Rolling Stone guitarist Brian Jones death to be re-examined

Being an ardent Stones fan and knowing there has always been much speculation about this death.
Right before the huge 1969 tour of the US that ends with the free show at Altamont.
Brian Jones allegedly drowns in his pool. He was 27 years old. Was it misadventure? Or did he have a little help?

Police in Sussex are re-examining the case after being handed new evidence

"A spokesman for Sussex police said the force had been handed documents connected with Jones's death, prompting the review."

But, will the investigation be reopened? The police are saying, it is to early to tell.
Which probably means, no, it won't be reopened.

In 2008 it was reported that the woman Janet Lawson, who had found Brian Jones dead, had implicated a man named Frank Thorogood. You can read what she had to say in this article.

Has the riddle of Rolling Stone Brian Jones's death been solved at last?

Moon Rock in Dutch Museum is FAKE!

There are some people out their that question the initial American landings on the moon.

The fact that NASA lost or destroyed or reused the tapes that recorded the first moon landing certainly seem incredible!

This shall certainly stoke the flames even more.

'Moon Rock' in Dutch Museum Is Just Petrified Wood

The Dutch national museum said Thursday that one of its prized possessions, a rock supposedly brought back from the moon by U.S. astronauts, is just a piece of petrified wood.

Rijksmuseum spokeswoman Xandra van Gelder, who oversaw the investigation that proved the piece was a fake, said the museum will keep it anyway as a curiosity.

''It's a good story, with some questions that are still unanswered,'' she said. ''We can laugh about it.''

The museum acquired the rock after the death of former Prime Minister Willem Drees in 1988. Drees received it as a private gift on Oct. 9, 1969 from then-U.S. ambassador J. William Middendorf during a visit by the three Apollo 11 astronauts, part of their ''Giant Leap'' goodwill tour after the first moon landing.

Head of the CDC disputes White House report

Nearly 90,000 deaths from swine flu this fall?

Not quite, the chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says."Everything we've seen in the and everything we've seen around the world suggests we won't see that kind of number if the virus doesn't change,"Dr. Thomas Frieden said in a C-SPAN interview taped Wednesday.

Frieden's downgrading of the swine flu threat marks yet another volley in what appears to be a growing battle between the CDC and the The White House's top medical advisors over the dangers of the next wave of the H1N1 virus.On Monday, the White House unveiled a grim report estimating the swine flu will wipe out up to 90,000 Americans in the coming months. The deadly virus will also infect half of the population and force some 1.8 million people into hospital intensive care units, the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology predicted. The doctor who spearheaded the report, told the Daily News Tuesday the "flu could be extremely dangerous" and "needs to be taken seriously."

But a day earlier, after Varmus' estimates were released, Frieden and White House health czar virtually ignored them. Sebelius merely acknowledged that swine flu "will cause a more serious threat this fall." Bolstering the notion that even the White House was at odds with Varmus' report, its release came with little fanfare and no official news conference.

An aside: H1N1 is peaking in Australia , just as in New Zealand and Britian.

Winter is ending, the sun is shining more. The predictions for Australia had been 3,000 deaths. The actual amount was 147, however it is not clear how many were killed by the virus or died from other medical conditions.

Jaycee Lee Dugard abducted in 1991 found after 18 years

File this under b for bizarre!

Though happily, Her mother is ecstatic that she is alive.

Sex offender, wife arrested for girl's 1991 abduction

Two items of interest the sex offender has a blogspot blog: Voices Revealed
as reported here

(Noting today, unlike yesterday, the blog is filled with many comments)

Guess what he is talking about? Mind Control. I got to tell you I was stunned to see that.
Oh and religion, which is just another version of mind control anyway.

For anyone who reads here regularly, your aware that MKUltra is a hot topic here, I have documentaries linked at the side, and hit the mind control tag, you can read lots.

Update:
This woman was living in a backyard at the home of her captor. Why not leave, anytime? Just walk out of the yard. She wasn't really that far from where she had been kidnapped?
Why mind control? How else to explain the questions above?
Soon enough the media will whip the term Stockholm Syndrome out.
So I may as well beat them to the punch.


Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological term for a set of symptoms that occur in some, but not all kidnap/hostage victims.

"Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) study of over 1200 hostage-taking incidents found that 92% of the hostages did not develop Stockholm syndrome."

So only about 8 percent of victims develop the syndrome. Why?

The difference is in the treatment of the victim by the captor

• The hostage takers remain in contact with the hostages; that is, the hostages are not placed in a separate room.
• The hostage takers show some kindness toward the hostages or at least refrain from harming them. Hostages abused by captors typically feel anger toward them and do not usually develop the syndrome.

Swine (flu): news rounded up in the Pen

A round up of interesting stories you may have missed.

Being reported in Britian: New Swine Flu cases Drop off SHARPLY

The number of new cases of H1N1 flu in England is continuing to fall sharply

And in New Zealand: As winter fades to spring, and the sun shines on the people more and more. Swine Flu fades with the change of season

With spring just days away, the number of swine flu cases is on the way down, health officials say.

And in Canada, where it is business as usual, taxpayers pay for the research and big pharma reaps the profits: Feds put more cash into swine flu vaccine testing

In addition to the 10.8 million another 2.7 million for a total of 13.5 million taxpayers dollars, and that doesn't even include the cost of buying the vaccine. Do you think big drug makers will give it at a discount? Not!

Just the other day, the Obama admin. was touting a very high expected number of deaths.
Today we get some more rational info: 90,000 flu deaths: Where did that number come from?

The estimate, released Tuesday, draws on analysis of how viruses operate, as well as their history. But it's a 'possibility' not a prediction, experts caution.

Even the CDC is backing away from the overblown figure

A few simple ways to bring about change, by being the change.

If we want change on a large scale, we have to change on a small scale. You know that saying, "Be the change, you want to see", I think that is a good place to start.
What can you or I do, as an individual that can bring about change?

