Thursday, May 31, 2012

Gas Prices Around the World


Cars

Gas Prices Around the World

Find out how prices at the pump in the U.S. stack up against prices in 11 other countries.

By Susannah Snider, Reporter, Kiplinger's Personal Finance

The average U.S. gas price has skyrocketed to $3.61, according to AAA. But Americans cough up only about half of the amount drivers pay per gallon in Europe, where steep fuel taxes fund public transit systems, among other projects. On the other extreme, oil-rich countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, keep fuel dirt-cheap with generous subsidies that cost their governments billions.
Keep in mind that, with our suburbs, strip malls and gas guzzlers, Americans feel the pain at the pump more acutely than others.

Canada
$5.56 per gallon

Although Canada is a major producer of oil (it’s the U.S.’s main provider, accounting for 24% of our crude oil in January), heavy taxes hit Canadian drivers hard. Pricing methods vary among provinces, with some choosing to regulate and others opting out. In February, Ontario’s motorists paid about 38% in taxes at the pump, more than triple the U.S. rate.
France
$8.29 per gallon

European countries are well-known for their sky-high gas prices. France is no exception, levying taxes of over $4.50 per gallon. One trade-off is Europe’s ubiquitous train system, with high-speed trains such as the Eurostar and Thalys linking the continent.
Turkey
$9.96 per gallon

Turkey has the highest price on our list, soaring to almost $10 per gallon. Istanbul consistently ranks as one of the most expensive cities in which to buy gas.
Saudi Arabia
$0.61 per gallon

Saudi Arabia boasts about one-fifth of the world’s oil reserves and is a significant supplier to the U.S. The price of gasoline is decided by royal decree, selling at a subsidized rate.
Iran
$1.44 per gallon

Although Iranians enjoy a gas subsidy, the government recently reduced its assistance, causing prices to soar. Drivers used to purchase a rationed 60 liters (about 16 gallons) of gas at about 10 cents per liter, with taxi drivers allowed more. The price has since quadrupled for the same fixed amount, according to Armin Wagner, an analyst at the German Agency for International Cooperation, a German-based group that studies global development.
India
$5.03 per gallon

In June 2010, the Indian government decided to deregulate gasoline prices, doing away with the subsidies that had long kept the cost low. The price has since increased by about $1.
China
$4.54 per gallon

China’s economic regulatory agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, adjusts the retail price of gasoline when the cost of crude oil changes by more than 4% over 22 business days. “When oil prices rally, China sometimes keeps oil lower than international rates to keep the economy going, prevent protests and promote social stability,” says Antoine Halff, a senior oil market analyst for the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Japan
$6.62 per gallon

The island nation taxes motorists almost $3 per gallon, according to Energy Détente. A state-of-the-art railway system, which includes lightning-fast shinkansen (bullet trains), offsets the pain at the pump.
Australia
$5.41 per gallon

Australia’s gas prices are determined by a deregulated market where competition is the name of the game. A benefit to Australian consumers right now is their thriving currency, which recently traded at a record-breaking rate against the U.S. dollar.
Brazil
$5.98 per gallon

In the Western hemisphere, only the U.S. and Canada outpace Brazil’s appetite for energy. The country is somewhat insulated from rising world oil prices because of its local supply of ethanol, harvested from sugarcane. Each of the country’s 33,000 gas stations offer pure hydrated ethanol, according to Brazil’s Surgarcane Association. And motorists can drive Flexfuel vehicles, designed to run on a mixture of gasoline and ethanol.
Venezuela
$0.08 per gallon

Venezuela boasts the lowest cost of gasoline on our list. Citizens pay just pennies per gallon, enjoying generous subsidies from President Hugo Chavez.
Like Iran and Saudi Arabia, oil-rich Venezuela has stitched affordable gas into its national fabric. “Oil is seen as a national resource, effectively owned by all and to which all are entitled,” says Halff. “The idea of cheap gasoline tends to be firmly entrenched in the political culture of those countries.”

Swarm of 30 tremors shake Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea volcano

Swarm of 30 tremors shake Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea volcano

ExtinctionProtocol/ A swarm of 30 earthquakes rattled Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea volcano over a 48 period from Monday to Tuesday. The strongest of the tremors was a 3.3 magnitude earthquake which erupted on May 29, at a depth of 10 km. Most of the tremors have been very shallow, with most registering at depths of less than 8 km. Geologists have been warning for the last year that Hawaii’s seemingly placid volcano is capable of very violent large-scale outbursts so close monitoring of volcanic activity is crucial.

Bilderberg Launches Unprecedented Security Crackdown

30.05.2012 17:08    Comments: 0    Categories: NWO      Tags: bilderberg group  
INFOWARS/The Bilderberg Group has launched an unprecedented security crackdown on the eve of tomorrow’s secretive confab of global power brokers, with guests at the Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles hotel being intimidated by talk of machine guns and high-tech surveillance.


Video streaming by Ustream
Police tell Alex Jones and crew to leave the hotel.
Surveying the scene at the hotel today, radio host Alex Jones described a chaotic picture, with Bilderberg security, including a particularly vocal Swedish woman, stomping around the building announcing that “machine gun nests” were being set up in anticipation of a deluge of protesters arriving over the next few days.
Given the fact that a record number of demonstrators are expected to attend, Bilderberg has been more stringent than ever before in its efforts to get people out of the way, telling customers who had made room reservations for two days before the start of the conference that their bookings would not be honored.
Undercover Fairfax police, secret service, hotel security, as well as diplomatic service personnel are all now rushing to finalize preparations for the arrival of Bilderberg members tomorrow morning.
According to London Guardian journalist Charlie Skelton, conference organizers were also using iPhones to film guests who had arrived for brunch. Regular guests as well as journalists are also having background checks run against their names.
Alex Jones also heard discussions between members of Bilderberg security about how sophisticated surveillance equipment using satellites was being used to tap phones of prominent activists and media personalities set to cover the event.
Although well over a thousand people have signaled their intention to attend the protest, Bilderberg only expects around 500 to be in place at any one time.
Alex Jones himself was contacted yesterday by Bryan Stolz, Director of Hotel Operations at Marriott International, who told Jones that his room booking was cancelled and that he and his crew would be banned from entering the premises of the hotel.
People who are already staying at the hotel have had letters delivered to their rooms ordering them to leave the premises before noon on Thursday.
We are also expecting to receive details of Bilderberg’s 2012 agenda within the next few hours. One topic of discussion already confirmed to be up for debate will be ecological issues and Agenda 21 – part of Bilderberg’s efforts to usher in a post-industrial revolution.

