Real Estate in 2010

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Land of the Free?

This article is reprinted from informationclearinghouse.com.  It is too important to pass up.
America - The Grim Truth
By Lance Freeman
Information Clearing House

5-2-10

Americans, I have some bad news for you:   You have the worst quality of life in the developed world by a wide margin.   If you had any idea of how people really lived in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many parts of Asia, you'd be rioting in the streets calling for a better life. In fact, the average Australian or Singaporean taxi driver has a much better standard of living than the typical American white-collar worker.   I know this because I am an American, and I escaped from the prison you call home.   I have lived all around the world, in wealthy countries and poor ones, and there is only one country I would never consider living in again: The United States of America. The mere thought of it fills me with dread.   Consider this: you are the only people in the developed world without a single-payer health system. Everyone in Western Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand has a single-payer system. If they get sick, they can devote all their energies to getting well. If you get sick, you have to battle two things at once: your illness and the fear of financial ruin. Millions of Americans go bankrupt every year due to medical bills, and tens of thousands die each year because they have no insurance or insufficient insurance. And don't believe for a second that rot about America having the world's best medical care or the shortest waiting lists: I've been to hospitals in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Singapore, and Thailand, and every one was better than the "good" hospital I used to go to back home. The waits were shorter, the facilities more comfortable, and the doctors just as good.   This is ironic, because you need a good health system more than anyone else in the world. Why? Because your lifestyle is almost designed to make you sick.   Let's start with your diet: Much of the beef you eat has been exposed to fecal matter in processing. Your chicken is contaminated with salmonella. Your stock animals and poultry are pumped full of growth hormones and antibiotics. In most other countries, the government would act to protect consumers from this sort of thing; in the United States, the government is bought off by industry to prevent any effective regulations or inspections. In a few years, the majority of all the produce for sale in the United States will be from genetically modified crops, thanks to the cozy relationship between Monsanto Corporation and the United States government. Worse still, due to the vast quantities of high-fructose corn syrup Americans consume, fully one-third of children born in the United States today will be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives.   Of course, it's not just the food that's killing you, it's the drugs. If you show any sign of life when you're young, they'll put you on Ritalin. Then, when you get old enough to take a good look around, you'll get depressed, so they'll give you Prozac. If you're a man, this will render you chemically impotent, so you'll need Viagra to get it up. Meanwhile, your steady diet of trans-fat-laden food is guaranteed to give you high cholesterol, so you'll get a prescription for Lipitor. Finally, at the end of the day, you'll lay awake at night worrying about losing your health plan, so you'll need Lunesta to go to sleep.   With a diet guaranteed to make you sick and a health system designed to make sure you stay that way, what you really need is a long vacation somewhere. Unfortunately, you probably can't take one. I'll let you in on little secret: if you go to the beaches of Thailand, the mountains of Nepal, or the coral reefs of Australia, you'll probably be the only American in sight. And you'll be surrounded crowds of happy Germans, French, Italians, Israelis, Scandinavians and wealthy Asians. Why? Because they're paid well enough to afford to visit these places AND they can take vacations long enough to do so. Even if you could scrape together enough money to go to one of these incredible places, by the time you recovered from your jetlag, it would time to get on a plane and rush back to your job.   If you think I'm making this up, check the stats on average annual vacation days by country:   Finland: 44 Italy: 42 France: 39 Germany: 35 UK: 25 Japan: 18 USA: 12   The fact is, they work you like dogs in the United States. This should come as no surprise: the United States never got away from the plantation/sweat shop labor model and any real labor movement was brutally suppressed. Unless you happen to be a member of the ownership class, your options are pretty much limited to barely surviving on service-sector wages or playing musical chairs for a spot in a cubicle (a spot that will be outsourced to India next week anyway). The very best you can hope for is to get a professional degree and then milk the system for a slice of the middle-class pie. And even those who claw their way into the middle class are but one illness or job loss away from poverty. Your jobs aren't secure. Your company has no loyalty to you. They'll play you off against your coworkers for as long as it suits them, then they'll get rid of you.   