NSW Government seeks unprecedented power to censor and punish health activists and practitioners

December 29, 2013
by: REALAustralianSceptics
Source: Natural News

 (NaturalNews) The New South Wales (NSW) Health Care Complaints Committee has convened an inquiry into "The Promotion of False or Misleading Health-Related Information or Practices." The Terms of Reference (ToR) for this inquiry are sobering to say the least and read more like a pharmaceutical wish list than legislation that would benefit Australian citizens.

The Committee, which is responsible for the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC), defines information that is not supported by "accepted" medical practice as being "false and misleading" and seeks to punish and silence anyone who either publicly discusses, uses or dispenses non-mainstream remedies.

This inquiry appears to have been motivated by the HCCC's loss to the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) in the Supreme Court in 2012. The HCCC sought to sanction the AVN for providing "dangerous, deceptive and misleading" information simply because that information was in contravention of "accepted medical practices." The Supreme Court stated that the HCCC had acted illegally in either investigating or citing the AVN.

Since that embarrassing loss to a small, unfunded parents' support group, the HCCC has sought increased powers from Parliament specifically for the purpose of attacking the AVN and other individuals and organizations critical of current government health policy.

The REAL purpose of the HCCC

These actions are extremely ironic since the original purpose of the HCCC was to protect the public from dangerous health practitioners. Today, it would appear to an informed observer that the real purpose of this body is to protect dangerous practitioners and practices from the general public.

The HCCC's sordid recent history includes its failure to act in the case of Graeme Reeves, known as the Butcher of Bega. Reeves was accused of mutilating and abusing over 500 women, many of whom filed complaints against him with the HCCC. Over more than a decade, they failed (or refused) to act any of these complaints.

Is the HCCC above the law?

Prior to the HCCC's court loss, that organization was already one of the most powerful in Australia, being immune to either subpoena or GIPA (Freedom of Information) claims.

In 2013 however, the HCCC was granted the right to file complaints against organizations or individuals - without any evidence of harm - and then investigate and punish those they themselves had complained about, making them judge, jury and executioner.

If Parliament grants the HCCC the powers being discussed by this inquiry, then they may be able to stop anyone from discussing, practicing or using natural therapies.

Speak out to protect health rights

Submissions from the public are being accepted until February 7, 2014. Those who are interested in supporting and protecting health rights and freedom of speech are urged to write a brief submission (3-4 paragraphs) explaining why you believe that suppression of health discussions is not in the public interest.

The Committee website contains information on how to make a submission as well as the ToR for the inquiry and other important details.

This is an unprecedented attack on health rights which must be strenuously opposed whether you live in Australia or elsewhere.

References:

HCCC Parliamentary Committee Inquiry into the Promotion of False or Misleading Health-Related Information or Practices:
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au

Australian Vaccination Network:
http://www.avn.org.au

Supreme Court Decision - AVN v NSW HCCC:
http://tinyurl.com/mungvwq

The HCCC, the law and morality:
http://nocompulsoryvaccination.com

Gynecologist accused of mutilating, abusing hundreds of women:
http://www.foxnews.com

'Butcher of Bega' gets two-year minimum sentence for genital mutilation:
http://melindatankardreist.com

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/043355_Australian_government_health_activists_censorship.html#ixzz2oxZ3Iqad

Strontium, PFOA and toxic chemicals found in one-third of U.S. water supply

December 29, 2013
by: Ethan A. Huff
Source: Natural News



 (NaturalNews) You may want to think twice before further drinking or even bathing in unfiltered tap water, as a new report set to be published next year has found that a striking percentage of the U.S. water supply is contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides and other toxic chemicals. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that an astounding one-third of U.S. water systems contain traces of at least 18 unregulated and potentially hazardous contaminants, many of which are linked to causing endocrine disruption and cancer.

Based on a nationwide survey of 25 unnamed water utilities, scientists found traces of the herbicide metolachlor, for instance, a pesticide commonly applied to conventional corn, soy, cotton, safflower, potato and other crops, as well as the heavy metal strontium, which is linked to causing bone problems. Other chemicals identified include so-called perfluorinated compounds like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which numerous scientific studies have found can cause thyroid disease and various types of cancer.

"Traces of 18 unregulated chemicals were found in drinking water from more than one-third of U.S. water utilities in a nationwide sampling," reports Environmental Health News (EHN). "Included are 11 perfluorinated compounds, an herbicide, two solvents, caffeine, an antibacterial compound, a metal and an antidepressant."

More than 250 potential hazardous compounds detected in tap water

Among the 25 water samples, more than 250 chemicals, bacteria, viruses and microbes were identified, but only 134 of these were detected in treated drinking water. As many as eight of the treated water samples collected contained upwards of 113 chemicals. According to the researchers, water samples were taken from a range of water utilities, including both large and small plants and plants using varying treatment technologies.

"The good news is the concentrations are generally pretty low," stated Dana Kolpin, a research hydrologist from USGS who helped work on the study. "But there's still the unknown. Are there long-term consequences of low-level exposure to these chemicals?"

Study reveals most water treatment technologies do not remove perfluorinated compounds

Of particular concern was the wide range of perfluorinated compounds identified in the water samples. These byproducts of various industrial processes, including the production of non-stick cookware and stain-resistant food packing and fabrics, was detected in most of the water samples, both treated and untreated.

"The perfluorinated compounds were at similar concentrations in the untreated and treated drinking water, suggesting that treatment techniques are largely unsuccessful," writes Brian Bienkowski for EHN. "Only one plant was successful at removing them, and it used activated carbon treatment."

This is all highly concerning, as a panel of scientists recently concluded that perfluorinated compounds, and PFOA in particular, are a probable cause of high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer and pregnancy-induced hypertension, among other conditions. Many of th(NaturalNews) You may want to think twice before further drinking or even bathing in unfiltered tap water, as a new report set to be published next year has found that a striking percentage of the U.S. water supply is contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides and other toxic chemicals. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that an astounding one-third of U.S. water systems contain traces of at least 18 unregulated and potentially hazardous contaminants, many of which are linked to causing endocrine disruption and cancer.

