Media pushes ‘success’ of experimental GSK malaria vaccine while ignoring deadly side effects

(NaturalNews) The mainstream media is abuzz with excitement over GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) latest offering, a malaria trial vaccine that the company claims can cut the risk of clinical and severe malaria in children by 56 percent and 47 percent, respectively. But what GSK and the media are failing to report are the deadly side effects that may accompany the vaccine. Unveiled at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s recent Malaria Forum conference in Seattle, Wash., the results of the Phase III African study on the malaria vaccine, known as RTS,S, suggest that children who receive three doses of it can derive additional protection against malaria when used in conjunction with other disease control methods. But the findings also show that vaccinated children are at a high risk of serious injury or death as well. A report by EarthTimes explains that the full gamut of long term side effects associated with RTS,S will not be known until at least the end of 2014. It also states that “serious adverse events (very serious side effects) for [RTS,S] are around the same level as in those who were given a control drug” (http://www.earthtimes.org/health/malaria-vaccine-closer-succesful-trial/1527/). But what exactly was the control drug, and what are these “same level” side effects? A quick look at the study results, which have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine , explain that children in the “control” group received a “non-malaria comparator vaccine” (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1102287). Those five to 17 months of age got a rabies vaccine (VeroRab, Sanofi-Pasteur), and younger children six to 12 weeks of age received a meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine (Menjugate, Novartis). Both of these vaccines carry with them their own list of side effects, which means they really do not qualify as a legitimate study of “controls.” But hardly anyone is paying much attention to this because they are too busy lauding praise on GSK for developing the vaccine and allegedly expecting to make no profit from it. It all sounds so wonderful and humanitarian, but the fact of the matter is that nearly 18 percent of children in the older vaccinated group suffered serious adverse events from the vaccine, while more than 13 percent in the youngest group suffered the same. And more than 150 children from both groups died during the study (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1102287#t=articleResults). And since very little is known about how the vaccine affects fertility, neurological function, bodily organs, immunity, and many other aspects of health and well-being in the long term, it is hardly a time to be celebrating. Sources for this article include: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/18/malaria-vaccine-gsk-idUSL5E7LI4O020111018

Women endangered by high rate of false-positive mammograms

(NaturalNews) According to mainstream medicine, mammograms are the key to surviving breast cancer because they supposedly catch the disease early for quick treatment. What this advice invariably leaves out is evidence that exposure to the radiation used in the tests may actually cause breast cancer in some women. For example, a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) concluded annual mammography screening significantly increases breast cancer risk in women with a genetic or familial predisposition to the disease (http://www.naturalnews.com/027641_mammograms_breast_cancer.html#ixzz1arooKmoK). Now there’s another reason to be concerned about the push for women to have yearly mammograms. In a new study by University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) research shows that among women who receive a decade of annual mammograms, more than half of those women will be called and told the gut-wrenching news that their tests are positive when they are actually cancer-free. The victims of false-positive results — not a malignancy — are then subjected to more tests. In fact, one in twelve of these women will undergo invasive, potentially breast-scarring biopsy surgery. “This study provides accurate estimates of the risk of a false-positive mammography and breast biopsy for women undergoing repeat mammography in community practice, and so provides important information about the potential harms of undergoing regular mammography,” states Karla Kerlikowske, a professor of medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine. Karla is also the co-author of the study, which was just published in the Annals of Internal Medicine . False-positive mammogram results are rampant The research, led by Group Health Research Institute of Seattle for the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium, investigated false-positives in mammography by studying the records of approximately 170,000 women between the ages of 40 and 59 from seven regions around the United States. Almost 4,500 of these research subjects were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. The study found that women who started having mammograms at age 40 instead of 50 were far more likely to have false-positive findings that resulted in more expensive and needless medical tests, including biopsies. Just by changing breast screening from every year to every other year, the researchers documented that a woman’s risk of having a false-positive finding dropped from 61 percent to 42 percent (about a third) over the course of ten years. What’s more, they found that if radiologists would simply review a patient’s previous mammograms it “may halve the odds of a false-positive recall.” The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines now recommend biennial mammograms starting at age 50 and continuing until age 74. However, many doctors still recommend annual mammograms, often beginning at age 40. The new study concluded that after a decade of yearly screening, a majority of women will receive at least one false-positive result. Out of these, 7 to 9 percent will face having a biopsy and the risks that involves — from anesthesia complications to scarring to infection — although these women are, in fact, cancer-free. And what about the argument that yearly mammograms are needed to catch cancer early enough to cure? The researchers found that women screened every two years were not significantly more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer. “We conducted this study to help women know what to expect when they get regular mammograms over the course of many years,” study leader Rebecca Hubbard, PhD, an assistant investigator at Group Health Research Institute, explained in the media statement. “We hope that if women know what to expect with screening, they’ll feel less anxiety if – or when – they are called back for more testing. In the vast majority of cases, this does not mean they have cancer.” Sources for this article include: http://www.ucsf.edu/news http://www.annals.org/ http://www.naturalnews.com/024901.html

