Home-delivered meals reduce feelings of loneliness among seniors

 

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Published: Tuesday 8 December 2015 at 3am PST

email

 

---

 

 

Homebound seniors who have home-delivered meals report significantly less loneliness than those who do not, according to a study published in Journals of Gerontology, Series B.

 

 

 

There was a significant reduction in self-reported feelings of loneliness among homebound seniors who had home-delivered meals, compared with those who did not.
Image credit: Michael Cohea/Brown University

 

The pressure to cut costs brings with it the possibility of overlooking the less tangible benefits when seeking alternative models in the provision of a public service.

Nutrition service providers are no exception, and the new study - conducted as a randomized, controlled trial - shows that home-delivered meals do more than nourish physical well-being; they also have a positive emotional effect in the lives of older people who are stuck at home.

It appears that the regular knock on the door, with the opportunity to exchange some friendly words with the person delivering the meal, goes a long way to reducing feelings of loneliness in older people in need.

Lead author Kali Thomas, assistant professor (research) of health services, policy and practice at Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, RI, says:
"This continues to build the body of evidence that home-delivered meals provide more than nutrition and food security."

Prof. Thomas, a former volunteer for Meals on Wheels, believes the study is one of only a few that has rigorously examined the long-presumed psychological benefits of home-delivered meal service. It is certainly the first randomized, controlled trial to measure the effect on loneliness, she notes.

Many participants socially isolated

The trial participants were 626 older adults from eight American cities who were on waiting lists to receive Meals on Wheels. They were randomly assigned to three groups.

In one group, the participants received a daily fresh meal, in another they received a weekly delivery of frozen meals, and in the third group they remained on the waiting list - this was the control group.
The trial ran for 15 weeks. All participants were interviewed at the start and end of the period.

Read More Here

More than 1,000 customers were potentially exposed to Hepatitis A after having their meal at McDonald’s , prompting class-action lawsuit in Waterloo, New York

 Health Nut News

1,000 McDonald’s Customers Exposed To Hepatitis A, Sparking Class Action Lawsuit

November 21, 2015 by Erin Elizabeth

 

In November, more than 1,000 customers were potentially exposed to Hepatitis A after having their meal at McDonald’s prepared by an employee who was recently diagnosed (Nov. 13th) with the virus. The employee who works at a location in Waterloo, New York, could have contaminated food, utensils or dishes if they didn’t wash their hands after using the bathroom. The Seneca County Health Department has advised the community that if they ate at the Waterloo McDonald’s on Nov. 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and or 8th, that they need to be tested and vaccinated.

---

---

However, one customer is suing.

The branch’s owner, Jascor Inc., is being sued by Christopher Welch in a class-action lawsuit, filed on Nov. 18th, for potentially exposing people to the virus, which causes liver infections. Mr. Welch ate at the restaurant on at least one occasion when the worker was present so he received the vaccination. Some of the customers who ate there during that time have said they will get tested but not get the vaccine.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

 

Read More Here

Finally, there’s documented medical proof that electromagnetic hypersensitivity is a real-time health issue that actually can be verified

Activist Post

Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Program

Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity from Microwave Technology Finally Medically Proven

November 20, 2015

By Catherine J. Frompovich

Finally, there’s documented medical proof that electromagnetic hypersensitivity is a real-time health issue that actually can be verified using standard medical procedures and testing capabilities.
An international group of researchers aced it when they published their findings from the clinical study “Metabolic and Genetic Screening of Electromagnetic Hypersensitive Subjects as a Feasible Tool for Diagnostics and Intervention” in the November 2014 issue of Mediators of Inflammation.

So, the million-dollar-question has to be, “When will utility companies get up to speed on the latest in microwave technology damage to the human body?” Also, “When will public utility commissions nationwide institute proper procedures to protect consumers from such damage?”

 

Pennsylvanians currently are being bombarded by non-thermal health problems from public utility companies’ electric, natural gas and water Smart Meters, which operate using microwave technology.

Furthermore, the PA House Consumer Affairs Committee Chair Robert Godshall sits on Opt-Out Bills that will permit electrosensitive consumers and others to keep safe analog meters, which have been in use for decades.

