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September 24, 2011

“Sarah Jaffe” – 5 Progressive Candidates To Watch As the 2012 Campaign Heats Up

http://www.alternet.org/story/152514/5_progressive_candidates_to_watch_as_the_2012_campaign_heats_up/

By Sarah Jaffe

Will Democrats take back Congress? Here are five candidates worth keeping an eye on as we get closer to Election 2012.
September 23, 2011  |  
 
Watching the news lately, you’d think that Election 2012 was only between Republican candidates for president, each trying to outflank the next to his or her right.

The Republican primaries may be getting lots of attention, but several progressive candidates around the country are gearing up for races that could swing the Congress and put some control back in the hands of progressives.

It can be easy to despair when audiences at GOP debates cheer executions and boo gay soldiers, but the fight is far from over. With Barack Obama striking a new, more populist tone as election season nears, we should all remember that a lot can happen between now and next November. And attention early on for the good candidates can help ensure their success in primaries and general election campaigns alike.

While Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul eat up time on cable news with their latest out-there soundbite, we thought we’d bring you five progressive candidates to keep an eye on. Their message is resonating with people in their districts, and these candidates are ready to steal some of the spotlight back from the ultra-right with policies that would actually improve the lives of working people.

“Josh Harkinson” – 6 Dumb Arguments Against Taxing the Rich, Explained

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/09/6-dumb-arguments-against-taxing-rich-explained

By Josh Harkinson – Mon Sep. 19, 2011

On Saturday, the Obama administration unveiled the “Buffett Rule,” a proposed tax on millionaires and billionaires named after celebrity investor Warren Buffett, who has long argued that the federal government should demand more of the wealthy. The millionaires tax is certain to become a major point of contention in the 2012 presidential campaign, and Republicans have wasted no time in heaping it with calumnies. Here are the six most popular conservative arguments against a progressive tax code, and why they’re wrong:

It’s class warfare!
Yeah right. Three decades of laissez-faire economic polices have allowed the rich to double their share of the national income while paying tax rates a fifth lower than before. The result, notes Kevin Drum, was “wage stagnation for everyone else, a massive financial collapse that ravaged the middle class, an enormous deficits that they’ll be asked to pay off eventually.” If the millionaires tax is the only blowback, the wealthy should count their blessings.

It’s a tax on small business
“Don’t forget that most small businesses file taxes as individuals,” House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said on Fox News Sunday. “So when you are raising top tax rates, you are raising taxes on these job creators.” Except when you aren’t. ThinkProgress’s Pat Garofalo points out that fewer than 2 percent of the nation’s small businesses fall into either of the top two tax brackets. Plus, many of the small business filers in the upper brackets are merely investors who have nothing to do with running the business. And if small businesses don’t want to pay taxes as individuals, they can file as corporations.

“Mark Sircus., AC, OMD” – What the vaccine industry won’t admit about the dangers of vaccination

http://www.naturalnews.com/033655_vaccine_industry_dangers.html

Friday, September 23, 2011 by: Mark Sircus., AC, OMD

(NaturalNews) No matter how many times I have written about vaccines the subject never fails to throw a harpoon through my heart. Just to know and see innocent children everywhere being attacked by pediatric doctors from the moment they are born is enough to shake a person to ones core.

A comprehensive evaluation of eight common childhood vaccines has found that any adverse effects from vaccines are very rare or very minor. The report, issued last week by a panel of experts assembled by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), said there is no evidence that childhood vaccines cause autism, diabetes, facial palsy or episodes of asthma. They are lying because scientifically it’s impossible to conclude this. Several of the chemicals or heavy metals that are in vaccines are independently known to cause severe disease.

Mercury contamination causes autism, diabetes and many other chronic diseases and is even known under certain circumstances to cause sudden death. The aluminum that is in many vaccines is not a piece of cake either and the two together are 100 times more toxic than either alone.

The IOM says that these conclusions are based on the analysis of more than 1,000 research studies in peer-reviewed journals but they forget to mention that these research studies are heavily biased. The institute had been asked by the federal government to review whether or not the eight vaccines caused specific adverse effects as claimed by people seeking redress from a national vaccine injury compensation program. The government does not like paying out money to anyone injured by vaccines and they will fight tooth and nail against the unfortunate families who have been devastated by their vaccines.

