Sep 14, 2011
By Yasmine Saleh, Reuters
Source:Yahoo News
CAIRO (Reuters) - Political parties have called on Egypt's military rulers to ensure that figures associated with the government of ousted President Hosni Mubarak cannot run in parliamentary elections expected this year.
The military council that took over from Mubarak after street protests forced him to stand down in February has said it will hold a parliamentary vote this year, although a statement earlier this week announcing plans for voter registration did not mention any dates.
"The members of the coalition insist on changes to the parliamentary elections law and a law that would prevent the return of remnants of the former regime," a coalition of 17 groups, including the leading Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group, said in a statement late on Tuesday.
A member of the military council was quoted in the daily Akhbar newspaper as saying meetings were being conducted to set an election date, and its timetable will be set in the last week of September.
The council member, General Mamdouh Shaheen, said the council would consider some amendments to the election rules, which include a complex system of proportional representation that some political groups say could allow Mubarak loyalists to run as individuals.
Mohamed el-Beltagy, senior figure in the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, said the voting system needed to be streamlined and clear rules laid down to keep out Mubarak allies.
"We need a law that would only let party candidates or known independent candidates run for elections and nominations should be based on a clear electoral program and background including a candidate's history of public work," he told Reuters.
Egypt held parliamentary elections last year that were viewed by many observers as the most rigged of Mubarak's 30 years in office. His ruling National Democratic Party has been dissolved.
Many activists are worried that the military will delay the elections. The government said this week it would toughen implementation of emergency laws after protesters stormed the Israeli embassy last week, embarrassing Egypt abroad.
Some analysts think the military is worried that Islamists will come out strongest in this year's vote.
"I think the military council is hesitant to hold an election for fear that the Muslim Brotherhood could secure a majority," said political analyst Mustapha al-Sayyid, adding such a parliament could try to alter the constitution to increase the influence of Islam.
Some voices in the Brotherhood, which has avoided strong criticism of the council in recent months, are threatening to take to the streets to prevent an election delay.
The Brotherhood is "ready to offer more martyrs in protests" if the elections are put off, official Hassan al-Prince said at a conference in Alexandria on Tuesday night.
(Reporting and writing by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Andrew Hammond and Peter Graff)
Friday, September 30, 2011
Muslim Brotherhood bloc threatens Egypt vote boycott
Sep 29, 2011
By Mona Salem, AFP
Source: Yahoo News
CAIRO (AFP) - The credibility of Egypt's first elections since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak was thrown into question Thursday after a coalition led by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood threatened a boycott.
A statement late Wednesday by the Democratic Coalition said its members would not stand in November's legislative elections if a controversial article in the new electoral law was not amended.
They objected to Article Five of the electoral law, which bans political parties from running in a third of the seats in parliament, which are reserved for independent candidates.
The measure has already been rejected by more than two dozen political parties, who object that it could help return old regime figures to parliament.
"We refuse to take part in elections if Article Five of the electoral law is not cancelled," said the Democratic Coalition statement.
The coalition comprises more than two dozen groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and the liberal Wafd party.
Egypt's interim military rulers -- the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces -- announced on Tuesday that the first stage of parliamentary elections would be held on November 28.
But in an amendment to the electoral law, it said two-thirds of parliament would be elected through a party list under the proportional representation system.
The rest would be elected through a simple majority, which only independent candidates would be allowed to contest.
The Democratic Coalition said they were "astonished" at the Supreme Council's position.
They had, it argued, "refused the request of the political forces to elect all members of parliament by the closed, proportional lists system."
Under Article Five, it argued, a third of the seats would be exclusively for "independents and candidates from the old regime."
The Democratic Coalition and many other political parties have already called for a pure proportional representation system.
They also want to see the activation of a law that would ban corrupt politicians from running for office.
Under the old system, hundreds of candidates ran as independents if they did not make it onto Mubarak's National Democratic Party lists, only to join the party after winning seats.
Under Mubarak independents affiliated with his party used patronage or pressure to garner votes, something that the proportional list system would help avoid, the parties say.
Article Five of the new electoral law specifically forbids those elected as independents from joining a parliamentary bloc once elected -- on pain of losing their seats.
The military had promised that it would not conduct the election under a state of emergency, which was widened in scope this month after protesters ransacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo and clashed with police.
The controversial emergency law -- which has been continuously in place since Islamists assassinated president Anwar Sadat in 1981 -- had been regularly extended under Mubarak's regime.
A military official has told state media the emergency law could stay in place until mid-2012, although the military wanted to end the state of emergency as soon as possible.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she hoped Egypt would lift its emergency law before June 2012, speaking at a press conference in Washington with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr.
She added that Washington supported the steps Egypt has taken toward democratic elections following Mubarak's overthrow in February.
London-based advocacy group Amnesty International, meanwhile, said that based on a video posted online, detainees "are still being subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in Egypt."
"The uniforms may have been replaced with new ones but the behaviour of the security forces seems to be the same," Amnesty said in a statement.
"The army and security officers in the video must immediately be suspended pending the result of the investigation."
Amnesty said the "deeply disturbing video' appears to show members of the army and security forces beating and electrocuting detainees.
By Mona Salem, AFP
Source: Yahoo News
CAIRO (AFP) - The credibility of Egypt's first elections since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak was thrown into question Thursday after a coalition led by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood threatened a boycott.
A statement late Wednesday by the Democratic Coalition said its members would not stand in November's legislative elections if a controversial article in the new electoral law was not amended.
They objected to Article Five of the electoral law, which bans political parties from running in a third of the seats in parliament, which are reserved for independent candidates.
The measure has already been rejected by more than two dozen political parties, who object that it could help return old regime figures to parliament.
"We refuse to take part in elections if Article Five of the electoral law is not cancelled," said the Democratic Coalition statement.
The coalition comprises more than two dozen groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and the liberal Wafd party.
Egypt's interim military rulers -- the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces -- announced on Tuesday that the first stage of parliamentary elections would be held on November 28.
But in an amendment to the electoral law, it said two-thirds of parliament would be elected through a party list under the proportional representation system.
The rest would be elected through a simple majority, which only independent candidates would be allowed to contest.
The Democratic Coalition said they were "astonished" at the Supreme Council's position.
They had, it argued, "refused the request of the political forces to elect all members of parliament by the closed, proportional lists system."
Under Article Five, it argued, a third of the seats would be exclusively for "independents and candidates from the old regime."
The Democratic Coalition and many other political parties have already called for a pure proportional representation system.
They also want to see the activation of a law that would ban corrupt politicians from running for office.
Under the old system, hundreds of candidates ran as independents if they did not make it onto Mubarak's National Democratic Party lists, only to join the party after winning seats.
Under Mubarak independents affiliated with his party used patronage or pressure to garner votes, something that the proportional list system would help avoid, the parties say.
Article Five of the new electoral law specifically forbids those elected as independents from joining a parliamentary bloc once elected -- on pain of losing their seats.
The military had promised that it would not conduct the election under a state of emergency, which was widened in scope this month after protesters ransacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo and clashed with police.
The controversial emergency law -- which has been continuously in place since Islamists assassinated president Anwar Sadat in 1981 -- had been regularly extended under Mubarak's regime.
A military official has told state media the emergency law could stay in place until mid-2012, although the military wanted to end the state of emergency as soon as possible.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she hoped Egypt would lift its emergency law before June 2012, speaking at a press conference in Washington with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr.
She added that Washington supported the steps Egypt has taken toward democratic elections following Mubarak's overthrow in February.
London-based advocacy group Amnesty International, meanwhile, said that based on a video posted online, detainees "are still being subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in Egypt."
"The uniforms may have been replaced with new ones but the behaviour of the security forces seems to be the same," Amnesty said in a statement.
"The army and security officers in the video must immediately be suspended pending the result of the investigation."
Amnesty said the "deeply disturbing video' appears to show members of the army and security forces beating and electrocuting detainees.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
German parliament passes expanded euro fund
43 mins ago
By MELISSA EDDY - Associated Press
BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers on Thursday overwhelmingly approved expanding the powers of the eurozone bailout fund, a major step toward tackling the sprawling debt crisis, in a vote that also helped strengthen Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government.
The measure had been largely expected to pass the lower house of parliament, but a lively debate ahead of the vote reflected how divided Germans remain over their role as Europe's economic power.
Of 611 lawmakers present, 523 voted in favor, while 85 voted against it. Only three lawmakers abstained, meaning that Germany in the future will be guaranteeing loans to the bailout fund, the so-called European Financial Stability Facility, or EFSF, of up to euro211 billion, rather than euro123 billion so far.
The vote had highlighted tensions in Merkel's center-right coalition that was strained by threats of dissent from many members who balked at the cost of propping up the eurozone's strugglers.
Opposition leaders had said going in that if Merkel's coalition has to rely on their votes, it would be a sign that her strife-prone and increasingly unpopular government is finished.
Yet after a night of intense lobbying, a majority of coalition members — 315 — voted in favor of the measure, enough to have ensured its passage even without opposition support.
"This shows the clear determination of the coalition on this issue," Rainer Bruederle, parliamentary leader of Merkel's junior partner, the Free Democrats, told n-tv broadcaster after the vote. "We have made an important decision for Europe."
Yet Frank Schaeffler, also of the Free Democrats, argued that bailout measures have worsened Greece's economic situation.
"Despite all arguments, the first bailout did not make the situation for Greece better, but worse," Schaeffler said. "Expanding the fund will make the situation even worse."
The lawmakers — under close scrutiny from jittery markets — were voting on European leaders' decision in July to increase the effective lending capacity of the fund to euro440 billion ($595 billion) and give it new powers, such as buying the bonds of shaky countries or lending money to governments before they get into a full-blown crisis.
Though Merkel described the euro ahead of the vote as "our common future" and said approving the beefed-up bailout fund was "of the very, very greatest significance," discussions went deep into the night Wednesday, in an attempt to win over dissenting members of her governing coalition.
On Wednesday, Finland voted in favor of expanding the fund's powers despite earlier threats to pull out of a rescue plan for Greece.
The fund expansion has to be ratified by all 17 eurozone nations to take force.
Germany's upper house of parliament is expected to pass the measure on Friday.
______
Geir Moulson contributed to this story.
By MELISSA EDDY - Associated Press
BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers on Thursday overwhelmingly approved expanding the powers of the eurozone bailout fund, a major step toward tackling the sprawling debt crisis, in a vote that also helped strengthen Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government.
The measure had been largely expected to pass the lower house of parliament, but a lively debate ahead of the vote reflected how divided Germans remain over their role as Europe's economic power.
Of 611 lawmakers present, 523 voted in favor, while 85 voted against it. Only three lawmakers abstained, meaning that Germany in the future will be guaranteeing loans to the bailout fund, the so-called European Financial Stability Facility, or EFSF, of up to euro211 billion, rather than euro123 billion so far.
The vote had highlighted tensions in Merkel's center-right coalition that was strained by threats of dissent from many members who balked at the cost of propping up the eurozone's strugglers.
Opposition leaders had said going in that if Merkel's coalition has to rely on their votes, it would be a sign that her strife-prone and increasingly unpopular government is finished.
Yet after a night of intense lobbying, a majority of coalition members — 315 — voted in favor of the measure, enough to have ensured its passage even without opposition support.
"This shows the clear determination of the coalition on this issue," Rainer Bruederle, parliamentary leader of Merkel's junior partner, the Free Democrats, told n-tv broadcaster after the vote. "We have made an important decision for Europe."
Yet Frank Schaeffler, also of the Free Democrats, argued that bailout measures have worsened Greece's economic situation.
"Despite all arguments, the first bailout did not make the situation for Greece better, but worse," Schaeffler said. "Expanding the fund will make the situation even worse."
The lawmakers — under close scrutiny from jittery markets — were voting on European leaders' decision in July to increase the effective lending capacity of the fund to euro440 billion ($595 billion) and give it new powers, such as buying the bonds of shaky countries or lending money to governments before they get into a full-blown crisis.
Though Merkel described the euro ahead of the vote as "our common future" and said approving the beefed-up bailout fund was "of the very, very greatest significance," discussions went deep into the night Wednesday, in an attempt to win over dissenting members of her governing coalition.
On Wednesday, Finland voted in favor of expanding the fund's powers despite earlier threats to pull out of a rescue plan for Greece.
The fund expansion has to be ratified by all 17 eurozone nations to take force.
Germany's upper house of parliament is expected to pass the measure on Friday.
______
Geir Moulson contributed to this story.
Students Forced to Pledge Distance from Political Parties
2011-09-27
AMMONNEWS - University students receiving 'Makruma' scholarships were asked to sign a pledge not to join memberships of any political parties and not to conduct any political activities on university campuses.
The Higher Coordination Committee of the Jordanian National Opposition Political Parties on Monday blasted the move to force students to sign such pledges, stressing that such a stipulation violates principles of freedom and obstructs the development of democratic and political life.
Students who receive 'Makruma' scholarships allocated for underprivileged areas noted that they were asked to sign a pledge not to participate in political activism inside university campuses.
A statement issued by the Opposition Political Parties' Coordination Committee on Monday cited receiving notice from the 'National Campaign for Students' Rights' noting that Makruma students were asked to sign the pledge.
The Committee requested clarification from Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit during a meeting last Saturday, at which Bakhit noted that he had no knowledge of such a decision.
AMMONNEWS - University students receiving 'Makruma' scholarships were asked to sign a pledge not to join memberships of any political parties and not to conduct any political activities on university campuses.
The Higher Coordination Committee of the Jordanian National Opposition Political Parties on Monday blasted the move to force students to sign such pledges, stressing that such a stipulation violates principles of freedom and obstructs the development of democratic and political life.
Students who receive 'Makruma' scholarships allocated for underprivileged areas noted that they were asked to sign a pledge not to participate in political activism inside university campuses.
A statement issued by the Opposition Political Parties' Coordination Committee on Monday cited receiving notice from the 'National Campaign for Students' Rights' noting that Makruma students were asked to sign the pledge.
The Committee requested clarification from Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit during a meeting last Saturday, at which Bakhit noted that he had no knowledge of such a decision.
Journalists to Protest Controversial Article at Senate
2011-09-28
AMMONNEWS - Journalists and activists will stage a protest Thursday evening before the Upper House of Parliament against the approval of a controversial article in the Anti-Corruption law which they view as curbing press freedoms.
The protest is scheduled to take place at 4 PM in front of the Senate to coincide with the final session to be held in parliament before it adjourns from the extra-ordinary session.
The Senate will convene on Thursday to deliberate on the 2011 Anti-Corruption Law, which was approved by the Lower House of Parliament on Tuesday.
Representatives of political, youth, and nationalist movements announced partaking in the protest, in addition to Jordanian professional associations and opposition political parties, in a stance aimed to defend freedom of the press and the media's role in exposing corruption.
Journalists and advocates went in uproar on Tuesday after lawmakers passed the law containing the controversial Article 23, which includes provisions that any person or party that charges another of corruption without providing lawful evidence with the purpose of slander or defamation and character assassination will be subjected to a fine of a minimum of JD 30,000 to a maximum of JD 60,000.
Observers and several MPs who opposed the controversial article blasted that the stipulation aims to 'fortress corruption and corrupt officials,' and contradicts the reform principles publicly propagated by the legislative and executive branches.
AMMONNEWS - Journalists and activists will stage a protest Thursday evening before the Upper House of Parliament against the approval of a controversial article in the Anti-Corruption law which they view as curbing press freedoms.
The protest is scheduled to take place at 4 PM in front of the Senate to coincide with the final session to be held in parliament before it adjourns from the extra-ordinary session.
The Senate will convene on Thursday to deliberate on the 2011 Anti-Corruption Law, which was approved by the Lower House of Parliament on Tuesday.
Representatives of political, youth, and nationalist movements announced partaking in the protest, in addition to Jordanian professional associations and opposition political parties, in a stance aimed to defend freedom of the press and the media's role in exposing corruption.
Journalists and advocates went in uproar on Tuesday after lawmakers passed the law containing the controversial Article 23, which includes provisions that any person or party that charges another of corruption without providing lawful evidence with the purpose of slander or defamation and character assassination will be subjected to a fine of a minimum of JD 30,000 to a maximum of JD 60,000.
Observers and several MPs who opposed the controversial article blasted that the stipulation aims to 'fortress corruption and corrupt officials,' and contradicts the reform principles publicly propagated by the legislative and executive branches.
Parliament criminalises reporting on corruption
2011-09-29
AMMONNEWS - The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemned the recent adoption of Article 23 (A draft law for the Authority of Anti-Corruption presented by the executive power) by the Jordanian Parliament, which criminalizes publishing information about corruption with a fine of 30,000 to 60,000 Jordanian Dinars (approx. US$42,000 to US$84,600). The article was approved by 56 members out of the 96 who attended the session, which was held on the morning of 27 September.
Under Article 23, "Whoever unlawfully spreads, publishes, refers or helps in the publication of news by any public means about any person accused of the crimes of corruption which is mentioned in Article 5 of this law and that leads to defamation, impacts on his dignity or targets his personality, will be punished by a fine not less than 30,000 Jordanian Dinars and not more than 60,000 Jordanian Dinars." This means that journalists, bloggers and activists in Jordan will risk prosecution and a steep fine for publishing any news or information about corruption.
ANHRI pointed out that "the adoption of this article by the Parliament is not only considered to be an attack on freedom of expression and gagging of journalists, but is also a violation against the rights of citizens to circulate information on corruption, which must be shared with public opinion as it affects all classes of people directly."
"This oppressive article that was adopted by the Parliament is considered to be an endorsement for corruption in Jordan. It does not provide any benefit to the people in Jordan. On the contrary, it aims to protect some people in power and could provoke suspicions of corruption against them," said ANHRI
"The adoption of this article by the Parliament is shocking, particularly since the main role of the Parliament is to represent the people and express their interests, limit corruption and curb it. This legislative addition makes us wonder because by adopting this article, it went from guarding against corruption to condoning it. The Jordanian authorities must reevaluate the issue of adopting and applying these arbitrary legal restrictions," ANHRI added.
AMMONNEWS - The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemned the recent adoption of Article 23 (A draft law for the Authority of Anti-Corruption presented by the executive power) by the Jordanian Parliament, which criminalizes publishing information about corruption with a fine of 30,000 to 60,000 Jordanian Dinars (approx. US$42,000 to US$84,600). The article was approved by 56 members out of the 96 who attended the session, which was held on the morning of 27 September.
Under Article 23, "Whoever unlawfully spreads, publishes, refers or helps in the publication of news by any public means about any person accused of the crimes of corruption which is mentioned in Article 5 of this law and that leads to defamation, impacts on his dignity or targets his personality, will be punished by a fine not less than 30,000 Jordanian Dinars and not more than 60,000 Jordanian Dinars." This means that journalists, bloggers and activists in Jordan will risk prosecution and a steep fine for publishing any news or information about corruption.
