Showing posts with label 3 aug 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3 aug 2010. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Layoffs to gut East St. Louis police force


EAST ST. LOUIS • The Rev. Joseph Tracy said he’s tired of going to funerals. And now, he suspects he’ll be going to more of them.
“It’s open field day now,” said Tracy, the pastor of Straightway Baptist Church here. “The criminals are going to run wild.”
 
Gang activity. Drug dealing. Cold-blooded killing. Tracy worries that a decision to shrink the police force by almost 30 percent will bring more of everything.
The pastor voiced his concern on Friday at a raucous special City Council meeting at which East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks announced that the city will layoff 37 employees, including 19 of its 62 police officers, 11 firefighters, four public works employees, and three administrators. The layoffs take effect on Sunday.
Parks said the weak economy has robbed the city of badly needed money. For example, revenue from the Casino Queen was $900,000 below budget expectations last year. There are no signs of improvement, Parks said.
“I want our citizens to know we have some of the bravest police officers and firefighters in the country,” Parks said. “But we don’t have the money to pay them. We have to have fiscal responsibility.”
City officials wanted police and fire unions to accept a furlough program that would have required employees to take two unpaid days in each twice monthly pay period. If accepted, emergency responders would have seen a pay cut of about 20 percent for the rest of the year.
Parks said the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement. On Friday, he stared at a standing-room only crowd and told his emergency response chiefs words they didn’t want to hear: “Tell your workers to start packing their things.”
The news spurred shouts from the crowd.
“The blood is on your hands,” yelled Michael Hubbard, an East St. Louis police officer.
Hubbard said he will be the lone patrolman for East St. Louis’ midnight shift when the cuts go into effect.
“This is devastating,” Hubbard told a reporter after the meeting.
East St. Louis has been crippled by crime and poverty for decades. Police officials say the cuts will mean fewer officers for patrols, investigations and juvenile cases. Fire officials said the region should be upset because the department will have fewer people at the ready to fight fires on some of the region’s major highways and bridges.
The police already rely on other agencies to handle some of the heavy case load. For example, the Illinois State Police routinely work on the city’s homicide investigations.
Capt. Steve Johnson, of the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, said his agency has no plans for stepping up work in East St. Louis.
“We don’t do calls for service in East St. Louis,” Johnson said. “But, if we’re called for assistance, we will help when we can.”
Worries about East St. Louis’ crime rate got little sympathy from Councilman Roy Mosley, who gave a 10-minute speech on Friday blasting the city’s police officers.
“We don’t have the money,” Mosley said. “You lay off when you don’t have the money. The money’s gone.”
Mosley complained that police officers take patrol cars home, park them in other jurisdictions, and misuse the city’s gasoline.
“I’m only telling the truth,” he shouted.
The crowd jeered.
“You can see how disrespectful they are,” Mosley said while pointing at the police officers. “You see what they’re doing to me right now.”
Richard V. Stewart Jr., an attorney for the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police union, said Mosley’s claims are untrue.
Stewart said the words amounted to nothing more than “political grandstanding.”
“Unfortunately, this is what I expected,” Stewart said.
The union plans to fight the layoffs and work to get the jobs back.
Bad blood already exists between the two sides. An arbitrator has ruled that the city improperly imposed unpaid furlough days on its employees earlier this year. The city was ordered to pay $500,000 back in lost wages.
On Friday, the city approved a proposal to defer bond payments until next year in order to free up $500,000.
“Next year is a different situation,” Mayor Parks said.
BY NICHOLAS J.C. PISTOR • npistor@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8265 | Posted: Friday, July 30, 2010 2:15 pm

Thousands in Gulf Suffer from Misdiagnosed Skin Lesions


Lesions, like those featured above, are being experienced by adults and children in Louisiana.
Other residents have shown up at local doctors and area hospitals reporting similar symptoms. According to area residents suffering from the mysterious rash, patients feel like they are not being given the proper medical treatment. Doctors have told area patients they are suffering from scabies with no clear diagnosis and from Staphylococcus infections with no underlying cause.
Exposure to chemicals, such as those being used to break down oil in the region, like the dispersant, Corexit, may be the cause of such infections. Corexit is an agent that has been proven to break down lipid membranes, which cover and protect human skin. Human skin is composed of a thin layer of lipids and Corexit, by nature, breaks down these organized barriers into smaller individual molecules allowing the barrier to become permeable to pathogens. The skin irritation could be caused by prolonged exposure to these chemicals and could break down the ability of the body to fight off infection.
Economic conditions in the Gulf have left many people without health insurance, leaving them with little recourse in terms of medical care. Noted Marine toxicologist and Exxon Valdez survivor Riki Ott first reported the effects of dispersants on July 7, 2010 in The Huffington Post.
For more information, follow Project Gulf Impact on Twitter @PrjGulfImpact or visithttp://www.projectgulfimpact.org.