Acanac Sponsorship Second deadly quake in Italy

30.05.2012 17:06    Comments: 0    Categories: Earth Changes      Tags: italy  earthquake  
TorontoSun/ An earthquake killed 16 people and injured about 350 in northern Italy on Tuesday, spreading fear among thousands of residents living in tents after a similarly strong tremor in the same region flattened their homes nine days ago.
Rescuers were searching through the rubble of houses and warehouses in the Emilia-Romagna region, where several building sites had just reopened after the previous quake on May 20.
Officials said 16 people were confirmed dead, more than twice the number killed in the May 20 quake that, like Tuesday’s, had its epicentre near the city of Modena. The number of those forced to leave their homes doubled to 14,000.
Many residents ran out of buildings when they felt the 5.8-magnitude tremor, which hit shortly after 0700 GMT just as operations to rebuild the quake-struck region were under way.
“As we were coming down the stairs, we heard the sound of crumbling houses around us. There was a big cloud of dust,” said 72-year-old Giulio in Cavezzo, a badly damaged village about 30 km (20 miles) from Modena where three died.
Rescuers searched tirelessly for survivors despite initial operations being hampered by disruption to the mobile phone network and to the railway network around Bologna.
A woman was pulled alive from the debris of her house in Cavezzo after 12 hours searching, according to Sky Italia.
The quake was the most deadly to strike Italy since 2009 when a tremor partially destroyed the central city of L’Aquila, killing about 300 people and leaving thousands homeless.
With its streets deserted, Cavezzo looked like a ghost town. A shop in the centre still had fruit displayed on stalls outside in the street.
In a nearby empty coffee shop a half-eaten croissant was left on a plate on the bar and an apron lay on the floor.
“It’s a disaster, I’ve never seen anything like it. An endless series of very strong tremors after those of May 20, which had already pulled everything to its knees,” said a very shaken Stefano Draghetti, mayor of Cavezzo.
“We need a lot of help to restart, from those who can - the state, the European community.”
Italian media showed buildings and shopping malls shaking and collapsing under the force of the quake and ambulances racing across towns. Churches and factories were badly damaged.
In Medolla, also near the epicentre, an electromedical equipment plant collapsed, killing a worker. Rescuers were frantically searching for three other workers still believed to be under the rubble, a Reuters witness said.
“The situation is one of great fear and uncertainty,” said Salvatore Iannizzotto, provincial head for the Modena police.
“The population was becoming more relaxed and slowly moving back into their homes. They have now left their homes again.”
The civil protection service was setting up new emergency campsites to provide residents with shelter for the night.
QUAKE WOUNDS ITALY
The quake hit one of the most productive regions in a country struggling with a deep economic recession.
Farmers estimated the damage of the previous quake to agriculture in one of Italy’s most fertile areas at more than 200 million euros ($250 million).
Sports car maker Ferrari and motorcycle firm Ducati closed their plants in the region for safety reasons. The world’s top pasta-maker Barilla, based in Parma, evacuated a plant for 15 minutes but said production had not stopped. Italian bank BPER closed around 20 branches for safety reasons while medical products company Sorin said its plant in Mirabella had been damaged.
The quake was felt across northern and central Italy, including in the most populous northern city Milan. The area was hit by several large aftershocks, one of 5.6 magnitude
Schools and buildings were evacuated as far south as Florence. A soccer match between Italy and Luxembourg in Parma scheduled later on Tuesday was called off.
Emilia-Romagna, famed for its cured ham and mature Parmesan cheese, is in the middle of the Po plain, traditionally considered safer than other areas of seismic Italy.
Several historic buildings, some hit by the previous quake, suffered further damage.
In the town of San Felice sul Panaro whose imposing 14th-century Estense Castle was badly damaged in the quake just over a week ago, three workers were killed by a crumbling warehouse.
“The situation is very serious, some people are stuck under the rubble,” Alberto Silvestri, the town’s mayor, told Italian television.
Italian media also reported serious damage to the Baroque cathedral of Carpi and the Te Palace in Mantua, an architectural masterpiece from the Renaissance.
Prime Minister Mario Monti, whose cabinet is due to approve fresh emergency measures on Wednesday, tried to reassure the population in an impromptu news conference.
“I want to assure everyone that the state will do all that it must do, all that is possible to do, as fast as it can to guarantee the return to normality in a region so special, so important, so productive for Italy,” he said.
French President Francois Hollande’s office said France stood ready to provide Italy with any experts or logistical aid it might need. Greece was among the first nations to offer help.
A 3.8 magnitude quake was also felt in western Bulgaria on Tuesday, causing no casualties or serious damage, the National Geophysical Institute said. It had its epicentre near Pernik.

Report: Chavez's cancer has 'entered the end stage

30.05.2012 17:47    Comments: 0    Categories: World News      Tags: venezuela  hugh chavez  cancer  
DanRather/This reporter has been told that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez  has metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive cancer that has "entered the end stage".  The information and the quote come from a highly respected source close to Chavez and who is in a position to know his medical condition and history. This source says the prognosis is dire and that Chavez  is now not expected to live "more than a couple of months at most."  Chavez is running for re-elec tion in Venezuela but several sources--including the one who revealed  the exact kind of cancer-- have told me that they believe it is doubtful the dictator will live to see the results.

Voting is scheduled for October 7th. Chavez has been treated three times in Cuba but the exact kind of cancer has been a closely guarded state secret. 

Reporter's note: There is only one source for identifying the cancer and for the prognosis quoted in the first part of the above story.  This is a person whom your reporter has very good reason to trust, but you  should know that there is only one source so far; no other immediate confirmation.  All sources asked for and were granted anonymity because to reveal their names could place them in danger or, at the very least cost them their positions.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

FDA accused of mass homicide of one million Americans

29.05.2012 17:47    Comments: 0    Categories: Human Interest      Tags: fda  mass genocide  corrupption  
(NaturalNews) The biggest threat to America today is not terrorists or global warming, but the mass genocide of Americans who die every year at the hands of the corrupt U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In a recent report, investigative reporter Jon Rappoport uncovers the dirty truth that FDA-approved drugs kill at least 100,000 people every single year -- the FDA actually lists this figure on its own website -- and the agency is doing absolutely nothing about this disastrous trend.

On a webpage entitled Why Learn about Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR)?, the FDA admits that 100,000 people die every single year as a result of taking FDA-approved pharmaceutical drugs. Citing figures from three different published studies, the figures also reveal that two million people a year suffer from serious ADRs, which include things like stroke, heart attack, and permanent neurological damage.

You can view the FDA page for yourself here:
http://www.fda.gov

Since these figures come from studies dating back to at least 1998, it is clear that the FDA is fully aware of the extensive harm being caused by supposedly "safe" drugs. And since it has done nothing to address the problem, the agency is complicit in willfully harming and murdering tens of millions of Americans throughout just the past several decades, which makes it one of the most murderous government regimes in history.

Based on the figures presented by the FDA, at least 30 million people have suffered serious injury or death as a result of taking FDA-approved drugs just since 1998 when the first cited study was published. If you go back several more decades, it is clear that potentially hundreds of millions of people have been directly harmed by the FDA's "negligent homicide."

