(Clearwisdom.net)

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Xu Dawei, 34 years old, lived in Qingyuan County, Fushun City, Liaoning Province. He suffered eight years of persecution, including illegal detention, at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Finally he was tortured until he was very thin. He suffered a mental collapse, was not able to eat, and after he was brought back home, in less than 13 days, he passed away on February 16, 2009. Various marks of injury were found on his body.

Xu Dawei, A few months before persecution

Xu Dawei, after being persecuted at Dongling Prison

His family has tried to seek justice for him. Over the past months, they have visited many office in the Shenyang Judiciary Department. When they went to Dongling Prison, the prison officials tried all ways to deny their role in Mr. Xu's death and shifted responsibility. Prison officials colluded with officials in Yingemen Town, including Zhang Tianwei, Li Shunling and Secretary Cui. They went twice to Xu Dawei's home to threaten his younger brother and forbade him to become involved in seeking justice for his older brother Xu Dawei. They threatened, "Otherwise you will draw fire against yourself." The authorities asked which hospital Xu Dawei stayed in before he died and where his body was. The family refused to disclose this information, and afterwards the officials threatened to arrest the family members if they persisted in their stand.

On the morning of May 7, 2009, the family went to the Shenyang Procuratorate and inquired about registering the case, to investigate the murderer of Xu Dawei. The official at the Appeal Office asked them to go to the police department to report and do an autopsy in order to confirm that the death was caused by abuse in prison, before they could ask the court to register the case. In the afternoon, the family went to the Shenyang Police Department. The officials at the Appeal Office said, "It is not our matter. It is the matter of the Judiciary Bureau." They also said, "Unless the CCP collapses, any Falun Gong issue will never be resolved."

When the family visited the Shenyang Judiciary Bureau, the official told Xu Dawei's father and wife, "Let it go. Do not appeal anymore. Go home to cremate the body and get along. You do not have any evidence. Even if it is my own issue, I have no solution."

How can the Judiciary departments shift responsibility onto each other? Is there really no evidence? The family supplied pictures, Xu Dawei gave an oral statement before he died, and there is a hospital diagnosis. The Dongling Prison staff knew they violated the law, and so they tried all means to look for Xu Dawei's body to attempt to destroy the evidence, to cover up the facts of the crime. In order to do that, they misused their authority to threaten and intimidate the family members of the victim.

It has already been several months since Xu Dawei left this world. His family went to all the judiciary departments, however, they cannot even register the case. There is no place to seek justice for the victim. Under CCP China, the "law" is just the tool for the CCP to persecute people, and the people do not even have any basic guarantees or rights.

 

 

May 25

Memorial Day weekend finds Oregon's high country camp and picnic spots buried beneath 8 feet of snow – “Even at lower elevations, some roads are blocked by large, impassable drifts.   "Some of our more popular spots are snowed-in still," said Rick Acosta, a Forest Service spokesman. "A lot of those campgrounds are normally open for Memorial Day, but this year, they are not."   http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/camping_this_weekend_many_oreg.html Thanks to Becky Khan for this link

 

May 21

Record low temperatures in 15 states –  still no mention in the media 21 May 09 – New record lows: 30 + Tied: 21 = Total: 51

 

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/records/index.php?ts=daily&elem=mint& month=5&day=21&year=2009&submitted=Get+Records

 Thanks to Kenneth Lund for this link

 

May 20

Record low temperatures in 21 states -and still no word from the media 20 May 09 - Several of these records are more than 100 years old  New records: 55 + Tied: 30 = Total: 85

 

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/records/index.php?ts=daily&elem=mint&month=5&day=20&year=2009&submitted=Get+Records 

Thanks to Kenneth Lund for this link

 

May 19

Record low temperatures in 28 states! – and nary a peep from the media 19 May 09 – “Wow,  99 new record lows in 28 states - more than half of the states!” says reader Chuck Clancy. “Curious, isn’t it, how we hear nothing about them. A person actually has to search for them! Many of these records are over 100 years old, and a few 115 years old.”         If there had been record warmth in 28 states, your would have seen "we're-         causing-global-warming" headlines plastered across the front page of almost         every newspaper in the country, and TV hosts would have gleefully announced         the dire news. . . . But had you even heard about this?   Total Number of Records for May 19, 2009 New: 99 + Tied: 66 = Total: 165

 

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/records/index.php?ts=daily&elem=mint& month=5&day=18&year=2009&submitted=Get+Records

Thanks to Kenneth Lund for this link

 

May 18

Record cold highs shattered in SC, GA - going back to 1875 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC - IT HAS BEEN A CHILLY AND RAW DAY ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA AND SOUTHEAST GEORGIA. TEMPERATURES HAVE STRUGGLED TO REACH THE MID-UPPER 50S IN MANY AREAS... IT DOES APPEAR THE RECORD LOW MAXES AT ALL THREE  SITES WILL BE SHATTERED. THE RECORD LOW MAX AT THE SAVANNAH AIRPORT DATES BACK TO 1875... A TESTAMENT OF HOW UNUSUAL THIS PATTERN IS FOR MID MAY. RECORD LOW MAXES FOR MAY 18TH... CHARLESTON AIRPORT... 70/1934 DOWNTOWN CHARLESTON.. 69/1973 SAVANNAH AIRPORT..... 71/1875  http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=CHS&product=AFD&form at=CI&version=1&glossary=1&highlight=off  Thanks to Kenneth Lund for this info

 

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/records/index.php?ts=daily&elem=mint& month=5&day=19&year=2009&submitted=Get+Records

Thanks to Chuck Clancy for this link

May 18

Record low temperatures in 24 states - Coldest in more than 100 years in many areas – 166 records tied or broken  (New: 97 + Tied: 69 = Total: 166)

 http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/records/index.php?ts=daily&elem=mint& month=5&day=19&year=2009&submitted=Get+Records

(Clearwisdom.net) Since the persecution of Falun Gong started in July 1999, Ms. Li Peiqin had been illegally arrested on several occasions. She died on January 24, 2009 after being brutally tortured.

Before beginning to practice Falun Gong in May 1997, Ms. Li had suffered from various diseases including heart disease, kidney disease, and high blood pressure. She was so ill that she found it very difficult to do even simple household chores. After practicing for a short while, all of her symptoms disappeared.

