Advanced electrical stimulation technology can repair damaged nerves, restore neuron function with virtually no side effects

(NaturalNews) Patients suffering from nerve damage or paralysis may soon be able to better regain function, thanks to a new electrical stimulation technique developed by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Mass., and engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Science Daily reports that the new method of functional electrical stimulation (FES) reduces electrical output by 40 percent and better protects surrounding nerves and tissues from damage by focusing energy directly to the damaged site. Published in the journal Nature Materials , the findings reveal a method of stimulating neuronal activity in patients with nerve damage that is superior to traditional FES technologies. By reducing the amount of electrical current emitted and better concentrating it into damaged areas, scientists have successfully developed a safer and more efficient method of helping nerve-damaged patients regain function with less damaging side effects. “This new device works by manipulating the concentration of charged ions surrounding the nerve,” said Samuel J. Lin, MD, a surgeon at BIDMC’s Divisions of Plastic Surgery and Otolaryngology, Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and co-author of the study. “This could potentially mean reduced risk to surrounding nerves because less electrical current is required to stimulate the affected nerve.” Since sensory nerves and the nerves that control movements are located very closely together, reducing both the amount of electrical current as well as its spread is crucial to maximizing the benefits and reducing the side effects of FES treatments. And after experimenting with the various ions in the fluid that surrounds nerves, the research team discovered that removing the positively charged calcium ions helps to focus the electrical current on the damaged nerve areas while protecting the healthy areas. “Nerve fibers fire their signals based on the message they receive from the interaction of ions, or charged particles,” added Lin. “The nerves that control movements and the sensory nerves that carry pain signals are extremely close together, so existing FES therapy has had limitations. This (new discovery) is an important step towards the design of a device to help patients suffering from nerve paralysis and chronic neurological conditions.” Sources for this article include: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111121194131.htm

Android smartphone software tracks every user action and keystroke, analysis finds

(NaturalNews) Smartphone devices are convenient, handy tools for staying in touch with friends and family, getting directions on the go, and accessing a variety of helpful user applications from virtually anywhere. But a recent analysis of smartphones loaded with Google’s Android software platform reveals that the technology can also track every movement, action, and keystroke of users, which represents a serious breach of privacy. The UK’s Telegraph reports that preloaded Android software known as “Carrier IQ” secretly monitors and records the websites Android users access from their mobile phones, as well as the text messages they send and receive and even the individual keystrokes they make. The technology also logs a history of where users are located geographically while performing these tasks. Carrier IQ claims that its software only tracks this information for the benefit of its users and their smartphone experience, and does not sell the information to third parties. But Trevor Eckhart, a developer of Android “app” software and a security researcher, conducted a test on his own personal Android phone and found that the software keeps an active record of every keystroke made, every text message sent, and where users conduct such activity — and it sends all this information directly to Carrier IQ. Eckhart recently posted a video to YouTube that explains how the data collection process works, and how it is quietly transmitted back to Carrier IQ without user knowledge. You can view that video here: http://www.youtube.com/user/TrevorEckhart On the one hand, the collection of such information makes sense as it allows network providers and application developers to better understand how mobile phone users use their phones, which can then be used to improve the overall user experience. On the other hand, private information could end up in the hands of government officials and others who may want to spy on citizens and track their private activity. “I have no problem with improving service. I hate dropped calls too,” says Tim Armstrong, a researcher at Kaspersky Lab, an antivirus software developer, concerning the issue. “What I do have a problem with is service providers who are intentionally uninformative about what they are doing with your data on a device you’ve paid for, and then not allowing any type of removal or opt-out.” A recent Fox News report explains that several class-action lawsuits have been filed in California, Delaware, and elsewhere against Carrier IQ over its data collection practices. Sources for this article include: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/8927164/Software-on-Android-phones-tracking-every-key-stroke.html http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/removing-carrieriq-really-bad-idea-most-mobile-phone-users-120711 http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/06/in-tracking-companies-reveal-their-low-iq/

