Saturday, January 28, 2017

California Clears Hurdle for Cancer Warning Label on Roundup

California can require Monsanto to label its popular weed-killer Roundup as a possible cancer threat despite an insistence from the chemical giant that it poses no risk to people, a judge tentatively ruled Friday.

California would be the first state to order such labeling if it carries out the proposal.

Monsanto had sued the nation's leading agricultural state, saying California officials illegally based their decision for carrying the warnings on an international health organization based in France.

Monsanto attorney Trenton Norris argued in court Friday that the labels would have immediate financial consequences for the company. He said many consumers would see the labels and stop buying Roundup.

"It will absolutely be used in ways that will harm Monsanto," he said.

After the hearing, the firm said in a statement that it will challenge the tentative ruling.

Critics take issue with Roundup's main ingredient, glyphosate, which has no color or smell. Monsanto introduced it in 1974 as an effective way of killing weeds while leaving crops and plants intact.

It's sold in more than 160 countries, and farmers in California use it on 250 types of crops.

The chemical is not restricted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which says it has "low toxicity" and recommends people avoid entering a field for 12 hours after it has been applied.

But the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a Lyon, France-based branch of the U.N. World Health Organization, classified the chemical as a "probable human carcinogen."

Shortly afterward, the most populated U.S. state took its first step in 2015 to require the warning labels.

St. Louis-based Monsanto contends that California is delegating its authority to an unelected foreign body with no accountability to U.S. or state officials in violation of the California Constitution.

Attorneys for California consider the International Agency for Research on Cancer the "gold standard" for identifying carcinogens, and they rely on its findings along with several states, the federal government and other countries, court papers say.

Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kristi Kapetan still must issue a formal decision, which she said would come soon.

California regulators are waiting for the formal ruling before moving forward with the warnings, said Sam Delson, a spokesman for the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

Once a chemical is added to a list of probable carcinogens, the manufacturer has a year before it must attach the label, he said.

Teri McCall believes a warning would have saved her husband, Jack, who toted a backpack of Roundup for more than 30 years to spray weeds on their 20-acre avocado and apple farm. He died of cancer in late 2015.

"I just don't think my husband would have taken that risk if he had known," said Teri McCall, one of dozens nationwide who are suing Monsanto, claiming the chemical gave them or a loved one cancer.

But farmer Paul Betancourt, who has been using Roundup for more than three decades on his almond and cotton crops, says he does not know anyone who has gotten sick from it.

"You've got to treat it with a level of respect, like anything else," he said. "Gasoline will cause cancer if you bathe in the stuff."

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/california-fights-monsanto-labels-popular-weed-killer-45082502

Friday, January 27, 2017

New data suggest Agent Orange causing horrific third generation birth defects Vietnam vets are passing to their grandkids

What’s the “Agent Orange curse?” 

True story: As veterans of the Vietnam war die off from cancer and other diseases and disorders they got from the incredibly toxic defoliant Agent Orange, the nightmare is not over, because research is revealing their children and grandchildren, who were never exposed to the pesticide, have birth defects that were passed on through their parents and grandparent’s affected genes. That’s the Agent Orange curse, and it can cause much more detriment than cancer, as if that weren’t enough, including heart disease, fibromyalgia, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, spinal problems, autism, and birth defects like missing limbs, extra limbs, malformed limbs, speech difficulties, cleft lip palate, crooked fingers and webbed toes. Sadly, the US government is trying to cover it all up, waiting for the vets to die off, thinking the whole chronic nightmare will fade away, but it’s not fading at all.

Vietnam vets believe billions of dollars lie at the heart of why their claims have gone unexamined by the US government and Veterans Affairs

First of all, compensating veterans for all their health problems inflicted by the haphazard spreading of and treading through toxic pesticides in Vietnam costs tens of billions of dollars a year, but now we’re talking about compensating the vets’ kids and grandkids, who are grown up or growing up with horrific medical conditions that aren’t going away or getting any better. If the link between Agent Orange and their children’s conditions is proven by science, we’re talking billions more.

