Authorities charge 91 in $430 million Medicare fraud

Posted: October 4, 2012

(Reuters) - Ninety-one people including doctors, nurses and other medical professionals were charged criminally in a new sweep of Medicare fraud involving seven U.S. cities and $430 million in alleged false billing, officials said on Thursday.

It was the government's second big raid in recent months after a similar effort in May alleged $452 million in fraud in Medicare, the U.S. health program for the elderly and disabled.

The allegations include billing the government for unnecessary ambulance rides in California, writing prescriptions for patients in Dallas who did not qualify for them and paying kickbacks such as food and cigarettes to patients in Houston if they attended programs a hospital could later bill for.

The investigation is part of an effort by President Barack Obama's administration to find healthcare savings, an issue that also flared during Wednesday's debate between Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.

Read more here: http://www.reuters.com

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New antibiotic treats disease by disarming pathogens, not killing them

Posted: October 3, 2012

A new type of antibiotic can effectively treat an antibiotic-resistant infection by disarming instead of killing the bacteria that cause it; this is good news, since new drugs are badly needed for treating infections with the bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii, a pathogen that most often strikes hospital patients and immune- compromised individuals through open wounds, breathing tubes, or catheters.

A new type of antibiotic can effectively treat an antibiotic-resistant infection by disarming instead of killing the bacteria that cause it. Researchers report their findings in the 2 October issue of mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

"Traditionally, people have tried to find antibiotics that rapidly kill bacteria. But we found a new class of antibiotics which has no ability to kill Acinetobacter that can still protect, not by killing the bug, but by completely preventing it from turning on host inflammation," says Brad Spellberg of the UCLA Medical Center and David Geffen School of Medicine, a researcher on the study.

Read the full article here: http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com

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Los Angeles to repeal ban on medical marijuana shops

Posted: October 3, 2012

(Reuters) - The Los Angeles City Council voted to rescind a newly enacted ban on storefront medical marijuana shops on Tuesday, allowing the city to avoid a referendum next year that some officials said would likely succeed in reversing the prohibition.

The council, in a blow to an industry that operates in violation of federal law, voted in July to ban pot dispensaries and replace them with a system that would allow up to three patients to collectively grow marijuana.

But medical marijuana advocates collected in August the necessary 27,425 valid signatures to put the decision to a March 2013 referendum. Under city rules, that number of signatures - 10 percent of the total number of votes cast in the city's last mayoral election - put the ban on hold until the vote.

Read the full article here: http://www.reuters.com

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Aaron Dykes Breaks Down 'Whole Foods' GMO Deception

Posted: October 3, 2012

A controversial video of an undercover investigation into the presence of GMO foods at the "organic" grocery leader Whole Foods Market has been pulled from You Tube just days after its release sparked a reaction throughout the health conscious blogosphere and alternative media.

A 'sting' video released by Organic Spies featuring covert footage alleges that Whole Foods was deceiving its customers by touting organic foods and a corporate ideal set against GMOs while simultaneously selling a large portion of products that contain widely prevalent GMO ingredients. On-camera statements of numerous Whole Foods employees in the Los Angeles area underscore the fact that its employees are ignorant of the presence of GMO foods on store shelves, leaving the average customer even more so in the dark.

Now that original video-- linked here-- which was posted 6 days ago and which had well over 100,000 views, was removed from You Tube, due to alleged violations of its Terms of Service. Typically, this indicates a 3rd party complaint, though You Tube no longer automatically informs users of the identities of parties who make claims against videos, so the role of Whole Foods here is not clear.

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Americans Waking Up to the Dangers of GMO Foods

Posted: October 2, 2012

Dr. Peter Glidden, host of GCN's "Fire Your MD Now," joined Alex Sunday to break down the dangerous health effects of eating genetically modified foods.

Dr. Glidden shines light on the corporations fighting proposition 37, California's GMO labeling measure, and purposes a better, alternative choice the government hopes to keep you in the dark about.

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Study linking GM maize to cancer must be taken seriously by regulators

Posted: October 1, 2012

*Trial suggesting a GM maize strain causes cancer has attracted a torrent of abuse, but it cannot be swept under the carpet

Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini, professor of molecular biology at Caen university in France, knows how to inflame the GM industry and its friends. For seven years he and his team have questioned the safety standards applied to varieties of GM maize and tried to re-analyse industry-funded studies presented to governments.

The GM industry has traditionally reacted furiously and personally. Seralini has been widely insulted and smeared and last year, in some desperation, he sued Marc Fellous, president of the French Association of Plant Biotechnology, for defamation, and won (although he was only awarded a nominal €1 in damages).

But last week, Seralini brought the whole scientific and corporate establishment crashing down on his head. In a peer-reviewed US journal, Food and Chemical Toxicology, he reported the results of a €3.2m study. Fed a diet of Monsanto's Roundup-tolerant G

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Huge list of genetically modified frankenfoods

Posted: September 27, 2012

GM labeling on all food products is mandatory in Europe, but here in America consumer's are left in the dark as to exactly what they are eating.

