Charles Foerster: Neurotoxins in Your Chocolate Milk?

This is a time, when the public has an opportunity to materially affect how they, the consumers, may protect their own health, and that of their offspring for generations to come. In that respect, the timer is running down, and anyone who consumes milk might want to see what the milk producers have planned. The 17 other dairy products on the hit list include: acidified milk, sweetened condensed milk, nonfat dry milk, nonfat dry milk fortified with vitamins A and D, evaporated milk, dry cream, heavy cream, light cream, light whipping cream, sour cream, acidified sour cream, yogurt, low fat yogurt, and non fat yogurt. To summarize the corporate petition, the IDFA and NMPF International Dairy Foods Association and the National Milk Producers Federation have petitioned the FDA to seek approval to allow optional characterizing flavoring ingredients in milk, to be chocolate flavoring added to milk, to be sweetened with any safe and suitable sweetener, including non nutritive sweeteners such as aspartame. The Federal Register has the petition listed on their website, where it can be viewed, and comments can be posted. The proposed amendments to the milk standard of identity would be to promote more healthy eating practices, reduce childhood obesity, as well as promote honesty and fair dealing in the marketplace, so they say. A more likely scenario is that by using aspartame to flavor the dairy products, their costs will be lowered, and their profits will increase. Buyers beware. Without doubt, the petitioners are using childhood obesity as the talking point, to sell the idea of using the cheap but toxic aspartame as sweeteners for flavoring in dairy products. While the idea of more healthy eating habits, and a reduction in childhood obesity are obviously good ideas, using additional aspartame in the food chain is counter productive and dangerous. The diets of Americans and their children in particular, are loaded with the substance. Formula: C14H18N205. Molar mass: 294.3 g/mol IUPAC ID: N-(L a Aspartyl) -L phenylaline, 1-methyl ester. Melting point: 246 C Density: 1.35 g/cm3 So why should we be concerned? A study was done by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, which showed adverse health effects to people who consumed aspartame flavored diet drinks. The study suggested that instead of fighting obesity and its associated hazards, the use of aspartame might actually contribute to the conditions.

Tomgram: Victoria Britain, Fighting a Global War on Terror!

The Global War on Terror has had many victims, since it was launched by President George W. Bush, soon after September 11, 2001. In his "crusade," a word used publicly, before he thought better of it. "This crusade," he said, "this war on terrorism", the history of kidnappings and renditions, torture and abuse, imprisonment without charges or trial, drone assassinations and the killing of civilians is by now well known, for those of us who care to know. But there are other less noted kinds of "collateral damage" from more than a decade of such conflict, including damage to women on both sides, or perhaps ends of the war. The New York Times recently ran a two part report on the toll that the war on terror has taken on women in the US military, and it makes for startling reading. Back in January 2012, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta estimated that there could be as many as 19,000 sexual assaults in the US military, not in the whole war or terror era, but in a year of it, only about 3,000 of which actually get reported. Sexual assault and the threat of it, as the times recounted, only adds to the pressures that, in these years, have been placed on American soldiers. They have experienced striking rates of brain injuries, usually from roadside bombs, rising cases of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), soaring suicide rates among both on duty service personnel and veterans, increased use of drugs, legal and illegal, and a striking rise among women veterans in homelessness, a phenomenon that itself, reports the Times, is often connected to being raped, to the Military Sexual Trauma (MST) that follows, and to the PTSD that can follow as well. This, in other words, is one kind of collateral damage, seldom thought of as such, when the war on terror is brought up. On the other end of that war, in a world where terror suspects have next to no recourse, and Washington's record of doing terrible things to innocent men is daunting, are women and children connected to those suspects. As it happens, Victoria Brittain, a journalist and former editor at the British Guardian, has spent these last years with a group of such women. She saw first hand how, in her country as in the US effort more generally, a global war on terror became a global war on terror, a war that, at least in part, turned out to be against women and children. Her book on the subject, Shadow Lives: The Forgotten Women of the War on Terror, has just been published. Though both of these worlds, the world of the woman warrior and of the woman connected to a suspect in the war, we get, as Noam Chomsky wrote in a comment on her book, "a revealing picture of what we have allowed ourselves to become." Indeed!  

Lynn Stuart Parramore: Outrageous Statements from America's Big Mouthed Overlords.