How does the VA ignore all these legitimate claims? Answer: the nefarious “Dr. Orange”

For decades now, the VA and the military have relied on one chemical-industry shill’s assessment of whether Agent Orange caused health detriment to our veterans. A man by the name of Alvin L. Young headed up a government sanctioned plan to destroy evidence of any connection between aircrafts that spread agent orange and veteran’s sicknesses, and to ward off journalists that ask questions through their investigations.

Young functions as a “consultant” and an “expert” on herbicides who guides the stance of the military and U.S. Department of Veterans in their mass denial of benefits and compensation to the thousands of suffering soldiers, and now their children and grandchildren too. Agent Orange herbicides were so destructive they could burn down brush and foliage where the enemy was hiding, and the U.S. even dumped the poison into rivers, streams, and waterways to infect the food and drinking water, knowing good and well the toxic effects of the orange nightmare that contains the lethal chemical dioxin. Young, nicknamed by Vietnam veterans as “Dr. Orange,” even developed a plan to destroy Agent Orange a decade later.

Young’s claim for decades? Few veterans were exposed and the doses were too small to harm them. He has said on record that some vets are just “freeloaders” who are making up ailments to “cash in” on the VA’s compensation program. The VA repeatedly cites Young’s work as if it is the “be-all end-all” scientific conclusion to every case brought to them, saving the government millions, if not billions of dollars, while all these soldiers, their kids, and their grandkids suffer and go broke trying to pay their medical care bills.

Now, frustrated veterans, top government officials and respected scientists contend that Young’s self-labeled “investigations” are without merit, omit key facts, and worse yet, were funded by none other than Monsanto Co. and Dow Chemical Co.–the actual manufacturers of agent orange. Alvin Young is nothing more than a huckster and a shill who’s regurgitating research lies to save corporations from getting sued. Even prominent experts on dioxin from NIH say his talk about dioxin is “in no way accurate.” Young is not even qualified to make conclusions about human health effects.


An emeritus professor at Columbia University and an Agent Orange researcher says Young and the VA repeatedly clash with any concerted effort to study health effects from agent orange exposure and they even try to keep studies from being conducted, and have been doing so ever since the sick and dying soldiers returned from the Vietnam War. The “color orange” runs through the veins of Vietnam Vets like poison. Veterans now believe that the birth defects can even skip a generation, passing over their children but then affecting their grandchildren.

Now, here comes the rub: What pesticide ingredients do you think are in conventional food today?

GMO food delivers a small amount of Agent Orange ingredients into your blood and mutates your cells over time. How long that mutation of cells takes to overwhelm one of your vital organs, or strangulate your lungs or your brain is just a matter of how much of it you eat, how often, and for how long. Glyphosate is now regularly sprayed on conventional crops like wheat and sugar cane as a drying agent. Glyphosate, which makes up about 50% of the Roundup herbicide, has been proven through vigorous laboratory research to cause horrific tumors and other cancers in laboratory animals.

Most genetically engineered foods like corn, soy, and canola contain some of the same herbicide ingredients as agent orange, namely glyphosate and dioxin. Do you and your children eat “agent orange” corn and soy? These popular GM foods are made and sprayed by Monsanto and Dow Chemical, don’t you know?

 Plenty of LINKS here

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

I Made a KILLER Dinner on Saturday



As there was no Football on Saturday, I spent much of the day preparing dinner.

I've been trying to clean out my freezer in past days.  I found about a pound and 1/3 of Beef Stew Meat.

After it was partially thawed out, I cut it very thinly.  As it's a tough cut of meat, I did some research and found "Velveting".  http://www.dish-ditty.com/recipe/velvet-beef-chicken-chinese-stir-fry/

It did the trick.  My beef was very tender and "velvety".  Tasted like something out of a Chinese restaurant!

Ingredients included:

Beef
Snow Peas
Green Beans
Baby Corn
Baby Bella Mushrooms  (Our new favorite)
Onion
Water Chestnuts
8 cloves Garlic

I sauteed the onions, mushrooms and garlic in Olive Oil.

Slowly added the other ingredients.

Mixed up a combination of:

1 Cup Soy Sauce
8 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
3 Teaspoons of Rice Vinegar

Dumped it in and covered for a few minutes to slightly cook the snow peas and green beans.

Gang..... this ROCKED!