Get an attitude adjustment!
We have been conditioned, to think that 'we cannot fight city hall'. This is a message that takes the power of the citizen away, and gives it to the bureaucrats or the 'power's that be'.
That is great for the bureaucrats or the PTB's that the people have such a poor attitude. While an attitude of powerlessness serves the powerful very well, it doesn't do anything for the people.

If you have taken on debt, pay it off ASAP!
Avoid debt slavery. Deny a banker, or a credit card company as much of your earnings as possible.


Vote with your dollar!
Shop wisely. When you shop somewhere, you are giving that place of business a vote of confidence with your dollar. Do they really deserve that vote of confidence?


Pay only in cash, as much as possible.
For a number of reasons-
You do not need your shopping habits tracked, then sold as information to be targeted by marketers, or worse. Just imagine the big brother data base that can be built up on you through the use of credit and debit cards! If that doesn't freak you out, I don't know what will?
Good god, the Jones's sure rent alot of porno flicks. ;)

Paying in cash allows you to have a firm handle on spending, and will keep you and yours out of the debt dependence cycle.

Most people do not realize that when they take on debt, they are actually eroding their future earnings. Most people won't even comprehend what I wrote in that sentence! When you take on debt, the interest payments reduce your future earnings. Sadly, there is some debt you have to take on, likely for a home. Not to many people have the cash on hand to buy a house! But, I am not talking about that. I am talking about pulling out a credit card, and buying a bunch of junk, that will be gone, broken or used up before you even pay the credit card bill off, if you ever do? What has that junk really cost you, when you factor in the interest payments, over the time it takes one to pay it off? This is how your earnings are eroded.

How about helping to inform other people?
That is why I started this blog. Letter's to the Editor are good place to get the word out on a local level. Just talk to people.

How about holding your local officials more accountable?
Which would in turn cause them to put the heat on the upper levels of government.


How about shopping locally?
From local producers. How many people head down to their local farmers market, and shop from the people producing food in their own region? If you don't, you should be.


If concerned about air pollution?
Walk, or ride your bike more. Cut out just one trip in the car a week.

If concerned about food quality?
You want to eat the best food? Grow some of your own food. Don't by food that is GM, if you can help it. Read the labels, don't by the stuff that is full of chemical additives. This goes back to voting with your dollar.

If we start change, on an individual level it cannot help but affect change on a mass level.
Because the masses are nothing more or less then a group of individuals.

Thanks Maggie for asking the question that inspired this post!

3,300 Lobbyists for 535 members of the House and Senate

That works out to- Six lobbyists per lawmaker.

I had made mention of this scenario in a previous comment. So, I thought I would put this up, lest anyone stumble upon my comment and think I was making it up.

If there is any doubt that President Barack Obama’s plan to overhaul U.S. health care is the hottest topic in Congress, just ask the 3,300 lobbyists who have lined up to work on the issue.That’s six lobbyists for each of the 535 members of the House and Senate, according to Senate records, and three times the number of people registered to lobby on defense. More than 1,500 organizations have health-care lobbyists, and about three more are signing up each day.

Every one of the 10 biggest lobbying firms by revenue is involved in an effort that could affect 17 percent of the U.S. economy. These groups spent $263.4 million on lobbying during the first six months of 2009, according to the Center for Responsive Politics a Washington-based research group, more than any other industry. They spent $241.4 million during the same period of 2008. Drugmakers alone spent $134.5 million, 64 percent more than the next biggest spenders, oil and gas companies.

“Whenever you have a big piece of legislation like this, it’s like ringing the dinner bell for K Street,” said Bill Allison, a senior fellow at the a Washington-based watchdog group, referring to the street in the capital where many lobbying firms have offices.

So where do the regular folk figure into this?
They don't.

Ghostwriting schemes common for drug companies

Following up on the news story regarding Wyeth paying ghost writers (prominent researchers) to tout their hormone therapy

A widely practiced phenomena

"It's rampant," said Jim Szaller, a Cleveland lawyer who uncovered the evidence of ghostwriting in his work representing 8,400 women who are suing the drug company Wyeth for misrepresenting the benefits of hormone drugs. "This particular practice has to be stopped. It can't continue, because patients are going to suffer."

Paul Hebert, editor-in-chief of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, agrees. He estimates that he rejects between five to 10 pieces per year after discovering they have been secretly ghostwritten and paid for by a pharmaceutical companies.

And yet, these paid for promotionals still get through.

You, Me and the SPP:Trading Democracy for Corporate Rule

"What do secrecy, police provocateurs, an assault on democracy and infringements on citizens’ rights have in common?

The Security Prosperity Partnership.

‘You, Me, and the S.P.P: Trading Democracy for Corporate Rule’ is a feature length documentary which exposes the latest manifestation of a corporatist agenda that is undermining the democratic authority of the citizens of North America. Two processes, the Security Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and the Trade Investment Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) are rapidly eroding and eliminating standards, civil liberties, regulatory systems and institutions put in place over generations through the democratic process."




Recent job losses, particularly in the manufacturing industry, are part of a bigger picture. A picture that includes lower standards of living, oppression, governmental interference, lack of freedom and no democratic rights.

Did Mossad hijack the Arctic Sea?

This is interesting
and thanks John for the 'heads up'!

Op-ed hints Mossad snatched Russian ship

or

Did Mossad hijack Russian ship to stop Iran arms shipment?

While Mossad may or may not have hijacked the ship, the shipment of arms to Iran may be a stretch.

Why?
1- There are easier and more direct ways to ship munitions to Iran.
2- I am unsure if Russia using it's military in the case of piracy is abnormal?

Military ships are used regularly in the waters off Somalia to deal with piracy
Canada had the HMSC Winnipeg busy keeping pirates at bay near Somalia-
Canadian military at work on pirate detector- and they were not alone. Other countries had military ships in the area, including the US and China.

Thanks qotn for Nina Simone

qotn had on her blog a really amazing song by Nina Simone. Nina Simone, who is this woman? I had not heard of her! How was this possible? I love this song in particular and since I have been so serious lately... I thought it was time to share a great song- Feeling Good!
And qotn, I am not sick of it yet :)

Feeling Good, Nina Simone
Uploaded by mrfnk. - Explore more music videos.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals paid for articles praising hormone replacement therapy

This story seems to be breaking wide open. Thanks to a lawsuit of persons injured by this therapy. Would we have found out otherwise?
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals used (paid) ghostwriters to produce at least 26(possibly more)articles, though some news sources are reporting upwards of 40, in respected medical journals. All supporting the use of hormone replacement therapy in women and many others.

