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	Pam Rotella's Vegetarian FUN page -- News on health, nutrition, the environment, politics, and more! NEWS LINK ARCHIVE 2012 News from the Week of 4th to 10th of November 2012 Is The 29 Hour Work Week Coming As Employers Seek To Escape The Obamacare Mandate? (10 November 2012) [Rense.com] Businesses with 50 or more employees who average at least 30 hours of work a week will be subject to the Obamacare insurance coverage mandate. Companies are reportedly planning large layoffs due to the implementation of Obamacare. But, companies can potentially avoid being subject to Obamacare's insurance requirements by limiting employees' weekly hours to less than the 30 hour level defined by Obamacare as "full-time." A little-known section in the ObamaCare health reform law defines "full-time" work as averaging only 30 hours per week, a definition that will affect some employers who utilize part-time workers to trim the cost of complying with the ObamaCare rule that says businesses with 50 or more full-time workers must provide health insurance or pay a fine. [Read more...] PAM COMMENTARY: The "individual mandate" was a big sell-out to insurance companies. Appeals Court: Tortured US Whistleblowers Can't Sue (10 November 2012) [WhatReallyHappened.com] The 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out a lawsuit by two US whistleblowers, Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel, who were tortured by the US military after coming forward with evidence of wrongdoing by the contracting company they were working for. The court ruled that US military commanders "enjoy broad immunity" in cases of torture abroad and that the military chain of command "couldn't be responsible" just because detainee abuse crossed a legal boundary. The ruling added that torturing detainees is "a part of human nature that is very difficult to control." They added that being liable for the torture would "distract" the military's leadership. US Court of Appeals Judge James Gwim had previous rejected Obama Administration arguments to this effect, saying that torture lawsuits could continue against officials and that US citizens were always entitled to due process related to their detention. The administration condemned Gwim for "second-guessing" the military. Vance and Ertel approached the government about an illegal program dubbed "beer for bullets," in which the company they were working for smuggled liquor into Iraq to trade to US soldiers for their weapons and ammo, and then sold those weapons on the open market. When the company learned they were whistleblowers, they had their papers confiscated and the military captured them when they attempted to return to the US. Dissenting Judge David Hamilton blasted the ruling, saying that there were clear avenues for handling torture cases inside the US, and there was no good reason to "erect hurdles" just because the US citizens were tortured by the US outside of the country. "That disparity attributes to our government and to our legal system a degree of hypocrisy that is breathtaking," Hamilton added. Vance and Ertel's lawyer says the two have not decided whether or not to appeal to the next level, but said he believes the ruling's grant of blanket immunity will eventually wind up in the Supreme Court. [Read more...] David Petraeus resigns as CIA director (10 November 2012) CIA Director David H. Petraeus resigned Friday and admitted to having an extramarital affair, bringing a shocking end to his brief tenure at the spy agency and highly decorated national security career. The affair came to light as part of an FBI investigation into a potential security breach involving Petraeus's e-mails, according to federal law enforcement officials and a former senior intelligence official. The investigation uncovered e-mails describing an affair between Petraeus and Paula Broadwell, a former military officer and co-author of a glowing biography of Petraeus, according to two law enforcement officials who were briefed on the investigation. Petraeus, a retired four-star Army general who once was seen as a potential presidential candidate, met with President Obama on Thursday and said he intended to step down because of the affair, Obama administration officials said. The president accepted his resignation Friday. "After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair," Petraeus said in a statement distributed to the CIA workforce Friday. [Read more...] Supreme Court to consider striking part of Voting Rights Act (9 November 2012) WASHINGTON -- Acting just three days after the election, the Supreme Court announced Friday it would consider lifting a legal cloud that has hung over the South since the 1960s by striking down part of the landmark Voting Rights Act as outdated and unfair. The justices agreed to hear an Alabama county's challenge to the provision that requires much of the South, including its cities and counties, to get advance approval from Washington before making changes in election laws or voting rules. The new voting rights case, along with a pending decision on college affirmative action, will make this year's court term a momentous one for civil rights. The common theme in both cases is whether a 1960s-era remedy for racial discrimination is still needed and still justified. The high court challenge comes after a year in which voting rights advocates went to court in several states to challenge new Republican-sponsored laws that tightened the rules for casting ballots or cut back on early voting. And it follows a national election in which an extraordinary turnout by Latino and black voters was credited with tilting the outcome in favor of the Democrats. [Read more...] Smooth as Silk: How big brands milk small farmers for all they're worth (9 November 2012) If you drink soy milk, odds are high that you drink Silk. Found in the refrigerator aisle, the brand can be credited with bringing this non-dairy beverage to the mainstream around a decade ago. It's probably not surprising then that Silk's umbrella company, White Wave, was founded in the 1970s by Buddhist hippies (because who else was drinking soy milk in the '70s?) but sold for $190 million to corporate behemoth Dean Foods (maker of the Horizon line of organic dairy, as well as many other brands you may know) in 2002. Silk also makes a really interesting case study of consolidation in the organics industry. You see, for years all the soy milk it sold was certified organic. And by the mid-2000s, the brand had become such a powerful market force that it was keeping a significant portion of organic soy farmers in business. Then, in 2009, Dean executives made a subtle, but important change; they stopped making their "regular" blue-carton product with organic soybeans, switching instead to non-GMO, conventionally grown soy. They dropped the word "organic" from their label, and for those who were paying close enough attention to notice the shift, they created a special organic line. (Dean did the same thing with milk and yogurt, rolling out a more affordable "natural" line in a way that splintered the market.) From a consumer's perspective, the change made little difference. Yes, it took a bit more concentration in the grocery aisle, but for most people, "natural" was close enough. And hey, it still looked healthy, right? But on the farm, the effects of this simple shift were surprisingly dramatic. According to a new report on consolidation in the food industry from the nonprofit organization Food and Water Watch (FWW), Americans drank an estimated 67 million gallons of organic soy milk in 2008. By 2009, consumption dropped to a measly 18 million gallons. And while not all of this can be attributed to Silk, the brand did account for around 75 percent of the market at the time -- a fact that's pretty damning no matter how you do the math. [Read more...] Occupy Wall Street campaigners buy-up debt to abolish it (9 November 2012) [WhatReallyHappened.com] The