"It is time for these murderous government crimes to end," writes Rappoport in his report. "It is time for all responsible parties to be brought to justice, to real justice. It is time for the public to realize that 100,000 people dying every year in the U.S., because they take medical drugs, is the equivalent of 33 airliner crashes into the Twin Towers, every year, year after year."

Why the FDA and its drug lords are the real terrorists

Since the FDA is the official gatekeeper of pharmaceutical drugs, it is directly responsible for the harm they cause. And yet agency officials have never, in any meaningful way, been held responsible for their crimes against humanity. And the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), as Rappoport points out, has failed to step in and pursue those responsible for peddling poison as medicine.

If al-Qaeda operatives were caught dispensing toxic chemicals disguised as medicine to innocent civilians, they would be sent off to Guantanamo Bay without trial, and locked away indefinitely. But when the FDA does the very same thing on a much more massive scale, nobody bats an eye. And yet the number of people that the FDA has killed with its drugs is far more than the number killed during 9/11 or the Oklahoma City bombing.

The organized crime ring that is the federal government today is the real terrorist threat that we all face on a daily basis. And until the American people collectively wake up to this reality, we will continue to watch our friends, our families, and our children, which are the casualties of this ongoing terrorist attack, lay waste at the hands of Big Pharma and the FDA.

Sources for this article include:

http://jonrappoport.wordpress.com

http://www.naturalnews.com/030461_Senate_Bill_510_Food_Safety.html

Before vaccinating your children

29.05.2012 17:38    Comments: 0    Categories: Big Pharma      Tags: big pharma  vaccines  doctors  
(NaturalNews) If you were to ask the average pediatrician practicing in America today what he or she thinks about childhood vaccinations, the likely response you would get would be that vaccines are safe and effective, and that their health benefits far outweigh any potential risks. But would these same pediatricians be willing to put their money where their mouth is by signing a warranty of vaccine safety, complete with documented, scientific evidence, that waives their legal immunity in the event of serious injury or death?

Building upon an earlier template originally developed by Ken Anderson from MakeMeYounger.com, PreventDisease.com has come up with an ingenious waiver form called the Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety that every parent needs to read and consider before even thinking about vaccinating a child. If vaccines are abundantly safe for young children, as we are all repeatedly told, then no doctor should have a problem signing a Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety declaring a number of things to be true, or not true, about vaccines.

Every doctor who pushes vaccines should already have a thorough knowledge of the toxic additives used in vaccines, the serious risks and side effects associated with receiving them, and how the long-term health of children may be permanently affected by the vaccine schedule. These and other details are clearly outlined in the Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety, of course, which essentially forces any signing doctor to acknowledge the truth about vaccines and take personal responsibility for their potential consequences.

In reality, though, many doctors are woefully unaware that some vaccines still contain mercury, for instance, or that others may contain live viruses that could cause cancer. Many are also unaware of the fact that modern vaccine theory and so-called "herd immunity" are two patently false ideas that represent nothing more than propaganda-based pseudoscience designed to scare the public, and future generations of medical students, into buying the vaccine myth without question.

This collective ignorance, coupled with a vehement pride that still pervades the medical profession, is the reason why most vaccine-pushing doctors, if not all, will likely refuse to sign this form waiving their legal immunity from vaccine lawsuits. But by asking them to do so, you will force them to acknowledge the facts, potentially reconsider their position on the matter, and at the very least provoke a renewed sense of critical thinking into so-called vaccine science.

You can read the entire Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety below, courtesy of PreventDisease.com (http://preventdisease.com), and print it off for your own personal use. You can also download a PDF copy of the Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety here:
http://preventdisease.com/pdf/Warranty-of-Vaccine-Safety-English.pdf

PHYSICIAN'S WARRANTY OF VACCINE SAFETY

I (Physician's name, degree) , am a physician licensed to practice medicine in the State/Province of . My State/Provincial license number is , and my DEA number is . My medical specialty is .

I have a thorough understanding of the risks and benefits of all the medications that I prescribe for or administer to my patients. In the case of (Patient's name) , age , whom I have examined, I find that certain risk factors exist that justify the recommended vaccinations. The following is a list of said risk factors and the vaccinations that will protect against them:
Risk Factor
Vaccination
Risk Factor
Vaccination
Risk Factor
Vaccination

I am aware that vaccines may contain many of the following chemicals, excipients, preservatives and fillers:

* aluminum hydroxide
* aluminum phosphate
* ammonium sulfate
* amphotericin B
* animal tissues: pig blood, horse blood, rabbit brain
* arginine hydrochloride
* dog kidney, monkey kidney
* dibasic potassium phosphate
* chick embryo, chicken egg, duck egg
* calf (bovine) serum
* betapropiolactone
* fetal bovine serum
* formaldehyde
* formalin
* gelatin
* gentamicin sulfate
* glycerol
* human diploid cells (originating from human aborted fetal tissue)
* hydrocortisone
* hydrolyzed gelatin
* mercury thimerosol (thimerosal, Merthiolate(r))
* monosodium glutamate (MSG)
* monobasic potassium phosphate
* neomycin
* neomycin sulfate
* nonylphenol ethoxylate
* octylphenol ethoxylate
* octoxynol 10
* phenol red indicator
* phenoxyethanol (antifreeze)
* potassium chloride
* potassium diphosphate
* potassium monophosphate
* polymyxin B
* polysorbate 20
* polysorbate 80
* porcine (pig) pancreatic hydrolysate of casein
* residual MRC5 proteins
* sodium deoxycholate
* sorbitol
* thimerosal
* tri(n)butylphosphate,
* VERO cells, a continuous line of monkey kidney cells, and
* washed sheep red blood

and, hereby, warrant that these ingredients are safe for injection into the body of my patient. I have researched reports to the contrary, such as reports that mercury thimerosal causes severe neurological and immunological damage, and find that they are not credible.

I am aware that some vaccines have been found to have been contaminated with Simian Virus 40 (SV 40) and that SV 40 is causally linked by some researchers to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and mesotheliomas in humans as well as in experimental animals. I hereby warrant that the vaccines I employ in my practice do not contain SV 40 or any other live viruses. (Alternately, I hereby warrant that said SV-40 virus or other viruses pose no substantive risk to my patient.)

I hereby warrant that the vaccines I am recommending for the care of (Patient's name) do not contain any tissue from aborted human babies (also known as "fetuses").

In order to protect my patient's well being, I have taken the following steps to guarantee that the vaccines I will use will contain no damaging contaminants.

STEPS TAKEN:




I have personally investigated the reports made to the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) and state that it is my professional opinion that the vaccines I am recommending are safe for administration to a child under the age of 5 years.

The bases for my opinion are itemized on Exhibit A, attached hereto, -- "Physician's Bases for Professional Opinion of Vaccine Safety." (Please itemize each recommended vaccine separately along with the bases for arriving at the conclusion that the vaccine is safe for administration to a child under the age of 5 years.)

The professional journal articles I have relied upon in the issuance of this Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety are itemized on Exhibit B, attached hereto, -- "Scientific Articles in Support of Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety."

