Aspartame: Sweet Taste of Cancer?
Aspartame, the artificial sweetener that turns up in countless diet food products, may not be healthy for you, especially if you consider cancer unhealthy.
A new study on aspartame conducted by the Ramazzini Foundation reveals that aspartame causes a dose-dependent increase in cancers (lymphomas, leukemias and breast cancers) when consumed at levels approaching those consumed by humans in diet soft drinks.
Now hold on here, aspartame is a product approved and staunchly defended by the FDA. Surely the FDA would never approve a product that was unsafe? In fact, the FDA initially banned the use of aspartame up until the 1980s because of uncertainties about its health risks, including evidence that it may cause brain tumors. It wasnt until 1981 that the FDA finally approved the substance. Who was the man responsible for finally pushing through FDA approval of aspartame? None other than Donald Rumsfeld.
Donald Rumsfeld was at that time chairman of GD Searle, the company that manufactured aspartame. Rummy became a member of Ronald Reagans White House transition team and hand-picked crony Arthur Hayes Hull Jr. to be the new head of the FDA. By July of 1981 aspartame was legal in dry foods and by October 1982 it was made legal for carbonated beverages (over the objections of the National Soft Drink Association).
While the recent flap over the New Zealand woman who overdosed on aspartame-flavored gum made a media splash, the clinical evidence of the dangers of aspartame is extensive and goes back decades. Ostensibly the FDA is there to protect consumers from dangerous food and drugs, but in light of other recent FDA screw-ups (painkiller Vioxx was on the market for years before being pulled off the shelves last year because it causes heart attacks and strokes) it may be that the FDA cant be trusted to look out for the nations health.
Bush Fucks His Own Party, Rummy Style
It was not too shocking yesterday when Donald Rumsfeld resigned after the Democrats took control of the Senate and the House. Hes going to be spending a lot of time in Congressional hearings, which wouldnt have left much time to do the job of running the Pentagon. But according to the New York Times, Bush has been planning on getting rid of Rumsfeld since late summer.
President Bush was moving by late summer toward removing Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary, people inside and outside the White House said Thursday. Weeks before Election Day, the essential question still open was when, not if, to make the move.
Mr. Bush ultimately postponed action until after the election in part because of concern that to remove Mr. Rumsfeld earlier could be interpreted by critics as political opportunism or as ratifying their criticism of the White House war plan in the heart of the campaign, those people said.
Wow, what a total asshole Bush was to his own party. During his post election press conference Bush admitted he lied to the media last week when he said he planned on keeping Rumsfeld for the duration of his presidency. Bush went as far as to actually say Rumsfeld was doing a fantastic job and I strongly support him.
Those were the days
His foolish backing of Rumsfeld was used by many Democrats to blast their Republican opponents about Bushs mishandling of the war. He succeeded in hurting Republican candidates across the country. Now we learn that Bush could have tossed Rumsfeld out in August and maybe given a boost to his party, but his combination of stubbornness and total stupidity stopped him from taking action. Nice work, moron.
Bush Protests Himself, Claims Iraq War Is About Oil
George Bush finally came around about his reasoning for being in Iraq. During the lead up to the invasion the administration told us we needed to get rid of Saddam Hussein because of mythical WMDs. Since then, we have heard many reasons, none plausible. Oil was certainly never the reason.
"There are certain things like that, myths, that are floating around," Rumsfeld said in November 2002. "It has nothing to do with oil, literally nothing to do with oil."
But now its election time and what scares people better than $400 a barrel oil? Bush has been on the election trail campaigning for ill-fated Republicans and telling Americans that oil is a reason to stay in Iraq. Hello desperation.
Bush is now claiming that if we pull the troops out our sweet, precious cars will be fucked because we would hand all that wonderful oil over to insurgents. And they would use the oil as a WEAPON!
"You can imagine a world in which these extremists and radicals got control of energy resources. And then you can imagine them saying, 'We're going to pull a bunch of oil off the market to run your price of oil up unless you do the following. And the following would be along the lines of, well, 'Retreat and let us continue to expand our dark vision.' "
First of all, nobody with a dark vision says, I want to expand my dark vision. They actually dont think it is a dark vision; they believe it is a delightful vision. Please George, tell us more.