Of course, you don't have any choice in the matter: the system is designed this way. In most countries in the developed world, higher education is either free or heavily subsidized; in the United States, a university degree can set you back over US$100,000. Thus, you enter the working world with a crushing debt. Forget about taking a year off to travel the world and find yourself  you've got to start working or watch your credit rating plummet.   If you're "lucky," you might even land a job good enough to qualify you for a home loan. And then you'll spend half your working life just paying the interest on the loan  welcome to the world of American debt slavery. America has the illusion of great wealth because there's a lot of "stuff" around, but who really owns it? In real terms, the average American is poorer than the poorest ghetto dweller in Manila, because at least they have no debts. If they want to pack up and leave, they can; if you want to leave, you can't, because you've got debts to pay.   All this begs the question: Why would anyone put up with this? Ask any American and you'll get the same answer: because America is the freest country on earth. If you believe this, I've got some more bad news for you: America is actually among the least free countries on earth. Your piss is tested, your emails and phone calls are monitored, your medical records are gathered, and you are never more than one stray comment away from writhing on the ground with two Taser prongs in your ass.   And that's just physical freedom. Mentally, you are truly imprisoned. You don't even know the degree to which you are tormented by fears of medical bankruptcy, job loss, homelessness and violent crime because you've never lived in a country where there is no need to worry about such things.   But it goes much deeper than mere surveillance and anxiety. The fact is, you are not free because your country has been taken over and occupied by another government. Fully 70% of your tax dollars go to the Pentagon, and the Pentagon is the real government of the United States. You are required under pain of death to pay taxes to this occupying government. If you're from the less fortunate classes, you are also required to serve and die in their endless wars, or send your sons and daughters to do so. You have no choice in the matter: there is a socio-economic draft system in the United States that provides a steady stream of cannon fodder for the military.   If you call a life of surveillance, anxiety and ceaseless toil in the service of a government you didn't elect "freedom," then you and I have a very different idea of what that word means.   If there was some chance that the country could be changed, there might be reason for hope. But can you honestly look around and conclude that anything is going to change? Where would the change come from? The people? Take a good look at your compatriots: the working class in the United States has been brutally propagandized by jackals like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. Members of the working class have been taught to lick the boots of their masters and then bend over for another kick in the ass. They've got these people so well trained that they'll take up arms against the other half of the working class as soon as their masters give the word.   If the people cannot make a change, how about the media? Not a chance. From Fox News to the New York Times, the mass media in the United States is nothing but the public relations wing of the corporatocracy, primarily the military industrial complex. At least the citizens of the former Soviet Union knew that their news was bullshit. In America, you grow up thinking you've got a free media, which makes the propaganda doubly effective. If you don't think American media is mere corporate propaganda, ask yourself the following question: have you ever heard a major American news outlet suggest that the country could fund a single-payer health system by cutting military spending?   If change can't come from the people or the media, the only other potential source of change would be the politicians. Unfortunately, the American political process is among the most corrupt in the world. In every country on earth, one expects politicians to take bribes from the rich. But this generally happens in secret, behind the closed doors of their elite clubs. In the United States, this sort of political corruption is done in broad daylight, as part of legal, accepted, standard operating procedure. In the United States, they merely call these bribes campaign donations, political action committees and lobbyists. One can no more expect the politicians to change this system than one can expect a man to take an axe and chop his own legs out from underneath him.   No, the United States of America is not going to change for the better. The only change will be for the worse. And when I say worse, I mean much worse. As we speak, the economic system that sustained the country during the post-war years is collapsing. The United States maxed out its "credit card" sometime in 2008 and now its lenders, starting with China, are in the process of laying the foundations for a new monetary system to replace the Anglo-American "petro-dollar" system. As soon as there is a viable alternative to the US dollar, the greenback will sink like a stone.   While the United States was running up crushing levels of debt, it was also busy shipping its manufacturing jobs and white-collar jobs overseas, and letting its infrastructure fall to pieces. Meanwhile, Asian and European countries were investing in education, infrastructure and raw materials. Even if the United States tried to rebuild a real economy (as opposed to a service/financial economy) do think American workers would ever be able to compete with the workers of China or Europe? Have you ever seen a Japanese or German factory? Have you ever met a Singaporean or Chinese worker?   