Corporations

Medical insurers and drug companies spent 41% more on lobbying this year

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Lobbying boosted as health care debate heats up

USA TODAY WASHINGTON – The largest medical insurers and drug companies spent 41% more on lobbying this year as Congress began debate on an overhaul of health care, which may include a public insurance plan the industries oppose.

The largest medical insurers and drug companies spent 41% more on lobbying this year as Congress began debate on an overhaul of health care, which may include a public insurance plan the industries oppose.

Despite an overall decline in lobbyist spending this year, a USA TODAY review of disclosure reports found 20 of the largest health insurance and drug companies and their trade groups spent nearly $35 million in the first quarter of 2009, up more than $10 million from the same period last year.

Read moreMedical insurers and drug companies spent 41% more on lobbying this year

US is a weapons supermarket for terrorists, inquiry finds

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Undercover inspectors manage to buy high-grade gear including nuclear triggers and evade export bans

The US is a virtual supermarket for terrorists and foreign governments seeking high-end military technology, including components that can be used to build nuclear weapons and equip militants fighting US and British troops, the American government has found.

Over the past year, government investigators posing as private buyers purchased military-grade body armour, technology to stabilise and steer guided missiles, a device that can be used to detonate nuclear weapons, and other munitions through legal means in the US. They evaded export controls and posted dummy versions of the gear to countries known as trans-shipment points for terrorist groups and foreign governments seeking arms and weapons components.

The investigation shows lax sales restrictions and export controls could allow terrorists and hostile foreign governments to buy equipment to use against US and British troops in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries, US officials say. Foreign governments and terrorist groups have sought to purchase military technology from the US, according to officials, and in 2008 more than 145 people were charged with violating export control laws, with 43% of those attempting illegally to ship gear to Iran and China.

The private US companies that provided the equipment – in some cases from government surplus – said they were not required to check buyers’ backgrounds or obtain government licences for the sales. The US commerce department found that the companies selling the equipment had not violated any laws or regulations. The problem, investigators said, was that sensitive military equipment barred from export was often legal to sell within the US, with little restriction, and buyers need only establish a plausible front company.

Read moreUS is a weapons supermarket for terrorists, inquiry finds

On the Edge with Max Keiser (06/05/09)

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Related articles:
– Geithner tries to assure Chinese investors, draws laughter from the audience
– German Chancellor Angela Merkel Blasts ‘Powers of the Fed’

1 of 3:

Read moreOn the Edge with Max Keiser (06/05/09)

US Association of Physicians calls for Moratorium on GMO Foods

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The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) has just issued a call for an immediate moratorium on Genetically Manipulated (GMO) Foods.

monsanto1

In a just-released position paper on GMO foods, the AAEM states that ‘GM foods pose a serious health risk’ and calls for a moratorium on GMO foods. Citing several animal studies, the AAEM concludes ‘there is more than a casual association between GMO foods and adverse health effects’ and that ‘GM foods pose a serious health risk in the areas of toxicology, allergy and immune function, reproductive health, and metabolic, physiologic and genetic health.’ The report is a devastating blow to the multibillion dollar international agribusiness industry, most especially to Monsanto Corporation, the world’s leading purveyor of GMO seeds and related herbicides.

In a press release dated May 19, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, which describes itself as ‘an international association of physicians and other professionals dedicated to addressing the clinical aspects of environmental health,’ called immediately for the following emergency measures to be taken regarding human consumption of GMO foods:

* A moratorium on GMO food; implementation of immediate long term safety testing and labelling of GMO food.

* Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community and the public to avoid GMO foods.

* Physicians to consider the role of GMO foods in their patients’ disease processes.

* More independent long term scientific studies to begin gathering data to investigate the role of GMO foods on human health.