Report: 45 tons of highly radioactive water leaked from Fukushima

(NaturalNews) The woes of Fukushima are far from over as the plant’s owner, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), announced recently that a purification mechanism has leaked at least 45 tons of highly radioactive water, some of which ended up flowing directly into the ocean. TEPCO officials are reportedly in the process of investigating the situation to determine the extent of the damage caused. Throughout the past year, government authorities have been working with TEPCO to bring the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility into a complete, cold shutdown by the end of the year. This means that instead of exceeding its boiling point and reheating nuclear fuel as has been the case since the devastating March 11 disaster, nuclear cooling water is effectively maintained below its boiling point in order to prevent any further leakage and damage (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/02/us-japan-nuclear-shutdown-idUSTRE7B104520111202). But according to information posted on TEPCO’s website, a decontamination device that had been purifying radioactive cooling water sprung a leak, which sent at least 45 tons of highly radioactive water outside the containment facility. Cracked concrete also allowed some of that water to leak into a gutter that drains directly into nearby ocean waters (http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/index-e.html). Samples taken of the water surrounding the purification device revealed shockingly high levels of radiation, with reports indicating 16,000 becquerels per liter (Bq/l) of cesium-134 and 29,000 Bq/l of cesium-137. This amount of radiation is 270 times and 322 times higher, respectively, than the government’s maximum safety thresholds, according to the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo. A BusinessWeek report explains that the water also contained 1.8 millisieverts per hour of gamma radiation and 110 millisieverts of beta radiation, both of which are damaging forms of ionizing radiation emitted from nuclear waste that can cause cell damage, leukemia, cancer and various other severe health problems. “The source of the beta radiation in the water is likely to include strontium 90, which if absorbed in the body through eating tainted seaweed or fish, accumulates in bone and can cause cancer,” said Tetsuo Ito, head of Kinki University’s Atomic Energy Research Institute, concerning the situation. Data gathered found that strontium levels in the water are has high as one million times the government’s maximum safety threshold. Sources for this article include: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/12/05/water-leaks-from-crippled-japanese-nuclear-plant/ http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LVPG781A74E901-48V5TPE8SHT4ECD0HGHI681CL5

Institute of medicine safety report confirms vaccine dangers

(NaturalNews) For years natural health experts have been battling mainstream medical officials over the existence of vaccine dangers, but a new safety report by the Institute of Medicine settles the argument; they reveal that a relationship exists between vaccine use and adverse health effects. The comprehensive safety report released by the organization aimed to examine the side effects of vaccine use, and it ended up divulging information regarding vaccine side effects that most mainstream medical officials would have previously disregarded. The statement by the IOM that a “relationship between certain vaccines and adverse health complications does exist” is monumental since it is coming from a mainstream medical organization (though it does not truly highlight all of the dangers involved with vaccinations). Gardasil, a popular vaccine developed by Merck, has been linked to over 49 deaths and countless hospitalizations. Adding fuel to the fire, California legislatures passed a bill that would make the vaccine mandatory to young California residents of both genders. It later came out that key legislatures who were instrumental in passing the bill were receiving financial incentives from Merck, who will receive millions if the law is approved. Harmful vaccines still pushed by medical officials Still, despite the warnings of the IOM and the death link, we are told by medical ‘experts’ to make sure that we are vaccinated with all of the ‘recommended’ vaccines. This includes the seasonal flu shot, which is now combined with the H1N1 vaccine. This is the same vaccine that has been linked to killer nerve disease, narcolepsy, and even death. What is even more ridiculous is that the H1N1 vaccine, loaded with side effects, was created to treat a disease that turned out to be less deadly than the seasonal flu. Piggybacking on the false swine flu pandemic back in 2009, vaccine manufacturers rushed out the H1N1 vaccine and put it into mass production. Pharmacies and health clinics nationwide jumped upon the opportunity to distribute the shots, handing them out to millions through drive-through vaccine outlets and convenience-based H1N1 stations. Millions received the vaccine containing 25 micrograms of thimerosal, which is made up of approximately 50% mercury. This causes the vaccine to contain over 250 times the EPA’s safety limit for mercury exposure. Cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome began springing up worldwide, a deadly nerve disease that government health officials admitted months later was linked to the H1N1 vaccine. Even mainstream medical organizations are now speaking out against vaccine dangers due to the overwhelming amount of scientific research. Ineffective and harmful vaccines such as the seasonal flu shot are pushed on the public through expensive marketing campaigns and skewed claims of flu prevention. Vaccine dangers are very real, and natural alternatives such as vitamin D and exercise should be utilized to prevent the flu in a much safer and effective manner. Sources for this article include: http://naturalsociety.com/3-girls-dead-others-hospitalized-after-gardasil-hpv-vaccine/ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/Swine_flu/article6797993.ece http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20031347-10391695.html http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/63777.php http://www.calwatchdog.com/2011/09/06/merck-funded-anti-parent-bill/ http://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/September-2011/Vaccine-Wake-Up-Call-for-Parents–Your-Children-Ar.aspx About the author Anthony Gucciardi is a health activist and wellness researcher, whose goal is centered around educating the general public as to how they may obtain optimum health. He has authored countless articles highlighting the benefits of natural health, as well as exposing the pharmaceutical industry. Anthony is the creator of Natural Society (http://www.NaturalSociety.com), a natural health website. Anthony has been accurately interpreting national and international events for years within his numerous political articles. Anthony’s articles have been seen by millions around the world, and hosted on multiple top news websites.

