Planned Parenthood scandal? The real scandal is that Komen’s mammograms actually cause breast cancer

The media is abuzz with chatter about Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s flip-flopping on the issue of whether or not to fund Planned Parenthood, the controversial reproductive health services group that provides abortions for women, in order for it to offer breast exams…

Exposed: Genetically-modified salmon found to be contaminated with infectious salmon anemia

As the US federal government continues to evaluate whether or not to approve AquaBounty’s genetically-modified (GM) “AquAdvantage” salmon, Canada’s Cohen Commission (CC), a group established by the nation’s government to track the decline of Sockeye salmon in the Fraser…

Red alert: Fukushima nuclear reactor 4 possibly collapsing, say sources, mass evacuations may be necessary

(NaturalNews) After enduring many months of total information blackout on the situation, an intelligence source connected with NaturalNews has just informed us that Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor 4 may now on the verge of collapsing, and that mass evacuations in northern Japan could be necessary if such a collapse occurs and is confirmed. NaturalNews presents this only as a precautionary alert, as we have not yet been about to double or triple confirm this report, but we are actively investigating and will bring you updates in a timely manner. Reactor 4, you may remember, had been given the silent treatment by the plant’s operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), immediately following the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck the fragile plant back in March. For weeks, the public was left in the dark about the status of reactor 4′s cooling pools, and about whether or not the reactor’s spent fuel rods were exposed (http://www.naturalnews.com/031758_Fukushima_nuclear_reactor.html). It now appears, however, that reactor 4′s cooling tower, which had previously been reported to be leaning and in danger of falling (http://enenews.com/very-very-serious-reactor-no-4-leaning-in-danger-of-falling-govt-confirms-stabilization-efforts-underway-video), is now following course with its inevitable fate, which is a possible total collapse. According to our source, the entire reactor 4 structure has been deemed “highly unstable,” and the south wall of the reactor appears to be headed into an imminent structural failure. This situation, of course, is extremely dangerous and could have devastating consequences for Northern Japan as well as North America, which is why mass evacuations in Japan would be a likely outcome in the hours following such a collapse. As soon as NaturalNews learns more information about this breaking situation, we will provide the details to our readers. Until then, stay tuned as we investigate the situation further, and work to verify the details of the situation with second and third sources.

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

Yelp.com sued over allegations of extorting small local businesses and restaurants

(NaturalNews) The most savvy business person will tell you that they are always finding a better way to offer their product or otherwise make it more valuable, in order to increase sales and profits. But when that fails some companies, according to a recent lawsuit, resort to harder tactics – like extortion. A number of small businesses have filed suit against local business review start-up Yelp, Inc. , over allegations the latter’s sales representatives offered to have negative reviews of businesses removed only if they bought advertising. According to The Wall Street Journal, the owner of Chicago’s Bleeding Heart Bakery has alleged that Yelp “offered in exchange for a paid sponsorship to push any bad reviews to the end of the bakery’s listings on San Francisco-based Yelp’s site.” The owner alleged further that a Yelp sales rep said they would personally remove reviews the owner thought were “bogus,” according to the suit. “Yelp’s practices are extortionate and especially harmful to small businesses, such as our clients, who are particularly vulnerable to reviews posted on the site,” Jared H. Beck, co-managing partner of Beck and Lee, referring to the original plaintiff and nine new ones, told the paper. Not surprisingly, Yelp officials say the suit is bogus and without merit. “The allegations stem from confusion over how our review filter works to protect consumers from fake reviews, and businesses from malicious reviews from competitors,” Vince Sollitto, Yelp’s vice president of communications, told WSJ. But the complaints are not new. Last year, the East Bay Express newspaper ran a story describing similar allegations by businesses that Yelp sales reps were trying to help bad reviews in exchange for ad sales. According to that report, a Yelp rep offered to “move” a local restaurateur’s bad reviews “for $299 a month.” Moreover, the restaurateur reported that the bad reviews of his business – which were, by far, the minority of reviews his restaurant received – even seemed seedy. “When you do get a call from Yelp, and you go to the site, it looks like they have been moved,” the owner, John, said. “You don’t know if they happen to be at the top legitimately or if the rep moved them to the top. You don’t even know if this is someone who legitimately doesn’t like your restaurant. Almost all the time when they call you, the bad ones will be at the top.” In the end, it looks like the courts will decide whether or not Yelp’s business model was taken from an old mafia playbook.