Read More Here

AquaBounty genetically-modified salmon approved by FDA

 

Prince Edward Island

AquaBounty has been working on approval for the genetically-modified fish for 20 years

CBC News Posted: Nov 19, 2015 11:27 AM ATLast Updated: Nov 20, 2015 3:25 PM AT

 

 AquaBounty's salmon are genetically modified to grow twice as fast as regular salmon. (AquaBounty Technologies)

 

 

Genetically-modified salmon approved by FDA 2:25

A genetically modified salmon that grows at twice the rate of regular salmon has been approved as food by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The eggs for the salmon are raised in a facility in the eastern P.E.I. community of Bay Fortune and exported to Panama, where they're grown in above-ground tanks.

 

This is the first genetically modified food animal approved for sale in the world.
"The FDA has thoroughly analyzed and evaluated the data and information submitted by AquaBounty Technologies regarding AquAdvantage Salmon and determined that they have met the regulatory requirements for approval, including that food from the fish is safe to eat," said Bernadette Dunham, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, in a news release.

• Read about reaction from environmental groups here

The Massachusetts-based company AquaBounty Technologies first sought approval for its salmon 20 years ago.

In a news release, the company's CEO Ron Stotish called the product, AquAdvantage Salmon a "game-changer."




Read More Here

The Ghosts of War: Understanding the Shocking Suicide Rate of US Vets

 Sputnik

 

© AFP 2015/ Jewel Samad

Opinion

20:17 08.11.2015(updated 20:43 08.11.2015) Get short URL

125066231

Why are suicide rates among veterans higher than in the general US population, American author David Swanson asks, posing yet another question: why does the subject of war as a suicide-related motive never arise in official studies?

 

 

The problem of high suicide rates among war veterans is widely discussed in the United States: the latest study has found that the suicide rate among recent veterans is 50 percent higher than non-military civilians.Incredible as it may seem, official reports brush aside the idea that war itself has anything to do with the problem, American activist and author David Swanson notes.
"Remarkably, the subject of war, their role in war, their thoughts about the supposed justifications (or lack thereof) of a war, never come up," Swanson wrote in his article for Information Clearing House.
The psychiatric studies and mass media reports are being focused on various "factors to blame" from "prior suicidality" to "poverty." However, they tell us virtually nothing, according to Swanson.

"Perhaps their goal isn't to tell us something factual so much as to shift the conversation away from why war causes murder and suicide, to the question of what was wrong with these soldiers before they enlisted," the author remarked.

Read More Here

 ....................................................................................................

The Center For Public Integrity

Suicide rate for veterans far exceeds that of civilian population

Nearly one in five suicides nationally is a veteran, 49,000 took own lives between 2005 and 2011

By Jeff HargartenForrest BurnsonBonnie CampoChase Cook

6:00 am, August 30, 2013 Updated: 12:19 pm, May 19, 2014

Victim's mother speaks out about military suicide

The mother of Kimberly Agar, Margy Agar, talks about her daughter's struggles with symptoms related to a traumatic brain injury. Kimberly died by suicide in Germany in 2011. Margy Agar now spends her time at home, suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress, and speaking out against mental illness stigma in the military.
Video by Chase Cook, News21

Veterans are killing themselves at more than double the rate of the civilian population with about 49,000 taking their own lives between 2005 and 2011, according to data collected over eight months by News21.

Records from 48 states show the annual suicide rate among veterans is about 30 for every 100,000 of the population, compared to a civilian rate of about 14 per 100,000. The suicide rate among veterans increased an average 2.6 percent a year from 2005 to 2011, or more than double that of the 1.1 percent civilian rate, according to News21’s analysis of states’ mortality data.

Nearly one in every five suicides nationally is a veteran — 18 to 20 percent annually — compared with Census data that shows veterans make up about 10 percent of the U.S. adult population.
“Anytime a veteran who fought our enemies abroad or helped defend America from within our borders dies by their own hand, it’s completely unacceptable,” Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, told an American Legion conference in Washington earlier this year. The suicide rate has remained consistently high, he said, adding that more work was needed to address gaps in veterans’ mental health care.

“It’s not enough that the veteran suicide problem isn’t getting worse,” he said, “it isn’t getting any better.”



Read More Here

..........................................................................................

Report: Suicide rate spikes among young veterans

 

By Leo Shane III

Stars and Stripes

Published: January 9, 2014

WASHINGTON -- The number of young veterans committing suicide jumped dramatically from 2009 to 2011, a worrying trend that Veterans Affairs officials hope can be reversed with more treatment and intervention.