Rolling Jubilee project is seeking donations to help it buy-up distressed debts, including student loans and outstanding medical bills, and then wipe the slate clean by writing them off. Individuals or companies can buy distressed debt from lenders at knock-down prices if it the borrower is in default or behind with payments and are then free to do with it as they see fit, including cancelling it free of charge. As a test run the group spent $500 on distressed debt, buying $14,000 worth of outstanding loans and pardoning the debtors. They are now looking to expand their experiment nationwide and are asking people to donate money to the cause. David Rees, one of the organisers behind the project, writes on his blog: "This is a simple, powerful way to help folks in need - to free them from heavy debt loads so they can focus on being productive, happy and healthy. [Read more...] After Historic Votes Legalizing Marijuana, Colorado & Washington Prepare for Federal Gov't Showdown (9 November 2012) [DemocracyNow.org] AMY GOODMAN: During our election night coverage, I spoke with Brian Vicente--he's the executive director of Sensible Colorado--and asked him how advocates there succeeded in becoming one of the first two U.S. states to approve regulating, taxing and controlling marijuana similar to alcohol. This was his response. BRIAN VICENTE: You know, we just reached out to supporters. We ran local ballot initiatives to build support. We, you know, got money from small and large funders. And I think we tapped into a vein of consciousness and a passion where a lot of people realize that marijuana prohibition has been a colossal failure. It's like alcohol prohibition. It did not work. All it did was fuel an underground market. And Coloradans believe that if you move this product behind the counter, take it off the streets, it's tougher for kids to get, and it produces a lot of tax revenue for the state. So, the drug war has been an abysmal failure, and we've really taken a positive step forward to change that today. AMY GOODMAN: After Colorado's marijuana legalization measure passed, Governor John Hickenlooper said in a statement, quote, "This will be a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug so don't break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly," he said. Governor Hickenlooper has also said he has called Attorney General Eric Holder to reconcile his state's amendment with federal law. GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER: We have a call into Eric Holder, so in the next 24 hours, I think it's scheduled, I think, for right around right after lunch tomorrow to look at that. And I'm not a lawyer, so my sense on this is that we are--that it's unlikely that the federal government is going to allow states, one by one, to, you know, unilaterally decriminalize marijuana. But I have not heard that from Eric Holder. [Read more...] Hundreds of thousands still without power post-Sandy, provoking backlash against utilities (9 November 2012) The New York transit authority's success getting the subways back online is probably not appreciated by the region's power companies, which have had, shall we say, less success. At midday yesterday, about 700,000 customers were without power, including 200,000 who lost power after winter storm Athena swept through. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who estimates that Sandy could cost $50 billion in economic damage by the time it's fully cleaned up, started dropping bombs on the utilities yesterday. "'The progress is unacceptable,' Cuomo said at a press conference. 'To say that I am angry, to say that I am frustrated, disappointed, would be the understatement of the decade.'" [Read more...] Ticks are turning victims into vegetarians (9 November 2012) There is now scientific confirmation of the tick-borne meat allergies we first told you about in August. From ABC News: "A bite from the lone star tick, so-called for the white spot on its back, looks innocent enough. But researchers say saliva that sneaks into the wound might trigger a reaction to meat agonizing enough to convert lifelong carnivores into wary vegetarians. "'People will eat beef and then anywhere from three to six hours later start having a reaction; anything from hives to full-blown anaphylactic shock,' said Dr. Scott Commins, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville." Lone star ticks are an "aggressive" species, but scientists are having a hard time proving a causal relationship between the tick bites and the meat allergies. What they do know: "blood levels of antibodies for alpha-gal, a sugar found in beef, lamb and pork, rise after a single bite from the lone star tick." [Read more...] Democratic House candidates winning the popular vote, despite big GOP majority (9 November 2012) Democratic House candidates appear to have won more of the popular vote than their Republican counterparts on Tuesday, despite what looks as though it will be a 35-seat GOP majority. According to numbers compiled by the Post's great Dan Keating, Democrats have won roughly 48.8 percent of the House vote, compared to 48.47 percent for Republicans. Despite losing the popular vote, Republicans are set to have their second-biggest House majority in 60 years and their third-biggest since the Great Depression. The numbers seem to back up what we've been talking about on this blog for a while: Redistricting drew such a GOP-friendly map that, in a neutral environment, Republicans have an inherent advantage. [Read more...] Romney staffers stranded when campaign killed credit cards on election night (9 November 2012) Staffers working for the Romney 2012 campaign got a sudden and unwelcome lesson in fiscal conservatism Tuesday night and Wednesday morning when they tried to check out of hotel rooms or travel home. According to NBC's "First Read" blog, campaign workers were left to pull themselves up by their bootstraps when they found that all the credit cards issued by Romney/Ryan 2012 were canceled as soon as the nominee finished his concession speech. "From the moment Mitt Romney stepped off stage Tuesday night, having just delivered a brief concession speech he wrote only that evening, the massive infrastructure surrounding his campaign quickly began to disassemble itself," wrote NBC's Garrett Haake. "Aides taking cabs home late that night got rude awakenings when they found the credit cards linked to the campaign no longer worked." Forbes magazine explained that this is not normal protocol for political campaigns. "In case you are wondering, this did not have to happen," wrote columnist Helaine Olen. "The Mitt Romney for President entity does not end with Romney's Tuesday night loss. There are papers to be filed with various federal commissions and bills to be paid." [Read more...] Malaria vaccine a letdown for infants (9 November 2012) An experimental malaria vaccine once thought promising is turning out to be a disappointment, with a new study showing it is only about 30 per cent effective at protecting infants from the killer disease. That is a significant drop from a study last year done in slightly older children, which suggested the vaccine cut the malaria risk by about half -- though that is still far below the protection provided from most vaccines. According to details released on Friday, the three-shot regimen reduced malaria cases by about 30 percent in infants aged 6 to 12 weeks, the target age for immunization. Dr. Jennifer Cohn, a medical coordinator at Doctors Without Borders, described the vaccine's protection levels as "unacceptably low." She was not linked to the study. Scientists have been working for decades to develop a malaria vaccine, a complicated endeavor since the disease is caused by five different species of parasites. There has never been an effective vaccine against a parasite. Worldwide, there are several dozen malaria vaccine candidates being researched. [Read more...] Google services blocked in China (9 November 2012) Google has said that said that several of its online services have been blocked in China -- just after the country's once-in-a-decade meeting to transfer power to a new generation of leaders got underway. Traffic to its services in China dropped sharply on Friday evening according to an online "Transparency Report" website operated by Google, which measures traffic to its sites around the world. Google's search engine and its Gmail web email were among the services affected in China, where the internet company has had a fractious relationship with the authorities. "We've checked and there's nothing wrong on our end," said a spokeswoman for Google. [Read more...] Researchers from Alberta universities will eavesdrop on fracking (9 November 2012) EDMONTON - Scientists will be "listening in" to hydraulic fracturing as part of a $1.86-million joint research project at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary. The three-year project is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and 10 Canadian industry partners. Using microseismic technology, scientists will monitor what goes on during the hydraulic fracturing or fracking process. This involves injecting fluid into cracks in underground rock formations, forcing them to open further to allow additional oil and gas to flow out for easier extraction. Sensors called geophones will be lowered into a borehole, where they can pick up vibrations that occur when rock cracks deep below the Earth's surface. [Read more...] Sotomayor tells Sesame Street: 'Pretending to be a princess is fun, but it is definitely not a career' (9 November 2012) Supreme Court Justice Justice Sonia Sotomayor offered some real talk to to Sesame Street character Abby about princesses and careers. Sotomayor explained that a "career is something that you train for and prepare for and plan on doing for a long time," but when Abby says she wants to be a princess, Sotomayor shut that down pretty quickly. "Abby, pretending to be a princess is fun, but it is definitely not a career," Sotomayor said. Abby replies, "You're right. I guess a princess isn't really a job." [Read more...] Artist pleads no contest in CA Chick-fil-A protest (9 November 2012) TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) -- An artist who painted a graffiti protest on a Chic-fil-A restaurant has pleaded no contest and been sentenced to three years' probation. Manuel Castro Jr., a West Hollywood artist, entered the plea Friday to accusations that he painted a picture of a cow and the words: "Tastes Like Hate" protesting the Chick-fil-A president's comments against same-sex marriage. City News Service reported that Castro pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor vandalism charge and was sentenced to three years' probation, 200 hours of community service and $800 in fines and fees. He was ordered to stay away from Chick-fil-A establishments for the term of his probation. He also was barred from possessing any paint, paintbrushes, spray paint, aerosol cans or vandalism tools outside his home. A restitution hearing was set for Jan.9. [Read more...] Five Live-Saving Reasons to Go Vegan (8 November 2012) [Rense.com] Bill Clinton did it. So did Ellen DeGeneres. In fact, millions of people around the nation have taken the pledge to go vegan. November is considered World Vegan Month, and it is a great time to take a look at what veganism is and why so many people are moving toward this lifestyle, which eschews using any animal products. "Veganism is a diet based on living in peace and harmony with the natural world," explains Louix Dor Dempriey, a spiritual master who started and leads events through the Louix Dor Dempriey Foundation. "There are many great reasons for being vegan, and people around the country are beginning to take notice, helping to increase the number of those who are either vegan or moving toward a vegan lifestyle." Many people are familiar with what a vegetarian is: someone who does not eat animals (e.g., no fish, flow, meat, etc.) but may or may not still consume dairy products and eggs. A vegan is a type of vegetarian who takes it one step farther and makes it a lifestyle, rather than just a diet. A vegan does not use or consume any type of animal products at all. This would include avoiding any foods that contain animal products, as well as not using animal products in their clothing or hygiene products. For example, vegans avoid using leather, silk, wool, and cosmetics that have been tested on animals or that contain animal ingredients. Here are five reasons to go vegan: 1. Your health. Research indicates that those who eat a plant-based diet tend to reap many health benefits, from lower cholesterol and cancer rates to lower heart attack and obesity rates. Eating fruits and vegetables helps to keep your body healthy, as they are loaded with the fiber and antioxidants that the body needs. Vegan diets that contain plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and protein sources, such as beans, quinoa, tofu, and lentils, are healthy. [Read more...] Juan González: Critical Role in Obama's Re-Election Heralds New Era of Decisive Latino Vote in U.S. (8 November 2012) [DemocracyNow.org] AMY GOODMAN: Fox's Bill O'Reilly on election night. "They want stuff." Very much reminiscent of Mitt Romney's 47 percent comment, Juan. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yes, as if all of those corporate leaders and folks who bankrolled the Romney campaign didn't want stuff, like the ability to repatriate all of the income abroad that they can't bring back to the United States without paying federal income taxes, which is the great secret of the wealthy in America, that that's the thing that they want the most, that all the money that they have in offshore accounts, but they can't bring back to the United States because they'd have to pay taxes on it, and they're hoping for an amnesty from a new administration to be able to repatriate those billions and trillions of dollars. They don't want stuff. They just want changes in policy. It's just strange how the language that's used to explain the interests and needs of different sectors of the society. AMY GOODMAN: It sounds like the spokesperson for empire as he watches its demise, Juan. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, yes, and I--and speaking of empire, I'd like to talk also a little bit about what's happened in Puerto Rico, which I think got very little attention. [Read more...] PAM COMMENTARY: I was amazed by people in the press who seemed shocked that Romney had lost -- after weeks of trailing Obama in almost every poll. Some commentators came up with the reason that demographics are shifting, but I think that's just their own state of denial, to make themselves feel better after Romney couldn't buy his way into office. Maybe they should admit that vulture capitalism and sending jobs to China aren't qualifications for the presidency. Maybe they should admit that people vote their own interests, and that a greedy old man typically doesn't look out for anyone's interests but his own. Maybe they should admit that the Republican Party has moved so far to the right that nobody identifies with their values anymore. Maybe they should admit that despite bragging about their business acumen, GOP representatives of today promise jobs but after elected launch attacks on women and the right to vote, apparently incapable of creating economic growth or even understanding basic economic principles. Maybe they should admit that Republicans simply gave us a bad candidate. The economy under Obama was bad, but that trend started under Bush, and most people knew that Romney's track record probably meant he'd make things worse -- especially if he could have made a few million bucks in the process. Canadian-built Bricklin was banned back home (8 November 2012) Canada has played a large role in automotive history, from building American-based Ford, Chrysler and GM cars