Based on a nationwide survey of 25 unnamed water utilities, scientists found traces of the herbicide metolachlor, for instance, a pesticide commonly applied to conventional corn, soy, cotton, safflower, potato and other crops, as well as the heavy metal strontium, which is linked to causing bone problems. Other chemicals identified include so-called perfluorinated compounds like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which numerous scientific studies have found can cause thyroid disease and various types of cancer.

"Traces of 18 unregulated chemicals were found in drinking water from more than one-third of U.S. water utilities in a nationwide sampling," reports Environmental Health News (EHN). "Included are 11 perfluorinated compounds, an herbicide, two solvents, caffeine, an antibacterial compound, a metal and an antidepressant."

More than 250 potential hazardous compounds detected in tap water

Among the 25 water samples, more than 250 chemicals, bacteria, viruses and microbes were identified, but only 134 of these were detected in treated drinking water. As many as eight of the treated water samples collected contained upwards of 113 chemicals. According to the researchers, water samples were taken from a range of water utilities, including both large and small plants and plants using varying treatment technologies.

"The good news is the concentrations are generally pretty low," stated Dana Kolpin, a research hydrologist from USGS who helped work on the study. "But there's still the unknown. Are there long-term consequences of low-level exposure to these chemicals?"

Study reveals most water treatment technologies do not remove perfluorinated compounds

Of particular concern was the wide range of perfluorinated compounds identified in the water samples. These byproducts of various industrial processes, including the production of non-stick cookware and stain-resistant food packing and fabrics, was detected in most of the water samples, both treated and untreated.

"The perfluorinated compounds were at similar concentrations in the untreated and treated drinking water, suggesting that treatment techniques are largely unsuccessful," writes Brian Bienkowski for EHN. "Only one plant was successful at removing them, and it used activated carbon treatment."

This is all highly concerning, as a panel of scientists recently concluded that perfluorinated compounds, and PFOA in particular, are a probable cause of high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer and pregnancy-induced hypertension, among other conditions. Many of these conditions have reached epidemic proportions throughout the U.S., potentially as the direct result of failed water treatment technologies.

Then there is the issue of chlorination and fluoridation, both of which can trigger reactions with other contaminants in the water supply and create new deadly compounds. According to Laurel Schaider, a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health, these and other water treatment chemicals may exacerbate the toxic burden of tap water.

"Chlorination and other treatment technologies will remove some contaminants, but will react with others," she is quoted as saying to EHN. "Some compounds may appear to be removed but may be transformed [into] a chemical we know even less about."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org

http://www.c8sciencepanel.org

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/043356_water_supply_toxic_chemicals_perfluorinated_compounds.html#ixzz2oxLu2DE2

ese conditions have reached epidemic proportions throughout the U.S., potentially as the direct result of failed water treatment technologies.

Then there is the issue of chlorination and fluoridation, both of which can trigger reactions with other contaminants in the water supply and create new deadly compounds. According to Laurel Schaider, a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health, these and other water treatment chemicals may exacerbate the toxic burden of tap water.

"Chlorination and other treatment technologies will remove some contaminants, but will react with others," she is quoted as saying to EHN. "Some compounds may appear to be removed but may be transformed [into] a chemical we know even less about."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org

http://www.c8sciencepanel.org

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/043356_water_supply_toxic_chemicals_perfluorinated_compounds.html#ixzz2oxLu2DE2

Gun magazine supplier expands in Iowa college town

17 hours ago
By RYAN J. FOLEY
Source: Yahoo News

GRINNELL, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa college known for liberal activism is welcoming an unlikely neighbor: one of the nation's largest suppliers of high-capacity ammunition magazines and accessories for assault rifles and other guns.

With demand for gun products booming, Brownells Inc. is building a large distribution and retail center along Interstate 80 in Grinnell. The central Iowa city of 9,100 is home to Grinnell College, a selective liberal arts institution proud of its commitment to social justice.

Critics have attacked the company for profiting from accessories for military-style weapons, but the city and college are rolling out the welcome mat. It's an example of how left-leaning politics and gun rights can coexist cheerfully, particularly when economic benefit enters the equation.

"I think it is going to be fantastic for the community," said Juli Sanford, owner of Juli's Natural Foods, which sells organic food and supplements a block from the college. She said the project will bring jobs, income and visitors to Grinnell, located about 55 miles east of Des Moines.

But the development is galling to gun-control advocates, who have watched cities and states continue to compete for firearms-related businesses despite mass shootings they hoped would bring more criticism for the industry.

"Grinnell has been synonymous with high-quality education, with creative and even brilliant contributions to education," said Cheryl Thomas, a spokeswoman for Iowans for Gun Safety. "This is not a fit."

Billed as the world's largest supplier of gun accessories, Brownells is a family owned company that has long been based 20 miles south of Grinnell in Montezuma. The company's third-generation chairman, Pete Brownell, is a top donor and board member of the National Rifle Association, making him a lightning rod in the debate over gun rights and regulations even as he is popular locally.

His business has boomed in recent years. The privately held company does not release sales figures, but it has told customers that demand for ammunition, high-capacity magazines and other accessories is so strong that some customers wait months for orders as manufacturers race to catch up.

The gun industry has grown by 8.4 percent annually over the last five years, fueled largely by fears of new regulations following mass shootings, said Maksim Soshkin, an industry research analyst with IBISWorld. High-capacity magazines have become particularly hot products amid fears they will be banned, he said.

The expansion will allow Brownells to carry more products, ship them faster and promote its brand with a highly visible location. The company is expected to open its first retail store at the site within the next year, which will include an experiential center with interactive displays featuring products.

Local residents and government officials are backing the $16 million project, which will employ up to 200 workers.

A farm family sold dozens of acres of land to the company. The city and state have promised millions in tax breaks. A government program helped train workers on basic skills, such as filling orders and answering customer inquiries. An Iowa Department of Transportation grant helped build a road to the center, about three miles from the college.

Aside from the college, Grinnell looks like many rural Iowa towns. A John Deere dealership and a farmer's cooperative are among the first businesses to greet visitors. Other major employers include a large reinsurance company and a company that makes windows and doors.

Unemployment is low, but Grinnell officials have long hoped to add more development near the interstate and expand their tax base. The expansion has faced virtually no opposition, even at the 1,600-student college.

