The Most Ridiculous Flu Shot Sales Pitch, Ever!

Run for cover! Here come the flu experts! 

Every year around this time they get trotted out for TV shows and newspaper articles. They've got all their talking points lined up, ready to convince you that you'll be in great danger if you don't get a flu shot. 

But this year it seems they've got a new angle: herd immunity. 

You hear a lot of talk about herd immunity with childhood vaccines for whooping cough, measles, etc. But this is the first year I've seen it used to sell the flu shot. 

And there's a reason we haven't seen it before. It's nonsense. 

According to one expert, "There is no question that the more people who get vaccinated, the better off we all are." 

Got that? There is "no question." End of discussion. 

Another flu shot cheerleader claims: "It is everyone's civic responsibility to protect themselves and their community." 

So plan on blaming yourself if you don't get a flu shot and the flu runs roughshod through your community. 

Last year, a flu expert told USA Today that he strongly believes that everyone should get the flu shot. And yet his own research shows that the flu shot doesn't really work very well. He also admitted that the shot isn't strong enough to create true herd immunity. 

But the fact is, NO vaccine creates herd immunity. That's because "true" herd immunity is when a population contracts an infection and then recovers naturally. And that natural immunity lasts a lifetime. But ALL vaccine immunity eventually wears off. And flu shot immunity, which is weak to begin with, wears off pretty quickly. 

One of the experts quoted above recommends that you get your shot as early in the season as possible so you're protected right from the start. But another expert says wait until October so you'll have a better chance of immunity lasting through the worst part of the season. 

So I guess we can take our pick. We can (supposedly) be protected in the early flu season, or the later flu season, but not both. And yet they suggest that if enough people get this weak shot, we'll all be enveloped by a magical immunity. 

Do you get the feeling they're just making this stuff up as they go along? 

Here's what we know for certain, because it's proven. If you and me and the rest of the "herd" wash our hands frequently, flu risk goes down. Then add ample supplements of vitamin D and you've got a genuine shot of staying healthy throughout the flu months ahead. 

Yours in good health, Bob Reagan

Oh No! Say It Isn't True, Pepsi!!

Is It True?

Pepsi is at it again, throwing money at campaigns designed to keep you in the dark about GMOs.

So far the Soda Giant has pumped $900,000 into Oregon’s NO on 92 Campaign. And a whopping$1.2 million into the NO on Prop 105 Coalition in Colorado.

Pepsi also belongs to the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) which not only has contributed millions to defeat GMO labeling laws in California, Washington State, Oregon and Colorado, but which is behind a bill in Congress to preempt state GMO labeling laws, and has sued the state of Vermont to overturn a GMO labeling law passed there earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Pepsi is looking for more ways to sell its junk-drink products, by recently introducing a low-calorie drink, called Pepsi True.

Here’s what we know is true. Pepsi is willing to spend millions of dollars to defeat GMO labeling laws. How does the company fill up its anti-labeling war chest? With the profits it makes by selling allegedly consumer-friendly products like its new low-calorie Pepsi True, and its line of organic and natural brands, like Naked Juice, Tostitos, Tropicana, Tazo, Loóza, Izze, Sabra, Smartfood, Stacy's, Mother's and Near East.

Let’s keep the “Traitor” boycott alive and well!

TAKE ACTION: Boycott Pepsi’s Organic and Natural Brands!

TAKE ACTION: Pledge to Boycott the 300-Plus Members of the GMA, Including the Traitor Brands!

More about the boycott

GMA members

GMA boycott website

Download your wallet-sized boycott guide.

Download the Buycott app for your smartphone and join OCA's new campaign, "Buy Organic Brands that Support Your Right to Know" so you can scan products before you buy them.

Made in the Shade

If your day hasn’t really begun until that first sip of coffee, you’re not alone. According to the National Coffee Association, more than 80 percent of U.S. adults drink coffee on a regular basis.