Scientist deliberately ‘militarizes’ flu strain in deadly bioterrorism experiment

(NaturalNews) For years, health officials from around the world have been warning that the H5N1 avian flu virus, which is currently not a threat, will one day mutate into a deadly, pandemic strain. But now their predictions — or warnings, depending on how you look at it — could come true, as a European scientist has genetically altered H5N1 to effectively spread between mammals. NPR reports that Dr. Ron Fouchier from Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands announced at a recent flu conference in Malta that he had discovered a way to make the avian flu virus more contagious. By deliberately modifying the virus’ genes, Dr. Fouchier was able to induce H5N1 transmission between ferrets, which represent the animal model typically used to study flu transmission between humans. So in case you missed it, a virologist has deliberately altered the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus to become more transmissible between mammals — and he has done so in the name of studying the nature of the virus and, according to NPR, “what it is capable of.” Never mind that in its native state, H5N1 is incapable of doing much at all on a global scale. Now that it has been purposely altered, the virus could eventually have devastating global consequences should it ever be released into the wild. “It’s just a bad idea for scientists to turn a lethal virus into a lethal and highly contagious virus,” said Dr. Thomas Inglesby, a bioterrorism expert and director of the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, concerning the experiment. “And it’s a second bad idea for them to publish how they did it so others can copy it.” Though Dr. Fouchier has not yet published his findings in a scientific journal, he very well could in the near future. In response to an NPR inquiry as to whether or not he intends to publish the study, Dr. Fouchier allegedly told NPR via email that he refused to comment until a National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity committee decides whether or not to recommend that the study be published. In defense of publishing sensitive studies of this nature, Lynn Enquist, editor in chief of the Journal of Virology , told NPR that it is necessary in order to “be prepared” for how the virus might evolve and spread. Sources for this article include: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/11/17/142453447/bird-flu-research-rattles-bioterrorism-field

Monsanto partners with USAID to push GM corn in Nepal

(NaturalNews) The southeast Asian country of Nepal is once again having to fight against foreign interests that are trying to take over its agricultural system. Biotechnology giant Monsanto apparently has its sights set on bringing genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) to this sliver of a country just north of India, and it is allegedly working with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a so-called humanitarian group, and officials in Nepal to make it happen. USAID issued a statement on Sept. 13, 2011, saying that it had partnered with Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoACs) and Monsanto to “promote hybrid maize (corn) seeds among 20,000 farmers of Chitwan, Nawalparasi and Kavre districts and provide training to them.” Media across Nepal quickly picked up on the story, and massive public outcry ensued. GMOs are not widely cultivated in Nepal, and the country has always taken a very cautious approach to adopting them. In fact, when it was discovered that some GMO ingredients had potentially already contaminated the nation’s food supply back in 2003, government officials quickly made precautionary recommendations at the time to require GMO labeling on all food items. But with multinational corporations and the US government working overtime to force GM corn on Nepali farmers, Nepal appears to be getting pushed to the brink of no return. Though Nepal still imports some of its corn from elsewhere, the country is having no problems with the conventional, organic, and heirloom varieties it currently cultivates, and has no need whatsoever for GM varieties. Since the controversy erupted, Nepali officials have reportedly backed off from the plan. Hari Dahal, joint secretary at MoACs, told reporters recently that his agency had “no idea why USAID issued the statements saying that the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives was partnering with Monsanto” because “no agreement had been signed.” USAID was a little more ambiguous about whether or not MoACs was specifically involved in the matter, but the agency did make it very clear that it is working with Monsanto to promote GMOs around the world, including in Nepal. And based on the way Monsanto continues to thrust GMOs on the people of India just to the south, there is no doubt that the biotech giant is doing the same thing to people of Nepal as we speak. Sources for this article include: http://www.nepalitimes.com/issue/2011/11/8/Nation/18676 http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90064942?Monsanto%20focus%20of%20controversy%20in%20Nepal%20over%20hybrid%20maize