New suicide data released by the department on Thursday showed that the rate of veterans suicide remained largely unchanged over that three-year period, the latest for which statistics are available. About 22 veterans a day take their own life, according to department estimates.

But while older veterans saw a slight decrease in suicides, male veterans under 30 saw a 44 percent increase in the rate of suicides. That’s roughly two young veterans a day who take their own life, most just a few years after leaving the service.

“Their rates are astronomically high and climbing,” said Jan Kemp, VA’s National Mental Health Director for Suicide Prevention. “That’s concerning to us.”

Read More Here

Related

• Death rate unusually high for young veterans
• Report: VA's mental health efforts fall short now, won't keep pace in the future
• Report: Stigmas stop veterans in need from seeking health care
• Iraq vet biking across US to raise awareness about military suicide
• More Stars and Stripes coverage of veterans

EPA Proposes Extended Ban on Neurotoxic Pesticide Sprayed on Crops

Banned for household use since 2000

 

 

by Julie Fidler
Posted on November 1, 2015

 

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Friday a proposal that would ban a pesticide commonly sprayed on citrus fruits, almonds, and other crops.


Chlorpyrifos has been in use since 1965 as an insecticide for oranges, apples, cherries, grapes, broccoli, and asparagus. Dozens of farmworkers have been sickened by chlorpyrifos is recent years. In September 2014, a coalition of environmental health groups sued the EPA, asking the agency to ban the toxic chemical.

 

The agency cited scientific evidence in defense of its ban on chlorpyrifos for household use in 2000. Prior to the ban, chlorpyrifos was the most widely used household pesticide in the U.S. Sold as Dursban, the Dow-made chemical was found in flea collars and was routinely used to kill household pests, such as roaches, termites and ants.

At the time, the agency warned that farmworkers who mixed chlorpyrifos, sold for farms as Lorsban, or applied it using backpack sprayers or open-cab tractors faced a potentially unacceptable level of risk. The agency also said it needed to research how chlorpyrifos drifting from nearby fields or tracked home on clothing put children’s health at risk.

The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) say that chlorpyrifos interferes with the brain development of fetuses, infants and children. [1] It has also been found to cause genetic damage in children, though it is reversible, and one study linked the insecticide to an increased risk of autism in unborn children.

Read More Here

Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Gerber Says NO to Non-Browning GMO Arctic Apples

An awesome victory!

by Christina Sarich
Posted on October 26, 2015

 

 

If you ever buy kid’s meals at Wendy’s you’ll be happy to know that the apples they serve will not be GM ‘Arctic apples’ as per a recent statement by the company. The company confirmed in April via email to Friends of the Earth that it has no plans to sell Arctic apples. McDonald’s and Gerber have also reportedly stated that they won’t be using this GM apple variety. Can we trust them?

Wendy’s, McDonald’s, and other Big Food companies don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to serving healthy food, but mega corporations like these are becoming less and less relevant to a public who is increasingly interested in what they are being served.

 

Lisa Archer, food and technology program director at Friends of the Earth said:

“Wendy’s is wisely listening to its customers by joining other major food companies and apple growers in rejecting this unnecessary and risky genetically engineered apple. It’s becoming increasingly clear that there is no demand for this new GMO.”

Read More Here

Leading Spice Provider Plans to go Organic, Non-GMO by 2016

 

Announced non-GMO vanilla in time for holidays

by Christina Sarich
Posted on October 28, 2015

 

 

 I’d certainly like to bake some holiday cookies without GMOs, and when I initially heard McCormick would be rolling out a non-GMO vanilla, I thought it was pretty cool that like other food companies, McCormick is listening to its customers about what they really want in their food.

The company:

 

“…announced plans to take a leadership position in Organic and Non-GMO herbs and spices ahead of the peak holiday season.”