Served it with Fried "rice" Quinoa. http://nononan.blogspot.com/2016/07/another-out-of-this-world-recipe-fried.html

Friday, January 13, 2017

Longhorn Steakhouse





Rick took me here for dinner on my last night.  Had a GREAT steak.  Alec the bartender was sweet enough to take our picture.

Megan our server was friendly.... just great.

Had a delicious Filet!

http://www.longhornsteakhouse.com/locations/oh/cincinnati/fields-ertel/5548

Thursday, January 12, 2017

New Year's Eve and Day

Rick and I had a very mellow New Year's Eve.  We bought a pound of large shrimp and 4 lobster tails at Jungle Jim's International Market.  This place is so HUGE that it's almost intimidating.  One can spend hours poking around this place.....

Discover a World of Food and More!

Jungle Jim’s International Market is more than a grocery store, it’s a destination! With more than 200,000 square feet of shopping space in each of our stores, there are over 150,000 products from which to choose.

In addition to all the grocery items, you’ll find store tours, food demonstrations and lots of fun and attractions for the whole family.

Our stores also offer more gift shops, boutiques, restaurants and conveniences than any other mega store in the region. Stop in for an hour or make a day of it. However you do it, shopping at Jungle Jim’s 

The 2 of us just sat in front of the television, sipping and nibbling.  Very enjoyable.

The BIG FUN started on New Year's Day.  Sadly, Tony had to work, so missed the fun.  He's an executive chef at BRAVO'S and works long hours.

Aunt Nan had her annual "Pig Tail Party" to get things rolling.  Baked until super crispy.... yummy.  Like meaty cracklins.  (probably something that you have to grow up with.... very German)  After about 4 pounds of tails, we moved on to dinner.

Center cut pork loin roast, Country pork ribs, Sauerkraut, Mashed Potatoes, Baked Apples, Limas and an Angel hair pasta with pork drippings.....decadent.  I had a Filipino client that turned me onto this.

We had a great day!









Toot's

This WAS always on the "MUST" list when I visit family.  Not anymore.  The past couple of visits showed a serious decline in their kitchen.  Last week was their third strike.

Cute place.  Fun place.  Food-  not so hot.

We ordered dry Buffalo Wings extra crispy.  They came out to the table far from what we had requested.

The server basically shrugged his shoulders.  I'll go back in for a cold beer or two but won't eat again.





Abuelo's With the Peeps

I had a whirlwind couple of weeks in the Cincinnati, Ohio area.  Just flew home yesterday.  Truly "the flight from hell", but more about that later.

I've got my brother, his 2 gals, their husbands, and 4 great nieces and nephews in Loveland, Ohio.... about 20 miles North of Cincinnati-Proper.

Nanette got to see SNOW for the first time in a year!

This is one of our MUSTS when I'm in town.

Great food, great margaritas, beautiful place, and our server, Jonathan was a real trooper!












Tuesday, January 10, 2017

A Visit From Amy

Amy and I grew up in Newbury, OH.  (suburb East of Cleveland).  Much to her delight, she and her husband bought her family home.

She drove down to Rick's, picked me up, and we ventured over to the Red Roof Inn, just a couple miles away, for 2 fun-filled nights.

To our delight, there was an adjacent restaurant/bar....  FLIPDADDY'S.  What great fun we had!

Spent two afternoons there.  Happy Hour from 2-7 pm!  $1.50 pint drafts.  Excellent food.

We were in heaven here.  Bartender, Cathy was a living doll.

This is one of our new favorite places....  Amy and I are going to try to make this an annual thing.











My Dear Nephews and their Families......














My brother was married to Dennis and Joe’s mother.

I grew up considering them “BLOOD”, as did the rest of my family.

I basically saw “my” boys grow up across the street at my parent’s house in Newbury, OH.  (suburb EAST of Cleveland).  Spent a lot of time taking them out.... the circus, the county fair, lunches, etc.

Eventually, the marriage broke up and my nephews ended up living with their father Richard in KY.

We’ve remained close over the years, and it was SO WONDERFUL to see them, their wives and children during my visit.

Joe and his family live in Danville, KY.  Dennis and his family are in Boulder, CO.

We spent a day with them at Jennifer’s home.  The “kids” had a big spread of food, and hilarity ensued.  Such a fun time!