You may recall this hormone replacement therapy was finally stopped because of a greatly increased risk of breast cancer.

A top Canadian researcher has just been outed in this scandal

A top Canadian researcher studying hormone replacement therapy was part of a ghostwriting scheme paid for by drug giant Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to promote its products, court documents obtained by the Toronto Star indicate.

The article in question appeared in the April 2000 edition of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and listed McGill University psychology professor Barbara Sherwin as author.

Professor Sherwin, is not alone.

Take your pick of articles.

Who benefitted from these ghostwritten articles? Wyeth of course.

The articles, published in medical journals between 1998 and 2005, emphasized the benefits and de-emphasized the risks of taking hormones to protect against maladies like aging skin, heart disease and dementia. That supposed medical consensus benefited Wyeth, the pharmaceutical company that paid a medical communications firm to draft the papers, as sales of its hormone drugs, called Premarin and Prempro, soared to nearly $2 billion in 2001.

Who didn't benefit? The patient.

But the seeming consensus fell apart in 2002 when a huge federal study on hormone therapy was stopped after researchers found that menopausal women who took certain hormones had an increased risk of invasive breast cancer, heart disease and stroke. A later study found that hormones increased the risk of dementia in older patients.

Manson & Spector won't have Squeaky to sing jailbird songs

Yup, Squeaky is free.

Charles Manson 'family' member, would be presidential assassin, and mind control victim was released from prison.

Maybe she could have sung back-up for the Charles Manson, hoped for, collaboration with Phil Spector? Or maybe her voice would have been just to 'squeaky'?




Squeaky arrested at the scene.

Drug company representation at WHO meeting July 7/09

Is this a conflict of interest? Participating in the decision making that is very profitable for the drug companies? Is this just more of the same kind of revolving door between government and business we see at all level of governments.

Looking through attendees at this meeting, I see representation from Sinovac Biotech, Omnivest Vaccines, Solvay Biologicals, Panacea Biotech, CSL Pharmaceuticals, Denka Selkin Co. Ltd, Glaxo Smith Kline, Baxter, 3 representatives from Novartis, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, etc.

WHO SAGE Attendees 7Jul09 Mandate Swine Flu Shot Baxter

Troubles with oral polio vaccines

In my post yesterday on the oral polio vaccine gone awry in Nigeria, I mentioned that this is not the first time this has happened. It did as a matter of fact happen in right in the US.

So I would like to open this post with this quote, from Dr Jonas Salk

'Nearly all polio outbreaks since 1961 were caused by the oral polio vaccine,'
-Jonas Salk, inventor of the IPV, testifying before a Senate subcommittee


Interesting statement, given Salk's stature regarding polio vaccination??


The oral polio vaccine, like what is being used in Nigeria, did cause polio to spread in the US. This seems to be well known in the medical profession, at the very least both WHO and CDC are aware of it.

This was reported on in the Canadian Press in 2005

CDC: Vaccine-caused cases of polio have been eliminated in the U.S.

CHICAGO (AP) - A switch in the type of polio vaccine recommended for use in the United States appears to have wiped out U.S. cases of the disease caused by the vaccine itself, the government says.

In 2000, U.S. policy-makers recommended that doctors use only shots containing inactivated polio virus. They reached that conclusion after receiving evidence that the oral vaccine containing live polio virus might have actually caused cases of the disease in rare instances.

Also From the CDC: Update on Vaccine-Derived Polioviruses
Also: Annual Review of Microbiology
Another article from New Scientist: Mutant polio vaccine regains virulence.

"But the latest study raises the frightening possibility that the vaccine strain can also regain the ability to spread between people more easily than thought. "It demonstrates clearly that the vaccine virus can spread from person to person," says Olen Kew from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia."

Knowing full well that the oral vaccine, because it has live polio virus contained in it, can actually cause polio and has caused polio, I wonder why they are using this type of vaccine in Nigeria?
If pharmaceutical companies are as benevolent as we like to think they are, or we hope they are, could they not provide low cost vaccines with inactivated polio viruses? Particularly since these inactivated vaccines are the only vaccines used in the US?

The WHO fears that the vaccine induced polio virus will spread beyond Nigeria, therefore has using this type of vaccine exacerbated this problem?
I am no expert, I won't pretend to be, but all this information and the continued use of the oral polio vaccines just raises alot of questions.

Iceland Pushes Back

Can't miss interview with economist Michael Hudson.

Guns and Butter - "Iceland Recovering From Neoliberal Disaster"

"Iceland Recovering From Neoliberal Disaster" with Dr. Michael Hudson on Iceland's banking crisis and foreign debt; it's decision to push back against IMF and World Bank austerity; Gordon Brown's role in the Icesave scandal; the capacity to pay principle; similarities with Germany's foreign debt reparations from the 1920s; European Union disarray; media omissions.

Just click to play, until Wednesday, September 2nd 2009

More warnings on swine flu vaccine

As was done with Tamiflu, will the governments of the world ignore these?
Increased cancer risk, vaccine side effects, such as neurological disorders.

German Health Expert
Does Swine Flu vaccine increase risk of cancer?

Lung specialist Wolfgang Wodarg has said that there are many risks associated with the vaccine for the H1N1 virus.

He has grave reservations about the firm Novartis who are developing the vaccine and testing it in Germany. The vaccination is injected “with a very hot needle”, Wodarg said.

The nutrient solution for the vaccine consists of cancerous cells from animals and "we do not know if there could be an allergic reaction".

But more importantly, some people fear that the risk of cancer could be increased by injecting the cells.

From the same article:

The vaccine - as Johannes Löwer, president of the Paul Ehrlich Institute, has pointed out - can also cause worse side effects than the actual swine flu virus.

Read more:

Swine flu jab linked to killer nerve disease, leaked letter to Neurologists raises concerns

A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.