In March 2002, while taking care of her grandson in Shanghai, Ms. Li was arrested and sentenced to two years of forced labor. During her imprisonment, she was locked in a small isolation cell that could barely fit two people. To further torture her, the guards opened her cell window during the winter months and closed it during the summer months.

In November 2004, officers from Jiagedaqi Prefecture arrested and sentenced Ms. Li to three years in prison with a four-year reprieve for preparing Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials. During this period, officers regularly visited her home to harass and threaten her. Since her environment for studying the teachings of Falun Gong and doing the exercises had been seriously disrupted, all of Ms. Li's old diseases returned and she became seriously ill. In addition, her employer extorted 20,000 yuan from her and provided her with only 300 yuan a month for living expenses.

In August 2005, officers from the Shanghai Police Department and the Jiagedaqi Prefecture Police Department visited Ms. Li's home but she was not there. The next day, after her husband left for work, the officers returned and arrested Ms. Li then took her to the local railway station. When her husband found out about the incident, he immediately went to the train station and firmly held on to his wife's hand. Many railway station police officers and officers from the Hongqi Police Station were called in to assist. Ms. Li was forcibly dragged to a waiting train bound for Shanghai. When she arrived, the officers detained her at the Jiading Subdistrict Detention Station and tortured her with sleep derivation. Two people were assigned to monitor her 24 hours a day. Even though she was in critical condition, the guards refused to release her.

At that time, an inmate who had just been released (her term had expired), told Ms. Li's family that she was in critical condition and suggested that they ask for her immediate release. When Ms. Li's husband went to the Shanghai Police Department, the guards would not allow him to visit with her. But later when they saw that Ms. Li was on the verge of death, they took her back to Jiagedaqi Prefecture.

During that time, agents from the National Security Division went to Ms. Li's home and work unit to harass her. As a result of their continuous harasment, her health began to deteriorate further. One day she was rushed to a hospital and bedridden for six days. The doctor on duty told her that she was in critical condition. Shortly after, Ms. Li miraculously recovered and left the hospital. Local police officers continued to harass her to the point that her health once again deteriorated. On January 24, 2009, she passed away at the age of 58.

 

http://www.pocahontastimes.com

Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer

Sheets GMC of Green Bank is one of 1,124 dealerships in the country that received notice from General Motors about the cancelation of their contract. Sheets has been in business, as a garage and dealership for 87 years. S. Stewart photo

Sheets GMC owner Charlie Sheets wants to make one thing clear.

“We are not closing,” he said Monday.

After news surfaced that the dealership received “the letter” from General Motors, Sheets’ phones lit up with calls from concerned customers with only one question in mind.

What happens next?

The letter from GM was sent priority mail to 1,124 dealers in the country, notifying them that GM has decided to cancel their contracts by October 2010. Without any explanation for how the dealerships were chosen, the letter, which Sheets said was vague in nature, did not close with a signature from a member of the General Motors Corporation.

“In the letter, they talked about a lot of factors that helped them make their decision like sales effectiveness, sales volume, CSI performance, which is your customer rating, capitalization, profitability, location, facilities and dualing patterns,” Sheets said, reading from the letter sent on May 14.

What the letter doesn’t explain, is how closing contracts with 1,124 dealers will assist with the corporation’s financial situation.

“What we dealers don’t understand, is that we don’t cost them a penny because everything we get from them, we have to buy,” Sheets explained. “The way I look at it, the automobile manufacturers have two things to sell. They sell cars and parts and who do they sell them to? To the dealers.”

The dealership, which began as a humble repair shop in 1922 owned by Clarence Sheets, is no stranger to downsizing and loss of a product.

“We went through this with Oldsmobile,” Sheets said. “We already went through one phase out and now we are going through another one. It’s just kind of frustrating.”

A photo of the original garage, opened by Clarence Sheets in 1922, hangs on the wall of the dealership. Photo courtesy of Sheets GMC

Sheets has already taken action to fight the cancellation of his GM contract with his own letter. GM gave the dealers until the end of May to submit information or a plan for the future. Sheets sent his letter Monday morning.

“I’m appealing their decision and I’m also asking them what our options are because their letter was so vague,” he said. “It doesn’t tell us anything, it doesn’t give us any options. It’s a cold, hard letter. I’m asking them, ‘what are you going to do for us if you want us out of business.’ We’ve worked for years, building our dealership, building our franchise and they come along like this and it makes us feel virtually worthless.”

Mitchell Chevrolet did not receive “the letter” and isn’t going to.

The Marlinton dealership has been selected as one of the dealers GM “wants on the team.”

Joe Mitchell said the dealership would be faced with challenges, but “we hope to meet those challenges, grown and prosper and treat everyone just as we have been.”

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Chen Xiumei is a practitioner from Baoding City, Hebei Province. On January 8, 2009, officers from the Jingxiu Police Station of Baoding City arrested and detained her at the Baoding City Detention Center. On January 15, 2009, she was sent to the First Division of the Hebei Province Women's Forced Labor Camp.

Ms. Chen Xiumei

Ms. Chen was an employee of the Baoding Textile Factory. She began practicing Falun Gong in 1996, and all of her illnesses disappeared. After the persecution started on July 20, 1999, she was dismissed by the textile factory because she practiced Falun Gong. She went to Beijing a few times to appeal for justice for Falun Gong and was detained several times.

In 2002 and 2007, Ms. Chen was sentenced to forced labor and detained at the Baoding City Forced Labor Camp and the Shijiazhuang City Forced Labor Camp, respectively. In the Baoding City Forced Labor Camp, the guards and inmates brutally tortured her when she refused to give up Falun Gong or cooperate with the labor camp programs. On March 9, 2003, she was handcuffed for the entire day for doing the Falun Gong exercises. Later, since she refused to wear the labor camp uniforms or have her picture taken, the guards put handcuffs on her again for a long time. The skin on one of her wrists became rotten. The authorities verbally abused her and did not let her talk to anyone. They also tortured her with various instruments.