PROMISES BROKEN: Hundreds of fishermen don’t get their BP checks


PROMISES BROKEN: Hundreds of fishermen don’t get their BP checks
GRAND ISLE, La. –Hundreds of fishermen from Lake Charles to Moss Point, Miss., were supposed to get checks from BP on Wednesday but didn’t.
Wednesday night, their lawyer wanted answers. Jeffrey Briet represents more than 500 fishermen, and he said the payment system he set up with BP required his clients to be paid every 30 days. Now that process has suddenly changed without warning, Briet said.
“Not only did they spring it on us that the process has changed, but the people I’ve been dealing with for six weeks who’ve done a good job said, ‘We don’t know what the process is going to be. We’re not authorized to talk to you about it. Someone from BP will contact you,’” he said.
But Briet said he hasn’t heard from BP or its lawyers. He said the claims people have been given so much conflicting information about the process that they can’t provide answers.
“They couldn’t tell me,” he said. “And I said, ‘I’ve got 500 people I’m meeting on Saturday. They want to know what the process is.
‘”It’s not the first time BP has given conflicting information.
On June 11, BP’s security contractors tried to keep WDSU from speaking to cleanup workers despite the fact that BP released a statement two days earlier saying the workers could speak to the media.
On May 14, St. Bernard Parish fishermen were upset with low pay and out-of-towners taking their work.
Briet said he’s meeting with some fishermen from Moss Point Thursday morning and more on Saturday in Jennings. He said BP hasn’t given him any indication when the payments will resume.

Bay Valley Foods Issues Alert: Chef’s Cupboard Chicken with Rice Soup


Bay Valley Foods Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Egg and Wheat in Cans of Mislabeled Chef’s Cupboard Chicken with Rice Soup

Contact:Sallie Gaines
Hill & Knowlton, Inc.
773-288-9747
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 28, 2010 – Westchester, Ill. – Bay Valley Foods is voluntarily recalling 10.5 oz cans of Chef’s Cupboard Chicken with Rice Soup because some cans are mislabeled and may contain Vegetarian Vegetable Soup. The mislabeled product contains undeclared egg and wheat. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to eggs or wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.
No adverse reactions have been reported to date. In addition to working in cooperation with the FDA, Bay Valley Foods is issuing an alert through the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. The recall was initiated after receipt of a consumer complaint.
The recalled product labeled as Chef’s Cupboard Chicken with Rice Soup is marked with “BEST BY 01 05 12″ that can be found on the bottom of the can. Product affected by this recall may have been distributed to Aldi stores nationwide. No other products or brands are affected by this recall.
Consumers who have purchased the recalled Chef’s Cupboard Chicken with Rice Soup can return it to an Aldi store for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact Bay Valley Foods Consumer Response Department at (1-800-236-1119) between the hours 9:00 am and 5:00 p.m. (EDT).

Bad Corn and Poblano peppers sold to Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants in NV, AZ, CA


Pasco Processing LLC, Announces Voluntary Product Recall Because of Possible Health Risk


Contact:
1-800-575-8909
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — July 21, 2010 – Pasco Processing, LLC, Pasco WA is recalling 2087 cases of 20lb. bulk packaged Corn and Poblano peppers, (SKU 10071179017738) because of the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
No illnesses have been reported in association with the recall. No other products that were manufactured by Pasco Processing, LLC are involved in this recall. This item was produced by Pasco Processing, LLC and transferred to the J R Simplot Company for distribution. The product was packaged in 20 lb bulk cases which were labeled as follows:
Corn and Poblano Blend; 10071179 017738; 20 lbs. Net Wt.; Distributed by J. R. Simplot Co., Boise, Idaho 83707
The recall extends only to products coded 3901741007 and 3901751007 sold to two foodservice distributors in California and one in Arizona and further distributed to Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurant locations in California, Nevada, and Arizona. The recalled product has been removed from the Chipotle locations and quarantined for destruction. None of the production time periods found to contain Listeria monocytogenes were delivered to restaurants.
Pasco Processing, LLC and Chipotle are collaborating closely with the FDA. The recall is being issued out of an abundance of caution based on a confirmed positive result for Listeria monocytogenes in a routine test sample conducted by the company.
For additional details call Pasco Processing LLC @ 1-800-575-8909 M-F 8:00AM – 4:00PM MDT
###

