Dr. Bronner’s Ups Ante in Lawsuit Against ‘Organic’ Personal Care Cheaters

shampooDr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps filed its Second Amended Complaint today in San Francisco Superior Court against falsely labeled “organic” personal care companies that use non-organic pesticide-intensive agricultural and/or petrochemical material to make the main cleansing and moisturizing ingredients in their products. Defendants include, among others: Hain-Celestial (Jason “Pure, Natural & Organic; Avalon “Organics”); Levlad (Nature’s Gate “Organics”); Kiss My Face “Organic”; YSL Beaute Inc (Stella McCartney’s “100% Organic Active Ingredients”), Country Life (Desert Essence “Organics”); Giovanni “Organic Cosmetics”; and the certifiers Ecocert and OASIS.

Learn more

Oregon Passes Hemp Bill

According to an article on the Examiner.com, by a vote of 46 to 11, the Oregon House passed SB 676, a bill that permits production and possession of industrial hemp and trade in industrial hemp commodities and products.
Internet Resources:
Article on the Examiner.com

Soy May Protect Lungs from Chronic Disease

According to an article on the Times of India website, research shows consuming soy milk and tofu could cut down the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The study was led by Curtin University of Technology’s Andy Lee and his colleagues from Curtin’s Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI) and representatives from four Japanese hospitals.
Internet Resources:
Article on the Times of India Website

California: Marijuana Smoke Added To State’s List Of Carcinogens

Sacramento, CA: The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) and the California Environmental Protection Agency have added marijuana smoke to the state’s list of official carcinogens, pursuant to Title27, California Code of Regulations, section 25305(a)(1).

Under state law, the Governor’s office is required to publish an annual list of chemicals that possess potential carcinogenic properties and/or are associated with reproductive toxicity, such as arsenic, lead, and tobacco smoke. Products containing such chemicals are required to carry warning labels. Business establishments with ten employees or more are also are mandated to post signs indicating whether there is a likelihood that an individual may be exposed to such chemicals while on the premises.

State environmental regulators determined that there is “limited” evidence “suggestive” that marijuana smoke exposure may be associated with an increased cancer risk in humans. Their review added, “[T]he similarities in chemical composition and in toxicological activity between marijuana smoke and tobacco smoke, and the presence of numerous carcinogens in marijuana (and tobacco) smoke, provide additional evidence of carcinogenicity.”

Presently, over 300 separate chemicals – including aspirin and alcoholic beverages – are designated as carcinogens under California law.

Labeling requirements for marijuana smoke will not take effect until June 2010. Neither marijuana nor edible products containing marijuana will be designated as carcinogens under state law.

Regulators made no official determination regarding the status of cannabis vapor, which does not contain combustion gases and has been determined to be a “safe and effective vehicle” for cannabis delivery in clinical trials.

Authors of the review did note that the largest population case-control study ever to assess the use of marijuana and lung cancer risk did not find a positive association between long-term cannabis smoking and cancer.

California NORML Coordinator Dale Geiringer said that the ruling did not come as a surprise because it has been well known for years that cannabis smoke contains known carcinogenic chemicals. However, he noted that the intake of these noxious chemicals “can be completely eliminated by vaporization or by consuming marijuana orally.”

NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said that it remains unclear what effect, if any, these new regulations will have on the dispensing of medical marijuana in California. “Since it is marijuana smoke, not marijuana per se, that is at issue here, it is not clear that legally operating medicinal cannabis dispensaries will have to alter their actions to comply with Prop. 65,” he said – noting that few such facilities allow patients to smoke cannabis on the premises. “Liquor stores are not required to post warnings on the premises just because they dispense alcohol, so why would medical cannabis dispensaries be treated any differently?”

The Gift of the Native Americans-America and the hidden future

A major aspect of its shadow that America must confront is its historically bad  treatment of people of color, including Native Americans — the first Americans. Four hundred years ago, the Hopi Indians had an ancient legend that they were to look to the East for the return of their “lost white brother” who had “gone to the East to develop, record and invent things”.  This lost white brother would bring the “missing stone tablet” to compliment the one the Hopis already had. The two complimentary halves of the stone tablet symbolize the head and the heart. The white culture developed a technological culture and the Native Americans developed a compassionate relationship to the earth.  The white culture developed the head and the Natives developed the heart, and these must be reunited if America is to fulfill her true spiritual destiny.

But the white man didn’t recognize his red brother when he first came to America, and he killed them and pushed them off the land they lived on.  This has created a heavy karma which is part of the national shadow that must be redeemed. Since Native Americans hold the power of nature in balance through their sacred ceremonies and dances, it is essential that we create right relationship with the original inhabitants of this land and protect the earth from pollution.  If we continue to mistreat the Native Peoples and their land, there will be karmic reaction from the forces within the earth to which they are deeply related.

But there was also something very important that was brought to America by the white race who came here several hundred years ago. They anchored the idea of freedom of religion to grow on this soil and spread to the world.  And most significantly, they brought the sacred sparks from the living flame of the Ageless Wisdom tradition–the hidden, initiate teachings at the core of the major religions. Our Founding Fathers (and Mothers) brought a profound metaphysical tradition with them that indicated a spiritual destiny for this nation.  This can unfold in the future if America grows into a wise and compassionate member of the community of nations, rather than being a selfish nation that dominates other nations through her superior power.

George Washington had a vision of an angel who showed him three great crises of the Republic.  But each time the Union triumphed against her enemies.  (This was reported in The National Tribune by Anthony Sherman who was with Washington at Valley Forge).

WESTERN MISCONCEPTIONS MEET IRANIAN REALITY.

— It’s sad watching so many Democrats talk about fraud in a possibly legitimate election in Iran when they stayed so silent during two illegitimate elections here.

— “It is difficult to see how he could have stolen the election by such a large margin.” If you steal the election, that means the margin is false. Therefore, how large it is has no bearing. What’s difficult to believe is how an incumbent who failed on all his campaign promises in the previous election could be elected by a wider margin than he one with the first time. If he did not steal the election, why doesn’t Ahmadinejad invite all the journalists in the world and Jimmy Carter to count them? I admire your tendency toward counter-intuitiveness and constant debunking, but this post is balderdash. Iran is 70% under 30 and well-educated. Would anyone else on earth meeting that description vote for the likes of Ahmadinejad in such numbers? All this, of course, leaves aside the fact that the election was stolen before a single vote was cast because the mullahs choose the candidates. – Paul Tullis