to independent makes such as Hudson, Nash and Studebaker. Even a few Japanese and European cars, such as Honda, Volvo and Austin, have been assembled in Canada. But the Canadian-built vehicle achieving the most attention was the Bricklin, a sports car manufactured entirely in New Brunswick between 1974 and 1976 by automotive entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin. After making his fortune in a Florida-based chain of hardware stores, the Pennsylvania native obtained the U.S. rights to sell motor scooters and the Subaru in 1965. But after selling his Subaru interests, Bricklin wanted to produce a car bearing his own name. He developed a fibreglass and acrylic plastic body with a pair of gull-wing doors that he named "SV-1" (safety vehicle 1). The car was built with several avant-guard items touted as safety features, including an integral roll cage and crash bumpers. [Read more...] Bradley Manning offers partial guilty plea in WikiLeaks case (8 November 2012) Bradley Manning, the US soldier who is facing life in prison for allegedly having leaked hundreds of thousands of state secrets to WikiLeaks, has indicated publicly for the first time that he accepts responsibility for handing some information to the whistleblower website. Manning's defence lawyer, David Coombs, told a pre-trial hearing ahead of his court martial that the soldier wanted to offer a guilty plea for some offences contained within the US government's case against him. This is the first time the intelligence analyst has given any public indication that he accepts that he played a part in the breach of confidential US material. The statement is technically known as "pleading by exceptions and substitutions". By taking this legal route, Manning is not pleading guilty to any of the 22 charges brought against him, and nor is he making a plea bargain. He is asking the court to rule on whether his plea accepting limited responsibility is admissible in the case. Coombs set out the details in a statement that was posted on his website after the hearing. Should the judge presiding over Manning's court martial allow the soldier to plead guilty by "exceptions and substitutions", army prosecutors could still press on with all 22 counts. In this instance, a full trial would go ahead next year. Manning would continue to face the most serious charge of "aiding the enemy", which carries a maximum sentence of life in military custody with no chance of parole. [Read more...] Puerto Rico Referendum Approves U.S. Statehood for 1st Time, But Results Show Divided Views (8 November 2012) [DemocracyNow.org] JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, I think that the significance is that Puerto Rico is still grappling with its status as a--as the last major colony of the United States, but--and this referendum is just another step along the road, but it's not quite as clear-cut as the press reports are making it out to be. You know, Puerto Rico has a very convoluted relationship politically with the United States, and so the parties there operate a little differently. First of all, the amazing thing that--once again, record turnouts in Puerto Rico: 85 percent of the people voted, much higher than in the United States. And for those of you who worry about long lines, in Puerto Rico, the day before the election is a holiday, the day of the election is a holiday, and the day after the election is a holiday. So it's a three-day holiday, election time, in Puerto Rico, so it gives people plenty of time to organize and turn out their votes. But the results here on the referendum are double-edged. On the one hand, the referendum was in two stages this time. This was not authorized by Congress. This is, in essence, a preference vote of the people of Puerto Rico, sending a message to Congress, but Congress has no responsibility to abide by it in any way. The first part of the amendment said, "Are you satisfied with the current status, or do you want a change in status?" And in that part of the--in that part, the change--those who wanted the change won decisively, and 900,000 people, about 54 percent of those who were voting, said that they wanted a--they were not satisfied with the current status. But then, there was a second stage, which said, "Which status would you prefer?" And there were--in essence, the choices were statehood, which has always been a choice on these referendums, a new definition called free--a "sovereign free associated state," and not the commonwealth that now exists, but some nebulous new entity called "sovereign free associated state," or independence. So there were three choices. And you had about 800,000 people voted for statehood, and 437,000 voted for this free associated sovereign state, but another 468,000 cast blank ballots, and then you had 72,000 voted for independence. So when the reports are telling you that statehood won, statehood won a majority of those who cast a choice, but there was a huge number who voted no, because the Commonwealth Party, the existing Commonwealth Party in Puerto Rico, opposed the way that the pro-statehood governor had prepared the referendum, and so it urged its members to cast blank ballots. So there were actually four choices that were made there. There was those who went for statehood, those who went for the new free associated republic--or, I'm sorry, free associated state with sovereignty, those who went for the old commonwealth, and those who went for independence. So, the independence people--I mean, the statehood people say, for the first time, statehood has gotten a majority in any of these referendums, but the--those on the other side say, no, when you add up free associated states, the blank ballots and [inaudible], they overwhelmingly defeated statehood. [Read more...] The end of a long, ugly road for the GOP's Southern strategy (8 November 2012) Ann Romney said one thing during her husband's presidential run that no one can dispute: "This is hard," she said of the slog. (Actually being president is hard, too, as George W. Bush once noted 11 times in a single debate.) Here's one campaign call, though, that should never have been a head-scratcher: Running on white resentment is not a winning strategy, and the next Republican who tries it will lose, too. Lyndon Johnson knew when he pushed through civil rights legislation that the Jim Crow South he'd grown up in would reject the Democratic Party for decades to come as a result. But somewhere, L.B.J. is smiling today, because the G.O.P.'s Southern strategy to capitalize on racial animus has now worked so completely that it's turned back to bite Republicans, with Romney overwhelmingly losing the growing share of America's minority voters. President Obama captured 93 percent of the African-American vote and 71 percent of the Latino vote. Turns out, not even competing for their support was a mistake. And here's how to blow more than a billion dollars and wind up right back where you started: Carefully alienate Latinos with talk of "self-deportation" and promises to veto the DREAM act. Vow that, if elected, you will cancel a widely celebrated reprieve from deportation for some young immigrants. Oh -- and this is important -- call those in this country without papers "illegals" every chance you get. Then, just sit back and hope no one who finds that insulting turns out to vote. [Read more...] PAM COMMENTARY: I wouldn't exactly call Romney's bad attitude toward working people "white resentment." It's more like an out-of-touch old man trash-talking people suffering from the economic hardship that he helped create. Mitt Romney thanks wealthy donors as Republican strategists search for blame (8 November 2012) Recriminations were flying in Republican circles on Thursday as Mitt Romney wound up his campaign, thanking donors and staff, after his defeat at the polls on Tuesday. His Boston headquarters and field offices across the country were being cleared and an office in Washington where preparations had