ANHRI pointed out that "the adoption of this article by the Parliament is not only considered to be an attack on freedom of expression and gagging of journalists, but is also a violation against the rights of citizens to circulate information on corruption, which must be shared with public opinion as it affects all classes of people directly."
"This oppressive article that was adopted by the Parliament is considered to be an endorsement for corruption in Jordan. It does not provide any benefit to the people in Jordan. On the contrary, it aims to protect some people in power and could provoke suspicions of corruption against them," said ANHRI
"The adoption of this article by the Parliament is shocking, particularly since the main role of the Parliament is to represent the people and express their interests, limit corruption and curb it. This legislative addition makes us wonder because by adopting this article, it went from guarding against corruption to condoning it. The Jordanian authorities must reevaluate the issue of adopting and applying these arbitrary legal restrictions," ANHRI added.
Opposition parties and Activists to protest next Friday
2011-09-22
AMMONNEWS – different demonstrations and Sit-ins will be stage next Friday in Amman, and other governorates, carrying different slogans.
The Coalition of youth and popular movements for change will hold a protest in front of United Nation’s headquarter to stress the Palestinian right of return, even though Palestinian Authority submitted to the UN membership bid.
Under banner “ right of return is a sacred right” the protest will be held after midday prayer, a statement issued by the coalition on Tuesday.
At the same place another protest will be staged calling for supporting Palestinian Bid to UN to grant international recognition, and UN membership as independent state.
The protest will be organized by ‘ students Unity’, and they call on Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian president, to keep going on and not to submit to the western pressure about Palestinian bid.
They denounce U.S president, Barak Obama speech in the UN general assembly meeting and his support to Zionist movement.
The Islamic Movement will hold pro-reforms demonstrations in different governorates, including Amman to protest what they called ” injustice and Corruption’’, demanding real and genuine constitutional amendments and compacting corruption .
The sit-in in Amman will be staged in front of Great Nazzal mosque in Nazzal neighborhood.
Meanwhile, the youth movement in Dhiban district Madaba will hold a protest under banner “ It’s over!! Casino lawmakers ”.
They criticized the government and called for dissolving the 16th parliament, a statement says.
March 24th youth movement will stage a protest in front of the Lower House of Parliament building next Saturday.
AMMONNEWS – different demonstrations and Sit-ins will be stage next Friday in Amman, and other governorates, carrying different slogans.
The Coalition of youth and popular movements for change will hold a protest in front of United Nation’s headquarter to stress the Palestinian right of return, even though Palestinian Authority submitted to the UN membership bid.
Under banner “ right of return is a sacred right” the protest will be held after midday prayer, a statement issued by the coalition on Tuesday.
At the same place another protest will be staged calling for supporting Palestinian Bid to UN to grant international recognition, and UN membership as independent state.
The protest will be organized by ‘ students Unity’, and they call on Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian president, to keep going on and not to submit to the western pressure about Palestinian bid.
They denounce U.S president, Barak Obama speech in the UN general assembly meeting and his support to Zionist movement.
The Islamic Movement will hold pro-reforms demonstrations in different governorates, including Amman to protest what they called ” injustice and Corruption’’, demanding real and genuine constitutional amendments and compacting corruption .
The sit-in in Amman will be staged in front of Great Nazzal mosque in Nazzal neighborhood.
Meanwhile, the youth movement in Dhiban district Madaba will hold a protest under banner “ It’s over!! Casino lawmakers ”.
They criticized the government and called for dissolving the 16th parliament, a statement says.
March 24th youth movement will stage a protest in front of the Lower House of Parliament building next Saturday.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
King Abdullah: Jordan Needs 'Stable Middle Class'
September 22, 2011
by NPR Staff
Source: www.npr. org
The protests of the Arab Spring have made it a risky time to be a ruler in the Middle East. But King Abdullah II of Jordan, who is among the world leaders at the United Nations this week, also sees opportunities.
"In certain countries, you're going to see revolution after revolution, until it calms down," the king tells Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep. "What we're trying to do in Jordan is [to] do evolution."
In Jordan, street protests have been limited compared with other nations in the region, but they prompted Abdullah, 49, to promise changes in the constitution that will allow his subjects to elect a prime minister and other officials.
During his visit to New York City, the Jordanian monarch spoke about the Arab Spring and the increasing calls for the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state.
Interview Highlights:
On Israel, and Palestinians' Push for Statehood
"The bid by the Palestinians for statehood [as recognized by the U.N.] came out of desperation and frustration, because nothing was happening on the negotiation table. We could see this coming from several months ago. Obviously, certain countries had raised their concerns about the Palestinian bid. Our response has been, 'Well, let's then make an effort to get the Israelis and Palestinians to sit around the table.' That hasn't happened. So we only have ourselves to blame for this crisis."
On Turkey's recent downgrade of relations with Israel, and whether Jordan may follow suit
"We have, as you mention, peace with Israel. We're actually the last man standing. So, there is going to be immense pressure and people asking, 'Why are we having this relationship, when it's not benefiting anybody?' Obviously, my answer is, you always benefit from peace. But ... we have seen no intention from the other side to try and move the process forward ...
"There are going to be a lot of questions, not just in my country but across the Middle East: Is Israel going to continue to be 'Fortress Israel' — or, as we all hope, become accepted into the neighborhood? Which I believe is the only way we can move forward in harmony. And no matter what's happening in the Middle East — the Arab Spring, et cetera, the economic challenges, high rates of unemployment — the emotional, critical issue is always the Israeli-Palestinian one."
On the Arab Spring
"What bothers me in a lot of countries is [that] society is being led by the street, as opposed to the light at the end of the tunnel. But we have got to remember that the Arab Spring began — and there's challenges all over the world, including your country — because of economic difficulties: unemployment, poverty. We have the largest youth cohort in history coming into the workforce in the Middle East. And that is how the Arab Spring started. I mean, Tunis started because of the economy, not because of politics.
"What keeps me up at night is poverty and unemployment. We have, in the past 10 years, managed to establish a credible middle class. But any shifts in oil prices, economic challenges, that middle class becomes very fragile. ... You really need a strong, stable middle class."
On the role of the king today
"My job is to put food on the table for people. And what I meant by that is, basically, creating a middle class, knowing full well — and looking again at the European model, the United States in particular, also — the stronger you have a middle class, the easier I think political transformation happens.
"So it's a two-edged sword: The more I support with my economic plans the building of the middle class, the quicker they're going to turn around and say, 'Hey, we want a bigger say in things.' So, I knew what I was getting into right at the beginning. It's the right thing to do. This is bigger than Jordan. We want to be an example for the rest of the Arab world. Because there are a lot of people who say that the only democracy you can have in the Middle East is the Muslim Brotherhood. And I don't think that's the case."
On the future of Jordan's monarchy
"The monarchy that I hand over to my son is not going to be the same one that I have inherited. ... There is a tendency by a lot of officials to hide behind the king. And it's about time that officials take their responsibility and are responsible in front of the people. Because today, if you're appointed by the king, they don't feel that they're responsible for the people. If you have a government that is elected, they need to do the hard work — because if they don't, they won't be around the next time the ballot box is open."
On holding elections in Jordan
"We're announcing municipal elections at the end of the year, and national elections at the beginning of next year. The challenge that we have — and this brings concerns, but also excitement — is trying to get a democratic mentality. For all the town-hall meetings that I have ... there's one question I now ask on purpose, because the first couple times I asked it, the answer surprised me. I say, 'Where do you stand on health, education, taxes, services, et cetera?' — and 99 percent, I get blank looks."
On Jordan's political climate
"As an American colleague said to me several months ago, he said, 'I think the challenge in Jordan' — again, this is for the rest of the Middle East — 'we need to define what "center" is. Once we can define what "center" is to a Jordanian, then we can decide what's left and what's right of that.' ... That takes time, for people to look along those lines."
On the future of the Arab Spring
"No expert in the world now can predict what's going to happen in the Middle East. Things are happening too quickly, and the area is changing so rapidly that we really don't know. ... A very senior European politician said that when they saw the Israeli Embassy in Cairo being attacked, that was like taking a bucket of cold water and pouring it over a lot of heads of states' heads in the West. So, there is concern of where is this Arab Spring leading to in many countries. But the only way that we can help is all of us pitch in and try to support those countries go through these tough times."
Transcript
DAVID GREENE, host: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm David Greene.
STEVE INSKEEP, host: And I'm Steve Inskeep.
The man we'll hear from next has a very personal stake in dramatic events across the Middle East. King Abdullah of Jordan is one of many Arab rulers facing protests this year. He has responded by promising his people greater democracy over time.
GREENE: But that's not his only challenge. Abdullah's nation is a neighbor of Israel and it's also home to millions of Palestinians. So he's directly affected by this week's meetings at the United Nations, where Palestinians plan to make a bid for statehood.
King ABDULLAH: I think everybody is being backed into a corner. So we're working desperately to find a mechanism that is acceptable to all sides. So there's been a lot of late-night meetings between Palestinians, the Israelis, the Americans, et cetera.
INSKEEP: King Abdullah was talking at a New York hotel, sitting beside a table decorated with a photo of his family. He's 49 years old with a brisk walk. He wears a Western-style suit. His government, unlike most in the Arab world, maintains diplomatic ties with Israel. But now the king says something must happen within days to push Israel toward a settlement with Palestinians.
Given the state of negotiations, is it acceptable to you to walk away from this U.N. meeting this week, with something less than recognition of Palestinian statehood?
King ABDULLAH: Well, the bid by the Palestinians for statehood came out of desperation and frustration, because nothing was happening on the negotiating table. And we could see this coming from several months ago. And obviously, certain countries had raised their concerns about the Palestinian bid. Our response has been, well, let's then make an effort to get the Israelis and Palestinians to sit around the table. That hasn't happened. So we only have ourselves to blame for this crisis.
Having said that, I have to commend the role of the European Union, trying to find a mechanism that pleases everybody. We've had - every six hours it seems to change. So I think until the last minute, which is Friday when the Palestinians make the decision, there's a lot of behind-the-scenes negotiations to find something that's acceptable for everybody.
INSKEEP: Meaning something short of statehood that pushes a vote on statehood down the road, but gets negotiations started with...
King ABDULLAH: Well, I think what the Europeans are looking at is asking for statehood in a way that then there is a technical process that gives some time to allow Israelis and Palestinians to sit at the table and re-launch negotiations on final status issues.
INSKEEP: As you know, King Abdullah, Turkey has downgraded the state of its relations with Israel. Your country, we'll remind people, has relations with Israel.
King ABDULLAH: Yes.
INSKEEP: Have you considered downgrading your relations with Israel?
King ABDULLAH: No. But, you know, it's funny that you should mention this issue, because again, if we have a very negative impact coming out of the United Nations, in other words, that the Palestinians are really shorthanded on this issue. You saw recently what happened in Egypt with the attack on the Israeli Embassy. Turkey downgrading its relationship, Egypt having a problem with Israel. We have, as you mentioned, peace with Israel. We're actually the last man standing.
So there is going to be immense pressure. And people asking, why are we having this relationship when it's not benefitting anybody?
INSKEEP: You're saying you could be forced to take steps against Israel.
King ABDULLAH: I'm not a person that is forced. But having said that, there are going to be a lot of questions, not just in my country but across the Middle East. Is Israel going to continue to be Fortress Israel? Or, as we all hope, you know, become accepted into the neighborhood? Which I believe is the only way we can move forward in harmony.
And no matter what's happening in the Middle East - the Arab Spring, et cetera, the economic challenges, high rates of unemployment - the emotional, critical issue is always the Israeli-Palestinian one.
INSKEEP: I'm glad you mentioned the Arab Spring. What is it like to be a king of an Arab state at a time of a revolution like this?
King ABDULLAH: Well, actually quite exciting. I think that, you know, we have been trying to push reform. There has been a lot of pushback by the more conservative elements. And what the Arab Spring or the Arab Awakening did was bringing the subject front and center. As a result, in Jordan we've created a national dialogue committee. We went on outreach with everybody. We're announcing municipal elections at the end of the year, and national elections beginning of next year.
INSKEEP: Given the realities in other countries, how do you keep a lid on - if that's the appropriate way to put it? How do you avoid an explosion for a year here?
King ABDULLAH: Well, again, you know, what's happening today, now - as long a people are - benchmark understand what needs to be done. I think the challenge that I have is managing people's expectations. Even if we have parliamentary elections in 2012, you're not going to have those new political parties. So we can have a new parliament next year. But until we get right, left and center, there's going to be a delay for that. That's the challenge.
INSKEEP: When you talk about left, right and center, you're basically talking about laying out a democratic political landscape in your country...
King ABDULLAH: Exactly...
INSKEEP: ...what do people stand for and what do they believe.
King ABDULLAH: In short terms, I announced last year - I mean the beginning of this year, and I've been speaking to everybody, saying, look, my vision of Jordan is two to five political parties, representing left, right and center, as quickly as possible.
INSKEEP: Does it bother you that one of the implied and often explicit messages of these protests across the Arab world, is that, if I may say, people like you should have less power or perhaps no power?
King ABDULLAH: No, it - you know, it depends if you have an ego issue, which I - particularly it's not a problem of mine. And since I've been pushing this from the start, I mean, the first interview I ever had after my father passed away, said, you know, my job is to put food on the table for people. And what I meant by that is basically creating a middle class, knowing full well the stronger you have a middle class, the easier I think political transformation happens.
So it's a two-edged sword, the more I support, with my economic plans, the building of a middle class, the quicker they're going turn around and say, hey, we want a bigger say in things. So I knew what I was getting into right at the beginning. It's the right thing to do. This is bigger than Jordan. We want to be an example for the rest of the Arab world. Because there are a lot of people who say that the only democracy you can have in the Middle East is the Muslim Brotherhood. And I don't think that's the case. I think if a monarchy, as you said, can show a new democratic platform, then I think we'll be a symbol for other countries.
INSKEEP: Do you expect there to be a monarchy that you would pass on to your heir, and if so what power would remain to the king?
King ABDULLAH: Well, we're obviously going through some tremendous changes today. I think we've said this in interviews before over the past 10 years, that the monarchy that I hand over to my son is not going to be the same one that I've inherited. There's a tendency by a lot of officials to hide behind the king and it's about time that officials take their responsibility and are responsible in front of the people.
INSKEEP: What troubles you most about the protests of this year?
King ABDULLAH: Well, what bothers me in a lot of countries is, you know, society is being led by the street, as opposed to a light at the end of the tunnel. But we've got to remember that the Arab Spring began - and there's challenges all over the world, including your country, because of economic difficulties: unemployment, poverty, we have the largest youth cohort in history coming into the workforce in the Middle East - and that is how the Arab Spring started. I mean, Tunis started because of economy, not because of politics.
What keeps me up at night is poverty and unemployment. We have, in the past 10 years, managed to establish a credible middle class. But any shifts in oil prices, economic challenges - that middle class becomes very fragile.
INSKEEP: Are you also worried about who ends up ruling Arab countries?
King ABDULLAH: Well, you know, you have to always hope, in humanity, that the people will make the right choices. I think that when your stomach is full and you're secure, you can make better choices. And I think that's what we're trying to do in Jordan. But we are looking around our part of the world. There's lot of instability. I mean we miss, sorely, the strong role that Egypt played regionally. It's a regional powerhouse.
And today, with all the internal problems, unfortunately, they're not going to be on the scene for several years until this all settles. And I'm sad to see that, because we desperately need a strong, stable Egypt.
INSKEEP: And then there's Syria, your neighbor. What worries you most about the protests against Bashar al-Assad, the leader there?
King ABDULLAH: Well, from what I can see, I don't see much changes in the immediate future, which means that demonstrations will continue for quite a while. You know, there's nobody - no expert in the world now, can predict what's going to happen in the Middle East. Things are happening too quickly, and the area is changing so rapidly that we really don't know.
INSKEEP: King Abdullah, thanks very much.
King ABDULLAH: Thank you, sir.
INSKEEP: He is Abdullah II of Jordan, the namesake of his great grandfather, Jordan's first king in the years after World War I. He spoke with us in New York where meetings continue at and around the United Nations this week.
You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News.
by NPR Staff
Source: www.npr. org
The protests of the Arab Spring have made it a risky time to be a ruler in the Middle East. But King Abdullah II of Jordan, who is among the world leaders at the United Nations this week, also sees opportunities.
"In certain countries, you're going to see revolution after revolution, until it calms down," the king tells Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep. "What we're trying to do in Jordan is [to] do evolution."
In Jordan, street protests have been limited compared with other nations in the region, but they prompted Abdullah, 49, to promise changes in the constitution that will allow his subjects to elect a prime minister and other officials.
During his visit to New York City, the Jordanian monarch spoke about the Arab Spring and the increasing calls for the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state.
Interview Highlights:
On Israel, and Palestinians' Push for Statehood
"The bid by the Palestinians for statehood [as recognized by the U.N.] came out of desperation and frustration, because nothing was happening on the negotiation table. We could see this coming from several months ago. Obviously, certain countries had raised their concerns about the Palestinian bid. Our response has been, 'Well, let's then make an effort to get the Israelis and Palestinians to sit around the table.' That hasn't happened. So we only have ourselves to blame for this crisis."
On Turkey's recent downgrade of relations with Israel, and whether Jordan may follow suit
"We have, as you mention, peace with Israel. We're actually the last man standing. So, there is going to be immense pressure and people asking, 'Why are we having this relationship, when it's not benefiting anybody?' Obviously, my answer is, you always benefit from peace. But ... we have seen no intention from the other side to try and move the process forward ...
"There are going to be a lot of questions, not just in my country but across the Middle East: Is Israel going to continue to be 'Fortress Israel' — or, as we all hope, become accepted into the neighborhood? Which I believe is the only way we can move forward in harmony. And no matter what's happening in the Middle East — the Arab Spring, et cetera, the economic challenges, high rates of unemployment — the emotional, critical issue is always the Israeli-Palestinian one."
On the Arab Spring
"What bothers me in a lot of countries is [that] society is being led by the street, as opposed to the light at the end of the tunnel. But we have got to remember that the Arab Spring began — and there's challenges all over the world, including your country — because of economic difficulties: unemployment, poverty. We have the largest youth cohort in history coming into the workforce in the Middle East. And that is how the Arab Spring started. I mean, Tunis started because of the economy, not because of politics.
"What keeps me up at night is poverty and unemployment. We have, in the past 10 years, managed to establish a credible middle class. But any shifts in oil prices, economic challenges, that middle class becomes very fragile. ... You really need a strong, stable middle class."
On the role of the king today
"My job is to put food on the table for people. And what I meant by that is, basically, creating a middle class, knowing full well — and looking again at the European model, the United States in particular, also — the stronger you have a middle class, the easier I think political transformation happens.