TSA lied: Agency still molesting young children after promising officials it would stop

(NaturalNews) After twice announcing that full-body pat downs would no longer apply to children under 12 years of age, John Pistole, Administrator of the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), has officially been exposed as a liar. Just last week, the TSA molested and terrorized a six-year-old boy en route to Disneyland with his parents, which caused the boy to cry and say to his parents that he no longer wanted to go on the trip. Back in November, Pistole made an appearance on NBC’s TODAY Show in an attempt to quell outcry about the TSA’s invasive new procedures. At that time, he stated that the agency “heard the concerns that have been expressed and agree that children under 12 should not receive that pat down.” After making this announcement, however, the TSA continued to grope young children anyway, including the infamous pat down of the eight-month-old baby at Kansas City International Airport (http://www.prisonplanet.com/tsa-defends-pat-down-of-baby-stroller-set-off-explosives-alarm.html). Again in June, after being called upon by Congress to address the discrepancy between his statements and what was actually taking place, Pistole made another announcement concerning young children receiving pat downs — except this time he insinuated that they would, in fact, still be receiving them. However, he added a quip that “repeated efforts” would be made to not necessarily have to use pat downs on young children, whatever that means. These statements were made before lawmakers in the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. So after first announcing that pat downs would not apply to young children, Pistole continued to allow them to occur anyway. Then roughly eight months later, Pistole changed his story in response to further outcry, and claimed that young children would still be subjected to pat downs if they triggered “screening anomalies” or other “security concerns,” which represents a complete contradiction to his initial statements about pat downs (http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/tsa/168199-tsa-changing-pat-down-rules-for-children). Even Pistole’s most recent statements have been shown to be false, as an innocent young boy flying out of Washington’s SeaTac airport near Seattle was recently fondled by TSA agents after passing problem-free through the X-ray screening machine. Even though there were no “screening anomalies” or other “security concerns,” agents decided to target the young boy, and later claimed that they did so because he was carrying a harmless video game device. “They just treated him like he’s a terrorist,” said the boy’s father, Alex Long, to KING 5 News in Seattle. “He’s a six-year-old boy.” The family has filed an official complaint against the agency for the gross violation. Based on the false statements he twice made before lawmakers, and once in front of the entire world, concerning pat downs for children, Pistole can legitimately be charged for perjury and obstruction of justice, according to a recent InfoWars report. We can only hope that somebody actually will, and that justice will be served. Sources for this story include: http://www.infowars.com/tsa-chief-pistole-should-face-felony-charges-for-lying-to-lawmakers/ http://www.king5.com/video/featured-videos/Kirkland-family-says–125274814.html