Students have been more focused on issues such as fighting poverty and hunger than on debating gun control, said Rabbi Rob Cabelli, an associate chaplain who helps run the Center for Religion, Spirituality and Social Justice.

Grinnell City Manager Russ Behrens said the lack of criticism is a testament to how Brownells runs its business. Residents describe the company as a model employer and its namesake family as civic-minded and professional. Pete Brownell's grandfather founded the company in 1939.

In a statement, Brownell said the cooperation between his company and Grinnell has "been exceptional as we prepare to become an even larger part of the community."

Brownell was elected to the NRA board in 2010 and was awarded the NRA's "Golden Ring of Freedom" this year, recognizing donations of more than $1 million to the group. He champions a hard line on the constitutional right to bear arms.

A report issued in September by the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit that advocates for more gun regulations, cited Brownell as an example of how the industry has turned the NRA into its marketing arm for military-style weapons.

"They are one of the major vendors of high-capacity magazines, which are the common thread that runs through mass shootings," said the group's executive director, Josh Sugarmann.

Iowans for Gun Safety plans to call on the company to voluntarily stop distributing magazines that carry more than 10 rounds. Brownell indicated he would reject that request.

Brownells' sales have surged after mass shootings. In the days after last year's massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., the company said that it sold as many of one kind of high-capacity magazine in three days as it usually does in more than three years. Pete Brownell apologized for delays and problems in processing customer orders.

Following Sandy Hook, Cabelli wrote an opinion piece in the Des Moines Register calling for a new national debate about gun rights.

The proximity of the company and the college "does make for an interesting juxtaposition," he said.

 

What’s Causing the Rise in ADHD?

December 05, 2013

By Dr. Mercola

Source: Mercola.com

 

According to a 2010 US government survey,¹ 1 in 10 American children now has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—a 22 percent increase from 2003.
ADHD makes it hard for children to pay attention and control impulsive behavior, and an increasing number of older children, including high school students, are now being labeled as having ADHD. Adult ADHD is also becoming more prevalent.
As reported by the Las Vegas Guardian Express,² nearly 11 percent of American kids are labeled with the disorder. More than twice as many boys are diagnosed with ADHD than girls—one in five, compared to one in 11. The featured article speculates about the cause behind these rising numbers.
Some experts feel the increase could be due to increased awareness and better diagnosis, but I think you’ll find it interesting that this trend also coincides with increased prevalence of the pervasive weed killer, glyphosate, in the American food supply.
There’s also plenty of room for overdiagnosis. In fact, an ADHD diagnosis is often made on the subjective observations of teachers or guardians, based on signs that nearly every child will display at some point. Aggravating factors, such as diet or home environment, are oftentimes overlooked entirely.
The featured article actually points out some interesting correlations between ADHD diagnoses and changes to the American educational system that might help explain how, if not why, so many children are misdiagnosed or flat out falsely diagnosed.

What Is ADHD?

But before we get into potential causes for the uptick in prevalence, let’s review how ADHD is qualified in the first place. The disorder involves a cluster of symptoms that includes inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behaviors.
Often, children with ADHD struggle in school and have difficulty managing interpersonal relationships. They also tend to suffer from low self-esteem. The similar term attention deficit disorder (ADD) has largely been replaced with ADHD, as it describes two of the most common symptoms of the condition, inattention, and hyperactive-impulsive behavior.
Diagnosing ADHD really comes down to a matter of opinion, as there is no physical test, like a brain scan, that can pinpoint the condition. This could change, however. According to a recent study, a newer MRI method called magnetic field correlation imaging that can detect low iron levels in the brains of children with ADHD could potentially help parents and patients make better informed decisions about treatment. As reported by Medicine.net:³

“Psychostimulant drugs used to treat ADHD affect levels of the brain chemical dopamine. Because iron is required to process dopamine, using MRI to assess iron levels in the brain may provide a noninvasive, indirect measure of the chemical, explained study author Vitria Adisetiyo... If these findings are confirmed in larger studies, this technique might help improve ADHD diagnosis and treatment...

The [magnetic field correlation imaging] scans revealed that the 12 ADHD patients who'd never been treated with psychostimulant drugs such as Ritalin had lower brain iron levels than those who'd received the drugs and those in the control group. The lower iron levels in the ADHD patients who'd never taken stimulant drugs appeared to normalize after they took the medicines.”

At present, diagnosis is dependent on subjective evaluation, and, for better or worse, teachers can play a significant role in this evaluation. Most children with ADHD will display a combination of inattention and hyperactive-impulsive behavior, along with the following symptoms:⁴

Frequent fidgeting or squirming	Difficulty playing quietly	Always seems on the go
Restlessness	Excessive talking and interrupting others	Difficulty waiting his or her turn
Frequent daydreaming	Frequently has problems organizing tasks or activities	Difficulty following through on instructions and apparently not listening

Many of these “symptoms” could describe virtually any child, or most children, on any given day. Hence, those who display these symptoms at school but not at home or with friends are not considered to have ADHD. Ditto for children who display symptoms at home but not at school.

Only children who struggle with inattention and hyperactive or impulsive behaviors around the clock are deemed to have ADHD—or at least they should be. According to a 2010 study,⁵ an estimated 20 percent of children are misdiagnosed with ADHD.
According to some, the disorder may not even be a “real” disorder at all. Psychiatrist Leon Eisenberg, hailed as the “scientific father of ADHD,” actually went on record saying that ADHD is “a prime example of a fictitious disease.” He made this stunning confession in a 2012 interview with the German paper Der Spiegel, just seven months prior to his death⁶ at the age of 87.

How the American School System May Be Promoting ADHD Diagnoses

At least part of the rise in prevalence could be attributed to inappropriate diagnosis. As reported in the featured article, there’s an interesting correlation between the rise in ADHD diagnoses and the implementation of the US Elementary and Secondary Education Act known as “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB). The program was implemented nationwide in 2002.
The NCLB standardized teaching methods across the US which, contrary to what the name implies, does leave a lot of kids “behind,” in the sense that brighter children frequently end up bored and discouraged from lack of academic challenge. And bored, discouraged children will oftentimes “act out.”