Here is the list of Genetically Modified Foods - get ready to clean out your pantry!

FOR A FULL LISTING OF NON-GM FOODS, the link is posted above for the Truefoodnow website. Prepare to blow chunks, this list is shocking. A few general observations: The availability of Non GM food vs. GM food is about 50/50. Most "brand name," products and corporate giants genetically modify their foods. Most foods listed under the "non-genetically modified," section are not well known and are not considered "mainstream."

See the list here: http://www.rumormillnews.com

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Do you want GMO foods to be labeled in YOUR state? If so, act now!

Posted: September 27, 2012

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or Genetically Engineered (GE) foods have not been proven safe, and the long-term health risks on humans of genetically modified foods have not been adequately investigated. Many small-scale animal studies have connected consumption of GMOs to a host of health problems, ranging from allergies and malnutrition to liver disease and infertility, and many more too numerous to list here.

California Voters Need to Know!

The Right to Know campaign has produced a powerful TV commercial that reminds voters we can't trust corporations who pretend to be concerned about our health and safety. Watch below.

Through strategic placement of these ads in key parts of California, we can spread the message to California voters who need to know!

Read more:

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Woman tased while being forcefully evicted from her home

Posted: September 26, 2012

Lilly Washington has been fighting her foreclosure and was appealing the amount the court ordered her to pay to stay in the home, but in the meantime she wasn't paying anything. So MCSO deputies went to evict her from her Phoenix home, but she wouldn't leave without a fight.

Watch the video here: http://www.kpho.com

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Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Recall: Chain Pulls Item After 29 Salmonella Illnesses In 18 States

Posted: September 26, 2012

WASHINGTON -- The grocery store chain Trader Joe's is recalling peanut butter that has been linked to 29 salmonella illnesses in 18 states.

The Food and Drug Administration and the federal Centers for Disease Control said Saturday that the store's Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter, which is sold nationwide, is the likely source of the outbreak. The agencies are investigating whether any other items sold at the store could be contaminated.

More than three-fourths of those who became ill were children under the age of 18. No deaths have been reported.

The FDA issued a statement Saturday saying that the FDA, the CDC and the state of California briefed Trader Joe's on its investigation showing the link between the peanut butter and the illnesses on Sept. 20. The company then agreed to remove the product from store shelves.

Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com

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USDA Response To Canadian E. Coli-Tainted Beef Criticized As 'Stunningly' Slow

Posted: September 26, 2012

Food & Water Watch, a Washington, DC-based advocacy group had some harsh words for the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service this week -- calling attention to their slow response time to amassive Canadian beef recall over E. coli, and the agency's lack of a formal nationwide recall "stunning."

The ground meat has been recalled nationwide in Canada. Since this tainted beef is known to have entered the American food supply chain, Food & Water Watch is wondering why the government agency hasn't yet issued an official recall in addition its Public Health Alert.

In their release, titled "Where's The Recall?" (published on September 21st), Food & Water Watch's Wenonah Hauter details the timeline of the situation.

Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com

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Supplement sales hit $11.5 billion in U.S., report says

Posted: September 25, 2012

Supplement sales across the U.S. have shown strong, steady growth in the face of economic uncertainty, posting a 7% gain in 2012, according to a new report.

Read more here: http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com

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CEO of USADA has received death threats over course of Lance Armstrong doping investigation

Posted: September 25, 2012

United States Anti-Doping Agency chief executive officer Travis Tygart told the French publication L'Equipe that he received three death threats as he was conducting the Lance Armstrong doping investigation and that the threats are being investigated by the FBI.

"In America the public opinion is torn in two," Tygart said during an interview at USADA's Colorado Springs offices with the French sports magazine. "Some don't like me, others respect that I have no other choice than follow the procedures in Armstrong's case, just like for any other citizen. We either bury this case or we do our job. I love this job and I know why I do it."

Armstrong announced last month that he would no longer fight USADA's allegations that he took performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France from 1999-2005. USADA stripped Armstrong of his Tour titles and banned him for life. Armstrong has feverishly denied using performance-enhancing drugs and has claimed USADA - and Tygart - have a vendetta against him.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com

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Facebook denies reports that users' private messages were made public as timeline wall posts

Posted: September 25, 2012

Facebook users are ready to revolt over what appears to be the social network's latest security snafu - private messages written in 2009 and earlier suddenly showing up on their public timelines.

The popular site moved to squelch concerns, which were first reported in France on Monday, describing how users believed their privacy had been breached.
The French newspaper Metro claimed that people's private messages from 2007, 2008 and 2009 could be viewed by any of their friends on the new Timeline feature rolled out this year.

"A small number of users raised concerns after what they mistakenly believed to be private messages appeared on their Timeline," Facebook said in a statement, according to Agence France-Press.

"Our engineers investigated these reports and found that the messages were older wall posts that had always been visible on the users' profile pages."
Despite Facebook's response, some users still weren't convinced, the BBC reported.

"There are messages I've got on my wall that are most definitely private messages! From 2006 all the way up to 2012," wrote Poppy Dinsey, who runs the fashion blog What I Wore Today.