been under way to prepare for transition to the White House if he had won was ordered to be cleared by Friday. The security detail that followed him around for months has been withdrawn and his codename Javelin has been de-activated. The Boston Globe disclosed that Romney had planned to celebrate a win over Obama on Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning with an eight-minute fireworks display over Boston harbour. Instead, after Romney conceded, the fireworks were unloaded from barges and taken back to the organising company's store in New Hampshire. [Read more...] "Astonishing": Thyroid abnormalities found in Fukushima kids declared 'ok' by gov't -- Officials ordered doctors to stop examining patients (8 November 2012) Title: White Paper: Fukushima Health Survey Occupies Medical & Legal Conundrum Source: SimplyInfo Date: November 8th, 2012 [...] Dr. Suzuki who has been running the Health Survey along with Dr. Yamashita [...] claimed it is unlikely thyroid cancer rates would rise and that the results found so far where over 43% of children had abnormalities were "ordinary". [...] These statements by Suzuki defy the evidence. Over 43% of the children with abnormalities is quite different from the 1.6% or less of children in the Nagasaki study. Suzuki has also held the opinion that thyroid cancers won't show up for 4 or more years citing Chernobyl. This conflicts with Suzuki's claim that is it unlikely cancer rates would rise. Further evidence shows thyroid damage was actually occurring right after Chernobyl, it just took years for studies to actually be done. [...] While the Health Survey claims everything is fine in Fukushima, parents are documenting quite a different reality. Ian Thomas Ash has been producing a serial documentary series on life after the Fukushima disaster. In his most recent filming he has been interviewing parents in Fukushima City and Date City. What he found is astonishing. Children with considerable thyroid abnormalities, some were declared "ok" by the Health Survey only to find out otherwise when they obtained a second opinion from a doctor. That is for those lucky enough to obtain a second opinion, some were denied treatment by doctors after the central government ordered them to stop examining patients for thyroid disorders. [...] [Read more...] The Hidden Dangers of Root Canals You Don't Know About (8 November 2012) [Rense.com] Your dentist doesn't want you to know, and the American Dental Association (ADA) sure doesn't want us to tell you of the many dangers of root canals. After all, it's a multi-billion dollar industry. Any tainting of the root canal image could cost them serious cash, so (like Big Pharma) they deny there's any problems at all. Unfortunately for them, more and more people are being awakened to the trouble with traditional medicine and dentistry, so their industry will be taking a hit. The Alliance for Natural Health says there are more than 25 million root canals performed in the United States each year, with 41,000 being performed every single day. And the number of dentists who discuss the true dangers of these procedures before they do them can probably be counted on one hand. So, what is wrong with a root canal? A root canal essentially removes the live pulp from a tooth and replaces it with a synthetic material. This stops the tooth from appearing to rot away, it does away with the internal damage that could be causing a toothache, the damage from an untreated cavity. But, while your dentist would have you think the root canal solves your problems--it really isn't that simple. In addition to the central root of the tooth, where the dentist removes the tissue during a root canal, there are thousands of tiny side canals that aren't touched by your doctor. When the root is removed, the nerves in these side canals die. They rot. They fester and become a breeding ground for bacteria and infection. [Read more...] Rejuvenated Obama reelected as president after bruising campaign (7 November 2012) WASHINGTON -- Democrats retained a narrow majority in the Senate on Tuesday, but Republicans kept their grip on the House, delivering another divided, and highly polarized, Congress. The balance of power was likely to shift by no more than a seat or two, if at all. Neither record-low job approval ratings nor an avalanche of campaign spending appeared able to shake the dynamic that made the last Congress the most partisan since the Civil War. "That's the sort of sad state of affairs: You're not going to have much change in Congress," said Keith Poole, a political science professor at the University of Georgia, who has researched decades of congressional voting patterns. "That's a real recipe for confrontation after the election." Republicans had high hopes of wresting control of the Senate from Democrats, as President Obama's popularity slid and Democratic incumbents faced a less favorable political climate than six years ago, when many first-term senators won in a wave that gave their party the majority. [Read more...] From Marriage Equality to Legalizing Marijuana, Election Day Ballot Measures Won by Movements (7 November 2012) [DemocracyNow.org] JUSTINE SARVER: Oh, I was just going to bring up the rejection of the restrictions on women's health in Florida. You know, last year, we saw Mississippi reject a personhood amendment. And in Florida this year, again, people voted for--to protect women's health. AMY GOODMAN: On the issue of same-sex marriage, Ben Jealous, something very significant here, and Laura alluded to this before, the issue of--well, the NAACP, for example, fighting hard in Maryland and in other places on the issue of same-sex marriage, NAACP has changed its position. BENJAMIN JEALOUS: Well, actually, no, we took a national position. We had fought in state after state for marriage equality. We fought on the right side in California. We turned it around. We sued the state with a bunch of other groups trying to invalidate it. There was only one state in the Midwest where we had ever taken, if you will, a side contrary to where we are now. What happened, for us, is, look, we saw what happened in North Carolina late last spring, where they actually encoded discrimination into their state constitution. And we said it's time for us to stop doing this state by state; we have to deal with it nationally. We've got to deal with it head on, because we've got two things at stake. We have the issue of marriage equality itself, but we also have a 100-year tradition in this country of using constitutions to expand rights, to eviscerate discrimination. And we are invested in both. And so, we stood up. We dug down deep. [Read more...] Jeremy Scahill and Dennis Kucinich: In Obama's 2nd Term, Will Dems Challenge U.S. Drones, Killings? (7 November 2012) [DemocracyNow.org] JEREMY SCAHILL: I just wanted to ask you--I was talking about you earlier and saying that with the loss of you, or with you not being in the House anymore, there basically isn't another Democrat who filled the space that you did, particularly on civil liberties issues, on foreign policy issues. And I was--I was just remembering the last time that I visited you in Washington. We were talking about how you put forward this bill after it became clear that President Obama had authorized the killing of a U.S. citizen, Anwar Awlaki, who had not been charged with any crime, had not been indicted with any crime. And this was well before Awlaki was killed. Of course, he was killed in a drone strike in September of 2011, along with another U.S. citizen, Samir Khan, who had also not been indicted and whose family had been told by the FBI that he had not committed any crimes. Then two weeks later, Awlaki's 16-year-old son Abdulrahman was killed while he was having dinner with his teenage cousins and friends. And there's been no explanation as to why that young American citizen was killed in this drone strike. So you had Obama killing--or authorizing operations that killed