The professional journal articles that I have read which contain opinions adverse to my opinion are itemized on Exhibit C, attached hereto, -- "Scientific Articles Contrary to Physician's Opinion of Vaccine Safety."

The reasons for my determining that the articles in Exhibit C were invalid are delineated in Attachment D, attached hereto, -- "Physician's Reasons for Determining the Invalidity of Adverse Scientific Opinions."

Hepatitis B

I understand that 60 percent of patients who are vaccinated for Hepatitis B will lose detectable antibodies to Hepatitis B within 12 years. I understand that in 1996 only 54 cases of Hepatitis B were reported to the CDC in the 0-1 year age group. I understand that in the VAERS, there were 1,080 total reports of adverse reactions from Hepatitis B vaccine in 1996 in the 0-1 year age group, with 47 deaths reported.

I understand that 50 percent of patients who contract Hepatitis B develop no symptoms after exposure. I understand that 30 percent will develop only flu-like symptoms and will have lifetime immunity. I understand that 20 percent will develop the symptoms of the disease, but that 95 percent will fully recover and have lifetime immunity.

I understand that 5 percent of the patients who are exposed to Hepatitis B will become chronic carriers of the disease. I understand that 75 percent of the chronic carriers will live with an asymptomatic infection and that only 25 percent of the chronic carriers will develop chronic liver disease or liver cancer, 10-30 years after the acute infection. The following scientific studies have been performed to demonstrate the safety of the Hepatitis B vaccine in children under the age of 5 years.



In addition to the recommended vaccinations as protections against the above cited risk factors, I have recommended other non-vaccine measures to protect the health of my patient and have enumerated said non-vaccine measures on Exhibit D, attached hereto, "Non-vaccine Measures to Protect Against Risk Factors." I am issuing this Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety in my professional capacity as the attending physician to (Patient's name) . Regardless of the legal entity under which I normally practice medicine, I am issuing this statement in both my business and individual capacities and hereby waive any statutory, Common Law, Constitutional, UCC, international treaty, and any other legal immunities from liability lawsuits in the instant case. I issue this document of my own free will after consultation with competent legal counsel whose name is , an attorney admitted to the Bar in the State of .
(Name of Attending Physician)
L.S. (Signature of Attending Physician)
Signed on this day of A.D.
Witness: Date:
Notary Public: Date:

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036006_vaccination_doctor_form.

US War Veterans Tossing Medals Back at NATO Was Heroic Act

US War Veterans Tossing Medals Back at NATO Was Heroic Act

Nato summit leaders should have been forced to watch the moving protest of the former troops chucking their medals away



VeteransToday/Nato summit leaders ‘were busy posing for photo ops’ as war veterans staged protest. Photograph: Reuters
“No amount of medals, ribbons, or flags can cover the amount of human suffering caused by this war.”
“I have only one word, and it is shame.”
“This is for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.”
“Mostly, I’m sorry. I’m sorry to all of you. I am sorry…”
In the shadow of the Nato summit, under the watchful eyes of a phalanx of full-black-clad riot police, dozens of former servicemen and women in uniform, veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, threw away their medals, with apologies.
Protest: U.S. war veterans flash the peace sign before throwing their medals towards the site of the NATO Summit in Chicago. Photo credit: Daily Mail, UK.
It was one of the most moving experiences many of us had witnessed in our lives. It is hard to describe in words. I couldn’t get the lump out of my throat. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a woman next to me crying. Their words, their voices, crackling under the emotion of their courageous act, breaking under the weight of the pain, the trauma, their anger, sadness, and hope – theirs was a heroic and beautiful act, a moving ceremony. It was a privilege to be there with these women and men who served in our wars.
Operation Iraqi Freedom medal. Tossed. Global War on Terror medal. Thrown. National Defense medal. Pitched. Marine Corps Good Conduct medal. Flung. Navy and Marine Corps medal. Chucked.
Most of the reporting of the demonstrations that met the summit will focus on the minor violence, on the few clashes between protesters and police, on the blood, on everything that happened after the peaceful march was over. In our sad world of spectacle, the pushing and shoving will be all that gets our attention. It is a pity.
Disgust: A U.S. war veteran pulls his medals off his uniform before throwing them towards the site of the NATO Summit in Chicago Sunday . Photo Credit: Daily Mail, UK
Because what was truly remarkable today was the American servicewomen and men tossing their medals back at Nato. In a mixture of sadness, shame, anger, and pride, of trauma, sorrow, and pain, some looking back at their time in Iraq and Afghanistan, some healing from PTSD, others chanting Occupy slogans, these men and women showed a type of courage that the Nato leaders should have been forced to watch. Tragically, our leaders were busy posing for photo ops. They should have been forced to listen to these courageous men and women, to their veterans. It is their loss, ultimately.
Anger: Many of the veterans wore black anti-war t-shirts underneath their military uniform. Photo Credit : Daily Mail, UK
Many of these men and women urged us to do something to set straight the havoc that we have wreaked in these various occupations. Some mentioned a memorial for the tens of thousands of civilians killed in Afghanistan or more than 100,000 civilians killed in Iraq. Others offered their apologies. Still others shared their pain, their torments, their nightmares. All of them spoke truth. Perhaps that was their greatest gift of peace.
If only the Nato leaders had listened.
These courageous women and men, these veterans brought to a close a remarkably peaceful anti-Nato march with more than 10,000 protesters – supported by so many more who chanted with them along the route.
“I am returning my medal today because I want to live by my conscience, rather than be a prisoner of it.”
“I apologise to the Iraqi and Afghani people for destroying your countries.”
“I don’t want these anymore.”
Original source:guardian.co.uk

Phony Terrorism Through The Eyes of One of Us

Phony Terrorism Through The Eyes of One of Us

Where ARE These Bastards?