New study reveals expensive MRIs pushed on women for breast cancer screening have no medical benefit

(NaturalNews) The use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, better known simply as MRI, for breast cancer screening is increasing and so is its use in guiding breast surgery when cancer is discovered. Obviously, that means healthcare costs are soaring, too, as more and more women are advised to get MRIs in addition to mammograms. The push started in 2007. At that time, the New York Times reported a breast MRI cost $1,000 to $2,000, and sometimes more — at least 10 times the cost of mammography. So for every million breast MRIs performed each year, healthcare costs spike by at least a billion dollars. Sometimes, but not always, these test are covered by Medicare and insurance. Of course, despite this enormous cost, the only reason doctors and medical centers would be urging women to have these expensive tests is because there must be convincing proof breast MRIs are excellent for spotting breast cancer and/or for directing cancer therapy. But this is not true. Although it may be hard to believe, here comes the shocking truth, as just reported in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet . Monica Morrow from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and colleagues meticulously reviewed research from the past decade to examine the belief that breast MRIs are effective at finding and treating breast cancer. What they found was just the opposite. There is little to no evidence breast MRIs benefit the vast majority of women. In fact, there’s not even evidence showing breast MRIs are particularly effective at helping direct breast-conserving surgery. Selling women on breast MRIs with no proof the tests increase survival The new study did indicate breast MRI can be valuable in screening women at very high risk for breast cancer due to their genetic heritage. However, let’s take a closer look at that finding. According to a media statement, the researchers noted that while a breast MRI can identify tumors missed by mammograms and ultrasound in women at risk of breast cancer due to a known gene mutation or their family history, “little is known about whether or not this improved detection has any impact on survival.” “MRI has, over recent years, been widely adopted into clinical practice based on the assumption that its increased sensitivity at detecting cancer will improve outcomes for patients,” the authors noted in a media release. Bottom line: they found there’s no actual evidence having a breast MRI that spots cancer in a high risk woman means they will live any longer than they would have if they’d never had the test. According to the research team, that fact that breast MRIs produce more sensitive images does not translate into better surgical treatment or prognoses when used to evaluate women before surgery, either. “The available data does not support the idea that MRI improves patient selection for breast-conserving surgery or that it increases the likelihood of obtaining negative margins [no cancer cells found in margins of resection] at the initial surgical excision,” they wrote. Sources for this article include: http://www.thelancet.com/ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/health/28mri.html

