That is what the Pentagon thinks, at any rate. Sucking down percholate can only do a baby good. Maybe it’ll put hair on their chest, make them into little soldiers, or send them topedoing out the door and into space.

Our friends at the Pentagon want to protect us from terrorists and other unsavory sorts, and I can’t argue with that. That is their purpose. However, they would like to do so at the expense of public health, and there is no reason for that! I mean, what’s the point of saving us from an enemy bomb if we’re going to instead get poisoned by the pollutants that our military generates.

This is from the Organic Consumers Association (pesky group, I know)

Perchlorates: NEW REPORT ON WIDESPREAD ROCKET FUEL POLLUTION IN NATION’S FOOD AND WATER

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has released its long anticipated report on the human health effects of perchlorates, a byproduct of rocket fuel. Perchlorates, which are a common pollutant near military sites, have recently been found in the water at concerning levels in 35 states as well as in 93% of lettuce and milk. 97% of breast milk samples taken randomly from around the U.S. have tested positive for perchlorates.

The government funded NAS report reveals that perchlorates are roughly ten times more toxic to humans than the Department of Defense has been claiming. Perchlorates can inhibit thyroid function, cause birth defects and lower IQs, and are considered particularly dangerous to children.

The new NAS report recommends human exposure at no more than .0007 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. The EPA has responded to the report by announcing a new drinking water standard of 24.5 ppb for perchlorate. This is bad news for military sites and rocket fuel plants around the country, including Henderson, Nevada, where EPA well monitoring has found perchlorates at a level 30,000 times higher than that. There are over 12,000 military sites in the U.S. that are used for training with live explosives.

The Pentagon is urging Congress to pass a new law that would allow the military to freely violate a host of environmental regulations. Entitled “The Readiness and Range Preservation Initiative,” the legislation would allow military facilities to ignore laws like the Clean Air Act. The Pentagon claims environmental regulations are a threat to national security, since they restrict the military.

To date, only one Senator has had the backbone to propose legislation that would hold the military (and other perchlorate polluters) responsible for this excessive pollution of the U.S. food and water supply.

Senator Feinstein (CA) has proposed legislation that would spend $200 million to identify and clean up perchlorate sources and provide grants for technologies to clean up existing contamination, while holding perchlorate polluters responsible for cleanup efforts.

“It is imperative that we reduce the perchlorate in our drinking water and protect Californians, especially pregnant women, the unborn, infants, and young children from this threat to their health,” said Feinstein of the bill.

21st CENTURY TIMELINE OF U.S. ROCKET FUEL POLLUTION SCANDAL

2002: EPA releases draft report highlighting widespread water contamination of a toxic rocket fuel byproduct known as perchlorate. The report indicates that most of the pollution is coming from U.S. military sites [Source]
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January 2003 : Courtroom proceedings reveal that aerospace and defense contractor Lockheed Martin was concealing documents for several years indicating the company knew about toxic levels of percholate contamination in the nation’s vegetable produce. [Source]
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March 2003: California’s Senator Feinstein demands the military clean up perchlorate pollution as a matter of public safety. The Department of Defense responds by saying it must be exempt from perchlorate liability, as a matter of anti-terrorist “readiness.” [Source].
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April 2003: Bush Administration puts gag order on the Environmental Protection Agency, mandating complete silence regarding military perchlorate pollution and human health impacts. [Source]
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November 2004: FDA finds perchlorate in 93% of lettuce and milk samples across the nation. Bush Administration requests no regulatory action take place until the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) concludes investigation of human health implications. [Source]
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January 2005: NAS announces perchlorates are as much as ten times as toxic as what the Department of Defense had been claiming. Senator Feinstein of California announces forthcoming bill proposal to create federal perchlorate regulations and to allocate funding for cleanup of existing contamination.

If you’d like to send a letter of protest to your senator (telling him or her that you think your baby will be a lot healthier with just plain old untainted breast milk), you can do so at the Organic Consumer’s Association website. There is also a lot more information about percholorates–everything you’ve ever wanted to know.