VeteransToday/ I am NOT suggesting ANY of this. All I’m doing is thinking out aloud, asking myself some questions.
That being said, please take a moment to THINK along with me. Just THINK about the utter absurdity of the government’s claim that the identities of the ultra-macho Navy SEALs who allegedly murdered Usama bin Laden have to be kept secret.
Why?
To protect our elite warriors from reprisals from Muslim terrorists, we’re told. Okay. But how about all our government brass responsible for writing LAWS that allow our elite warriors to continue torturing and killing tens of thousands of Muslims?
Surely these people’s’ identities are far from secret?
Take, for instance, Jose Rodriguez, the criminal who ran the CIA torture program.
This guy was recently on “60 Minutes,” fer chrissake!
After 9/11, Vice President Cheney was moved to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, to the George Marshall Center for Strategic Studies, to a secret secure VIP facility to protect him from terror attack. Every morning at 11 am, Cheney would walk down the main street of town to the Cafe Klatsche (owners now retired), where chef, Jens, would make him spaetzel and weisswurst for lunch. He had no security detail. A well known VT editor would, from time to time, help out in the kitchen and bask in the absurdity.
Or take John Yoo, who wrote the Justice Department memos giving the green light to torture, in violation of US and international law. Yoo is a professor at the Boalt School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.
Yup, REALLY tough keeping THIS guy under wraps. As Paul Craig Roberts wrote in a recent article www.activistpost.com/2012/05/case-of-missing-terrorists.html: “Another easy mark for assassination [allegedly by “Muslim terrorists”] would be former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who staffed up the Pentagon with neoconservative warmongers such as Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, who in turn concocted the false information used to justify the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rumsfeld himself declared members of al Qaeda to be the most vicious and dangerous killers on earth. Yet Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith, Richard Perle, together with neoconservative media propagandists, such as William Kristol and Max Boot, have been walking around safe for years unmolested by terrorists seeking revenge or bringing retribution to those responsible for over one million Muslim deaths.”
How come these well-known bigwigs freely walk the streets, unprotected, feeling perfectly safe, while their identities are KNOWN to the whole world?
How come these people aren’t targeted by the platoons of ‘evildoers’ who we’re told are EVERYWHERE? Does this make sense to you? For god’s sake, if the world were truly filled with all these Muslim maniacs, don’t you think by now they would have whacked all the KNOWN officials who frequently appear on television, traipse about the boulevards of America UNPROTECTED, going shopping with their families without a care in the world…dining out in restaurants…taking their kids to school…attending ball games?
A day doesn’t go by without these people’s smug mugs being emblazoned on some mass-circulation rag somewhere. Everyone KNOWS who they are. Their offices are public knowledge. Their home addresses aren’t state secrets. These people don’t have bodyguards. They don’t have security details.
How come we don’t have Muslim death squads roaming the streets of America gunning down this lot? We’re talking Big Game here, folks. Wouldn’t these types of “high-value targets” win the bad guys more kudos from Allah than just knocking off a handful of garden variety Sheeple? Besides, wouldn’t this be a lot less risky than trying to board airliners?
Look, if these Mooselim bogeymen really wanted to kill Americans by the hundreds, do you really think they’d risk queuing up at airport security checkpoints sweating bullets about getting caught red-handed with their explosives belts?
Why would these supposedly brilliant arch-villains whose buddies pulled off 9/11 run the OBVIOUS risk of getting nabbed before they even got NEAR their target aircraft? Wouldn’t it be so much easier — and efficacious — for these “terrorists” to simply walk into the middle of congested ticketing areas BEFORE they get to the scanners, carrying massive trunks full of their hot stuff, and then blow themselves up?
Surely this would GUARANTEE taking a few hundred infidel honkies with them? And how, then, will the “authorities” counter THIS new game plan? Set up scanners OUTSIDE airports? What happens if a guy then blew himself up in THAT crowd?
What next?
A checkpoint outside your front door? No, wait, DRONES!
Really, people. And re all these Al Quaeda meanies, why the fetish about airplanes? Is it the thrill of the ride? Or is it the quicker ride upwards from cruising altitude into the waiting arms of the hundred virgins?
Think about this: Instead of having to knowingly face armies of TSA thugs en route to the aircraft, why don’t these bad guys simply wear massive backpacks packed with Semtex and roam about unhindered UNDERGROUND in choked metro subway trains during rush hour? Piece o’ cake, no?
Or take buses during the morning rush? Or hang out in crowded city squares at lunchtime? Or cruise around busy shopping malls on weekends? Or sit in the middle of packed movie theaters? Better yet, rock concerts?
How about 4,000-passenger cruise ships in mid-ocean? Talk about a mother lode for Allah! Surely, you’d think these crazies could take out “infidels” by the thousands on a daily basis all across America!
Heck, we’re told these evil bastards are doing exactly this all over the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan every day! Just ask Mossad. You’d think if these “suicide bombers” supposedly roaming around America were as efficient as their comrades elsewhere, by now they would’ve reduced the American population by a few million!
Have you ever heard of ONE bomb going off ANYWHERE in America? ONE?
So where are these bastards?
Please, THINK about this.
Why on earth would these chaps go through all the hassle of boarding one aircraft, when they could merrily blow up dozens of trains, buses, malls, theatres…? Does this make sense to you?
Besides, why pack their Jockeys with silly little half-cocked firecrackers barely sufficient to singe their balls, when the idea is to blow a gaping hole through the fuselage?
Ditto, dud sparklers in heels of shoes that only fizzle (remember that hapless twit?) If these turbaned camel-jockeys really wanted to bring down jumbo jets — by the dozen! — don’t you think all they’d need to do is ship their bombs around the world in innocent-looking boxes aboard Fedex, DHL, and UPS aircraft?
How about via the postal service?
All these “terrorists” would need to do is ship one small box per aircraft. Done. The skies would be raining Boeings. So how come they aren’t? Ever heard of ONE flaming freighter ANYWHERE?
Were they to take this route, there’s the added bonus of not losing a single member of their precious team of ‘suicide bombers’!
Aside from lowering attrition, you’d think that would be the smart way to go about their dirty business, no? Why screw around with flying lessons, forged passports, toasted testicles and the like? Hey, aren’t these the geniuses who, we’re told, were so brilliant that on 9/11 they outwitted the most sophisticated defense system in the world? Four times? And all in an hour? They evaded radar, grounded fighters, deactivated surface-to-air missiles, flew with more finesse than the finest jet jocks…
Hell, these supermen put Bond to shame. So how come this latter generation of Arab SEALs can’t even light their own flammable jockstraps with a match? And when they do try to light the fuse, they’re so unbelievably stupid they do it right in theirs seats!?
In plain view of everyone around them!? Why not simply meander back to the lavatory and let ‘er rip? Same with the ‘Shoe Bomber.” This clown, too, had to light his match for all the world to to see! Have the Sheeple become SO dumbed-down they actually BELIEVE this crap? What happened to all the world-class-genius bad boys? Why aren’t there more 9/11-type Einsteins signing up to carry on the great work of their martyred brethren, instead of letting these rank amateurs keep burning their balls?
Did the Muslim genius-terrorist gene pool suddenly dry up? Or were there only nineteen in the pool to begin with, and they all crashed and burned on 9/11? Where the hell are these goddamned “terrorists” we’re all supposed to be so bloody scared of? WHERE ARE THEY?!


WAKE UP, FOLKS! “Al Qaueda” indeed. There are no terrorists. The Terrorists ‘R’ Us.

Just as with boiling a frog, the heat’s being turned up on you, v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y… You’ll never know it ‘til after you’re cooked.