Read more here: http://www.nydailynews.com

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Why The U.S. Dollar's Reign As World Reserve Currency Is Ending

Posted: September 24, 2012

The mainstream media in the United States is almost totally ignoring one of the most important trends in global economics. This trend is going to cause the value of the U.S. dollar(NYSEARCA:UDN) to fall dramatically and it is going to cause the cost of living in the United States to go way up.

Right now, the U.S. dollar (NYSEARCA:UUP) is the primary reserve currency of the world. Even though that status has been chipped away at in recent years, U.S. dollars still make up more than 60 percent of all foreign currency reserves in the world. Most international trade (including the buying and selling of oil) is conducted in U.S. dollars, and this gives the United States a tremendous economic advantage.

Since so much trade is done in dollars, there is a constant demand for more dollars all over the globe from countries that need them for trading purposes. So the Federal Reserve is able to flood our financial system with dollars without it causing a tremendous amount of inflation because the rest of the world ends up soaking up a lot of those dollars. But now that is changing.

Read more here: http://etfdailynews.com

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Arctic expert predicts final collapse of sea ice within four years

Posted: September 24, 2012

One of the world's leading ice experts has predicted the final collapse ofArctic sea ice in summer months within four years.

In what he calls a "global disaster" now unfolding in northern latitudes as the sea area that freezes and melts each year shrinks to its lowest extentever recorded, Prof Peter Wadhams of Cambridge University calls for "urgent" consideration of new ideas to reduce global temperatures.

In an email to the Guardian he says: "Climate change is no longer something we can aim to do something about in a few decades' time, and that we must not only urgently reduce CO2 emissions but must urgently examine other ways of slowing global warming, such as the variousgeoengineering ideas that have been put forward."

Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk

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"GM crops cannot be the answer" - World Scientists

Posted: September 24, 2012

World renowned scientists, addressing a media briefing here, asserted that India's lack of food and nutrition security is not just a technological problem. However, the solution will require both social and technological changes, they said. The scientists recommended a holistic paradigm emphasizing ecological farming, supported by conventional breeding to make optimum use of local knowledge and natural resources.

"How we grow our crops, what kind of crops will be grown, where and by whom, are in fact the critical questions", said Prof Hans Herren, Co-Chair of IAASTD who was awarded the World Food Prize in 1995. "India must invest in rural infrastructure and institutions".

Agriculture of the future must be regenerative and sustainable. The scientists found transgenic approaches incompatible with sustainable agriculture and livelihoods. "What we really need is a shift in paradigm, where a holistic approach drives our interventions in agriculture without reductionist solutions hogging the centre-stage and taking away precious resources", Prof Herren said.

"The path of adopting widespread use of high-tech GMO technology in the USA has been accompanied by greater consolidation of resources and power for few seed companies, higher seed prices, greater risk for farmers and less choice in varieties with hardly any increase in productivity", said Dr Walter Goldstein of the Mandaamin Institute.

Read more here: http://www.gmwatch.org

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Japan backpedals on "no nukes" policy

Posted: September 21, 2012

Last week, Japan surprised the world by announcing that it plans to abandon atomic energy completely by the 2030s. But now in an abrupt turnaround, the Japanese Cabinet appears to bebackpedaling on that decision, dropping any mention of the 2030s deadline in its approval of Japan's new energy policy.

The turnaround comes after a meeting Tuesday of the national strategic council, a government advisory panel that includes private sector members who are opposed to Japan's new zero-nuclear goal. Two of those in attendance at the meeting included the president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, Nobuaki Koga, who questioned the government plan to scrap nuclear power, and Yasuchika Hasegawa, Chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, who called the no-nuke ambition "strange."

Read more here: http://fukushimaupdate.com

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Judge Won't Force YouTube to Remove Anti-Muslim Video

Posted: September 20, 2012

(CN) - A Los Angeles County judge on Thursday refused to order YouTube to take down "The Innocence of Muslims" video, despite an actress's claim that she was tricked into appearing in the inflammatory film.

Superior Court Judge Luis Lanvin ruled that Cindy Lee Garcia failed to show that she would likely prevail on the merits of her request, the Los Angeles Times reported.

YouTube owner Google had opposed Garcia's emergency request, but Garcia's lawyer, M. Cris Armenta, said Garcia would keep fighting to have it removed, according to the Times.

Read more here: http://www.courthousenews.com

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Scientists: overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture endangers humans

Posted: September 20, 2012

The overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture and medicine is putting human lives at unnecessary risk and driving up medical costs, according to a group of group of 150 scientists that includes a former head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Along with 50 US farmers and ranchers who have opted out of using non-therapeutic antibiotics in their animal feed, the scientists are calling on the FDA and Congress to work together to regulate unnecessary use of antibiotics in animal agriculture.

In twin statements released on Wednesday, the scientists and farmers said that a growing body of research supported the conclusion that overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture is fueling a health crisis. One statement cited a study which estimated that antibiotic-resistant infections cost $20bn annually to hospitals alone.

Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk

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