There are only two possible futures facing the United States, and neither one is pretty. The best case is a slow but orderly decline  essentially a continuation of what's been happening for the last two decades. Wages will drop, unemployment will rise, Medicare and Social Security benefits will be slashed, the currency will decline in value, and the disparity of wealth will spiral out of control until the United States starts to resemble Mexico or the Philippines  tiny islands of wealth surrounded by great poverty (the country is already halfway there).   Equally likely is a sudden collapse, perhaps brought about by a rapid flight from the US dollar by creditor nations like China, Japan, Korea and the OPEC nations. A related possibility would be a default by the United States government on its vast debt. One look at the financial balance sheet of the US government should convince you how likely this is: governmental spending is skyrocketing and tax receipts are plummeting something has to give. If either of these scenarios plays out, the resulting depression will make the present recession look like a walk in the park.   Whether the collapse is gradual or gut-wrenchingly sudden, the results will be chaos, civil strife and fascism. Let's face it: the United States is like the former Yugoslavia  a collection of mutually antagonistic cultures united in name only. You've got your own version of the Taliban: right-wing Christian fundamentalists who actively loathe the idea of secular Constitutional government. You've got a vast intellectual underclass that has spent the last few decades soaking up Fox News and talk radio propaganda, eager to blame the collapse on Democrats, gays and immigrants. You've got a ruthless ownership class that will use all the means at its disposal to protect its wealth from the starving masses.   On top of all that you've got vast factory farms, sprawling suburbs and a truck-based shipping system, all of it entirely dependent on oil that is about to become completely unaffordable. And you've got guns. Lots of guns. In short: the United States is about to become a very unwholesome place to be.   Right now, the government is building fences and walls along its northern and southern borders. Right now, the government is working on a national ID system (soon to be fitted with biometric features). Right now, the government is building a surveillance state so extensive that they will be able to follow your every move, online, in the street and across borders. If you think this is just to protect you from "terrorists," then you're sadly mistaken. Once the shit really hits the fan, do you really think you'll just be able to jump into the old station wagon, drive across the Canadian border and spend the rest of your days fishing and drinking Molson? No, the government is going to lock the place down. They don't want their tax base escaping. They don't want their "recruits" escaping. They don't want YOU escaping.   I am not writing this to scare you. I write this to you as a friend. If you are able to read and understand what I've written here, then you are a member of a small minority in the United States. You are a minority in a country that has no place for you.   So what should you do?   You should leave the United States of America.   If you're young, you've got plenty of choices: you can teach English in the Middle East, Asia or Europe. Or you can go to university or graduate school abroad and start building skills that will qualify you for a work visa. If you've already got some real work skills, you can apply to emigrate to any number of countries as a skilled immigrant. If you are older and you've got some savings, you can retire to a place like Costa Rica or the Philippines. If you can't qualify for a work, student or retirement visa, don't let that stop you  travel on a tourist visa to a country that appeals to you and talk to the expats you meet there. Whatever you do, go speak to an immigration lawyer as soon as you can. Find out exactly how to get on a path that will lead to permanent residence and eventually citizenship in the country of your choice.   You will not be alone. There are millions of Americans just like me living outside the United States. Living lives much more fulfilling, peaceful, free and abundant than we ever could have attained back home. Some of us happened upon these lives by accident  we tried a year abroad and found that we liked it  others made a conscious decision to pack up and leave for good. You'll find us in Canada, all over Europe, in many parts of Asia, in Australia and New Zealand, and in most other countries of the globe. Do we miss our friends and family? Yes. Do we occasionally miss aspects of our former country? Yes. Do we plan on ever living again in the United States? Never. And those of us with permanent residence or citizenship can sponsor family members from back home for long-term visas in our adopted countries.   In closing, I want to remind you of something: unless you are an American Indian or a descendant of slaves, at some point your ancestors chose to leave their homeland in search of a better life. They weren't traitors and they weren't bad people, they just wanted a better life for themselves and their families. Isn't it time that you continue their journey?   http://www.informationclearinghouse.info