What do you think this brutish Police State you see rising up all around you is really all about? Your safety and wellbeing?
Right.
The idea is to fill the Sheeple with such dread, such anxiety, such petrifying fear…to get them so utterly terrified of the unspeakable danger that lurks behind every bush, at every turn, they’ll roll over and surrender to ANY edict, no matter how Orwellian, that’s thrown at them.
It’s all about CONTROLLING THE MASSES.
It’s about neutering your faculties of reasoning…Lobotomizing your ability to resist…Annealing your temperament to where your nothing but a puttied pawn on their grand chess board.
Its about total mass emasculation.
And they’ve finally got you exactly where they want you. All they’ve got to do to push your button now is yell “Al Qaeda!”
It’s as simple as that.
Please think about this the next time you find yourself at the airport getting your butt patted by some TSA pervert who’s got a wand in his other hand stroking your crotch checking for ordnance, with you standing there in your socks like a perfect fool before a gallery of equally docile strangers, arms and legs outstretched, clutching your little plastic bags of toiletries, unthinkingly acquiescing to every order blared at you by some martial moron working part-time between spells in the slammer.
Did you ever think such a ludicrous, pathetic, public caricature of yourself could ever have been possible?
Could you ever have imagined this kind of abject humiliation and deprivation of self-respect 20 years ago?
Did all this happen suddenly?
No. But you never saw it coming, did you?

Dangerous glass fibers in cigaretts worsen lung damage

29.05.2012 18:13    Comments: 0    Categories: Eugenics      Tags: cigarettes  tobacco  cancer  fiber glass  
(NaturalNews) Shocking new research reveals that a specific type of lung cancer many smokers develop comes from tiny tears in their lung tissue caused by microscopic glass fibers, also known as glass wool, found in many conventional cigarette filters. These rips in the epithelial (soft) tissue fuel the development of tumors and cancerous cells due to the constant overload of toxins, namely pesticides, nicotine and ammonia, contained in commercial cigarette smoke.

The filters of typical commercial cigarettes contain microscopic, needle-shaped shards of glass wool (like fiberglass insulation) which escape into the mouth and throat, and then lodge with tobacco tar in the lung tissue, surrounding the alveoli (tiny air sacs) and lead to COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), emphysema and eventually lung cancer.

A physician's assistant (PA) and an intensive care nurse at a major hospital reviewed the damaged lung tissue of several cigarette smokers and said the x-rays looked identical to those of patients exposed to asbestos, and that diagnostic imaging revealed what looked like "ground glass" which settled in the soft tissue near the bottom of the lungs (GGO - ground glass opacity). The interviewed nurse said, "When lung tissue is damaged over and over, it develops lesions, and the cancer plants itself in there like seeds." (http://www.appliedradiology.com)

According to the PA, the tiny shards penetrate the "lipid bilayer, then embed in the lung tissue, causing the tissue to harden and eventually lose its ability to absorb oxygen." This damage fuels the development of the same type of lung cancer (mesothelioma) associated with asbestos poisoning. He also explained how smoking destroys the cilia (tiny hairs) that help push excretions/mucus out, and how when smokers sleep, their breathing patterns relax and the "tar deposits creep in on damaged air sacs called blebs, eventually rupturing and collapsing them." This is why when smokers awake in the morning they can experience unproductive coughing fits and/or bronchial spasms.

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1766058/)



Why Fiberglass?

The cigarette filter (butt) acts as a buffer from the extreme heat of the cigarette's burning chemicals, which can exceed 1700 degrees Fahrenheit during inhale. Fibrous glass has the heat-resistant qualities of asbestos, which makes it an efficient material for insulation; however, if you've ever been in an attic and got insulation on your skin, you already know how irritating the glass fibers can be, so now imagine what it's doing to the inside of a smoker's lungs.

Up to 12,000 microscopic glass fibers are tightly bound together, which explains why filters take between 10 to 15 years to disintegrate. If the filter were simply cotton rolled tightly in paper, a few rainstorms would break it up and wash it away within weeks. Filters are also constructed to catch the tar and the tobacco particles from coming through, but not entirely.

Although fiberglass is not the same as asbestos, it can be just as damaging to the human body. The long, very narrow fibers penetrate deep into lung tissue and remain there. One study conducted with rats showed that fibrous glass is a potent carcinogen, leading to changes in the DNA genetic structure and breaking down the immune system. This is one reason smoker's fight colds, the flu, sinus and bronchial infections for much longer periods of time than non-smokers. (http://tpx.sagepub.com/content/19/4-1/482.full.pdf)



60 years of BIG LIES from BIG TOBACCO

Independent studies reveal that commercial cigarettes with defective filters have been marketed for over 60 years. Mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that develops in the protective lining of the lungs, abdomen, and/or the cavity around the heart, is most commonly associated with asbestos poisoning, but now research reveals that more than 10% of those cases are now associated with cigarette smokers with NO history of exposure to asbestos.

The tobacco industry has been negligent in failing to perform toxicological examinations to assess human health risks from inhaling and ingesting these synthetic micro-particles released from conventional cigarette filters. The recent "warning ads" about the effects of smoking are not educational, nor do they help smokers understand strategies for cessation at all. The $54 million campaign full of "stark and graphic advertisements" is nothing more than a ploy to pretend like the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) is trying to help with this massive, preventable health crisis. (http://www.cnn.com)

Thanks to absolutely no regulations regarding the ingredients used for manufacturing cigarettes, smokers are susceptible to multiple forms of lung disease, including desquamative interstitial pneumonitis from ground glass infiltration of the soft tissues, bronchoalveolar cell carcinoma, and pulmonary fibrosis, which are all revealed from specific lung biopsies (HR-CT scans). (http://www.radiologyassistant.nl/en/42459cff38f02)



Since the U.S. government doesn't help smokers quit, who does?

Once a smoker realizes what they've really got themselves into, they can prepare physically and mentally for quitting. 14AndOut is a 60 minute video download which addresses all angles of the smoking addiction, including chemical addiction, behavioral habits, and nutrition for cleansing the lungs and blood. No other program is so unique that fully addresses replenishing nutrients that have been severely depleted by the 4,000 commercial cigarette chemicals. A preview trailer and testimonials are available at the following link: (http://premium.naturalnews.tv/14AndOut__TV.htm)

14AndOut is a holistic program which is comprehensive and inexpensive, and teaches the smoker how to wean his/herself off cigarettes entirely in 14 days or less. The short course explains how smokers who have switched to e-cigs are still damaging their liver and kidneys by ingesting nicotine, which is the main chemical that feeds the vicious cycle of the smoking addiction. If you're a smoker with a deep desire to escape the nicotine prison, 14AndOut is the way to extend your life.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.appliedradiology.com

http://www.cancer.gov

http://www.radiologyassistant.nl/en/42459cff38f02

http://tpx.sagepub.com/content/19/4-1/482.full.pdf

http://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/smoking/

http://www.oncolink.org/experts/article.cfm?c=3&s=19&ss=99&id=2577

http://www.nytimes.com

http://ats.ctsnetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/74/5/1635

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1766058/

http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/11/suppl_1/i51.full

http://www.cancer.org

http://www.answers.com/topic/chest-x-ray

http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com

http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/content/155/1/242

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/9/9/977.full

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7810554

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10380162

http://www.cnn.com

Obama opens door to Africa for Monsanto

29.05.2012 17:42    Comments: 0    Categories: GMO's      Tags: obama  monsanto  africa  
(NaturalNews)Last week President Barack Obama announced a plan that puts Monsanto, as well as other large argi-businesses, in charge of increasing food supplies to malnourished regions in Africa. The Grow Africa Partnership is a part of the Obama administration's plan to end hunger in Africa.