Unfortunately, the company says that it will be calling their vanilla non-GMO and only verifying this through their normal supply chain, and not necessarily through any transparent means, such as through the Non-GMO Project.
McCormick also claims that over 70% of all McCormick branded spices will be transitioning to either organic or non-GMO. Lori Robinson, Vice President of Corporate Branding, confirmed via an email to Project NOSH that the Non-GMO Vanilla extract will only be ‘verified’ through the company itself, but that they have considered going through the verification process via the Non-GMO Project.
All that the company claims isn’t necessarily up to standard, though. When a July study found that many dried oregano products made by McCormick contained fillers, they quickly issued a statement touting their “field to bottle” sourcing and that all of its oregano products are tested for purity and then “gently” dried to preserve flavor and color. That still doesn’t account for unnecessary fillers.

Read More Here

England : Malnutrition and Cases of Victorian-era diseases including scurvy, scarlet fever, cholera and whooping cough have increased since 2010

The Independent

Malnutrition and 'Victorian' diseases soaring in England 'due to food poverty and cuts'

• Dean Kirby
• Tuesday 27 October 2015

While cases of malnutrition doubled in the four years to 2014, there has been a rise in diseases that were rife in the Victorian era such as scurvy, scarlet fever, cholera and whooping cough Corbis

 

 

Cases of malnutrition and other “Victorian” diseases are soaring in England, in what campaigners said was a result of cuts to social services and rising food poverty.

NHS statistics show that 7,366 people were admitted to hospital with a primary or secondary diagnosis of malnutrition between August 2014 and July this year, compared with 4,883 cases in the same period from 2010 to 2011 – a rise of more than 50 per cent in just four years.

Cases of other diseases rife in the Victorian era including scurvy, scarlet fever, cholera and whooping cough have also increased since 2010, although cases of TB, measles, typhoid and rickets have fallen.
Chris Mould, chairman of the Trussell Trust, which runs a nationwide network of foodbanks, said they saw “tens of thousands of people who have been going hungry, missing meals and cutting back on the quality of the food they buy”.

Read More Here

............................................................................

The Independent

Malnutrition cases in English hospitals almost double in five years

Admissions to hospitals have soared as poorer families struggle to afford food

• Charlie Cooper, Kunal Dutta
• @charliecooper8
• Sunday 17 November 2013

The shocking impact of recession and austerity on England’s poorest people has come to light again in figures showing the number of malnutrition cases treated at NHS hospitals has nearly doubled since the economic downturn Rex

 

 

The shocking impact of recession and austerity on England’s poorest people has come to light again in figures showing the number of malnutrition cases treated at NHS hospitals has nearly doubled since the economic downturn.

Primary and secondary diagnoses of malnutrition – caused by lack of food or very poor diet – rose from 3,161 in 2008/09 to 5,499 last year, according to figures released by the health minister Norman Lamb.

While the data does not include information on the circumstances of each diagnosis, the rise coincides with a dramatic increase in the cost of living, and a spike in demand for charity food hand-outs.

The figures, broken down by region, reveal the heaviest burden of hunger is being felt in rural areas. Hospitals in Somerset saw the most cases, with 215 diagnoses, followed by Cornwall and Scilly Isles.

Read More Here

How Turing’s Controversial $750 Pill Could be Eclipsed by a $1 Rival

LadyofProcrastination

..................

By Eric Pianin

 

October 23, 2015

Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton called him an outrageous drug “price gouger.” GOP frontrunner Donald Trump dismissed him as “a spoiled brat.” And Sen. Bernie Sanders rejected his campaign contribution as soiled money.

Martin Shkreli, the cocky, 32-year-old former Wall Street hedge fund manager and owner of Turing Pharmaceuticals, caused a national furor recently after he acquired the rights to a drug called Daraprim for treating parasitic infections and then jacked up the price by 5,000 percent – from $13.50 a tablet to $750.


Related: The Feds Finally Make a Move on Soaring Drug Prices


The drug has been on the market for more than 60 years, and the Infectious Disease Society of America and others have estimated that it would cost $336,000 a year to treat someone with toxoplasmosis at $750 per pill, according to reports.

Read More Here

20 Year Old Autistic Girl in Michigan Medically Kidnapped Over Treatment Disagreement

Health Impact News

Hannah G has a smile that lights up the room. Source: #freehannahg Facebook page

UPDATE: 10/9/2015

As of late this afternoon, Hannah is FREE! We don’t yet know the details, but we will update as soon as we can. What we do know is this, from the #FreeHannahG Facebook page:

Besides having a mother and siblings who would NEVER give up, a family that pulled together and formed an amazing circle of support, friends and colleagues that took a stand…and an amazing legal team…and YOUR support, I believe that she freed herself by being an amazing self-advocate. She still managed to touch hearts and make us all laugh from her not-so-royal tower on the 7th floor. This is the time to breathe, thank God and be grateful that she is home. Once the family has had time to rest after this 40 day hell on Earth, they will release a statement that will answer those questions.

