25 Feb - Killing Food Nutrition is Stupid

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What you need to know about new credit card rules
http://current.com/items/92189917_what-you-need-to-know-about-new-credit-card-rules.htm?xid=45
On Monday, new federal regulations will take effect, changing the relationship between you and your card issuer.

The changes are part of the Credit Card Act of 2009, signed into law last May. Congress approved the legislation to end what consumer groups have called unfair and deceptive business practices. But critics say the heavier regulations will make credit cards more costly for everyone.


The Killing Fields - the battle to feed factory farms
The rapid spread of animal feed plantations across South America is wiping out rainforests and destroying the communities who have lived on the land for centuries. The Killing Fields lifts the lid on the battle to feed our factory farms.

Court approves raw milk co-op

Michael Schmidt -Glencolton Farms

 Glencolton Farms starts its own study on raw versus pasteurized milk.

  

The Bovine

Seventy truckloads of meat bypassing Canada’s border inspection process since January 4th, 2010, faced NO real consequences or government action

Enviropigs “Trojan Horse” transgenics?

Excerpt from a National Post story by Sarah Schmidt titled “Genetically engineered pigs a step closer to dinner plate“:

Marler Clark reviews developments in recent raw milk controversy in Ontario

Here’s an excerpt from a recent story by Kristeva Dowling on the Ontario raw milk situation, with Michael Schmidt:

“Ontario made pasteurization of milk mandatory in 1938, but Health Canada did not make it mandatory until 1991. Canada bans the sale of raw milk but not its consumption.

Talking ’bout “food freedom” — and that doesn’t mean how many days of the year you will have to work to pay off your supermarket grocery bills for the year

A letter to the Brantford Expositor:

“A lot of folks believe that raw milk is bad and big brother should ban it and anyone drinking it, processing it or daring to say anything good about it….”

That’s how Bruce of “Bruce on the Bruce” blog opens his post titled “The Milkman’s being milked and we are being suckered!”. 

Food police go after raw cheese makers — is it an economic war of attrition?

The following is excerpted from a Chelsea Green blog post by David E. Gumpert titled “Food Police Send Message to Raw Milk Cheese Makers: You Can Run But You Can’t Hide; Behind FTCLDF Criticism”:

U.S. psychiatrist contends that the same “emotional plague” that led to Wilhelm Reich’s imprisonment in 1957 is behind “official” opposition to raw milk today

Orgonomist blog author Richard Schwartzman, D.O. has been a practicing psychiatrist and psychiatric orgone therapist for more than 35 years.

Wilhem Reich -- radical thinker, scientist, pioneer, died in 1957, while he was being held in a U.S. prison.

In a post titled “The Government vs Raw Milk“, he explores the parallels between the “mentality” of FDA officials who presided over the imprisonment and destruction of orgone pioneer Wilhelm Reich, and the mindset behind the forces currently arrayed against raw milk.

80% favour raw milk sales in Yahoo poll

Yahoo news is asking whether raw milk sales should be prohibited.

Health care costs over time--how the US became so different & why conservatives can't fix it
http://current.com/items/92189482_health-care-costs-over-time-how-the-us-became-so-different-why-conservatives-cant-fix-it.htm?xid=45
( I consider the Democratic Party the other conservative party. In Canada the Liberal party is the other conservative party, in the U.K., Labour, etc. ) 

Richest 400 Taxpayers See Incomes Double, Tax Rates Halved
http://current.com/items/92183632_richest-400-taxpayers-see-incomes-double-tax-rates-halved.htm 

Do you have to be Jewish to report on Israel for the New York Times?

This reporter, who, unlike me, spends lots of time with the main press corps in Jerusalem, then made some interesting points. He wishes to remain anonymous but has agreed to my passing on his observations. He calls Bronner’s situation “the rule, not the exception”, adding: “I can think of a dozen foreign bureau chiefs, responsible for covering both Israel and the Palestinians, who have served in the Israeli army, and another dozen who like Bronner have kids in the Israeli army.”

He added that it is very common to hear Western reporters boasting to one another about their “Zionist” credentials, their service in the Israeli army or the loyal service of their children. “Comments like that are very common at Foreign Press Association gatherings [in Israel] among the senior, agenda-setting, elite journalists.”

Try to stay clear of Craigslist scams
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35356076/ns/technology_and_science-tech_andgadgets 
One fellow even started a recreational blog called Exposing Scam Artists Who Use Craigslist, which is devoted to shining a light on the seedy underbelly of Craig Newmark's paradise. (Here's a 2004 interview with Craig. Note the last question and Craig's answer regarding his faith in mankind.)

The jobs section is well known for tricking otherwise intelligent people into unfortunate situations. Two of the most common ploys are to ask for up-front training fees and to solicit personal information (often via a legitimate-looking Web site) for "direct deposit" or "background check" purposes.

In a truly off-the-wall case, one guy hoodwinked 79 professionals into working for weeks on a sham project. Promising a $21,000 salary for two months worth of work, the charlatan set up a fake company, hired the group via e-mail, assigned seemingly real work and tricked a lot of people into giving up their time and personal information. It seems the entire effort was undertaken in the hopes of getting a woman's attention.

The lesson: Posts that offer high income with little to no experience, telecommuting without meeting your boss, initial fees and hiring without an interview are giant red flags that, in combination, should send you running.
( It sounds like the online variation of 'training' scams selling 'educational programs'. You'll be 'educated' out of pocket. )

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Quantum Physics Breakthrough: Scientists Find an Equation for Materials Innovation

Princeton engineers have made a breakthrough in an 80-year-old quandary in quantum physics, paving the way for the development of new materials that could make electronic devices smaller and cars more energy efficient.

By reworking a theory first proposed by physicists in the 1920s, the researchers discovered a new way to predict important characteristics of a new material before it's been created. The new formula allows computers to model the properties of a material up to 100,000 times faster than previously possible and vastly expands the range of properties scientists can study.

CARNIVOROUS PLANTS COULD YIELD LIFE-SAVING DRUGS

compounds that are natural anti-fungal agents

Ancient DNA Reveals Caribou History Linked to Volcanic Eruption

 DNA recovered from ancient caribou bones reveals a possible link between several small unique caribou herds and a massive volcanic eruption that blanketed much of the Alaskan Yukon territory in a thick layer of ash 1,000 years ago, reports research published in Molecular Ecology.