three U.S. citizens in a two-week period. And when you, a year before this happened, put forward legislation in the Congress, that didn't mention Awlaki by name but just said that the president does not have the right to unilaterally authorize the assassination of a U.S. citizen without due process, only six of your colleagues signed on to that legislation. I mean, to me, that's one of the sort of enduring symbols of your legacy in Congress, the fact that you were one of only half-a-dozen members of Congress--not a single senator--to simply state on the record that American citizens have the right not to be assassinated by their own government without due process. What--what is your--I mean, what is your sense of how much damage this administration has done to those core causes that you fought for for so long? REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: First of all, thank you. Secondly, it's amazing that we're in an America where we have to defend the rights of Americans to be free from assassination by their own country, to be free from extrajudicial killing by their own government. [Read more...] Baldwin defeats Thompson, becomes first openly gay person elected to US Senate (7 November 2012) U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, became the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate late Tuesday. Baldwin beat longtime former Republican Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson after a bruising campaign that included tens of millions of dollars in negative ads. Baldwin also is the first woman elected to the Senate from Wisconsin. "The people's voice was heard tonight, Wisconsin, and come January your voice will be heard in the United States Senate," Baldwin told hundreds of cheering fans just before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at Monona Terrace in Madison. Thompson conceded a short time later. Baldwin said she'd spoken by phone with Thompson and that he was "very cordial and wished me well." She thanked him for "his life in public service" and assured his supporters, "I will be a senator for all of Wisconsin." [Read more...] Will Obama Fulfill His 2007 Promise to Label GMOs? (7 November 2012) [InfoWars.com] With the passing of election day 2012, massive awareness was spread throughout the country thanks to the California GMO labeling bill known as Proposition 37. While the bill did not pass through California legislation due to the many dirty tactics employed by the 'No on 37' campaign such as falsely using FDA backing and even sending out fake voting flyers, it has truly invigorated the discussion on proper GMO labeling. Labeling that was promised back in 2007 by the newly re-elected Barack Obama. Back in 2007 during his campaign tour, Obama addressed the serious issue of GMOs with a promise that he would immediately 'let folks know' whether or not they are consuming GMOs through proper labeling. You can hear the statement yourself in the video below... Now more than 5 years later, Obama has not addressed the issue of GMO labeling -- at least not in the way you might think. Instead, Obama appointed the former Vice President of Monsanto Michael Taylor as a senior adviser to the FDA back in 2009. Taylor is currently a Deputy Commissioner for Foods for the FDA. These are the facts, and this is not a partisan issue. I am not a republican, nor am I a democrat. I am, however, against Monsanto and tumor-linked genetically modified organisms. I am also for the direct labeling of genetically modified foods, an initiative that was promised 5 years ago by Obama before he took office for the first time. Meanwhile, concerned citizens around the country has been demanding GMO labeling through numerous outlets. Polls indicate that anywhere from 93-95% of United States citizens are in favor of labeling GMOs. After all, if the general public actually knew that most of what they are consuming contains GMOs they simply would no longer eat them. Ultimately, corporations using GMOs would go bankrupt if they did not phase them out. This is exactly what corporations do not want, which is why they have contributed over $50 million in fighting Prop 37's GMO labeling initiative. [Read more...] Curcumin slays cancer cells in their tracks (7 November 2012) (NaturalNews) Curcumin is the active anti-inflammatory ingredient of turmeric. It has been used traditionally for centuries by Ayurveda and Chinese medicine. Currently, it may be western medicine's most researched ancient medicinal herb. Curcumin has been under scrutiny in clinical and epidemiological (statistical survey) studies by several researchers for arthritis relief, cardiac conditions, and other inflammatory based diseases. It's even getting serious consideration for curing cancer these days. On April 21, 2011, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, top Western medicine abandoned it's normal research for new toxic chemo solutions for cancer to release a surprising paper on their curcumin research. The researchers were amazed at curcumin's ability to differentiate cancer cells from normal cells and create apoptosis (cell death) in cancer cells only, while actually promoting better cellular health in non-cancerous cells. [Read more...] Tattoo Shop Owner Tiles Floor With 250,000 Pennies (6 November 2012) [Rense.com] A Pittsburgh-area tattoo parlor owner says she saved some money by using real money to tile her space -- with 250,000 pennies. Mel Angst was looking for an inspired way to tile the floor of the Garfield, Pa. tattoo gallery, Artisan, which she runs with her husband, tattoo artist Jason Angst. "My floor is made out of about 250,000 pennies," Angst told ABC Pittsburgh affiliate WTAE. "Amazingly enough, it's a lot cheaper to glue money to your floor than to actually buy tile. It's about $3 a square foot." Angst said that after she found the appropriate adhesive to affix the pennies to the floor of her shop, she then found people via Facebook to log the man hours. She bartered tiling labor for $10 off per hour on tattoo work, she told ABCNews.com. [Read more...] Nor'easter: New York officials call for coastal evacuations as storm nears (6 November 2012) New York officials are encouraging a partial evacuation of low-lying coastal regions on Tuesday, ahead of a nor'easter that is expected to bring fresh flooding and snow to a region that is still recovering from superstorm Sandy. "The National Weather Service has put our city on a high-wind watch and coastal flood watch," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, in an update on recovery efforts in New York. Cold weather continues to pose a risk to thousands of residents who are still without power after last week's storm. Volunteers and officials will go door to door in an attempt to help elderly and vulnerable residents evacuate properties left uninhabitable by Sandy. As many as 40,000 people could need resettlement, according to city officials. Bloomberg has said that adequate shelters are available and that police patrol cars will tour areas still cut off from power, using loudhailers to encourage residents to seek refuge. [Read more...] In Key Florida Battleground, Tea Party-Linked "True the Vote" Challenges Voters at the Polls (6 November 2012) [DemocracyNow.org] BRENTIN MOCK: Sure. I mean, if it sounds a little ridiculous, that's because it is. I mean, let's take the second part of it, where poll watchers are basically trying to stop water from being handed out. You just talked about the really long lines in--throughout Florida, whether we're talking about Miami or Tampa. I was just in Tampa, and the lines were literally out the--you know, going stretching around blocks in many of the black neighborhoods. And so, what you had were Republican poll watchers who were standing by, looking for, I guess, voter fraud activity or something of that sort. When you had Election Protection volunteers going to hand out water to the people who were standing in lines, Republican poll watchers