"So it's a two-edged sword: The more I support with my economic plans the building of the middle class, the quicker they're going to turn around and say, 'Hey, we want a bigger say in things.' So, I knew what I was getting into right at the beginning. It's the right thing to do. This is bigger than Jordan. We want to be an example for the rest of the Arab world. Because there are a lot of people who say that the only democracy you can have in the Middle East is the Muslim Brotherhood. And I don't think that's the case."
On the future of Jordan's monarchy
"The monarchy that I hand over to my son is not going to be the same one that I have inherited. ... There is a tendency by a lot of officials to hide behind the king. And it's about time that officials take their responsibility and are responsible in front of the people. Because today, if you're appointed by the king, they don't feel that they're responsible for the people. If you have a government that is elected, they need to do the hard work — because if they don't, they won't be around the next time the ballot box is open."
On holding elections in Jordan
"We're announcing municipal elections at the end of the year, and national elections at the beginning of next year. The challenge that we have — and this brings concerns, but also excitement — is trying to get a democratic mentality. For all the town-hall meetings that I have ... there's one question I now ask on purpose, because the first couple times I asked it, the answer surprised me. I say, 'Where do you stand on health, education, taxes, services, et cetera?' — and 99 percent, I get blank looks."
On Jordan's political climate
"As an American colleague said to me several months ago, he said, 'I think the challenge in Jordan' — again, this is for the rest of the Middle East — 'we need to define what "center" is. Once we can define what "center" is to a Jordanian, then we can decide what's left and what's right of that.' ... That takes time, for people to look along those lines."
On the future of the Arab Spring
"No expert in the world now can predict what's going to happen in the Middle East. Things are happening too quickly, and the area is changing so rapidly that we really don't know. ... A very senior European politician said that when they saw the Israeli Embassy in Cairo being attacked, that was like taking a bucket of cold water and pouring it over a lot of heads of states' heads in the West. So, there is concern of where is this Arab Spring leading to in many countries. But the only way that we can help is all of us pitch in and try to support those countries go through these tough times."
Transcript
DAVID GREENE, host: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm David Greene.
STEVE INSKEEP, host: And I'm Steve Inskeep.
The man we'll hear from next has a very personal stake in dramatic events across the Middle East. King Abdullah of Jordan is one of many Arab rulers facing protests this year. He has responded by promising his people greater democracy over time.
GREENE: But that's not his only challenge. Abdullah's nation is a neighbor of Israel and it's also home to millions of Palestinians. So he's directly affected by this week's meetings at the United Nations, where Palestinians plan to make a bid for statehood.
King ABDULLAH: I think everybody is being backed into a corner. So we're working desperately to find a mechanism that is acceptable to all sides. So there's been a lot of late-night meetings between Palestinians, the Israelis, the Americans, et cetera.
INSKEEP: King Abdullah was talking at a New York hotel, sitting beside a table decorated with a photo of his family. He's 49 years old with a brisk walk. He wears a Western-style suit. His government, unlike most in the Arab world, maintains diplomatic ties with Israel. But now the king says something must happen within days to push Israel toward a settlement with Palestinians.
Given the state of negotiations, is it acceptable to you to walk away from this U.N. meeting this week, with something less than recognition of Palestinian statehood?
King ABDULLAH: Well, the bid by the Palestinians for statehood came out of desperation and frustration, because nothing was happening on the negotiating table. And we could see this coming from several months ago. And obviously, certain countries had raised their concerns about the Palestinian bid. Our response has been, well, let's then make an effort to get the Israelis and Palestinians to sit around the table. That hasn't happened. So we only have ourselves to blame for this crisis.
Having said that, I have to commend the role of the European Union, trying to find a mechanism that pleases everybody. We've had - every six hours it seems to change. So I think until the last minute, which is Friday when the Palestinians make the decision, there's a lot of behind-the-scenes negotiations to find something that's acceptable for everybody.
INSKEEP: Meaning something short of statehood that pushes a vote on statehood down the road, but gets negotiations started with...
King ABDULLAH: Well, I think what the Europeans are looking at is asking for statehood in a way that then there is a technical process that gives some time to allow Israelis and Palestinians to sit at the table and re-launch negotiations on final status issues.
INSKEEP: As you know, King Abdullah, Turkey has downgraded the state of its relations with Israel. Your country, we'll remind people, has relations with Israel.
King ABDULLAH: Yes.
INSKEEP: Have you considered downgrading your relations with Israel?
King ABDULLAH: No. But, you know, it's funny that you should mention this issue, because again, if we have a very negative impact coming out of the United Nations, in other words, that the Palestinians are really shorthanded on this issue. You saw recently what happened in Egypt with the attack on the Israeli Embassy. Turkey downgrading its relationship, Egypt having a problem with Israel. We have, as you mentioned, peace with Israel. We're actually the last man standing.
So there is going to be immense pressure. And people asking, why are we having this relationship when it's not benefitting anybody?
INSKEEP: You're saying you could be forced to take steps against Israel.
King ABDULLAH: I'm not a person that is forced. But having said that, there are going to be a lot of questions, not just in my country but across the Middle East. Is Israel going to continue to be Fortress Israel? Or, as we all hope, you know, become accepted into the neighborhood? Which I believe is the only way we can move forward in harmony.
And no matter what's happening in the Middle East - the Arab Spring, et cetera, the economic challenges, high rates of unemployment - the emotional, critical issue is always the Israeli-Palestinian one.
INSKEEP: I'm glad you mentioned the Arab Spring. What is it like to be a king of an Arab state at a time of a revolution like this?
King ABDULLAH: Well, actually quite exciting. I think that, you know, we have been trying to push reform. There has been a lot of pushback by the more conservative elements. And what the Arab Spring or the Arab Awakening did was bringing the subject front and center. As a result, in Jordan we've created a national dialogue committee. We went on outreach with everybody. We're announcing municipal elections at the end of the year, and national elections beginning of next year.
INSKEEP: Given the realities in other countries, how do you keep a lid on - if that's the appropriate way to put it? How do you avoid an explosion for a year here?
King ABDULLAH: Well, again, you know, what's happening today, now - as long a people are - benchmark understand what needs to be done. I think the challenge that I have is managing people's expectations. Even if we have parliamentary elections in 2012, you're not going to have those new political parties. So we can have a new parliament next year. But until we get right, left and center, there's going to be a delay for that. That's the challenge.
INSKEEP: When you talk about left, right and center, you're basically talking about laying out a democratic political landscape in your country...
King ABDULLAH: Exactly...
INSKEEP: ...what do people stand for and what do they believe.
King ABDULLAH: In short terms, I announced last year - I mean the beginning of this year, and I've been speaking to everybody, saying, look, my vision of Jordan is two to five political parties, representing left, right and center, as quickly as possible.
INSKEEP: Does it bother you that one of the implied and often explicit messages of these protests across the Arab world, is that, if I may say, people like you should have less power or perhaps no power?
King ABDULLAH: No, it - you know, it depends if you have an ego issue, which I - particularly it's not a problem of mine. And since I've been pushing this from the start, I mean, the first interview I ever had after my father passed away, said, you know, my job is to put food on the table for people. And what I meant by that is basically creating a middle class, knowing full well the stronger you have a middle class, the easier I think political transformation happens.
So it's a two-edged sword, the more I support, with my economic plans, the building of a middle class, the quicker they're going turn around and say, hey, we want a bigger say in things. So I knew what I was getting into right at the beginning. It's the right thing to do. This is bigger than Jordan. We want to be an example for the rest of the Arab world. Because there are a lot of people who say that the only democracy you can have in the Middle East is the Muslim Brotherhood. And I don't think that's the case. I think if a monarchy, as you said, can show a new democratic platform, then I think we'll be a symbol for other countries.
INSKEEP: Do you expect there to be a monarchy that you would pass on to your heir, and if so what power would remain to the king?
King ABDULLAH: Well, we're obviously going through some tremendous changes today. I think we've said this in interviews before over the past 10 years, that the monarchy that I hand over to my son is not going to be the same one that I've inherited. There's a tendency by a lot of officials to hide behind the king and it's about time that officials take their responsibility and are responsible in front of the people.
INSKEEP: What troubles you most about the protests of this year?
King ABDULLAH: Well, what bothers me in a lot of countries is, you know, society is being led by the street, as opposed to a light at the end of the tunnel. But we've got to remember that the Arab Spring began - and there's challenges all over the world, including your country, because of economic difficulties: unemployment, poverty, we have the largest youth cohort in history coming into the workforce in the Middle East - and that is how the Arab Spring started. I mean, Tunis started because of economy, not because of politics.
What keeps me up at night is poverty and unemployment. We have, in the past 10 years, managed to establish a credible middle class. But any shifts in oil prices, economic challenges - that middle class becomes very fragile.
INSKEEP: Are you also worried about who ends up ruling Arab countries?
King ABDULLAH: Well, you know, you have to always hope, in humanity, that the people will make the right choices. I think that when your stomach is full and you're secure, you can make better choices. And I think that's what we're trying to do in Jordan. But we are looking around our part of the world. There's lot of instability. I mean we miss, sorely, the strong role that Egypt played regionally. It's a regional powerhouse.
And today, with all the internal problems, unfortunately, they're not going to be on the scene for several years until this all settles. And I'm sad to see that, because we desperately need a strong, stable Egypt.
INSKEEP: And then there's Syria, your neighbor. What worries you most about the protests against Bashar al-Assad, the leader there?
King ABDULLAH: Well, from what I can see, I don't see much changes in the immediate future, which means that demonstrations will continue for quite a while. You know, there's nobody - no expert in the world now, can predict what's going to happen in the Middle East. Things are happening too quickly, and the area is changing so rapidly that we really don't know.
INSKEEP: King Abdullah, thanks very much.
King ABDULLAH: Thank you, sir.
INSKEEP: He is Abdullah II of Jordan, the namesake of his great grandfather, Jordan's first king in the years after World War I. He spoke with us in New York where meetings continue at and around the United Nations this week.
You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Two Words You Should Never Utter to Your Doctor
September 24 2011
By Dr. Mercola
You may recognize Jim Navarro from the documentary film Cut Poison Burn, which I recently posted. You can watch the entire film for free. If you haven't seen it yet, I urge you to take the time to view it now.
Jim is the father of Thomas Navarro, who at the age of four was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer. The family ended up in a protracted battle against the medical monopoly after objecting to the conventional treatment, choosing instead to seek out less invasive, less damaging, and less life threatening approaches. However, the medical system's response was swift and callous.
In fact, in the months that followed Thomas' diagnosis, the family went into hiding to keep their son away from the authorities who threatened to take him into custody, charging Jim and Donna Navarro with child abuse and neglect.
The Navarro's wanted to use Dr. Burzynski's non-toxic, highly successful antineoplaston treatment instead of conventional chemotherapy and radiation. However, the FDA went to great lengths to prevent Thomas from receiving the therapy, and only after extensive legal wrangling, great expense, and being forced to submit to conventional treatment first did the family finally receive approval to use Dr. Burzynski. Unfortunately, at that point it was too late. The damage from the chemo was too great, and he lost his battle with cancer at the tender age of six. His death certificate states the cause of death as:
Respiratory failure due to chronic toxicity of chemotherapy.
Since the death of his son, Jim Navarro has been championing a patient's rights act to prevent this tragic injustice from occurring again.
Did You Know: As a Parent, You Don't have the Right to Choose Treatment for Your Child?
Chemotherapy is a cytotoxic poison, and radiation is devastating to the human body, particularly to young children who are still developing. Jim's wife, a military combat medic, began doing research in an effort to find some other alternative that would keep their son alive. Jim soon delved into research as well. He learned of Dr. Burzynski while scouring chat rooms and forums on the internet.
"My focus was on the fact that they said there are no known survivors [of medulloblastoma]," he says. "The first thing I Googled was 'survivors of medulloblastoma.' As I found these chat rooms, the common denominator was always a mention of a Dr. Burzynski...
I called, and the very first thing they told me was, "I'm sorry but you can't bring your son here." I was like, "What?" They said, "You don't understand. The FDA won't allow us to treat him. According to the protocols, he has to first go through radiation and chemo and fail, and have recurrent tumors. Until then, he can't qualify."
It took 18 months of legal wrangling with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to get Thomas approved for treatment by Dr. Burzynski. By then he had already had his second brain surgery, and had already been forced to undergo chemotherapy, and had already suffered recurring tumors—likely induced by the chemotherapy itself. After all that, he finally fulfilled all the requirements to be allowed to try Dr. Burzynski's treatment—a treatment, which by the way, has a success rate that far surpasses chemo and radiation...
"What people don't know is once he began the antineoplaston therapy with Burzynski, before dying, it not only extended his life another seven months but he also had a 33 percent reduction of tumors," Navarro says. "A father's hope is, had he not been polluted and poisoned with chemotherapy, had we not been stopped, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he would be alive today."
Who Decides What's Best and Right for You or Your Child?
This kind of perversion of justice poses as the best care available. And there are four primary organizations that are responsible for this travesty: the FDA, the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, and the child services system. These are the white-collar bureaucrats making life and death decisions about people they've never met or cared for in a medical capacity. Their primary objective is to protect the profits of Big Pharma and the cancer industry itself.
Navarro describes the Child Protective Services (CPS) as "the thugs of the doctors, the pharmaceutical companies, and the FDA," and it's easy to see why, when you hear his story.
"When we began, we were completely uncomfortable with everything and we wanted a second opinion. The minute those words are heard: 'second opinion,' CPS is brought into it," he explains. "You're charged with child abuse and medical neglect automatically. The charges go up from there depending on your level of resistance. They will kick in your door; come in armed. They will attempt to kidnap your child, which we had gone through several times with Thomas. By any means necessary they will get your child.
It didn't used to be that way. Doctors sadly have gotten to the point where they don't even threaten you with CPS, they just contact them when you don't know about it.
... Donna and I had a hearing on the first [CPS] case, because there were actually two; one in Arizona and one in Texas, and I said, "Child abuse? I don't think so. Medical neglect? I don't think so. I am spending approximately $12,000 to $15,000 a month on my son's well being. I have him continually checked by doctors and nurses. He's got a health regimen, which includes a change of diet, vitamins, supplements. I'm doing all the right things, plus I have a wife that is by profession a caregiver. She spent many years in the emergency room, ER and trauma. I've got a sense that she knows what she's doing.
... [T]he first thing they try to do is make you feel guilty when you don't comply... [T]hey also hold control over whether or not you get to stay at Ronald McDonald House, or you get your wish from Make-A-Wish..."
And You Thought Your Donations Went to ANY Sick Child in Need...
This may surprise some of you who dutifully donate money to charitable organizations like the Ronald McDonald House and the Make a Wish Foundation. These organizations do not use that money to provide services to just any sick child who might want or need it. Their services are to a large extent exclusive to patients who participate in the conventional system of standard care.
"[W]e initially were not allowed to check in at the Ronald McDonald House," Navarro says. "Why not?... "[B]ecause his doctor in Arizona withdrew his recommendation and without the doctor's recommendation you can't come here." ... So everyone is giving to this place, for children with cancer to stay, and now you're telling me because [the doctor] said no, there's a difference between him sick then and sick today?"
The doctor also pulled his recommendation for Thomas' application with the Make-A-Wish foundation. They got the call that it had been retracted on the day Thomas was scheduled to actually receive his wish.
"The attitude is, "Unless I have your child; unless I get to treat him, he's not sick. It's like the FDA... In the eyes of the FDA...He doesn't have cancer. Why doesn't he have cancer? "Because you're not doing our treatment and until he does our treatment we will not deem him sick."
The Navarros filed six appeals to the FDA after the initial paperwork to do a compassionate exemption, but the agency rejected all of them.
"The FDA plays God and tells you when you're sick, because they're not going to say you have cancer until they have guaranteed you have it, with no recovery through Cut Poison and Burn. I see that as a crime against humanity," Navarro says.
Corruption and Conflicts of Interest Rules Cancer Industry. Who Pays?
Unfortunately, the patients do—usually both with their life and everything they own. Part of the system that creates corruption and conflict of interest is that a large portion of the FDA's income is generated through fees paid by the drug companies. And there's probably no other disease that has a higher profit level than cancer treatments. Navarro tells the story of meeting a member of Congress who warned him to back off, saying:
"Son, you can't go up there. You're going to cost a lot of people a lot of money; put a lot of people out of work, and they're just not going to take kindly to that. We've been receiving death threats in the night—you'll never live to see him treated. Back off."
He didn't then and he still won't "back off." ... But threats aside, the financial price has been just as devastating as any emotional and psychological price the Navarro's have paid for being unwilling participants in the current system. Thomas' disease and subsequent forced treatments resulted in what Navarro calls "a financial tsunami."
"We were living a very normal average life. The refrigerator was always full. Two cars in the driveway. The cost of keeping Thomas alive for those 26 and a half months was about 1.6 million dollars... The chemotherapy in those little bags is $43,000 a bag... They prescribed 10," Navarro says. "That doesn't include the doctor, the nurses, the anesthesiologist, the pharmacist, the room, the meal... He left us an additional $550,000+ in debt... I'm approaching 60 and no one would hire me because I hadn't worked in 2-1/2 years. We didn't have a home. The same with Donna... You have to start all over. The college funds went... Everything went...
[W]hen Thomas died, it left us with a four-year-old son, $4, and we lived in our van. We were homeless."
Not only that. With just four dollars in their pocket, they also couldn't afford to give Thomas a proper burial. He would have gone into an unmarked county grave had it not been for a man named James Earthman, co-owner of Earthman Funeral Homes. The Navarro's case had gotten a lot of media attention, and the funeral home graciously donated the entire funeral, including casket, flowers, gravestone and services.
It's hard to fathom a medical system that threatens you and abuses you, and forces you to undergo toxic medical treatments against your will, while raking in massive amounts of money for these forced treatments; bankrupting you to the point you can't even afford a simple funeral once the toxic treatments fail—which they usually do.
But what about their insurance, you may ask. Didn't they have any? Yes, they did, but as so many other Americans have come to find out, medical expenses incurred by families WITH insurance is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the US.
"They have a cap on cancer," Navarro explains. "I didn't know that. They capped everything, which isn't a lot because again they're in bed with each other; insurance, pharmaceutical. I won't get started on that because that makes my blood boil but a lot of it was on us after the cap was reached..."
Having the Freedom to Choose Just Might Save Your Life
In a somewhat ironic twist, when an acquaintance, also named Thomas, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he asked Jim for advice. He ended up going to Dr. Nick Gonzales in New York—another alternative cancer treatment center that I've written about this past spring that uses a three-pronged nutritional approach. Pancreatic cancer is typically terminal within months, and Thomas had been given about 60 days to live. At the time of this interview, Thomas is still alive, nine months after starting his treatment.
"I want people to understand they have been lied to for a very long time, and that they don't need to ask for options. They need to demand them," Navarro says when asked about what message he wants people to take home from the film.