“Now with the implementation of CORE standards, who some describe as NCLB on steroids, there is a chance the ADHD numbers may climb even more,” the article predicts.⁷

But there’s more to this story...

“Another study, published by the Child Mind Institute, states there might be another incentive behind the rise, and that is the financial benefit to schools. Many schools, especially those where the tax base is much poorer... rely heavily on federal funding to operate.
Long before NCLB was enacted, many of these districts had already enacted ‘consequential accountability statutes,’” which penalized a school when children failed; however, often scores for children diagnosed with ADHD are not counted... thereby helping to ensure the passing test scores of the class as a whole.

Geographically speaking, children in the South are diagnosed far more often with ADHD than children living in Western states by a rate of nearly 63 percent. North Carolina, one of the first states to implement consequential accountability statutes, stands at a ADHD diagnosis rate of over 16 percent; California, one of the last states to implement these policies, ranks at only 6.2 percent. The difference is staggering.”

Raising a Generation of Drug Users

About two-thirds of the children diagnosed with ADHD are on some form of prescription medication, and oftentimes the side effects are far worse than the condition itself. These drugs actually rival illegal street drugs in terms of their dangerous risks to health, which include:

Permanent brain damage	Cardio toxicity and liver damage	Cancer
Changes in personality, depression, and/or hallucinations	Heart attack and stroke	Sudden death and suicide

Sadly, tens of thousands of American kids are now prescribed dangerous antipsychotic drugs before the age of five—some even before reaching 12 months of age, hard as that is to imagine. Children in the Medicaid system are at greatest risk for overdiagnosis. Data shows they’re prescribed antipsychotic medications four times more often compared to those with private insurance.⁸
The price we pay as a society for drugging our children out of objectionable behavior patterns is steep. In children, the long-term effects of drugs are typically largely unknown, while in the short term, we’ve seen shocking increases in violent and aggressive acts committed by teens taking one or more psychotropic drugs.
These children are also likely to experience health problems as they mature into adulthood. Just look at what happens to street junkies through time, and then consider that Ritalin has a more potent effect on your brain than cocaine... Being raised firmly within the drug paradigm from an early age may also make them more likely to opt for drug treatment for other ailments rather than exploring other options.

What Causes Behavioral Difficulties?

Behavioral problems clearly do exist, and do appear to be more prevalent than in decades past, with or without the ADHD label. The question on everyone’s mind is what’s causing it? The cause of ADHD remains elusive, although there are many contending culprits, including poor nutrition and environmental toxins ranging from food- and vaccine additives to agricultural chemicals.
For example, a 2006 study⁹ found that a mother's use of cigarettes, alcohol, or other drugs during pregnancy could increase the risk for ADHD. The study also suggested that exposure to lead and/or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can cause ADHD symptoms. Pesticide exposure has also been linked with ADHD.
Unfortunately, few are focusing on basic nutrition, which I believe is a key factor. We know that the food choices of most children and adults today are incredibly poor, and how can you possibly expect a child to have normal behavior if he is fed refined grains, sugars, and processed foods loaded with chemicals and largely devoid of natural nutrients?

Five Dietary Factors to Address if Your Child Has ADHD

Five dietary factors of particular concern are the following. If your child struggles with behavioral difficulties, whether he or she has been diagnosed with ADHD or not, I strongly recommend addressing all of these factors:

• Too much sugar. High sugar content and starchy carbohydrates lead to excessive insulin release, which can lead to falling blood sugar levels, or hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia, in turn, causes your brain to secrete glutamate in levels that can cause agitation, depression, anger, anxiety, and panic attacks.
Besides that, sugar promotes chronic inflammation in your body, and many studies have demonstrated the connection between a high-sugar diet and worsened mental health.

• Gluten sensitivity. The evidence^{10, 11} suggesting that gluten sensitivity may be at the root of a number of neurological and psychiatric conditions, including ADHD, is quite compelling. According to a 2011 study,¹² celiac disease is “markedly overrepresented among patients presenting with ADHD,” and a gluten-free diet has been shown to significantly improve behavior in kids. The study went so far as to suggest celiac disease should be added to the ADHD symptom checklist.
• Too few beneficial bacteria. As explained by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a medical doctor with a postgraduate degree in neurology, toxicity in your gut can flow throughout your body and into your brain, where it can cause symptoms of autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression, schizophrenia, and other mental disorders. Reducing gut inflammation is imperative when addressing mental health issues,¹³ so optimizing your child’s gut flora is a critical step. To learn more, please see my previous article, “Are Probiotics the New Prozac?”
• Animal-sourced omega-3 deficiency. Research has shown that kids low in omega-3 fats are significantly more likely to be hyperactive, struggle with learning disorders, and display behavioral problems. Omega-3 deficiencies have also been tied to dyslexia, violence, and depression. A clinical study published in 2007 examined the effects of krill oil on adults diagnosed with ADHD.¹⁴ In that study, patients improved their ability to concentrate by an average of over 60 percent after taking a daily 500mg dose of krill oil for six months. They also reported a 50 percent improvement in planning skills, and close to 49 percent improvement in social skills.
• Food additives and GMO ingredients. A number of food additives are thought to worsen ADHD, and many have subsequently been banned in Europe. Potential culprits to avoid include Blue #1 and #2 food coloring; Green #3; Orange B; Red #3 and #40; Yellow #5 and #6; and sodium benzoate, a preservative.
Recent research also shows that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, used in large quantities on genetically engineered Roundup Ready crops, limits your body’s ability to detoxify foreign chemical compounds. As a result, the damaging effects of those chemicals and environmental toxins are magnified, and may result in a wide variety of diseases, including brain disorders that can affect behavior.

The Hidden Health Hazards of Glyphosate and GMOs

Glyphosate-contaminated food has recently been implicated in the dramatic rise of both ADHD and autism, the latter of which is clearly more extreme in terms of behavioral difficulties. Still, both problems appear to be rooted to some degree in abnormal gut flora, and this is where glyphosate begins its path of destruction. How severe the effect might be in any given person will likely depend on a wide variety of individual factors, including the mother’s gut health during and at the time of giving birth.
Former US Navy staff scientist Dr. Nancy Swanson has meticulously collected statistics on glyphosate usage and various diseases and conditions, including autism. A more perfect match-up between the rise in glyphosate usage and incidence of autism, shown below, is hard to imagine. To access her published articles and reports, please visit Sustainable Pulse,¹⁵ a European Website dedicated to exposing the hazards of genetically engineered foods.