Bush said extremists controlling Iraq "would use energy as economic blackmail" and try to pressure the United States to abandon its alliance with Israel. He suggested that such radicals would be "able to pull millions of barrels of oil off the market, driving the price up to $300 or $400 a barrel."
Oh, God! Not $400 a barrel. I would rather fucking die. Thank the sweet Lord that the Republicans are in charge because they keep oil prices so low with their invading and threatening of all the countries that have oil. Sadly for Bush he is full of shit. If Iraq fell into the hands of radicals it would have little to no effect on oil prices. How do we know this? Because in 2003 a country named the United States invaded Iraq and oil production stopped for months. The price of oil never went above $80.
But experts do agree that Iran could "play mischief" because it already controls much of Iraqi oil in the southern part of the country. So we have that going for us.
Jonathan Kesselmans Suicide Watch: My Vacation In Habeas Corpus Christi
October 21st:
By the time you read this, it might be too late; I might already be dead. Ive emailed Helen_Jupiter repeatedly, begging her to post this column immediately. Perhaps someone will read this and heed my cries for help! Unfortunately, that bitch keeps insisting that she will only publish my weekly column on Thursdays! This is no joke, Helen! I just hope to God I can hold out that long...
Shhhhh! Qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqquiet, you damn keyboard! I hear footsteps. Im typing very softly now. Ive noticed that when I italicize,my keyboard sounds quieter. Oh no. Theyre coming closer! Im going to stash my laptop in one these dungeon wall fissures. More to come
October 22nd:
I apologize if the last entry confused you. The moaning in the other cells has stopped, so I know it must be nighttime. I think its safe now. Last week, everything was fine. I dont know why this happened exactly. On Thursday, October 19th, I posted my column in which I called Mel Gibson an oily piece of shit. Seven hours later, while I had my pants around my ankles and was masturbating furiously to nude photos of avalonchase on the SG website, my door was kicked in. Men in black suits grabbed me and told me that in accordance with the newly signed Military Commissions Act, I was hereby considered an unlawful enemy combatant. They also told me that Avalon Chase looked hot, and that I had a small penis. I didnt even have time to feel insulted, because before I knew it they had already injected me in the neck with something. I accidentally ejaculated on one of them. It was gross. I passed out.
Before I was dragged off, while the men in black suits werent looking, I covertly stashed my WiFi equipped laptop in my semen-dampened boxers.
The Qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq key seems to stick now. Im sorry. I know its disgusting, but it could be worse. It could have been the e or the t keys, and then this account of my capture and subsequent torture would be unreadable. Thank God for small miracles.
The rest of what happened that day(s) is a blur. I dozed through the majority of it. I do remember being carried onto a small Jet. I also remember hearing the engines hum for what seemed to be an eternity. I remember feeling the wheels touch down. I remember having a wet dream about Avalon Chase. We were both lobster people swimming in a sea of melted garlic butter. Im pretty sure the drug in my system was partially responsible for the melted garlic butter part.
Anyway, Im looking around my cell. I want to write this as accurately as I can, in case someone actually reads this column. Heres what I can tell you about my surroundings. I am currently writing to you from a damp, dark dungeon in a foreign country where I can conclusively tell you that torture and bodily molestation laws DO NOT apply. Perhaps Im in Darfur. Perhaps Im in Afghanistan. Perhaps the Vatican City: I sometimes hear little boys screaming.
I think
no, I KNOW that I am relatively close to a Starbucks. I know this because Ive found that the various cracks and crevices of my cell are littered with promotional materials from 'Akeelah And The Bee' as well as empty containers of Tall, Grande, and Venti cups emblazoned with that creepy Masonic mermaid logo. Shes become my only friend here. I call her Queen Latifah (I like her acting). We discuss coffee harvesting techniques. She tells me Starbucks buys only the highest qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqquality Arabica coffees available, beans whose flavor develops fully through the Starbucks Roast® process. I also know I am near a Starbucks because my WiFi is picking up two bars from a T-Mobile Hotspot signal labeled, "Starbucks." Those two bars are my only connection to humanity: to you, my loyal SG readers: to Avalon Chases portfolio of scrumptious photos.