When the chiefs of giant corporations are not blaming others for their mismanagement and unscrupulous behavior, they're explaining why their distorted worldviews are best for the 99 percent. They do this, of course, at a time of declining national median income, and huge paydays for executives. Recently, there has been an uptick of particularly stupid remarks, coming from the mouths of America's CEOs. Here are a few of the most out of touch and out of line oracles, a mix of recent gaffes and classic blunders. "That's why I'm richer than you." JP Morgan honcho Jamie Dimon has taken time out of his regularly scheduled program of mismanaging a systemically dangerous bank, to divulge why he's richer than the rest of us. Last week, Mike Mayo, who is both an analyst at CLSA, and a critic of too big to fail banks, was on an investor conference call, a forum in which executives typically offer BS about their company's performance. Mayo wasn't having it. He asked pointedly if customers might take their money to better capitalized banks than JPMorgan. Mayo: I think what I hear UBS saying in the presentation is that if I'm an affluent customer I'll feel a lot better going to UBS, if they have 13.5 percent capital ratio, than another big bank with a 10 percent ratio. Do you agree with that? Dimon: You would go to UBS and not JPMorgan? Mayo: I didn't say that. That's their argument. Dimon: That's why I am richer than you. The mystery of Dimon's riches solved! Dimon became 1 per center extraordinaire, because he operates in a lax regulatory climate that lets him get away with low capital ratios. That, of course, is one of the reasons the big banks blew up the economy during the recent financial crisis, they were over leveraged. Which is awful for just about everyone, investors, taxpayers and ordinary people dealing with economic ruin, but it sure is great for Dimon! James Saft over at Reuters was less than impressed by Dimon's musings: "The real issue isn't who is rich, but rather whose interests are being fairly served, and whose aren't. Dimon's approach gives short shrift to both shareholders and taxpayers. Taxpayers still carry substantial risks for which they are not being compensated, a state that will only change, when regulations are tightened, and hopefully vastly simplified. Shareholders do badly, because the kind of bank Dimon runs is prone to loss and volatility, leading markets to set a low value on the bank's earnings."   

Roi Tov, Columnist: Saying Peace, Meaning "War"!

We have our own values. We build or own special, our Jewish life, and we are proud, so very proud. Rabbi Meir Kahane. Maiming by maiming, death by death, killing by killing, peace distances itself from the Middle East. Distances itself, not like the sun during sunset, which in its infinite boredom reappears a few hours later from a different angle, a silly adult trying to scare a smarter baby,but like a star leaving the galaxy's gravitational power, and getting lost in the intergalactic vastness. March 4, 2013, looked like an ordinary day in Hell's Upper Neighborhood with its shouting devils. Yet, in its infinite boredom this day in Hell's Upper Neighborhood with its shouting devils. Yet, in its infinite boredom this day hid worrying news, peace had escaped our galaxy. Jewish Violence Reaches the Court. Hana Amtir Attacked by Religious Jews. Jewish Terrorism in Israel. Today, the Jerusalem District Court disclosed an event that took place last week, in the city's light railway. A Palestinian woman named Hana Amtir was attacked by three religious Jewish women. The event was caught by police video. The police representative in court, Jacky Ben Yakar admitted "in the video the girls are seen attacking the accuser, the latter is seen defending herself." Attackers Protected by the State. Generals in the Cabinet Room: How the Military Shapes Israeli Policy! The attacking girls, minors, asked Hana if she was an Arab. When Hana admitted that she was, she was hit and spat upon by the beasts. The police admitted that it was "nationalistic crime", and the investigation was delegated to a new unit of district's police, which specializes in this. The Jewish girls were sent home. A Court orders forbid disclosing their identities, thus the camouflage on the pictures. In contrast, Hana Amtir, the victim, has been exposed by the authorities. They have knowingly put her in danger. From now on, she will probably be persecuted by the attackers' relatives. They know where she stops every day, and there are good pictures of her on the media. Judges in Jerusalem, which devil hired you? A Muslim Jew Attacked by Israel: "While he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, "This text appears several times in the first chapter of the Book of Job, and had become a central Hebrew idiom, while describing repeated disasters.    

Victoria Brittain: The Global War War of Terror!

The Global War on Terror has had many victims since it was launched by President George W Bush soon after September 11, 2001. In his crusade, a word he used publicly before he thought better of it. This crusade, he said, this war on terrorism, the history of kidnappings and renditions, torture and abuse, imprisonment without charges or trial, drone assassinations and imprisonment without charges or trial, drone assassinations and the killing of civilians is by now well known, for those who care to know. But there are other less noted kinds of collateral damage from more than a decade of such conflict, including damage to women on both sides, or perhaps ends of the war. The New York Times recently ran a two part report on the toll that the war n terror era has taken on women in the US military, and it makes for startling reading. Back in January 2012, Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta estimated that there could be as many as 19,000 sexual assaults in the US military, not the whole war on terror era, but in a year of it, only about 3,000 of which actually get reported. Sexual assault and the threat of it, as the Times recounted, only adds to the pressures that, in these years, have been placed on American soldiers. They have experienced striking rates of brain injuries,, usually from roadside bombs, rising cases of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), soaring suicide rates among both on duty service personnel and veterans, increased use of drugs, legal and illegal, and a striking rise among women veterans in homelessness, a phenomenon that itself, reports the Times, is often connected to being raped, to the Military Sexual Trauma (MST) that follows, and to the PTSD that can follow as well. This, in other words, is one kind of "collateral damage" seldom thought of as such, when the war on terror is brought up. On the other end of that war, in a world where "terror suspects" have next to no recourse, and Washington's record of doing terrible things to innocent men is daunting, are women and children connected to those suspects. As it happens, Victoria Brittain, a journalist and former editor at the British Guardian, has spent these last years with a group of such women. She saw first hand how, in her country as in the US effort more generally, a global war on terror became a global war of terror, a war that, at least in part, turned out to be against innocent women and children. 