ONE The Event launches on 9/11 to help transform fear into love

(NaturalNews) In an effort to transform fear into love through the power of human intention, Seattle firefighter Erik Lawyer has launched a transformational event called ONE The Event (www.OneTheEvent.org). Erik is the founder of Firefighters for 9/11 truth and is fully informed about the rather obvious fact that 9/11 was an inside job. But instead of focusing on the conspiracy of it, he has decided to focus his efforts on moving forward in the spirit of love and positive intention. (See my comments below…) You can join in the event at www.OneTheEvent.org by joining the email list and taking part in the global consciousness shift on September 11. (9/11/11) A video teaser at the site explains what the event is all about. Listen to the interview with Erik Layer I spoke with Erik Lawyer for 45 minutes about the event, his experience as a 911 truther and why he has shifted his focus to transformation through positive intention. The full interview with Erik is available now at NaturalNews.TV: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=F1CFBE97E4CFD7F1602E72ECBE2B0DD1 There, Erik explains why and how his journey as a 9/11 truther brought him to his present course of action. I also ask some direct questions about Erik’s philosophy, questioning how positive intention alone can transform the world when the global elite are using bombs, info-terrorism and economic warfare against the people. If we all just focus on the positive, I said, the global elite are still screwing us all behind our backs, right? To hear Erik’s answer to that question, listen to the full interview: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=F1CFBE97E4CFD7F1602E72ECBE2B0DD1 The interview is roughly 45 minutes long, and we cover a lot of territory including the power of intention, elements of conspiracy in 9/11, personal journeys and much more. My own take on the effectiveness of positive intention For the record, and just so there’s no confusion about my own position on 9/11 and the power of intention, I am a believer in the power of focused intention but only when it is married with ready action . Protecting our freedoms and civil liberties cannot be accomplished solely through sending love vibrations to the world, I believe. We must also take steps in the physical world to put that intention into action and protect ourselves from those who operate from a place of destruction rather than love. As a relevant example of the failure of doing just one thing and not the other, consider the Tibetan Buddhists who spend much of their time meditating in temples. Over the last several decades, they have been overrun by the communist Chinese; imprisoned, butchered and nearly eradicated from China while adopting a stance of non-violence. That has earned them near extinction in the face of tyrannical oppression. Positive meditation clearly has not saved them from the violence of the communist Chinese government. To focus all our energies in the spiritual realm while neglecting the security needs of the physical world is a grave oversight. We need both approaches to achieve lasting freedom and peace. Erik Lawyer’s event plays an important role in this by bringing together large numbers of people to broadcast positive intention, but let us all remember there is another component to peace, and that is the physical front line comprised of those who are marching in the streets like Gandhi did, or standing up to fraudulent authority like Martin Luther King, or taking part in a violent but necessary revolution like Thomas Jefferson or Paul Revere. In essence then, I believe that positive intention is a necessary component of positive change but not the entire solution, and I think Erik Lawyer would probably agree with that assessment. We each do our part to make the world a better place, and ONE The Event plays an important role along with all the other freedom efforts and tactics being pursued by others who have a different approach. Erik is to be commended for his efforts, and I hope you consider taking part in the event on 9/11/11. Why we must still demand answers about 9/11 I also support those who continue to question the official lies about 9/11 and who are digging for the truth about this event which was obviously and blatantly staged in a classic “problem reaction solution” format. I would also love to be able to buy a pair of jeans made out of the same material as the magical terrorist passport that the FBI claims somehow survived the impact and the explosion that melted skyscrapers… and then magically appeared unscathed on the sidewalk below even though the entire airplane and all its passengers were literally blown to bits. (Alex Jones jokingly refers to this material as the same stuff from which the Hammer of Thor was constructed…) I would also love to know how the WTC 7 building defied all known laws of physics and collapsed in a near-perfect demolition style free-fall even when it was not hit by any airplane and only suffered from a few office fires. Concrete and steel buildings do not simply collapse all their support columns in perfect unison and pancake one floor on top of another, floor by floor, all the way to the ground, unless there is a demolition team involved, using precisely-placed explosive charges detonated in a specific timing sequence. I also love how the BBC broadcast the “fact” that the WTC 7 building had collapsed even while filming that broadcast with the building still standing rather evidently in the background. Somebody at the BBC, it turns out, jumped the gun on the media conspiracy and accidentally reported the WTC 7 collapse a few minutes before it actually happened (http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/bbc_wtc7_videos.html). Any intelligent person examining the evidence surrounding 9/11, of course, inevitably concludes that the WTC 7 building was primed with explosives well ahead of 9/11, which is why thousands of physicists, architects and firefighters have publicly questioned the official explanation of 9/11 (http://www.ae911truth.org). And while I greatly admire Erik Lawyer’s approach with ONE The Event , I still believe we all need honest answers about who was really responsible for 9/11 and why the official story is so laughably and obviously fabricated. The official story on 9/11 looks about as believable to me as CNN’s fake broadcasts from Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War. Watch this hilarious video to see what I’m talking about: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=B55147E2052701412A47A9F2C9DA754C And finally, check out the event sign-up page at: www.OneTheEvent.org …and listen to the full interview with Erik Lawyer at: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=F1CFBE97E4CFD7F1602E72ECBE2B0DD1