"They work for us. We don't work for them. I come to you and I'm sick; you work for me. I'm not your employee going, "Well doctor, can I get well now?" That's what is topsy-turvy all the way up to government. We keep forgetting who's the boss in that scenario. ... I want them to get out there and say, "Stop. No more. You will not poison my family. You will not poison my kids and you will be held accountable. You will provide that which will preserve life instead of destroy life."
Thomas' death is shocking in that it wasn't necessary. If the FDA and the oncologists had simply given them the opportunity to exercise freedom of choice to seek whatever therapy they thought appropriate, he may still be alive, and the Navarro's might not be financially ruined either, as alternative treatments typically end up costing a fraction of their conventional counterparts.
"The horror to us was that in the United States of America, land of the free, home of the brave, you have no legal right as a parent to select the doctors or the treatment for your child," Navarro says.
The Death-Knell...
The Navarro's were actually able to administer an alternative remedy that seemed to work prior to Thomas being prescribed chemo. It was a concoction made by a Tibetan doctor.
"A lot of people don't understand that in Tibet they practice medicine for 30 years before they are allowed to have a real patient. After his MRIs, after his surgery, Thomas had 11 inoperable tumors in his head, neck, and spine. They [the Tibetan doctor] gave him what they refer to as "the jewel." It looked like a jaw breaker. They ground it up until it was just like dust and then you brew and steep it as a tea... He had one cup a day. It took 10 weeks... no more tumors, no cancer. It was gone! Done!
The hospital freaked out. Who are these guys? What are they doing? And that's when they went after the chemo. "Sorry, hospital policy. Got to have the chemo, 10 cycles, blah, blah, blah." There wasn't going to be a chance to get in there with something that worked. They had to make bloody sure that they dispatched it."
In the end, it was the chemo that killed Thomas NOT his brain cancer...
Support the Navarro's and Other Cancer Patients by Buying the Film
The film, Cut Poison Burn, is available to view for free. However, if you want to help the Navarro's pay off Thomas' medical bills, I urge you to purchase a copy of the film. The film is being sold on a 'value-priced' basis, meaning you can download a copy of the film for $1.99 and up, depending on how much you're willing to pay. You can also purchase a DVD copy for $9.99.
A percentage of the proceeds from the film will go to cancer organizations that donate 100 percent of their proceeds to families fighting cancer—not the American Cancer Society. Jim and Donna Navarro are also currently working on creating a Texas-based organization called Cancer Busters.
"The good news is we're almost done... The bad news: We don't make anything. In fact, if we have a mailer or a flier or need stamps, it's coming out of your pocket... [I]f you thought it was a job; it's not. It's all about helping," he says.
I'm also making the DVD available on my site. Of these proceeds, 80 percent will go to the producers and Jim Navarro's family. I'm giving the remaining 20 percent to the Grassroots Health's Breast Cancer Prevention Project. All monies donated to them from the sale of Cut Poison Burn will be used to enroll women 60 and over in a project aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of vitamin D in breast cancer prevention. More information about this project can be found at here.
What Else Can You Do?
So, what can you do to address this kind of medical injustice and stop it from happening to you or someone you love? Navarro suggests:
"First of all on a local level, become familiar with your representatives. You need to become familiar with their voting record, and if they really want to help, to be honest, buy their representative a copy of the DVD and give it to them as a gift saying, "This is my concern. Tell me as my representative you won't let this happen to me." And then they need to educate themselves.
... They can form groups and get together once a month, one every two months and talk. What are our needs in our community? What are the laws in our community?"
Local action works as Utah was actually able to get legislation passed to prevent the abuses of Child Protection Service Agencies to cause the type of harm they did in this case. For more ideas of how you can help promote much-needed change, please listen to the interview in its entirety, or read through the transcript. There's much more to this story than can be included in this summary.
Navarro is still working on legislation to protect patients' rights.
"The original bill, which was the Thomas Navarro Patient Rights Act is actually being matured," he explains. "It's gone from 3-1/2 pages; we're now at 14 pages and counting. We're going to be reintroducing it, Lord willing before this session is over, and it's an expanded version. The beginning starts with the original premise of the 3-1/2 pages but now we're kind of forcing everyone to get into lock-step 2 – that insurance can't discriminate and so on and so forth.
... It's already been in two [Congressional] sessions and again, I hate to say it, it is a left-right issue. It's not an up and down issue like most everything else we have. Henry Waxman killed it the first time. Kennedy killed it in the senate. We're doing it all over again. The difference now is people, generally, are so angry with government whether it's left or right, that it's back to up and down, good thing/bad thing."
... There is a web in there... [But] I'm not afraid. Until I draw my last breath, I'll keep fighting for whoever needs help... And the battle starts all again when we go back and reintroduce the bill. I encourage people get busy, get educated and start with your local government."
Source: Video Transcript
Related Links:
Cancer Breakthrough: 50-60% Success Rate, Cures the Incurable
Burzynski, the Movie
The Cancer Treatment So Successful - Traditional Doctors SHUT it Down
By Dr. Mercola
You may recognize Jim Navarro from the documentary film Cut Poison Burn, which I recently posted. You can watch the entire film for free. If you haven't seen it yet, I urge you to take the time to view it now.
Jim is the father of Thomas Navarro, who at the age of four was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer. The family ended up in a protracted battle against the medical monopoly after objecting to the conventional treatment, choosing instead to seek out less invasive, less damaging, and less life threatening approaches. However, the medical system's response was swift and callous.
In fact, in the months that followed Thomas' diagnosis, the family went into hiding to keep their son away from the authorities who threatened to take him into custody, charging Jim and Donna Navarro with child abuse and neglect.
The Navarro's wanted to use Dr. Burzynski's non-toxic, highly successful antineoplaston treatment instead of conventional chemotherapy and radiation. However, the FDA went to great lengths to prevent Thomas from receiving the therapy, and only after extensive legal wrangling, great expense, and being forced to submit to conventional treatment first did the family finally receive approval to use Dr. Burzynski. Unfortunately, at that point it was too late. The damage from the chemo was too great, and he lost his battle with cancer at the tender age of six. His death certificate states the cause of death as:
Respiratory failure due to chronic toxicity of chemotherapy.
Since the death of his son, Jim Navarro has been championing a patient's rights act to prevent this tragic injustice from occurring again.
Did You Know: As a Parent, You Don't have the Right to Choose Treatment for Your Child?
Chemotherapy is a cytotoxic poison, and radiation is devastating to the human body, particularly to young children who are still developing. Jim's wife, a military combat medic, began doing research in an effort to find some other alternative that would keep their son alive. Jim soon delved into research as well. He learned of Dr. Burzynski while scouring chat rooms and forums on the internet.
"My focus was on the fact that they said there are no known survivors [of medulloblastoma]," he says. "The first thing I Googled was 'survivors of medulloblastoma.' As I found these chat rooms, the common denominator was always a mention of a Dr. Burzynski...
I called, and the very first thing they told me was, "I'm sorry but you can't bring your son here." I was like, "What?" They said, "You don't understand. The FDA won't allow us to treat him. According to the protocols, he has to first go through radiation and chemo and fail, and have recurrent tumors. Until then, he can't qualify."
It took 18 months of legal wrangling with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to get Thomas approved for treatment by Dr. Burzynski. By then he had already had his second brain surgery, and had already been forced to undergo chemotherapy, and had already suffered recurring tumors—likely induced by the chemotherapy itself. After all that, he finally fulfilled all the requirements to be allowed to try Dr. Burzynski's treatment—a treatment, which by the way, has a success rate that far surpasses chemo and radiation...
"What people don't know is once he began the antineoplaston therapy with Burzynski, before dying, it not only extended his life another seven months but he also had a 33 percent reduction of tumors," Navarro says. "A father's hope is, had he not been polluted and poisoned with chemotherapy, had we not been stopped, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he would be alive today."
Who Decides What's Best and Right for You or Your Child?
This kind of perversion of justice poses as the best care available. And there are four primary organizations that are responsible for this travesty: the FDA, the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, and the child services system. These are the white-collar bureaucrats making life and death decisions about people they've never met or cared for in a medical capacity. Their primary objective is to protect the profits of Big Pharma and the cancer industry itself.
Navarro describes the Child Protective Services (CPS) as "the thugs of the doctors, the pharmaceutical companies, and the FDA," and it's easy to see why, when you hear his story.
"When we began, we were completely uncomfortable with everything and we wanted a second opinion. The minute those words are heard: 'second opinion,' CPS is brought into it," he explains. "You're charged with child abuse and medical neglect automatically. The charges go up from there depending on your level of resistance. They will kick in your door; come in armed. They will attempt to kidnap your child, which we had gone through several times with Thomas. By any means necessary they will get your child.
It didn't used to be that way. Doctors sadly have gotten to the point where they don't even threaten you with CPS, they just contact them when you don't know about it.
... Donna and I had a hearing on the first [CPS] case, because there were actually two; one in Arizona and one in Texas, and I said, "Child abuse? I don't think so. Medical neglect? I don't think so. I am spending approximately $12,000 to $15,000 a month on my son's well being. I have him continually checked by doctors and nurses. He's got a health regimen, which includes a change of diet, vitamins, supplements. I'm doing all the right things, plus I have a wife that is by profession a caregiver. She spent many years in the emergency room, ER and trauma. I've got a sense that she knows what she's doing.
... [T]he first thing they try to do is make you feel guilty when you don't comply... [T]hey also hold control over whether or not you get to stay at Ronald McDonald House, or you get your wish from Make-A-Wish..."
And You Thought Your Donations Went to ANY Sick Child in Need...
This may surprise some of you who dutifully donate money to charitable organizations like the Ronald McDonald House and the Make a Wish Foundation. These organizations do not use that money to provide services to just any sick child who might want or need it. Their services are to a large extent exclusive to patients who participate in the conventional system of standard care.
"[W]e initially were not allowed to check in at the Ronald McDonald House," Navarro says. "Why not?... "[B]ecause his doctor in Arizona withdrew his recommendation and without the doctor's recommendation you can't come here." ... So everyone is giving to this place, for children with cancer to stay, and now you're telling me because [the doctor] said no, there's a difference between him sick then and sick today?"
The doctor also pulled his recommendation for Thomas' application with the Make-A-Wish foundation. They got the call that it had been retracted on the day Thomas was scheduled to actually receive his wish.
"The attitude is, "Unless I have your child; unless I get to treat him, he's not sick. It's like the FDA... In the eyes of the FDA...He doesn't have cancer. Why doesn't he have cancer? "Because you're not doing our treatment and until he does our treatment we will not deem him sick."
The Navarros filed six appeals to the FDA after the initial paperwork to do a compassionate exemption, but the agency rejected all of them.
"The FDA plays God and tells you when you're sick, because they're not going to say you have cancer until they have guaranteed you have it, with no recovery through Cut Poison and Burn. I see that as a crime against humanity," Navarro says.
Corruption and Conflicts of Interest Rules Cancer Industry. Who Pays?
Unfortunately, the patients do—usually both with their life and everything they own. Part of the system that creates corruption and conflict of interest is that a large portion of the FDA's income is generated through fees paid by the drug companies. And there's probably no other disease that has a higher profit level than cancer treatments. Navarro tells the story of meeting a member of Congress who warned him to back off, saying:
"Son, you can't go up there. You're going to cost a lot of people a lot of money; put a lot of people out of work, and they're just not going to take kindly to that. We've been receiving death threats in the night—you'll never live to see him treated. Back off."
He didn't then and he still won't "back off." ... But threats aside, the financial price has been just as devastating as any emotional and psychological price the Navarro's have paid for being unwilling participants in the current system. Thomas' disease and subsequent forced treatments resulted in what Navarro calls "a financial tsunami."
"We were living a very normal average life. The refrigerator was always full. Two cars in the driveway. The cost of keeping Thomas alive for those 26 and a half months was about 1.6 million dollars... The chemotherapy in those little bags is $43,000 a bag... They prescribed 10," Navarro says. "That doesn't include the doctor, the nurses, the anesthesiologist, the pharmacist, the room, the meal... He left us an additional $550,000+ in debt... I'm approaching 60 and no one would hire me because I hadn't worked in 2-1/2 years. We didn't have a home. The same with Donna... You have to start all over. The college funds went... Everything went...
[W]hen Thomas died, it left us with a four-year-old son, $4, and we lived in our van. We were homeless."
Not only that. With just four dollars in their pocket, they also couldn't afford to give Thomas a proper burial. He would have gone into an unmarked county grave had it not been for a man named James Earthman, co-owner of Earthman Funeral Homes. The Navarro's case had gotten a lot of media attention, and the funeral home graciously donated the entire funeral, including casket, flowers, gravestone and services.
It's hard to fathom a medical system that threatens you and abuses you, and forces you to undergo toxic medical treatments against your will, while raking in massive amounts of money for these forced treatments; bankrupting you to the point you can't even afford a simple funeral once the toxic treatments fail—which they usually do.
But what about their insurance, you may ask. Didn't they have any? Yes, they did, but as so many other Americans have come to find out, medical expenses incurred by families WITH insurance is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the US.
"They have a cap on cancer," Navarro explains. "I didn't know that. They capped everything, which isn't a lot because again they're in bed with each other; insurance, pharmaceutical. I won't get started on that because that makes my blood boil but a lot of it was on us after the cap was reached..."
Having the Freedom to Choose Just Might Save Your Life
In a somewhat ironic twist, when an acquaintance, also named Thomas, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he asked Jim for advice. He ended up going to Dr. Nick Gonzales in New York—another alternative cancer treatment center that I've written about this past spring that uses a three-pronged nutritional approach. Pancreatic cancer is typically terminal within months, and Thomas had been given about 60 days to live. At the time of this interview, Thomas is still alive, nine months after starting his treatment.
"I want people to understand they have been lied to for a very long time, and that they don't need to ask for options. They need to demand them," Navarro says when asked about what message he wants people to take home from the film.
"They work for us. We don't work for them. I come to you and I'm sick; you work for me. I'm not your employee going, "Well doctor, can I get well now?" That's what is topsy-turvy all the way up to government. We keep forgetting who's the boss in that scenario. ... I want them to get out there and say, "Stop. No more. You will not poison my family. You will not poison my kids and you will be held accountable. You will provide that which will preserve life instead of destroy life."
Thomas' death is shocking in that it wasn't necessary. If the FDA and the oncologists had simply given them the opportunity to exercise freedom of choice to seek whatever therapy they thought appropriate, he may still be alive, and the Navarro's might not be financially ruined either, as alternative treatments typically end up costing a fraction of their conventional counterparts.
"The horror to us was that in the United States of America, land of the free, home of the brave, you have no legal right as a parent to select the doctors or the treatment for your child," Navarro says.
The Death-Knell...
The Navarro's were actually able to administer an alternative remedy that seemed to work prior to Thomas being prescribed chemo. It was a concoction made by a Tibetan doctor.
"A lot of people don't understand that in Tibet they practice medicine for 30 years before they are allowed to have a real patient. After his MRIs, after his surgery, Thomas had 11 inoperable tumors in his head, neck, and spine. They [the Tibetan doctor] gave him what they refer to as "the jewel." It looked like a jaw breaker. They ground it up until it was just like dust and then you brew and steep it as a tea... He had one cup a day. It took 10 weeks... no more tumors, no cancer. It was gone! Done!
The hospital freaked out. Who are these guys? What are they doing? And that's when they went after the chemo. "Sorry, hospital policy. Got to have the chemo, 10 cycles, blah, blah, blah." There wasn't going to be a chance to get in there with something that worked. They had to make bloody sure that they dispatched it."
In the end, it was the chemo that killed Thomas NOT his brain cancer...
Support the Navarro's and Other Cancer Patients by Buying the Film
The film, Cut Poison Burn, is available to view for free. However, if you want to help the Navarro's pay off Thomas' medical bills, I urge you to purchase a copy of the film. The film is being sold on a 'value-priced' basis, meaning you can download a copy of the film for $1.99 and up, depending on how much you're willing to pay. You can also purchase a DVD copy for $9.99.
A percentage of the proceeds from the film will go to cancer organizations that donate 100 percent of their proceeds to families fighting cancer—not the American Cancer Society. Jim and Donna Navarro are also currently working on creating a Texas-based organization called Cancer Busters.
"The good news is we're almost done... The bad news: We don't make anything. In fact, if we have a mailer or a flier or need stamps, it's coming out of your pocket... [I]f you thought it was a job; it's not. It's all about helping," he says.
I'm also making the DVD available on my site. Of these proceeds, 80 percent will go to the producers and Jim Navarro's family. I'm giving the remaining 20 percent to the Grassroots Health's Breast Cancer Prevention Project. All monies donated to them from the sale of Cut Poison Burn will be used to enroll women 60 and over in a project aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of vitamin D in breast cancer prevention. More information about this project can be found at here.
What Else Can You Do?
So, what can you do to address this kind of medical injustice and stop it from happening to you or someone you love? Navarro suggests:
"First of all on a local level, become familiar with your representatives. You need to become familiar with their voting record, and if they really want to help, to be honest, buy their representative a copy of the DVD and give it to them as a gift saying, "This is my concern. Tell me as my representative you won't let this happen to me." And then they need to educate themselves.
... They can form groups and get together once a month, one every two months and talk. What are our needs in our community? What are the laws in our community?"
Local action works as Utah was actually able to get legislation passed to prevent the abuses of Child Protection Service Agencies to cause the type of harm they did in this case. For more ideas of how you can help promote much-needed change, please listen to the interview in its entirety, or read through the transcript. There's much more to this story than can be included in this summary.
Navarro is still working on legislation to protect patients' rights.
"The original bill, which was the Thomas Navarro Patient Rights Act is actually being matured," he explains. "It's gone from 3-1/2 pages; we're now at 14 pages and counting. We're going to be reintroducing it, Lord willing before this session is over, and it's an expanded version. The beginning starts with the original premise of the 3-1/2 pages but now we're kind of forcing everyone to get into lock-step 2 – that insurance can't discriminate and so on and so forth.
... It's already been in two [Congressional] sessions and again, I hate to say it, it is a left-right issue. It's not an up and down issue like most everything else we have. Henry Waxman killed it the first time. Kennedy killed it in the senate. We're doing it all over again. The difference now is people, generally, are so angry with government whether it's left or right, that it's back to up and down, good thing/bad thing."
... There is a web in there... [But] I'm not afraid. Until I draw my last breath, I'll keep fighting for whoever needs help... And the battle starts all again when we go back and reintroduce the bill. I encourage people get busy, get educated and start with your local government."
Source: Video Transcript
Related Links:
Cancer Breakthrough: 50-60% Success Rate, Cures the Incurable
Burzynski, the Movie
The Cancer Treatment So Successful - Traditional Doctors SHUT it Down
Good News Dentistry for Reversing Dental Decay
September 24 2011
By Dr. Mercola
Most people regard a cavity, or even a root canal, as a minor inconvenience. But if your tooth has begun to decay to the point that a cavity is evident, this is a major sign that disease-causing bacteria has begun to overpower your immune system and your body.