USDA gives half million in taxpayer dollars to AquaBounty to promote GM salmon

(NaturalNews) Biotechnology company AquaBounty has had quite a bit of trouble getting quick regulatory approval for its genetically-modified (GM) salmon, called AquAdvantage, because the “frankenfish” is not always sterile as claimed and could spread its corrupted genes into the wild. So in order to help move things along, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded the company nearly $500,000 in taxpayer funds to conduct research on how to fully sterilize the fish, according to Grist . Neither the USDA nor the FDA seem to care that the public remains overwhelmingly opposed to AquaBounty’s GM salmon regardless of whether or not it is sterile. Not only do consumers not want to eat the fake fish, which has been shown to be highly allergenic, but they also most certainly do not want their hard-earned cash handed over to AquaBounty on a silver platter to ensure that the unwanted salmon eventually makes it to grocery store shelves (http://www.naturalnews.com/GM_salmon.html). But this is exactly what the USDA has done. While AquaBounty’s president and CEO Ronald L. Stotish sneers at those who rightfully oppose his company’s intention to force dangerous GM salmon into the food supply against the will of the people, the USDA is busy giving the company the people’s money. And eventually, this generous donation may result in AquAdvantage getting full approval, rather than plunging into oblivion as it was on course to do. In other words, American taxpayers are now subsidizing the research and development that AquaBounty itself cannot afford to undertake. The company, after all, has already lost $2.8 million and three board members since its inception, as it has failed to produce a safe product that appeals to, well, anyone. So now the government is artificially propping up the failing company with a cash infusion to ensure that AquAdvantage eventually makes its way to market. The US government, of course, has absolutely no business using taxpayer dollars to fund the development of a GM fish that nobody in the public wants to see released, and definitely does not want to consume. AquaBounty was well on its way to extinction, as it should have been, until the nation’s corrupt regulatory bodies decided to intervene and change its course. Commenting on the FDA’s potential approval of the GM salmon, regardless of whether or not a sterile version is developed, Colin O’Neil, regulatory policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety, said it best. Grist quotes him as saying that it is “reckless for the FDA to approve genetically engineered salmon given the large number of environmental, human health, animal welfare and economic risks that have been raised by scientists, members of Congress and members of the FDA’s own Advisory Committee.” Sources for this story include: http://www.grist.org/food/2011-09-29-feds-help-gmo-salmon-swim-upstream

Did Merck buy off California legislators who voted to pass AB499 vaccination consent bill?

(NaturalNews) After months of quietly making its way through both the California House of Representatives and the Senate, Assembly Bill 499 (AB 499) has now officially been signed into law by California Gov. Jerry Brown. The bill allows for children as young as 12 to be vaccinated against sexually transmitted diseases like Hepatitis B and human papillomavirus (HPV) without parental knowledge or consent. The bill amends current California state law which previously required that minors obtain parental consent before receiving school vaccinations. Now, children as young as 12 will be permitted to decide for themselves, presumably with a little extra prodding and manipulation by school officials, whether or not to opt for controversial and dangerous vaccines like Merck and Co.’s cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil (http://www.naturalnews.com/Gardasil.html). Assemblywoman Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), who sponsored the anti-parent bill, just so happens to have received a generous campaign donation from Merck prior to endorsing it — and she later lied about this fact when confronted about it (http://maplight.org/california/legislator/1378-toni-atkins). According to CalWatchdog, a California-based government accountability group, 25 of the California senators and assemblymen that voted in favor of the bill also received campaign contributions from Merck that collectively totaled nearly $40,000 (http://www.calwatchdog.com/2011/09/06/merck-funded-anti-parent-bill/). In passing this bill, Gov. Brown, Asw. Toni Atkins and the rest of the cronies in California government that supported AB 499 have officially signed away the health freedom of parents and their children for drug money. And parents of school children will now have to actively warn their children not to accept any vaccinations, no matter what their teachers or school nurses say about them, or pull their children out of public school altogether. A few weeks ago, NaturalNews petitioned its readers to call, write, and fax Gov. Brown’s office to urge him not to sign AB 499 in to law. Though he ended up signing it anyway, we are once again urging readers to bombard his office with opposition to the bill, which is a flagrant affront to parental rights. Not only does AB 499 put millions of California children at risk from dangerous vaccines, but it also restricts parental access to the full medical records of their own children. Based on the bill’s provisions, parents will only be allowed to access portions of their children’s medical records once they reach 12 years of age. See the commentary on this from Mike Adams at: http://www.naturalnews.com/033831_Jerry_Brown_Gardasil.html To contact Gov. Brown’s office: Governor Jerry Brown c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 445-2841 Fax: (916) 558-3160 Sources for this article include: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2011/10/gov-the-governor-also-signed-a-measure-allowing-minors-who-are-12-years-of-age-or-older-to-consent-without-their-parents-kn.html

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