Radiation is Already Killing Babies

(NaturalNews) Newborn babies are the most vulnerable of all beings. Vulnerability says it all when it comes to a newborn infant. Children deserve the best medical treatment from the best form of medicine human intelligence can implement but what they get is governmental interference and neglect. Below we see the first information coming in that the radiation that the government is saying is safe and harmless and of very low concentration is already killing babies on the west coast of the United States where death rates are spiking. Who cares about the babies that die? Our government certainly doesn’t! It is outrageous and tragic that our government and many of our doctors don’t care. Certainly we will never see medical officials caring about the deaths of infants caused by vaccines on a regular basis. The government’s identity has grown to such beastly proportions these days that everyone who is not “them” is an enemy, even the babies. What do medical officials really care when a baby dies from vaccine complications? What do FDA officials do to block out the guilt and pain of knowing that they caused a lifetime of suffering for a young child when they allow dental mercury amalgam (toxic waste dumps) to be put right in their mouths? Do they care about peoples’ iodine deficiencies that leave them more vulnerable to the radioactive iodine from Fukushima? Do they care about the wreck and ruin in millions of peoples’ lives suffering from the toxicity of fluoride deliberately put in the public’s drinking water supplies? And do you honestly think they are going to care about babies dying and fetuses being underweight from the radiation exposure coming over the Pacific to the west coast of the United States and Canada? We know the radiation is there for it has been detected and reported on the inside pages of newspapers in small print that one would need a magnifying glass to read. There now exists a new rule-of-thumb regarding the media: the less the media says about something the more dangerous it is. The thing that tells us we are in serious danger is the almost complete absence of anything in the papers about the dangers coming from Fukushima. The news is so bad that they cannot and will not print anything about it. But now we have very disturbing reports about a 35% spike in infant mortality in Northwest cities since the meltdown in Fukushima. Dr. Janette Sherman and Joseph Mangano wrote: “U.S. babies are dying at an increased rate. The recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report indicates that eight cities in the northwest U.S. (Boise ID, Seattle WA, Portland OR plus the northern California cities of Santa Cruz, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose and Berkeley) reported the following data on deaths among those younger than one year of age: “4 weeks ending March 19, 2011: 37 deaths (avg. 9.25 per week) 10 weeks ending May 28, 2011: 125 deaths (avg. 12.50 per week)” “This amounts to an increase of 35% (the total for the entire U.S. rose about 2.3%), and is statistically significant. Of further significance is that those dates include the four weeks before and the ten weeks after the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. In 2001 the infant mortality was 6.834 per 1000 live births, increasing to 6.845 in 2007. All years from 2002 to 2007 were higher than the 2001 rate.” The Most Vulnerable Infants and pregnant women are most at risk. Doctors Alexey V. Yablokov, Vassily B. Nesterenko, and Alexey V. Nesterenko say, “When children have the same menu as adults, they get up to five times higher (radiation) dose burdens from locally produced foodstuffs because of their lower weight and more active processes of metabolism.” “It is well known that women are more susceptible — approximately twice as susceptible, or worse — to radiation’s harmful effects than men who get the same dose. Young people are more susceptible than old. Young children are perhaps ten times as susceptible to radiation’s dangers as adults are, because their cells are dividing and establishing themselves. The cells of some organs will continue to divide; but cells such as neurons and heart muscle cells stop dividing at adulthood. Cancer can also get established at this early stage. Cancer usually requires a long sequence of cell changes to occur — often 10 or 12 or more changes in the cell DNA’s structure will have to occur, which can take many years,” writes Ace Hoffman. Hoffman continues saying, “Infants are even more susceptible than young children. Newborns, preemies… immune-challenged… even more so. Since Fukushima, our babies are dying at a significantly increased rate on the west coast of the United States (see article below). Across the country deaths are up as well, though not as much (ibid). Fetuses vary from “infinitely” more susceptible to radiation’s dangers, to thousands of times more when they are very small, to “merely” hundreds of times more as they grow, to whatever they are at birth — no one knows precisely.” You just imagine the masses wondering how any of this can be true. How can babies die from nuclear radiation that is supposedly the safe low-level stuff that the government and media say could not harm a fly. Well for those who are wondering, watch this most current video from Arnie Gundersen who said, ” In April, the average person in Seattle breathed in 10 hot particles a day .” Video: CNN’s John King interviews Arnie Gundersen about the Hot Particles discovered in Japan and the US. Dr. Sherman was probably not surprised about the increased birth deaths because she knows what happened at Chernobyl, having been the chief editor of the book Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and Nature , written by Drs. A. V. Yablokov, V. B., Nesterenko and A. V. Nesterenko, published by the New York Academy of Sciences in 2009. ” Data from Chernobyl , which exploded 25 years ago, clearly shows increased numbers of sick and weak newborns