The AAEM chairperson, Dr Amy Dean notes that ‘Multiple animal studies have shown that GM foods cause damage to various organ systems in the body. With this mounting evidence, it is imperative to have a moratorium on GM foods for the safety of our patients’ and the public’s health.’ The President of the AAEM, Dr Jennifer Armstrong stressed that ‘Physicians are probably seeing the effects in their patients, but need to know how to ask the right questions. The most common foods in North America which are consumed that are GMO are corn, soy, canola, and cottonseed oil.’ The AAEM’s position paper on Genetically Modified foods can be found at http:aaemonline.org.

Related information:
– Exposed: the great GM crops myth
– The World According to Monsanto – A documentary that Americans won’t ever see
– At stake is no less than control of the world’s food supply.

The paper further states that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) technology ‘abrogates natural reproductive processes, selection occurs at the single cell level, the procedure is highly mutagenic and routinely breeches genera barriers, and the technique has only been used commercially for 10 years.’

The AAEM paper further states, ’several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signalling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system.’

Read moreUS Association of Physicians calls for Moratorium on GMO Foods

If you buy Windows 7 or even use it, you are an idiot

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You have no rights, so buy Windows 7

The Windows Vista replacement, Windows 7, will be released before Christmas. Photo / AP

Rant Forced updates and reboots, then shutdown

MICROSOFT IS DOING its level best to make Windows 7 seem more palatable than the Broken OS, but it is all just show. As usual, once you look beyond the hype and spin, you will see it is once again a cynical scam.

This time, Microsoft is dipping its toes in the water around its latest WGA / WAT control freakery. It will forcibly shut down Windows 7 RC machines every two hours. It will start to do this three months before the RC programme ends in June 2010, but Microsoft will kindly give you two weeks notice before it starts shutting you down. This kindness can be thought of like two ‘just out of prison types’ showing up at your door saying, “Youze wanna pay for dat softwarez? If youze don’t, youze kneez just might break on dere own, ya know? Mista Balma don’tz likez peoplez like youze.”

Microsoft has every right to do whatever the heck it wants with the RC, and it also has every right to get paid for its software that you are using. But then again, is it insane? No, don’t answer that, it is not. It is cold, calculating, and doesn’t give a rat’s *ss about your rights. All Microsoft cares about is forcing money out of you, repeatedly and as often as possible. If you buy Windows 7 or even use it, you are an idiot. Consider this about your 17th warning, as if everything Microsoft has put people through over the years wasn’t enough. Maybe someday you will get a clue.

Read moreIf you buy Windows 7 or even use it, you are an idiot

Dr. Russell Blaylock on 1976 Swine Flu and Current Outbreak

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Don’t miss:

– New flu combines pig, bird, human virus:
Unusually, the viruses all appear to carry genes from swine flu, avian flu and human flu viruses from North America, Europe and Asia.
– CDC to mix avian, human flu viruses in pandemic study (2004):
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will soon launch experiments designed to combine the H5N1 virus and human flu viruses and then see how the resulting hybrids affect animals. The goal is to assess the chances that such a “reassortant” virus will emerge and how dangerous it might be.”

and

– Baxter expects to soon begin work on flu vaccine:
 BOSTON, April 29 (Reuters) – Baxter International Inc said on Wednesday that it could have the first dose of its pandemic flu vaccine ready within 12 to 16 weeks of the start of the manufacturing process for the product.
– Baxter: Product contaminated with live H5N1 avian flu virus:
The company that released contaminated flu virus material from a plant in Austria confirmed Friday that the experimental product contained live H5N1 avian flu viruses.
The contamination incident, which is being investigated by the four European countries, came to light when the subcontractor in the Czech Republic inoculated ferrets with the product and they died. Ferrets shouldn’t die from exposure to human H3N2 flu viruses.

Source: Socioecohistory

Dr. Russell Blaylock, is a board certified neurosurgeon, author and lecturer. An expert on nutrition and vaccines, he is also editor of the widely distributed Blaylock Wellness Report. He comments :

I was in the military during the first swine flu scare in 1976. At the time it became policy that all soldiers would be vaccinated for swine flu. As a medical officer I refused and almost faced a court martial, but the military didn’t want the bad publicity.Despite the assurance by all the experts in virology, including Dr. Sabin, the epidemic never materialized.