According to Dr. Swanson:¹⁶

“Prevalence and incidence data show correlations between diseases of the organs and the increase in Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the food supply, along with the increase in glyphosate-based herbicide applications. More and more studies have revealed carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting effects of Roundup at lower doses than those authorized for residues found in Genetically Modified Organisms... The endocrine disrupting properties also lead to neurological disorders (learning disabilities (LD), attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), autism, dementia, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder). Those most susceptible are children and the elderly.”

How to Optimize Your Child’s Gut Flora

The two key problems caused by glyphosate in the diet are nutritional deficiencies and systemic toxicity, and your gut bacteria are a key component of glyphosate’s mechanism of harm. Effectively addressing this problem requires a two-pronged approach. First you need to avoid the primary sources of glyphosate, which more or less makes it imperative to avoid processed foods. Secondly, you need to address the damage already done. To reseed your child’s gut with the healthy bacteria (probiotics) necessary for optimal physical, mental, and emotional health, I recommend the following strategies:

• Avoid processed, refined foods as they promote the growth of pathogenic bacteria, yeast and fungus in the gut. Most processed foods are also high in sugar and fructose, grains (gluten), artificial additives, and genetically engineered ingredients (which tend to be more heavily contaminated with glyphosate)—all the top items that tend to aggravate ADHD symptoms. Also replace sweetened beverages (whether diet and regular), including fruit juices and pasteurized milk, with pure non-fluoridated water.
• Eat traditionally fermented, unpasteurized foods: Fermented foods are one of the best routes to optimal digestive health, as long as you eat the traditionally made, unpasteurized versions. Some of the beneficial bacteria found in fermented foods are also excellent chelators of heavy metals and pesticides, which will also have a beneficial health effect by reducing your toxic load. Fermented vegetables are perhaps among the most palatable fermented foods. Many kids will also get used to fermented dairy products like kefir.
• Use a high-quality probiotic supplement. If you cannot get your child to eat fermented foods on a regular basis, a high-quality probiotic supplement may be highly beneficial in correcting abnormal gut flora that contribute to brain dysfunction.

Additional Strategies to Relieve ADHD Symptoms

Besides addressing your child’s nutrition, as described in the two sections above, I also recommend implementing the following strategies:

• Clear your house of dangerous pesticides and other commercial chemicals.
• Avoid commercial washing detergents and cleaning products used on clothes, and replace them with naturally derived cleaning products free of added perfumes, softeners, etc.
• Spend more time in nature. Researchers have found that exposing ADHD children to nature is an affordable, healthy way of controlling symptoms.
• Investigate sensory therapy and emotional wellness tools. Instead of looking for a quick fix, encourage ADHD sufferers to talk, and find out what emotions are causing issues. You may also want to consider energy psychology tools such as the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to improve emotional coping and healing.

Link:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/12/05/adhd-glyphosate.aspx.

In Egypt, Posting This Symbol On Facebook Can Now Get You 5 Years In Prison

December 27, 2013  
  By Jim Edwards
Source: Yahoo Finance 

Rabia

Egypt has passed a law that could sentence anyone who posts this symbol on their Facebook page to five years in prison, according to Arabcrunch and Sharouk News.

Egyptian athletes expected to compete in the Olympics are also banned from flashing the four-fingered symbol, according to the country's sports minister.

The "Rabia" or "R4bia" symbol is a reference to the deaths of Muslim protestors in Rabia al-Adawiya Square. It is a symbol of support for the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Rabia means four or fourth in Arabic, and it sounds the same as the name of the mosque that became the center of pro-Muslim protests in 2012.

Following the revolution that deposed former dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011, the Muslim Brotherhood won a national election in 2012. However, incoming president Mohamed Morsi abrogated so much power to himself that the Egyptian military staged a coup in the summer of 2013. Since then, the Muslim Brotherhood has been banned in the country even though it won the last democratic vote there.

According to a Google translated versions of Sharouk News, Egyptian police recently posted a warning on Facebook that anyone who posts the R4bia sign will be regarded as a terrorist who supports the Brotherhood, and could be subjected to five years in prison.

Link: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/egypt-posting-symbol-facebook-now-161544619.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory.

Muslim Brotherhood Statement on Coup Forces Brutally Assaulting, Harassing Women

December 29,2013
Source: Ikhwanweb

 The junta generals are doing their worst to spark civil war in Egypt, beating and harassing girls and women in public in order to provoke violent responses and reactions.

 In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

On November 21, 2011, we issued a statement after the attack on demonstrators near the Cabinet building in Cairo where a girl was dragged on the ground and partly undressed by security forces. At the time, we said: "What happened is a crime that indicates a deep desire to lure loyal citizens everywhere to crush them, to sow seeds of strife and chaos and terrorize the people". It then transpired that there are several parties that do not mind burning the whole country and killing youths in order to force the people to succumb to new tyranny, corruption and slavery.

On December 26, 2013, a number of officers gathered around a veiled (female) student at Al-Azhar University, repeatedly kicking and brutally beating her with sticks, and then dragged her by her clothes and arrested her.

On December 27, 2013, we saw a dozen soldiers and officers surround a girl in Nasr City, then drag her on the ground. They then tossed her into a police transport vehicle, arresting and detaining her.

We say now what we said then, that this lynching is a criminal act executed by a gang of coup thugs who lost all chivalric sense of honor. The girl committed no crime. She simply came out to express her views and exercise her constitutional right to peaceful demonstration.

Coup forces’ brutality did not stop at this. On December 28, 2013, in Damietta, about ten women were attacked, their heads badly injured. Worse still, coup thugs sexually assaulted them. These days, there have been repeated attacks on and arrest and detention of girls and women in many provinces of Egypt.

All these are religious, moral and social crimes completely condemned by our Egyptian religious oriental society that respects values ​​of chastity and honor, and where women are respected, protected and held in the highest regard.