Also, we received word that a copy of this article was sent to Michigan Lt. Governor Brian Calley as soon as it was published, and that he read it.

To all who worked hard for Hannah’s freedom, thank you. This is a beautiful testament to what families, communities, and the public can do to fight for freedom for families faced with the injustice and cruelty of medical kidnapping. Sadly, there are many more stories like this. Each victim needs advocates to speak out for them and fight for their freedom.

by Health Impact News/MedicalKidnap.com Staff

Savannah Garcia, or Hannah, as she is known to those who love her, is a fun-loving young lady who is an important part of her community in Traverse City, Michigan. The 20 year old is a regular fixture at her neighborhood ballpark, where she cheers on her favorite players, and she is well-loved by all who know her. She loves her dog, her family and friends, stuffed animals, frappes, and her fiance. Even though she is autistic, she has been living in an apartment attended by a care team, and has been involved in making many of her own choices.

Until September 4, 2015.

That was the day that 2 doctors at Munson Medical Center filed a petition to remove Hannah’s mother as her guardian and to name a person completely unknown to the family, Stephanie Strehl, as her guardian. Health Impact has learned that psychiatrist Dr. Marilyn Conlon and internist Dr. Hal Yost are the physicians behind the charges, yet reportedly they have still not yet consulted with, or even spoken to, Hannah’s long term primary care physician. Nor have they fully reviewed Hannah’s records, according to her attorney Calvin Luker, reported by the Traverse City Record-Eagle. Yet their chosen guardian has taken away all semblance of choice and basic civil liberties from Hannah.

How Hannah Wound Up as a Prisoner at Munson Hospital

According to a press release issued by the RespectABILITY Law Center,

Hannah has a medical condition, Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, where pressure builds in her brain causing painful, punishing headaches. In 2012, surgeons installed a shunt to drain the fluid that causes the pressure.

Sometimes these shunts need adjustments, which is called a “shunt revision.” The details of the summer of 2015 may be found in the press release, but it comes down to this: on several occasions, beginning in May 2015, Hannah began having severe headaches. Always under consultation with her primary care doctor and neurosurgeon, her mother took her to 3 different hospitals on different occasions where objective medical testing revealed that there was an increase in intracranial pressure, which was causing debilitating headaches. Each time that surgery was performed, they found a medical reason for her severe pain, including a blockage in the tubing with cells. Another time, the tubing itself had become disconnected, and had to be repaired.

Read More Here

America #1? 36 Facts That Prove That The United States Is An ‘Exceptional’ Nation

End Of The American Dream

The American Dream Is Becoming A Nightmare And Life As We Know It Is About To Change

By Michael Snyder, on October 13th, 2015

 

Is the United States an “exceptional” nation?  Well, the facts show that we are, but not for the reasons that you may think.  Now that it is election season, we have all sorts of politicians running around proclaiming that America is the greatest nation on the entire planet.  And just this week, Warren Buffett stated that “America’s great now — it’s never been greater“.  But is it actually true?  Is the United States still a great nation?  I would submit that the numbers suggest otherwise.  I love America, and in my opinion there is not much hope for us until we are willing to admit to ourselves just how far we have fallen.  The following are 36 facts that prove that the United States is an “exceptional” nation…

#1 According to a brand new report that was just released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States has the fattest population in the entire industrialized world by a wide margin.

#2 That same report from the OECD also found that we are number one in child obesity.  In fact, at 38 percent our rate of childhood obesity is even higher than our overall rate of obesity.

#3 According to USA Today, the obesity rate in the United States has more than doubled over the past 25 years.

#4The Washington Post has reported that Americans spend an average of 293 minutes a day watching television, which is the most in the world by a wide margin.   And as I have discussed previously, more than 90 percent of the “programming” that we absorb is created by just 6 enormously powerful media corporations.

#5 One study found that the average American spends more than 10 hours a day using some sort of electronic device.

#6 By the time an American child reaches the age of 18, that child will have seen approximately 40,000 murders on television.