“Debbie A. Allsup” – Esoteric Acupuncture brings health and higher consciousness

http://www.naturalnews.com/033665_acupuncture_consciousness.html

Saturday, September 24, 2011 by: Debbie A. Allsup

(NaturalNews) According to Mikio Sankey, founder of Esoteric Acupuncture (EA), the guidance for how to do this special acupuncture was able to come to humanity at this time because we have reached a certain level of consciousness. EA addresses the physical body and the energy fields above it, which helps people’s efforts to achieve higher consciousness and to maintain health.

Those seeking a treatment that offers more than merely sorting out a physical ailment will most likely notice more awareness of the third dimension as long as natural foods are being ingested in conjunction with the EA treatments. Chemicals and unnatural foods have an adverse effect on the light bodies access during EA, so eating organic, non-GMO, non-irradiated foods is essential for the overall treatment protocol. EA is perfect for clients who are seeking a drug-free health plan and approach to life.

Both traditional acupuncture and EA can balance a person’s physical and etheric bodies, thus aiding with overall health. The etheric body houses the meridians and acupuncture points and can be felt after a physical counterpart, like an arm, has been removed. Traditional acupuncture is “left brain” due to the academic style in which it is taught and to the focus on diseased states. EA is “right brain” due to needle insertion style, to practitioner and client’s simultaneous visualization, and to the practitioner’s use of intuition in deciding on a treatment plan. Traditional acupuncture follows an exact definition for acupoint location, assuming each point is in the exact same spot on all people; whereas, EA takes into consideration that acupoints aren’t necessarily in the same spot, even on the same person from day to day.

Amazing energy, what Sankey refers to as spin fields, occurs at the needle insertion sites due to the order of needle placement and practitioner intent. The arrangement of the needles creates particular geometric shapes to be superimposed on the energy field of the person. This pulls certain energies into the person, thus supporting a shift in his or her own awareness. Of course, a still mind is required for one to fully notice what has occurred, but a shift, no matter how small, once having occurred, will wait until it is one day noticed.

“Michelle Bosmier” – Infant allergies found to be influenced by diet of mother

http://www.naturalnews.com/033670_infants_allergies.html

Saturday, September 24, 2011 by: Michelle Bosmier

(NaturalNews) A study conducted by scientists at INRA research institute in Rennes, France, and recently published in the Journal of Physiology, has revealed a possible connection between the mother’s diet and her baby’s immune development.

The scientists looked at a specific group of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which can be obtained from raw, vegan sources, such as flaxseed, chia seed and walnut oil, and how it models the baby’s gut. If the mother’s diet is high in such fats, the gut of the baby will develop significantly different from that of a baby whose mother did not consume sufficient amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

PUFAs are responsible for training the immune system to adequately respond to the presence of bacteria and other pathogens, successfully reducing the incidence of allergies in infants.

Dr Gaelle Boudry, who led the research team for this study, pointed out: “There is intense research interest in maternal diet during pregnancy. In the western diet, the group of polyunsaturated fatty acids that we have shown to help gut function are actually disappearing — our dietary intake of fish and nut oils is being replaced by corn oils which contain a different kind of fatty acid.”

“Ethan A. Huff” – Perry lies again about Texas Gardasil scandal, claims woman he met after signing executive order lobbied him to pass it

http://www.naturalnews.com/033671_Rick_Perry_Gardasil.html

Saturday, September 24, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff

(NaturalNews) The more Texas Gov. Rick Perry tries to defend his decision to sign an executive order in 2007 mandating that all young girls in Texas receive vaccinations against the human papillomavirus (HPV) before being admitted to school, the more he exposes himself as a lying scoundrel that is unfit to govern his own state, let alone lead a nation.

During the recent Republican presidential debate in Orlando, Fla., Perry tried once again to defend his infamous Gardasil blunder, this time by telling the heart-tugging story of a woman he met and got to know who had cervical cancer. He told the audience and viewers Thursday night that the reason he signed the executive order was because the woman lobbied him to do so.

“I got lobbied on this issue,” said a calm and composed Perry. “I got lobbied by a 31 year old young lady who had stage-four cervical cancer. I spent a lot of time with her. She came by my office. She talked to me about this program. I readily admitted we should have had an opt-in (for the mandate) but I don’t know what part of opt out most parents don’t get. The fact is I was on the side of life and I will always be on the side of life as a governor and as president of the United States.”