Copyright @ 1998-2010 All Rights Reserved

Republican Plot to Steal Arizona Election in November

Behind the Arizona Immigration Law:
GOP Game to Swipe the November Election

Our investigation in Arizona discovered the real intent of the show-me-your-papers law.

by Greg Palast for Truthout.org
April 26, 2010

Reporter Palast in guard tower over Joe Arpaio's jail, Maricopa County, Arizona

[Phoenix, AZ.] Don't be fooled. The way the media plays the story, it was a wave of racist, anti-immigrant hysteria that moved Arizona Republicans to pass a sick little law, signed last week, requiring every person in the state to carry papers proving they are US citizens.

I don't buy it. Anti-Hispanic hysteria has always been as much a part of Arizona as the Saguaro cactus and excessive air-conditioning.

What's new here is not the politicians' fear of a xenophobic "Teabag" uprising.

What moved GOP Governor Jan Brewer to sign the Soviet-style show-me-your-papers law is the exploding number of legal Hispanics, US citizens all, who are daring to vote -- and daring to vote Democratic by more than two-to-one. Unless this demographic locomotive is halted, Arizona Republicans know their party will soon be electoral toast. Or, if you like, tortillas.

In 2008, working for Rolling Stone with civil rights attorney Bobby Kennedy, our team flew to Arizona to investigate what smelled like an electoral pogrom against Chicano voters ... directed by one Jan Brewer.

Brewer, then Secretary of State, had organized a racially loaded purge of the voter rolls that would have made Katherine Harris blush. Beginning after the 2004 election, under Brewer's command, no less than 100,000 voters, overwhelmingly Hispanics, were blocked from registering to vote. In 2005, the first year of the Great Brown-Out, one in three Phoenix residents found their registration applications rejected.

That statistic caught my attention. Voting or registering to vote if you're not a citizen is a felony, a big-time jail-time crime. And arresting such criminal voters is easy: after all, they give their names and addresses.

So I asked Brewer's office, had she busted a single one of these thousands of allegedly illegal voters? Did she turn over even one name to the feds for prosecution?

No, not one.

Which raises the question: were these disenfranchised voters the criminal, non-citizens Brewer tagged them, or just not-quite-white voters given the José Crow treatment, entrapped in document-chase trickery?

The answer was provided by a federal prosecutor who was sent on a crazy hunt all over the Western mesas looking for these illegal voters. "We took over 100 complaints, we investigated for almost 2 years, I didn't find one prosecutable voter fraud case."

This prosecutor, David Iglesias, is a prosecutor no more. When he refused to fabricate charges of illegal voting among immigrants, his firing was personally ordered by the President of the United States, George W. Bush, under orders from his boss, Karl Rove.

Iglesias' jurisdiction was next door, in New Mexico, but he told me that Rove and the Republican chieftains were working nationwide to whip up anti-immigrant hysteria with public busts of illegal voters, even though there were none.

"They wanted some splashy pre-election indictments," Iglesias told me. The former prosecutor, himself a Republican, paid the price when he stood up to this vicious attack on citizenship.