New research finds possible reason for obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemics in kids: lack of vitamin D

(NaturalNews) If there’s one nutrient that has received an amazing amount of attention and research over the past year, it’s vitamin D. As NaturalNews has reported extensively, a lack of the vitamin has been linked to everything from dementia and arthritis to heart disease and breast cancer. What’s more, as scientists have probed deeper into the question of vitamin D deficiency, they’ve come up with an alarming finding — huge numbers of people tested appear to be deficient in the vitamin. For example, researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health released a study showing American youth are facing potentially severe health consequences from a lack of vitamin D, which is also known as the “sunshine vitamin.” (http://www.naturalnews.com/025834_Vitamin_D_teens_health.html) Other top health news stories about children have related the startling findings that both obesity and type 2 diabetes have reached epidemic proportions in the US. Now research set for publication in The Endocrine Society’s January 2012 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM) reveals all these problems appear to be related to the widespread vitamin D deficiency in the population. The new study, conducted by scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, involved both obese and non-obese children. The results showed low vitamin D levels are significantly more prevalent in obese kids and are also strongly linked to risk factors for type 2 diabetes. What’s the specific connection? Previous studies have already shown that obese adults often have vitamin D deficiency and past research has also revealed an association between low vitamin D levels and cardiovascular disease as well as type 2 diabetes. But exactly why obesity and diseases such as type 2 diabetes are related to vitamin D deficiency isn’t fully understood. To try to unravel this mystery, the new study looked for correlations between vitamin D levels and markers of abnormal glucose metabolism and blood pressure. It also looked for links between vitamin D levels and dietary habits in obese children. The scientists measured vitamin D levels, blood sugar levels, serum insulin, body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure in 411 obese youngsters. The study also included 87 non-overweight children in a control group. Dietary information — including daily intake of soda, juice and milk, average daily fruit and vegetable intake, and whether or not they routinely skipped breakfast — was also collected for all the research subjects. “Our study found that obese children with lower vitamin D levels had higher degrees of insulin resistance,” Micah Olson, MD, lead author of the study, said in a media statement. “Although our study cannot prove causation, it does suggest that low vitamin D levels may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.” Dr. Olson noted that poor nutritional habits like skipping breakfast and drinking a lot of soda were associated with the lower vitamin D levels seen in obese children. “Future studies are needed to determine the clinical significance of lower vitamin D levels in obese children, the amount and duration of treatment necessary to replenish vitamin D levels in these children and whether treatment with vitamin D can improve primary clinical endpoints such as insulin resistance,” he concluded. If vitamin D is the key to preventing and/or treating childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes the benefits could be enormous. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) says the incidence of overweight kids in the US has soared and now over 17 percent of children and teens between the ages of 6 to 19 are overweight. What’s more, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that in the last two decades, type 2 diabetes — a condition that was virtually unheard of in children just a decade ago –is now one of the most common chronic diseases in children and adolescents. Sources for this article include: http://www.endo-society.org/ http://jcem.endojournals.org/ http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/projects/cda2.htm http://win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/ http://naturalnews.com/vitamin_d.html

TSA strip-searches 85-year-old woman in wheelchair while National Organization for Women (N.O.W.) remains shamelessly silent