and increased numbers of deaths in the unborn and newborns, especially soon after the meltdown . These occurred in Europe as well as the former Soviet Union. Similar findings are also seen in wildlife living in areas with increased radioactive fallout levels.” Protect the Children, What Are You Waiting For? Should the public discover the true health costs of nuclear pollution, a cry would rise from all parts of the world and people would refuse to cooperate passively with their own death. Dr. Rosalie Bertell There are many alarming trends in pediatric care, not the least of which is increasing radiation exposure. It is now estimated that that the average child will get more than seven radiation scans by age 18 and this does not include dental X-rays. Most alarming is the increasing use of CT scans, which entail far more radiation and can raise the risk for cancer in children. X-rays of the chest, hands and feet are the most common. Forty-two percent of children had at least one radiation procedure and 25 percent had two or more during the three-year study period. Eight percent of the children got at least one CT scan, and more than three percent of children got two or more. What we can do to save our children after they have been exposed to radiation is the most important thing a parent can learn at this point in time. We must acquire this knowledge before we or our children have been exposed, but now it’s already too late for that for a great number of people in the northern hemisphere. Heavy Metal and Particle Vulnerability Children are more vulnerable to the dangers of toxic chemicals than are adults , according to Herbert L. Needleman, M.D. and Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., authors of Raising Children Toxic Free . According to a study released in October 2004, conducted by the University of North Carolina, 21 percent of women of childbearing age have mercury levels in their hair that exceeds federal health standards. That is up from eight percent in just four years using a recent CDC study as a reference point. Under United States guidelines, 79 percent of Inuvik women of childbearing age have unsafe levels of mercury. Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a directive warning women of childbearing age to eat no more than two meals or 12 ounces of seafood, including canned tuna, weekly. The life period with the highest adaptability and vulnerability to environmental factors: the period inside the womb. Dr. Sandra Steingraber describes the particular vulnerability of children when it comes to mercury poisoning: “The placenta, which works well to bar pathogens from entering the womb, does a terrible job of keeping methylmercury out. In fact, the placenta actively pumps mercury into the fetal capillaries as though it were a precious molecule of calcium or iodine. This is why levels of mercury in the blood of a newborn typically exceed those of its mother by 70 percent. When confronted with methylmercury, the placenta functions more like a magnifying glass than a barrier. Once inside the fetal blood supply, mercury is carried to the fetal brain where it interferes with brain cell migration. Just as a spider can lower itself from the ceiling by reeling out a single strand of silk, a fetal brain cell moves from the center of the brain to the surface by rappelling along its own fiber. This process of brain cell migration begins in earnest during month four of pregnancy and continues after birth at least through the age of two. Methylmercury paralyzes migrating brain cells and thus interferes with their movement from center to surface. Methylmercury also halts cell division in the fetal brain by binding directly to neural chromosomes. The cerebellum — center of balance and coordination — is a special target of methylmercury. Prenatal exposures to methylmercury have also been linked to deficits in memory, learning, and attention span that persist into adolescence and appear irreversible. In short, human fetuses are more vulnerable than adults to the brain-addling powers of mercury for two immutable reasons: They receive a comparatively bigger exposure (because of the placenta’s concentrating powers), and their brain cells need to move and multiply.” A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency biochemist, Kathryn Mahaffey, estimates that one in six pregnant women in the United States had high enough blood mercury to damage her child, for a total of 630,000 U.S. newborns at risk . This was the first study to calculate the numbers based on children’s blood levels, not the mother’s blood. The new formula showed that one in six pregnant women had mercury levels in their blood of at least 3.5 parts per billion, sufficient for levels in the fetus to reach or surpass the EPA safety threshold of 5.8 parts per billion. In 1999-2000, the last year for which government data is available, this meant that 630,000 children were at risk instead of the original estimate of 320,000. According to Dr. Sandra Steingraber, “The EPA has taken pains not to adopt the 630,000 figure as its official position. Calculated by EPA scientist Kathryn Mahaffey, these new estimates were published in Environmental Health Perspectives , April 2004. Children are more vulnerable than adults to oxidative stress due to their naturally low glutathione levels from conception through infancy. Erden-Inal 2003 More than 100 years ago Dr. Abraham Jacobi, the father of American pediatrics, recognized the importance of and need for age-appropriate pharmaceutical therapy when he wrote, “Pediatrics does not deal with miniature men and women with reduced doses and the same class of disease in smaller bodies, but… has its own independent range and horizon.” Modern pediatrics has abandoned this wisdom as demonstrated by the fact that vaccines are not adjusted down to the bodyweight of infants. For all the references, sources and more articles on radiation and chemical toxicity please visit Dr. Mark Sircus blog .