Qqqqqqqqqqquiet! Theyre unlocking the cell doors
October 23rd:
My God. Im not sure how much longer I can stand this mental and physical torture! Yesterday, they told me that I was to be waterboarded. Initially I was psyched. I was under the impression that waterboarding was that thing you see people do in places like Corpus Christi, TX during Spring Break. You know, where a water-ski boats pulls what resembles to be a surfboard...
Its not. They tried to kill me! I was drowning. So I told them everything they wanted to know:
I confessed to masterminding the 9/11 attacks. Although I wasnt born yet, I told them that I was the second gunman on the grassy knoll in Dallas. John Wilkes Booth didnt kill Lincoln. I did! I sent those explicit Instant Messages to the sixteen year-old page, not Mark Foley! I lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction, I outed Valerie Plame, I bought every nsynch album ever produced, I tortured those prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Hell, I tortured myself today! It was me! I did it! I did everything! Just make it fucking stop!!!
Oh no! Theyre coming AGAIN!!! Help me! For the love of God, Helen, please publish this!!! Please help!!!
October 24th:
George Walker Bush is a great man. He is a hero to our people. He is a War President. A Decider! It would be disgraceful to not overturn the 22nd amendment to the constitution; the amendment that places a two-term limit on the Presidency. God (Jesus) has chosen George Walker Bush to rule, therefore he should rule for eternity!!! All hail George W. Bush!
Also, Donald Rumsfeld is an attractive, caring man who is in excellent dental health. Rummy wants his teeth to look that way!
My new friends in the black suits told me that I am going home today. I had a wonderful vacation! The food and amenities were wonderful: the watersports fantastic!
I, for one, cannot WAIT to vote Republican across the board this November, and I urge everyone at Suicide Girls to do the same! Were under attack by terrorists, and only God-fearing Republicans can save our great Nation-State! Praise Jesus! Sieg Heil! Hallelujah!
Jon_Kesselman is now the newest Political Pundit for Suicide Girls. Look for his upcoming show, "Straight Talk," on Fox News this Winter! A devout Christian, Jonathan is opposed to Gay Marriage, Abortion, and Stem Cell Research. He is a staunch supporter of the Bush administration, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and abolishing the antiqqqqqqquated 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.
Iraq Was So Successful, Lets Do It Again!
Everybodys favorite retarded cowboy foreign policy is returning with a vengeance. After the exhilarating success of the Iraq war, the Bush administration is giving us the same pre-war bullshit the nation accepted in 2001 and 2002. Intelligence experts and counter-terrorism officials say Republicans are exaggerating the state of Iran's nuclear program and support for terrorism.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said a report by House Republicans contained "erroneous, misleading and unsubstantiated information."
What we are seeing is an exact rerun of the lead up to the invasion of Iraq. The head of the Office of Special Plans, Abram Shulsky, who was largely responsible for cherry picking intelligence to make the case against Saddam Hussein, is now heading a new Iranian directorate at the Pentagon. Cheney and Rumsfeld are receiving questionable information from Iranian exiles. (Cough, couch, Chalabi) Meanwhile, President Bush is addressing the UN General Assembly calling for sanctions. The President says he is seeking a diplomatic resolution to the conflict but a military option is very much on the table. Where have I heard that before?
Yesterday Retired Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner told CNN that we are already conducting military operations inside Iran and US naval forces have been alerted for deployment. Military analysts also claimed we were active inside of Iraq well before the invasion.
Hmm, lets see now, your approval ratings are shit, you are looking at losing control of the House and possibly Senate, what can you do? How about a nice October attack on a sovereign nation?
Murtha Calls for Rumsfeld Resignation
Salty dog John Murtha (D-PA) has been consistently raising his profile over the past year by being an outspoken critic of the Iraq war - with impeccable military credentials. Chickenhawk Republican leaders who managed to avoid military service (ie. pretty much all of them) are the first to point out how "wishy-washy liberal Democrats" want to gut the military, but John Murtha has been a steadfast proponent of the military since he's been in Congress. So when he talks, people listen.