“Julie Gordon” – Oil Sands Pipeline Protests: Big-name Celebs Irk Canadian Government

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/09/24-0

Published on Saturday, September 24, 2011 by Reuters
by Julie Gordon

TORONTO — Canada’s energy minister shot back on Friday at Hollywood celebrities protesting a plan to build a $7 billion oil pipeline to Texas from Alberta in the first public indication that the protests are getting under Ottawa’s skin.

Actress Daryl Hannah protests in front of the White House in Washington against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline August 30, 2011. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque) Joe Oliver, the minister in charge of energy, said increasingly vocal critics opposing the project on environmental grounds may become a threat to his government’s plans to cement Canada as the dominant North American energy supplier.

“Criticism of the oil sands – and now the proposed Keystone XL pipeline – is a major concern for us, with implications for our energy industry, our economy and our energy security,” Oliver told a business audience in Toronto.

Actors Daryl Hannah and Mark Ruffalo, author and environmentalist Bill McKibben, “No Logo” author Naomi Klein, as well as the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu are among notables who have come out against the Keystone XL pipeline.

“FAIR” – What if the Tea Party Occupied Wall Street?

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/09/23-7

Published on Friday, September 23, 2011 by FAIR

Corporate media skip anti-corporate protests

In an action called Occupy Wall Street, thousands of activists took to the streets of Lower Manhattan on September 17.

The protests are continuing, with demonstrators camped out on the Financial District’s Liberty Street in support of U.S. democratization and against corporate domination of politics (Adbusters, 9/19/11). You wouldn’t know much about the continued occupation of Wall Street by thousands of activists from the corporate media–outlets that seem much more interested in protests of the Tea Party variety. (photo: pweiskel08)

But you wouldn’t know much about any of this from the corporate media–outlets that seem much more interested in protests of the Tea Party variety.

The anti-corporate protests have been lightly covered in the hometown New York Times: One piece (9/18/11) largely about how the police blocked access to Wall Street, and one photo (9/22/11) with the caption “Wall Street Protest Whirls On.”

“Chikako Mogi” – Radioactive Rice “Far Exceeding” Safe Levels Found in Japan

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/09/24

Published on Saturday, September 24, 2011 by Reuters

by Chikako Mogi

TOKYO  – Japan found the first case of rice with radioactive materials far exceeding a government-set level for a preliminary test of pre-harvested crop, requiring thorough inspection of the rice to be harvested from the region, the farm ministry said late on Friday.

A rice field is seen in Soma, about 40 km (25 miles) north of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in Fukushima prefecture, September 10, 2011. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon The ministry said radioactive caesium of 500 becquerels per kg was found in a sample of the pre-harvested rice in Nihonmatsu city, in Fukushima Prefecture, 56 km (35 miles) west of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant which was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, triggering the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.

The ministry said the Fukushima Prefecture will expand the inspection spots nearly ten-fold to around 300 areas.

“Al Jazeera” – Ten US Muslim Students Convicted for Disrupting Speech

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/09/24-1

Published on Saturday, September 24, 2011 by Al Jazeera

Ten students to do community service for protesting against Israeli envoy’s speech at a California university last year.

Ten US college students from Southern California have been convicted of unlawfully disrupting a speech by Israel’s ambassador to the US last year and placed on probation.

Verdict against these students who protested against Israeli war has caused furor over free-speech rights. Friday’s verdict followed two full days of deliberations by a six-man, six-woman jury in a case that has touched off a furor over free-speech rights at the University of California at Irvine.

The students, who were ordered to perform 56 hours of community service, are to remain on probation for three years. But they could have that reduced to a year once they complete the community service.

Charges against an 11th defendant have been tentatively dismissed.

“We’re going to continue fighting this. We’re going to appeal this decision,” supporter Marya Bangee, 25, said outside the court.

“These men to us represent our struggle for civil rights in this country and for them to be found guilty and sentenced for speaking their minds is devastating for us all.”

The case stems from a protest organized by the Muslim Student Union at the university against a February 8, 2010, speech there by Michael Oren, the Israeli diplomat.