of the study published in the journal, Reproductive Toxicology.
When pregnant mice were fed daily doses of 5,000 micrograms or less of BPA per kilogram of body weight, the level which the Environmental Protection Agency claims produces "no effects," their offspring experienced "deranged metabolism," weight gain, increased abdominal fat and eating,impaired glucose tolerance and increased hormones that regulate glucose and appetite.
The pregnant mice were fed doses of 5, 50, 500, 5,000, and 50,000 micrograms per kilogram. The greatest effects were observed in the offspring of mice fed the 500 micrograms per kilogram dose. The number of fat cells doubled with this dosage. No effects were seen at doses higher than 5,000 micrograms per kilogram.
In a report last year, 12 scientists, including vom Saal, criticized the way that the EPA evaluates the safety of chemicals. The EPA's method for testing chemical safety typically includes giving large doses to laboratory animals and then extrapolating the derived data for the lower doses they expect humans to encounter. The report claims that this outdated strategy fails to detect health threats from low doses of hormone-like chemicals.
The EPA responded to that report last month, defending its testing. The EPA claims that its current testing of hormone-altering chemicals is adequate for detecting low-dose effects that may jeopardize health. A spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical companies including DuPont, BASF, Bayer, and Merck & Co., Inc., said the findings had not been replicated and it "presents conclusions that are not supported by the findings of EPA's recent extensive review of the state of the science on low dose exposures."
(http://www.reuters.com)The American College of Physicians published a new guidance statement Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, asking doctors to explain the limited benefits and "substantial harms" of prostate cancer screening to their male patients before offering them a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
In its statement, the ACP said that among men ages 50 to 69, doctors should base their screening decision on the patient's risk for prostate cancer, his general health and preferences and on a discussion of the potential benefits and harms of screening. Doctors should not test men "who do not express a clear preference for screening," the group added.
The guidance statement also explicitly recommends against screening men who are below the age of 50, over the age of 69, or are expected to have less than 10 to 15 years left to live.
According to Dr. Amir Qaseem, Director of the Department of Clinical Policy at the ACP, men between the age of 50 and 69 may weigh the potential benefits and harms of PSA testing differently than those in other age groups. It is because of this that communication between doctors and their patients is so crucial.
One of the concerns with PSA testing is that it often catches cancers that wouldn't have even had an effect on a man's life, considering how small and slow-growing they are. Treatment on such cases often cause side effects such as incontinence and impotence, which far outweighs the supposed benefits.
According to the American Cancer Society, although 239,000 men are expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013, less than 30,000 will die of the affliction.
As stated by Dr. David Bronson, president of the ACP: "We need a new refined testing approach for this disease that will yield better, more accurate diagnoses." Several refined prostate cancer tests are to arrive on the market soon.
(http://www.prlog.org)According to a National Vaccine Information Center MedAlerts blog entry written in November 2010, the incidents of abortion and still birth events related to Gardasil are higher than the same events related to all other vaccines.
The research and post was written by Steven M. Rubin, Ph.D., a computer scientist who maintains the online searchable VAERS database, MedAlerts.
In his blog entry on MedAlerts, Dr. Rubin states that "It has been suggested that the H1N1 Flu vaccine causes miscarriages. This month, I want to see if the claim is supported by VAERS data."
Dr. Rubin explains how it is determined whether a VAERS event resulted in a miscarriage. "VAERS uses the MedDRA symptom classification, which organizes all known symptoms at five levels of detail. At the second level of detail is an entry "Abortions and stillbirth" which has under it "Abortion related conditions and complications", "Abortions spontaneous", "Stillbirth and foetal death" and "Abortions not specified as induced or spontaneous". Each of these is further refined into specific symptoms. So it seems that this second-level term (or as it is known in MedDRA, the High-Level Group Term or HLGT) is a valid way to identify miscarriages."
Rubin surmised that the data would "surely favor vaccines that have been given for 21 years over those that have been recently introduced, because such vaccines will have been given much more, and so will have produced many more symptoms." Based on this, we would expect the graph he made from the data to de-emphasize the H1N1 Flu vaccine, which had only been existence for a single year and therefore had not been administered to as many patients as other vaccines.
However, the VAERS data proved him wrong. Dr. Rubin acknowledges the "results are shocking. First of all, the H1N1 Flu vaccine has appeared in miscarriage events more often than almost any other vaccine."
Almost.
The graph has even more shocking results than that, however. The vaccine that took the top spot, appearing in 297 of the VAERS records associated with miscarriage, is Gardasil. This is especially surprising considering that the vaccine had only existed for 4 years at the time of Rubin's research.
Rubin advises pregnant women to "read the product manufacturer's insert for the vaccine they are considering and speak with one or more trusted health care professionals before making a decision about vaccination during pregnancy."
For safety reasons, pregnant women are usually not included in the clinical trials for vaccines, because of this, very little is known about what side effects a vaccine may cause during pregnancy. The studies that have been done generally focus on more extremely noticeable consequences like teratogenic effects. Little attention has been paid to more subtle effects such as those on placental development, fetal weight or the effects of the vaccine or its adjuvant on the maternal immune system.
