[North-NV-Greens] Fwd: Project Censored Alerts

Thu Nov 4 00:20:35 PST 2004

>
>
>Project Censored Alerts
>http://www.projectcensored.org/
>November 1, 2004
>
>Edited by Tina Tambornini
>
>Pesticides Found In 100 Percent of People Tested
>
>A report released in May by the Pesticides 
>Action Network North America, Washington Toxics 
>Coalition and Centers for Disease Control and 
>Prevention found unsafe levels of pesticides in 
>over 2,000 people tested. Pesticides were found 
>in 100-percent of people having both blood and 
>urine tests. The average person had 13 out of 
>the 23 total pesticides analyzed found in their 
>bodies. Many of the pesticides found have been 
>linked to serious short- and long-term health 
>effects including infertility, birth defects, 
>and childhood and adult cancers.
>The Washington State of Ecology has a program to 
>eliminate persistent toxic chemicals. The 
>program calls on the EPA to ban pesticides known 
>to be hazardous and pervasive in the 
>environment, and require that manufactures 
>demonstrate that a pesticide does not harm human 
>health before it is used. The 2004 legislature 
>however, bowed to industry pressure and passed a 
>budget proviso to exempt pesticides from the 
>program.
>Source: Washington Free Press, July/August 2004
>"Many People Carry Toxic Pesticides above Safe 
>Levels" by Washington Toxic Coalition
>Synopsis by Erica Bosque
>
>
>Texas Legislation Restricts Prisoner's Access to Media
>
>The Texas Department of Criminal Justice passed 
>a measure titled 03.91 that would restrict 
>inmate's access to media within the prison 
>systems of Texas. The measure has two distinct 
>clauses that allow mail to be intercepted. The 
>first clause addresses incoming mail containing 
>"sexually explicit" images, i.e., "material that 
>shows the frontal nudity of either gender, 
>including the exposed female breast(s) with 
>nipple(s) or areola(s), or the genitalia or anus 
>of either gender." Explaining the new policy, 
>Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive 
>Director Gary Johnson pointed out that his 
>office strives for "a more positive and safer 
>environment for both staff and offenders," 
>adding "the elimination of sexually explicit 
>material helps us move in that direction."
>The second clause adds that "outgoing special or 
>media correspondence will be opened in cases 
>where there have been known problems (special 
>correspondence is defined as any official of any 
>federal, state or local law enforcement agency, 
>including offices of inspector general). This 
>intent is to prohibit offenders from sending 
>correspondence that seeks to threaten, harass or 
>intimidate in any way (including anthrax 
>hoaxes)." In other words, Texas prison officials 
>are now permitted to read mail written by 
>inmates to journalists, but only "in cases where 
>there have been known problems." While the board 
>went to great lengths in defining the female 
>breast in the porn ban policy, the term "known 
>problems" is not defined. The criterion by which 
>media correspondence may be read by officials is 
>left to the imagination of prison staff. The 
>so-called "porn ban" received all of the media 
>coverage.
>Source: Toward Freedom, September 2004
>"Silence is Brutal" by Barrett Brown
>Synopsis by Brent Kidder
>
>
>Small Technology Poses Serious Health Risks to Consumers
>
>Nanotechnology involves human built structures 
>measuring 100nm or less. Little research is 
>being conducted in order to prove that 
>nanotechnology is safe enough to be used. 
>Nanotechnology has a wide range of uses, 
>including wrinkle and stain free clothing, 
>transparent sunscreens, self-cleaning windows 
>and tennis balls that have infinite bounce. 
>.Nanotechnology is also being used in aerospace, 
>treatment of cancer and possibly in 
>hydrogen-powered cars. There are some aspects of 
>this phenomenon that could pose potentially 
>serious health risks to consumers. A 
>multi-million dollar budget was given to the 
>industry by the government, but only about one 
>percent is going to the research of 
>nanotechnology. Of the few tests that have been 
>conducted regarding this new technology, some 
>studies show potential harm to the lungs and the 
>brains of laboratory animals.
>Eva Oberdorster, an adjunct scientist at Duke 
>University, made headlines with disturbing news 
>about nanoparticles called buckyballs. Ms. 