In Autumn 2003, the Baoding City Forced Labor Camp and the Shijiazhuang City Forced Labor Camp exchanged the Falun Gong practitioners who were imprisoned. When Ms. Chen was sent to the Shijiazhuang City Forced Labor Camp, she was in poor condition due to the long-term torture. She held a hunger strike to protest further persecution. On February 6, 2005, the labor camp officials sent her home since she was on the verge of death. She was very weak, unable to speak or eat, and did not recognize her family members. In 2007, she was released from the Baoding City Forced Labor Camp when she was close to death.

On January 8, 2009, the police from the Jingxiu Police Station arrested Ms. Chen. She was taken to the Baoding City Detention Center on the same night. On January 15, 2009, she was sent to the First Division of the Shijiazhuang Women's Forced Labor Camp. Since Ms. Chen refused to cooperate with the labor camp officials or follow the camp rules, the guards brutally tortured her. In mid March 2009, she started a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Then Liu Ziwei, the head guard, ordered the inmates to shock Ms. Chen in the chest, vaginal area and buttocks. She was slapped and kicked. There were bruises all over her body. She endured this torture every day.

A witness from the labor camp described one incident when Ms. Chen was not able to sleep. She sat up with her two legs crossed over each other and her hands conjoined. However, when Liu Ziwei saw her, the head guard pulled her hair very hard to get her off the bed. Ms. Chen resisted by holding onto the bed. Liu forcibly pulled Ms. Chen off the bed. Ms. Chen's hair was pulled out and she was thrown to the ground. Then she was dragged out to be beaten.

On January 23 and in March, 2009, Ms. Chen's husband came to visit her. He brought clothes and food, but was not allowed to see his wife due to her refusal to renounce Falun Gong.

On March 23, 2009, Ms. Chen began a hunger strike to protest the persecution. When her family heard the news, they were worried about her. On April 23, 2009, her husband came to the labor camp again. Liu Ziwei came out and told her husband that Ms. Chen was doing well and had started to eat. When she was asked about beating Ms. Chen, she denied it. Despite her husband's pleading to see her, he was not allowed.

Ms. Chen's husband had to visit the officials at the Judicial Bureau and Labor Bureau. They pressured the labor camp officials. When Feng Kezhuang, the deputy director of the labor camp, received the phone calls, he agreed to let Ms. Chen's husband visit her. However, the visit was kept short and Ms. Chen's husband was only able to say a few words to her. Afterwards, he was forced to write a visitation report and sign it. The guard told him that Ms. Chen had a mental problem and didn't want to wear any clothes. But the fact was that she refused to wear the labor camp uniform. The guards took away her clothes, or they tore them in order to force her to wear the uniform.

Ms. Chen is very weak now. We hope all righteous people around the world will help stop the brutal persecution which has lasted ten years.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

By David Derbyshire

Chemicals in food, cosmetics and cleaning products are 'feminising' unborn boys and raising their risk of cancer and infertility later in life, an expert warns today.

Professor Richard Sharpe, one of Britain's leading reproductive biologists, says everyday substances are linked to soaring rates of birth defects and testicular cancer, and to falling sperm counts.

The government adviser's report published today is the most detailed yet into the threat posed to baby boys by chemicals that block the action of the male sex hormone testosterone, or mimic the female sex hormone oestrogen.

Professor Sharpe says many could be harmless on their own - but warned that their cumulative effect could be devastating for developing foetuses and warned women trying for a child to avoid them.

'You can't do anything about chemicals in the environment but you can control what you expose a baby to through your lifestyle choices,' he said.

'Because we don't know the complete list of chemicals that may be hormone disrupters, and we don't know how they interact, we can't point a finger at an individual chemical.

'The message is to avoid them, just as you should avoid alcohol and drugs.'

Doctors are concerned about rising levels of birth defects, with 7 per cent of British boys born with partially descended testes and seven in 1000 with malformed genitals.

The latest estimates indicate that one in six men in the UK has a low sperm count and will struggle to father a child.

And the number of testicular cancer cases among men in their 20s and 30s has been doubling every 25 years.

Following an analysis of available evidence, Professor Sharpe concluded that gender-bending chemicals are 'likely to account for a proportion' of birth defects in baby boys - and the testicular cancer and fertility problems the boys may suffer later in life.

His report looked at studies into birth defects of boy's genitals, low sperm counts and testicular cancer - a range of problems collectively called Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome or TDS.

In repeated experiments, testosterone-disrupting chemicals found in pesticides, drugs, plastics and household products created symptoms of TDS in laboratory animals. Some of the experiments showed that the chemicals work in combination - causing problems at doses where the individual chemicals should be harmless.

The evidence that the chemicals cause problems in humans was weaker, but still showed a link between environmental chemicals and male fertility problems, the report said.

In one study, scientists looked at families moving from countries with a low rate of testicular cancer to Denmark - which has one of the highest rates of the disease in Europe.

First-generation immigrants had the same level of cancer as their country of origin. But their children - conceived and born in Denmark - had a similar risk to Danes. That indicated something in the environment was to blame.

Other studies have shown that mothers exposed to chemicals used in plastics, flame retardants and pesticides are more likely to have sons who go on to develop testicular cancer.

Exposure to environmental chemicals slightly increases the risks of undescended testes and hypospadia - malformed genitalia - in boys, the report found.

Professor Sharpe said TDS has its origins in the period between the eighth and 12th week of pregnancy, when exposure to hormone-mimicking chemicals can interfere with testosterone production in a foetus, preventing the sex organs from developing normally.

Chemicals shown to cause problems include pesticides such as DDT, fungicides such as vinclozolin; a group of chemicals called PCBs used in electrical circuits, paints, flame retardants and glues; and phthalates, which are used to soften plastics.

Elizabeth Salter Green of the charity CHEM Trust, which commissioned Professor Sharpe's report, said: 'Chemicals that have been shown to act together to affect male reproductive health should have their risks assessed together.

'Currently that is not the case, and unfortunately chemicals are looked at on a individual basis.

'Therefore Government assurances that exposures are too low to have any effect just do not hold water because regulators do not take into account the additive actions of hormone-disrupting chemicals.'

She advised pregnant women to keep cosmetic use to a minimum, choose unscented products, stop using perfume, avoid colouring hair and avoid DIY.