While $3 billion dollars in commitments have already been secured by Monsanto and its peers, the local organic farmers in Africa have largely been left out of the program.

"I'm delighted to be here taking part in this conversation as I believe public and private sector commitment is necessary and able to support a transformation in African agriculture," said Monsanto Chairman, President and CEO Hugh Grant.

Letting a company like Monsanto expand their reach globally is not only irresponsible, but it sets a dangerous precedent. The problem with letting any private company fund and develop agriculture is that their primary concern will be with their own bottom line, rather than food security. Simply put, their objective is not the fight against hunger, it's to make money.

Rajiv Shah, administrator of the US Agency for International Development, made a shocking statement: "We are never going to end hunger in Africa without private investment. There are things that only companies can do, like building silos for storage and developing seeds and fertilizers."

Africa doesn't need chemical fertilizers, genetically modified crops and large monoculture plantations. Instead it needs more resources for the farmers that sustain the local economies.

Ronnie Cummins, director of the organic consumers association, calls Obama's plan "misguided" and said "To help the world's two billion small farmers and rural villagers survive and prosper we need to help them gain access, not to genetically engineered seeds and expensive chemical inputs; but rather access to land, water, and the tools and techniques of traditional, sustainable farming: non-patented open-pollinated seeds, crop rotation, natural compost production, beneficial insects, and access to local markets."

The declared goal of Obama's food program is to advance sustainable agriculture and reduce the number of people worldwide living in poverty by 50 million over the next decade. While the goal is admirable, the methods the being employed, that involve big business, may end up doing more harm than good.

Grant also stated "There is no single group or simple solution that can solve the food issues facing a growing population." In fact, the solution is very simple, it just takes time. It has been proven that medium sized organic is the most sustainable type of agriculture. Rather than doing things the right way, the Obama administration has decided to take a short cut in ending world hunger by calling in big business. The problem with shortcuts is that they always come up short.

sources for the article include
http://www.allgov.com
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/21-5
http://www.marketwatch.com

Poland beekeepers kick Monsanto out of the hive

29.05.2012 17:34    Comments: 0    Categories: GMO's      Tags: poland  bees  monsanto  gmo's  
(NaturalNews) A significant health freedom victory has taken place in the European nation of Poland, where all plantings of Monsanto's MON810, a genetically-modified (GM) variety of maize (corn) that produces its own built-in Bt insecticide in every kernel, have been officially banned.

The decision comes after thousands of protesters recently took to the streets in demonstration of the undeniable fact that both MON810 and the chemicals applied to it are at least partially responsible for causing Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the worldwide phenomenon in which entire swarms of honey bees disappear or turn up dead.

"The decree is in the works. It introduces a complete ban on the MON810 strain of maize in Poland," said Polish Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki, who also explained to the press that pollen from MON810 appears to be responsible for further devastating the already dwindling bee population throughout the country and elsewhere.

According to reports, Poland's decision to ban MON810 makes it the first nation to formally acknowledge that Monsanto's GM corn is definitively linked to CCD. It also affirms the findings of several earlier studies that have identified a link between Bt GM crops and bee deaths, including independent research conducted by Pennsylvania beekeeper John McDonald.

McDonald's research found that bees foraging near Bt crops did not gain the proper amount of weight, and failed to produce honey in their honey supers (honey storage bins) when they should have. Their non-Bt crop counterparts, on the other hand, produced more than double the amount of honey they needed to survive the winter (http://www.naturalnews.com/025287.html).

Back in early March, nine European countries -- Belgium, Great Britain, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Ireland, and Slovakia -- successfully blocked an effort by the Danish EU presidency to allow expanded cultivation of GM crops in Europe. And around that same time, France imposed its own ban on MON810.

Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to forge ahead in the unmitigated, and largely unregulated, cultivation and use of GM crops. Despite countless grassroots efforts to put at least some restraint on GM agriculture, including a number of state initiatives that would require GMO labeling on food, Monsanto's products continue to dominate much of the American agricultural landscape.

To learn more about how you can support the preservation of honeybees in your local community, be sure to visit: http://www.honeybeehaven.org/content/take-pledge

Sources for this article include:

http://www.polishnews.com

http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=22033501

States, federal government reduce length of jobless benefits active Edit 29.05.2012 13:26 Comments: 0 Categories: Politics Tags: unemployment benefits Outlook/Hundreds of thousands of jobless Americans are losing their federal unemployment benefits earlier than they expected due to new rules passed in February that make it harder for states to qualify for extended jobless aid, the New York Times reports. At the height of the recession, Congress passed a law to boost unemployment assistance to up to 99 weeks: The unemployed would receive federal money instead of state funds if they continued to be jobless past the traditional period of six months. In February, Congress extended this law, but added rules that would draw down the number of weeks the government would pay for, based on whether a state's jobless rate had decreased and other factors. Now, only three states still offer 99 weeks of assistance, and all three will stop doing so in September. [Related: Florida the stingiest state for jobless benefits] More than 5 million Americans have been out of work for more than six months, down from a high of more than 6 million two years ago. Supporters of extending benefits say they stimulate the economy and provide a crucial safety net for vulnerable workers, but those opposed say they discourage people from finding work. Meanwhile, some states, independently of the federal government, have made it more difficult for people to receive jobless benefits. The National Employment Law Project (NELP), a nonprofit that advocates for more support for unemployed people, filed suit against Florida, saying it wrongfully denied people jobless benefits. The group says only 15 percent of eligible people are receiving unemployment assistance in the state, the lowest rate in the nation. This is due in part to a new law passed last year that requires unemployed people to take an online "skills test" before qualifying to receive the roughly $275 per week in benefits, the Miami Herald reported. The state's unemployment rate has fallen to 8.7 percent from 10.6 percent a year ago. [Related: 4 degrees with 0% unemployment] On the state level, unemployment insurance is paid for by a tax on employers, and only people who were let go through no fault of their own are eligible to receive the funds