The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine

Click the swine flu label at the bottom, find the video segment of 60 Minutes/Mike Wallace that was done on the outbreak of swine flu in the '70's, the creation of the vaccine, and the increase in this neurological disorder

Polio vaccination gone awry in Nigeria

In Nigeria, the polio vaccine is giving polio to the people. They are using an oral vaccine, and unbeknownst to some who read here, this is exactly what happened in North America with this same type of vaccine. I will be posting more on that later. For now, Nigeria

Fears polio vaccine is now killer
London - Polio, the dreaded paralysing disease stamped out in the industrialised world, is spreading in Nigeria.
And health officials say in some cases, it's caused by the vaccine used to fight it.

In July, the World Health Organisation issued a warning that this vaccine-spread virus might extend beyond Africa. So far, 124 Nigerian children have been paralysed this year - about twice those afflicted in 2008.

And when did this mass immunization program begin?
It was reported Feb 29/09 that the UN was set to begin the mass immunization program
UN launches polio drive in West Africa

Half of the 66 million doses of polio vaccine used in each round are destined for Nigeria, a hotbed for the virus.

So according to the first article, the 'hot bed of virus' country saw approximately 62 children paralysed, and this year, with the immunization program in full swing, for less then a month, the number so far has doubled.

This spread of polio by the immunization program has made things so much worse that in July the WHO issued a warning:

In July, the World Health Organization issued a warning that this vaccine-spread virus might extend beyond Africa. So far, 124 Nigerian children have been paralyzed this year — about twice those afflicted in 2008.

The WHO made this situation worse, through their immunization program.

Herbs: Natural Pesticides for Gardening

Makes on think of a method known as companion planting, that has been used for centuries, and the wisdom of it's usage handed down generation to generation.
A method long used by organic gardeners who try to avoid toxic pesticides.

Now science tells us, some of what wise farmers have long known.
Study says herbs can act as 'natural pesticides'

Herbs 'can be natural pesticides'

Common herbs and spices show promise as an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional pesticides, scientists have told a major US conference.

The herb-based pesticides, at the moment, work in two different ways: some kill insects outright, while others repel them.

The pesticides are made usually by mixing tiny amounts of two to four different herbs which are diluted in water.

Advantages to these herbs useage:

Insects are less likely to evolve resistance!

Safer for farm workers, who are at high risk for pesticide exposure!

Better for the consumers!

"It comes down to what's good for the environment and what's good for human health."

Russia arrests 8 in Artic Sea mystery

First I want to point out, in the world of media spin, the term 'pirate' is NOT being tossed around in this case. "Hijacking" or "hijackers" is the word being used.
I guess 'pirates' are only in Somalia? "In lawless Somalia"!
But 'hijackers' are in European waters? What imagery is or isn't evoked with the use of these words?

Anyway..... Russia arrested 8 persons of Russian, Latvian and Estonian nationality. They are not members of the crew. The crew was not involved in the "hijacking"

The Great Swine Flu Game ??

This is twisted. A swine flu video game!
What a way to influence children, to scare and manipulate them!
Of course, partially funded by Glaxo-Smith Kline.
How very self-serving of them.
Despicable!

Pandemic game kills time

The game, which was designed by Dutch researchers at the Erasmus Medical Centre and created by Ranj Serious Games, goes by the title The Great Flu and asks players to tackle a growing pandemic, hopefully finishing it with something other than flamethrowers. It is nice looking and strangely addictive - or do we mean infective? And was partially funded by drug heavyweight GlaxoSmithKline.

In another article it is reported that to fight the flu, you do things like "set up surveillance systems" "stockpile anti-virals" and the game has a running tally of deaths, with admonishments to stay on budget all the while.

It appears the military isn't alone in it's use of video games to influence the young and the gullible.



An update on Tamiflu use/abuse:
Experts warned dispersal of Tamiflu would do more harm than good
And governments of the world rejected these warnings

Artic Sea found, crew rescued.

Russia says it has found a missing cargo vessel near the Cape Verde islands and retrieved its Russian crew.

The Arctic Sea was found at 0100 Monday (2100 GMT Sunday) 300 miles (480 km) off Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean, Tass news agency quoted Mr Serdyukov as telling Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Makes you wonder why this reported sighting near Africa was deemed a false alarm on Friday?

Not alot of details, yet.

Update:

"The crew have been moved to our anti-submarine warfare ship. They are answering questions," the minister was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

"All crew members are alive, and they are feeling well. They were not under armed control," he added.

NATO Makes History's First Global Army

Rick Rozoff

Two months before the eighth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the beginning of NATO's first-ever ground war the world is witness to a 21st Century armed conflict without end waged by the largest military coalition in history.

With recent announcements that troops from such diverse nations as Colombia, Mongolia, Armenia, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine and Montenegro are to or may join those of some 45 other countries serving under the command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), there will soon be military personnel from fifty nations on five continents and in the Middle East serving under a unified command structure.

Never before have soldiers from so many states served in the same war theater, much less the same country.

By way of comparison, there were twenty six (higher, and looser, estimates go as high as 34) national contingents in the so-called coalition of the willing in Iraq as of 2006. In the interim between now and then troops from all contributing nations but the United States and Great Britain have been withdrawn and in most cases redeployed to Afghanistan.

This article covers alot of ground, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Caspian Sea Basin and of course Africa, and more, much more. Read entirely at link above.

It ends like this......

A war that serves as a furnace to forge an integrated, battle-hardened international military force that can be employed wherever else in the world Brussels and Washington choose to use it in the future.

The Afghan war, then, is no ordinary war, as abhorrent as all wars are.

It is only going to expand in width and in the amount of blood shed, but already it is distinguished by several developments:

It is the U.S.'s first war in Asia and its longest one anywhere since Vietnam.

It is NATO's first ground war and its first military campaign in Asia.

The German army has engaged in its first combat operations since the defeat of the Third Reich in 1945.

Finnish soldiers have engaged in combat for the first time since World War II and Swedish forces in almost 200 years.

Canada has lost its first troops in combat, 127, since the Korean War.