(NaturalNews) For a federal government that has gone insane with criminality, no act of violating fundamental human rights is too outrageous anymore. In the latest chapter of the U.S. government’s police state humiliation of innocent American women, an 85-year-old woman in a wheelchair, Lenore Zimmerman, was strip-searched by TSA agents who left her bleeding from a painful gash in her leg. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/04/woman-claims-strip-search-jfk-airport) “They took me into a private room and strip-searched me,” says Zimmerman. “They took my pants down… and then they took my underwear down.” (http://www.local10.com/news/85-year-old-says-she-was-strip-searched-at-JFK/-/1717324/4870970/-/4dg4fk/-/index.html) The TSA responded with what can only be a carefully-worded lie, claiming, “While we regret that the passenger feels she had an unpleasant screening experience, TSA does not include strip searches as part of our security protocols and one was not conducted in this case.” Oh, so now Lenore is a liar? Why would an 85-year-old grandmother lie about being strip-searched by the TSA? So the TSA blames her for inventing all this, claiming it essentially never happened. (http://www.local10.com/news/85-year-old-says-she-was-strip-searched-at-JFK/-/1717324/4870970/-/4dg4fk/-/index.html) “Why would I make up this story?” Zimmerman responded in a NY Daily News article. “In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t think of such a thing happening.” (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/lenore-zimmerman-outraged-tsa-denies-strip-searched-85-year-old-long-island-grandmother-article-1.986437) Let me get this straight: So if the TSA takes your grandmother into the back room and has their way with her, she might have an “unpleasant experience” but it’s all 100% approved by the TSA which then denies the whole incident even took place? This is the yet another sign of the runaway criminality of the TSA and the entire federal government which now feels it is above the law and answerable to no one. That more people aren’t engaged in a massive outcry against this also shows the extreme desensitization of the public which has already been achieved. Had this event happened just a decade ago, the national media would have been in an uproar. That it happened in 2011, during an era when the TSA routinely conducts illegal molestations of air travelers, apparently doesn’t even raise eyebrows anymore. And that’s pathetic (more below…). Secret laws that can never be challenged The federal government currently claims that when you enter an airport, you are essentially “government property” and its agents can do anything to you that they want, with zero protections, no boundaries and no recourse. In fact, in dismissing Gov. Jesse Ventura’s recent lawsuit against the TSA, a federal court recently put forth the following astonishing points in its ruling: 1) TSA’s laws are “secret” and you cannot know what they are. (It’s “national security” didn’t ya know?) 2) TSA’s laws can be changed at any time without notice. (And you still can’t know what they are.) 3) You must abide by these secret laws even though you do not have any right to know what they are. (We don’t have to tell you what the rules are, but you have to follow them anyway!) 4) These laws may never be challenged by anyone, even if they violate federal law, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution or even basic human rights. In other words, technically speaking the TSA could pass a “secret” administration rule right that gives all TSA agents the right to have unrestricted deviant sexual intercourse with all selected air travelers as a “right” that cannot be challenged (just like with the kings in the Dark Ages). Under these perverse rules, the TSA could declare all Middle Eastern people to be a sub-human species, or require all teenage boys to be “thoroughly searched” Sandusky-style. I’m not making this up. The TSA now has the “administrative right” to do all these things, according to federal courts. And none of it can be challenged. (Outrageous!) This is obviously a total violation of U.S. law and the very principles of freedom upon which this country was founded. The Fourth Amendment means what it says. It is not subject to “administrative nullification.” We are living under a police state system right now, as you read this… Obscene violations of the rights of women Getting back to the grandmother in the wheelchair, she had asked to avoid the microwave radiation naked body scanner because she has a heart defibrillator surgically implanted in her chest, and she was concerned the machine’s radiation might interfere with her medical device. So in what now appears to be a clear punishment for daring to request “special” treatment, Lenore Zimmerman was subjected to an 11-minute humiliation and psychological torture session by thuggish, criminal-minded TSA agents who have been repeatedly caught engaging in other criminal acts such as distributing child pornography (http://www.naturalnews.com/030787_child_pornography_TSA_agents.html), stealing the valuable electronics of air travelers (http://www.naturalnews.com/032947_TSA_thefts.html), planting fake bags of cocaine in travelers’ luggage (http://www.naturalnews.com/030302_TSA_naked_body_scanners.html), and even flashing their TSA badges and then raping women (http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/11/harold-rodman-tsa-worker-arrested-for-sexual-assault-69420.html). The TSA is an out-of-control agency that openly violates the rights of women in particular, respecting no boundaries of human decency or personal privacy. It openly violates the core tenants of the United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights which specifically protects the People from “illegal search and seizure” schemes dreamed up by tyrannical government. In fact, the Fourth Amendment was written into the Bill of Rights for precisely this kind of scenario which also existed pre-1776 when occupying British soldiers raped and fondled colonial women as they pleased, then claimed they had the “king’s right” to engage in such behavior. Our forefathers said, “Enough is enough!” And before they put this rule on paper, they put more than a few musket bullets through the thick skulls of the British soldiers who learned the hard way what “justice” really means. Such is history of revolution. All for a “terror” threat that’s 100% imagined The real shocker in all this is that the TSA’s security mandate was put in place in response to an imagined threat that was entirely fabricated by the U.S. government itself. This government has virtually the entire nation running scared of imaginary “terrorists,” believing there are terrorists hiding under ever bed, around every dark corner, and plotting to kill everybody if not for the presence of all these thuggish police who are somehow protecting us from terrorists and maybe demonic leprechauns, too. OMG, there could be terrorists hiding in your pants! Hadn’t we better check there? And yet, look around you. Have you ever seen a terrorist? Seriously. Have you EVER seen a terrorist? Have you ever seen a mad bomber? Have you ever seen the FBI actually stop a terror plot that it didn’t dream up itself to begin with? (http://www.naturalnews.com/033751_FBI_terrorism.html) Don’t you get it? There is no terrorism in America other than what the government itself has been creating! The whole thing is an “Emperor Has No Clothes” mirage that has the public acting out some sort of shared delusion that we’re all under assault by these evil, imaginary terrorists. Janet Napolitano insists “if you see something, say something” but in reality, nobody even sees anything because the war on terror is a complete fabricated fraud . To see something, you’d have to dream it up first, just like the FBI does. The very best article ever written on this