Veterans Today: Purple Heart Homes and Citi Provide Housing Solutions

and support for Service Connected Disabled Veterans and their families. A collaboration between Purple Heart Homes and Citi to provide housing solutions for service connected disabled veterans, will mean that a number of military veterans and their families will soon be able to start new lives in their homes. Starting this month, with former US Army Corporal Hamilton Kinard and his family, who moved into a fully renovated new home in Claxton, Georgia, Purple Heart Homes and Citi are helping injured returning troops begin the next phase of their lives with modified housing and support they need. Under the program, Citi works with Purple Heart Homes to identify properties in its REO inventory, that are in locations in which a service connected disabled veteran is in need of a housing arrangement that accommodates his or her injury related challenge. Purple Heart Homes then works with third party contractors to modify homes, based on the needs of the individuals and their families. Corporal Kindard, who sustained multiple injuries from an IED explosion, while serving in Iraq, is living with the challenges of traumatic brain injury (TBI), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cervical strain, hearing loss and degenerative disc disease. The Kinards' new five bedroom, single story ranch has been modified with wider doorways and hallways, a handicap accessible bathroom, and a new kitchen. As part of their assimilation back into civilian life, Corporal Kindard and his wife will also participate in a new mentor ship program, that will provide training on home maintenance and money management, as well as financial counseling and career guidance. "Both Purple Heart Homes and Citi recognize that service connected disabled veterans who have served our country need homes that can be modified and adapted to provide them with a safe, barrier free living environment," says John Galina, Co-founder of Purple Heart Homes. "In addition, they need training and the support of mentors to thrive in their new communities and civilian lives." When disabled veterans move into their newly decorated homes, the community plays a vital role by welcoming new families, and provide a crucial and immediate sense of belonging. Purple Heart Homes recruits and engages members of each community to volunteer with painting, landscaping, and gardening tasks, as well as raising funds to help cover the costs of the home modifications, which average $70,000 per property. Purple Heart Homes recipients are also encouraged to reciprocate, by getting involved in local volunteer opportunities.         

Sartre Batr: NYSERDA Agenda 21 Sustainability in Action!

With all the caustic New World Order climate change, and land use plans, and in spite of public outrage stemming from the global warming fraud, the bureaucratic juggernaut rolls on. Especially in New York State, the home of the sinister United Nations, the plotters against rational conservation, efficient energy policy and prudent economic growth, are destroying the very nature of sound environmentalism. Hard at work, are the brain dead toady bureaucrats, and the "true believers" in total denial meltdown mode. Turning the concept of self sufficiency into a dirty word, sustainability is the new catch phrase to distinguish vogue ignorance, in order to save the planet, you need to destroy it crowd. Ordinary citizens nee to rally, and put an end to central control government. Start with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation efforts in there, Sustainability Plan Guidance A Regional Plan. This outline adopts the objectives of imposing an Agenda 21 program as official NYS policy. "The core of the plan is the regional focus that enables a consortium of municipalities to create a shared vision, and then pool their resources towards achieving that vision." Efforts and criticism from the like of John W Wallace need to multiply across the state, and caution their neighbors. Now is the time to stop. Governor Andrew Coumo to implement United Nations' Agenda 21 in New York state via regional planning groups. Of course, the country and local government officials are unaware that by signing onto Agenda 21, and that their town, city, village or county will now appear on the ICLEI website. Most local residents will remain unaware of the implications of the new comprehensive plan and Agenda 21, until after it is promulgated in their own backyards, in the form of a regional draft comprehensive plan, that is intended to supersede local planning boards and zoning laws. In order to appreciate the scope and intrusion into local communities, the destructive role of the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, NYSERDA becomes required understanding. A recent case study assessment provides a firsthand testimonial of an attendee at a regional gathering. Please review the source links for supporting evidence. The following is the summary of activist Mary Kay Barton: On January 26, 2012, I attended the final meeting in Batavia, NY for the Finger Lakes "Regional Sustainability Plan", part of NYSERDA' s $10,000,000 expenditure state wide, to have regional Planning Departments orchestrate plans that coincide with the sustainability initiative described in NYSERDA's "Cleaner, Greener Communities" Program.