For more information visit www.chemtrust.org.uk

(Clearwisdom.net) From 9:15 am to 10:30 am on April 8, 2009, the Zengcheng City Court opened a court session covertly, to try Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Chunhe without informing her family. During that time, the courtroom was surrounded by police officers. The director of the Zengcheng City 610 Office, staff members of the Licheng Town government office, and twenty to thirty other people were brought in by the authorities to be in the audience. None of Ms. Zhang's family members were present.

Before the trial, Zhang Chunhe was detained in the Guangzhou City Military Police Hospital. After that, she was taken to the Zengcheng City Detention Center. Ms. Zhang has suffered brutal persecution in detention, and she is now critically ill. In the past 3 months, tumors in her body have become bigger and bigger, and her abdomen is swollen. Ms. Zhang frequently passes blood, and she has heart palpitations. She sweats abnormally, is dizzy frequently, and her abdomen aches. In the recent 20 days, the pain in her abdomen has intensified. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agencies, including the Zengcheng City 610 Office, police department, the court, and the detention center, have all disregarded her condition and continue to detain Ms. Zhang.

As early as three month ago, the directing doctor of Guangzhou City Military Police Hospital called the authorities of the Zengcheng City 610 Office many times, to inform them that Ms. Zhang was critically ill and asked them to pick her up. Most people working in the hospital have said that they were willing to be her witnesses, to expose, on the Internet, the persecution that Ms. Zhang has suffered. They would like to let the people be the judge.

Ms. Zhang Chunhe is an intermediate accountant. She used to be the chief of the Property Management Association of Zengcheng City. After she began to practice Falun Gong in 1994, Ms. Zhang experienced huge changes both mentally and physically. She strictly followed the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and was considerate of others all the time. As a result, she was publicly recognized as a good person. Since the CCP began to persecute Falun Gong in 1999, Ms. Zhang has been abiding to her belief. Because she refused to give up Falun Gong, she was treated as a key target of persecution, and suffered detention, forced labor and brainwashing.

On July 23, 2008, Zhang Chunhe was taken to a brainwashing session in Guangzhou City from her workplace. That same day, she was diagnosed as having tumors in her body. The brainwashing unit refused to admit her to the hospital. Agents of the Zengcheng 610 Office also acknowledged the existence of the tumors. The biggest tumor is the size of a large grapefruit. The authorities tried to force her family members to sign documents authorizing an operation many times, but were rejected. Instead, the family has requested her release to seek her own medical treatment.

After Ms. Zhang was taken back to Zengcheng City from the brainwashing session, police officers from the Xiyuan Police Station handcuffed her hands behind her back and shackled her ankles. Consequently, she developed edema all over. Later, Ms. Zhang was detained in the Guangzhou City Military Police Hospital for six months.

Before Ms. Zhang left the hospital, the doctor kept close watch on her physical condition each day. On the night before she left, the doctor asked her to sign a medical report. On the day Ms. Zhang left the hospital, the doctor said, "I guess you will not die today. I will let you leave the hospital today."

 

 

By David H Murdock
Chairman-Owner Of Dole Foods
5-22-9
 
Is it possible to live to 125 or maybe 150? It's certainly a possibility, as discussed on Oprah Winfrey's recent show on longevity. She visited me at my farm to learn how, at 86, I am enjoying the robust health, energy, and mental creativity of someone many decades younger. My secret: large quantities of fruit and vegetables, plus an hour of daily exercise.
 
No pills, not even aspirin, and certainly no supplements ever enter my mouth -- everything I need comes from my fish-vegetarian diet, which incorporates 30-40 different kinds of fruit and vegetables every week. Even though I am Chairman and Owner of Dole Food Company, I do most of my own grocery shopping, and even took Oprah on an impromptu trip to Costco, in a day that included bike riding, exercise in the gym, and juicing vegetables in the kitchen. Oprah marveled at how much I eat, and yet never gain a pound. In fact, I expend a lot of energy in my 50-60 minutes of cardio and strength training every day. Plus there's the fact that fruit and vegetables tend to be lower in calories, but higher in filling fiber and other nutrients that help you feel satisfied.
 
By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity. Obesity accelerates aging even faster than smoking, according to scientific research.
 
We created the North Carolina Research Campus to study the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. It is the only campus in the world encompassing eight universities all working together for the benefit of health and longevity. These include Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, NC State University, UNC Charlotte, North Carolina Central University, NC A&T State University, UNC Greensboro and Appalachian State University. We've gathered a comprehensive array of famous scientists and scientific equipment under one roof, including a two-story, 950 megahertz, 8-ton superconducting magnet. It is the largest and most powerful magnet in the world and will help us look at both plant and human cells at the most minute level. We are constantly doing research on all fruit and vegetables, including the ones listed below, which are the mainstay of my diet.
 