What did materialize were 500 cases of Gullian-Barre paralysis, including 25 deaths-not due to the swine flu itself, but as a direct result of the vaccine. At the time President Gerald Ford, on advice from the CDC, called for vaccination of the entire population of the United States.

Related video: Ron Paul on the Swine Flu Scare

  • While it is not unknown for pigs to become infected with the H5N1 virus, the result has always been a less-lethal and less-contagious virus than avian flu by itself. Why is this epidemic so obviously contagious?
  • How would genetic code from three continents find its way into a single strain in Mexico City?
  • Is this virus an escaped experiment from a project gone awry?
  • If man-made and not accidentally released, then who released it, and why?

Today, some 33 years later, we are hearing the same cries of alarm from a similar lineup of virology experts. The pharmaceutical companies are busy designing a vaccine for the swine flu in hope that this administration will make the vaccine mandatory before another vaccine-related disaster can ruin their party.

Read moreDr. Russell Blaylock on 1976 Swine Flu and Current Outbreak

Gerald Celente: Fascism has come to America in broad daylight

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If Nostradamus were alive today, he’d have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente.
– New York Post

When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente.
– CNN Headline News

There’s not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he’s talking about. – CNBC

Those who take their predictions seriously … consider the Trends Research Institute.
– The Wall Street Journal

A network of 25 experts whose range of specialties would rival many university faculties.
– The Economist


11. April 2009
Source: YouTube

See also:
– The Obama Deception
– Ron Paul: Obama Foreign Policy Identical To Bush

A Silenced Drug Study Creates An Uproar

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The study would come to be called “cursed,” but it started out just as Study 15.

It was a long-term trial of the antipsychotic drug Seroquel. The common wisdom in psychiatric circles was that newer drugs were far better than older drugs, but Study 15’s results suggested otherwise.

As a result, newly unearthed documents show, Study 15 suffered the same fate as many industry-sponsored trials that yield data drugmakers don’t like: It got buried. It took eight years before a taxpayer-funded study rediscovered what Study 15 had found — and raised serious concerns about an entire new class of expensive drugs.

Study 15 was silenced in 1997, the same year Seroquel was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat schizophrenia. The drug went on to be prescribed to hundreds of thousands of patients around the world and has earned billions for London-based AstraZeneca International — including nearly $12 billion in the past three years.

The results of Study 15 were never published or shared with doctors, even as less rigorous studies that came up with positive results for Seroquel were published and used in marketing campaigns aimed at physicians and in television ads aimed at consumers. The results of Study 15 were provided only to the Food and Drug Administration — and the agency has strenuously maintained that it does not have the authority to place such studies in the public domain.

Read moreA Silenced Drug Study Creates An Uproar

The Obama Deception

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See also: Ron Paul: Obama Foreign Policy Identical To Bush


1:51:21 – 12.03.2009
Source: Google Video

A New Low in Drug Research: 21 Fabricated Studies

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We’ve followed plenty of controversies around drug trials, from ghostwriting to keeping quiet about unflattering results. But the latest news is particularly eye-popping: A prominent Massachusetts anesthesiologist allegedly fabricated 21 medical studies involving major drugs. Yikes.

Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., has asked several anesthesiology journals to retract the studies, which appeared between 1996 and 2008, the WSJ reports. The hospital says its former chief of acute pain, Scott S. Reuben, faked data used in the studies.

Some of the studies reported favorable results from use of Pfizer’s Bextra and Merck’s Vioxx, both painkillers that have since been pulled from the market. Others offered good news about Pfizer’s pain drugs Lyrica and Celebrex and Wyeth’s antidepressant Effexor XR. Doctors said Reuben’s work was particularly influential in pain treatment and that they were shocked by the news.

“We are left with a large hole in our understanding of this field,” Steven Shafer, editor-in-chief of Anesthesia and Analgesia, told Anesthesiology News, which first reported on the retractions. “There are substantial tendrils from this body of work that reach throughout the discipline of postoperative pain management.”