#7 The average young American will spend 10,000 hours playing video games before the age of 21.

#8 Out of 22 countries studied by the Educational Testing Service, Americans were dead last in tech proficiency, dead last in numeracy and only two countries performed worse than us when it came to literacy proficiency.

#9 In more than half of all U.S. states, the highest paid public employee in the state is a football coach.

#10 The percentage of wealth owned by middle class adults is lower in North America than it is anywhere else in the world.

#11 Almost half of all Americans (47 percent) do not put a single penny out of their paychecks into savings.

Read M9re Here

The FDA has granted fast track approval for Dangerous Vaccine Adjuvant in Elderly Flu Vaccinations

 

Natural Blaze

Top Dangerous Vaccine Adjuvant Will Be Used for Elderly Flu Vaccinations

Posted on October 12, 2015

By Paul Fassa

The FDA has granted fast track approval for Swiss based Novartis’s flu shot that contains squalene as an adjuvant  to boost what they consider an immune response.

Fast track approval is normally reserved for crucial emergencies during vaccine shortages. You might be aware that there is no shortage of flu vaccines and most hyped flu epidemics are bogus. (Source below, No More Fake News)

But what they call an immune response is mostly a localized cytokine response to toxic adjuvants and preservatives. But the process of creating a cellular memory to defend against future viral attacks is usually bypassed by vaccinating.

That’s why getting a viral disease and recovering or even being exposed to one without falling ill grants lifetime immunity, and that’s how true “herd immunity” can occur.

Squalene was used for troop anthrax vaccinations during the Gulf War and has been associated with Gulf War Syndrome that affected thousands of American soldiers during the Gulf War, many of whom died from that alone, exceeding combat fatalities.

Read More Here

Fukushima radiation has been linked to a surge in thyroid cancer among children near the disaster area

  Asia

Child cancers up fiftyfold after Fukushima disaster

Damir Sagolj/Corbis

• 
  104 cases of thyroid cancer have been identified, a far higher rate than the national average Damir Sagolj/Corbis

Richard Lloyd ParryTokyo

Last updated at 8:45AM, October 8 2015

Cases of thyroid cancer among children living close to the Fukushima nuclear power plant have increased fiftyfold since the meltdown in 2011, according to Japanese scientists.

Read More Here

.........................................................................................

ONE NEWS NOW TVNZ

Study shows alarming thyroid cancer rates in children living near Fukushima

Thu, Oct 8

Associated PressSource:

Children living near the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer at a rate 20 to 50 times that of children elsewhere.

A young evacuee is screened at a shelter for leaked radiation from the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima,

Source: Associated Press

Most of the 370,000 children in Fukushima prefecture (state) have been given ultrasound checkups since the March 2011 meltdowns at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. The most recent statistics, released in August, show that thyroid cancer is suspected or confirmed in 137 of those children, a number that rose by 25 from a year earlier. Elsewhere, the disease occurs in only about one or two of every million children per year.

"This is more than expected and emerging faster than expected," lead author Toshihide Tsuda said.

Read More Here

 

.....................................................................................

Fukushima radiation hits home as thyroid cancer rises among children

Thyroid cancer rates were about 20 to 50 times the national average, according to the analysis.

 

By Elizabeth Shim   |   Oct. 8, 2015 at 2:19 PM

 

 

 

TOKYO, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Fukushima radiation has been linked to a surge in thyroid cancer among children near the disaster area, and radiation woes have reach South Korea, where findings revealed imported tobacco from Japan contained higher than normal levels of radioactive cesium.
A team of Japanese researchers led by Toshihide Tsuda, a professor of environmental epidemiology at Okayama University, said cases of thyroid cancer in Fukushima Prefecture have skyrocketed since March 2011, Kyodo News reported..

The rates were about 20 to 50 times the national average, according to the analysis. The findings were based on screenings of 370,000 Fukushima residents age 18 or younger, and the culprit was increased radiation exposure since the Fukushima nuclear disaster hit the area in March 2011. In late August, the prefecture had identified 104 cases of thyroid cancer..

Read More Here

Landslide victory against Biotech crops : Despite hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by companies like Monsanto. Jackson County, Oregon are now enjoying a landslide victory against GMO crops being grown within it's borders.