The Healthiest Foods on Earth
 

 
Pineapple Speeds post-surgery Promotes joint health Reduces asthma inflammation
Blueberries Restore antioxidant levels Reverse age-related brain decline Prevent urinary tract infection
Spinach Helps maintain mental sharpness Reduces the risk of cancers of the liver, ovaries, colon and prostate Top nutrient density
Red Bell Pepper Reduces risk of lung, prostate, ovarian and cervical cancer Protects against sunburn Promotes heart health
Broccoli Reduces diabetic damage Lowers risk of prostate, bladder, colon, pancreatic, gastric and breast cancer Protects the brain in event of injury
Tomato Reduces inflammation Lowers risk of developing esophageal, stomach, colorectal, lung and pancreatic cancer Reduces cardiovascular disease risk
Apple Supports immunity Fights lung and prostate cancer Lowers Alzheimer's risk
Artichoke Helps blood clotting Antioxidant Superfood Lowers "bad" cholesterol
Arugula Lowers birth defect risk Reduces fracture risk Protects eye health
Asparagus Nourishes good gut bacteria Protects against birth defects Promotes heart health
Avocado Limits liver damage Reduces oral cancer risk Lowers cholesterol levels
Blackberries Build bone density Suppress appetite Enhance fat burning
Butternut Squash Supports night vision Combats wrinkles Promotes heart health
Cantaloupe Bolsters immunity Protects skin against sunburn Reduces inflammation
Carrot Antioxidants defend DNA Fights cataracts Protects against some cancers
Cauliflower Stimulates detoxification Suppresses breast cancer cell growth Defends against prostate cancer
Cherries Alleviate arthritic pain and gout Lower "bad" cholesterol Reduce inflammation
Cranberries Alleviate prostate pain Fight lung, colon and leukemia cancer cells Prevent urinary tract infection
Green Cabbage Promotes healthy blood clotting Reduces risk of prostate, colon, breast and ovarian cancers Activates the body's natural detoxification systems
Kale Counters harmful estrogens that can feed cancer Protects eyes against sun damage and cataracts Increases bone density
Kiwi Combats wrinkles Lowers blood clot risk and reduces blood lipids Counters constipation
Mango Supports immunity Lowers "bad" cholesterol Regulates homocysteine to protect arteries
Mushrooms Promote natural detoxification Reduce the risk of colon and prostate cancer Lower blood pressure
Orange Reduces levels of "bad" cholesterol Lowers risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, breast and stomach, and childhood leukemia Pectin suppresses appetite
Papaya Enzymes aid digestion Reduces risk of lung cancer Enhances fat burning
Plums & Prunes Counter constipation Antioxidants defend against DNA damage Protects against post-menopausal bone loss
Pomegranate Enhances sunscreen protection Lowers "bad" cholesterol Fights prostate cancer
Pumpkin Protects joints against polyarthritis Lowers lung and prostate cancer risk Reduces inflammation
Raspberries Inhibit growth of oral, breast, colon and prostate cancers Antioxidant DNA defense Lower "bad" cholesterol levels
Strawberries Protect against Alzheimer's Reduce "bad" cholesterol Suppress growth of colon, prostate and oral cancer
Sweet Potato Reduces stroke risk Lowers cancer risk Protect against blindness
Watermelon Supports male fertility Reduces risk of several cancers: prostate, ovarian, cervical, oral and pharyngeal Protects skin against sunburn
Banana Increases Fat Burning Lowers risk of colorectal and kidney cancer, leukemia Reduces asthmas symptoms in children
 
 

One of my missions in life is to share this kind of knowledge with others, so they can live more vital, active, satisfying lives. Since acquiring major interests in Dole 26 years ago, educating the public on proper diet has constituted the agenda of my Dole Nutrition Institute. We publish the Dole Nutrition News -- enjoyed by 2.5 million subscribers (sign up at www.dolenutrition.com). We create cooking and nutrition videos, cookbooks, brochures, and other educational collateral, like the chart above. We also provide educational support to teachers, parents and kids through www.dolesuperkids.com.
 
While Arianna and I do not agree on all issues, we both believe in the importance of proper nutrition. I've known Arianna since she arrived in this country, many decades ago, and am godfather to one of her daughters. I've enjoyed many Mediterranean-style healthy meals at her home, and am helping her increase access to nutrition information, which is why I wanted to share some "food for thought" with her intellectually ravenous.
 
*
Want the latest in nutrition information, articles, recipes and more? Sign up for the FREE Dole Nutrition News to have it all delivered right to your inbox! Click here to receive this online newsletter, free every month!
 
***
David H. Murdock is Chairman and owner of Dole Food Company, Inc., the world's largest producer and marketer of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, packaged and frozen foods. He is also Chairman, CEO and owner of Castle & Cooke, Inc., a leader in real estate development.
Mr. Murdock advocates healthy eating to promote longevity. His Dole Nutrition Institute is dedicated to nutrition education through an award-winning monthly newsletter, health brochures, cookbooks, videos and the Dole Nutrition website. He recently dedicated the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory Building, the UNC Nutrition Research Building and the NC State Fruit and Vegetable Science Institute Building at the newly opened North Carolina Research Campus, representing a historic partnership with leading universities to advance knowledge about nutrition and disease prevention. 

 

(Clearwisdom.net) Around 6 a.m. on July 9, 2008, Ms. Kong Qian and her mother, Li Xiyun, who had already been homeless for over five years, were arrested by CCP officers in their home. They lived in Weifang's Third Power Company in Shandong Province. A women claiming she needed to check their electric meter deceived them into opening their door. They have now been detained for over 300 days.

Long term torture put Ms. Kong Qian's life in danger. She was once taken to a first aid hospital, but CCP officials did not allow her family members or her attorney to visit her. At the end of March 2009, she was taken to Weifang Detention Center. After CCP officials had her tortured to the verge of death, her case was then transferred from the Hanting District Procuratorate to the Court.

On that day when Ms. Kong was arrested, she was taken to Weifang Detention Center. She resisted with a hunger strike. She was tortured overnight. She not allowed to sleep and was force-fed and beaten until she went into convulsions. Her arms and legs were shackled to a cross for seven days and nights. In October 2008, she was transferred to Changle Detention Center. She refused to work as if she were a slave and went on a hunger strike. She clarified the truth to other detainees and taught them Falun Gong. Police in the city's national security team and guards in Changle Detention Center continued to abuse her. She was handcuffed and her feet were fixed in a big shackle for a long time. As a result of the intense torture, she needed help to use the restroom. Her hands and feet were frozen and became purple and black.

Her relatives went to Weifang National Security Team many times to ask for her release, but all their requests were turned down. They were also not allow to visit her.

Kong Qian started to practice Falun Gong in 1997. When she first began the practice, her body changed miraculously, becoming strong instead of weak. However, she lost her job since she upheld her belief, and was arrested many times. Her family was destroyed. Her father, who was a policeman in Huaibei Prison, divorced her mother, Li Xiyun, who is also a Falun Gong practitioner. She is 57 years old and was a former policewoman in Huaibei Prison. Kong Qian's fiancé, Li Jiangang, was also detained due to his belief in Falun Gong in Wangcun Men's Forced Labor Camp in Shandong. They couple has been registered to marry for four years, but have yet to be able to solemnize their vows.

We call for help from compassionate and righteous people all over the world to help rescue these persecuted Falun Gong practitioners.