topic was penned by Paul Craig Roberts , former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and former associated editor of the Wall Street Journal. Entitled, “In the War on Terror a Hoax?” (http://www.infowars.com/?p=62008), this article exposes the total fraud and fabrication of this falsely engineered war. I’ve posted comments on that spot-on analysis at: http://www.naturalnews.com/034321_war_on_terror_paranoia_hoax.html Only read it if you really want to know the real truth behind the fabricated war on terror. For how long will the American sheeple allow government criminals to strip-search their wives, mothers and grandmothers? Even in North Korea, the tyrant police state administrators don’t reach down the pants of civilians who are merely trying to travel. That form of sexually-perverse tyranny is unique to the United States of America, to the great shock of the rest of the world. It is astonishing that woman’s rights groups aren’t marching in the streets over the TSA’s sexual molestation of women — palming their breasts, back-handing their genitals, strip-searching them for no logical reason. These are not merely crimes against Americans, they are crimes against women in particular. Where is the National Organization for Women in all this? The utter silence of the N.O.W. on this issue — as grandmothers are being strip-searched, detained, bloodied and badgered — is nothing less than a total indictment of the false agenda of that entire organization. If the N.O.W. will not stand up for women in their time of need right now, as they are being physically and mentally abused by the federal government in airports across the nation, then the organization’s entire reason for existence is a total fraud . It might as well just dissolve itself and admit it only “selectively” stands up for women when such a stance is politically expedient. Or perhaps it should rename itself to be the “National Organization for Women Except for Those Being Abused by Government.” N.O.W.E.T.B.A.G, in other words. Why are women who travel by air not given the same protections as those who work in offices? What is it about N.O.W. that prevents it from speaking out against corrupt, criminal government in the first place? If N.O.W. existed in 1943 as a non-profit in Germany, I suppose it would have stood for “protecting women unless they are Jewish, in which case they can all be gassed to death” because that was the government’s policy at the time, right? I ask: What gives the government the right to abuse women who would otherwise be protected if they were subjected to similar behavior in the workplace? Why is it WRONG for a suit-wearing executive to grab the tush of a co-worker in the office, but it’s perfectly okay for a butch TSA she-brute to fondle the vagina of an innocent traveler and smirk while she calls it “security?” The silence of the N.O.W. in all this is so shameful that I wonder how the top executives and directors of that organization can look themselves in the mirror each day, remaining silent while their own sisters, daughters and mothers are being groped, fondled, abused and tormented by thuggish, psychopathic government agents known as the TSA? Just because the TSA claims to be fighting an imaginary war on an imaginary enemy that they claim lives inside your pants doesn’t make it true. It’s absurd from the start. The situation with N.O.W. is actually even worse than what I’ve describe here: The TSA was an exhibitor at a National N.O.W. Conference in 2009 where it maintained an information table or booth (http://www.now.org/organization/conference/2009/exhibitors.html). Is the TSA recruiting at the N.O.W. conference? Is this not the ultimate in total hypocrisy and a conspiracy of crime against women? Hey women: If you’re sexually abused in a GOVERNMENT workplace, that’s suddenly okay The upshot of all this is apparently that if you are a woman, and your “workplace” is a government office claiming to be fighting terror, you can now be sexually abused, groped, tormented and even stripped naked against your will and the N.O.W. won’t say a word , apparently. Suddenly it’s all magically okay because of an imaginary “terrorist” enemy that’s no more real than the Easter Bunny or the cartoon elves from Rice Krispies. Shame on N.O.W. for its inexcusable silence as our nation’s women are being sexually and psychologically abused — even bloodied — by government agents. Shame on the thuggish abusers who take these TSA jobs and carry out this police state agenda in exchange for a paycheck and the promise of a pension (which will one day be stolen from them, of course). Shame on the mainstream media for whitewashing this story, ignoring the muffled cries of all the women, teenage daughters, moms and grandmothers who are being routinely abused in all this, almost as if Penn State’s football coaching staff were directing the TSA’s strip-search protocols. Shame on America for allowing this to go on, day after day, in complete and blatant violation of the Peoples’ Fourth Amendment rights (not to mention fundamental human rights). A nation of people who will routinely let the government stick their hands down their pants — and excuse it all by claiming there are invisible “terrorists” hiding around every corner — is a nation of cowards who have forgotten what freedom really means. While tyrants run rampant, America sleeps… Will America ever awaken to protecting innocents against tyrants? I can only wonder, what event of overreaching tyranny will awaken the sleeping People? Will it take a TSA agent openly raping little boys in the back room? Or would that be okay, too, as long as somebody claims they’re “fighting terror”? Maybe Napolitano should be replaced by Sandusky, and then we’d have even better security in America because all the young boys would be checked for bombs inside and out, huh? Yeah, it’s sick. I apologize for even needing to draw these parallels, but this is the level of insanity that has now been achieved by the TSA and its open molestation and torture of innocent travelers. At what point has it gone too far, I ask you? If the TSA claims it can merely write its own supreme rules that are subject to no law, no legal review and no courts challenge , then what’s to stop the TSA from just ruling over the entire nation as a criminal police force that routinely rapes daughters and children on street-corner TSA checkpoints? Is there no requirement for the TSA to abide by any laws whatsoever? Are we honestly supposed to believe that the actions of the TSA will be held in check solely by the “ethics” of the TSA itself? Are you kidding? Are you insane? This is the whole point of checks and balances, folks. The Bill of Rights is a check against tyrants who, throughout history, have “gone TSA” on their own populations and ended up raping their own innocent civilians merely because nothing stopped them from doing so. The whole point of the Bill of Rights is to HALT government attempts to overreach its limited mandate, and today, nothing is stopping the TSA from getting worse by the day. If the courts will not intervene, and all laws are openly ignored, and the local police and sheriffs will do nothing to stop these criminals operating at the airports, then I must ask the inevitable question: At what point must obedience to the LAW be enforced by the citizens themselves? I can only wonder what it’s going to take before the sheeple of America decide they’ve had enough and they march into their local airports with the local Sheriff and bunch of armed deputies carrying M4 rifles and they ARREST THE TSA AGENTS and charge them with not just the crimes they have committed, but conspiracy to commit those crimes as well. TSA agents, after all, would feel right at home in prison where getting gang raped is part of the culture. Heck, it might be so familiar to them all that they would mistake prison for a “federal workplace!”