But consumers are getting wiser—and choosier—about which coffee brands they buy. There’s a definite trend toward coffee-lovers voting with their dollars. And what they’re voting for are organic, shade-grown and fair trade beans.

What are conscientious consumers not buying? Coffee grown on corporate-owned sun plantations, produced with a heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and with little regard for the health and welfare of plantation workers and small, sustainable farmers.

October is Fair Trade Month. But beware: Not all fair trade products are equal. And that warning applies to coffee brands, too.

Read the essay

Read the FWP coffee guide

mage Credit: izahorsky via Compfight cc 

BREAKING: EPA Approves ‘Agent Orange’ Deadly Duo Poison

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ignoring 
more than 60 members of Congress and a half a million citizens, late yesterday (10/8/14) approved a deadly new herbicide, Dow’s Enlist Duo, made from a combination of Monsanto’s Roundup and Dow’s “Agent Orange” 2,4-D.

The new herbicide will be used on Dow’s newly approved corn and soy crops, engineered to withstand massive doses of the new “Deadly Duo” herbicide.

Where will the vast percentage of these new crops go? To feed animals on factory farms.

Take Action: Take the Factory Farm Free Friday Pledge!

Better yet? Pledge to boycott factory farms forever!

With yesterday’s approval of Dow’s Enlist crops and Deadly Duo herbicide, the EPA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which also signed off on the crops, have signaled that they have no intention of ending the rampant escalation of the use of increasingly toxic poisons by industrial agriculture.

The only way we will stop them is by shutting down demand for GMO crops. That will take millions of consumers switching to organic, non-GMO food at the supermarket—and that means boycotting meat, eggs and dairy from factory farms.

Now, more than ever, it’s time to fight back.

- Katherine and Melinda for the OCA team

The herbicide is designed to be sprayed on Dow’s new Enlist-brand GMO corn and soy crops, which were recently approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—despite more than 500,000 public comments, a letter signed by 60 Members of Congress, and letters from medical professionals and scientists asking the agency to reject the crops.

The USDA and the EPA have failed us. It’s time for President Obama to step in. Please send a letter to President Obama and ask him to stop the toxic madness!

After you send your letter, please take a moment to call the White House hotline at 202.456.1111 and leave a message. You can say something like:

"I’m calling to urge President Obama to stop the approval of Dow’s “Enlist Duo” herbicide and reverse USDA’s approval of 2,4-D-resistant corn and soybeans. Enlist Duo contains 2,4-D, a chemical that has been linked to cancer, Parkinson’s disease, endocrine disruption, and reproductive problems, and glyphosate, the focus of multiple recent studies linking the toxin to a host of illnesses. Please protect our health, and the health of the environment, by rejecting Dow’s latest request to escalate the use of this bee-killing pesticide."

The USDA admits that if the new crops are approved, the annual use of 2,4-D would jump from 26 million pounds to 176 million pounds.

Independent scientists predict the spike in the use of 2,4-D would be even more dramatic.

The proliferation of Roundup Ready crops caused a 527-million-pound increase in the use of glyphosate in the first 16 years, between 1996 and 2011. If farmers start growing Dow’s Enlist brand corn and soy, experts estimate the use of 2,4-D could increase by up to 50 times.

Brazen Bee-Killer

Talk about brazen.

Despite the mounting evidence that neonicotinoid pesticides are responsible for the dramatic decline in honeybees . . . despite the fact that the European Union, based on the science, declared a two-year moratorium on neonicotinoids . . . despite the fact that beekeepers in Canada are suing Bayer and Syngenta over the destruction of their bee colonies . . . Syngenta wants the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to let it spray even more of its neonicotinoid pesticide ingredient, thiamethoxam on alfalfa, corn and wheat crops in the U.S.

In a petition filed in August, but not published on the Federal Register until September 5, Syngenta, one of the world’s top three manufacturers of bee-killing pesticides, asked the EPA to pass an increase of 4.9 parts-per-million (ppm) of thiamethoxan. The current legal allowable level is 0.1ppm—Syngenta wants it increased to 5.0ppm.