Andy Griffith has a new role, pitching Obama Care


Andy Griffith has a new role selling Obama Care to American Seniors
July 31, 2010  - WASHINGTON — Andy Griffith has a new role: pitching President Obama’s health-care law to seniors in a cable TV ad paid for by Medicare.
The 84-year-old TV star — whose role as sheriff of Mayberry made him an enduring symbol of small-town American values — tells seniors that “good things are coming” under the health-care overhaul, including free preventive checkups and lower-cost prescriptions for Medicare recipients.
Medicare says the national ad is not political but part of its outreach to educate seniors about new benefits available next year. The ad is slated to run on channels seniors watch, such as the Weather Channel, CNN, Hallmark and Lifetime, at an initial cost of $700,000.
Said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky: “It’s going to take more than slick taxpayer-funded ads to convince skeptical seniors that cutting a half-trillion dollars from Medicare is good for them.” AP

Flu vaccine push already underway; first batch causes seizures in children


(NaturalNews) As ridiculous as it seems, retailers across the U.S. are already stocking their stores with Christmas goods. It’s all about the big commercial push, of course, since retailers make about 50 percent of their profits during the Christmas season.
Similarly, flu vaccine manufacturers generate huge profits during the Christmas season, too, and they’ve already begun shipping this year’s winter season flu vaccines to U.S. pharmacies and hospitals. Never mind the fact that the actual flu strain in the vaccine is little more than a hodgepodge collection of last year’s flu strains. Each year’s flu vaccines are technically only applicable to last year’s flu season, making them perfect for time travelers but useless for everybody else.
Along with the big vaccine push comes the inevitable vaccine propaganda. It’s all so predictable: First there’s the announcement that “everybody should get vaccinated.” This is followed by some later announcement in the pre-Christmas season of “how bad” this year’s flu season is getting. This is followed yet again by another urgent bulletin by health authorities urging everyone to get vaccinated.
The big vaccine push only quiets down when vaccine supplies dwindle. But as long as vaccines remain in inventory, the big vaccine push will stay aggressive, and during this annual charade, there won’t be a word mentioned about vitamin D and how it is far more effective than any vaccine at protecting people from seasonal flu.

Reading between the vaccine lines

This year’s vaccine push has begun with some curious admissions by the vaccine industry, reflected in aReuters story (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS…). After the usual explanatory text about how flu vaccine manufacturers have started shipping their largest quantity of vaccines ever produced for flu season, the story prints this curious text:
“And U.S. officials said they were changing the labeling on a vaccine made by Australia’s CSL Ltd (CSL.AX) because it appears to have caused a higher than usual rate of seizures in children.”
Now hold on a second.
If you read between the lines here, this statement implies that: 1) Vaccines cause seizures in children. And then 2) This particular vaccines causes a higher rate of seizures in children than the usual rate of seizures in children.
Why is this curious? First off, because vaccine pushers have always sworn their vaccines caused no seizures whatsoever. No neurological problems. No spontaneous abortions in pregnant women. No increased rates of autism. Vaccines are all perfectly safe, they say, and no children are ever harmed by them.
That’s the mythology, at least, behind vaccines. But the reality is far different: Vaccines do cause seizures in children, and this year’s vaccines look like they’re going to cause a significantly higher rate of seizures than usual.
Note, by the way, that this was not the headline of the story. This admission was tucked away in the text of a Reuters story, without any real emphasis. If Reuters was really interested in reporting the truth about vaccines, the story headline would have been, “Flu vaccines cause seizures in children.”

Line up, sheeple!

The story goes on to say, “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone be vaccinated against seasonal flu this year.”
Yep, everyone. That means one-month old infants. Pregnant women. Children with seizure disorders. Immune suppressed seniors. Everyone!
You see, in years past, vaccines were never recommended for everyone due to well-founded safetyconcerns. In some people, you see, the nearly-dead viral strains used in vaccines can actually cause the very flu they claim to prevent. So the CDC has, for as long as anyone can remember, always warned certain groups to be excluded from vaccines for their own safety.
Well not anymore. Any safety concerns have been thrown out the window in the quest to push more vaccines onto more people. Billions of dollars in pharmaceutical profits are at stake here, and health officials can’t afford to let a little safety get in the way.
This Reuters story continues:
“Most years, seasonal influenza infects between 5 percent and 20 percent of the U.S. population and kills 36,000 people. It puts about 200,000 into the hospital.”
Well, not really. The 36,000 figure often quoted from the CDC is wildly inaccurate (http://www.naturalnews.com/026169_m…). It’s a statistical guess based on such outdated data that to quote it as fact is laughable. Besides, it’s technically wrong to say that influenza kills anyone. The real killer here is vitamin D deficiency which causes a stalled out immune system. If people had sufficient levels of vitamin D circulating in their blood, the flu virus would be powerless to harm them. And since there are viruses everywhere in the world around us every single day, isn’t it more accurate to say that the “flu season” is actually the “vitamin D deficiency season?”
Think about it: Why does the flu circulate in the winter months in North America, but the summer months (June – August) in Australia? It’s because those are the times of weaker sunlight exposure resulting in widespread vitamin D deficiencies. The flu is always around, living amongst us, just waiting for weakened immune systems so it can strike. To say that “the flu” kills people in the winter is factually wrong. It’s the vitamin D deficiency that kills people by giving the flu an opportunity to attack a weakened immune system.
This is a simple factual point that the entire system of western medicine, with all its high-IQ doctors, has so far failed to realize. Sometimes it feels like we’re still living in the Dark Ages of medicine, I swear…