GSK pays US government record $3 billion for illegally marketing drugs (but CEO and executives not held criminally responsible)

(NaturalNews) The pharmaceutical industry is notorious for getting away with murder, both figuratively and literally, without so much as a slap on the wrist from the justice system. And a recent settlement involving drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) only further exposes the fact that Big Pharma is free to break the law as long as it pays off Big Government, its partner in crime. The latest dog and pony show involves the US government addressing GSK’s illegal activity over the years in peddling its deadly chemical cocktails. After being exposed for illegally marketing drugs, paying off doctors to promote dangerous drugs, and manipulating scientific data to get dangerous drugs approved, GSK has essentially been pardoned by the US government in exchange for $3 billion. Sure, $3 billion might sound like a lot of money to most people. But GSK raked in roughly $43 billion in revenue just last year. So this settlement is a mere drop in the bucket for GSK, and it really does nothing to satisfy the demands of justice. It does, however, conveniently transfer $3 billion in payoff money to the federal government, which has allowed GSK to get away with its crimes for years. NaturalNews readers will recall the 2010 Senate Finance Committee report that exposed GSK for deliberately hiding evidence about the dangers of its diabetes drug Avandia. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) worked hand-in-hand with GSK to downplay Avandia’s dangers, effectively preserving billions of dollars in yearly revenue for GSK from the sale of the “blockbuster” drug (http://www.naturalnews.com/028233_GlaxoSmithKline_Avandia.html). There are literally tens of thousands of lawsuits currently pending against GSK over Avandia, not to mention countless known instances of the company’s blatant criminal activity in marketing it. But did the FDA ever decide to pull Avandia from the market to protect consumers? Of course not. And there is no indication that any of GSK’s executives will be held personally responsible for such crimes, either. “Who at Glaxo is going to jail as a part of this settlement?” asked Patrick Burns, spokesman for Taxpayers Against Fraud, an advocacy group for whistleblowers. “Who in management is being excluded from doing future business with the US government?” The New York man who recently pleaded guilty to selling illegal kidneys faces 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine (http://www.naturalnews.com/034060_organ_trafficking_transplants.html). But drug company executives involved in committing numerous crimes that have bilked taxpayers and insurance companies out of billions — and that have inadvertently injured and killed thousands of patients in the process — are let off free for a measly fraction of their company’s yearly revenues. Sources for this article include: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/business/glaxo-to-pay-3-billion-in-avandia-settlement.html

