Just a Trying To Stay A Wee Bit Neutral

Spiritual Ministries Mind Spirit Body Vibrational Medicine Research, Healing and Education Center.

Rev. Tonie C. Wallace Dream-Founder and Director

June 12, 2009
Trying To Move With The Changes In Life

Dear All One Family: Today I am going to attempt to put a video on here. I have tried in the past and hope that I will be successful. Yet If I am not...Please excuse me... While you are a waiting for it to load, perhaps you will take the time and read the following news briefs that I gathered for you all, only yesterday. June 11, 2009 News Brief Yahoo Associate Press CIA chief says bin Laden in Pakistan 57 mins ago WASHINGTON (Reuters)

– CIA Director Leon Panetta said on Thursday the U.S. intelligence agency believes al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan and hopes joint operations with Pakistani forces will find him. Asked whether he was sure that bin Laden was in Pakistan, Panetta told reporters: "The last information we had, that's still the case." Bin Laden, who has eluded a U.S. manhunt since the September 11, 2001, attacks, has issued audio and videotapes over the years demonstrating that he is still alive. Finding bin Laden is "one of our major priorities," Panetta said. "One of our hopes is that the Pakistanis move in militarily, combined with our operations, we may be able to have a better chance" to find the al Qaeda leader, he said. Panetta said al Qaeda "remains the most serious security threat" to the United States and its leaders, particularly in Pakistan, continue to plot against America. There are "a number of people" on the ground in Pakistan providing intelligence on al Qaeda targets to the United States, he said. The intelligence agency also is focusing on countries where al Qaeda might find safe haven, like Somalia and Yemen, Panetta said. (Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Bill Trott)

Hormone experts worried about plastics, chemicals

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Maggie Fox, Health And Science Editor – Wed Jun 10, 11:00 pm ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Hormone experts said on Wednesday they are becoming worried by a chemical called bisphenol A, which some politicians say they want taken out of products and which consumers are increasingly shunning. They said they have gathered a growing body evidence to show the compound, also known as BPA, might damage human health. The Endocrine Society issued a scientific statement on Wednesday calling for better studies into its effects. Studies presented at the group's annual meeting show BPA can affect the hearts of women, can permanently damage the DNA of mice, and appear to be pouring into the human body from a variety of unknown sources. BPA, used to stiffen plastic bottles, line cans and make smooth paper receipts, belongs to a broad class of compounds called endocrine disruptors. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is examining their safety but there has not been much evidence to show that they are any threat to human health. "We present evidence that endocrine disruptors do have effects on male and female development, prostate cancer, thyroid disease, cardiovascular disease," Dr. Robert Carey of the University of Virginia, who is president of the Endocrine Society, told a news conference. The society issued a lengthy scientific statement about the chemicals in general that admits the evidence is not yet overwhelming, but is worrying. Dr. Hugh Taylor of Yale University in Connecticut found evidence in mice that the compounds could affect unborn pups. "We exposed some mice to bisphenol A and then we looked at their offspring," Taylor told the news conference. "We found that even when a they had a brief exposure during pregnancy ... mice exposed to these chemicals as a fetus carried these changes throughout their lives." The BPA did not directly change DNA through mutations, but rather through a process called epigenetics -- when chemicals attach to the DNA and change its function. WIDESPREAD EXPOSURE Taylor noted studies have shown that most people have some BPA in their blood, although the effects of these levels are not clear. Dr. Frederick Vom Saal of the University of Missouri, who has long studied endocrine disruptors, said tests on monkeys showed the body quickly clears BPA -- which may at first sound reassuring. But he said when tests show most people have high levels, this suggests they are being repeatedly exposed to BPA. "We are really concerned that there is a very large amount of bisphenol A that must be coming from other sources," Vom Saal said. Dr. Scott Belcher of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio and colleagues will tell the meeting they found BPA could affect the heart cells of female mice, sending them into an uneven beating pattern called an arrhythmia. "These effects are specific on the female heart. The male heart does not respond in this way and we understand why," Belcher said. He said BPA interacts with estrogen and said the findings may help explain why young women are more likely to die when they have a heart attack than men of the same age. U.S. government toxicologists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences expressed concern last year that BPA may hurt development of the prostate and brain. A 2008 study by British researchers linked high levels of BPA to heart disease, diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities. (Editing by Eric Walsh) Related Searches: • arrhythmia • the endocrine