USDA refuses to enforce organic standards, allows synthetic omega-3s in Horizon organic milk

(NaturalNews) The US Department of Agriculture is once again deliberately shirking its responsibility to properly oversee the integrity of the certified organic program. After admitting in a recent letter that a chemically-derived, synthetic omega-3 fatty acid additive produced by Martek Biosciences Corporation is not legitimately organic, the USDA also said it does not plan to take any enforcement action against companies that use it in certified organic products. The Cornucopia Institute (CI), a leading organic industry watchdog, continues to call the USDA out on the matter, exposing the fact that the additive not only has a questionable safety record, but also does not belong in any organic product. The saga dates back to around 2002 when practically every major brand of infant formula began fortifying its blends with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA), two omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids naturally found in human breast milk. Manufacturers began to claim these blends were superior than others, and the closest thing to actual human breast milk (http://www.naturalnews.com/027437_DHA_baby_formula_Martek.html). The primary type of DHA and ARA used in the formulas, however, is the same laboratory-grown, synthetic variety made by Martek, which is now showing up in Horizon organic milk products. A CI report explains that Martek’s synthetic DHA/ARA blend is created using genetically-modified organisms (GMO), and then extracted using the toxic chemical hexane. Since the time of its approval, there have been hundreds of adverse event reports submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the additive causing serious health problems in children and babies (http://cornucopia.org/DHA/DHA_FullReport.pdf). If that is not bad enough, the USDA has known since 2006 that manufacturers were illegally adding the Martek additive to organic baby formulas. Though the agency initially sent letters to the offending manufacturers ordering them to stop using the additive, a later Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request revealed that the agency ended up caving to corporate lobbyists by agreeing to permit the unapproved additive in organic formulas. Now, the Horizon brand of organic dairy products has begun illegally adding the unapproved chemical additive to some of its milk products — and the USDA says it can continue to do so for an indefinite period of “phase-out” time. CI says it may file a lawsuit against the USDA for its negligent stance on the issue, which flagrantly violates the agency’s own organic standards and compromises the integrity of the entire organics program And to top it off, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) recently proposed allowing any synthetic additive to be freely added to organic products without having to be properly reviewed. NOSB will debate and vote on the proposal at its next meeting in Seattle, April 26-29, 2011. To voice your opposition against this heinous proposal, use the CI Action Alert here: http://www.cornucopia.org/2011/03/keep-questionable-synthetic-additives-out-of-organics/ Sources for this story include: http://www.cornucopia.org/2011/03/industry-watchdog-dumbfounded-by-usda%E2%80%99s-failure-to-enforce-organic-law/