Pfizer had funded some of Reuben’s research and had also paid him to speak on behalf of its medicines. “It is very disappointing to learn about Dr. Scott Reuben’s alleged actions,” Pfizer said in a statement to WSJ. “When we decided to support Dr. Reuben’s research, he worked for a credible academic medical center and appeared to be a reputable investigator.”

Read moreA New Low in Drug Research: 21 Fabricated Studies

Virtually free water supply for corporations vs. water shortages for residents

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Public spigot stays open for water bottlers

You probably thought there was a serious water shortage in Florida.

It’s why we’re spending billions to repair and repurify the Everglades, right? It’s why we’re not supposed to run our lawn sprinklers more than once or twice a week.

But hold on. It turns out there’s a boundless, virtually free supply of Florida water — though not for residents. The public spigot remains open day and night for Nestle, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and 19 other corporations that bottle our water and sell it for a huge per-unit profit.

The stuff is no safer or tastier than most municipal tap water, but lots of us buy it, anyway. You know all the brands: Deer Park, Dasani, Zephyrhills, Aquafina, even Publix.

Common sense would suggest that a company with a balance sheet like Coca-Cola’s or Pepsi’s ought to pay for the water they take, the same as homeowners and small businesses do.

Nope. Every year, state water managers allow large bottling firms to siphon nearly two billion gallons from fresh springs and aquifers. The fees are laughably puny.

For example, it cost Nestle Waters of North America the grand sum of $150 for a permit to remove as much water as it pleases from the Blue Springs in Madison County. Every day, Nestle pipes about 500,000 gallons, enough to fill 102,000 plastic bottles that are then shipped to stores and supermarkets throughout the Southeast.

Read moreVirtually free water supply for corporations vs. water shortages for residents

Panasonic orders staff to buy £1,000 in products

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Its electronic gadgetry is gathering dust on the shelves of high street stores, nobody is buying new fridges and the mountain of unsold plasma televisions is growing by the day.

However, in desperation, Panasonic has hit on the perfect counter-attack against the consumer slump: it has ordered every member of staff to go out and buy £1,000 of Panasonic products.

Large swathes of corporate Japan are expected to follow suit, either by directly commanding or indirectly “pressuring” employees to divert part of their salaries towards the goods that their employers produce.

Toyota has already tacitly applauded a “voluntary” scheme in which 2,200 of its top brass decided to buy new Toyota cars, and the president of Fujitsu recently e-mailed 100,000 staff and gently pointed out how nice it would be if “employee ownership rates” of Fujitsu PCs and mobile phones were a little higher.

The 10,000 Japanese staff affected by Panasonic’s unorthodox strategy do not have long to consider their purchases.

Management insists that staff buy their Panasonic goods – whether they need them or not – by the end of July.

Read morePanasonic orders staff to buy £1,000 in products

Former Assistant Secretary of Housing: The U.S. is the Global Leader in Illegal Money Laundering

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If you want to understand the current crisis, listen to Catherine Austin Fitts.

Catherine Austin Fitts at the IRTA 08 Barter Convention

Added: 09.10.2008
Source: Google Video

Related information:

– Marc Faber: The U.S. is pursuing the Zimbabwe School of Economics

– Bush administration overpaid banks tens of billions of dollars in bailout, watchdog says

– Ron Paul on Glenn Beck: Destruction of the dollar

– Peter Schiff: Stimulus Bill Will Lead to “Unmitigated Disaster”

– Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Paul Craig Roberts On The U.S. Leadership: “They Are Criminals” – The Potential Here Is Far Worse Than The Great Depression

– Congresswoman Kaptur Points Out The Revolving Door Between Wall Street & The White House

– Paul Craig Roberts: Another real estate crisis is about to hit

– Gerald Celente: The Collapse of 2009; The Greatest Depression

US firm knew nuts were tainted with salmonella – FDA

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The outbreak was traced back to a factory in Georgia

A peanut supplier blamed for a US-wide outbreak of salmonella poisoning sold nuts it knew were infected, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says.