In fact, your teeth are constantly under attack from the foods you eat, the beverages you drink and bacteria, so much so that your body constantly works at repairing small amounts of damage to the enamel of your teeth. If you're healthy, this should be enough to prevent cavities from forming, but if the bacteria overwhelm your system, dental decay can result.
Specifically, cavities form on your teeth when the acid-producing bacteria in plaque dissolve the mineral in your teeth. While microscopic at first, the cavities can increase in size and number until the decay must be drilled out and repaired with a filling or crown, a root canal performed, or the tooth removed. But now researchers have developed a paste that may actually stop and even reverse this dental decay process, helping your body to rebuild your teeth from the inside out.
Is This the End of the Dentist's Drill?
Researchers at the University of Leeds have developed a peptide-based fluid known as P 11-4. When applied to a decayed tooth, P 11-4 forms a gel-like scaffold that attracts calcium to help rebuild your tooth. As the University of Leeds reported in a press release:
"In practice, this means that when applied to the tooth, the fluid seeps into the micro-pores caused by acid attack and then spontaneously forms a gel. This gel then provides a 'scaffold' or framework that attracts calcium and regenerates the tooth's mineral from within, providing a natural and pain-free repair."
When the fluid was tested on a small group of adults with early tooth decay, results showed P 11-4 successfully reversed the damage and regenerated tooth tissue. This is the latest data from what appears to be a promising new dental strategy. Similarly, in 2008 scientists were also able to rebuild dentin and remineralize some parts of the teeth with the help of a calcium-containing solution of ions.
Regenerating your tooth from within is a far superior option to the "drill-and-fill" model currently used today, and it appears to be a technique that may soon be widely available in dentists' offices. Aside from the obvious benefit of tooth regeneration while sparing people the pain and fear of having a tooth drilled, this new procedure could virtually obliterate the use of toxic mercury fillings (if our efforts don't get them banned first!) …
If You Have a Cavity, Resist This Archaic Dental Procedure
The very process of "filling and drilling" a cavity is a rather outdated practice, but so far there has been no other practical solution to remove the damaged areas of a tooth and "repair" it. But, adding insult to injury, about 50 percent of U.S. dentists are still using mercury to fill cavity-ridden teeth -- even though exposure to mercury, the most toxic and more vaporous of the heavy metals, can harm your kidneys, permanently damage your child's developing neurological system, and even kill your unborn child in the womb!
To implant amalgam, a dentist drills out healthy tooth matter in order to carve the crater necessary for amalgam placement -- a primitive process that irreversibly weakens tooth structure. With a damaged tooth structure and with a metal-based filling that expands and contracts with temperature changes, teeth with amalgam are much more likely to crack years later, necessitating additional dental work.
Amalgams are quick and easy. Dentists make more money per chair per day implanting mercury. For factory-style dentistry, where teeth represent dollar signs instead of part of a human being, dentists drill, fill, and bill. The term "drill, fill, and bill" is a joke aspiring dentists learn in dental school. But when it comes to mercury - it's no joke. Please realize that mercury vapor from amalgams passes readily through your cell membranes, across the blood-brain barrier, and into your central nervous system, where it can cause psychological, neurological, and immunological problems.
Yet, even though it may be a few years before P 11-4 and other tooth-regenerating fluids are widely available, there are solid alternatives to mercury fillings available right now. One of the most popular is resin composite, which is made of a type of plastic reinforced with powdered glass. Unlike amalgam, resin composite does not require the removal of significant amounts of healthy tooth matter. Over the long term, composite preserves healthy tooth structure and actually strengthens teeth, leading to better oral health and less extensive dental work over the long-term.
A lesser-known alternative is atraumatic restorative treatment (also called alternative restorative treatment or ART), which relies on adhesive materials for the filling (instead of mercury) and uses only hand instruments to place the filling, making it particularly well-suited for rural areas of developing countries.
Preventing Cavities 101: The Secret to Healthy Teeth
Tooth regeneration is certainly a step up from using toxic substances like mercury to fill your teeth. But do you know what's even better than tooth regeneration? Protecting your teeth and preventing cavities in the first place.
When it comes to oral hygiene and preventing cavities, there's a virtual war going on. If you listen to conventional health agencies' and your dentist's advice, you may still believe that fluoride is the answer.
Think again!
The only way you can believe this misguided advice is if you completely ignore the science. Good oral health and strong, healthy teeth are NOT the result of drinking fluoridated water and brushing your teeth with fluoridated toothpaste. Rather it's all about your diet.
Dr. Weston A. Price, who was one of the major nutritional pioneers of all time, completed some of the most incredible research on this topic back in the 1900s, and it is still very much relevant today. What he found, and documented in his classic book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, is that native tribes who were eating their traditional diet had nearly perfect teeth, and were almost 100 percent free of tooth decay -- and they did not have toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, or root canals and fillings.
But when these tribal populations were introduced to sugar and white flour, guess what happened … their health, and their perfect teeth, rapidly deteriorated. By avoiding sugars and processed foods, you prevent the proliferation of the bacteria that cause decay in the first place.
Most people whose diet includes very little sugar and few processed foods have very low rates of tooth decay. So the simple act of limiting, or eliminating sugar, and avoiding processed foods -- along with regular cleanings with your natural mercury-free dentist -- will ensure that your teeth and gums stay healthy and cavity-free naturally.
Source: Popular Science August 24, 2011
Source: Mother Nature Network August 24, 2011
By Dr. Mercola
Most people regard a cavity, or even a root canal, as a minor inconvenience. But if your tooth has begun to decay to the point that a cavity is evident, this is a major sign that disease-causing bacteria has begun to overpower your immune system and your body.
In fact, your teeth are constantly under attack from the foods you eat, the beverages you drink and bacteria, so much so that your body constantly works at repairing small amounts of damage to the enamel of your teeth. If you're healthy, this should be enough to prevent cavities from forming, but if the bacteria overwhelm your system, dental decay can result.
Specifically, cavities form on your teeth when the acid-producing bacteria in plaque dissolve the mineral in your teeth. While microscopic at first, the cavities can increase in size and number until the decay must be drilled out and repaired with a filling or crown, a root canal performed, or the tooth removed. But now researchers have developed a paste that may actually stop and even reverse this dental decay process, helping your body to rebuild your teeth from the inside out.
Is This the End of the Dentist's Drill?
Researchers at the University of Leeds have developed a peptide-based fluid known as P 11-4. When applied to a decayed tooth, P 11-4 forms a gel-like scaffold that attracts calcium to help rebuild your tooth. As the University of Leeds reported in a press release:
"In practice, this means that when applied to the tooth, the fluid seeps into the micro-pores caused by acid attack and then spontaneously forms a gel. This gel then provides a 'scaffold' or framework that attracts calcium and regenerates the tooth's mineral from within, providing a natural and pain-free repair."
When the fluid was tested on a small group of adults with early tooth decay, results showed P 11-4 successfully reversed the damage and regenerated tooth tissue. This is the latest data from what appears to be a promising new dental strategy. Similarly, in 2008 scientists were also able to rebuild dentin and remineralize some parts of the teeth with the help of a calcium-containing solution of ions.
Regenerating your tooth from within is a far superior option to the "drill-and-fill" model currently used today, and it appears to be a technique that may soon be widely available in dentists' offices. Aside from the obvious benefit of tooth regeneration while sparing people the pain and fear of having a tooth drilled, this new procedure could virtually obliterate the use of toxic mercury fillings (if our efforts don't get them banned first!) …
If You Have a Cavity, Resist This Archaic Dental Procedure
The very process of "filling and drilling" a cavity is a rather outdated practice, but so far there has been no other practical solution to remove the damaged areas of a tooth and "repair" it. But, adding insult to injury, about 50 percent of U.S. dentists are still using mercury to fill cavity-ridden teeth -- even though exposure to mercury, the most toxic and more vaporous of the heavy metals, can harm your kidneys, permanently damage your child's developing neurological system, and even kill your unborn child in the womb!
To implant amalgam, a dentist drills out healthy tooth matter in order to carve the crater necessary for amalgam placement -- a primitive process that irreversibly weakens tooth structure. With a damaged tooth structure and with a metal-based filling that expands and contracts with temperature changes, teeth with amalgam are much more likely to crack years later, necessitating additional dental work.
Amalgams are quick and easy. Dentists make more money per chair per day implanting mercury. For factory-style dentistry, where teeth represent dollar signs instead of part of a human being, dentists drill, fill, and bill. The term "drill, fill, and bill" is a joke aspiring dentists learn in dental school. But when it comes to mercury - it's no joke. Please realize that mercury vapor from amalgams passes readily through your cell membranes, across the blood-brain barrier, and into your central nervous system, where it can cause psychological, neurological, and immunological problems.
Yet, even though it may be a few years before P 11-4 and other tooth-regenerating fluids are widely available, there are solid alternatives to mercury fillings available right now. One of the most popular is resin composite, which is made of a type of plastic reinforced with powdered glass. Unlike amalgam, resin composite does not require the removal of significant amounts of healthy tooth matter. Over the long term, composite preserves healthy tooth structure and actually strengthens teeth, leading to better oral health and less extensive dental work over the long-term.
A lesser-known alternative is atraumatic restorative treatment (also called alternative restorative treatment or ART), which relies on adhesive materials for the filling (instead of mercury) and uses only hand instruments to place the filling, making it particularly well-suited for rural areas of developing countries.
Preventing Cavities 101: The Secret to Healthy Teeth
Tooth regeneration is certainly a step up from using toxic substances like mercury to fill your teeth. But do you know what's even better than tooth regeneration? Protecting your teeth and preventing cavities in the first place.
When it comes to oral hygiene and preventing cavities, there's a virtual war going on. If you listen to conventional health agencies' and your dentist's advice, you may still believe that fluoride is the answer.
Think again!
The only way you can believe this misguided advice is if you completely ignore the science. Good oral health and strong, healthy teeth are NOT the result of drinking fluoridated water and brushing your teeth with fluoridated toothpaste. Rather it's all about your diet.
Dr. Weston A. Price, who was one of the major nutritional pioneers of all time, completed some of the most incredible research on this topic back in the 1900s, and it is still very much relevant today. What he found, and documented in his classic book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, is that native tribes who were eating their traditional diet had nearly perfect teeth, and were almost 100 percent free of tooth decay -- and they did not have toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, or root canals and fillings.
But when these tribal populations were introduced to sugar and white flour, guess what happened … their health, and their perfect teeth, rapidly deteriorated. By avoiding sugars and processed foods, you prevent the proliferation of the bacteria that cause decay in the first place.
Most people whose diet includes very little sugar and few processed foods have very low rates of tooth decay. So the simple act of limiting, or eliminating sugar, and avoiding processed foods -- along with regular cleanings with your natural mercury-free dentist -- will ensure that your teeth and gums stay healthy and cavity-free naturally.
Source: Popular Science August 24, 2011
Source: Mother Nature Network August 24, 2011
How 1 MILLION Pounds Of Organic Food Can Be Produced On 3 Acres.
Source: Wake Up World
UPDATE 26th July 2011 -The response we have received from this short story is amazing, but created many questions from subscribers who needed further information. We have since looked into this and are happy to share with you detailed information on this amazing organisation called Growing Power. It would appear that there are many subscribers of Wake Up World who have been tasked with a similar project in their local community (though perhaps not on this scale) and we trust that the new article will be of use to those who required further details.
Original Story
I came across this video of a man who has figured out a system to grow 1 million pounds of food on 3 acres each and every year. How are they doing this?
* By producing 10,000 fish
* Using 300 to 500 yards of worm compost
* By utilizing vertical space
* Having 3 acres of land in green houses
* Using 1 simple aquaponic pump
* Food is grown all year by using heat from the compost piles
A packed greenhouse produces a crop value of $5 Square Foot! ($200,000/acre).
Can you imagine if places like this started popping up all over the world? It would be one giant step towards self-reliance. Food self-sufficiency is a major step towards being sovereign. If you are not able to start your own garden, consider finding a community garden or hooking up with a small local farm.
UPDATE 26th July 2011 -The response we have received from this short story is amazing, but created many questions from subscribers who needed further information. We have since looked into this and are happy to share with you detailed information on this amazing organisation called Growing Power. It would appear that there are many subscribers of Wake Up World who have been tasked with a similar project in their local community (though perhaps not on this scale) and we trust that the new article will be of use to those who required further details.
Original Story
I came across this video of a man who has figured out a system to grow 1 million pounds of food on 3 acres each and every year. How are they doing this?
* By producing 10,000 fish
* Using 300 to 500 yards of worm compost
* By utilizing vertical space
* Having 3 acres of land in green houses
* Using 1 simple aquaponic pump
* Food is grown all year by using heat from the compost piles
A packed greenhouse produces a crop value of $5 Square Foot! ($200,000/acre).
Can you imagine if places like this started popping up all over the world? It would be one giant step towards self-reliance. Food self-sufficiency is a major step towards being sovereign. If you are not able to start your own garden, consider finding a community garden or hooking up with a small local farm.
Pakistani commanders meet after US criticism
September 25, 2011 — ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's army chief convened a special meeting of senior commanders Sunday following U.S. allegations that the military's spy agency helped militants attack American targets in Afghanistan, the army said.
The government also summoned home the country's foreign minister early from a trip to the United States to attend a meeting of all major political parties to discuss the American allegations of support for the militant Haqqani network.
Senior Pakistani officials have lashed out against the allegations, accusing the U.S. of trying to make Pakistan a scapegoat for its troubled war in Afghanistan. The public confrontation has plunged the already troubled U.S.-Pakistan alliance to new lows.
Pakistan's leaders have shown no indication they plan to act on renewed American demands to attack the Haqqani network in its main base in Pakistan, even at the risk of further conflict with Washington, which has given the country billions in aid.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Sunday that the U.S. should consider military action to defend U.S. troops if Pakistan's spy agency continues supporting militants who are attacking American forces.
Unilateral U.S. raids into Pakistan could have explosive implications in a country where anti-American sentiment is widespread. Pakistanis were outraged by the covert U.S. commando raid that killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in a garrison town not far from Islamabad in May. The U.S. did not tell the Pakistani government about the operation beforehand for fear bin Laden would be tipped off.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik warned the U.S. on Sunday against sending troops into Pakistan. "Any aggression will not be tolerated," Malik told reporters in Islamabad. "The nation is standing united behind the armed forces, which is the front line of Pakistan's defense."
The top U.S. military officer, Adm. Mike Mullen, last week accused Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency of supporting Haqqani insurgents in planning and executing a 22-hour assault on the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan on Sept. 13 as well as a truck bomb that wounded 77 American soldiers days earlier.
Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, widely considered the most powerful man in Pakistan, has dismissed the allegations, saying they were baseless and part of a public "blame game" detrimental to peace in Afghanistan.
Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said Kayani presided over Sunday's commanders meeting but would not provide detail on the discussions. Later in the day, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's office issued a statement saying Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was summoned back to attend a meeting of all major political parties on "threats emanating from outside the country."
Pakistan claimed to have severed its ties with Afghan militants after the 9/11 attacks and supported America's campaign in Afghanistan, but U.S. officials have long suspected it maintained links. The comments by Mullen, who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were the most serious yet accusing Pakistan of militant ties, although he didn't cite any specific evidence.
Despite the seriousness of the U.S. claims, which appear to accuse Pakistan of state-sponsored terrorism, Mullen and other U.S. officials have said Washington needs to keep engaging with Islamabad, a reflection of its limited options in dealing with the country.
Around half of the U.S. war supplies to Afghanistan are trucked over Pakistani soil, and even as it accuses Islamabad of complicity with Afghan insurgents, Washington knows that it will likely need Islamabad's cooperation in bringing them to the negotiating table. Washington is also concerned about the danger of further instability in the nuclear-armed state.
The head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. James Mattis, called for continued cooperation after a meeting with Kayani in Islamabad. In a statement issued Sunday by the U.S. Embassy, Mattis emphasized "the need for persistent engagement among the militaries of the U.S., Pakistan and other states in the region."
Afghan officials have also accused Pakistan of stoking instability in Afghanistan. The Afghan Defense Ministry accused the Pakistani arm Sunday of firing more than 300 artillery and rockets into the country's northeast during the past five days.
The provinces of Kunar and Nuristan are a haven for hardcore insurgent groups fighting in both Pakistan and Afghanistan and have relatively few Afghan or foreign forces. Pakistan has complained that militants from the area have staged repeated cross-border attacks that have killed Pakistani security forces and civilians.
Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said he had asked security officials in the northwest about the Afghan allegations and was waiting for a reply. He said those officials were surprised by the accusations since no activity had been reported in the area.
"I assume this is not correct news," said Abbas, referring to the Afghan allegations.
Source:www.mail.com
The government also summoned home the country's foreign minister early from a trip to the United States to attend a meeting of all major political parties to discuss the American allegations of support for the militant Haqqani network.
Senior Pakistani officials have lashed out against the allegations, accusing the U.S. of trying to make Pakistan a scapegoat for its troubled war in Afghanistan. The public confrontation has plunged the already troubled U.S.-Pakistan alliance to new lows.
Pakistan's leaders have shown no indication they plan to act on renewed American demands to attack the Haqqani network in its main base in Pakistan, even at the risk of further conflict with Washington, which has given the country billions in aid.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Sunday that the U.S. should consider military action to defend U.S. troops if Pakistan's spy agency continues supporting militants who are attacking American forces.
Unilateral U.S. raids into Pakistan could have explosive implications in a country where anti-American sentiment is widespread. Pakistanis were outraged by the covert U.S. commando raid that killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in a garrison town not far from Islamabad in May. The U.S. did not tell the Pakistani government about the operation beforehand for fear bin Laden would be tipped off.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik warned the U.S. on Sunday against sending troops into Pakistan. "Any aggression will not be tolerated," Malik told reporters in Islamabad. "The nation is standing united behind the armed forces, which is the front line of Pakistan's defense."
The top U.S. military officer, Adm. Mike Mullen, last week accused Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency of supporting Haqqani insurgents in planning and executing a 22-hour assault on the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan on Sept. 13 as well as a truck bomb that wounded 77 American soldiers days earlier.
Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, widely considered the most powerful man in Pakistan, has dismissed the allegations, saying they were baseless and part of a public "blame game" detrimental to peace in Afghanistan.
Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said Kayani presided over Sunday's commanders meeting but would not provide detail on the discussions. Later in the day, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's office issued a statement saying Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was summoned back to attend a meeting of all major political parties on "threats emanating from outside the country."
Pakistan claimed to have severed its ties with Afghan militants after the 9/11 attacks and supported America's campaign in Afghanistan, but U.S. officials have long suspected it maintained links. The comments by Mullen, who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were the most serious yet accusing Pakistan of militant ties, although he didn't cite any specific evidence.