Genetically engineered crops banned in Jackson County, Oregon in landslide victory against GMOs

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

(NaturalNews) A ban on the growing of all genetically engineered plants appears to be a landslide victory in Jackson County, Oregon. With 100 percent of the precincts reporting and a huge voter turnout of over 50 percent, nearly 66% of voters elected to ban all genetically engineered crops from being grown in the county.

The vote ran 39,489 to 20,432 in favor of the ban, and it sends a clear signal that the People of Jackson County, Oregon -- a largely agricultural area of the country -- absolutely do not want genetically engineered crops to be growing anywhere near them. (Click here to see county election results.)

This is on top of the recent victory in Vermont where lawmakers passed a mandatory GMO labeling law that requires foods to be honestly labeled with their GMO content. (The evil biotech industry and its Grocery Manufacturers of America front group plant to sue Vermont to keep consumers in the dark.)

"Destroy all genetically engineered plants"

This ordinance in Oregon requires everyone to "destroy" all genetically engineered plants except those grown under indoor laboratory conditions (i.e. those which are safely isolated from the wild). This will allow scientists to continue to study GMOs without risking the lives of everyone else in the process.

Click here to read the full text of the ordinance (PDF).

Read More Here

.....

Oregon counties ban cultivation of GMO crops

Published time: May 21, 2014 16:37
Edited time: May 22, 2014 11:18

Reuters/Ints Kalnins

Despite the flood of corporate money poured into two small Oregon counties, local residents voted on Tuesday to ban genetically engineered crops from being planted within their borders.
Although Jackson County itself is home to less than 120,000 registered voters, the measure to ban genetically modified crops (GMOs) made headlines around the nation when it was revealed that large biotech companies like Monsanto were pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into the area in order to affect the vote’s outcome.
As RT reported previously, Monsanto and five other corporations spent at least $455,000 in an attempt to defeat the initiative, and opponents of the GMO ban had gained an eight-to-one spending advantage as of April. According to the Associated Press, nearly $1 million of the $1.3 million spent during the campaign was used by opponents.
When the results were tallied, however, 66 percent of Jackson County residents voted in favor of the ban.
"We fought the most powerful and influential chemical companies in the world and we won," local farmer and anti-GMO advocate Elise Higley told the Oregonian.
"It's a great day for the people of Oregon who care about sustainability and healthy ecosystems," added the group GMO Free Oregon on its Facebook page.

Read More Here

.....

Related articles

• Rural Oregon voters back ban on GMO crops amid U.S. labeling uproar
• Oregon counties ban genetically modified crops
• Battle Over Genetically Modified Foods in Oregon
• Jackson County, Oregon, approves GMO ban
• Oregon counties ban genetically modified crops
• Oregon counties ban genetically modified crops
• Oregon counties ban cultivation of GMO crops
• Rural Oregon county votes to ban GMOs, despite $1 million opposition effort

An Iraq war veteran who was grappling with mental health issues opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, in an attack that left four people dead and 16 wounded

 

Gunman in Fort Hood shooting had behavioral issues, authorities say

• The Washington Post

 

View Photo Gallery — Four dead in shooting at Fort Hood: A shooting at the Fort Hood military installation in Texas has left at least four people dead, including the gunman, and more than a dozen injured, according to authorities.

By Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Adam Goldman and Sari Horwitz,
Published: April 2 E-mail the writers

An Iraq war veteran who was grappling with mental health issues opened fire at Fort Hood, Tex., in an attack that left four people dead and 16 wounded Wednesday afternoon, according to preliminary law enforcement and military reports. The gunfire sent tremors of fear across a sprawling Army post still reeling from one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.
Many basic details about the shooting remained unclear in the chaotic hours after the first calls for help around 4 p.m., but senior U.S. law enforcement officials said the incident did not appear to be linked to any foreign terrorist organizations. The shooter was among those who died, the officials said.