Australia has registered its first combat deaths since the Vietnam War.

More British soldiers have been killed, 191, than at any time since the Falklands/Malvinas war in 1982.

A nation that borders Pakistan, Iran, China and two Central Asian nations has been thrown into turmoil. The world's seven official nuclear nations are either in the neighborhood - China, Pakistan, India and Russia - or are engaged in hostilities - the U.S., Britain and France.

The only beneficiary of this conflagration is a rapidly emerging Global NATO.

Who wanted the Artic Sea to disappear and why?

Given the tracking devices/technology on these ships? It is impossible for a ship to have been 'lost'.

Conflicting reports about the Artic Sea being found, make it clear, it hasn't been found.
It was reported in two places. One African sighting, that turned out to be a false alarm

Another report, not a sighting, but the tracking signal was briefly picked up in the Bay of Biscay off the coast of France. Here is a transcript of the reporting

Moscow: A tracking device aboard a cargo ship, missing since late July, was briefly reactivated Saturday, showing the vessel's location in the Bay of Biscay, a Russian maritime journal said.

Sovfrakht said the cargo ship was in the Atlantic near France's La Rochelle port, citing data from the tracking device at 08:30 GMT. Later the signal suddenly disappeared.

This story is however quickly disappearing. Why? The signal emitted by the ship is usually the most legitimate evidence of the ship's whereabouts. Unless the ship and it's tracker have been seperated. But, really what evidence is there of that? In the video that follows, I get the impression the ship infact has more then one tracking signal.





Just listen to what this man has to say.

The continued saga of the missing Russian Ship

It seems the general consensus is the Russian ships disappearance is REALLY strange. Therefore, I must take a closer look. As for wild speculation? It is rampant.

The ship was reported attacked, by it's crew, on July 24th. Though it made a routine pass through the English Channel July 28th, and did all it's appropriate reporting. The last reported sighting of the ship was July 30th.

Here is a little map that shows the when and where of contact.


The Arctic Sea is equipped with an automatic tracking system, but this appears to have been either switched off or stopped working since its last signal on 30 July.

Wondering, when the ship was reported attacked, was it really? Let's face it, the crew could have concocted the story for ransom. Which would be the simplest theory.

It is interesting to note according to the linked story the report to the authorities was done in a rather round about fashion.

"The ship's crew first alerted their shipping company to what had happened. The firm then informed Russian embassy officials in Finland, who contacted their counterparts in Sweden who informed the Swedish authorities"

Or allowing that a hijacking had actually taken place, had all the hijackers actually left the boat? Could the crew have mistakenly thought so, radioed in the report, only to later realize some of the hijackers were still on board?


I also came across this, when the Artic Sea was in or near the English Channel, there were alot of other ships around, check this out July 29th: Latest AIS for the Artic Sea

"Ships the size of the Arctic Sea are required to have Automatic Identification System (AIS) signaling equipment, which makes it possible to follow the course of a ship even on a home computer.
The last time that the Arctic Sea was located with the help of AIS was on July 29th, which means that the equipment was working at least five days after the alleged hijacking - contrary to what the shipping company suggested."

The Artic Sea is highlighted in the AIS map. Wondering were any of the other ships in contact with this ship? Were they close enough to have noticed anything odd?
If there was a hijacking were the crew the ones that made this routine stop, were they even alive at this point in time?

Then the cargo? Was something else on board besides the lumber, and there is alot of lumber on board. But was there something else? It was reported that the ship was, as John response in the previous post, docked in Kaliningrad.

“The ship was undergoing repairs at the Pregol shipyard in Kaliningrad”, says Denis Melnikov, an official at the Port of Kaliningrad.

But, this is a rather notorious port for smuggling. Probably much like any port. Could something have been put on the ship without the crews knowledge?

This little video clip is also interesting.






How about nuclear missiles? From the Kursk?

Russia “Alarmed” After Nuclear Warheads Go Missing In Atlantic
Disturbing reports are circulating in the Kremlin today over what Russian Military Intelligence analysts are stating to President Medvedev is the “likely theft” of 3 atomic armed cruise missiles recently recovered from the crash site of the Northern Fleets worst ever submarine disaster caused by a still “unexplained” explosion on the K-141 Kursk, and which claimed the lives of all 118 crew members.

This report is extremely speculative, but interesting, I could find NO other source for this information but this one. Myself, I am doubtful.
Though I am aware Russia is in hot pursuit.

False flag anyone?

What happened to the Russian Ship??

Anyone following this story? Strange, to say the least. Wild speculation anyone?

Ship disappears after sail through English Channel



The ship was reportedly attacked in waters off of Sweden July 24th/09


"15 crew members of the Arctic Sea said they were tied up and beaten by a group of up to 10 men who boarded the ship off the Swedish island of Oland. The masked men identified themselves as police officers _ but Swedish police said they hadn't been searching ships in that area. The men then left the ship twelve hours later, in an inflatable boat.

It then sailed through the English Channel where it made rountine contact

"On July 28, the Arctic Sea made contact with British maritime authorities as it passed through the busy English Channel. The ship made a routine, mandatory report _ saying who they were, where they were from, where they were going and what their cargo was."

Then the ship disappeared!

"There have been no attacks in European waters," said Pottengal Mukundan, director of the London-based International Maritime Bureau. "It's not the kind of area where pirates would find it easy to operate."

It is now August 13th, and no ship
Some reports are suggesting the ship contained some "mystery" cargo. Who knows?

It is being widely reported that he Russian Navy is now searching the Atlantic Ocean for the ship.

Harper- is a prejudiced and consistent embarrassment

I don't agree with the title of this article - Harper consistently embarrasses Canada abroad.

I agree Harper is an embarassement, on so many levels. Not limited to abroad, but also domestically.

" Canada, under Stephen Harper, is gaining a reputation for failing its own."

Yes, the Harper regime leaves Canadian citizens to rot, but, not just any Canadian citizens. Only certain ones. Ones of a certain ethnicity.

Gar Pardy, former head of the consular services section of foreign affairs in Ottawa, and others see a pattern of discrimination.