This vile aggression by the police and their thugs and other collaborators indicates that the murderous military coup does not respect Islamic principles, moral values ​​or the customs and traditions of the Egyptian people. This is not surprising, since the junta denied Egyptians the right to liberty, sovereignty and life itself. They trampled the people’s will and their choice of MPs, President and Constitution.

We wonder: Where is the National Council for Women as women are subjected to all these abuses and violations? Or does this Council serve only liberal women?

If the coup uses this cruelty and violence to terrorize women so they do not participate in demonstrations, they should know that they have failed. The putschists have used every means of repression, but only managed to mobilize more people, of all walks of life, to join the steadfast anti-coup protesters, giving them even more momentum and escalating their activities.

The putschists must accept the truth, accept popular will, and hand back the power they illegally usurped. This is the only solution.

The heinous putschists must realize that the people will prosecute them. Their crimes will not be forgiven and will not be time-barred.

The Muslim Brotherhood

Cairo: December 28, 2013

http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=31489

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Turkey's Halkbank denies wrongdoing in Iran deals

December 23, 2013
Source: Yahoo News

Istanbul (AFP) - Turkey's state-owned Halkbank, whose chief executive was arrested in connection with a sweeping graft investigation, said on Monday it complied with the law when doing business with sanctions-hit Iran. 

"Our bank's business transactions are regularly audited by relevant authorities," the bank said in a statement

.

"The financial intermediation that our bank offers with regard to trade activities with Iran have been conducted in accordance with regulations," it added. 

The statement comes after Halkbank chief executive Suleyman Aslan was charged Saturday with taking bribes, while Azerbaijani businessman Reza Zarrab was charged with forming a ring that bribed officials to help disguise illegal gold sales to Iran via Halkbank.

Police had also reportedly found $4.5 million in cash stored in shoe boxes in Aslan's home.

Twenty-four people have been charged so far in connection with the high-profile investigation including the sons of Interior Minister Muarrem Guler and Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan as well as several top business leaders. 

On Saturday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended Halkbank which he claimed was targeted by international plotters. 

"We have raised the bank's market value to $25 billion. They are targeting this successful state bank," he said. "This bank is intimidating Turkey's enemies."

Halkbank has come under fire from some quarters in the United States for alleged illegal transactions to Iran.

The bank said it stopped transactions to Iran as of June 10 after the United States announced further sanctions against the Islamic republic. 

Several pro-government media outlets claimed over the weekend that US ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone told some European Union ambassadors that Washington asked the bank to cut its ties with Iran -- the allegations vehemently denied by the ambassador. 

The reports however infuriated the prime minister who warned he may expel some foreign ambassadors over "provocative actions", in remarks considered a veiled threat to Ricciardone.

Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said Sunday that Halkbank has lost $1.6 billion in market value since the scandal broke out and branded the investigation as an operation aimed at undermining Turkey's economic stability.

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Support mounts for Jewish prayer at key holy site

10 hours ago

By DANIEL ESTRIN 

Source: Yahoo News

 

JERUSALEM (AP) — For decades, the religious Jews who bucked a rabbinic ban and visited a Muslim holy site in Jerusalem where the ancient Jewish temple once stood were seen by many as a fanatic fringe.

But their cause is gaining support among both mainstream religious Jews and Israel's government. Jewish visits to the politically-sensitive compound are on the rise, and key Israeli lawmakers are lobbying to end a ban on Jewish prayer there.

 

The matter reached the highest of official levels this month when Israel asked Jordan, which administers Muslim religious affairs at the site, to consider allowing limited Jewish worship there, according to a Jordanian official.

The visits have unnerved Muslim authorities, who fear that Israel is quietly trying to upset a fragile status quo and encroach upon the site. Similar tensions in the past have boiled over into deadly violence.

"If this happens, there will be lot of bloodshed," said Azzam Khatib, director general of the Waqf, Jordan's Islamic authority that manages the Jerusalem holy site, about the possibility of organized Jewish prayers there.

The site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, is ground zero in the territorial and religious conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Revered as Islam's third holiest spot, the site's iconic gold-topped Dome of the Rock enshrines the rock where Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammad ascended to heaven.

Jews believe the rock may be where the holiest part of the two ancient temples stood about 2,000 years ago -- and where religious Jews pray a third temple will one day be built.

The site is so holy that Jews have traditionally refrained from praying on the hilltop, congregating instead at the adjacent Western Wall. In recent weeks, Israel's chief rabbis, as well as the rabbi of the Western Wall, have issued directives urging people not to ascend the Temple Mount, arguing that the temple's former location on the mount is unclear and that Jews at the site could inadvertently enter the holiest area of the once-standing temple, where it was forbidden to tread.

Attitudes among Orthodox Jews have been evolving, however, as archaeologists have weighed in about the precise location of the ancient temples -- and of places where Jews would be allowed to tread.

According to figures the Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon said it obtained from the police, Jewish visits to the holy site have jumped from about 5,700 in 2009 to some 8,300 in 2011. Last year, the number dropped slightly to about 7,800 and this year rose to nearly 8,000.

The Temple Institute, an organization that has led efforts to allow Jewish prayer at the site, attributes the drop in 2012 and this year to police closures during religious holidays when many Jews usually visit. There was no immediate comment from the police to confirm the statistics.

In one of the strangest security measures in the Holy Land, visitors identified as Jews receive police escorts and are banned from praying.

Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute, a group that has for years been advocating for Jewish prayer at the holy site, said police often harass and remove Jews who ascend the mount and recite prayers. He called for Jewish religious freedom at the site.

 

"I'm asking for the right to move my lips," Richman said.

Israeli officials declined comment on the matter, but an aide to Israel's deputy minister of religious affairs said the religious affairs ministry has drafted a proposal that would allow for limited Jewish prayer at the site.

"We see great importance to allow equality in freedom of religion" at the site, said the Idit Druyan, the aide to Deputy Minister Eli Ben-Dahan. "There is no reason why one religion is allowed and another religion is not."

Muslims at the site have protested in recent weeks over what they call Jewish encroachment, and Muslim clerics warn against allowing separate hours for Jewish and Muslim prayer at the site, an arrangement that exists at a Hebron holy site and that Druyan said the religious affairs ministry has considered.