Where are the clinical trials?

Anyway, this Reuters story continues with one more whopper of a statement:
“The labeling for one vaccine, CSL Limited’s Afluria, has undergone changes this season to inform health care providers about an increased incidence of fever and febrile seizure… The FDA said it was asking CSL to conduct a study of its vaccine in children.”
Read between the lines on this one: This Afluria vaccine causes an increased risk of seizures, it’s being imported into the USA to be injected in children this flu season, and the FDA is just now asking for a study? That means, of course, that no study has been conducted on this vaccine yet.
In other words, this vaccine which causes seizures in children has never actually been properly tested in children according to FDA guidelines, so the FDA wants a test to be done but the vaccine will be injected into children in the USA anyway, even before the testing is likely to be completed.
And that means, of course, that U.S. children are being used as guinea pigs to see what happens to them following this vaccine injection. If enough children have seizures or end up paralyzed or dead, the FDA will probably pull the vaccine off the market. But that only happens after the fact and after the damage has already been done.
Don’t you get it? Your children are the experiment! The American People are the guinea pigs for every vaccine these companies come up with, and it doesn’t matter if the vaccine causes seizures, brain damage or even death… American children are going to be injected by the millions in order to find out what happens.

No need for influenza vaccines in anyone

This whole annual charade is utterly useless to begin with. There is simply no medically justifiable need to inject anyone with a flu vaccine — ever! What people need is vitamin D to activate their immune response so that natural exposures to seasonal flu are easily handled by their existing immune system functionality.
Let’s face it: The human immune system is far more intelligent and technologically advanced than any flu vaccine. It already has a pattern recognition system that can identify and destroy foreign invaders in the blood. But as research has shown, when vitamin D levels are deficient in the body, the immune system is effectively paralyzed and can’t respond. (http://www.naturalnews.com/029312_i…)
When vitamin D levels are high, the immune system responds rapidly to any influenza threat. That’s why I never get a flu shot and even so, I haven’t been sick for years. I do, however, get sunshine on a regular basis, and when I can’t get sunshine, I take a quality vitamin D3 supplement. And guess what? I don’t need a flu vaccine at all. I can walk into a room full of sick people infected with influenza and be completely and utterly immune to their coughing, sneezing, nose wiping and finger-licking handshaking.
Having vitamin D in your body is like wearing a bulletproof vest for influenza.
The medical industry won’t tell you this because there’s huge profit to be made in scaring people into paying for flu shots they don’t need. If people were told the truth about the dangers and the ineffectiveness of flu shots, very few would buy them. Because the truth is that, even in best-case scenarios, flu shots are maybeeffective at preventing infections in one percent of those who take them.
And that means ninety-nine percent of those receiving flu shots are wasting their time and their money. Plus, they’re exposing themselves to chemicals that are obviously dangerous to the human body or else they wouldn’t cause seizures in children, get it?
And yet every flu season, people line up by the millions to get injected with something that might harm them, and they actually pay for being potentially harmed! Why do people do this? Because they foolishly trust in health authorities who almost universally have financial ties to the vaccine manufacturing companies and so are pushing a particular agenda in order to profit from vaccine sales.
But scientifically speaking, the flu season could be stopped in its tracks by handing out vitamin D3 supplements instead of vaccine injections. No needles. No seizures. And no drug company profits.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather swallow a vitamin than get jabbed with a sharp needle. But that’s just me.
Most other people, it seems, would rather spend their winters wiping their noses raw with Kleenex, drowning themselves in over-the-counter flu medicines and missing a week or two of work while they try to fight off a flu infection they could have prevented with a few vitamin D supplements in the first place.
Believe me, it’s a lot more fun to laugh off the flu season and spend your winters healthy, well rested and completely immune to seasonal flu.
Wanna join me in a healthy winter this year? Just boost your vitamin D levels and you too can laugh off seasonal flu and all the sheeple lining up to get injected like cattle in a branding line.

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