Posted: August 22, 2012
The Ban Texas Smart Meters website organizes events, public forums, and multiple petitions you can sign in protest of smart meters in Texas.
To read more and to sign the petitions, go here: http://www.bantexassmartmeters.com
Posted: August 21, 2012
Which organic brands really believe in organic - and which are working behind the scenes to betray natural health consumers? It's time for a boycott. Action Alert!
Many natural and organic brands are actually owned by huge conglomerates that don't support sustainable, organic, non-GMO, non-toxic agriculture. In fact, their product labels are often designed to mislead consumers just so they can grab a share of the lucrative health-conscious consumer market.
Even worse, many of the conglomerate companies that produce so-called natural foods - and even some labeled "organic" - are allied with the biotech industry fighting by any means to defeat "Label GMO," a.k.a. Prop 37, the California Right to Know 2012 Ballot Initiative. Why are they doing such a thing? Because they sell more food that has GMO ingredients than organic food, and don't want consumers to have a choice about the GMO. They especially don't want consumers to know what is actually in their so-called "natural" products.
Read more here: http://www.anh-usa.org
Posted: August 21, 2012
The Wichita City Council has decided to have a public vote on water fluoridation, an issue most of the country decided half a century ago.
The measure will appear on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.
After decades of pushing the issue of fluoridation to the back burner, the council was forced to take action by a petition drive.
Fluoride supporters gathered more than 11,000 signatures, forcing council members into a position where they either had to approve fluoridation outright or put it to a vote.
Read more here: http://blogs.kansas.com
Posted: August 21, 2012
Being overweight is not just bad for waistlines but for brains too, say researchers who have linked obesity to declining mental performance.
Experts are not sure why this might be, but say metabolic changes such as high blood sugar and raised cholesterol are likely to be involved.
Obesity has already been tipped as a risk factor for dementia.
The work, published in Neurology, tracked the health of more than 6,000 British people over a decade.
The participants, who were aged between 35 and 55, took tests on memory and other cognitive skills three times over a 10-year period.
Read the full article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19323061
Posted: August 21, 2012
AFP - US corn and soybean prices closed at new record highs Tuesday as a new survey showed worse-than-expected crop damage from a brutal drought across the country's central breadbasket.
The price of corn jumped 1.7 percent to $8.3875 a bushel, while soybeans finished at $17.3025 a bushel, up 2.8 percent from Tuesday.
That left the corn price up 68 percent from June and soybeans 39 percent higher.
Read full story here: http://www.france24.com
Posted: August 21, 2012
ScienceDaily (Aug. 12, 2012) - Major depression or chronic stress can cause the loss of brain volume, a condition that contributes to both emotional and cognitive impairment. Now a team of researchers led by Yale scientists has discovered one reason why this occurs -- a single genetic switch that triggers loss of brain connections in humans and depression in animal models.
The findings, reported in the Aug. 12 issue of the journal Nature Medicine, show that the genetic switch known as a transcription factor represses the expression of several genes that are necessary for the formation of synaptic connections between brain cells, which in turn could contribute to loss of brain mass in the prefrontal cortex.
"We wanted to test the idea that stress causes a loss of brain synapses in humans," said senior author Ronald Duman, the Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry and professor of neurobiology and of pharmacology. "We show that circuits normally involved in emotion, as well as cognition, are disrupted when this single transcription factor is activated."
Read the whole story here: http://www.sciencedaily.com
Posted: August 20, 2012
'Not enough exercise' cited as top children's health concern, obesity second, according to U-M's National Poll on Children's Health annual top 10 list.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Adults across the U.S. rate not getting enough exercise as the top health concern for children in 2012, according to a new University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.
In the poll's annual top 10 list, a nationwide sample of adults were asked to identify the top 10 biggest health concerns for kids in their communities. For the first time, not enough exercise was rated by most adults at the top of the list (39 percent). That was followed closely by childhood obesity (38 percent) and smoking and tobacco use (34 percent).
"Childhood obesity remains a top concern, and adults know it is certainly linked to lack of exercise," says Matthew M. Davis M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.
Read the full article here here: http://www.eurekalert.org
Posted: August 20, 2012
(Reuters) - A medical marijuana trade group and 11 patients sued the city of Los Angeles on Friday, seeking to block enforcement of an ordinance that would shut down most of the city's storefront pot dispensaries in three weeks.
The lawsuit, which says users are protected by California's 1996 legalization of medical marijuana and the U.S. Constitution, seeks an immediate injunction to keep Los Angeles officials from shuttering dispensaries starting on September 6.