intervened, said this was illegal, said that the NAACP and SEIU volunteers were bribing black voters with water to vote for Obama, with the flimsiest of evidence. In fact, no evidence was even offered of this. Basically, you just had volunteers who were trying to hand out water to people who were standing in really long lines. AMY GOODMAN: Now, explain the lines. BRENTIN MOCK: Well, so there's early voting going on right now in Florida. And at least in Tampa, there have been 15 different polling places where you can go to early vote, from last Saturday running all the way into this past current Saturday. And so, about three of those polling sites are predominantly African American, are in predominantly African-American neighborhoods. And, you know, starting with the Sunday previous, where there was a Souls to the Polls campaign, you had churches sending dozens of buses and vans full of people out to these locations to have people vote. And, you know, as a result, the lines have been, you know, backed up, you know, for going--you know, stretching back blocks. And it's been really hot in Florida. You have a lot of elderly people, a lot of disabled people in these lines. You know, unfortunately, to the credit of the advocates and the volunteers, they have been out densely trying to do whatever they can to help accommodate the voters, not--again, not to bribe them into voting for anyone, but just making sure that, you know, they have water, that some of them have chairs to sit down in if the line is too long. I spoke with people who had been in line as long as five, six, seven hours. [Read more...] In Ohio, African-American Turnout Threatened by Reduced Early Voting and Faulty Ballots (6 November 2012) [DemocracyNow.org] GREG PALAST: Souls to the Polls day, when thousands of African Americans in Ohio will go from Sunday church to vote early. While most other Ohioans will vote on Tuesday, the clear majority of black folk in Ohio will vote early. This is the Freedom Faith Missionary Baptist Church, and they will load into the church van to take their singing souls to the polls. Terra Williams, a church member and leader of the Souls to the Polls movement, explains why African Americans vote on Sunday. TERRA WILLIAMS: Well, because typically on Election Day, everyone works. Particularly, most African Americans are probably working two or three jobs, and it's harder for them to get off that particular day. So, early voting hours for our community was very essential, especially weekend voting hours, because that gives us a time to get out and vote. Most of--most individuals are off on the weekends. And so, for us, in our community, it's easier for us to vote early on the weekends. GREG PALAST: We drive behind the church group to downtown Dayton, to the early voting station. And here's what we found: a line of nearly 1,000 voters snaking out of the state building and out into the parking lot. What happened? The Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted cut black church day voting from four Sundays to just one, and just for four hours, and at just one polling place for all of Dayton, all of Montgomery County. So, do you think that this is a good way to do it, where they just have one polling place for early voting? [Read more...] Kaine beats Allen for U.S. Senate seat (6 November 2012) In a victory speech, Kaine pledged he'll work to find solutions to the nation's economic problems. "Working together," he said, "we'll make responsible choices to reduce our deficit while keeping the economy strong and not shredding our nation's safety net." Outspent in the race, Kaine said that "our victory tonight proves that it's the number of people who stand behind you, not the number of zeroes behind the check." Allen conceded the race in a speech to dejected supporters shortly before 11 p.m. Reflecting on the outcome, Allen said he is "reminded of how closely divided we are here in Virginia politically." [Read more...] Monsanto Crams GMOs Down California's Throat (6 November 2012) [Rense.com] Never underestimate the apathy of the American public. I have to admit it. I allowed myself to be optimistic about Prop. 37, the GMO Right to Know direct democracy initiative in California. I forgot one crucial thing. Most people simply do not care to know what they eat just as long as it tastes good. They also do not care that their choices affect everyone else's right to choose as well. Who cares, right? Says the smoker who lights up in his child's room, never once thinking about the harm being caused to those developing lungs, or the future habits being imprinted on such a young psyche. Shame on you! Shame on all of you who put ignorance ahead of truth and made the conscious decision to forfeit everyone's right to know what the hell they are putting in their mouths when they trustingly go to the corner store and purchase that toxic box of GMO corn flakes, or that factory farmed genetically engineered salmon, or eat any number of GMO processed foods, which comprise 85% percent of what is on our grocery store shelves. And that's only the products we know about. Who the hell cares? Obviously not 53% of California voters. And so goes the nation. We the people choose to be ignorant. We the people choose to eat whatever poison they the corporations put in front of us and are happy to grovel at their feet. After all, just as long as they are happy we are happy, right? [Read more...] Sharon Osbourne has double mastectomy (5 November 2012) LONDON (AP) -- Sharon Osbourne says she had a double mastectomy after learning she carries a gene that increases the risk of developing breast cancer. Osbourne told Hello! magazine that "I didn't want to live the rest of my life with that shadow hanging over me." The 60-year-old "America's Got Talent" judge, who had colon cancer a decade ago, said that without the surgery, "the odds are not in my favor." She added: "It's not 'pity me,' it's a decision I made that's got rid of this weight that I was carrying around." [Read more...] PAM COMMENTARY: Sounds like more misguided faith in mainstream medicine. My Aunt Sharon had a small lump in one of her breasts, and had the double-M as a preventive measure, recommended by her doctor. Less than a year later, she was dead of breast cancer, despite its supposed complete removal. I opted for alternative methods when I had breast cancer symptoms, and it worked out well for me. Food companies Monsanto, Dupont, Pepsico and Nestle spend $45 million to defeat California GM label bill Prop 37 (5 November 2012) Monsanto and other agribusiness and food companies have spent more than $45m (£28m) to defeat a California ballot measure that would require labelling of some GM foods. The measure, proposition 37, is one of the most contentious initiatives on California's election ballot on Tuesday. If it passes, it would require labels on GM food sold in supermarkets, but would not cover restaurants. It also has a number of gaping loopholes. For example, the law would not require labels on meat from animals that were fed GM corn. Even with those caveats, the agribusiness and food companies have outspent the yes side by about five to one trying to kill the bill. Monsanto alone has spent more than $8m. [Read more...] Small quake rattles towns still dealing with effects of Sandy (5 November 2012) RINGWOOD, N.J.