Despite the seriousness of the U.S. claims, which appear to accuse Pakistan of state-sponsored terrorism, Mullen and other U.S. officials have said Washington needs to keep engaging with Islamabad, a reflection of its limited options in dealing with the country.
Around half of the U.S. war supplies to Afghanistan are trucked over Pakistani soil, and even as it accuses Islamabad of complicity with Afghan insurgents, Washington knows that it will likely need Islamabad's cooperation in bringing them to the negotiating table. Washington is also concerned about the danger of further instability in the nuclear-armed state.
The head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. James Mattis, called for continued cooperation after a meeting with Kayani in Islamabad. In a statement issued Sunday by the U.S. Embassy, Mattis emphasized "the need for persistent engagement among the militaries of the U.S., Pakistan and other states in the region."
Afghan officials have also accused Pakistan of stoking instability in Afghanistan. The Afghan Defense Ministry accused the Pakistani arm Sunday of firing more than 300 artillery and rockets into the country's northeast during the past five days.
The provinces of Kunar and Nuristan are a haven for hardcore insurgent groups fighting in both Pakistan and Afghanistan and have relatively few Afghan or foreign forces. Pakistan has complained that militants from the area have staged repeated cross-border attacks that have killed Pakistani security forces and civilians.
Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said he had asked security officials in the northwest about the Afghan allegations and was waiting for a reply. He said those officials were surprised by the accusations since no activity had been reported in the area.
"I assume this is not correct news," said Abbas, referring to the Afghan allegations.
Source:www.mail.com
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Egypt's democratic transition lags amid confusion
Sep 20, 2011
By Samer al-Atrush, AFP
Source:Yahoo News
CAIRO (AFP) - It took 18 days of democracy protests to end Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's 30 years in power. It may yet take at least 18 months after his overthrow to see off the generals who succeeded him.
The military, in charge since Mubarak was toppled in February, has said it will not hand over power until presidential elections are held. According to a timeline announced this week, that may not happen until August 2012.
The head of the electoral commission said this week a three-stage parliamentary election will start on November 21 and end on January 3. A senate election will begin on January 22 and end on March 4.
The military had said that, after the election, a panel will create a constitution to replace Mubarak's, which was suspended after his ouster. It has six months to finish its work and then Egypt will vote for a new president.
Back in February, perhaps only a few of the hundreds of thousands who braved riot police and regime thugs to demand democracy would have imagined that Mubarak's end would usher in prolonged martial rule.
A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says the military, which is headed by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, is not to blame for the delays.
"There were many demands to delay the elections," he said. "And there is lack of stability in security."
The country suffers from sporadic unrest -- such as deadly clashes between protesters and police this month after activists stormed the Israeli embassy -- and the police have yet to recover from the February revolt.
The military official said a decision this month to split the parliamentary and senate elections, which will prolong the transition, was made at judges' requests because they would not have the manpower to monitor simultaneous elections.
The transition so far has been beset by tangle of confused demands from a plethora of activist groups and political parties and sometimes equally confused responses by the military and the caretaker cabinet it appointed.
Protesters who helped topple Mubarak now demonstrate against military rule, merely switching Mubarak with Tantawi in their chants. One of their main demands is an end to the military trials of thousands of civilians after Mubarak's ouster.
Yet many secular groups want a delay in parliamentary elections, fearing their well-organised and financed Islamist rivals would snap up the seats.
"There are conflicting demands, and that is the result of the weakness of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's cabinet," said Nabil Abdel Fatah, an analyst with the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
"It is the result of the absence of a clear roadmap for transition," he said.
An agreement on a transitional plan has so far eluded the political players. The Muslim Brotherhood, the country's best organised movement, insists on quick parliamentary elections.
The Brotherhood, and other Islamist groups, also organised in July a massive rally in Cairo to protest demands by secular groups for a declaration of constitutional principles before elections.
The government has said it is working on drafting such principles, although a senior Brotherhood official insisted to AFP that, privately, the cabinet has assured them it was not.
Such a declaration, Abdel Fattah said, could allow for the election of a president, who would take over from the military, before a parliamentary election.
The Brotherhood says it is not running a candidate for the presidential election, but it will contest up to half of parliament.
By Samer al-Atrush, AFP
Source:Yahoo News
CAIRO (AFP) - It took 18 days of democracy protests to end Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's 30 years in power. It may yet take at least 18 months after his overthrow to see off the generals who succeeded him.
The military, in charge since Mubarak was toppled in February, has said it will not hand over power until presidential elections are held. According to a timeline announced this week, that may not happen until August 2012.
The head of the electoral commission said this week a three-stage parliamentary election will start on November 21 and end on January 3. A senate election will begin on January 22 and end on March 4.
The military had said that, after the election, a panel will create a constitution to replace Mubarak's, which was suspended after his ouster. It has six months to finish its work and then Egypt will vote for a new president.
Back in February, perhaps only a few of the hundreds of thousands who braved riot police and regime thugs to demand democracy would have imagined that Mubarak's end would usher in prolonged martial rule.
A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says the military, which is headed by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, is not to blame for the delays.
"There were many demands to delay the elections," he said. "And there is lack of stability in security."
The country suffers from sporadic unrest -- such as deadly clashes between protesters and police this month after activists stormed the Israeli embassy -- and the police have yet to recover from the February revolt.
The military official said a decision this month to split the parliamentary and senate elections, which will prolong the transition, was made at judges' requests because they would not have the manpower to monitor simultaneous elections.
The transition so far has been beset by tangle of confused demands from a plethora of activist groups and political parties and sometimes equally confused responses by the military and the caretaker cabinet it appointed.
Protesters who helped topple Mubarak now demonstrate against military rule, merely switching Mubarak with Tantawi in their chants. One of their main demands is an end to the military trials of thousands of civilians after Mubarak's ouster.
Yet many secular groups want a delay in parliamentary elections, fearing their well-organised and financed Islamist rivals would snap up the seats.
"There are conflicting demands, and that is the result of the weakness of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's cabinet," said Nabil Abdel Fatah, an analyst with the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
"It is the result of the absence of a clear roadmap for transition," he said.
An agreement on a transitional plan has so far eluded the political players. The Muslim Brotherhood, the country's best organised movement, insists on quick parliamentary elections.
The Brotherhood, and other Islamist groups, also organised in July a massive rally in Cairo to protest demands by secular groups for a declaration of constitutional principles before elections.
The government has said it is working on drafting such principles, although a senior Brotherhood official insisted to AFP that, privately, the cabinet has assured them it was not.
Such a declaration, Abdel Fattah said, could allow for the election of a president, who would take over from the military, before a parliamentary election.
The Brotherhood says it is not running a candidate for the presidential election, but it will contest up to half of parliament.
#OccupyWallStreet: Searching for Hope in America
September 20, 2011
by Allison Kilkenny
Source: Common Dreams
Adbusters, the non-profit, anti-consumerist organization, made the first call for an occupation of Wall Street back in July when they posted an article on their website titled, “#OCCUPYWALLSTREET.” The rallying cry proposed a massive occupation of Wall Street – some 20,000 individuals – a “fusion of Tahrir with the acampadas of Spain.” The group declared: “It’s time for DEMOCRACY NOT CORPORATOCRACY."
Adbusters latched on to the idea of an American Tahrir, also adopting the concept of new media protest at the genesis of the movement, even opting to include Twitter’s now famous hashtag in its branding campaign.
Two months later, the protest came to fruition. A hallmark of leftist activism is the amalgam of diverse movements present at protests. Alexa O’Brien, a spokesperson for US Day of Rage, one of the groups participating in the protest, says they are focused on reinforcing the first amendment: the rights to peaceably assemble and to free speech on public sidewalks.
Other protesters carried signs in solidarity with Troy Davis, while another group, The Platypus Affiliated Society, explained it’s an educational group focused on problems and tasks inherited from the old Left. But all parties agreed that Wall Street, and particularly the class divide, are bad for America.
“Corporate greed is bankrupting America,” says Chris Priest, a representative from US Uncut. “Wall Street is the pinnacle of corporate greed that bankrupted the country, and is imposing severe cuts on the middle- and working-class. They’ve seen no consequence for the financial depression they caused.”
A protester named Larry says that he joined the movement to protest the pitiful conditions of workers, particularly black and Hispanic employees. He fears the budget cutbacks will disproportionately affect the poor majority. “Wall Street makes its money off of exploitation,” he says. “We’ve sacrificed enough. That’s how they’ve got their billions.”
Spurring a Tahrir or Spanish revolution was an incredibly lofty goal, and all told, about a thousand protesters made it down to Wall Street. It seems some element –some unseen ingredient—is missing from America’s climate to spur the great cultural revolution seen in the Arab world. Of course, everyone has a different diagnosis for why the anti-establishment mass protests haven’t hit America’s shores yet.
Austin Mackell, an independent journalist stationed in Egypt, explains that the Arab Spring was a mixture of urban youth and traditional industrial activism. “Many credit the general strike that took place in the last few days before Mubarak’s ouster as critical in amping up the pressure on him.” Basically, he explains, a country needs the newer, sexier image of a young revolution, but it also needs the basic tools of organized, older labor to keep things focused.
Mia Foster says she was curious to check out the Wall Street protest because she was present at the ongoing massive Spanish protests that began in May. RTVE, the Spanish public broadcasting company, estimates that between 6.5 and 8 million Spaniards have participated in the protests thus far. Often compared to the Arab Spring, the Spanish protests demanded radical changes in Spanish politics, and are being waged in response to high unemployment, welfare cuts, Capitalism, and what is perceived as a two-party political duopoly.
“It was organized through Facebook. Then the people decided to stay in [Puerta del Sol] square. We were inspired by the Arab Spring,” she says. “We want real democracy now. It’s a very radical demand. Eighty percent of the population supported the protests, even the right wing. We have worse labor conditions, we don’t have access to houses, and we have twenty percent unemployment.” Incredibly, 125 days later, the protests and occupations in Spain are ongoing.
Of course, Occupy Wall Street didn’t live up to the legacy of Tahrir or Spain. Mia glances around the square where a group of protesters have now gathered to do some yoga and half-heartedly smiles, “I am sure in Spain there are more people in solidarity with this action than are here.”
Matthew Prowless says he doesn’t mind the mixture of causes and affectations –what he calls “window-dressing”– for a far more serious cause. Unlike the majority of the college-aged activists, Matthew is a 40-year-old father of two who says he is attending the protest because he had no other recourse.
“My home has been seized, I’m unemployed, there’s no job prospects on the horizon. I have two children and I don’t see a future for them. This is the only way I see to effect change,” he says. “This isn’t a Progressive issue. This is an American issue. We’re here to take our country back from the corporations,” adding he fears for the future of the United States where corporations can now spend unlimited, anonymous dollars to elect the candidates of their choices.
As for activist yoga, Matthew laughs, saying he likes it. “I’m not here to change every aspect of the world. I’m just here to change the most important part of the world, and that’s elections. The yoga people bring attention to it, and they support our cause.”
Of course, it’s become a cliché to pine for an American Tahrir. Nowhere is it written that a revolution must follow a specific formula in order to be effective. Perhaps America’s revolution won’t happen with a bang as it did in the case of the Arab Spring. It might have already arrived in the form of a gradual drip that began in Wisconsin, and then Ohio, and will arrive tomorrow as a flood in 48 other states.
Copyright © 2011 The Nation
by Allison Kilkenny
Source: Common Dreams
Adbusters, the non-profit, anti-consumerist organization, made the first call for an occupation of Wall Street back in July when they posted an article on their website titled, “#OCCUPYWALLSTREET.” The rallying cry proposed a massive occupation of Wall Street – some 20,000 individuals – a “fusion of Tahrir with the acampadas of Spain.” The group declared: “It’s time for DEMOCRACY NOT CORPORATOCRACY."
Adbusters latched on to the idea of an American Tahrir, also adopting the concept of new media protest at the genesis of the movement, even opting to include Twitter’s now famous hashtag in its branding campaign.
Two months later, the protest came to fruition. A hallmark of leftist activism is the amalgam of diverse movements present at protests. Alexa O’Brien, a spokesperson for US Day of Rage, one of the groups participating in the protest, says they are focused on reinforcing the first amendment: the rights to peaceably assemble and to free speech on public sidewalks.
Other protesters carried signs in solidarity with Troy Davis, while another group, The Platypus Affiliated Society, explained it’s an educational group focused on problems and tasks inherited from the old Left. But all parties agreed that Wall Street, and particularly the class divide, are bad for America.
“Corporate greed is bankrupting America,” says Chris Priest, a representative from US Uncut. “Wall Street is the pinnacle of corporate greed that bankrupted the country, and is imposing severe cuts on the middle- and working-class. They’ve seen no consequence for the financial depression they caused.”
A protester named Larry says that he joined the movement to protest the pitiful conditions of workers, particularly black and Hispanic employees. He fears the budget cutbacks will disproportionately affect the poor majority. “Wall Street makes its money off of exploitation,” he says. “We’ve sacrificed enough. That’s how they’ve got their billions.”
Spurring a Tahrir or Spanish revolution was an incredibly lofty goal, and all told, about a thousand protesters made it down to Wall Street. It seems some element –some unseen ingredient—is missing from America’s climate to spur the great cultural revolution seen in the Arab world. Of course, everyone has a different diagnosis for why the anti-establishment mass protests haven’t hit America’s shores yet.
Austin Mackell, an independent journalist stationed in Egypt, explains that the Arab Spring was a mixture of urban youth and traditional industrial activism. “Many credit the general strike that took place in the last few days before Mubarak’s ouster as critical in amping up the pressure on him.” Basically, he explains, a country needs the newer, sexier image of a young revolution, but it also needs the basic tools of organized, older labor to keep things focused.
Mia Foster says she was curious to check out the Wall Street protest because she was present at the ongoing massive Spanish protests that began in May. RTVE, the Spanish public broadcasting company, estimates that between 6.5 and 8 million Spaniards have participated in the protests thus far. Often compared to the Arab Spring, the Spanish protests demanded radical changes in Spanish politics, and are being waged in response to high unemployment, welfare cuts, Capitalism, and what is perceived as a two-party political duopoly.
“It was organized through Facebook. Then the people decided to stay in [Puerta del Sol] square. We were inspired by the Arab Spring,” she says. “We want real democracy now. It’s a very radical demand. Eighty percent of the population supported the protests, even the right wing. We have worse labor conditions, we don’t have access to houses, and we have twenty percent unemployment.” Incredibly, 125 days later, the protests and occupations in Spain are ongoing.
Of course, Occupy Wall Street didn’t live up to the legacy of Tahrir or Spain. Mia glances around the square where a group of protesters have now gathered to do some yoga and half-heartedly smiles, “I am sure in Spain there are more people in solidarity with this action than are here.”
Matthew Prowless says he doesn’t mind the mixture of causes and affectations –what he calls “window-dressing”– for a far more serious cause. Unlike the majority of the college-aged activists, Matthew is a 40-year-old father of two who says he is attending the protest because he had no other recourse.
“My home has been seized, I’m unemployed, there’s no job prospects on the horizon. I have two children and I don’t see a future for them. This is the only way I see to effect change,” he says. “This isn’t a Progressive issue. This is an American issue. We’re here to take our country back from the corporations,” adding he fears for the future of the United States where corporations can now spend unlimited, anonymous dollars to elect the candidates of their choices.
As for activist yoga, Matthew laughs, saying he likes it. “I’m not here to change every aspect of the world. I’m just here to change the most important part of the world, and that’s elections. The yoga people bring attention to it, and they support our cause.”
Of course, it’s become a cliché to pine for an American Tahrir. Nowhere is it written that a revolution must follow a specific formula in order to be effective. Perhaps America’s revolution won’t happen with a bang as it did in the case of the Arab Spring. It might have already arrived in the form of a gradual drip that began in Wisconsin, and then Ohio, and will arrive tomorrow as a flood in 48 other states.
Copyright © 2011 The Nation
Reform of Egypt's police hits a wall: The police
Sep 19, 2011
By HAMZA HENDAWI, AP
Source:Yahoo News
CAIRO (AP) — A gang that broke out of prison during the revolution was killing people and robbing merchants in the town of Abu Teeg. So the chief of detectives gave his officers their orders: Do nothing.
"The revolution let them out, so let the people have a taste of their revolution," he said, according to two of the seven officers at the meeting, who spoke anonymously for fear of reprisals.
For the next four months, residents in the southern Egyptian town say, they appealed repeatedly for help, but were rebuffed by a police force still bitter about its humiliation in the uprising that ended President Hosni Mubarak's rule. The gang went on to kill at least seven people, officials and residents believe.
The Egyptian police force has long been hated for its corruption and use of torture, and many Egyptians saw the downfall of the police state as a critical goal of their 18-day uprising.
But current and former officers say some members of the force are thwarting any attempt at change, and in many cases are avenging their fall from power by refusing to do their jobs.
These alleged sanctions are blamed for a surge in crime. According to Interior Ministry figures, there were 36 armed robberies nationwide in January but the figure rose sharply to 420 in July; murders went from 44 to 166, kidnappings from three to 42.
Midlevel officers have "an attitude that borders on mutiny," says Lt. Col. Mohammed Mahfouz, who left the force in late 2009 and now advocates reform.
Their attitude, he told The Associated Press, is that "Egyptians must be taught a lesson before the police come back to the streets. They want people to suffer without effective policing so they realize the prestige of the state is a red line that must not be crossed again."
As far back as the 1952 coup that put the military in power, the police force, now one million-strong, has been a sworn enemy of reform and its advocates.
From street cops to agents of the daunting State Security Agency, policemen were untouchable and intimidation kept order on the streets. Talking back to a policeman could earn a slap on the head or worse. In 2006, in an incident that was filmed and posted on YouTube, a Cairo minibus driver who annoyed an officer was dragged to a station and sodomized with a wooden pole.
Torture was a basic investigative tool. If a car was stolen, police would often round up suspects and beat them until someone confessed. Bribery was common. Rarely was a policeman investigated, much less prosecuted.
And then there was the State Security Agency, an arm of the police that operated at the political level but was seen by the public as just another instrument of police oppression.
The agency was involved in election-rigging to keep the ruling party's in power. It weighed in on the running of universities, trade unions, the media, and even had the final word on appointments of Cabinet ministers, governors and ambassadors.
It also suppressed and spied on the opposition. After Kareem el-Behery, a 27-year-old blogger, helped organize a protest against corruption in April 2008, he was arrested, taken to a basement in a State Security compound and tortured through the night, he said.
It was the casualness of the scene that stunned him, he said. He recalled how his tormenter listened to recordings of recitations from the Quran, Islam's holy book, even as he inflicted electric shocks, then took a prayer break.
"How can you do this to me while listening to the Quran, and then just go and pray?" el-Behery says he asked the officer.