(Clearwisdom.net) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been cruelly persecuting Falun Gong for almost 10 years. Changning Detention Center in Shanghai has detained numerous Falun Gong practitioners and continues to cruelly persecute them. They hung up an older female practitioner, Fan Guoping, who is in her 60s, in a solitary confinement room. She was hung up in the air by cuffs on all her limbs for many days. In order to protest the persecution, she went on a hunger strike. In response to this, the police force-fed her with thick rubber feeding tubes. As the tubes were too thick and could not be inserted into her stomach, the guard Wu Libin clasped his hands around her neck and viciously choked her so that she could not breathe. Main entrance of Changning Detention Center in Shanghai City Overview of the detention center

Other accounts include the following. Zhou Bin, a resident of Changning District, withstood inhumane torture when he was detained at the detention center. Zhou Bin has since been sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment by the CCP. He is currently incarcerated and persecuted at Tilanqiao Prison in Shanghai. Jiang Bin, a university graduate from the finance department, was also incarcerated at the detention center. After that he was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment and sent to Tilanqiao Prison in Shanghai. Ma Guobiao and his mother Jin Runfang were incarcerated several times. After being incarcerated here they were sent to a forced labor camp to be further detained. Not long ago, there was an aged Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Zhou Yuntian, at this detention center. She was tortured till she died. Her son is also incarcerated there.

During the early summer in 2008, practitioner Fan Guoping, who is in her 60s, was arrested and detained at Changning District Detention Center. She went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. When she first went into the detention center, she was tortured by being deprived of sleep for three days and nights. She was made to sit in a chair and was interrogated. Rough handling during force-feeding caused her nose to bleed for the whole night. Later the female detention center chief, Wu Libin, (in her 30s) instigated the guards to lock her up in a solitary cell and put her in handcuffs for the whole day. Both her legs were cuffed to metal railings, and both her arms were handcuffed behind her back. When she wanted to use the bathroom, they did not put her down. They made the prison use a basin to catch her urine and feces. As her legs were tied up higher than the rest of her body, it made passing urine and moving bowels very messy and painful. Furthermore the weather is hot and the insects bit her everyday. The skin on her body was in a bad state.

Wu Libin wanted to force Fan Guoping to give up her hunger strike; thus she used a thick rubber feeding tube to force-feed Fan Guoping in a manner meant to torture her and increase her pain. As the rubber tube was too thick and could not be inserted into the stomach, Wu Libin personally used her own hands to choke Fan Guoping. After being force-fed in this way for over 10 days, the older practitioner did not sign the document to give up her belief in Falun Gong. Thus Wu Libin gave orders not to let Fan Guoping go to the washroom, not to let her wash up, and not to let her touch a bit of water. During the hot weather, the guards insulted her in front of the prisoners and said that their intention was to let her stink. At the same time, they involved the criminal inmates and forbade everyone from buying any food and daily necessities. If they wanted to do so, they had to verbally abuse and attack Fan Guoping, as an exchange for this.

Fan Guoping, who has been handcuffed and tortured for over one month has persisted in her hunger strike to protest the persecution. Wu Libin has locked her up in the solitary confinement room again.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk

Denis Campbell, health correspondent

 

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Shi Yongqing, 35, from Qizhou Township, Anguo City, Hebei Province, used to suffer from poor health. After taking up the practice of Falun Gong she became healthy by living according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Unfortunately, the township Communist Party (CCP) secretary abducted her and later sentenced her to forced labor. She died on January 9, 2004, as a result of gross abuse and mistreatment at the hands of personnel from the police department, the Political and Judiciary Committee, and the 610 Office in Guoan City, as well as local officials in Qizhou Township.

Shi Yongqing

When the CCP persecution of Falun Gong began on July 20, 1999, Ms. Shi went to Beijing again and again to appeal for Falun Gong and was detained many times. Following the gross abuse and mistreatment she was subjected to in Baoding Forced Labor Camp in 2001, she became somewhat mentally confused.

Local 610 Office head Liu Jiantao sent Zhang Dong, An Shujie, and Hua Yueyong to frequently harass her at her home. The then Qizhou Township Party secretary was worried that he might be held responsible if Ms. Shi went to appeal again, so he threatened her and told her if she did not leave and get married outside the region, he would tell someone to rape her. Not long after, she was abducted and sold to a man in Ding Village, Ding County. She was deprived of her personal freedom, and her residency registration was also transferred to Ding County.

Ms. Shi was subjected to frequent beatings and rape. She took legal action against Party secretary Cao for the crimes of kidnapping and selling women and children. This resulted in additional persecution and a stay in a forced labor camp.

Ms. Shi was detained in Baoding Forced Labor Camp and was later sent to the Zhuozhou Brainwashing Center, where she remained until she was close to death. Communist thugs then left her in the courtyard of her home when no one was home.

On January 9, 2004, relatives in her parents' home received a notice ordering them to claim her body in the Guoan County Hospital. When they got there, personnel from the police department and the Political and Judiciary Committee were also there. They threatened her relatives and ordered them to take her body and bury it; otherwise, the police department would deal with it themselves.

Her relatives wanted to have an autopsy performed to ascertain the cause of her death, but the police stopped them, saying it would not make any difference. In order to prevent her relatives from taking the matter further, the police gave them 1,000 yuan. They duped her relatives with lies, saying that they would help her father get a minimum guaranteed pension, a promise they never honored. They promised further that her son would be exempt from having to pay school fees. (Shi Yongqing's relatives had to argue their case many times before it was finally dealt with.). Her body was put in a coffin and buried. When she was buried in her hometown where her parents lived, officials sent people to monitor the whole procedure and did not leave until they made sure that the body was buried.

Ms. Shi Yongqing's death left her son without anyone to look after him. In the end, her elderly maternal grandfather took up the responsibility to care for the boy, while the other relatives did not dare to say anything. This heavy blow affected the old man severely. He became blind in one eye and has shown symptoms of a stroke. Still, he has to go out to collect manure to earn a pitiful income to pay for the boy's school tuition.

Shi Yongqing's son had not seen his mother for years before she died. He is now faced with the possibility of having to drop out of school and is living a very hard life.

The symptoms started about three weeks ago with tightness in his chest and pain when he coughed.