The plaintiffs also hope to ultimately overturn the ban in Los Angeles, home to more pot shops than any other U.S. city, in litigation that marks the latest battle in a chaotic fight over medical marijuana that has sometimes pitted federal, state and local officials against each other.
Read full article here: http://www.reuters.com
Posted: August 20, 2012
(Reuters) - India's highest court will hear final arguments starting this week in a landmark case over drug patents that could change the rules for the country's healthcare sector and potentially curb its global role as a supplier of cut-price generic medicines.
The Supreme Court hearing pits Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG against India's patent office, which has refused to grant a patent on the company's cancer drug Glivec on the grounds that it is not a new medicine but an amended version of a known compound.
A patent would recognize Novartis' property rights, in a blow to generic drugmakers who supply medicine to 1.2 billion Indians and to poorer nations across the world, although generic forms of Glivec launched before 2005 would stay on the market.
Read the full article here: http://www.reuters.com
Posted: August 17, 2012
While $2.6 million had been raised so far supporting Prop 37, a whopping $23.5 million (for visual purpose: $23,000,000 dollars) has been donated to fighting Prop 37. Biotech giant Monsanto donated $4,208,000 alone. Here is a short list of the top deep-pocket anti-labelers and their respected donations:
Monsanto - $4,208,000
Pepsi Co. - $1,716,300
Coca Cola - $1,164,400
Congara - $1,076,300
Kellogg - $632,500
General Mills - $520,000
It may be surprising for those just getting into the organic lifestyle to see Many companies selling organic products are actually owned by multi-national corporations; companies like Kashi, Cascadian Farm, and Santa Cruz Organic are actually child companies of giants like Kellogg, General Mills, and Smucker - all of which are against GMO labeling.
If you haven't yet, sign the petition for GMO labeling at cornucopia.org
While these corporations are dumping millions of dollars to ensure the public doesn't know about GMOs, millions of people are seeing who they truly are. Such publicity will only result in the massive loss of customers and an eventual disintegration of power. These corporations are trying to keep GMOs hidden from the public eye - it is time we stop supporting these companies, and spend our dollars with trusted companies.
Check out the following poster from activistpost.com to find out which companies are on what side - and you may be surprised to see which so-called "eco-friendly" companies have put millions into toward stopping GMO labeling.
Posted: August 17, 2012
The madness continues.
The Department of Homeland Security, through the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, hasrequested another 33 million rounds of .223 caliber 62 grain ammunition in the base year, and for 4 subsequent years, with a limit of 165,000,000 rounds. Click on the below images to enlarge screenshots of the documents.
The base year, 2012, allotment of 33 million rounds will be due sixty days after the contract is awarded.
All the ammunition that has been contracted for purchase by the US Government in this month alone is staggering.
To read more, see the actual documents or sign a petition against this nonsense, click here: http://www.activistpost.com
Posted: August 17, 2012
JAMAICA BEACH, Texas - Thousands of dead fish are washing ashore along the Texas coast from the Colorado River to Galveston Island and Parks and Wildlife biologists suspect low oxygen levels off shore may be to blame.
What tides are bringing in on Jamaica Beach is making people pause.
"I hope it's nothing major," said Mark Gannon, who took his family to the beach Sunday. "I hope the water is safe."
Thousands of dead shad litter the sand.
"Any idea what it is?" asked Gannon's wife Alexia.
Her children tried to explain the problem.
"At night time, the waves pull up really far so the fish can't handle that, so they get up on the shore," said Abby Gannon.
Authorities said the answer is not so simple. Biologists with the Parks and Wildlife Department began testing ph, saline and oxygen levels in water samples taken along the coast.
Read the full article here: http://www.kvue.com/news/state/165969386.html
Posted: August 16, 2012
Red meat, processed and unprocessed, has been considered a potential prostate cancer (PCA) risk factor; epidemiological evidence, however, is inconclusive. An association between meat intake and PCA may be due to potent chemical carcinogens that are generated when meats are cooked at high temperatures. We investigated the association between red meat and poultry intake and localized and advanced PCA taking into account cooking practices and polymorphisms in enzymes that metabolize carcinogens that accumulate in cooked meats. We analyzed data for 1,096 controls, 717 localized and 1,140 advanced cases from the California Collaborative Prostate Cancer Study, a multiethnic, population-based case-control study.
Read the full study here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22822096
Posted: August 16, 2012
One percent of non-Hispanic whites in the U.S. - close to two million Americans - have celiac disease, but most are not aware they suffer the gluten-intolerance problem, according to a new study.