The controversy rages. Vaccines can lead to autism, vaccines don’t lead to autism, vaccines can lead to autism, vaccines don’t lead to autism. It can really confuse you because both sides wave papers and reports, the quoted “experts” all have credentials, yet you wonder–how can their views be so far apart?

The official government agencies have all dismissed any claims that there is a connection between the two. The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, and vaccines which contain thimerosal (a mercury based preservative) have been declared safe. Done and done, and they don’t want to hear anymore about it. But then, as it has come to light, many of the government scientists work as “consultants” for pharm companies, own ample stock, and have a great deal to gain or lose, depending on which way the wind is blowing. This is not to say that anyone who believes that the vaccines are safe is biased (ie, a financially induced response and viewpoint), but it is a fact to take into consideration. Who and where is the data coming from?

If you’re not a parent, these debates are probably of little interest. But for those with young children, who intend on having a family, and others with a vested interest in the welfare of children—the conflicting data is mind-numbing.

Now, as Project Censored has demonstrated, many of the most important stories never make it in the mainstream press. Some got a tiny mention, while others are ignored completely or watered down. The public, it does seem, would rather see headlines about Laci Peterson (sad case, but then, no sadder than any other murder), day in and day out, and wait on baited breath for the courtroom verdict–then read about, say, how the main companies that were awarded billions of dollars worth of contracts in Iraq have paid more than $300 million in fines since 2000, to resolve allegations of fraud, bid rigging, delivery of faulty military equipment, and environmental damage.

Anyway, I came across this story which caught my eye about thimersol and vaccines. It is from Independent Media TV, which describes itself in the following manner:

Independent Media is designed to be an independent media outlet for views and artistic expression which are currently not being represented by our corporate media. Independent Media has various areas of focus. The Under Reported and Environmental areas are designed to bring to light information, and knowledge that is otherwise not reaching the general public. The Philosophical, and Independent Artist areas are designed to be a forum of expression for artists of Music, Movies, Writing, Art, Philosophy, and Spirituality. This is needed as the corporate media monopoly controls the majority of what we see and hear.

So no influence from government or business. Okay, and this is what they had to say about some of the factors influencing an objective review of vaccine safety.

In 1999, the Committee on Government Reform initiated an investigation into Federal vaccine policy. Their 8 month investigation focused on conflicts of interest on the part of Federal policy-makers. Committee staff conducted an extensive review of financial disclosure forms and interviewed key officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, including the FDA and CDC.

The staff report that was issued, focused on two advisory committees utilized by Federal regulators to provide expert advice on vaccine policy: (1) The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC); and (2) The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices (ACIP).

The VRBPAC advises the FDA on the licensing of new vaccines, while the ACIP advises the CDC on guidelines to be issued to doctors and the states for the proper use of vaccines.

The Government Reform Committee determined that conflict of interest rules employed by the FDA and the CDC were weak, enforcement was lax, and advisory committee members with substantial ties to drug companies have been given waivers to participate in committee proceedings. The specific problems identified in the staff report included:

‘ The CDC routinely grants waivers from conflict of interest rules to every member of its advisory committee.

‘ CDC Advisory Committee members who are not allowed to vote on certain recommendations due to financial conflicts of interest are allowed to participate in committee deliberations and advocate specific positions.

‘ The Chairman of the CDC’s advisory committee until recently owned 600 shares of stock in Merck, a pharmaceutical company with an active vaccine division.

‘ Members of the CDC’s advisory committee often fill out incomplete financial disclosure statements, and are not required to provide the missing information by CDC ethics officials.

‘ Four out of eight CDC advisory committee members who voted to approve guidelines for the rotavirus vaccine in June 1998 had financial ties to pharmaceutical companies that were developing different versions of the vaccine.

‘ 3 out of 5 FDA advisory committee members who voted to approve the rotavirus vaccine in December 1997 had financial ties to pharmaceutical companies that were developing different versions of the vaccine.