Apparently fed up with what he sees as the Secretary of Defense's poor planning, execution and regard for military input on how to conduct the Iraq war, Murtha submitted a bill asking for Rumsfeld to step down.
Secretary Rumsfeld has failed in managing the military response to this threat and should be replaced with someone who is capable of not only recognizing the mistakes that have been made but addressing them head on for the good of our military and our great nation.
What follows is a painful, stinging indictment of everything that has gone wrong in Iraq. And while Rumsfeld might not be directly responsible for all of it, and as Secretary of Defense he should be the one who ultimately takes responsibility. The buck has to stop somewhere.
The bill ends with a clarion call to action by the Congress.
It is the sense of the Congress that, for the good of the country, the United States of America must restore credibility both at home and abroad and that the first step toward restoring that credibility must be to demonstrate accountability for the mistakes that have been made in prosecuting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq by immediately effecting the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and replacing him with someone capable of leading the nations military in a strategy to resolve our deployment in Iraq, prevent regression in Afghanistan, reconstitute our military readiness, and refocus on the threats to national security posed by diffuse and proliferating terrorist cells as well as belligerent states.
All of which is true. Unfortunately, these days government seems to have become more about getting elected and staying in office than actually doing what's right for the country, so this bill has absolutely zero chance of passing.
Olbermann Speaks Truth to Power
Speaking before the American Legion a few days ago, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld lashed out at critics of the Iraq war, comparing them to Nazi appeasers in the 1930s
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday the world faces a new type of fascism' and likened critics of the Bush administrations war strategy to those who tried to appease the Nazis in the 1930s. In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administrations critics as suffering from moral or intellectual confusion' about what threatens the nations security.
Rumsfeld's comments echo those made by the Vice President, who the day before said that "Some in our own country claim retreat from Iraq would satisfy the appetite of the terrorists and get them to leave us alone." It appears to be part of an election-year strategy by the White House to bully over 60% of Americans who oppose Bush's foreign policy into silence, while whipping the 35%-37% of Americans who still support the president into a frenzy.
Last night on Countdown, Keith Olbermann spoke up and struck back, with a commentary that recalled Edward R. Murrow at his finest.
The man who sees absolutes, where all other men see nuances and shades of meaning, is either a prophet, or a quack.
Donald H. Rumsfeld is not a prophet.
Mr. Rumsfelds remarkable speech to the American Legion yesterday demands the deep analysisand the sober contemplationof every American.
For it did not merely serve to impugn the morality or intelligence -- indeed, the loyalty -- of the majority of Americans who oppose the transient occupants of the highest offices in the land. Worse, still, it credits those same transient occupants -- our employees -- with a total omniscience; a total omniscience which neither common sense, nor this administrations track record at home or abroad, suggests they deserve.
Dissent and disagreement with government is the lifes blood of human freedom; and not merely because it is the first roadblock against the kind of tyranny the men Mr. Rumsfeld likes to think of as his troops still fight, this very evening, in Iraq.
It is also essential. Because just every once in awhile it is right and the power to which it speaks, is wrong.
[. . .]
[A]bout Mr. Rumsfelds other main assertion, that this country faces a "new type of fascism." As he was correct to remind us how a government that knew everything could get everything wrong, so too was he right when he said that - though probably not in the way he thought he meant it. This country faces a new type of fascism - indeed.
Quoting the commentary does not do it justice, so here's the clip form You Tube:
Yipee! Fascism!
In June the Supreme Court ruled that the Bush administration's military trial system was illegal. So Bush and his boys have created a new policy that is so un-American it is dumbfounding. It can only be compared to the British Court of Star Chamber from medieval times. Ah, the good old days when court sessions were held in secret, with no right of appeal, and punishment was swift and severe to any enemy of the crown. Here are some of the new ideas to help protect our freedoms.