29.05.2012 13:26    Comments: 0    Categories: Politics      Tags: unemployment benefits  
Outlook/Hundreds of thousands of jobless Americans are losing their federal unemployment benefits earlier than they expected due to new rules passed in February that make it harder for states to qualify for extended jobless aid, the New York Times reports.
At the height of the recession, Congress passed a law to boost unemployment assistance to up to 99 weeks: The unemployed would receive federal money instead of state funds if they continued to be jobless past the traditional period of six months. In February, Congress extended this law, but added rules that would draw down the number of weeks the government would pay for, based on whether a state's jobless rate had decreased and other factors. Now, only three states still offer 99 weeks of assistance, and all three will stop doing so in September.
More than 5 million Americans have been out of work for more than six months, down from a high of more than 6 million two years ago. Supporters of extending benefits say they stimulate the economy and provide a crucial safety net for vulnerable workers, but those opposed say they discourage people from finding work.
Meanwhile, some states, independently of the federal government, have made it more difficult for people to receive jobless benefits. The National Employment Law Project (NELP), a nonprofit that advocates for more support for unemployed people, filed suit against Florida, saying it wrongfully denied people jobless benefits. The group says only 15 percent of eligible people are receiving unemployment assistance in the state, the lowest rate in the nation. This is due in part to a new law passed last year that requires unemployed people to take an online "skills test" before qualifying to receive the roughly $275 per week in benefits, the Miami Herald reported. The state's unemployment rate has fallen to 8.7 percent from 10.6 percent a year ago.
On the state level, unemployment insurance is paid for by a tax on employers, and only people who were let go through no fault of their own are eligible to receive the funds

Radioactive bluefin tuna crossed the Pacific to US

29.05.2012 13:24    Comments: 0    Categories: Eugenics      Tags: radiation  california  bluefin tuna  fukushima  
(AP) — Across the vast Pacific, the mighty bluefin tuna carried radioactive contamination that leaked from Japan's crippled nuclear plant to the shores of the United States 6,000 miles away — the first time a huge migrating fish has been shown to carry radioactivity such a distance.
"We were frankly kind of startled," said Nicholas Fisher, one of the researchers reporting the findings online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The levels of radioactive cesium were 10 times higher than the amount measured in tuna off the California coast in previous years. But even so, that's still far below safe-to-eat limits set by the U.S. and Japanese governments.
Previously, smaller fish and plankton were found with elevated levels of radiation in Japanese waters after a magnitude-9 earthquake in March 2011 triggered a tsunami that badly damaged the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors.
But scientists did not expect the nuclear fallout to linger in huge fish that sail the world because such fish can metabolize and shed radioactive substances.
One of the largest and speediest fish, Pacific bluefin tuna can grow to 10 feet and weigh more than 1,000 pounds. They spawn off the Japan coast and swim east at breakneck speed to school in waters off California and the tip of Baja California, Mexico.
Five months after the Fukushima disaster, Fisher of Stony Brook University in New York and a team decided to test Pacific bluefin that were caught off the coast of San Diego. To their surprise, tissue samples from all 15 tuna captured contained levels of two radioactive substances — ceisum-134 and cesium-137 — that were higher than in previous catches.
To rule out the possibility that the radiation was carried by ocean currents or deposited in the sea through the atmosphere, the team also analyzed yellowfin tuna, found in the eastern Pacific, and bluefin that migrated to Southern California before the nuclear crisis. They found no trace of cesium-134 and only background levels of cesium-137 left over from nuclear weapons testing in the 1960s.
The results "are unequivocal. Fukushima was the source," said Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who had no role in the research.
Bluefin tuna absorbed radioactive cesium from swimming in contaminated waters and feeding on contaminated prey such as krill and squid, the scientists said. As the predators made the journey east, they shed some of the radiation through metabolism and as they grew larger. Even so, they weren't able to completely flush out all the contamination from their system.
"That's a big ocean. To swim across it and still retain these radionuclides is pretty amazing," Fisher said.
Pacific bluefin tuna are prized in Japan where a thin slice of the tender red meat prepared as sushi can fetch $24 per piece at top Tokyo restaurants. Japanese consume 80 percent of the world's Pacific and Atlantic bluefin tuna.
The real test of how radioactivity affects tuna populations comes this summer when researchers planned to repeat the study with a larger number of samples. Bluefin tuna that journeyed last year were exposed to radiation for about a month. The upcoming travelers have been swimming in radioactive waters for a longer period. How this will affect concentrations of contamination remains to be seen.
Now that scientists know that bluefin tuna can transport radiation, they also want to track the movements of other migratory species including sea turtles, sharks and seabirds.
___

Cry for Help': Hunger and Drought Crisis in West Africa

29.05.2012 13:01    Comments: 0    Categories: NWO      Tags: mwo  west africa  un  hunger  eugenics  
ABC/According to the United Nations, the Sahel region of West Africa, which stretches across eight countries including Chad, Mauritania and Gambia, is being affected by a hunger crisis.
The U.N. estimates that 15 million people in the region are suffering from food shortages caused by drought and conflict and UNICEF says that nearly 1.5 million children are near starvation.
The following organizations are working to stop the famine by supporting livestock, growing crops and giving people cash so that they can afford the food on sale in their markets.
Below is more information on those organizations and how you can help. A little goes a long way:
Save the Children:
Save the Children plans to reach 185,000 of the most vulnerable families -- 1.3 million people -- to help prevent them from falling into hunger.
The group's Lane Hartill said, however, that the organization also wanted to help these families to build up their resistance in the long term so they were better prepared for the next drought.
Save the Children also supports families through cash-transfer programs so they have money to buy what they consider appropriate. Cattle and goats -- essentially "savings accounts" in villages -- have been hard hit by the drought, Hartill said, and with animals dying, there is no fodder.
According to the organization, $39 could help support 10 mothers whose children are in a stabilization clinic and $2.35 could pay for sachets of oral rehydration salts to help treat 100 children suffering from diarrhea.
Courtesy UNICEF
UNICEF focuses on the nutritional needs of... View Full Size
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To donate to Save the Children, click here.
Oxfam:
Oxfam is starting to distribute unconditional cash to the most vulnerable so they can access food on the markets -- 30 percent to 40 percent higher than in the last five-year average -- and cope until the next harvest.
The organization says that animal feed is "super important" to protect the livelihoods of pastoralists. If they lose their animals on the onset of the rainy season -- which occurred in 2010 when 24 percent of the livestock was lost -- they will be locked in the cycle of hunger.
"One way to put this: Save an animal, save an entire community and help lift them out of poverty," said Gaelle Bausson, an Oxfam spokesperson.
Oxfam said that seeds are also among "the most acute and immediate" need.
Bausson told ABC News today that $40 will vaccinate 15 goats so vulnerable families can have food and an income; $80 will give three people the money to buy food and other essentials for the next three months; and $140 will provide clean, safe drinking water for three families by building or repairing water sources.
To donate to Oxfam, click here.
UNICEF:
UNICEF is focused on the nutritional needs of children. According to the organization, children who are acutely malnourished cannot consume regular food and require ready-to-use therapeutic food for their bodies to recover.
UNICEF said the donations made for the Sahel crisis would support life-saving relief efforts for children, including: therapeutic food and milk, medicine, immunizations and supplies to provide access to clean water.
Susannah Masur, a UNICEF spokeswoman, said that $100 could save a child from severe acute malnutrition; $50 could buy 1,200 high-energy biscuits to give suffering children the protein, vitamins and sugar; and less than $1 could immunize two children against the measles.
To donate to UNICEF, click here.