Santini Gale had had bronchitis before and thought he might be coming down with it again. So he went to a walk-in clinic at Six Points Plaza in Etobicoke, where he says he was sent away with a seven-day supply of antibiotics.

But the 27-year-old's symptoms only worsened and 10 days later, on May 4, he went back to the clinic.

"The pain doubled. It crippled me. I knew I had to go back to the doctor because something wasn't right," he recalled yesterday.

Extensive tests were done at the clinic but results weren't immediately available. Gale said he was sent home, this time with a bottle of cough syrup, and went straight to bed.

His symptoms worsened to include dizziness, nausea and fever. The pain in his chest grew and he was hit with a severe headache.

His mother, Evelyn Gale, wanted him to go to hospital that night, but he didn't have the strength to get out of bed, he recalled.

"I didn't eat. All I did was sleep for two days," he said.

One night his sheets were so drenched with sweat that they had to be changed three times.

When, on May 6, he finally did go to Etobicoke General Hospital – part of the William Osler Health Centre – he was feeling so cold that he had to wrap himself in several layers of clothes.

"If I didn't make it to hospital, I thought I would die. I thought I would go to sleep and never wake up, it was that bad," he said.

"I was going from cold to hot. I was vomiting and disoriented."

The hospital treated him for dehydration, and even gave him a spinal tap and a test for meningitis. He was put on the antiviral drug Tamiflu and given more antibiotics. For the pain – severe headaches, chest pain and general body aches – he got morphine.

After two nights in intensive care, he was sent home on May 8.

Two days later, Toronto public health called and informed him he had the notorious swine flu.

"It was the worst flu I've ever had in my life," he said yesterday. "I couldn't move. I felt like I was going to die, I could hardly breathe."

According to medical experts, infection with H1N1 virus can range from no symptoms at all to feeling like you've been hit by a truck.

Gale was clearly in the latter category.

"I have never felt like that,'' he said. ``It almost felt like your body was shutting down."

Yesterday was the first day Gale could leave his home and he wanted everyone to know he is no longer contagious.

He has been given the all-clear to return to work on Tuesday. He juggles two part-time jobs – one at Canada Post, where he loads parcels onto trucks, and the other at Pearson airport, where he works on the "ramp crew" for Air Canada. This involves some passenger contact when he loads luggage onto small planes, but Gale cannot say for certain where he picked up the virus.

His story came to the attention of the Star when his mother phoned to ask why provincial medical authorities were telling the public that no one had been hospitalized with H1N1 and why all cases were being described as mild.

Andrew Morrison, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, clarified yesterday that to date four people with the virus have been hospitalized.

In three cases, patients were discharged after being assessed and went home to recover. A fourth patient, who has pre-existing medical conditions, remains in hospital.

Todd Leach, a spokesperson for William Osler, confirmed one patient with flu-like symptoms had been hospitalized there.

He said admission to the intensive care unit may not have been necessary but was done "to be extra vigilant and to ensure the patient responded to treatment."

Leach said the case was characterized as "mild" because the patient did not require ventilation to assist with breathing.

Gale, however, said from his perspective the illness he endured was anything but mild.

"That's crazy,'' he said of the hospital's characterization.

"It's been hell. That's the first time I've had to spend a night in hospital in my life."

 

By a practitioner from Dalian

(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Gu Qun, 50 years old, was a practitioner from Dalian City, Liaoning Province. On the afternoon of March 16, 2008, the police from the Tianjin Street Police Station of Dalian City arrested him while he was distributing Falun Gong materials. The next day, he was transferred to the Yaojia Detention Center in Dalian City. At about 2 p.m. on April 9, 2008, his family was notified of his death.

Mr. Gu appeared to be in his early 40's, and was 5'8'' tall. He stood straight and walked quickly. His countenance was calm and compassionate. Compared to thirteen years ago when he was often sick, he was a different person.

Mr. Gu had been often sick most of his life and he was eager to become healthy. He had been to many places to look for a cure. Day after day and year after year, he spent more time and money but his illnesses became worse. When he had almost lost hope in life, he found Falun Gong. He had the chance to come to Teacher Li's lecture in Dalian City. July 1, 1994 was a memorable day. After eight days of classes, Mr. Gu completely changed. His illnesses were cured and he was full of energy. His experience of the physical benefits and his witness to Dafa's mighty power brought him more confidence in his practice of Dafa.

In his work, Mr. Gu did not abuse his power and always looked inward when problems occurred. When he saw his customers experiencing difficulties, he would help them without letting them know. He treated them like his relatives and friends. Some of his customers wanted to give him gifts or money to show their gratitude but he refused to accept it. He had established a very good reputation.

The housing availability was often scarce at that time. Allocating a house was often like warfare. In order to help resolve the conflicts, Mr. Gu gave up his allocated house to others. His action became a favorite story in the Bureau of Industry and Commerce where he worked. The person in charge of allocating the houses was touched by him. Mr. Gu's actions were rooted in the belief in the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

During the five years of his practicing up to 1999, Mr. Gu had gone to the Dalian Labor Park every morning to voluntarily teach the exercises and spread Dafa. After the persecution started, he saw many practitioners arrested, beaten and detained. Good and evil were inverted. He felt he had to do something. In February 2002, he went to Beijing to appeal for an end to the persecution. Since then, he was persecuted constantly. He was arrested, detained or sentenced to forced labor six times and suffered brutal torture. However, he always firmly believed in Dafa.

During the last eight years, Mr. Gu was compassionately "clarifying the facts" to people everywhere he went no matter what the circumstances. He wanted to help people see through the lies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and thus treat practitioners kindly. After he heard about the retribution cases of the officials who participated in the persecution, he realized the importance of his responsibility of saving sentient beings. He was anxious to let more people know the truth. Besides studying the Fa and doing the exercises, he spent his spare time clarifying the facts and persuading people to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Whether he was walking or taking the bus, staying at home or going out, he tried to use every opportunity.

Once he met an old friend on the bus that he had not seen for several years. His first thought was not to lose this opportunity. Although his destination was further away, Mr. Gu got off on the same stop as his friend. They caught up with each other and then he got to the point. He clarified the facts to his friend who then agreed to withdraw from the CCP. His friend thanked him as well.