Pesticides are one of top three ‘worst toxic pollution problems’ on planet, say non-profit groups

(NaturalNews) The Blacksmith Institute (BI), an international non-profit environmental health organization devoted to solving pollution problems around the world, in conjunction with Green Cross Switzerland (GCS), a group that helps clean up pollution, recently co-released a comprehensive report entitled The World’s Worst Toxic Pollution Problems . In it, researchers explain how agricultural pesticides represent the number three worst pollution problem on the planet. The report was compiled based on data collected over a three year period from thousands of toxic “hotspots” around the world, all of which were in low- and middle-income countries. The team that compiled the report primarily analyzed how various pollutants affect local people groups rather than the world at large, which means the negative effects of these pollutants are far worse on a global scale. The team also focused on what it calls the “most relevant and urgent” pollutants in terms of toxicity and negative impact. These included heavy metals, radionuclides, poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), fluorides, asbestos, cyanides, and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides. After crunching the numbers, the team found that mercury pollution from gold mining and lead pollution from industrial parks are the top two worst world polluters, affecting 3.5 million and nearly 3 million local people, respectively. But taking the third-place spot was agricultural pesticides, which were found to negatively affect more than 2.2 million local people. The report makes very clear that pesticide pollution was only calculated in terms of “local impact” in poorer ares which, again, is far short of their actual global impact. The World Resources Institute (WRI) has reported that nearly 75 percent of pesticide use occurs in developed countries, and primarily in North America, Western Europe and Japan — but none of these places were included in the BI / GCS assessment (http://www.wri.org/publication/content/8660). If the report had been calculated on a global scale in all areas where pesticides are used, the number of those affected by them in one way or another would likely have calculated in the billions. Not only are farmers who use pesticides and those who live around their farms exposed, but so are those who incur contaminated runoff downstream. Then, there are the millions of people globally that consume pesticide-tainted produce. To learn more, you can access the entire BI / GCS report at: http://www.worstpolluted.org/2011-report.html Sources for this article include: http://www.worstpolluted.org/2011-press-release.html http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=10-worst-toxic-pollution-problems-slide-show

Health Basics: What is Aspartame?

