You Know What They Say about Corn Syrup...that It has Mercury in it. by David Friedlander, New York City on 08. 8.09

"Despite claims by the Corn Refiner Association to the contrary, there are in fact problems with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). In addition to being a major contributor to epidemic obesity and diabetes rates, you can add the presence of mercury to the growing list of reasons why HFCS is dangerous in any amount.

According to a recent Mother Jones article, in 2004 when FDA researcher Renee Dufault found mercury in HFCS samples from leading manufacturers, they did what any agency looking to protect public health would do: they asked her to stop her inquiry.

The source of the mercury is thought to be lye, which is used to separate the cornstarch from the kernel. Many chemical companies make lye by pumping salt through large vats of mercury. That mercury-laced lye is most likely the same lye used in processing corn to make HFCS.

After the FDA tried to stymie Dufault’s inquiry, she decided pursue the matter further, sending the original 20 samples to be retested; nearly half of the samples contained mercury. This past January, Dufault published her findings in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health.

At issue between Dufault’s and the FDA’s claims is the what form the mercury is present—whether it’s elemental, inorganic or organic. The FDA, supposedly without any scientific substantiation, claims the mercury found was the relatively benign elemental form. Unfortunately, Dufault and her colleagues’ findings were inconclusive as to sample HFCS’s form, but they believed there was strong evidence that it might be the most harmful organic variety, whose property of easy absorption makes it particularly dangerous. If the mercury were organic, the amounts found would constitute a major health risk (particularly children, pregnant women, women who plan to become pregnant, and nursing mothers) for Americans whose insatiable appetite for sweetness and convenience leads them to consume average 50 grams of HFCS daily.

Putting aside how crummy refined sugar products like HFCS are for your health, the chance that Dufault et al might be right about the mercury, coupled with the the FDA's sketchiness should be sufficient reason to pass on the cookies and soda.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/you-know-what-they-say-about-corn-syrup-that-it-has-mercury.php

Via Mother Jones

Read More on HFCS:
High Fructose Corn Syrup Producers on a Roll
Review: King Corn- You Are What You Eat
Corn Syrup vs. Sugar: Which is sweeter for your diet?

http://vimeo.com/5915882

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/02/the-age-of-stupid-documentary

"A film will hit cinema screens around the country that its makers hope will have a profound effect on attitudes to climate change.
The Age of Stupid
Release: 2008
Country: UK
Runtime: 90 mins
Directors: Franny Armstrong
Cast: Pete Postlethwaite
"Today, guardian.co.uk/environment is exclusively launching The Making of The Age of Stupid. There is nowhere else you can watch this film except on the lap of its director, Franny Armstrong.
The Making of Documentary charts the six-year history of the film and its many incarnations, false starts and screening hiccups. Armstrong's father tells her in The Making of … that the film is a "disaster" until the radical introduction of Pete Postlethwaite as its narrator. Thanks to a stellar cast behind the scenes such as Oscar-winning John Battsek, Armstrong goes back to the cutting room to make a much better film.
At times funny, irreverent and moving, The Making of ... documentary will give you a flavour of The Age of Stupid without giving away the whole story and the many surprising twists throughout the film."

Want to do something:::: check this out:

http://www.earthcircles.org/content/index.phpoption=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=56

THE COVE - Official US Theatrical Trailer in HD

Real heroism.
let the world know....pass it on.

Miss HIV - Trailer - Ideology

Wow......

News from www.truthout.com

Militarizing the Homeland

Thursday 06 August 2009

by: Dahr Jamail and Jason Coppola, t r u t h o u t | Perspective

In Miami, Army recruiter Sgt. Eric Lamb speaks with a potential recruit. (Photo: Getty Images)

"My very first recruiting officer was G.I. Joe," says Iraq war veteran Michael Prysner, an Iraq war veteran who was an aerial intelligence specialist in the US Army Reserve.

Award-winning journalist and Associate Editor of the Nation Institute's Tomdispatch.com Nick Turse writes in his book "The Complex: How the Military Invades Our Everyday Lives": "As a product of the 1980s G.I. Joe generation, I can attest to the seductive power of those three inch action figures in selling the military to young boys."

In an interview with Truthout, Turse observed, "Only later would I learn just how enmeshed G.I. Joe's manufacturer, Hasbro, was with the military. One instance of this close association came to me in 2003 when the Department of Defense shared the specifications for their Future Force Warrior concept with the toy company, even before awarding the contract to General Dynamics. More important to the military these days are its ties to video game manufacturers. The latter turn tax-payer-funded combat simulators into first-person shooters that, in effect, pre-train youngsters in small-unit military tactics and irregular warfare."