But Secretary of State Brewer followed the Rove plan to a T. The weapon she used to slice the Arizona voter rolls was a 2004 law, known as "Prop 200," which required proof of citizenship to register. It is important to see the Republicans' latest legislative horror show, sanctioning cops to stop residents and prove citizenship, as just one more step in the party's desperate plan to impede Mexican-Americans from marching to the ballot box.

[By the way, no one elected Brewer. Weirdly, Barack Obama placed her in office last year when, for reasons known only to the Devil and Rahm Emanuel, the President appointed Arizona's Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano to his cabinet, which automatically moved Republican Brewer into the Governor's office.]

State Senator Russell Pearce, the Republican sponsor of the latest ID law, gave away his real intent, blocking the vote, when he said, "There is a massive effort under way to register illegal aliens in this country."

How many? Pearce's PR flak told me, five million. All Democrats, too. Again, I asked Pearce's office to give me their the names and addresses from their phony registration forms. I'd happily make a citizens arrest of each one, on camera. Pearce didn't have five million names. He didn't have five. He didn't have one.

The horde of five million voters who swam the Rio Grande just to vote for Obama was calculated on a Republican website extrapolating from the number of Mexicans in a border town who refused jury service because they were not citizens. Not one, in fact, had registered to vote: they had registered to drive. They had obtained licenses as required by the law.

The illegal voters, "wetback" welfare moms, and alien job thieves are just GOP website wet-dreams, but their mythic PR power helps the party's electoral hacks chop away at voter rolls and civil rights with little more than a whimper from the Democrats.

Indeed, one reason, I discovered, that some Democrats are silent is that they are in on the game themselves. In New Mexico, Democratic Party bosses tossed away ballots of Pueblo Indians to cut native influence in party primaries.

But what's wrong with requiring folks to prove they're American if the want to vote and live in America? The answer: because the vast majority of perfectly legal voters and residents who lack ID sufficient for Ms. Brewer and Mr. Pearce are citizens of color, citizens of poverty.

According to a study by prof. Matt Barreto, of Washington State University, minority citizens are half as likely as whites to have the government ID. The numbers are dreadfully worse when income is factored in.

Just outside Phoenix, without Brewer's or Pearce's help, I did locate one of these evil un-American voters, that is, someone who could not prove her citizenship: 100-year-old Shirley Preiss. Her US birth certificate was nowhere to be found as it never existed.

In Phoenix, I stopped in at the Maricopa County prison where Sheriff Joe Arpaio houses the captives of his campaign to stop illegal immigration. Arpaio, who under the new Arizona law, will be empowered to choose his targets for citizenship testing, is already facing federal indictment for his racially-charged and legally suspect methods.

I admit, I was a little nervous, passing through the iron doors with a big sign, "NOTICE: ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE PROHIBITED FROM VISITING ANYONE IN THIS JAIL." I mean, Grandma Palast snuck into the USA via Windsor, Canada. We Palasts are illegal as they come, but Arpaio's sophisticated deportee-sniffer didn't stop this white boy from entering his sanctum.

But that's the point, isn't it? Not to stop non-citizens from entering Arizona -- after all, who else would care for the country club lawn? -- but to harass folks of the wrong color: Democratic blue.





Copyright @ 1998-2010 All Rights Reserved

Arizona Republicans Reveal True Colors

I thought the days of Arizona being the Old West had passed. NOT!

In the past month or so, the Republican Party and our Wicked Witch of the West Governor has:

1. Passed into law the right to carry guns without a background check or any training at all;
2. Removed 47,000 children from healthcare;
3. Passed a "birther" bill requiring presidential candidates to present their birth certificate;
4. Signed into law a racist and insane immigration bill certain to create unrest in this state.

At the same time, Madman McCain wants to

1. Require a National ID card;
2. Bomb bomb bomb Iran;
3. Prevent regulation of the financial industry.

With all due respect, Republicans are nuts!