Syngenta’s thiamethoxan is currently used primarily as a seed treatment. The company wants the EPA to raise the allowed limits so the toxin can be sprayed widely on crop leaves.

Syngenta, along with Bayer and Monsanto, have launched an aggressive public relations campaign that paints the pesticide-makers as “concerned” about the health of bees, and actively working to protect them. The campaign aims to divert attention from neonics and other poisons, to possible other causes of bee population declines, including varro mites and climate change.

We’re not buyin’ it. The OCA has joined 16 other groups in signing a letter to the EPA asking for stricter review of neonics.

Meanwhile, please tell the EPA to reject Syngenta’s request to spray more bee-killing neonics.

TAKE ACTION: Tell the EPA: Neonics should be banned. Don’t give Syngenta permission to spray even more of its bee-killing poisons on crops!

Read the letter to the EPA

Milk Thistle For Your Diabetes 2 or Crohns?

click on picture above for detailed info

Milk Thistle is a potent detoxifying herb that can help to aid liver function, manage cholesterol, prevent cancer, and lower blood glucose levels. Milk Thistle has powerful anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral properties and has been used over the years to help protect the liver from strong medications such statin drugs, phenytoin, seizure medication, and acetaminophen as well as from the effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Milk Thistle has been shown to help fight against hepatitis C as well inhibit cancer cell growth for breast, cervical, and prostate cancers. It has also been shown to benefit gall bladder disorders, cirrhosis, type 2 diabetes, parkinson’s disease, jaundice, obsessive-compulsive disorder, headaches, PMS, and rosacea. Milk Thistle is also highly effective in the treatment of osteoarthitis and other autoimmune conditions such as fibromyalgia, bursitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and eczema. Milk Thistle is esteemed for its ability to help restore and protect the liver from chemicals, environmental toxins, and alcohol and is excellent for helping to strengthen the digestive tract and aid in the healing of irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, and crohn’s disease. Milk Thistle is a rich source of zinc, selenium, iron, antioxidants, and flavonoids. Milk thistle can be taken as a tea, capsule, tincture, or extract form and is found online or at your local health food store. Silymarin is the active compound in Milk thistle seeds that contains most of the healing properties. For the best results, look for a brand that states on the label that each dosage contains at least 70%-80% silymarin.

- by Medical Medium

Boost Your Immune System

http://biodefense.com/Pandemic-Preparedness-Episode-07.html

Antiviral Herbs And Spices

Antiviral herbal medicines vs. Ebola and other viral pandemics - BioDefense.com

CDC Now Endangering All Americans About Ebola Transmission

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

There's no subtle way to say this, so I'll just state it outright: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has become a clear and present danger to the public health of all Americans. The agency's continued repeating of lies based on false assumptions is already contributing to a dangerous, casual attitude about Ebola transmission that could cause this outbreak to explode across the United States.

I have already estimated, in an interview with Dave Hodges, that a runaway outbreak across the USA could result in as many as 30 million deaths if uncontrolled. Clearly this threat needs to be taken seriously, and all Americans deserve to hear the truth about Ebola's infection vectors. But instead of telling the truth about how Ebola is spreading, the CDC remains in a state of dangerous denial, falsely insisting the virus only spreads through "direct contact" even though virologist experts strongly disagree (and infections are clearly taking place that could not have happened through direct contact).

Even the W.H.O. now openly contradicts the CDC, stating "The Ebola virus can also be transmitted indirectly, by contact with previously contaminated surfaces and objects." [6]

The W.H.O. also explains that "...wet and bigger droplets from a heavily infected individual... could transmit the virus -- over a short distance -- to another nearby person. This could happen when virus-laden heavy droplets are directly propelled, by coughing or sneezing..."