"Trials, for the first time, of people who are not members of al-Qaeda or the Taliban and are not directly involved in acts of international terrorism"
They would "also allow the secretary of defense to add crimes at will to those under the military court's jurisdiction"
"Defendants would lack rights to confront accusers, exclude hearsay accusations, or bar evidence obtained through rough or coercive interrogations"
"They would not be guaranteed a public or speedy trial and would lack the right to choose their military counsel, who in turn would not be guaranteed equal access to evidence held by prosecutors."
So, to sum up, military commissions could bring charges against anyone who is NOT a terrorist, but just for something Donald Rumsfeld thought was bad. Like a reporter, for instance. Then the reporter would not have the ability to confront his accusers or exclude hearsay accusations or to bar evidence obtained through TORTURE. Public, speedy trial. Good bye. You dont even have to be there.
The Navys top uniformed lawyer from 1997 to 2000 said the rules would evidently allow the government to tell a prisoner:
"We know youre guilty. We cant tell you why, but theres a guy, we cant tell you who, who told us something. We cant tell you what, but youre guilty."
Deja Vu All Over Again
Afghanistan, the abandoned front in the war on terror. Remember when Afghanistan was our number one enemy, the place where training camps spawned terrorists who hatched a plan to destroy the Pentagon and the World Trade Center? Remember when the war in Afghanistan was over, and we could start focusing on more pressing issues, like Saddam Hussein's imminent arsenal of weapons of mass destruction that were threatening mushroom clouds over American cities? Well apparently that all... never happened. That's right, because Donald Rumsfeld has just declared that we will defeat the Taliban....er, again.
The Taliban will be defeated in Afghanistan although cross-border movement of militants is continuing, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday.
Rumsfeld also called on Europe to provide a master plan to Afghanistan to help curb its massive drug trade, which has seen heroin flood Europe and Russia.
At a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Rumsfeld said militants dont want to see a country like Afghanistan have a successful democracy. They wont succeed.
Groups of Taliban have infiltrated large parts of the Afghan south and east this year and unleashed their most bloody wave of bombings, ambushes and raids.
The violence, nearly five years after the Taliban were ousted, has taken the government and its Western backers by surprise and raised concern for the NATO peacekeeping mission that is due to take over in the south.
Haven't we been here before? Didn't we already beat the Taliban? One would think that had we not been distracted by Iraq, lost the international goodwill that followed the 9/11 attacks, and made a concerted effort to finish off the Taliban and rebuild Afghanistan in a way that could actually support an economy that didn't involved heroin that this problem might have been avoided in the first place.
Stealing, Looting and Pretty Things on Rumsfeld's Desk
After the 9/11 attacks, firefighters searched for survivors as the smoldering ruins burned the soles off their boots. They needed new ones every few hours. It was the job of Chris Christopherson to make sure they got them. He worked for Keiger Enterprises on Minnesota, a disaster supply management company and he was doing something important.
Imagine his disappointment when the company sent trucks to a Long Island warehouse and loaded hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of donated bottled water, clothes, tools and generators to be moved to Minnesota in a plot to sell the goods and earn a fast track to Satans very hot apartment. Americans had donated all of the supplies.
Christopherson and a co-worker complained to a company executive, but were told to shut their pie holes. Finally they went to the FBI. The two lost their jobs, received death threats and were blackballed in the disaster relief industry. But they had done the right thing and they knew that, as they watched absolutely NOTHING happen. But the two did receive $30,000 each after expenses, their share in a civil settlement against KEI. It is hard to imagine what to do with all that money.
The theft case was referred to prosecutors in New York and was moving forward until it was discovered that an FBI agent in Minnesota had stolen a crystal globe from ground zero. Uh oh, time to slow things down. A further investigation revealed 16 government employees, including a top FBI executive and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, had such artifacts from New York or the Pentagon. FEMA investigator Kirk Beauchamp put it best.
How could you secure an indictment? It would be a conflict.
Well said, brother. The FBI decided not to pursue the investigation, as it would mean prosecuting FBI agents. Case dropped because the FBI decided stealing exposing their taking of a few trinkets was comparable to the theft of 45 tons of emergency supplies. Good call.