The FDA was revising an earlier report it had issued saying the Georgia-based firm Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) had waited for negative results.

A criminal inquiry was launched last month. The corporation denies any wrongdoing and says it is co-operating.

The outbreak has been linked to eight deaths and more than 500 illnesses.

The FDA carried out an inspection of the corporation’s plant in the town of Blakely in January, after it was identified as a possible source of the contamination.

The inspection found that the factory was “not compliant with Current Good Manufacturing Practices required by the FDA”.

Read moreUS firm knew nuts were tainted with salmonella – FDA

UK’s refinancing timebomb

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CORPORATE BRITAIN is facing a refinancing timebomb this year as more than £50 billion of bank debt expires during the biggest credit crunch in global history.

The soaring cost of capital and the paucity of available debt financing will squeeze even blue-chip companies which need to renew or restructure existing loan facilities.

According to the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, a £140 billion debt mountain needs to be refinanced in the UK between now and 2011. Meanwhile, a cumulative total of €1.6 trillion (£1.5 trillion) of debt rated by S&P will mature across Europe between now and then.

Read moreUK’s refinancing timebomb

Hundreds of Brazil’s eco-warriors at risk of assassination

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  • Study marks 20 years since Mendes murder
  • Environmentalists divided over activist’s legacy

Twenty years after the killing of Chico Mendes, one of the world’s most prominent rainforest defenders, hundreds of human rights and environmental activists still face the threat of assassination in Brazil, a new study claims.

The report, compiled by Brazil’s Catholic Land Commission (CPT) and due to be released in full early next year, reveals that at least 260 people, among them a Catholic bishop, live under the threat of murder because of their fight against a coalition of loggers, farmers and cattle ranchers.

The list names Frei Henri des Rosiers, a French priest based in the Amazon town of Xinguara, as a particular target. Police are investigating claims he has a £14,000 price on his head because of his fight against slave labour. Also named are Maria José Dias da Costa, a union leader in the remote town of Rondon do Pará, and an Austrian bishop, Dom Erwin Krautler, who has been under 24-hour police guard for two years because of his battle against developers and child prostitution in his Amazonian diocese.

In February this year, Francisco da Silva, a 51-year-old leader of the landless movement in the Amazon, was killed with a single shot to the head. He had been named in a previous CPT report about rural leaders receiving death threats.

Read moreHundreds of Brazil’s eco-warriors at risk of assassination

Sold as non-lethal, Tasers killed 400 in US, Canada since 2001

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Take a closer look at the Taser logo. That logo is overlaying planet earth. Compare it to the logo of the Waffen SS. So what it means here is: ‘Fascism rules the world.’

The symbol Taser uses is immediately understood by the subconscious mind because the language of the subconscious mind are pictures.

What I have learned about this symbol is that it means ‘artificial activation’ to the subconscious mind. Hitler was aware of this and maybe thought : “Doppelt hält besser.” “Make assurance double sure.”

The New World Order is closing in from all sides.

And if you realize this, when you will have the microchip under your skin, then it will be too late.

Understanding the symbolism behind the logos of corporations, Homeland Security etc. may be shocking, but the truth ‘can’ set you free.

When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross. – Sinclair Lewis
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Source: The Raw Story

They are marketed as non-lethal weapons that allow police to capture suspects or criminals without causing any permanent harm.

Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and businessman Bernard Kerik made millions selling the idea to police departments across the country.

But Tasers have killed more than 400 people in the United States and Canada since 2001, according to a new study commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

Police departments across Canada began banning use of Tasers by their officers after the report found that Tasers deliver more power than the manufacturer says is possible.

It is unknown if U.S. police departments will follow suit.

The study includes a medical analysis that concluded someone shot with a Taser could face as high as a 50 percent chance of cardiac arrest.

The Taser company, however, still says its weapons can’t kill.

“It is unfortunate that false allegations based on scientifically flawed data can create such uncertainty,” Steve Tuttle, a Taser vice president, told The Arizona Republic.