On the afternoon of March 16, 2008, the police from the Tianjin Street Police Station arrested Mr. Gu while he was distributing Falun Gong materials. The next day, he was transferred to the Yaojia Detention Center. He held a hunger strike to protest his arrest but he was brutally force-fed. His body suffered serious injury from the force-feeding. Later, he was sentenced to one and a half years of forced labor.

On April 7, 2008, the detention center officials sent him to the Dalian City Third People's Hospital. The doctors made the decision to keep him in the hospital for treatment, but the detention center officials insisted on sending him to the Police Department Hospital. In fact, they didn't send him there. Instead, they brought him back to the detention center. At around 9 a.m. on August 8, he was sent to the Dalian City Third People's Hospital again despite the fact that he had died in the detention center. The detention center officials had staged this to shirk their responsibility. They also tried to block news of his death from spreading and didn't tell his family until around 2 p.m. on April 9, 2008.

Mr. Gu's elderly mother became ill upon hearing the news. His elderly father was grieving and crying. His daughter, who was studying in Germany, still had not been told the news.

Mr. Gu's father tried to seek justice for his son and sent an appeal letter to the Dalian City Procuratorate. But his letter was returned to him due to the policy of the procuratorator not accepting any appeals related to Falun Gong. His father managed to send his letter to the Dalian City Politics and Law Committee. But his letter was transferred to the Xigang District Police Department with an instruction to compensate his father with some money. Mr. Gu's father was a high ranking official in the government. This was a true insult.

The period of time from Mr. Gu's arrest until his death was only 23 days. The brutality of the persecution is hard to imagine. There are over 65 confirmed deaths due to the persecution of Falun Gong in Dalian City. The CCP's crimes are unpardonable.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

By Tim Richardson
Last Updated: 5:22PM BST 08 May 2009

 

 

Falun Dafa Practitioners from Japan Wish Revered Master a Happy Birthday!

 Falun Dafa Practitioners from Kaohsiung, Taiwan Wish Revered Master a Happy Birthday!

 Falun Dafa Practitioners from Hong Kong Wish Revered Master a Happy Birthday and Celebrate 10^th World Falun Dafa Day

 Falun Dafa Practitioners from Malaysia Wish Revered Master a Happy Birthday!

 

 

 

http://www.cnn.com/

(CNN) -- Bloggers in Myanmar, Iran and Syria work under some of the most repressive conditions in the world, facing tactics such as regulation, intimidation and even imprisonment, according to a report from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The organization released a list of the "10 worst countries to be a blogger" to call attention to online oppression in connection with World Press Freedom Day, which was observed Sunday.

"Bloggers are at the vanguard of the information revolution, and their numbers are expanding rapidly," the group's executive director, Joel Simon, said in a report posted on the organization's Web site. "But governments are quickly learning how to turn technology against bloggers by censoring and filtering the Internet, restricting online access and mining personal data.

"When all else fails, the authorities simply jail a few bloggers to intimidate the rest of the online community into silence or self-censorship."

Myanmar -- also known as Burma -- is the worst place in the world to be a blogger, Simon's organization says. A military government restricts Web access and throws people into jail for posting critical material.

Burmese authorities have the capability to monitor e-mail and other communication methods and can block users from viewing the Web sites of political opposition parties, the organization says, citing research group OpenNet Initiative.

One Burmese blogger, Maung Thura, is serving a 59-year prison term for circulating video footage after Cyclone Nargis in 2008, the Committee to Protect Journalists says.

Number two on the list is Iran, whose authorities, the group says, regularly detain and harass bloggers who dare to criticize religious or political figures, the Islamic revolution or its symbols.

Third is the Syrian government, which the committee says detains bloggers for posting content deemed detrimental to "national unity."

Cuba is next on the "dishonor roll." Its government now holds in jail 21 writers who led online journalism in the early part of the decade, the organization says.

In Saudi Arabia an estimated 400,000 sites are blocked, the committee says, and in Vietnam the Orwellian-sounding Ministry of Information and Communication has created an agency tasked with monitoring the Internet.

Tunisia and Turkmenistan, nations where the Internet is heavily restricted, also find a place on the list.

So, too, does China, which maintains the most comprehensive online censorship program in the world, the organization says.

Chinese authorities, it says, rely on service providers to filter searches, block critical Web sites, delete objectionable content and monitor e-mail traffic. The committee said its research shows at least 24 online writers are in prison in the country.

Egypt rounds out the list at number 10. Local press freedom groups in the country documented the detention of more than 100 bloggers in 2008 alone, the organization says. Most reported mistreatment, and a number were tortured, it says.

"The governments on the list are trying to roll back the information revolution, and for now they are having success," Simon said in the report. "Freedom of expression groups, concerned governments, the online community, and technology companies need to come together to defend the rights of bloggers around the world."

 

(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Zhang Chunlin was an officer on the Hongguang Farm in Baiyilaga Township, Qianguo County, Songyuan City, Jilin Province. Because he remained steadfast in his belief in Falun Dafa, he was persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party(CCP). In September 2008, he was injected with an unknown drug, causing a mental collapse.

Zhang Chunlin is the former head of the first division of Hongguang Farm. He is very honest and regarded as a good officer. After the persecution of Falun Gong started on July 20, 1999, he was sentenced to one year in a forced labor camp because he went to appeal for Falun Gong. He was discharged from his post.

At 7 a.m. on July 1, 2008, because of a report from Zang Xuanchuan, Party Secretary of the First Division of Hongguang Farm, Pu Yufeng led police from Baiyilaga Township to arrest Mr. Zhang Chunlin. He was detained in the Qianguo County Detention Center for more than one month. On August 5, he was sent to the Yimahe Forced Labor Camp in Jiutai City.

At that time, the forced labor camp refused to accept Zhang Chunlin because a physical examination showed he had high blood pressure. The police took him back to the Qianguo County Detention Center. On September 1, 2008, the detention center forcibly administered an unknown drug through an intravenous drip. The next day, they did it again. Zhang Chunlin was sent home that night.

After going home, Zhang Chunlin slept for a whole day, then became mentally unstable upon waking up. He speaks incoherently and has a loss of memory. To date, he is still not normal.