"I'll go and give God what I owe him, then I'll come back and give you what you deserve," the officer replied. "You think I'm an infidel like you?"
The anti-Mubarak uprising shattered the fear barrier.
On Jan. 28, the deadliest day, tens of thousands of protesters withstood water cannons, tear gas and gunfire until overwhelmed police broke and ran.
The next dramatic move came in March, when protesters stormed the main Cairo headquarters and several branch offices of the State Security Agency, aiming to stop the shredding and burning of secret documents.
"It was sweet revenge for all those who have been tortured there over the years," said el-Behery, who was among the protesters.
Since then, momentum has faltered.
Interior Minister Mansour el-Issawi, who heads the police, dissolved the State Security Agency and replaced it with a new body called the National Security Authority, which he vowed would not be involved in politics. However, it has kept on nearly half the staff of the outgoing agency.
Protesters have handed back most of the documents they seized lest they embarrass the victims of State Security's spying. There has been no public airing of the agency's abuses since.
Prosecutors have put 140 police officers on trial for killing protesters during the uprising, and in July, el-Issawi sacked 700 senior officers from the various police branches, including the State Security Agency and the notorious Criminal Investigation Department, but most of them were near retirement anyway.
Many State Security officers whom activists and victims have identified as being involved in torture have simply been transferred to other posts. El-Issawi says their experience is still needed.
He acknowledges that some police were reluctant to shoulder their duties, but denies it's a conspiracy.
He also says police are wary of acting to restore order, because some of those being prosecuted for using lethal force did so to fend off dangerous mobs.
"People who were shot dead while trying to storm police stations are counted as 'martyrs' just like the protesters killed in cold blood," el-Issawi complained in a TV interview.
One group, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, has put forward a detailed proposal for reform, starting with a widespread investigation of officers suspected of abuses.
It calls for monitoring police stations for abuses and appointing a civilian as interior minister instead of a career police officer. It says police should get better salaries and crime-fighting technology to blunt the efficacy of bribes and beatings.
So far, the group says, the ministry has shown no interest.
"Many in the police force are filled with a desire for revenge," said the group's head, Hossam Bahgat. "They are convinced that for them to be an effective police force again, fear of the police must be reinstalled in society."
Mahfouz, the former officer, keeps in touch with his colleagues on the force and says most police know no way other than intimidation. "They can only work in a climate that does not respect human rights."
Lt. Col. Mohammed Abdel-Rahman, a serving officer who also heads a reformist group, says that even though Mubarak is ousted and on trial, senior officers have been helping pro-Mubarak businessmen hire thugs who attack pro-democracy demonstrators. The charge, in many variations, has been widely reported by the media and sometimes repeated by officials, but no investigation is known to have taken place.
In Abu Teeg, a farming and trading town of 300,000 people some 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Cairo, the five escaped criminals went on a rampage for months. They smuggled drugs and weapons, carried out robberies and settled old blood feuds.
Brig. Mitwali Abdou, who headed Assiut Province's Criminal Investigations Division at the time, denies the charge that he told the seven district chiefs of his division at the Feb. 15 meeting in his office not to pursue the criminals.
Speaking to the AP, Abdou praised the anti-Mubarak uprising, saying "the revolution is a glorious thing."
One of the two officers who described the meeting, a major, said he opposed the order but did not speak up, since that would have meant "swimming against the current."
"It is a decision that saddened me, a decision whose consequences we'll have to live with for years to come," the major told AP.
Desperate residents went to police in Abu Teeg and the nearby provincial capital Assiut, but each time were told to just protect themselves, said a local resident, Younis Darweesh.
Eventually, it was the army that took action, capturing two of the five criminals.
Abdou has been moved to the post of general inspector in October 6 Province, near Cairo. Three of the seven district chiefs at the Feb. 15 meeting have been transferred to the central police headquarters in Assiut following repeated complaints from residents that they were using criminals and thugs to protect police stations.
Abdel-Rahman, the officer and reformist, said the police force's "job has been to protect the (Mubarak) regime, not the people. ... Only a genuine purge of the force will bring reconciliation between the people and the police."
By HAMZA HENDAWI, AP
Source:Yahoo News
CAIRO (AP) — A gang that broke out of prison during the revolution was killing people and robbing merchants in the town of Abu Teeg. So the chief of detectives gave his officers their orders: Do nothing.
"The revolution let them out, so let the people have a taste of their revolution," he said, according to two of the seven officers at the meeting, who spoke anonymously for fear of reprisals.
For the next four months, residents in the southern Egyptian town say, they appealed repeatedly for help, but were rebuffed by a police force still bitter about its humiliation in the uprising that ended President Hosni Mubarak's rule. The gang went on to kill at least seven people, officials and residents believe.
The Egyptian police force has long been hated for its corruption and use of torture, and many Egyptians saw the downfall of the police state as a critical goal of their 18-day uprising.
But current and former officers say some members of the force are thwarting any attempt at change, and in many cases are avenging their fall from power by refusing to do their jobs.
These alleged sanctions are blamed for a surge in crime. According to Interior Ministry figures, there were 36 armed robberies nationwide in January but the figure rose sharply to 420 in July; murders went from 44 to 166, kidnappings from three to 42.
Midlevel officers have "an attitude that borders on mutiny," says Lt. Col. Mohammed Mahfouz, who left the force in late 2009 and now advocates reform.
Their attitude, he told The Associated Press, is that "Egyptians must be taught a lesson before the police come back to the streets. They want people to suffer without effective policing so they realize the prestige of the state is a red line that must not be crossed again."
As far back as the 1952 coup that put the military in power, the police force, now one million-strong, has been a sworn enemy of reform and its advocates.
From street cops to agents of the daunting State Security Agency, policemen were untouchable and intimidation kept order on the streets. Talking back to a policeman could earn a slap on the head or worse. In 2006, in an incident that was filmed and posted on YouTube, a Cairo minibus driver who annoyed an officer was dragged to a station and sodomized with a wooden pole.
Torture was a basic investigative tool. If a car was stolen, police would often round up suspects and beat them until someone confessed. Bribery was common. Rarely was a policeman investigated, much less prosecuted.
And then there was the State Security Agency, an arm of the police that operated at the political level but was seen by the public as just another instrument of police oppression.
The agency was involved in election-rigging to keep the ruling party's in power. It weighed in on the running of universities, trade unions, the media, and even had the final word on appointments of Cabinet ministers, governors and ambassadors.
It also suppressed and spied on the opposition. After Kareem el-Behery, a 27-year-old blogger, helped organize a protest against corruption in April 2008, he was arrested, taken to a basement in a State Security compound and tortured through the night, he said.
It was the casualness of the scene that stunned him, he said. He recalled how his tormenter listened to recordings of recitations from the Quran, Islam's holy book, even as he inflicted electric shocks, then took a prayer break.
"How can you do this to me while listening to the Quran, and then just go and pray?" el-Behery says he asked the officer.
"I'll go and give God what I owe him, then I'll come back and give you what you deserve," the officer replied. "You think I'm an infidel like you?"
The anti-Mubarak uprising shattered the fear barrier.
On Jan. 28, the deadliest day, tens of thousands of protesters withstood water cannons, tear gas and gunfire until overwhelmed police broke and ran.
The next dramatic move came in March, when protesters stormed the main Cairo headquarters and several branch offices of the State Security Agency, aiming to stop the shredding and burning of secret documents.
"It was sweet revenge for all those who have been tortured there over the years," said el-Behery, who was among the protesters.
Since then, momentum has faltered.
Interior Minister Mansour el-Issawi, who heads the police, dissolved the State Security Agency and replaced it with a new body called the National Security Authority, which he vowed would not be involved in politics. However, it has kept on nearly half the staff of the outgoing agency.
Protesters have handed back most of the documents they seized lest they embarrass the victims of State Security's spying. There has been no public airing of the agency's abuses since.
Prosecutors have put 140 police officers on trial for killing protesters during the uprising, and in July, el-Issawi sacked 700 senior officers from the various police branches, including the State Security Agency and the notorious Criminal Investigation Department, but most of them were near retirement anyway.
Many State Security officers whom activists and victims have identified as being involved in torture have simply been transferred to other posts. El-Issawi says their experience is still needed.
He acknowledges that some police were reluctant to shoulder their duties, but denies it's a conspiracy.
He also says police are wary of acting to restore order, because some of those being prosecuted for using lethal force did so to fend off dangerous mobs.
"People who were shot dead while trying to storm police stations are counted as 'martyrs' just like the protesters killed in cold blood," el-Issawi complained in a TV interview.
One group, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, has put forward a detailed proposal for reform, starting with a widespread investigation of officers suspected of abuses.
It calls for monitoring police stations for abuses and appointing a civilian as interior minister instead of a career police officer. It says police should get better salaries and crime-fighting technology to blunt the efficacy of bribes and beatings.
So far, the group says, the ministry has shown no interest.
"Many in the police force are filled with a desire for revenge," said the group's head, Hossam Bahgat. "They are convinced that for them to be an effective police force again, fear of the police must be reinstalled in society."
Mahfouz, the former officer, keeps in touch with his colleagues on the force and says most police know no way other than intimidation. "They can only work in a climate that does not respect human rights."
Lt. Col. Mohammed Abdel-Rahman, a serving officer who also heads a reformist group, says that even though Mubarak is ousted and on trial, senior officers have been helping pro-Mubarak businessmen hire thugs who attack pro-democracy demonstrators. The charge, in many variations, has been widely reported by the media and sometimes repeated by officials, but no investigation is known to have taken place.
In Abu Teeg, a farming and trading town of 300,000 people some 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Cairo, the five escaped criminals went on a rampage for months. They smuggled drugs and weapons, carried out robberies and settled old blood feuds.
Brig. Mitwali Abdou, who headed Assiut Province's Criminal Investigations Division at the time, denies the charge that he told the seven district chiefs of his division at the Feb. 15 meeting in his office not to pursue the criminals.
Speaking to the AP, Abdou praised the anti-Mubarak uprising, saying "the revolution is a glorious thing."
One of the two officers who described the meeting, a major, said he opposed the order but did not speak up, since that would have meant "swimming against the current."
"It is a decision that saddened me, a decision whose consequences we'll have to live with for years to come," the major told AP.
Desperate residents went to police in Abu Teeg and the nearby provincial capital Assiut, but each time were told to just protect themselves, said a local resident, Younis Darweesh.
Eventually, it was the army that took action, capturing two of the five criminals.
Abdou has been moved to the post of general inspector in October 6 Province, near Cairo. Three of the seven district chiefs at the Feb. 15 meeting have been transferred to the central police headquarters in Assiut following repeated complaints from residents that they were using criminals and thugs to protect police stations.
Abdel-Rahman, the officer and reformist, said the police force's "job has been to protect the (Mubarak) regime, not the people. ... Only a genuine purge of the force will bring reconciliation between the people and the police."
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Israeli settlers plan marches on Palestinian towns
3 hrs, 2 mins ago
Source:JMCC
RAMALLAH, September 18 (JMCC) - Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank say they will "take the initiative" by marching on Palestinian towns, reports Ynet.
The activities planned by nearly 300,000 Jewish settlers living among 2.5 million Palestinians are to start on Tuesday when discussion opens at the United Nations in New York over a Palestinian state. Marches will target Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron.
The settler rallies are set to begin Tuesday afternoon, as participants plan to make their way towards the IDF District Coordination and Liaison Command. A protest is also slated to take place on the streets of Tel Aviv. In addition, right wing extremists are expected to head in the direction of Palestinian communities in order to shift the conflict into PA territories.
The West Bank regional and settlers' councils planned to hold the marches in three separate locations: From Itamar to Nablus, from Beit El to the closest IDF District Coordination and Liaison and from Kiryat Arba to Manoach Mountain.
Tens of thousands of Israeli flags will be distributed by the West Bank regional councils and hung from the settlers' cars.
Gershon Mesika, head of the Shomron Regional Council, remarked that he was not flustered by the Palestinian diplomacy concerning the UN. "Most of the decisions made by the UN during the past decades were against the State of Israel. The entire world has come to realize it's an automatic majority. As Ben-Gurion said, it doesn't matter what the non-Jews say, it only matters what the Jews do."
Hilltop Youth leader Meir Bertler expressed his hope that Israel would annex the West Bank settlements. "As far as we're concerned, we're going to feel right at home in the West Bank, and this week we'll hold marches, begin construction and show our presence in order to make it clear to everyone exactly who this country belongs to."
Far-right activist Itamar Ben-Gvir stressed that his counterparts will not be "waiting at home so the Arabs might get close to their fences."
"We're going to go out and make it clear to the Arabs who the home owners are. We're going to take the initiative and march towards Palestinian towns."
Source:JMCC
RAMALLAH, September 18 (JMCC) - Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank say they will "take the initiative" by marching on Palestinian towns, reports Ynet.
The activities planned by nearly 300,000 Jewish settlers living among 2.5 million Palestinians are to start on Tuesday when discussion opens at the United Nations in New York over a Palestinian state. Marches will target Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron.
The settler rallies are set to begin Tuesday afternoon, as participants plan to make their way towards the IDF District Coordination and Liaison Command. A protest is also slated to take place on the streets of Tel Aviv. In addition, right wing extremists are expected to head in the direction of Palestinian communities in order to shift the conflict into PA territories.
The West Bank regional and settlers' councils planned to hold the marches in three separate locations: From Itamar to Nablus, from Beit El to the closest IDF District Coordination and Liaison and from Kiryat Arba to Manoach Mountain.
Tens of thousands of Israeli flags will be distributed by the West Bank regional councils and hung from the settlers' cars.
Gershon Mesika, head of the Shomron Regional Council, remarked that he was not flustered by the Palestinian diplomacy concerning the UN. "Most of the decisions made by the UN during the past decades were against the State of Israel. The entire world has come to realize it's an automatic majority. As Ben-Gurion said, it doesn't matter what the non-Jews say, it only matters what the Jews do."
Hilltop Youth leader Meir Bertler expressed his hope that Israel would annex the West Bank settlements. "As far as we're concerned, we're going to feel right at home in the West Bank, and this week we'll hold marches, begin construction and show our presence in order to make it clear to everyone exactly who this country belongs to."
Far-right activist Itamar Ben-Gvir stressed that his counterparts will not be "waiting at home so the Arabs might get close to their fences."
"We're going to go out and make it clear to the Arabs who the home owners are. We're going to take the initiative and march towards Palestinian towns."
Could THIS Be the Hidden Factor Behind Obesity, Heart Disease, and Chronic Fatigue?
September 17 2011
By Dr. Mercola
Dr. Stephanie Seneff is a senior scientist at MIT and has been conducting research there for over three decades. However, she also has an undergraduate degree in biology from MIT, and a minor in food and nutrition. She's affiliated with the Weston A. Price Foundation and will be speaking at their November Dallas conference, and so will I. Dr. Seneff has a wealth of information in an area that many are not very knowledgeable about, and that is the importance of sulfur.
Sulfur deficiency is pervasive, and may be a contributing factor in:
* Obesity
* Heart disease
* Alzheimer's disease
* Chronic fatigue
* And more
She also believes conventional medicine is seriously confused about cholesterol, which is closely interrelated with sulfur. Furthermore, healthy cholesterol and sulfur levels are also highly dependent on your vitamin D levels! Here, she discusses the importance and the intricate relationships among these three factors.
Heart Disease May be a Cholesterol Deficiency Problem...
Considering the fact that conventional medicine has been telling us that heart disease is due to elevated cholesterol and recommends lowering cholesterol levels as much as possible, Dr. Seneff's claims may come as a complete shock:
"Heart disease, I think, is a cholesterol deficiency problem, and in particular a cholesterol sulfate deficiency problem..."
She points out that all of this information is available in the research literature, but it requires putting all the pieces together to see the full picture. Through her research, she believes that the mechanism we call "cardiovascular disease," of which arterial plaque is a hallmark, is actually your body's way to compensate for not having enough cholesterol sulfate.
She explains:
"The macrophages in the plaque take up LDL, the small dense LDL particles that have been damaged by sugar... The liver cannot take them back because the receptor can't receive them, because they are gummed with sugar basically. So they're stuck floating in your body... Those macrophages in the plaque do a heroic job in taking that gummed up LDL out of the blood circulation, carefully extracting the cholesterol from it to save it – the cholesterol is important – and then exporting the cholesterol into HDL – HDL A1 in particular... That's the good guy, HDL.
The platelets in the plaque take in HDL A1 cholesterol and they won't take anything else... They take in sulfate, and they produce cholesterol sulfate in the plaque.
The sulfate actually comes from homocysteine. Elevated homocysteine is another risk factor for heart disease. Homocysteine is a source of sulfate. It also involves hemoglobin. You have to consume energy to produce a sulfate from homocysteine, and the red blood cells actually supply the ATP to the plaque.
So everything is there and the intent is to produce cholesterol sulfate and it's done in the arteries feeding the heart, because it's the heart that needs the cholesterol sulfate. If [cholesterol sulfate is not produced]... you end up with heart failure."
So, in a nutshell, high LDL appears to be a sign of cholesterol sulfate deficiency—it's your body's way of trying to maintain the correct balance by taking damaged LDL and turning it into plaque, within which the blood platelets produce the cholesterol sulfate your heart and brain needs for optimal function... What this also means is that when you artificially lower your cholesterol with a statin drug, which effectively reduces that plaque but doesn't address the root problem, your body is not able to compensate any longer, and as a result of lack of cholesterol sulfate you may end up with heart failure.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: How Sun Exposure Impacts Your Sulfur Status
According to the conventional view, high LDL is correlated with heart disease, so the idea is that you can take a statin drug to artificially reduce the LDL and you'll be fine. However, as Dr. Seneff explains, if you have high LDL, it's because your body probably needs it to produce cholesterol sulfate, which your heart requires for optimal function. Hence, when you simply remove the LDL, you also remove your body's "backup" mechanism to keep your heart as healthy as possible, and as a result you get heart failure.
But high LDL is correlated with cardiovascular disease (please note that cardiovascular disease is an entirely different disease category from heart failure, which explains a lot of the confusion on this issue), so how can your body produce cholesterol sulfate without the harmful LDL?
How is it produced under normal, healthy conditions?
This is where sun exposure enters the picture. When you expose your skin to sunshine, your skin synthesizes vitamin D3 sulfate. This form of vitamin D is water soluble, unlike oral vitamin D3 supplements, which is unsulfated. The water soluble form can travel freely in your blood stream, whereas the unsulfated form needs LDL (the so-called "bad" cholesterol) as a vehicle of transport.
Her suspicion is that the simple oral non-sulfated form of vitamin D likely will not provide the same benefits as the vitamin D created in your skin from sun exposure, because it cannot be converted to vitamin D sulfate. This is yet another reason to really make a concerted effort to get ALL your vitamin D requirements from exposure to sunshine!