Stories of Taser-related deaths have stacked up over the years, many involving police officers who never realized the harm their Taser could cause.

Read moreSold as non-lethal, Tasers killed 400 in US, Canada since 2001

Police charged £9m by phone firms to use tracking data, prompting calls for ‘free access’

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mobile phone
Police forces are spending up to £9m every year to access details of phone records (Posed by model)

Mobile phone firms have been accused of cashing in on crime and terror after charging the police £8.7million a year to access data tracking information.

The companies keep records of the times, dates, duration of mobile phone calls and the numbers contacted but not the actual content of conversations.

They also hold crucial information about the whereabouts of a mobile phone at any given time – which can be accessed by the police to build up a picture of a suspect’s movements.

The details were crucial in the conviction of Soham murderer Ian Huntley and Ipswich prostitute-killer Steve Wright and in identifying those involved in the failed 21/7 terrorist plots in London.

But Vodafone, O2 and T-Mobile charge a fee for seeing the data – with the cost running at about £170,000 a week.

This is in addition to £8million the Home Office already pays telecoms firms to store information on their customers for at least a year so it is available to the police and MI5.

Police can see the phone records without having to apply to the courts, with senior offices issuing a Section 22 notice under the powerful Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.

The process has become an everyday part of police inquiries and many forces and MI5 have automated systems to retrieve mobile data – prompting calls for the service to be free of charge.

Last year, Section 22 powers were exercised more than 500,000 times.

Read morePolice charged £9m by phone firms to use tracking data, prompting calls for ‘free access’

BAE accused of £100m secret payments to seal South Africa arms deal

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More than £100m was secretly paid by the arms company BAE to sell warplanes to South Africa, according to allegations in a detailed police dossier seen by the Guardian yesterday.

The leaked evidence from South African police and the British Serious Fraud Office quotes a BAE agent recommending “financially incentivising” politicians.

In the arms deal, the new ANC government in South Africa agreed to spend a controversial £1.6bn buying fleets of Hawk and Gripen warplanes.

Critics said the country, beset by unemployment and HIV/Aids, could not afford it. The Hawks, rejected by the military, cost twice as much as Italian equivalents.

But the then South African defence minister Joe Modise and a key official, Chippy Shaik, insisted on the purchase.

Read moreBAE accused of £100m secret payments to seal South Africa arms deal

PepsiCo Pursues Ancient Leaf as Cola ‘Breakthrough’

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One healthy plant (Stevia) in there does not make ‘junk’ healthy. Stevia is not allowed in foodstuffs and remedies in the EU. I think this is because of the sugar industry in Europe.
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Men harvest the stevia plant in Ybycubua, Paraguay, on Sept. 9, 2008. Photographer: Carlos Bittar/Bloomberg News

Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) — A leaf the Guarani Indians of Paraguay’s jungles used to sweeten drinks for centuries may help Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. revive flagging sales in the $320 billion-a-year global soft-drink industry.

The Food and Drug Administration is poised to act on allowing a zero-calorie sweetener derived from the stevia plant grown in Paraguay and China. Approval may allow the world’s two largest soda makers to reverse three years of U.S. soft-drink sales declines with beverages containing the natural extract, according to Mariann Montagne, an analyst at Minneapolis-based Thrivent Asset Management.

“They are really desperate for something to pick up colas,” said Montagne, whose firm owns Coca-Cola and PepsiCo among the $70 billion it oversees. “There is definitely a need, and people will respond if they have this natural sweetener.”

The two companies lost a quarter of their market value this year, falling about 8 percentage points more than the Standard & Poor’s 500 Consumer Staples Index, as the world economy slowed. Massimo D’Amore, chief of PepsiCo’s beverage division, said Nov. 20 the company will use a compound made from stevia as an alternative to higher-calorie or artificial sweeteners in some drinks as soon as the government gives “the green light.”