(NaturalNews) Over a billion people consume aspartame in their foods and beverages across the world, believing it to be a safe ingredient, but what they probably don’t know is that aspartame currently accounts for over 75% of all side effects complaints received by the FDA’s Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS) for the past 4 years . It is banned by health-conscious countries all over the world, especially where there is a national healthcare system in place. Aspartame is best known by the brand names NutraSweet, Equal, Sweet One and Spoonful . Aspartame is a synthetic chemical combination which is comprised of approximately 50% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid, and 10% methanol . Aspartame is found in thousands of foods, drinks, candy, gum, vitamins, health supplements and even pharmaceuticals. (http://www.wellsphere.com/wellpage/aspartame-banned)… Each of the three ingredients in Aspartame poses its own dangers and each is well documented as causing a long list of side effects and dangerous health conditions. Watch for the ingredient Acesulfame Potassium, which is just another name for Aspartame . Phenylalanine : Even a single use of Aspartame raises the blood phenylalanine levels. High blood phenylalanine can be concentrated in parts of the brain and is especially dangerous for infants and fetuses . Because it is metabolized much more efficiently by rodents than humans, testing and research on rats alone is not sufficient enough to denounce the dangers of Aspartame for human consumption. Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain cause serotonin levels to decrease, leading to emotional disorders like depression . Aspartic Acid : Aspartic acid is considered an excito-toxin , which means it over stimulates certain neurons in the body until they die. Much like nitrates and MSG, aspartic acid can cause amino acid imbalances in the body and result in the interruption of normal neurotransmitter metabolism of the brain. (http://www.holisticmed.net/aspartame/aminoacid.pdf) Methanol becomes Formaldehyde (Embalming fluid): The most prominent danger of Aspartame is that when ingested, the methanol (wood alcohol) is distributed throughout the body, including the brain, muscle, fat and nervous tissues, and is then metabolized to form formaldehyde , which enters cells and binds to proteins and genetic material (DNA). Methanol is a dangerous neurotoxin and a known carcinogen , which causes retinal damage in the eye, interferes with DNA processes, and can cause birth defects. (http://aspartame.mercola.com/) The EPA’s recommended limit of consumption of Methanol is 7.8 milligrams per day, but a one liter bottle of an Aspartame-sweetened beverage contains over 50 mg of methanol. Heavy users of Aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily, which is over 30 times the EPA limit . Suspiciously similar to the symptoms of Fibromyalgia and Multiple Sclerosis , Aspartame’s long list includes dizziness, headaches, behavioral changes, hallucinations, depression, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, fatigue, irritability, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain. Also, many illnesses can be worsened by ingesting Aspartame , including chronic fatigue syndrome, brain tumors, epilepsy, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, mental retardation, and especially diabetes. Birth defects : According to Dr. Louis Elsas, Pediatrician Professor of Genetics at Emory University, Phenylalanine can concentrate in the placenta, causing mental retardation of a fetus. Also, formaldehyde in the blood stream of a pregnant woman can cause her immune system to target the fetal tissue as a foreign substance and destroy it, the result being a miscarriage . This can happen before she even knows she is pregnant. (http://www.dorway.com/dr-elsas.txt) Aspartame is known to cause weight gain Products labeled Diet, Light or Zero most likely contain at least one of the major synthetic sweeteners, and Aspartame is used more widely than the three carcinogenic S’s: Sucralose, Sorbitol and Saccharin . Nearly all diet sodas, gum and most candy (not chocolate – yet) are loaded with Aspartame. (http://buildingbodies.ca/diet-pop-dangers-and-aspartame-poisoning/) Some chewing gum brands contain only synthetic sugars, which are acid creating. The body in turn creates fat cells to store that extra acid, and this is why many people who consistently eat Aspartame will ironically put on weight. Natural sugar-free alternatives : Xylitol and the Brazilian Stevia leaf (Not Truvia) are natural and do not cause side effects or nerve damage; however, truly effective weight loss starts with organic vegetables and cardio exercise. To be safe, simply avoid all “diet foods” and moderate sugar intake. (http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/aspartame.htm) Sources for this article include http://www.holisticmed.net/aspartame/aminoacid.pdf http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/aspartame.htm http://www.unhinderedliving.com/aspartame.html http://www.dorway.com/dr-elsas.txt http://buildingbodies.ca/diet-pop-dangers-and-aspartame-poisoning/ http://www.thenhf.com/article.php?id=833 http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16871.cfm http://www.wnho.net/fdas_approval_of_aspartame_under_scrutiny.pdf http://www.wellsphere.com/wellpage/aspartame-banned http://www.wellsphere.com/men-s-health-article/aspartame-genesis-and-its-side-effects/902102 http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html http://www.issplendasafe.com/ www.alsearsmd.com/aspartame-ant-poison-fda-complaints/ http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-case-histories.html http://www.mothering.com/community/t/638389/emergen-c-contains-aspartic-acid

FDA: Pet treats imported from China can cause severe illness, death

(NaturalNews) A recent uptick in adverse event reports has prompted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a fresh warning to pet owners about the potential toxicity of certain pet treats imported from China. MSNBC reports that at least 70 dogs so far this year have been sickened or killed by chicken jerky products imported from China, and that dog owners who observe any symptoms potentially associated with the use of such treats should stop using them immediately. According to reports, FDA tests have been unable thus far to identify the precise cause of the contamination as no specific chemicals, microbes, or other harmful contaminants have been detected in tested products. For this reason, the agency is simply warning the public to beware of all imported pet treats and to watch for any warning signs of sickness that may be associated with them. Purchasing any food products at all from China is a bit like playing Russian roulette, though, as the country’s food quality standards leave much to be desired. Many NaturalNews readers will recall the melamine mayhem from back in 2008 when roughly 53,000 children fell ill from tainted milk products (http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/got-melamine-53000-chinese-children-did-in-their-milk.html). Earlier that same year, pet food protein supplements made in China were also found to be tainted with melamine. But when considering the high number of domestic food recalls in recent years, US food products may not be much safer than Chinese ones. In 2009, Optima brand pet food imported from the US, for instance, was implicated in causing serious illness and death in Chinese dogs. MSNBC reported at the time that aflatoxin, a type of mold, had likely developed on the food (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28626069/ns/health-pet_health/t/pet-food-suspected-killing-dogs-china/). Many varieties of pet treats, both domestic and imported, have also been subjected to irradiation treatments, which involve blasting food with ionizing radiation in order to allegedly “cleanse” it of harmful pathogens and viruses. But this deadly process renders food toxic, as was illustrated back in 2008 in Australia when several pets died from consuming irradiated food (http://www.naturalnews.com/025029_food_radiation_irradiation.html). Irradiated food products are marked with a radura symbol, which is helpful when trying to avoid them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radura In other words, when purchasing any pet food or treats, always be sure to identify the product origin and verify whether or not they have been treated with irradiation — your furry loved ones will thank you! Sources for this article include: http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/21/8885427-chicken-jerky-treats-linked-to-mystery-illnesses-deaths-in-dogs

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