The officials identified the shooter as Army Spec. Ivan Lopez, 34, a military truck driver, who was dressed in his standard-issue green camouflage uniform. Lopez opened fire in two locations on the vast central Texas post, inside a building housing the 1st Medical Brigade and in a facility belonging to the 49th Transportation Battalion.
Police spent Wednesday night searching his apartment in Killeen, the city that abuts the Army facility. Gen. Mark A. Milley, the commander of Fort Hood, said the soldier, whom he did not identify by name, served four months in Iraq in 2011.
Milley said the shooter “had behavioral health and mental health issues.” He said the soldier, who self-reported a traumatic brain injury and was taking anti-depressants, had been under examination to determine whether he had post-traumatic stress disorder. “We are digging deep into his background,” Milley said.
Milley said the soldier opened fire with a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol that was purchased recently but was not authorized to be brought on the post. He was eventually confronted by a female military police officer. He put his hands up but then pulled out a gun from under his jacket. “She engaged,” Milley said, and then the soldier put the gun to his head and shot himself.
The shooting was the third major gun attack at a U.S. military installation in five years, leaving the nation grappling with the prospect of yet more flag-draped funerals for troops killed on the homefront. A government contractor went on a shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard in September, leaving 12 people dead. In 2009, Army Maj. Nidal M. Hasan opened fire on a group of soldiers at Fort Hood preparing to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan, killing 13 people and wounding more than 30.
Doctors at the Scott & White hospital in Temple, Tex., said Wednesday that they have treated eight of the wounded and that one more was on the way. Three of the patients were in critical condition in the ICU, and five were in serious condition. Seven of them were male, and one was female. Their injuries ranged from mild to life-threatening, a majority of them caused by single-gunshot wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen.
President Obama said he was “heartbroken that something like this might have happened again.” Speaking during a fundraising trip to Chicago, he pledged “to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.”


 Read More Here

.....

• The Washington Post

Four killed in shooting at Fort Hood; gunman dead, multiple injuries

• By Mark Berman

• April 2 at 9:34 pm

A shooting at the Fort Hood military installation in Texas left at least four people dead, including the gunman, and more than a dozen were injured, according to authorities.
The gunman, identified by multiple government sources as Army Specialist Ivan Lopez, took his own life, officials said.
Lopez, 33, of Kileen, Tex., was wearing an Army uniform at the time of the shooting, Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told reporters.
Four people were taken to Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Tex., and another two are being brought there, said Glen Couchman, the facility’s chief medical officer. Their injuries that “range from stable to quite critical,” he said.
The installation was locked down for much of the afternoon and into the evening after the shooting before being lifted shortly before 9 p.m. local time.
Speaking in Chicago, President Obama said his administration was following the shooting closely.
“I want to just assure all of us we are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened,” he said. “We’re heartbroken something like this might have happened again.”
The base was the site of a shooting in 2009 that ultimately killed 13 people and wounded another 32, the worst mass murder at a military installation in U.S. history. Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death last year for the shooting after being found guilty of premeditated and attempted premeditated murder.

Read More Here

.....

 

BREAKING: Shooting at Fort Hood Military Base - 1 Death Confirmed

YouHotNews·

Published on Apr 2, 2014

SHOOTING SITUATION STILL ACTIVE, Multiple Gunned Down
FORT HOOD (April 2, 2014) At least one person is dead after a shooting late Wednesday afternoon on Fort Hood, a post spokesman confirmed.
Others were injured in the shooting, but the spokesman didn't say how many.
The gunman is still at large and the spokesman said the incident is being treated as an active-shooter situation.
Warning sirens sounded late Wednesday afternoon at Fort Hood because of the incident.
A man who said he was a witness told News 10 that about 20 shots were fired in a post motor pool in the area of Motor Pool Road and Tank Destroyer Boulevard.

He said at least three people were hit.

He said the three victims were taken to a hospital.

The post was on lockdown as a result of the shooting, which occurred at around 4:25 p.m.

People on post were told to stay indoors.

A message that scrolled across the top of the post's website said, "Shelter in place immediately. This is not a test."

The 1st Calvary Division, which is based at Fort Hood, sent a Twitter alert telling people on base to close doors and stay away from windows.

Texas A&M Central Texas in Killeen canceled evening and night classes Wednesday at Fort Hood and at its Fairway building because of the situation on post.

First responders from surrounding communities were headed to the post.

Bell County sheriff's deputies and Department Public Safety troopers were also responding, sheriff's Lt. Donnie Adams said.

Media were being directed to the post's Visitor's Center.

On Nov. 5, 2009, Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood's Soldier Readiness Center, killing 12 soldiers and one civilian and wounding 29 others before two Fort Hood civilian police officers shot him.

He is now on the military's death row.