Better marketing helps urban agriculture programs keep kids off the streets

(NaturalNews) Urban market gardens are a great way for inner-city neighborhoods to unite around a common cause and improve the social fabric of their local community — all while reaping a delicious harvest in the process. And a new study published in the Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education has found that Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs that build upon this concept can become highly effective and successful, especially when they are driven with proper marketing. Recently, NaturalNews featured a piece about the growth of local food and how community organizers in Detroit are reviving the city’s dying landscape with urban agriculture programs (http://www.naturalnews.com/030071_good_food_agriculture.html). And as part of the new study, researchers highlighted Seattle Youth Garden Works (SYGW), a program of Seattle Tilth that has been working for years to help and provide job training for local homeless and troubled youth through urban agriculture. In its early days, the organization had trouble maintaining the program because it lacked proper marketing outlets, but faculty from Washington State University (WSU) helped the group develop a CSA system that would end up helping it to thrive. Poor, inner-city neighborhoods are typically the most undernourished in terms of access to fresh produce. Many grocery stores that once carried such products have since moved out of these areas, leaving locals with little access to any fresh food. But successful CSA programs have been able to fill that gap, as well as provide hope and new opportunities for the people who live in these communities. But making it all happen requires effective marketing to clients. And part of SYGW’s goal is to utilize its passion for helping homeless and misguided youth to attract more customers to CSAs, which in turn brings in more vendors. According to reports, the popularity of CSAs and local agriculture in general has risen dramatically over the past several decades. Direct-to-consumer agriculture sales more than doubled between 1997 and 2007. So integrating them with inner-city social programs like SYGW is a great way to expand the growth of local food, as well as help provide the least among us with new life opportunities. Sources for this story include: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/asoa-gci102510.php