Read morePepsiCo Pursues Ancient Leaf as Cola ‘Breakthrough’

Record Fine in EU Cartel Case

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A worker checks a plate glass on the production line at the Saint-Gobain Chantereine glass factory in Thourotte, France, on Oct. 17, 2007. Photographer: Fabrice Dimier/Bloomberg News

Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) — Cie. de Saint-Gobain SA, Asahi Glass Co., and a Nippon Sheet Glass Co. unit were fined a record 1.38 billion euros ($1.7 billion) by the European Union over claims the companies fixed the price of car windows.

Saint-Gobain, Europe’s largest building-materials supplier, was fined 896 million euros, the highest against a single company, the European Commission said in a statement today. Asahi Glass was fined 113.5 million euros, Nippon’s Pilkington unit 370 million euros. A fourth company, Belgium’s Soliver, got a 4.4 million-euro penalty.

The penalties were increased because the companies are repeat offenders, the commission said. Saint-Gobain, Pilkington and two competitors were fined a total of 487 million euros for participating in a separate cartel to set the prices of glass used in the construction industry. Saint-Gobain shares fell 5.2 percent.

Read moreRecord Fine in EU Cartel Case

Tyson Foods Injects Chickens with Antibiotics Before They Hatch to Claim “Raised without Antibiotics”

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(NaturalNews) Tyson Foods, the world’s largest meat processor and the second largest chicken producer in the United States, has admitted that it injects its chickens with antibiotics before they hatch, but labels them as raised without antibiotics anyway. In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) told Tyson to stop using the antibiotic-free label. The company has sued over its right to keep using it.

The controversy over Tyson’s antibiotic-free label began in summer 2007, when the company began a massive advertising campaign to tout its chicken as “raised without antibiotics.” Already, Tyson has spent tens of millions of dollars this year to date in continuing this campaign.

Poultry farmers regularly treat chickens and other birds with antibiotics to prevent the development of intestinal infections that might reduce the weight (and profitability) of the birds. Yet scientists have become increasingly concerned that the routine use of antibiotics in animal agriculture may accelerate the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could lead to a pandemic or other health crisis.

After Tyson began labeling its chicken antibiotic-free, the USDA warned the company that such labels were not truthful, because Tyson regularly treats its birds’ feed with bacteria-killing ionophores. Tyson argued that ionophores are antimicrobials rather than antibiotics, but the USDA reiterated its policy that “ionophores are antibiotics.”

Read moreTyson Foods Injects Chickens with Antibiotics Before They Hatch to Claim “Raised without Antibiotics”

Obama’s Chief of Staff Was Director Of Freddie Mac During Scandal

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New Obama Chief of Staff, Others on Board, Missed “Red Flags” of Alleged Fraud Scheme

President-elect Barack Obama’s newly appointed chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac at a time when scandal was brewing at the troubled agency and the board failed to spot “red flags,” according to government reports reviewed by ABCNews.com.

Rahm_Emanuel
President-elect Barack Obama’s newly appointed chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac at a time when scandal was brewing at the troubled agency and the board failed to spot “red flags,” according to government reports reviewed by ABCNews.com.

According to a complaint later filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Freddie Mac, known formally as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, misreported profits by billions of dollars in order to deceive investors between the years 2000 and 2002.

Emanuel was not named in the SEC complaint (click here to read) but the entire board was later accused by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) (click here to read) of having “failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention.”

In a statement to ABCNews.com, a spokesperson said Emanuel served on the board for “13 months-a relatively short period of time.”

Read moreObama’s Chief of Staff Was Director Of Freddie Mac During Scandal

Hedge Fund Manager: Goodbye and F—- You

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From the Scorched Earth Files:

Andrew Lahde, manager of a small California hedge fund, Lahde Capital, burst into the spotlight last year after his one-year-old fund returned 866 percent betting against the subprime collapse.

Last month, he did the unthinkable — he shut things down, claiming dealing with his bank counterparties had become too risky. Today, Lahde passed along his “goodbye” letter, a rollicking missive on everything from greed to economic philosophy. Enjoy.

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, “What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it.” I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.

Read moreHedge Fund Manager: Goodbye and F—- You