>Oberdorster put a solution of these 
>nanoparticles in a fish tank filled with large 
>mouth bass. After examining different organs, 
>she found signs of oxidative damage in their 
>brains. Normally, she says, particles cannot 
>enter the brain because of the blood-brain 
>barrier; however, the nanoparticles are able to 
>pass this barrier by traveling up the nerve 
>cells because of their size. Nanotechnology 
>researchers are not researching the potential 
>harms of the technology because "Šwe want our 
>stuff to save the World. We don't want to find 
>out its toxic." Besides the effects on the 
>brains and the lungs of animals, current 
>nanotechnologies have harmful byproducts such as 
>Iron, Cadmium, and Selenium. Although, the few 
>studies that have been done, show health 
>concerns for consumers who are exposed to 
>nanotechnology. Exposure includes absorption 
>through the skin and through breathing in the 
>particles. The Bush administration claims that 
>there will not be any new funding for the 
>research of potential harms of nanotechnology.
><A2>Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 2004
>"The Dark Side of Small" by Richard Monastersky
>Synopsis by Brent Kidder
>
>Native Women Murdered in Guatemala
>
>In Guatemala More than 1,300 women have been 
>murdered in the past three years. There has been 
>much attention given to the roughly 300 murders 
>that have taken place in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez 
>over the past three years but in neighboring 
>Guatemala there were 383 murders in 2003 by 
>itself. Over the past three years 1,300 have 
>been murdered, which averages one per day. Many 
>of these women come from the poor segments of 
>society and thus, may not be deemed important in 
>their already impoverished country. In 2004, 
>there have already been 230 deaths, many by 
>means of strangulation, gunshot, stabbed, or 
>mutilated. The killers are rarely brought to 
>justice and most often are not even identified. 
>Roughly 21% of these deaths are gang-related and 
>21% are the result of armed robbery. The 
>remainder fall into the category of drug related 
>violence or rape.
>Since 1990, the CIA has been investigating 
>murders that have taken place in Guatemala. US 
>government officials sent to Guatemala, such as 
>Michael Devine, as well as US citizens visiting 
>Guatemala. have been reported missing. The CIA 
>has opened investigations. Although one person 
>is dieing in Guatemala, there has been no major 
>media coverage on this important issue.
>Source: Third World Resurgence, July/August 2004, Author Diego Cevallos,
>Synopsis by Chris Getty
>
>
>Bush Plan Screen's U.S. Population For Mental Illness
>
>George W. Bush is promoting a program that 
>screen's U.S. citizens for mental heath, 
>regardless of age. This plan promises to 
>integrate mentally ill patients fully into the 
>community by providing a service, instead of an 
>institution. In the year, 2002 Bush established 
>the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health to 
>study the U.S. mental health service delivery 
>system. Bush's commission found that some of the 
>mental disorders often go undiagnosed. The 
>commission also found that preschool children 
>are being expelled from preschool, because of 
>severely disruptive behaviors and emotional 
>disorders. The commission went to the Texas 
>Medication Algorithm Project, which is a "model 
>medication treatment plan that illustrates an 
>evidence-based practice that results in a better 
>consumer outcome." The Texas project is going to 
>promote new antidepressants and antipsychotic 
>drugs, which are more expensive. The new 
>antipsychotic drug, which is the first line drug 
>of TMAP grossed over 4.28 billion dollars 
>worldwide. Eli Lilly, who manufactures the new 
>antipsychotic drug has both Sr. and Jr. Bush 
>behind him. Lilly has contributed millions of 
>dollars to the Bush Administration and the 
>Republican Party. Bush is a front runner when it 
>comes to drug companies. The Center for 
>Responsive Politics, which is a manufacturer for 
>drugs, contributed 764,274 dollars to the 2004 
>campaign. A developer of Texas project claims 
>that the screening for mental illness is good 
>for any age group and only good things can come 
>out of this project.
>Source: Asheville Global Report, June 2004
>"Bush plans to screen U.S. for mental illness" by Jeanne Lenzer
>Synopsis by Heather Caito
>
>
>U.S. Stalls Payment to Black Farmers
>
>Black farmers whose livelihoods were ruined by 
>US government farm aid practices are asking 
>Congress to intervene after a legal settlement 
>failed to bring desperately needed compensation 
>to the vast majority of those who filed suit. 