TSA turns off naked body scanners to avoid opt-out day protests

(NaturalNews) Anticipating a nationwide grassroots surge of protests against naked body scanners and aggressive pat-downs, the TSA simply turned off its naked body scanners on Wednesday and let air travelers walk right through security checkpoints without being X-rayed or molested. All across the country, air travelers are reporting that the TSA simply deactivated the naked body scanners and let people go right through without a scan. “Backscatter scanners are off. No scan. No patdown.” reported a traveler from the Seattle airport. “Backscatter machines aren’t being used at LAX,” reported another traveler. “They’re all roped off.” Much the same story is being reported all across the country. The TSA is desperate to avoid protests Shutting down the “National Opt-Out Day” by turning off the machines is the only logical move for the TSA, of course: The agency needed a way to defuse the growing grassroots resistance to its criminal violations of Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights. So instead of facing what was sure to be widespread protest, the agency simply decided to turn off the machines for a day. This action tells us all sorts of fascinating things about the TSA and its fabricated security excuses. Perhaps most importantly, it proves that the naked body scanners are not needed for air travel security in the first place . When it wants to, the TSA can just turn the machines off and resort to baggage X-rays and metal detectors. That’s worked for years, and it apparently worked today, too. And yet, up until today, the TSA has insisted that the naked body scanners are absolutely essential to detecting hidden bombs, and that “travelers won’t be safe” unless they use the naked body scanners. So all of a sudden today it’s okay for the TSA to put air travelers at risk of being blown up? The TSA can’t have it both ways. Either the naked body scanners are vital for air security and they need to be running 24/7 to keep everybody safe, or they’re just another security con game being played out for the financial benefit of Chertoff and others who profit from the sale of such machines. How can the TSA — with a straight face — say that naked body scanners are vital for air security but not on the busiest air travel day of the year? As you can see, there are some serious holes in the TSA’s mythology, and interestingly, this National Opt-Out Day indirectly exposed them by getting the TSA to turn off the naked body scanners. This is effectively an admission that they aren’t important to air security . Trying to avoid any challenge to its power This action by the TSA also shows that the TSA is desperately trying to avoid being publicly embarrassed by the national-opt-out day protests . Lots of local and national news film crews were out at the airports today, hoping to catch something interesting on camera. But by turning off the naked body scanners, the TSA was able to stage a “calm looking” day at the airport. As soon as the TV cameras leave, however, they can turn those machines right back on and start molesting people once again. This is classic behavior of police state tyrants: They present a calm, professional image to the media, but once the cameras leave, all of a sudden their hands are back down in your pants. I predict the TSA will have the machines turned right back on by Friday, and more reports of sexual molestation and inappropriate pat-downs will continue to emerge. Many people just skipped the airports altogether The other big travel news today was that lots of travelers decided to simply skip the airports altogether. NaturalNews received emails from several travelers who described major U.S. airports as “nearly empty.” Meanwhile, traffic was terrible on the freeways. The Massachusetts Turnpike played host to a 30-mile traffic jam today (http://www.thebostonchannel.com/r/25910285/detail.html). A new Zogby poll indicates that 43% of the American public will seek alternatives to flying due to the TSA’s aggressive pat-downs and naked body scanners (http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1925). That’s going to add up to a huge financial hit for the air travel industry in the months ahead. The TSA could end up destroying much of the air travel industry altogether! Learn more about freedom, security, American history and the Bill of Rights For a full discussion of the issues that really matter here, check out my new commentary audio / video about the Don’t Touch My Junk song. The first 13 minutes or so are about the song itself. After that, it’s mostly a discussion about freedom and the Bill of Rights. You can watch that video commentary for free at: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=F69DEBFAF4C14600166D09DF1B1F6951 Thank you to all who participated in the National Opt Out Day. In getting the TSA to turn off its naked body scanners, we exposed the TSA’s “big lie” about air travel safety . Have a Happy Thanksgiving and travel safely, no matter what method of transportation you choose.

Fish oil reduces risk of breast cancer by a third

(NaturalNews) When you look at statistics about breast cancer, it’s no wonder that the very mention of the disease causes dread in many women. After all, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) says about 210,000 Americans, almost all females, will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and about 40,000 will die from the disease. However, although it’s rarely reported in depth by the mainstream media, there’s actually a lot of good news accumulating about specific ways to stop breast cancer from ever developing in the first place. For example, a mounting of body of data shows cruciferous vegetables like broccoli fight breast cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/028822_broccoli_brst_cancer.html) and six studies have shown eating an apple a day can reduce the risk of breast cancer, too (http://www.naturalnews.com/025685_cancer_brst_apples.html). Now comes word of yet another natural substance that helps keep breast tumors away — scientists have discovered that fish oil can slash the chance a woman will get breast cancer by approximately a third. How fish oil works to prevent breast cancer The new study, just published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention , a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, was conducted by a research team at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. They investigated 35,016 postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 76 with no history of breast cancer who were participating in the Vitamins and Lifestyle cohort study (dubbed VITAL, short). The woman was asked to complete a 24 page questionnaire about their use of supplements other than vitamins and/or minerals. After six years of follow-up, 880 of these women had been diagnosed with breast cancer. However, those women who reported regularly taking fish oil supplements, which contain high levels of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, were found to have a 32 percent reduced risk of invasive ductal breast cancer — the most common type of breast cancer. The use of other specialty supplements, such as the herbs black cohosh and dong quai which are often taken by women to relieve symptoms of menopause, was not associated with raising or lowering breast cancer risk. As NaturalNews has previously reported, fish oil has been found to have a host of remarkable health protective properties. For example, a study published in the European Heart Journal concluded that consuming fatty fish and the marine omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil protects men from heart failure. And fish oil has been shown to be helpful in preventing mental illness, too (http://www.naturalnews.com/026130_heart_failure_fatty_fish_health.html). For more information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20615886