Japan’s Okinawa Island – The Healthiest Place on Earth

April 2, 2012

Oddity Central

By Sumitra

“It’s really not that odd. The people living on Okinawa eat real food and have no stress – thus they live long lives. We can all learn a lot by studying the people living on this island.” –KTRN

I used to think that there were only a handful of people over the age of 100 in the world. How wrong was I! The Japanese island of Okinawa alone has about 457 of them. It is considered to be the healthiest place in the world, where the average life expectancy of an Okinawan woman is 86, and man’s is 78. Not only do they live long lives, they live very healthy and happy ones too. A fine example is 96-year-old martial artist Seikichi Uehara, who, at his age, defeated a thirty-something ex-boxing champion. And also Nabi Kinjo, the 105-year-old woman who hunted down a poisonous snake and killed it with a fly swatter.

The Okinawans’ secret, I’ve come to understand, lies in two things – their food, and their attitude towards life. As a happy bunch of people, the elders seem to have no worry etched on their faces, stress seems to be a foreign concept to them. An 88-year-old farmer who still works 11-hour days at the field, says, “I hardly ever get angry. I enjoy life because I’m happy at work and I think that’s the medicine for a long life.” I completely agree, and I wish I could look at life the way this brilliant guy does…

Most of the over-85-years-old elderly I’ve ever met seem to be waiting to die, sick of dealing with their physical pains and of struggling to survive on small pensions, but not the Okinawans. They have a child-like zeal towards life, wanting to live more. Even a 100-year-old woman says she would like to live a few more years to spend with her grandchildren. As the old Okinawan saying goes, “At 70 you are still a child, at 80 a young man or woman. And if at 90 someone from Heaven invites you over, tell him: ‘Just go away, and come back when I am 100.’” I think that perfectly illustrates their philosophy on life.

Click here for the full report.

Congress Gets Rough Treatment At Supreme Court

April 2, 2012

Associated Press

By AP

“Even the Supreme Court thinks Congress is lame.” –KTRN

The Supreme Court left little doubt during last week’s marathon arguments over President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul that it has scant faith in Congress’ ability to get anything done.

The views about Congress underlay questions from justices who appear to be on both sides of the argument over the constitutionality of the law’s key provision, the individual insurance requirement, as well as whether the entire law should be thrown out if the mandate is struck down.

The comments were particularly striking from the conservative justices who have called on unelected judges to show deference to the actions of elected officials.

Justice Antonin Scalia, who appeared strongly in favor of striking down the entire law, was the most outspoken in his disdain for the branch of government that several justices can see from their office windows.

“You can’t repeal the rest of the act because you’re not going to get 60 votes in the Senate to repeal the rest. It’s not a matter of enacting a new act. You’ve got to get 60 votes to repeal it. So the rest of the act is going to be the law,” Scalia said, explaining it might be better to throw the whole thing out.

Justice Anthony Kennedy draw laughs when he asked a lawyer describing what Congress would want the court to do, “Is that the real Congress or a hypothetical Congress?”

Several justices joined in the courtroom’s laughing reaction when the lawyer leading the challenge to the law appeared to suggest Congress could pass new legislation “in a couple of days,” if the court wiped away the entire law.

The justices thus seemed to be thinking along the same lines as the public, according to polls that show Congress’ standing at historic lows.

That outlook, more prevalent among the conservatives than the liberals on the court, is one reason that the Obama administration’s lawyers ran into such stiff resistance in questions from the bench.

Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. repeatedly invoked Congress’ power under the Constitution to take aggressive action to deal with health care, which makes up 17 percent of the U.S. economy, and with the problem of 50 million people who lack insurance but whose health costs are being passed on to taxpayers and those with insurance.

The court, Verrilli said at the end of Tuesday’s argument session, “has a solemn obligation to respect the judgments of the democratically accountable branches of government.”

Click here for the full report.

Is That A Crushed Bug In Your Frothy Starbucks Drink?

April 2, 2012

NPR

By Nancy Shute

“If you are still going to Starbucks, stop! Not only have they killed almost every mom and pop coffee shop, by now it’s been proven they are using crushed up beetles in their beverages. Gross!” –KTRN

Call it the tempest in the Frappuccino. Some Starbucks patrons have been distressed to learn that the chain’s Strawberry and Creme Frappuccino owes its pink coloring to crushed insects.

The coloring in question, cochineal, is made from a tiny white insect, Dactylopius coccus. When crushed, its body exudes a brilliant red color. Cochineal has been used as a coloring for foods and makeup for centuries.