SANEVax is outraged that a vaccine that is a "relative newcomer" has the highest incident of induced abortions and stillbirth rates higher than any other vaccine on the market. There is no doubt the vaccine's safety and efficacy has not been thoroughly investigated. And independent investigation on the safety and efficacy of the HPV vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix must be conducted before there are more injuries and deaths.
(http://www.capitalpress.com)Supporters and opponents of Initiative 522, which will be voted on in three months, are in the process of raising campaign money. Supporters have raised $2.3 million so far while opponents have raised almost $1 million to fight it. If passed, this law would force companies to label genetically modified products for retail sale in Washington.
In California, where a similar law, Propisition 37, was rejected in 2012, opponents were able to raise about $44 million. By comparison, proponents of Propisition 37 only riased $7.3 million.
"I know that ultimately we will be outspent," Elizabeth Larter, communications director of Yes on 522, said. "In California, money on the 'no' side came in later."
The biggest contribution so far to Washington's Yes on 522 came from Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, a Californian organic soap and personal care product manufacturer who donated $700,000.
Washington-based organizations like the Organic Consumer Fund, Nature's Path Foods and PCC Natural Markets are also contributors to the Yes on 522 campaign.
"As of the end of July, 80 percent of our donors are from Washington state," Larter said. "There are lots of $5, $10 and $20 donations. It shows that Washingtonians really care about this issue. They're really embracing the message of more transparency."
Most of the contributions for the No on 522 campaign have come from five out-of-state companies: the Grocery Manufacturers Association, Monsanto, Dupont Pioneer, Bayer Cropscience and Dow Agroscience.
"We're just ramping up, in the growing stages of the campaign," said Brad Harwood, the media coordinator for No on 522. "People are on vacation right now and not paying much attention to it. Once voters have the opportunity to see how it will hurt farmers and raise food prices, we're confident they'll join us. The more they learn, the less they like it."
The official ballot text reads:
Initiative Measure No. 522 concerns labeling of genetically-engineered foods. This measure would require most raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, and seeds and seed stocks, if produced using genetic engineering as defined, to be labeled as genetically engineered when offered for retail sale.
Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ]
If voters approve the initiative, the law will go into effect July 1, 2015.
(http://emord.com)Generic drug companies can no longer be legally held responsible for the harm that their products cause. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling gives these companies immunity from lawsuits brought to them by consumers suffering from side-effects, whether they were warned about them or not.
As per emord.com: "In 2004, Karen Bartlett took sulindac, a generic, prescription-only non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug manufactured by Mutual Pharmaceutical, for her painful shoulder. A few weeks after Bartlett took the drug, she developed an acute case of toxic epidermal necrolysis, which left her extremely disfigured, disabled, and almost blind. Sulindac's label did not warn about toxic epidermal necrolysis as a possible side effect because the brand name drug, Clinoril, did not warn about it. Under federal law, generic manufacturers are prohibited from making unilateral changes to a drug's composition and labeling, including warnings; a generic drug's composition and labeling must be consistent with the brand name drug. In 2005, however, FDA recommended changing all non-steroidal anti-inflammatory labeling to contain a more explicit toxic epidermal necrolysis warning.
"Bartlett sued Mutual Pharmaceutical under a state law requiring manufacturers to ensure that their products are not unreasonably dangerous, and a jury awarded her $21 million for her design-defect claim. The Fifth Circuit affirmed, but the U.S. Supreme Court reversed that decision. In Mutual Pharmaceutical Co., Inc. v. Bartlett, the Court held that state law design-defect claims based upon the adequacy of a drug's warnings are preempted by federal law. The Court reasoned that it was impossible for Mutual Pharmaceutical to comply with state law requiring it to strengthen its warnings or change sulindac's composition and federal law requiring it to not alter sulindac's warnings and composition. Thus, the Court concluded that the state law is 'without effect.'"
Although the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the generic drug company, some sympathy was shown for Bartlett's horrific situation. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. states in his opinion following the trial: "This case arises out of tragic circumstances. A combination of factors combined to produce the rare and devastating injuries that respondent suffered: the FDA's decision to approve the sale of sulindac and the warnings that accompanied the drug at the time it was prescribed, the decision by respondent's physician to prescribe sulindac despite its known risks, and Congress' decision to regulate the manufacture and sale of generic drugs in a way that reduces their cost to patients but leaves generic drug manufacturers incapable of modifying either the drugs' compositions or their warnings. Respondent's situation is tragic and evokes deep sympathy, but a straightforward application of pre-emption law requires that the judgment below be reversed."
Bartlett and many others who have been injured by FDA approved generic drugs now have no way to seek recourse or fair compensation. As one barrier after another is set up by the government to protect the drug industry, we must ask, what rights, if any, do consumers really have and how can a government that takes such actions claim to protect the health and safety of its citizens?