--Some residents in northern New Jersey awoke to a small earthquake early Monday. The temblor, with a magnitude of 2.0, struck at 1:19 a.m. and was centred in Ringwood, a community that's still dealing with downed trees and power outages from Sandy. Geophysicist Jessica Turner at the National Earthquake Information Center says some people reported hearing a loud boom. Turner says those on upper floors of a home might have felt shaking or saw objects on walls vibrate. The quake was 3 miles below ground and could also be felt in Mahwah, Wanaque, Oakland, Franklin Lakes, West Milford and Paterson. [Read more...] New York region struggles to move on a week after Sandy (5 November 2012) (Reuters) - Commuters battled unruly crowds and snarled traffic to return to work Monday, a week after superstorm Sandy devastated the U.S. Northeast, as authorities scrambled to clear debris ahead of more bad weather and put special measures in place to ensure residents could vote in Tuesday's presidential election. Many of Sandy's victims were still suffering, and living conditions were harsh for tens of thousands of people unable to return to their homes. Some 1.4 million homes and businesses were due to endure another night of near-freezing temperatures without power or heat. The devastation could also send ripples through Tuesday's presidential election, with President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney locked in a close race. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New Yorkers would be able to vote in any polling place - instead of just their assigned location - by presenting an affidavit, while in New Jersey storm-affected residents will be designated as overseas voters, allowing them to submit an absentee vote by fax or email. [Read more...] Kim Dotcom plans to provide free broadband internet access for all New Zealanders by suing Hollywood and the US government (5 November 2012) Kim Dotcom - the eccentric internet entrepreneur facing extraction to the USA for alleged piracy - has developed a plan to provide all New Zealanders free domestic broadband access. The German-born web tycoon made a fortune of around £100 million via his Mega Upload file storage website, which US prosecutors allege was involved in illegal sharing of films, music and other material. In January this year dozens of police raided Dotcom's mansion in Auckland, New Zealand, where he has been based for two years. The officers were working on behalf of the FBI and, although New Zealand's High Court has since declared the raid illegal, Dotcom faces an extradition hearing in March. [Read more...] Florida Republicans impinging on right to vote, say Democrats (5 November 2012) Florida Democrats have accused the swing state's Republican leadership of impinging on the fundamental rights of Americans amid growing voter anger at lengthy queues to vote, the shutting down of early voting and chaos in Miami over absentee ballots. The state's Democratic party filed a lawsuit on Sunday to keep polling places open until election day as the Republicans stood accused of attempting to disenfranchise its opponents with new limits on early voting that contributed to waits of more than seven hours to cast ballots in Democratic strongholds such as Miami. The Miami-Dade elections headquarters shut it doors on Sunday to people attempting to request absentee ballots because so many people showed up. Outside, would-be voters protested, shouting: "Let us vote". Myrna Peralta, who waited with her four-year-old grandson for nearly two hours before being turned away, told the Miami Herald: "This is America, not a third-world country ... They're not letting people vote." [Read more...] Obama and Romney begin final push with only hours until Election Day (4 November 2012) MORRISVILLE, PA. -- And now it is closing time. On Monday, in the final hours of their 17-month, nearly $3 billion marathon, the two candidates and their running mates are scheduled to hold 14 events across eight states. For Republican challenger Mitt Romney, this last full day of campaigning is aimed at achieving what he has seemingly been unable to do over the first 522 days: overcome President Obama's razor-thin but steady leads in the states where the election will be decided. On Sunday, it appeared that Romney's task was getting a little harder. A pair of national polls seemed to show that it was Obama who had a bit of momentum in the race's last weekend. A Washington Post-ABC News poll showed the president at 49 percent to Romney's 48 percent. The tracking poll has had both candidates locked within a narrow band for weeks, although Romney held a brief three-point edge in late October. [Read more...] Sandy-afflicted areas seek shelter for thousands of homeless (4 November 2012) NEW YORK - With power slowly returning to New York and New Jersey and emergency fuel being rushed into the region, authorities turned Sunday to a potentially bigger problem since super storm Sandy: where to house the tens of thousands of people whose homes are no longer habitable. With a freeze expected in some areas Monday and another, smaller storm on the horizon, the housing problem took on urgency. Even with power and fuel restored, many houses no longer have functioning heating systems, since flooding saltwater ruined many basement heaters and electrical systems. "People are in homes that are uninhabitable," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a Sunday news conference. "It's going to be increasingly clear that they're uninhabitable when the temperature drops and the heat doesn't come on." Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, appearing at a news conference with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, called housing "the No. 1 concern." [Read more...] Democrats' hope of retaking House fades in polarized campaign (4 November 2012) METTER, Ga. -- Early on a Saturday morning, four-term Rep. John Barrow, one of a dwindling number of moderate Democrats in Congress, sat down for coffee and biscuits with constituents as he campaigned in his party's uphill drive to retake the House. His audience was as small as his prospects for finding votes in southeastern Georgia. Of the two men who showed up, one was a Republican who asked why the Harvard-educated lawyer didn't just switch parties. Barrow is the last white Democrat from the Deep South running for reelection. "I'm trying to show folks on my side of the aisle how to vote," said Barrow, who in one television ad cocks a rifle to show his commitment to the 2nd Amendment and displays a pistol he said his grandfather brandished to help stop a lynching. Republicans are expected to retain control of the House, in large part because there is little room left in either party for middle-of-the-road lawmakers such as Barrow. The so-called Blue Dog Democrat is running against Lee Anderson, a farmer and conservative state legislator who calls President Obama a socialist. [Read more...] Oil-rig wasteland: How the election looks from 37,000 feet (4 November 2012) In the latter days of the George W. Bush presidency, I found myself nursing a hangover on an early-morning flight from Missoula, Mont., to Denver. I'd missed my plane the day before and decided to spend the evening with an old friend, finding our way to the bottom of a bottle of whiskey. Much to my horror, the woman who plopped down in the seat next to me that woozy morning-after turned out to be a high-level official in Bush's Interior department -- the branch of government that keeps an eye on the national parks and monuments and other public lands, from Ellis Island to Yosemite. I was the editor of an environmental magazine at the time, and I'd skewered this woman and the administration's drill-mine-log-everything policies in print. Now here I was, strapped into a chair right next to hers -- and battling a mean case of crapulence to boot. Come to find out, this woman was feeling a little hung over herself -- not from too much drinking, but from the development binge she'd helped facilitate on the public domain. (A binge that, incidentally, included a few well-documented benders featuring Interior department staffers and oil company employees.) [Read more...] Back to Pam's NEWS ARCHIVES Back to Pam's vegan vegetarian FUN page Pam's vegan vegetarian cookbook, with vegan vegetarian recipes Sources (if found on major news boards): [AJ] - InfoWars.com, PrisonPlanet.com, or other Alex Jones-affiliated sites [BF] - BuzzFlash.com [DN] - DemocracyNow.org [R] - Rense.com [WRH] - WhatReallyHappened.com ---------------------------
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