Despite these warnings, photos captured outside the apartment of Ebola "patient zero" Thomas Duncan show government officials walking in and out of an obviously contaminated apartment while wearing no protective gear whatsoever. The sidewalk where Duncan vomited was power-washed by people wearing no protective gear as well.

Such astonishing events put us all at risk of increased Ebola transmission, and the careless, casual attitude being witnessed right now is a direct result of the CDC knowingly lying to the public about Ebola transmission vectors.

A well-researched story by David Willman, published in the LA Times, seems to be the very first mainstream media story that dares to question the CDC's official lies. Click here to read that story. Many of the quotes shown below are sourced from this story. Willman deserves to be applauded for having the courage to investigate this story and ask real questions that divert from CDC propaganda.

Here are the five dangerous -- even deadly -- assumptions still being made by the CDC, an agency that is clearly behaving in a way that threatens the health and safety of the American people.

The Answer to Superweeds: Superpoisons

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) has an answer for superweeds—and it’s called super poisons.

Ignoring the public outcry and pleas by saner members of Congress, the USDA last week approved Dow’s new corn and soy crops, genetically engineered to withstand not one, but two poisons—a super-toxic, super-poison comprised of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, and Dow’s 2,4-D, made with an ingredient that was used in the Vietnam-era Agent Orange herbicide.

Now that the USDA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have both signed off on the crops, there’s only one thing standing between you and the unleashing of 200 percent – 600 percent more 2,4-D into the environment: approval by the EPA of the herbicide itself, Dow’s Enlist Duo.

According to Food & Water Watch: “Because 2,4-D is prone to drifting away from the field where it is applied, increased use of the herbicide will put grapes, tomatoes and all other specialty crops that are not engineered to withstand exposure to 2,4-D at risk.”

Not to mention the risk it will pose to humans, including children and farm workers.

But hey, Dow stands to rake in another $1 billion in sales from its “Deadly Duo” Enlist crops and poisons.

TAKE ACTION: Tell the EPA: Stop Dow’s Deadly Duo of Agent Orange and Roundup Herbicides

Read the press release

- by Organic Consumers Association 

'Homegrown' No More

The company whose mission it is to “cultivate a healthier and happier world by spreading goodness through nourishing foods, honest words and conduct that is considerate and forever kind to the planet” has sold out—to the company whose mission it is to keep you in the dark about what’s in your food.

Earlier this month (September 2014), General Mills announced it will buy Annie’s Homegrown in a deal worth $820 million.

Annie’s CEO, John Foraker, defended the sale of the Berkeley, Calif.-based maker of natural and organic pastas, meals and snacks:

“We felt that is was a really great time to partner up with somebody like General Mills because our mission is really making products like ours available to a much, much broader set of consumers.”

“Somebody like General Mills”?

As in “somebody” who spent $2.1 million to defeat GMO labeling initiatives in California (Prop 37, in 2012) and Washington State (I-522 in 2013)?

As in “somebody” who belongs to the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), which not only has spent millions to defeat GMO labeling laws, but also sued the state of Vermont for passing a GMO labeling bill? And helped draft a bill in Congress that, if passed, will deny states the right to pass GMO labeling laws?

As in “somebody” whose shareholders voted overwhelmingly to continue to use genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the company’s food products?

Think it’s time to add Annie’s to the Traitor Boycott list?

TAKE ACTION: Tell Annie’s CEO John Foraker that you’re boycotting Annie’s until General Mills pulls out of the Grocery Manufacturers Association and supports state GMO labeling laws!

- by Organic Consumers Association 

The Edenmore Gang are NOT going to Jail! UP YOURS Irish Water & GMC!

WTG my Irish countrymen & women (my grandfather was 1st in family to be born here, so Ireland is not far away from me in heart!)! Keep up the good work of not letting the greedy ba$tards get away with their shenanigans! Here's the Dublin Says No! website: https://www.facebook.com/DublinSaysNo.DSN