>Five years ago, facing a class action lawsuit 
>the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) conceded 
>it had given unequal treatment to black farmers 
>seeking assistance, and promised to pay up to 
>$2.3 billion in restitution. New analysis by the 
>Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the 
>National Black Farmers Association found the 
>agency ultimately denied the claims because they 
>were handled by a third party arbitrator. 
>However, the agency hired attorney's from the US 
>Justice Department to fight individual claims, 
>at a cost of $12 million and 56,000 staff hours.
>So far, the government has paid $657 million to 
>13,151 claimants. Most of the farmers turned 
>away for restitution had filed late claims 
>because their attorneys gave them the wrong 
>deadline. Others were told they had insufficient 
>documentation. Even some 9,000 farmers who met 
>the criteria for "automatic" $50,000 payments 
>(that they had applied for a USDA loan between 
>1981 and 1996, the agency's response was 
>racially discriminatory, and they filed a 
>complaint arising from USDA's treatment) were 
>given nothing, a 40% denial rate. The report 
>also charges the USDA made it as difficult as 
>possible for farmers to prove that this was 
>discriminating, by suppressing information that 
>had already been compiled regarding loan 
>disparities between white and black applicants. 
>The situation is dire because so many black 
>farmers have been forced off their land and left 
>virtually penniless. From 1982 to 2002, the 
>report notes, the number of farms run by African 
>Americans fell from 54,367 to just 29,090. 
>Overall African Americans have lost their farms 
>at a rate three-times that of whites.
>Source: Global Report, July 2004
>"US Stalls Payments to Black Farmers" by Katherine Stapp
>Synopsis by Alysia See
>
>
>Native American Kids Not Adequately Protected in Government Schools
>
>American Indian children in government run 
>schools were entrusted to workers who been 
>convicted of child endangerment and 
>manslaughter, says federal investigators. The 
>Interior Department's inspector general 
>concluded that the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
>"background investigation process is not 
>sufficient to prevent Indian children 
>potentially being in danger." The Bureau of 
>Indian Affairs supports 187 schools, including 
>54 boarding schools and 14 dormitories that 
>serve 48,000 children. In one case, an assistant 
>at a New Mexico dormitory had been convicted of 
>26 offenses, including battery and endangering 
>the welfare of a child, but worked at the school 
>for nearly two years before a background check 
>was completed and the worker was fired. In 
>another case, a school secretary remained on 
>staff for nine months after her background check 
>revealed that she had been convicted of 
>voluntary manslaughter. The inspector general 
>said the Bureau of Indian Affairs has improved 
>their screening process of school employees but 
>there are still parts of it that should be 
>strengthened. On one occasion 50 of 7,664 
>employees were found to be unsuitable - less 
>than 1 percent. But the BIA process allows 
>applicants to be hired and work in the schools 
>before the screening process is complete.
>Source: News From Indian Country, 4/19/04, Author: Robert Gehrke,
>Synopsis by Matthew Holman
>
>
>Gene Bombs
>
>Human races or ethnic groups might have special 
>genetically based vulnerabilities, which could 
>be exploited by the U.S. biological weapons 
>labeled as "gene bombs." Gene bombs represent 
>the Holy Grail of biological research, and could 
>theoretically be targeted against racial or 
>ethnic groups whose behavior seems inimical to 
>"American interests," especially as these are 
>defined by the Bush administration. Since great 
>genetic variation is in Africa, African American 
>soldiers have been made the new secret weapon of 
>the pentagon for biological warfare. This is 
>because of their evolutionary history and 
>because many of their ancestors come from the 
>motherland of our species. Also they are more 
>likely to harbor the genetic basis both for 
>natural immunity and the potential for 
>successful immunization. This includes 
>interracial individuals because under the 
>peculiar "one drop rule" of official American 
>racism, they are all "Black" legally and 
>socially. Ironically, the U.S. Army, after years 
>of striving for racial integration, might find 
>itself segregated biologically, with some units 
>predominantly composed of African Americans.
>Source: Covert Action Quarterly, Spring 2004, 
>Race, Ethnicity, and Gene Bombs, author John H. 
>Moore, Synopsis by Deanna Murrell
>
>--
>Peter Phillips Ph.D.
>Sociology Department/Project Censored
>Sonoma State University
>1801 East Cotati Ave.
>Rohnert Park, CA 94928
>707-664-2588
>http://www.projectcensored.org/


-- 
Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand
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