They draw comparisons with Brenda Martin, jailed in Mexico but rescued by a minister's intervention and flown back on a government plane. She is white, others not. The others are also Muslim.

Star columnist Christopher Hume yesterday accused the Harperites of racism based on colour. "This smacks not just of prejudice but of apartheid."

Yes, it does smack of prejudice, not surprising for the Harper regime. But would the Liberals act any differently? I am not so sure. That said, Harper is the Prime Minister and he is responsible for these acts.

The last case involving this woman was really quite appaling. It really looks as if the Canadian government undertook actions that ensured this woman's lengthy detainment.

Racism is nothing new in Canada, historically speaking. One would have thought we would be more enlightened at this juncture, but, apparently this is not so.
When the government sets a tone of racist behaviour what kind of actions will be deemed acceptable to it citizens?

Tamiflu side effects continue to rise

Drug to combat swine flu leaves '1,000 patients in suffering'

Officials insist Tamiflu is safe as reports of side effects continue to rise

Andrew Castle: 'Tamiflu almost killed my daughter'

*Georgina Castle was one of the first people to suffer serious side effects from Tamiflu during a swine flu outbreak at her school in May. The 16-year-old was prescribed a double dose of the drug because she had asthma but within hours she was in hospital suffering from severe complications.

Swine flu: more than 400 cases of Tamiflu side effects

A total of 11 per cent of adults and adolescents taking the drug experience nausea and 8 per cent have vomiting, according to the summary of product characteristics.

This ties in quite nicely with the post from yesterday regarding the use of Tamiflu and Relenza and it's side effects, particularly in children.

In children, the most commonly reported side effect is vomiting, with 15 per cent suffering it and 10 per cent having diarrhoea.

15 percent of children having vomiting and 10 percent having diarrhea, that is quite high, and surely exacerbates the sickness.

Yet, somehow the Canadian government and other governments world-wide say this is a safe drug, even for children?

Czech Republic rejects Baxter swine flu vaccine until trials complete

CzehRep does not want Baxter's swine flu vaccine without licence

Prague - Czech Deputy Health minister Marek Snajdr told CTK today that the Czech Republic will not buy swine flu vaccine from Baxter company before it has European registration.

He said the vaccine may have side effects and it may even cause death if used.

Veronika Petlakova said Baxter could gain European registration at end-September just as the other producers who will also clinically test their vaccines.

"The Czech Republic will wait for the vaccine undergoing regular clinical tests and gaining EMEA registration," Snajdr said.

Also: Baxter not to provide anti-swine flu vaccine to Czechs

"No contract for the delivery of the vaccines A(H1N1) between Baxter and the Czech Republic has been concluded," Cechova said.

The server tn.cz writes that the Czech Health Ministry has explained its stopping the talks with Baxter by the firm's inability to guarantee that the vaccine is safe and who will bear the risks for possible side-effects.

FYI: If you are here reading the swine flu postings, be sure to click the"swine flu" tag at the bottom of the post. Doing so brings up every post on the subject and there are links in each post.

Children should NOT be given Tamiflu

Oxford researchers say that children should not be given the antiviral drug Tamiflu for swine flu because its harms outweigh any benefits and governments should review their policies on dealing with the pandemic.

Tests performed showed that the anti-viral drugs reduce the length of time children are ill with flu by about one day and can cause vomiting as a common side effect. It also showed that the the drugs had little or no effect on asthma flare-ups, ear infections or the likelihood of a child needing antibiotics meaning on average the medicine does more harm than good in otherwise healthy children.

Vomiting is more dangerous in children as it can lead to dehydration which may require hospitalization.

the studies findings question wether government stockpiling has been a waste of money?
For taxpayers, yes.
For drug companies, no.

The authors of the study said that the research trials which were reviewed have been available for over a year and the Government could have carried out its own study in this before the outbreak of swine flu began.

The research has been available for over a year, and the governments should have done their homework. So why didn't they?

Update:
Canada dismisses concerns about Tamiflu, despite study

But the Public Health Agency of Canada assured parents Monday that Tamiflu has a strong safety profile, and has recommended doctors prescribe it for infection prevention and to treat cases of H1N1 in infants under one year.

This is not even true.

Not just this year old study from Oxford Researchers, there is also this problem, and I have posted this previously on the blog. Tamiflu and Relenza have been linked to psychotic behaviour ESPECIALLY in children.

Tamiflu And Relenza Should Have Psychiatric Side Effects Warning, Say Regulators

Five deaths in Japan were tied to Tamiflu, after children taking the medicine fell from windows or ran into traffic. The incidents occurred primarily in Japan, where use of Tamiflu is much more widespread than in the United States.

Those who received Tamiflu are far more likely to display abnormal behavior and self-injury than those who have not received the drug.

Widespread use of these drugs, especially amongst children will see an increase exponentially in these abnormal behaviours

What does this mean for psychiatric side effects? It means that these side effects will increase if not arithmetically then logarithmically. In other words, the side effects may not just double, but quadruple or more.

Governments are failing their people

For the sell-outs at the SPP summit......

NOW THAT 146 years have passed since Abraham Lincoln urged Americans to resolve that "government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the Earth," many powerful Americans have been doing their damndest to make sure that any such government shall perish from the Earth.

Owing to the machinations of fabulously wealthy and endlessly greedy champions of Big Business, the politicians that tens of millions of voters kept sending to Washington have firmly established government of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich.

Income disparities aren’t as gross in Canada as they are there, but nevertheless our governments have been treating the rich and the stinking rich so much better than everyone else for so long that the unfairness has blossomed as the natural order of things.

Few care to remember that a democracy is supposed to do a better job than a dictatorship at spreading well-being beyond the caviar-eaters and Jaguar drivers.

Government of, by and for the rich is not democratic, but fascist.

SPP- Obama, Harper and Calderon (three amigos) meeting Aug 8th to 11th

Did you hear about this anywhere? Read about this in the main stream media?
Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post in Canada.

How about in the US? Is the mainstream media informing the American people that Obama, who said he might renegotiate NAFTA, is in fact one of the 3 amigos headed to Mexico.