It’s all natural. It’s approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Eating insects is newly trendy in San Francisco and Los Angeles. And, as NPR’s Martin Kaste has reported, cochineal is gathered off cactus by poor people in Peru, who use their earnings to feed their families and send their children to school.

So what’s not to like? A lot, apparently, if you’re a vegetarian.

A website, ThisDishIsVegetarian.com, reported on March 14 on the chain’s use of cochineal in strawberry Frappuccinos. Evidently a distressed barista sent a photo of the strawberry flavoring’s label, which listed cochineal.

Click here for the full report.

Another Santorum Slip: Obama an Anti-War ‘Government Nig?’

April 2, 2012

Crooks And Liars

By Diane Sweet

“Listen closely. He WAS about to say it.” –KTRN

Failed former junior senator from Pennsylvania by way of Virginia, turned presidential hopeful, Rick Santorum speaks to a crowd at The Armory in Janesville, Wisconsin on March 27th during a campaign stop.

In this speech, he had been blasting Barack Obama for all things real and imagined. Then where this clip begins Santorum continues “We know the candidate Barack Obama…what he was like. The anti-war, government nig… (insert stumble here).”

Oh my.

Maybe he meant to say “Blah people” again? Then Santorum awkwardly attempts to continue with some other thought bubble that hatched in his head. (The original video of the speech is available here. The remarks in question take place at about 34:50.)

Meanwhile, Santorum’s campaign staff are searching desperately for a word that starts with “nig” that sounds plausible:

“Oh, come on!” Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley told Raw Story when asked for comment. “Give me a break. That’s unbelievable. What does it say about those that are running with this story that that’s where their mind goes. You know, I’m not going to dignify that with [a response].”

“That is absolutely ridiculous.”

Click here for the full report and video.

Philadelphia Student Arrested For Photographing Police

April 2, 2012

RT

By RT

“If the police weren’t up to something, why would they care if someone took their picture?” –KTRN

A student in Philadelphia has been arrested for taking photos of a traffic stop outside his house. That’s despite of the fact that police officers were specifically instructed that people can take pictures of their activity in public.

­Ian Van Kuyk, a  Temple University photojournalist student, has been charged with obstruction of justice, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. All for simply trying to do his course assignment.

Van Kuyk relates the story. He was sitting on the porch stairs of his home when police pulled a vehicle to the side of the street. As he was tasked with a night-photography assignment, Van Kuyk decided to use the moment, grabbed his camera and began shooting photos.

A police officer then told Van Kuyk to move away from the scene, and the student followed the order but continued shooting. However, an officer soon demanded that Van Kuyk stop taking photos. When the student asserted his rights to film on public domain, an officer reportedly said: “Public domain, yeah we’ve heard that before!” Van Kuyk says the officer then started shoving him.

“He was pushing me, and I kept taking pictures and he didn’t like it, and he … got real aggressive and threw me to the ground,” the student recalls.

Van Kuyk was then arrested. Police reportedly threw his camera, which was university property, on the ground. Meghan Feighan, Van Kuyk’s girlfriend, tried to pick up the camera to save it but was herself arrested. Van Kuyk was held in custody for 24 hours, while Feighan was under arrest for 18 hours.

Six days after the event, Feighan settled the case by agreeing to pay a $200 fine and do 12 hours of community service.

Click here for the full report.

Ventura County On Raw Milk Rampage

April 2, 2012

Natural News

By Mike Adams

“If raw milk is so dangerous, why are people still drinking it all over the world and not getting sick?”  –KTRN

Perhaps the best investigative reporter covering the raw milk industry today is David Gumpert, writing for www.TheCompletePatient.com – a site covering food safety, raw milk raids, regulation and much more. All NaturalNews readers would do well to put his site on your reading list. Late last night he posted a showstopper article containing two extraordinary revelations about raw milk:

• In Wisconsin, the primary dairy insurance provider has ditched raw milk dairies, sending them a letter that essentially declares they will have no insurance coverage if they sell raw milk.

• After destroying Rawesome Foods (which is being physically deconstructed right now), the Ventura County Health Department is now targeting other raw milk distribution centers in California. As Gumpert writes:

[The county] has threatened to interfere with a private food club in that area just north of Los Angeles that distributes Organic Pastures milk. The health department officials first said to a food club volunteer manager that there was concern about whether the milk was going to be stored. When that turned out to be a non-issue, since the milk is nearly immediately distributed to members, the “concern” suddenly shifted to whether the club needs to be registered as a retailer.

Read the full account at:

http://www.thecompletepatient.com/article/2012/march/28/wi-dairy-owne…

Click here for the full report.

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