Obama declares time to fix health care is now

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 6 mins ago GREEN BAY, Wis. – President Barack Obama went to the nation's heartland Thursday to challenge critics of his proposed health care overhaul, asking: "What's the alternative?" Obama has run into opposition from fellow Democrats in Congress and the nation's largest doctors' association. Dismissing criticism, Obama attempted to sell his proposals directly to Americans. He did not directly respond to the American Medical Association's president, who remains unconvinced of the wisdom of the White House's call for a public health plan. Instead, Obama broadly described his critics as naysayers. "I know there are some who believe that reform is too expensive, but I can assure you that doing nothing will cost us far more in the coming years," Obama said. "Our deficits will be higher. Our premiums will go up. Our wages will be lower, our jobs will be fewer, and our businesses will suffer." The president's warnings come as reservations have been expressed by health care providers, Congress — led by Obama's fellow Democrats — and the public. During the brief ride from the airport to a town hall-style meeting, Obama passed several hundred protesters. Many held signs such as "NObama" and "No to Socialism." White House aides brushed off the protests and instead focused on the president's message of the day: Inaction on health care overhaul is too dangerous to put off and would cost money the country simply doesn't have. "I will not welcome endless delay or a denial that reform needs to happen," the president said in a speech that contained no new policy proposals but instead repeated oft-repeated generalities. Obama has set an August deadline for an overhaul that has vexed Washington for decades.

MTV uses anime to fight human trafficking in China

By Ben Blanchard Ben Blanchard – Thu Jun 11, 2:12 am ET BEIJING (Reuters Life!) – One of China's most sought-after actors is starring in an animated short-film about human trafficking and sexual exploitation, issues that have plagued the country, and Asia, for decades. Zhang Hanyu, who won the Chinese equivalent of an Oscar at the Golden Horse awards in Taiwan last year, lends his voice to the Mandarin version of "Intersection," will be shown on Music Television (MTV) China this weekend. Thai and English versions have already been broadcast on MTV's Southeast Asia channels, and versions in other Asian languages are planned. The film is told from the perspective of five people, including a brothel owner, a trafficker and the victim. Both humorous and darkly depressing, "Intersection" is designed to put its message across in a medium young people can relate to. "I hope the animation will stir meaningful conversations among youth about how we can fight against this tragic form of modern-day slavery," Zhang said. Chinese actress Yuan Quan and Taiwanese singing and acting veteran Alec Su also give their voices to the film, described by MTV as an "adrenaline-fueled animation." The United Nations estimates that out of the two million women and children trafficked every year, 30 percent are in Asia. "Intersection" was produced by MTV EXIT's (End Exploitation and Trafficking) campaign, which works with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to raise awareness about human trafficking. MTV EXIT has previously worked with such international stars as Angelina Jolie and South Korean pop sensation Rain. "We're using a different medium, animation, to alert young people about the risks of human trafficking," said Olivier Carduner, USAID's Mission Director for Asia. The film is also meant to be used by non-governmental organizations and even schools to spread its message. Trafficking is an issue in China, which has said it was making progress in fighting the problem, both domestically and from Southeast Asian nations such as neighboring poverty-stricken Myanmar. It has resorted to harsh punishments to deter it, including the death penalty. The trafficking of women into China in particular is driven by poverty and a skewed sex ratio in parts of the countryside, which makes it difficult for many farmers to find wives. Poverty also forces many desperate Chinese to try to illegally enter other countries by paying traffickers known as "snakeheads," who often charge their victims exorbitant sums of money and force them to work as virtual slaves when they arrive. In April, state media reported that Chinese police had broken up a ring trying to smuggle about 300 mainly young people into Costa Rica. (Editing by Miral Fahmy)