The results back up earlier estimates of how common celiac disease is in the U.S. and Europe, the researchers say. They also support evidence that the condition is far more rare among Hispanics and blacks.
"This one...is pretty much in line with what was shown before," said Dr. Alessio Fasano, director of the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland, who was not involved in the study.
Fasano said that despite how common the condition is in the U.S, he's not surprised that few people have been diagnosed with it.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com
Posted: August 16, 2012
A Pennsylvania woman who offers free lunch every day to low-income children in her neighborhood faces a $600-a-day fine next summer if she continues because she did not clear the food giveaway with township officials.
Angela Prattis donates her time to distribute the meals -- supplied by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia -- and adheres to strict paperwork, like filling out weekly reports and being visited bi-weekly from a state worker, MyFoxPhilly.com reports.
"Angela saw it as a way to contribute to the community in a positive way," Anne Ayella, a member of the archdiocese, said. "There was nothing in it for her."
Prattis laughed and said, "I don't make a dime."
Read the full article here: http://www.foxnews.com
Posted: August 16, 2012
SUNRAYSIA'S anti-fluoride lobby has vowed not to be silenced, despite the inevitable fluoridation of the region's drinking water.
Lower Murray Water this week announced a further two-week delay to its project, with fluoridation in Mildura likely to begin in mid-May.
Spokesperson for the Anti-Fluoridation Group of Mildura Bette Schulz said members would continue their fight until fluoride was removed from water supplies in Sunraysia.
Read more here: http://www.fluorideaustralia.org
Posted: August 16, 2012
Studies show that more than 90% of Americans support mandatory labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods - and chances are, you're one of them! Show your support for the mandatory labeling of GE foods by wearing a special edition "GMO OMG" T-shirt, made of 100% organic cotton.
Now more than ever, it is imperative that we stand up for our right to know.
Help the Just Label It Campaign to continue to raise awareness and build support for mandatory labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods.
Want to donate $25 to the Just Label It campaign and receive a newly released "GMO OMG" T-shirt? Go to this website: http://justlabelit.org
Posted: August 15, 2012
The results of two studies in the 15 August issue of JAMAreport on the psychological status of workers at the Fukushima nuclear power plants in Japan several months after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, and the amount of internal radiation exposure among residents of a city north of the power plant that experienced a meltdown.
The results of two studies in the 15 August issue of JAMA report on the psychological status of workers at the Fukushima nuclear power plants in Japan several months after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, and the amount of internal radiation exposure among residents of a city north of the power plant that experienced a meltdown.
As reported in a Research Letters, Jun Shigemura, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Defense Medical College, Saitama, Japan, and colleagues examined the psychological status of Fukushima workers two to three months after the disaster for symptoms of general psychological distress, including posttraumatic stress response (PTSR). The study included all full-time workers from the Daiichi plant (n = 1,053; plant experienced meltdown) and Daini plant (n = 707; plant experienced damage but remained intact) in May and June 2011. Using a self-report questionnaire, the researchers assessed sociodemographic characteristics and disaster-related experiences, including discrimination/slurs because the electric company that managed these plants was criticized for their disaster response and the workers have been targets of discrimination. Measures of general psychological distress included feeling nervous, hopeless, restless/fidgety, depressed, and worthless in the last 30 days.
Read more here: http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com
Posted: August 15, 2012
The Transportation Security Administration(TSA) has been accused of widespread racial profiling in its new initiative to flag potential terrorist threats at Logan International Airport in Boston; reports say that more than thirty federal officers involved in the Behavior Detection Program said the operation targets Black and Hispanic people as well as people of Middle Eastern descent.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been accused of widespread racial profiling in its new initiative to flag potential terrorist threats at Logan International Airport in Boston.
According to a report by the New York Times, more than thirty federal officers involved in the Behavior Detection Program said the operation targets Black and Hispanic people as well as people of Middle Eastern descent.
Read more here: http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com
Posted: August 15, 2012
(Reuters Health) - The number of U.S. children who drink sugar-free beverages has doubled in the past decade, a new study finds - though the health implications of the trend, if any, are unclear.
Using data from a federal health survey, researchers found that by 2008, 12.5 percent of children were drinking artificially-sweetened beverages. That was up from six percent a decade earlier.
U.S. adults are downing more diet drinks too. One-quarter of Americans surveyed in 2007-2008 said they'd had a diet drink in the past day, versus 19 percent in 1999-2000, the researchers report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Read the full article here: http://www.reuters.com
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