(http://www.i-sis.org.uk/list.php)An open letter, headed "Open Letter from World Scientists to All Governments Concerning Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)" and signed by 828 scientists from 84 different countries, details concerns that many scientists from around the world have regarding the hazards of GMOs, and demands a moratorium on environmental releases in accordance with the precautionary principle. The precautionary principle states: "When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically. In this context the proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof." The letter has been submitted to many governments and international organizations including the World Trade Organization, UN Biosafety Protocol Meeting, UN Commission on Sustainable Development, UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and the United States Congress, all of which received the letter in either the year 1999 or 2000.
The scientists are extremely concerned about the hazards of GMOs to biodiversity, food safety, human and animal health. Other points that they make in the article include:
• Opposition to GM crops that will intensify corporate monopoly, exacerbate inequality and prevent the essential shift to sustainable agriculture that can provide food security and health around the world.
• Calling for a ban on patents of life-forms and living processes which threaten food security, sanction biopiracy of indigenous knowledge and genetic resources and violate basic human rights and dignity.
• Support for more research and development of non-corporate, sustainable agriculture that can benefit family farmers all over the world.
The letter makes note of the many problems that have been found in the use of GM crops. Shortcomings of this failed corporate agricultural practice include yield drag, increased herbicide use, erratic performance, and poor economic returns to farmers. They also mention that GM crops intensify corporate monopoly on food, driving farmers to destitution and preventing the shift to sustainable agriculture that will be necessary to guarantee food security and health around the world.
Additional hazards of GMO use are its threat to biodiversity, the potential to spread antibiotic resistance marker genes, which would render infectious diseases untreatable, and harmful mutations which may lead to cancer.
The scientists claim that the only practical way of restoring agricultural land degraded by conventional agronomic practices and empowering small family farmers to combat poverty and hunger is by giving greater support to sustainable, low-input, organic farming.
As stated in the letter, "We urge the US Congress to reject GM crops as both hazardous and contrary to the interest of family farmers; and to support research and development of sustainable agricultural methods that can truly benefit family farmers all over the world."
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk)The head of intensive care at the Stony Brook university Hospital in New York claims that soon, medical science will have the capacity to bring the dead back to life.
"In the past decade we have seen tremendous progress. With today's medicine, we can bring people back to life up to one, maybe two hours, sometimes even longer, after their heart stopped beating and they have thus died by circulatory failure," said Dr. Sam Parnia.
The American critical care physician went on to claim that, had James Gandolfini, the Sopranos star who died last month, had his fatal heart attack in New York, he might still be alive. Dr. Parnia desscribed his techniques for resuscitating the deceased to Germany's Der Spiegel magazine: "We'd cool him down, pump oxygen to the tissues, which prevents them from dying. Clinically dead, he could then be cared for by the cardiologist. He would make an angiogram, find the clot, take it out, put in a stent and we would restart the heart."
Dr. Parnia goes on to explain the current limitations of resuscitation science: "Of course we can't rescue everybody and many people with heart attacks have other major problems, but if all the latest medical technologies and training had been implemented, which clearly hasn't been done, then in principle the only people who should die and stay dead are those that have an underlying condition that is untreatable. A heart attack is treatable. Blood loss as well. A terminal cancer isn't, neither are many infections with multiresistant pathogens. In these cases, even if we'd restart the heart, it would stop again and again."
"Most, but not all of our patients, get discharged with no neurological damage whatsoever," he said, adding that it is a "widely held misconception" - even among doctors - that the brain begins to suffer massive damage from oxygen deprivation three to five minutes after the heart stops.
The efficacy of Dr. Parnia's practice is evident in the statistics. The average resuscitation rate for cardiac arrest patients is 18 percent in U.S. hospitals; the resuscitation rate at his hospital peaked at 38 percent earlier this year. His hospital's average is 33 percent.
As medical science continues to advance with the exponential growth of technology, it is likely that this death-reversing trend becomes more pervasive. "In the future, we will likely get better at reversing death. It is possible that in 20 years, we may be able to restore people to life 12 hours or maybe even 24 hours after they have died."
"My basic message: The death we commonly perceive today in 2013 is a death that can be reversed."
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com)Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence analyst who laid bare America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by covertly transmitting a massive trove of sensitive government documents to WikiLeaks, has been convicted on 19 of 21 charges, including 5 counts of espionage. He was found not guilty of aiding the enemy, the most serious and controversial charge laid against him.
The 19 charges that Manning was convicted of can carry up to a 128-year prison sentence. When Manning was arrested May 2011, he was placed in solitary confinement and subjected to conditions that a UN investigator compared to torture. Even though he released information to WikiLeaks with the belief that he was helping to make the government more transparent and accountable for its actions, and plead guilty earlier this year to lesser offenses that could have landed him in prison for 20 years, he could now face what is effectively a life sentence.
"While we're relieved that Mr. Manning was acquitted of the most dangerous charge, the ACLU has long held the view that leaks to the press in the public interest should not be prosecuted under the Espionage Act," said Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. "Since Manning already pleaded guilty to charges of leaking information - which carry significant punishment - it seems clear that the government was seeking to intimidate anyone who might consider revealing valuable information in the future."
The sentencing phase of the trial will begin Wednesday at 9:30 am.