What, they couldn't read the White House Press Release and then report on it in their respective press? I guess not.

For your information, Guadalajara Mexico, is the place for the SPP Leaders Summit. August 8th to the 11th are the dates.

How is it that the leaders of democracies act so very undemocratically. Away from any public scrutiny? The very public that they are supposed to be accountable to?


Well, I didn't notice any coverage of such a major event that affects each of our lives.

I did note a couple letters to the editors. But, no, no coverage from the big mainstream players.
(I guess they are all to busy fear mongering the swine flu?)


Here is a LETTER TO THE EDITOR- Toronto Star
What is the Agenda at the SPP Meeting

The SPP looks as if it will be an amplification of NAFTA, where former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney traded away Canada's right to protect our water, energy, natural resources and many of our business and workers' rights.

The Obama administration has promised transparency and input from all the people; that remains to be seen.

But ordinary Canadians, Americans and Mexicans need to demand accountability and better explanations from our leaders. So far the SPP has perpetuated and expanded an unsustainable energy and trade model, while placing new barriers on the movement of people in the form of draconian security measures.

Common Frontiers has sent a letter to PM Harper
Open letter calls for renegotiating NAFTA and an end to SPP ahead of summit



One more letter: Mexico meeting may cause us many problems

Did you know that Aug. 8-11 in Mexico, the next round of the secretive Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America summit is scheduled, despite strong opposition from the members of the Canadian public who have informed themselves about it?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper continues to sell us down the river.

SPP is the worst deal for Canada that I can remember as it will force us into deep integration with the U.S. on many fronts without our informed consent. Some examples: It will guarantee a five-fold increase in oil sands production regardless of unresolved environmental issues; it will lead to bulk water exports to the U.S.; Canadians will be subject to the paranoid U.S. security procedures and policies (remember Maher Arar), no-fly lists and the recent border tightening) to name but a few.

There are significant civil liberty, military, other energy and yes, economic and trade issues involved too.

But the biggest problem is that politicians from Canada, U.S. and Mexico are deciding these important matters without consulting the public or even open debate in their respective parliaments. They are consulting with big business leaders only, using the smoke screen explanation that these are just "harmonizing regulatory measures" not worthy of scrutiny.

Kind of reminds me of the way the B.C. Liberals semi-privatized B.C. Ferries so it is no longer accountable to the taxpayer while still being subsidized by us.

Secret meetings? The governments won't even confirm the meetings are taking place.

Jordan Ellis

Mainstream media's silence on this issue is obvious in that SPP serves the interest of big business, by extension that is main stream media. You wouldn't want to be critical of something that is so beneficial to yourself, would you?

But what about the people? Shouldn't we be in on the decisions made behind closed doors, far away from us, that will have the biggest impact on each of us.
Take action!

ACTION ALERT: Demand a say in North America's future

Swine flu cases down

Interesting to note this drop in swine flu came about without a major immunization plan in place, it just dropped seasonally

Big drop in new swine flu cases

England recorded an estimated 30,000 cases last week, compared with 110,000 the week before. In Scotland estimated numbers fell from 1,500 to 1,050.

The Health Protection Agency said there was no sign that the virus was mutating into a more lethal form, or developing resistance to drugs.

The total of swine flu-related deaths in England and Scotland stands at 40.

Wales is also reporting falling but widespread levels of "influenza like illness" with an estimated 2,670 new cases compared with 4,410 last week. (Influenza like illness does not necessarily mean swine flu)

Swine flu cases fall by 80,000

Ireland- Swine flu numbers stabilise

THE NUMBER of human swine flu cases presented to GPs last week fell by about 100.
"Officials have always predicted rates of infection would fall away in the summer"

( See the sunshines role in Vitamin D production and lower influenza rates, as this is very typical)

How serious is the threat? They're probably just guessing...

A month ago the Government warned us that by the end of August 100,000 people would be getting swine flu every day. Yesterday it produced figures showing that the disease has apparently peaked, with only 30,000 new cases last week. How did they get it so wrong?

FYI: If you are here reading the swine flu postings, be sure to click the"swine flu" tag at the bottom of the post. Doing so brings up every post on the subject and there are links in each post.

Could Vitamin D deficienies in the young play a role in swine flu illness???

I have posted a number of stories here on the importance of Vitamin D in our diets.
With all the swine flu stories making the rounds I thought I would put this one up.

As has been pointed out to us, swine flu is hitting those of a younger age the hardest.

In the U.S., the median age of confirmed, hospitalized cases is 15

One reason for this is the fact that older persons have been exposed to a variety of different viruses and have more immunities built up. That makes sense.

One other reason and I have tossed this one around in my head for a while, is the diet and lifestyle of these younger persons. They have eaten more processed, dead food, then any generation before them. By dead food, I mean devoid of nutrients.

Then I came across this article:
Inadequate vitamin D levels common in U.S. children
I don't imagine it is all that different in Canada, or the UK or Europe for that matter.

"Definitely in the last 20 years there's been an increase in vitamin D deficiency."

Which coincides with the young being more susceptible to the swine flu.
Vitamin D is natures influenza fighter, and a deficiency in it could be one reason why these young people are more suscepetible to this new virus.

My own doctor recently recommended taking 1000 IU's daily.

Here is some info on Vitamin D and it's value in the human diet
Cell Defenses and the Sunshine Vitamin
Vitamin D, long associated only with its role in bone formation, is actually active throughout the human body, powerfully influencing immune system responses
and cell defenses.

Links back to articles I have put here before on this very subject
Avoid Flu Shots, Take Vitamin D Instead
Vitamin D in a New Light
Both of the above articles from Dr. Donald Miller
Epidemic Influenza And Vitamin D
Health agency to test link between flu, vitamin D

Get out in the sun, eat better and take some additional Vitamin D. A common sense approach to fighting any influenza bug? You decide for yourself.