A Jordanian official said Israel asked Jordan this year to consider allowing limited amount of Jews to pray in a small area at the site, according to a Jordanian official. The Israeli request was rebuffed, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a classified diplomatic matter.

The Jordanian official said Jordanian King Abdullah II has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several times, most recently two weeks ago, to prevent Jewish worship at the compound, warning that such a move would provoke Muslims and rekindle anti-Israel sentiment around the Muslim world.

Israeli officials declined to comment on those talks, citing the extreme sensitivity of the matter.

Israel captured the site, located in the walled Old City, and the rest of east Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war. An Israeli flag was enthusiastically raised on the peak of the Dome of the Rock and a military commander announced what later became an iconic catchphrase: "The Temple Mount is in our hands."

But the flag was quickly taken down, and Israel conceded administrative control of the compound to the Waqf, the Islamic religious body in Jerusalem, to keep the peace. The Western Wall, a remnant of the retaining wall of the ancient second Jewish temple just below the compound, was cemented as Israel's central Jewish pilgrimage site.

When hawkish former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ascended the mount in 2000 in a demonstration of Israeli sovereignty over the site, it helped trigger the second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising. More than 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis were killed in several years of fighting.

The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, and the Old City, as the capital of their future state. The status of the site remains perhaps the most sensitive and explosive issue in U.S.-brokered peace talks.

Despite the tensions, the Jewish visits continue. Early one morning last week, during limited hours open for tourist visits, eight Orthodox Jews ascended the compound in groups of one and two.

One Israeli, an immigrant from St. Louis, Missouri, walked barefoot despite the morning winter chill, as Jewish pilgrims did millennia ago.

An Israeli police officer and a Waqf representative shadowed the Jewish visitors to ensure they did not break the ban on Jewish prayer. When their minders were distracted, the visitors murmured psalms.

The Jewish visitors said they often resort to tricks to circumvent the police-enforced ban on prayer. Some pretend to talk on the phone but recite prayers instead. Others secretly prostate themselves in prayer while bending down to observe shrubbery, pick up dropped keys or take a photo low to the ground.

Pinchas Rosenfelder, a 44-year-old Toronto native who moved to Israel, said his monthly visits to the site were to uphold Israeli sovereignty of the site.

"If you're not in a place, you lose it," Rosenfelder said. "The lack of a Jewish presence here is not a good thing."

Rabbi David Rosen, an Israeli interfaith activist, said Jews should be allowed to pray at the site in the framework of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, but allowing Jewish prayer before peace was reached could torpedo current negotiations.

"The fact something is a right doesn't mean you have to exercise it," Rosen said about Jewish prayer at the site. "It doesn't take much to light this tinderbox."

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Presidential aide says Egypt is going downhill

02 December 2013
Source: Middle East Monitor (MEMO)

Kuwait's Al-Watan newspaper has reported that a spokesman for the Interim President of Egypt has said that the country is "going downhill" as long as the current situation continues. Ahmed Muslimani's statement has "shocked and surprised" his colleagues, claimed the pro-coup newspaper.
Commenting on the statement, which was made in a private reception, Al-Watan said, "It seems that the officials of the state and the presidency are making public statements that are the opposite of what they say behind closed doors." The newspaper argued that Muslimani's statement provides clear evidence for this duplicity. "He is, after all, the media spokesman for the president."
Al-Watan pointed out that Muslimani justified his comment by saying that Egypt is suffering from an economic crisis which will affect it dramatically during the coming days. "However, the resources of the state can no longer handle the recession," he said, "including the withdrawal of investments, the disruption to the wheels of production, and meeting the demands of the individual groups."
Muslimani's statement has not only shocked those present at the function at which he spoke, but also triggered panic among the Egyptian and other elites which have supported the coup from the very beginning.

Link: 
 www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/8618-presidential-aide-says-egypt-is-going-downhill.

Most Egyptians favour Morsi return as president

01 December 2013
Source: Middle East Monitor (MEMO)

A poll conducted in Egypt suggests that 68 per cent of a random sample of the population is in favour of the return to office of the deposed President Mohamed Morsi. The percentage of those supporting his ousting has fallen to 18, while 12 per cent support neither Morsi nor the coup.
Conducted by the Egyptian Centre for Media Studies and Public Opinion (Integration Egypt), the poll revealed that the total number of people who took part in anti-Morsi events was less than 5.5 million. Pro-Morsi demonstrations attracted 26 million Egyptians in the same period, it is claimed.
The director of the centre, Mustafa Khodri, said that the study called into serious doubt the Egyptian media’s claim that the number of people participating in protests supporting the isolation of President Morsi topped 33 million. He also pointed out that the study was conducted by means of a field analysis and the level of confidence in the results is 95 per cent.
The poll showed a degree of relative stability in the number of those supporting Morsi’s legitimacy, with a sharp decline in those supporting his isolation. “There has been a 28 per cent reduction in the number of those supporting the isolation since last August,” added Khodri.

Link: www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/8602-most-egyptians-favour-morsi-return-as-president.

Egyptian women send letter of defiance and hope from prison

 29 November 2013
Source: Middle East Monitor (MEMO)


 Egyptian women who were sentenced to 11 years in prison on Tuesday for taking part in a protest against the coup have sent a letter of defiance and hope from their cells. The anti-coup protesters expressed their pride in being part of the movement to return democracy and freedom to their country.
The letter reflected the high spirit amongst the detainees despite the renewal of their detention and pschological torture they experience in prison. They said that they are not surprised at the length of the sentences, "which prove that the coup authorities fear those who seek freedom".
"Our sole weapon is supplication to Allah, which is the best worship," they declared. "Our jailers fear our dua because it gives us hope." The only help asked for is that people should also pray to the Almighty to save them. "We call upon you to pray for Allah to protect us and protect all Muslims, whose blood the coup leaders have spilt, as well as to accept our patience and grant us more faith and persistance."
Calling upon people to continue their action against the coup, the women wrote: "Do not give up hope because victory is approaching. We will never give up hope. Despair is treachery." They expressed their hope that "tomorrow" they will live "in a free country full of justice and security", in their "beloved Egypt".
The women are on the receiving end of what they describe as "harsh" treatment from the police. "They think that we are women and can't take torture; that they will frighten us," they wrote, "but we will not be affected by the psychological war; they will not be able to harm us because Allah is with us.If Allah is with us, who will be against us?"

