Ralliers protest mandatory H1N1 vaccination. (Louise McCoy/The Epoch Times)
New York health care workers protest mandatory swine flu vaccine
By Louise McCoy
Epoch Times Staff
ALBANY—On Tuesday, Sept. 29, about 200 New York state health care workers gathered at the Capitol steps to express their opposition to the mandatory swine flu vaccination. If health care workers refuse mandatory vaccination, it would mean loss of their jobs and fines for their employers.
The situation puts them in a triple bind as they also feel responsible for their patients and are devoted to their profession.
Richard Daines, M.D., New York State commissioner of health, and Gov. Paterson have decided there will be a state of emergency this fall when the swine flu is supposed to rev up and become a serious threat. A mandate that allows for no exceptions, with punishments for those who do not comply, is deemed necessary. Every health care worker must have a regular flu shot as well as a swine flu shot before Nov. 30.
The New York Nurses Association, representing 37,000 nurses came out against the mandate in July with testimony before the State Hospital Review and Planning Council.
But because the unions would not organize a rally, Heather Walker, a single mom from the Albany Campaign for Liberty (ACL), took the helm. ACL is a non-profit organization to defend American principles of individual liberty.
ACL member Kevin McCashion host of the rally, opened by reminding everyone of their civil liberties under the 14th Amendment and their right to informed consent under New York state law: “Every human being of adult years and sound mind has the right to determine what is done to his own body … know what risks are involved and any alternatives. Today we present these alternatives and assess the risks.”
He spiced his speech with a few quotes from Thomas Jefferson: “If the people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as the souls of those who live under tyranny.”
He ended by comparing Paterson and Daines to King George the Third and citing the Declaration of Independence amid cheers and whistles.
The keynote speaker was Gary Null, Ph.D. , famous in nutrition and alternative health circles for his books and radio programs. He spoke briefly before he had to dash inside for a meeting with the governor’s health aide, Dr. Daines, and assorted M.D.s and attorneys. Null mentioned the front page of the New York Times business section that reported the money the pharmaceutical companies were getting from the coming vaccine bonanza.
He said the government has missed the point in its mandate: “Are vaccines safe and effective? Where’s the proof?”
Later he addressed the questions: “Are vaccines unsafe, and what is the proof? Why are we pumping tens of billions into the biggest health fraud in history?”
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FDA Approves Stevia, Ends the Era of Oppression of this Herbal Sweetener
Thursday, July 30th, 2009By Mike Adams
naturalnews.com
Update note: This breaking news article has been updated from its original version to clarify the nature of the FDA’s GRAS “approval” for stevia. In the original breaking news, we reported that the FDA had granted GRAS approval to stevia. Technically, the FDA has only issued letters of “no objection” regarding companies’ self-affirmation of GRAS approval for stevia. In other words, the FDA hasn’t technically granted approval to stevia but has affirmed it will not object to companies using it in foods and beverages. This puts stevia in a “grey zone” where the FDA could potentially target selected companies (small stevia producers) while ignoring other companies (Coca-Cola and Cargill, for example), even while they use essentially the same sweeteners.
The rest of the original breaking news article, shown below, has been corrected to account for this clarification.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued letters of non-objection for the use of a natural, zero-calorie sweetener it once sought to wipe out from the U.S. marketplace. Following political pressure from powerful consumer product corporations (Coca-Cola and Pepsi, primarily), the FDA has once again fallen in step with the interests of Big Business and legalized a food and beverage ingredient that it once aggressively oppressed.
In this case, however, the approval of this ingredient happens to be in the best interests of consumers. Why? Because it will largely replace aspartame, an artificial sweetener chemical linked to numerous neurological disorders, including headaches, eye disorders and other problems.
It will also unleash a wave of stevia-sweetened products for consumers, and that’s good news for diabetics or anyone seeking healthier products sweetened with an herbal extract rather than a synthetic chemical.
I publicly predicted this FDA decision just two weeks ago an article containing thirty-one predictions for 2009 (http://www.naturalnews.com/024976.html). The FDA’s approval of stevia is prediction #8, for those keeping track. (Interestingly, at least two of the top 13 predictions for 2009 have already come true in the last month of 2008!)
The circumstances surrounding this FDA approval of stevia reveal yet again the true loyalties of the agency. When stevia threatened the profits of aspartame, it was routinely suppressed by the agency. FDA thugs seized imports of stevia at the border, destroyed millions of dollars in stevia products, threatened companies with fines for daring to sell stevia, and even ordered one company to destroy its recipe books that mentioned stevia in dessert recipes. But now, when Coca-Cola and Pepsi want stevia approved, the FDA suddenly reverses its oppression and decides to legalize the herb.
Again, this is a rare case where the FDA’s decision benefits consumers, but the circumstances behind the decision were in no way motivated by consumer interest. They were motivated by corporate profits.
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