The Omniverse

Time for something a little different.
The blogger known to me as blameblakeart left a comment here sometime ago. It was in reference to the conspiritus ubiquitous/evidence of revisionism documentary. If you missed that, all 6 parts are linked here

In his comment he said, something to the effect that if you thought that was interesting, just search for the word "omniverse". So I did. I started to watch the omniverse series, because there is a number of parts to it. As I watched the video, I thought of all those years of subscribing to Discover magazine. . I enjoyed that magazine. But there were times articles published in that magazine would for lack of a better term, blow my mind. Multiple dimensions, all time happening at once, etc., etc. Note to self, get new subscription! These omniverse videos left me as confounded as reading some of those article in Discover magazine. What is Omniverse? Start here
But briefly "The Omniverse is the conceptual ensemble of all possible universes, with all possible laws of physics."

Here is the first video:




And a link to the blogger Rob Bryanton presenting this Imagining the Tenth Dimension
btw for all the 'canucks' that read here Rob Bryanton hails from Saskatchewan.

Pushing South Asia Toward the Brink

Interesting article found in it's entirety here

The contradictions and confusions in U.S. policy in South Asia were on full display during Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's recent visit to India. U.S. support for India, which centers on making money, selling weapons, and turning a blind eye to the country's nuclear weapons, is fatally at odds with U.S. policy and concerns about Pakistan.

By enabling an India-Pakistan arms race, rather than focusing on resolving the conflict and helping them make peace, the United States is driving Pakistan toward the very collapse it fears

Maybe that is what the US is after, the collapse of Pakistan?

Nuclear India

In her press conference with India's minister of external affairs, Clinton said, "We discussed our common vision of a world without nuclear weapons and the practical steps that our countries can take to strengthen the goal of nonproliferation." But there was no mention here of India's nuclear buildup, or of the United States asking India to slow down or to end its program. In fact, one would never guess from Clinton's remarks that India even had a nuclear weapons program. She seemed interested only in the prospect of U.S. sales of nuclear reactors to India worth $10 billion or more.

India is one of perhaps only three countries still making material for new nuclear weapons. The others are Pakistan and Israel (with North Korea threatening to resume production). India is building a fast-breeder reactor that is expected to begin operation in 2010 and is outside International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.

Not Iran, but you would never know that from the msm blather.

Pakistan v. India

Pakistan was noticeable for its near absence from Clinton's agenda in India. It came up only in the context of the need to fight terrorism. Forgotten was the brute fact that India and Pakistan are straining harder than ever in their nuclear and conventional arms race

The US wants Pakistan to focus on the border with Afghanistan and move troops away from the border with India, this does not sit well with the Pakistan military and why would it?
It is almost an invitation to invade

The Pakistani army, which rules the country even when civilians are in office, will not easily shift its view of India. The army and those who lead it see the threat from India as their very reason for being. The army has grown in size, influence, and power, to the point where it dwarfs all other institutions in society and would lose much if there was peace with India. But there is a personal dimension as well. The partition of the subcontinent 62 years ago that created Pakistan is in the living memory of many who make decisions in Pakistan.

B'nai Brith says Jump, Carleton University says How High??

Gosh, just one more post for your info today.
Thanks to Brian for sending me this bit of news. I had heard this one, but didn't know the details. However, it seemed that it was a politically motivated firing. It appears that was the case.

"It's a development in the situation of Ottawa's Hassan Diab who the
Canadian state wants to extradite to France so he can be further
railroaded for a 1980 synagogue bombing in Paris which he had nothing to
do with."

Here is the statement from the Canadian Teachers Union
CAUT statement on Carleton University’s dismissal of Dr. Hassan Diab

(July 29, 2009) The Canadian Association of University Teachers condemns in the strongest possible terms the Carleton University administration’s unjust termination of the contract of Dr. Hassan Diab. The university’s actions show a blatant disregard of the principles of natural justice and due process, the legal right of an accused to the presumption of innocence, and the responsibility of a university to protect its autonomy from inappropriate outside pressure.

Dr. Diab has been accused of being involved in a bombing of a synagogue in Paris nearly three decades ago and is currently on bail awaiting an extradition hearing. The conditions of his bail permit him to work as an academic. The Carleton University administration was aware of Dr. Diab's situation when he was hired to teach an introductory sociology class. However, after media reports of his employment at Carleton appeared this week and B’nai Brith issued a statement condemning the University for engaging him, the Carleton administration terminated his contract the next day, in the midst of a class he was teaching.

Carleton University’s actions represent a serious violation of basic rights and procedures. CAUT calls upon the university administration to immediately reinstate Dr. Diab.

Please visit Justice for Hassan Diab - http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org

Innocent until proven guilty, or proven guilty by the lobby?

Mercury Mmm Mmm Good: Part Deux

FDA concludes mercury in dental fillings not risky

It was something of an about-face for the Food and Drug Administration, which last year settled a lawsuit with anti-mercury activists by posting on its Web site a precaution saying questions remained about whether the small amount of mercury vapor the fillings can release were enough to harm the developing brains of fetuses or the very young.

Could heavy lobbying from industry and/or the American Dental Association play a role in this about face?

This follows hot on the heels of this stunning FDA: A-OK

FDA Stuns Scientists, Declares Mercury in Fish to be Safe for Infants, Children, Expectant Mothers!

This FDA decision on mercury in fish has alarmed EPA scientists who called it "scientifically flawed and inadequate," reports the Washington Post. Even better, the Environmental Working Group (www.EWG.org) issued a letter to the EPA, saying "It's a commentary on how low FDA has sunk as an agency. It was once a fierce protector of America's health, and now it's nothing more than a patsy for polluters"

Not to mention the mercury in the vaccinations, oh, I mean thimerosol

Thinking about the cumulative affects of all this, oh so good for you mercury?

The end of the fighter pilot?

Will drones push fighter pilots out of the cockpit?

At the highest levels of the Pentagon, plans are under way to reduce the role of warplanes, and rely more heavily on remotely piloted craft.

"This is not just a discussion about air systems. It's a discussion about the nature of war," said D-M wing commander Johnson, noting that other branches of the military also are pursuing unmanned technology.

"Are we moving toward a battle space devoid of human beings? And, if so, how will that impact a nation's willingness or reluctance to wage war?

The million dollar question!