Turse also talks of the Microsoft Xbox game "Close Combat: First to Fight," which was originally a training tool developed for the US Marine Corps by civilian contractor Destineer Studios. His book reveals that the game "was created under the direction of more than 40 active-duty Marines, fresh from the frontlines of combat in the Middle East [who] worked side-by-side with the development team to put the exact tactics they used in combat into "First Fight."

"First to Fight" is but one of many video games that the US military has availed itself of on an extensive scale to indoctrinate, desensitize, dehumanize and ultimately recruit young people into the vocation of legitimized violence in the name of heroism and patriotism.

"It might sound crazy to anyone who is not a veteran, but video games and movies, especially recent ones, make death and dismemberment seem like ordinary things. You are desensitized to them. While growing up I used to think people at the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) were crazy, trying to censor violence and stuff like that... I was like 'Oh, well violence is real life,' but there's a huge difference between witnessing first-hand any sort of violence and sitting in a movie theater watching someone faking a death. Reality and pretending are two way different things. It's disturbing. You can ask any combat veteran, things like video games and cartoons like 'G.I. Joe,' dressing in camouflage and running around in the woods, even being in the Boy Scouts definitely makes children idolize soldiers ... and not idolize them for standing up for their country but just for wearing the uniform and being a tough guy. It's a sign of masculinity that a lot of young boys and young men want to achieve, and they do it through the wrong way."

Goldsmith and Prysner are not alone in having responded favorably to the powerful combined influence of the entertainment industry and corporate media. There are innumerable others who have been lured into joining the military for the promise of violence that it offers.

The process of brainwashing and desensitization by the military begins affecting children in the US from a very early age. It is not insignificant that little boys wear camouflage and run around playing with toy guns whenever they get an opportunity.

Goldsmith also attributes his inclination towards violence to the Boy Scouts. A story in The New York Times describes the new Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America as "training thousands of young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence - an intense ratcheting up of one of the group's longtime missions to prepare youths for more traditional jobs as police officers and firefighters."

The Family's Ties

Weird.....Scary.....Disgusting.....

http://jeffsharlet.blogspot.com/2008/02/blog-post.html

http://karmalised.com/?p=10141

http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/

http://www.nativetube.com/video/535/Leonard-Peltier-FIRST-VOICES
Leonard Peltier Parole Hearing – 28 July
Published by Diane Warth on 27 July 2009 2 Comments

I feel that it is relevant to point out that Leonard Peltier has been incarcerated for thirty three years based upon what your own courts have admitted was fabricated evidence, both withheld, and then later discovered to be tampered with and questionable. Those very courts have admitted that Leonard Peltier did not commit the murders of the FBI agents at the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1976. lt is clear Leonard Peltier was persecuted because of his beliefs and refusal to accept the injustices imposed upon the people at Pine Ridge during that time.
Because of these facts, I feel that the system has failed and the continued incarceration of Leonard Peltier is a sad commentary on the US government and the humanitarian values Americans profess to have. This innocent person has spent 6 years longer in prison than even Nelson Mandela !!In 2008, Leonard Peltier was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the fifth consecutive year.
Amongst his massive contribution to society he has played a key role in getting people from different tribes, with a history of animosity, to come together in peace. He advocates for peaceful resolution of all issues that deal with Native Americans and respect for the rights of others.
Everyone needs to understand how much this ‘true human being’ has moved the World, please take a look at this level of international support http://users.skynet.be/kola/vips.html
I express a deep hope that the parole commission and President Obama will come to their senses and grant parole and release to Leonard Peltier on 28th July 2009. The whole World watches in anticipation!

Parole Hearing for Leonard PeltierIn central Pennsylvania today, about 200 people gathered outside the walls of Lewisburg Penitentiary to support Native American activist Leonard Peltier during a parole hearing. Peltier has been serving out two consecutive life sentences for the murder of two FBI Agents: during a 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation In South Dakota. Robin Carneen has more.
After serving 33 years behind bars, THE 64-year old Peltier has been granted his second parole hearing since 1993. He has maintained his innocence throughout his time in prison, and is considered by many to be a political prisoner. Peltier’s attorney, Eric Seitz, says Peltier should be released, because he has already served his 30 year mandatory minimum sentence.
“He, by the Parole Commission’s own standards and criteria has served all the minimum time that is required.”
Numerous witnesses testified in favor of Peltier’s release during the 4-hour hearing; and although the government is calling for him to remain in prison, the hearing is seen as Peltier’s best chance in more than 30 years to be released. The hearing commissioner will make his recommendation within 48 hours, then the parole commission then has up to 21 days to make a decision
Robin Carneen, FSRN.