Link:   www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/8572-egyptian-women-send-letter-of-defiance-and-hope-from-prison.

Egypt: Morsy’s Ex-Aides Forcibly Disappeared

December 1, 2013
Source: Human Rights Watch

150 Days Later, Whereabouts Unknown 

 

(New York) – The Egyptian military has detained five members of former president Mohamed Morsy’s administration at an undisclosed location without judicial process and with very little outside contact since July 3, 2013. Almost five months later, the government has yet to formally acknowledge their detention or disclose their fate or whereabouts, conditions that constitute enforced disappearance. 

The government has been carrying out a systematic crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood. The police have rounded up thousands of the organization’s leaders, members, and perceived sympathizers. Human Rights Watch has documented significant evidence of arbitrary arrests, selective targeting of activities and individuals based solely on their political objectives, and serious due process violations. 

“What kind of roadmap is this where a military-backed government can brazenly disappear former presidential aides for 150 days without any explanation?” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director. “Forcibly disappearing people for months on end doesn’t inspire confidence that this government intends to follow the rule of law.”  

On the day it removed Morsy from power, July 3, 2013, the Egyptian military forcibly detained him and nine high-ranking members of his administration:

 

·         Ahmed Abdelaty, office director

·         Essam al-Haddad, foreign relations assistant

·         Ayman Ali, expatriate affairs assistant

·         Abdelmeguid al-Meshaly, media adviser

·         Khaled al-Qazzaz, foreign relations secretary

·         Ayman al-Serafy, secretary to the office director

·         Mohammad Rifaa al-Tahtawy, chief of staff

·         Assad El-Sheikha, deputy chief of staff

·         Ayman Hudhod, security adviser

 Family members of six detained aides who spoke to Human Rights Watch said that they lost contact with their loved ones around the time Defense Minister Abdul Fatah Sisi announced the government’s ouster on July 3. The military initially held the presidential aides incommunicado, with the exception of al-Qazzaz, who placed several short calls to his family during the first 10 days after their disappearance, assuring his family that the aides were safe and would be home soon.

In the days after July 3, the government refused to acknowledge that it was holding the former aides or to confirm their whereabouts, putting them outside the protection of the law. On July 10, Badr Abdellatty, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman, told Agence France Presse that, although Morsy had not been “charged with anything up until now,” he “is in a safe place, for his safety, and he is being treated with dignity.” 

Ahmed El-Muslimani, spokesman for the interim president, Adly Mansour, announced on July 16 that Morsy is “in a safe place and is treated in a matter appropriate for a former president.” Neither statement, though, provided details of where Morsy was detained, nor made mention of the nine other members of his administration. It is widely presumed that the military initially held the group in the Republican Guard Headquarters.   

The military failed to bring any member of the group in front of a prosecutor within 24 hours, as Egyptian law requires, the relatives of the six detained aides interviewed by Human Rights Watch said. Based on conversations with their husbands, the wives of two detained aides said that the military separated Morsy, al-Tahtawy, and El-Sheikha from the remainder of the group several days after their initial disappearance. 

Prosecutors on July 26 formally ordered Morsy imprisoned pending investigation on a range of charges and on August 4 brought charges against al-Tahtawy and El-Sheikha, ordering their pretrial detention for 15 days pending investigation. Their location, though, remained secret. Security officials eventually transferred El-Sheikha to Tora Prison, where he is currently held. No official statement has been made about where al-Tahtawy, who previously served as Egypt’s ambassador to Libya and Iran, is being held, although a relative told Human Rights Watch that authorities held him with Morsy at an unknown location until Morsy’s preliminary court appearance on November 4, at which point they transferred both to Borg al-Arab Prison.

Prosecutors on August 6 ordered Abdelaty and Hudhod to be detained pending investigation. On that date, security officials moved both from the secret location where they had been held for over 30 days to Tora Prison, Abdelaty’s wife, Mona al-Masri, told Human Rights Watch. El-Sheikha, Hudhod, and Abdelaty appeared in court on November 4 as co-defendants along with Morsy on charges related to the clashes outside the Ettihadiya presidential palace in December 2012. 

The five other aides – al-Haddad, Ali, al-Meshaly, al-Qazzaz, and al-Serafy – remain detained without any legal basis at an undisclosed location. On July 19, al-Qazzaz called his wife, Sarah Attia, and requested that each family deliver white clothes, the uniform for prisoners in Egypt, to a particular secure facility, where an army general would receive the clothes and deliver them to the detained aides, six relatives told Human Rights Watch. The families have since periodically delivered clothing and other items and picked up laundry in this manner. 

The families of the other four aides each had a phone call about a minute long on speakerphone from their loved ones about a month after their disappearance. The aides have had limited family contact since, though they remain unable to speak with a lawyer or have any other outside contact.

Attia, al-Qazzaz’s wife, told Human Rights Watch that she learned, based on her limited communication with her husband, that the military has held the aides together in a single room,  allowing them outside for only one hour a day and denying them access to phones or the Internet. Relatives expressed particular concern about Ali and al-Haddad, who they said have chronic health conditions that require regular access to medication and doctors. 

Several relatives of the disappeared detainees told Human Rights Watch that they feared the government was detaining their relatives to use as leverage for future negotiations with the Muslim Brotherhood. A relative of al-Tahtawy said he fears the authorities will continue to hold al-Tahtawy until a new president is elected. Mona al-Qazzaz, al-Qazzaz’s sister, said she believed her brother was being “kept in the fridge” for use by the government as a negotiating lever with the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Haddad’s son Abdullah said he has similar anxieties about his father, given that he had a close relationship with Morsy. 

All of the relatives interviewed said they felt intimidated when it came to speaking out about their family members. The al-Haddads and al-Qazzazes, in particular, said that a number of their family members have been detained. Security forces in September arrested al-Haddad’s son Gehad, who became the spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood after June 30. Al-Qazzaz’s father, Adly, was arrested in October. Three families told Human Rights Watch that security forces have raided their homes. 

Link: http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/12/01/egypt-morsy-s-ex-aides-forcibly-disappeared.