A four-month investigation by United Press International, determined that members of the CDC’s Vaccine Advisory Committee received financial benefits from vaccine makers. Relationships included: sharing a vaccine patent; owning stock in a vaccine company; payments for research; getting money to monitor manufacturer vaccine tests; and funding academic departments. UPI also found that under a 1980 law, the CDC had 28 licensing agreements with companies, and one university, for vaccines or vaccine-related products. In addition, the CDC had eight on-going projects to collaborate on new vaccines.

A prime example of the conflicts of interest is Dr Paul Offit. He held a patent on a rotavirus vaccine and received a grant of $350,000 from Merck to develop the vaccine. He was also paid by the pharmaceutical industry to travel around the country and teach doctors that vaccines are safe. Offit was a member of the CDC’s advisory committee and voted on three rotavirus issues, including the recommendation of adding the rotavirus vaccine to the Vaccines for Children’s program.

According to some accounts, the cost of developing a new vaccine can cost half a billion dollars, which explains why a tight relationship with the CDC is priceless. An approval by the regulatory agency guarantees a market for a new vaccine, and under a 1986 law, CDC approval limits a drugmaker’s liability for side effects. Adverse Effects Known For Years

Now is that enough to make you nervous? Are our vaccines really as safe as they should be, or is the main goal profit? Can we trust our government agencies when primary players have a vested interest in bringing a product to market, safe or not?

Thimerosal

Mercury is a deadly metal, and it is not something that you want in our body. Of course, dental fillings used to be filled with mercury, and thanks to widescale pollution, many fish are stuffed full of the stuff. But should it be in a vaccine, and especially, a vaccine given to a very small infant?

Vaccine manufacturers have declared thimerosal perfectly safe for infants, and the levels in vaccines are “minute” and within safe limits.

A recently discovered internal memo from the drug company, Merck, substantiates what many parents of autistic children have long suspected. The drug companies, and later the CDC and FDA, knew mercury caused autism, and decided profits were more important than protecting a generation of children against brain damage.

The LA Times recently reported that Merck knew the overuse of mercury in their vaccines posed a dangerous health threat to children. The Times cited a 1991 memo issued by Merck that said that 6-month-old children who received their shots on schedule would get a mercury dose up to 87 times higher than guidelines for the maximum daily consumption of mercury from fish.

A copy of the memo was provided to attorneys for Vera Easter, a Texas woman who blames thimerosal for the condition of her 7-year-old son, Jordan, who is autistic and mentally retarded. That lawsuit is pending in US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The defendants include Merck and its rival vaccine makers, GlaxoSmithKline, Aventis Pasteur Inc. and Wyeth; and thimerosal developer Eli Lilly & Co.

The disclosure of Merck’s findings in 1991, could have prevented millions of children from the damage caused by the poisonous vaccines. According to the House Committee on Government Reform in April 2003, “Because the FDA chose not to recall thimerosal-containing vaccines in 1999, in addition to all of those already injured, 8,000 children a day continued to be placed at risk for overdose for at least an additional two years,” its report concluded. Think how many children that adds up to if we go back to1991.

Nice to know, huh, that our govenment watchdogs are looking out for public health and the safety of children. This type of disclosure is quite damaging to the industry, and now the Bush squad has moved to protect vaccine manufacturers from any type of liability. I posted about the Senate bill which pretends to be helping veterans and soldiers, but comes as a package deal.

If these cover-ups are indeed true (and I have a sneaking suspicion that they might be), then what about these poor children? They have been irreversibly poisoned, their lives destroyed, and no one wants to take responsibility for it.

If you happen to of European descent, and especially, if your ancient relatives happen to come from a country that was hit hard by the bubonic plague way back when, this may be your lucky day. Weird, I know, but as scientists delve into microbes and genes, they come up with interesting (and very weird) assumptions.

The latest is that the bubonic plague may have caused a genetic mutation which increases a person’s resistance to the AIDS virus. Two British biologists, who’ve been poking around in this stuff, think that this protection against HIV may affect as many as 10% of all Europeans. And this, they believe, may be part of the reason why AIDS has had much less of an impact in Europe as opposed to Africa.

Read the whole story on the BBC.