"[S]ulfate actually inactivates vitamin D," Dr. Seneff says. "The sulfated form of vitamin D does not work for calcium transport, which I find very intriguing. And in fact, I think it's the sulfated form for vitamin D that offers the protection from cancer. It strengthens your immune system. It protects you from cardiovascular disease. It's good for your brain. It helps depression. I think all of those effects of vitamin D are effects of vitamin D sulfate."
For those who are still under the mistaken impression that sun exposure is the primary cause of skin cancer, the following explanation may be of great help. In a Weston A. Price article on sulfur,
Dr. Seneff states that:
"Both cholesterol and sulfur afford protection in the skin from radiation damage to the cell's DNA, the kind of damage that can lead to skin cancer. Cholesterol and sulfur become oxidized upon exposure to the high frequency rays in sunlight, thus acting as antioxidants to "take the heat," so to speak. Oxidation of cholesterol is the first step in the process by which cholesterol transforms itself into vitamin D3."
As I've stated before, your body was designed to be exposed to the rays of the sun, and your skin contains all the necessary mechanisms to extract or produce beneficial nutrients from it while simultaneously shielding itself from harm. When you circumvent this natural process, either by using sunblock or staying out of the sun entirely, you lose all the health benefits, and give a variety of disease processes free reign.
Cholesterol Sulfate—The Link Between Obesity and Lack of Sun Exposure?
Furthermore, your skin also produces huge amounts of cholesterol sulfate, which is also water soluble and provides a healthy barrier against bacteria and other potentially disease-causing pathogens that might otherwise enter your body through your skin. And, due to its polarity, it can enter both fat cells and muscle cells with equal ease. Dr. Seneff proposes that, because of this, cholesterol sulfate may be able to protect fat and muscle cells from glucose and oxygen damage.
She also argues that when you're deficient in cholesterol sulfate, your muscle and fat cells become more prone to damage, which subsequently can lead to glucose intolerance; a condition where your muscles cannot process glucose as a fuel. As a result, your fat cells have to store more fat in order to supply fuel to your muscles, and excess fat accumulates as damage increases.
Sulfur also plays an important role in glucose metabolism. She hypothesizes that if sufficient amounts of sulfur is available, it will act as a decoy to glucose, effectively diverting it to reduce the sulfur rather than glycating and causing damage. This would have the beneficial effect of reducing inflammation, as sugar (glucose) is highly inflammatory and wreaks havoc in your body.
The Many Roles of Sulfur
Overall, sulfate appears to be a highly underestimated molecule with vast health implications. Dr. Seneff discusses her findings in great detail, but offers the following analogy:
"[I]f you breakdown the sulfate you will release energy, which means that the sulfate is actually absorbing the energy from light... I think of the skin as a battery – or solar panel you might say – taking in the sun's energy and saving it in the form of the sulfate molecule storing the energy in the sun."
It seems logical that humans would have some capacity to absorb energy from the sun directly, but this is the first time I've heard of a molecular explanation for this capacity!
"I have a lot of thoughts about what sulfate does," Dr. Seneff says. "One thing I'm quite sure of is that cholesterol sulfate is highly protective against bacterial and virus invasions. That's why sun exposure protects you from infection. It strengthens your immune system. That cholesterol sulfate is incredibly important to immunity."
Sulfur also plays a vital role in the structure and biological activity of both proteins and enzymes. If you don't have sufficient amounts of sulfur in your body, this deficiency can cascade into a number of health problems as it will affect bones, joints, connective tissues, metabolic processes, and more.
Other areas where sulfur plays an important role include:
* Your body's electron transport system, as part of iron/sulfur proteins in mitochondria, the energy factories of your cells
* Vitamin-B thiamine (B1) and biotin conversion, which in turn are essential for converting carbohydrates into energy
* Synthesizing important metabolic intermediates, such as glutathione
* Proper insulin function. The insulin molecule consists of two amino acid chains connected to each other by sulfur bridges, without which the insulin cannot perform its biological activity
* Detoxification
Sulfate—Essential for Babies
Cholesterol sulfate is also essential for babies in utero. A woman has about 1.5 units of cholesterol sulfate normally in her blood. When she gets pregnant, her blood levels of cholesterol sulfate steadily rise, and it also begins to accumulate in the villi in the placenta—which is where nutrients are transferred from the placenta to the baby. At the end of pregnancy the cholesterol sulfate in the villi rises to levels of about 24 units!
Colostrum also contains high levels of sulfur, even more than the breast milk itself. So clearly, nature seeks to provide the baby with plenty of both sulfur and cholesterol at the time of birth. Interestingly enough, when a mother has high serum cholesterol, the baby's levels are typically low.
Why?
Dr. Seneff explains:
"[Because] it can't get through. The mother has high serum cholesterol I think because she has low serum cholesterol sulfate. I think the two go together. The way to bring down your LDL in a healthy way is to get sunlight exposure on your skin. Your skin will produce cholesterol sulfate, which will then flow freely to the blood—not packaged up inside LDL—and therefore your liver doesn't have to make so much LDL. So the LDL goes down.
In fact... there is a complete inverse relationship between sunlight and cardiovascular disease – the more sunlight, the less cardiovascular disease."
Now, when a baby is born of a mother who has high cholesterol and low cholesterol sulfate, the baby's cholesterol will be low, but will also have fatty deposits in its arteries...despite the fact that fatty deposits are supposed to be associated with high cholesterol.
"The deposits are there, I think, to start this cholesterol sulfate program that's replacing the one that isn't happening..." Dr. Senneff explains. "Children who have adequate cholesterol sulfate delivered from their mother do not have fatty deposits... It's bizarre, but the high cholesterol associated with fatty deposits in the adult (that's causing heart disease) is a solution, not a cause."
This is a complete turnaround in thinking compared to the conventional paradigm!
Furthermore:
"The worst thing you can do is to clobber the LDL... because you're going to end up with heart failure," Dr. Seneff says..
Dietary Sources of Sulfur
Sulfur is derived almost exclusively from dietary protein, such as fish and high-quality (organic and/or grass-fed/pastured) beef and poultry. Meat and fish are considered "complete" as they contain all the sulfur-containing amino acids you need to produce new protein. Needless to say, those who abstain from animal protein are placing themselves at far greater risk of sulfur deficiency.
Coconut oil and olive oil also contain sulfur (and are ideal sources of healthful saturated fats too). Other dietary sources that contain small amounts of sulfur IF the food was grown in soil that contains adequate amounts of sulfur, include:
Organic pastured eggs Legumes Garlic Onion
Brussel sprouts Asparagus Kale Wheat germ
Any diet high in grains and processed foods is likely to be deficient in sulfur, because once whole foods are processed, sulfur is lost. Additionally, soils around the world are becoming increasingly sulfur-depleted, resulting in less sulfur-rich foods overall. Hard water also tends to contain more sulfur than soft water, which, according to Dr. Seneff, may be why people who drink soft water are at greater risk of developing heart disease.
In addition to making sure you're getting high amounts of sulfur-rich foods in your diet, Dr. Seneff recommends soaking your body in magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) baths to compensate and counteract sulfur deficiency. She uses about ¼ cup in a tub of water, twice a week. It's particularly useful if you have joint problems or arthritis.
As for supplements, methylsulfonylmethane, commonly known by its acronym, MSM, is an option. MSM is an organic form of sulfur and a potent antioxidant, naturally found in many plants.
By Dr. Mercola
Dr. Stephanie Seneff is a senior scientist at MIT and has been conducting research there for over three decades. However, she also has an undergraduate degree in biology from MIT, and a minor in food and nutrition. She's affiliated with the Weston A. Price Foundation and will be speaking at their November Dallas conference, and so will I. Dr. Seneff has a wealth of information in an area that many are not very knowledgeable about, and that is the importance of sulfur.
Sulfur deficiency is pervasive, and may be a contributing factor in:
* Obesity
* Heart disease
* Alzheimer's disease
* Chronic fatigue
* And more
She also believes conventional medicine is seriously confused about cholesterol, which is closely interrelated with sulfur. Furthermore, healthy cholesterol and sulfur levels are also highly dependent on your vitamin D levels! Here, she discusses the importance and the intricate relationships among these three factors.
Heart Disease May be a Cholesterol Deficiency Problem...
Considering the fact that conventional medicine has been telling us that heart disease is due to elevated cholesterol and recommends lowering cholesterol levels as much as possible, Dr. Seneff's claims may come as a complete shock:
"Heart disease, I think, is a cholesterol deficiency problem, and in particular a cholesterol sulfate deficiency problem..."
She points out that all of this information is available in the research literature, but it requires putting all the pieces together to see the full picture. Through her research, she believes that the mechanism we call "cardiovascular disease," of which arterial plaque is a hallmark, is actually your body's way to compensate for not having enough cholesterol sulfate.
She explains:
"The macrophages in the plaque take up LDL, the small dense LDL particles that have been damaged by sugar... The liver cannot take them back because the receptor can't receive them, because they are gummed with sugar basically. So they're stuck floating in your body... Those macrophages in the plaque do a heroic job in taking that gummed up LDL out of the blood circulation, carefully extracting the cholesterol from it to save it – the cholesterol is important – and then exporting the cholesterol into HDL – HDL A1 in particular... That's the good guy, HDL.
The platelets in the plaque take in HDL A1 cholesterol and they won't take anything else... They take in sulfate, and they produce cholesterol sulfate in the plaque.
The sulfate actually comes from homocysteine. Elevated homocysteine is another risk factor for heart disease. Homocysteine is a source of sulfate. It also involves hemoglobin. You have to consume energy to produce a sulfate from homocysteine, and the red blood cells actually supply the ATP to the plaque.
So everything is there and the intent is to produce cholesterol sulfate and it's done in the arteries feeding the heart, because it's the heart that needs the cholesterol sulfate. If [cholesterol sulfate is not produced]... you end up with heart failure."
So, in a nutshell, high LDL appears to be a sign of cholesterol sulfate deficiency—it's your body's way of trying to maintain the correct balance by taking damaged LDL and turning it into plaque, within which the blood platelets produce the cholesterol sulfate your heart and brain needs for optimal function... What this also means is that when you artificially lower your cholesterol with a statin drug, which effectively reduces that plaque but doesn't address the root problem, your body is not able to compensate any longer, and as a result of lack of cholesterol sulfate you may end up with heart failure.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: How Sun Exposure Impacts Your Sulfur Status
According to the conventional view, high LDL is correlated with heart disease, so the idea is that you can take a statin drug to artificially reduce the LDL and you'll be fine. However, as Dr. Seneff explains, if you have high LDL, it's because your body probably needs it to produce cholesterol sulfate, which your heart requires for optimal function. Hence, when you simply remove the LDL, you also remove your body's "backup" mechanism to keep your heart as healthy as possible, and as a result you get heart failure.
But high LDL is correlated with cardiovascular disease (please note that cardiovascular disease is an entirely different disease category from heart failure, which explains a lot of the confusion on this issue), so how can your body produce cholesterol sulfate without the harmful LDL?
How is it produced under normal, healthy conditions?
This is where sun exposure enters the picture. When you expose your skin to sunshine, your skin synthesizes vitamin D3 sulfate. This form of vitamin D is water soluble, unlike oral vitamin D3 supplements, which is unsulfated. The water soluble form can travel freely in your blood stream, whereas the unsulfated form needs LDL (the so-called "bad" cholesterol) as a vehicle of transport.
Her suspicion is that the simple oral non-sulfated form of vitamin D likely will not provide the same benefits as the vitamin D created in your skin from sun exposure, because it cannot be converted to vitamin D sulfate. This is yet another reason to really make a concerted effort to get ALL your vitamin D requirements from exposure to sunshine!
"[S]ulfate actually inactivates vitamin D," Dr. Seneff says. "The sulfated form of vitamin D does not work for calcium transport, which I find very intriguing. And in fact, I think it's the sulfated form for vitamin D that offers the protection from cancer. It strengthens your immune system. It protects you from cardiovascular disease. It's good for your brain. It helps depression. I think all of those effects of vitamin D are effects of vitamin D sulfate."
For those who are still under the mistaken impression that sun exposure is the primary cause of skin cancer, the following explanation may be of great help. In a Weston A. Price article on sulfur,
Dr. Seneff states that:
"Both cholesterol and sulfur afford protection in the skin from radiation damage to the cell's DNA, the kind of damage that can lead to skin cancer. Cholesterol and sulfur become oxidized upon exposure to the high frequency rays in sunlight, thus acting as antioxidants to "take the heat," so to speak. Oxidation of cholesterol is the first step in the process by which cholesterol transforms itself into vitamin D3."
As I've stated before, your body was designed to be exposed to the rays of the sun, and your skin contains all the necessary mechanisms to extract or produce beneficial nutrients from it while simultaneously shielding itself from harm. When you circumvent this natural process, either by using sunblock or staying out of the sun entirely, you lose all the health benefits, and give a variety of disease processes free reign.
Cholesterol Sulfate—The Link Between Obesity and Lack of Sun Exposure?
Furthermore, your skin also produces huge amounts of cholesterol sulfate, which is also water soluble and provides a healthy barrier against bacteria and other potentially disease-causing pathogens that might otherwise enter your body through your skin. And, due to its polarity, it can enter both fat cells and muscle cells with equal ease. Dr. Seneff proposes that, because of this, cholesterol sulfate may be able to protect fat and muscle cells from glucose and oxygen damage.
She also argues that when you're deficient in cholesterol sulfate, your muscle and fat cells become more prone to damage, which subsequently can lead to glucose intolerance; a condition where your muscles cannot process glucose as a fuel. As a result, your fat cells have to store more fat in order to supply fuel to your muscles, and excess fat accumulates as damage increases.
Sulfur also plays an important role in glucose metabolism. She hypothesizes that if sufficient amounts of sulfur is available, it will act as a decoy to glucose, effectively diverting it to reduce the sulfur rather than glycating and causing damage. This would have the beneficial effect of reducing inflammation, as sugar (glucose) is highly inflammatory and wreaks havoc in your body.
The Many Roles of Sulfur
Overall, sulfate appears to be a highly underestimated molecule with vast health implications. Dr. Seneff discusses her findings in great detail, but offers the following analogy:
"[I]f you breakdown the sulfate you will release energy, which means that the sulfate is actually absorbing the energy from light... I think of the skin as a battery – or solar panel you might say – taking in the sun's energy and saving it in the form of the sulfate molecule storing the energy in the sun."
It seems logical that humans would have some capacity to absorb energy from the sun directly, but this is the first time I've heard of a molecular explanation for this capacity!
"I have a lot of thoughts about what sulfate does," Dr. Seneff says. "One thing I'm quite sure of is that cholesterol sulfate is highly protective against bacterial and virus invasions. That's why sun exposure protects you from infection. It strengthens your immune system. That cholesterol sulfate is incredibly important to immunity."
Sulfur also plays a vital role in the structure and biological activity of both proteins and enzymes. If you don't have sufficient amounts of sulfur in your body, this deficiency can cascade into a number of health problems as it will affect bones, joints, connective tissues, metabolic processes, and more.
Other areas where sulfur plays an important role include:
* Your body's electron transport system, as part of iron/sulfur proteins in mitochondria, the energy factories of your cells
* Vitamin-B thiamine (B1) and biotin conversion, which in turn are essential for converting carbohydrates into energy
* Synthesizing important metabolic intermediates, such as glutathione
* Proper insulin function. The insulin molecule consists of two amino acid chains connected to each other by sulfur bridges, without which the insulin cannot perform its biological activity
* Detoxification
Sulfate—Essential for Babies
Cholesterol sulfate is also essential for babies in utero. A woman has about 1.5 units of cholesterol sulfate normally in her blood. When she gets pregnant, her blood levels of cholesterol sulfate steadily rise, and it also begins to accumulate in the villi in the placenta—which is where nutrients are transferred from the placenta to the baby. At the end of pregnancy the cholesterol sulfate in the villi rises to levels of about 24 units!
Colostrum also contains high levels of sulfur, even more than the breast milk itself. So clearly, nature seeks to provide the baby with plenty of both sulfur and cholesterol at the time of birth. Interestingly enough, when a mother has high serum cholesterol, the baby's levels are typically low.
Why?
Dr. Seneff explains:
"[Because] it can't get through. The mother has high serum cholesterol I think because she has low serum cholesterol sulfate. I think the two go together. The way to bring down your LDL in a healthy way is to get sunlight exposure on your skin. Your skin will produce cholesterol sulfate, which will then flow freely to the blood—not packaged up inside LDL—and therefore your liver doesn't have to make so much LDL. So the LDL goes down.
In fact... there is a complete inverse relationship between sunlight and cardiovascular disease – the more sunlight, the less cardiovascular disease."
Now, when a baby is born of a mother who has high cholesterol and low cholesterol sulfate, the baby's cholesterol will be low, but will also have fatty deposits in its arteries...despite the fact that fatty deposits are supposed to be associated with high cholesterol.
"The deposits are there, I think, to start this cholesterol sulfate program that's replacing the one that isn't happening..." Dr. Senneff explains. "Children who have adequate cholesterol sulfate delivered from their mother do not have fatty deposits... It's bizarre, but the high cholesterol associated with fatty deposits in the adult (that's causing heart disease) is a solution, not a cause."
This is a complete turnaround in thinking compared to the conventional paradigm!
Furthermore:
"The worst thing you can do is to clobber the LDL... because you're going to end up with heart failure," Dr. Seneff says..
Dietary Sources of Sulfur
Sulfur is derived almost exclusively from dietary protein, such as fish and high-quality (organic and/or grass-fed/pastured) beef and poultry. Meat and fish are considered "complete" as they contain all the sulfur-containing amino acids you need to produce new protein. Needless to say, those who abstain from animal protein are placing themselves at far greater risk of sulfur deficiency.
Coconut oil and olive oil also contain sulfur (and are ideal sources of healthful saturated fats too). Other dietary sources that contain small amounts of sulfur IF the food was grown in soil that contains adequate amounts of sulfur, include:
Organic pastured eggs Legumes Garlic Onion
Brussel sprouts Asparagus Kale Wheat germ
Any diet high in grains and processed foods is likely to be deficient in sulfur, because once whole foods are processed, sulfur is lost. Additionally, soils around the world are becoming increasingly sulfur-depleted, resulting in less sulfur-rich foods overall. Hard water also tends to contain more sulfur than soft water, which, according to Dr. Seneff, may be why people who drink soft water are at greater risk of developing heart disease.
In addition to making sure you're getting high amounts of sulfur-rich foods in your diet, Dr. Seneff recommends soaking your body in magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) baths to compensate and counteract sulfur deficiency. She uses about ¼ cup in a tub of water, twice a week. It's particularly useful if you have joint problems or arthritis.
As for supplements, methylsulfonylmethane, commonly known by its acronym, MSM, is an option. MSM is an organic form of sulfur and a potent antioxidant, naturally found in many plants.
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