A Unique Street Car Ride in 1905 San Francisco

Troops Patrol Market Street in 1906 After the Earthquake

Having been born in San Francisco during WW2, and having taken the street car ride on Market Street to the Ferry Building on many occasions, I was thrilled to find this video of that same street car ride under very different circumstances than the one I was used to experiencing. The music is the first track from Airs' Moon Safari album (and can be muted if you so desire), accompanied by scenes from a video shot from a streetcar traveling down Market Street in San Francisco in 1905, the year before the earthquake/fire of 1906 destroyed much of the area. This video reveals some remarkable footage of the turn of the century lifestyles. The video is CC no rights reserved. You can download it from the www.archive.org. Enjoy the ride.

Arizona Eliminates Child Healthcare for 47,000

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

Arizona on Thursday became the first state to eliminate its Children's Health Insurance Program when Gov. Jan Brewer signed an austere budget that will leave nearly 47,000 low-income children without coverage.

The Arizona budget is a vivid reflection of how the fiscal crisis afflicting state governments is cutting deeply into health care. The state also will roll back Medicaid coverage for childless adults in a move that is expected to eventually drop 310,000 people from the rolls.

State leaders said they were left with few choices because of a $2.6 billion projected shortfall next year. But hospital officials and advocates for low-income people said they were worried that emergency rooms would be overrun by patients who had few other options for care, and that children might suffer enduring developmental problems because of inadequate medical attention.

Read more

AZ Senate Poised to Turn You in to Homeland Security

The Arizona State Senate is considering two bills that will turn
your driver's license into a national ID card and share your
personal information with the US Department of Homeland Security.

SB1070 and HB2632 are ostensibly anti-illegal immigration bills.
As such, there are good things in there, such as elimination of
sanctuary cities.

However, these bills have a sneak provision in them that turns
the Arizona Driver's License into a national ID. Section 2.
11-1051, subsections F.1-3. specifically require that the state
obtain prior clearance from the US Department of Homeland
Security before you can obtain or renew your Driver's License.
Additionally, it requires data exchange of your domicile
information.

This also creates a backdoor gun purchase registration
capability.

There are other problems with the bill, such as indemnification
of law enforcement officers and law enforcement agencies, for
example, if they detain you (which the bill allows) for not being
able to identify you as a citizen through the Department of
Homeland Security during a legitimate stop. In theory, you could
be wrongly and indefinitely detained, denied access to the courts
and an attorney, and there is zero accountability for law
enforcement.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

It is important that you IMMEDIATELY CONTACT your OWN state rep
and state senators TODAY to voice your opposition to this bill
(Senate Bill 1070 and House Bill 2632) as it is currently
written.

Let them know you oppose this bill if it makes our driver's
licenses national ID cards and allows law enforcement to detain
us without consequence.

Click here for the contact info for your state senator and here
for the info for your state reps.

Thank you for your continued vigilance on behalf of liberty.

Senator Pearce is saying that the bill does not contain national
ID. It very clearly does, by the language of the bill:

CLICK HERE.

F. Except as provided in federal law, officials or agencies of
this state and counties, cities, towns and other political
subdivisions of this state may not be prohibited or in any way be
restricted from sending, receiving or maintaining information
relating to the immigration status of any individual or
exchanging that information with any other federal, state or
local governmental entity for the following official purposes:

1. Determining eligibility for any public benefit, service or
license provided by any federal, state, local or other political
subdivision of this state.

2. Verifying any claim of residence or domicile if determination
of residence or domicile is required under the laws of this state
or a judicial order issued pursuant to a civil or criminal
proceeding in this state.

3. Confirming the identity of any person who is detained.

I. A law enforcement officer is indemnified by the law
enforcement officer's agency against reasonable costs and
expenses, including attorney fees, incurred by the officer in
connection with any action, suit or proceeding brought pursuant
to this section to which the officer may be a party by reason of
the officer being or having been a member of the law enforcement
agency, except in relation to matters in which the officer is
adjudged to have acted in bad faith.

Also, WHICH US Department does the INS (really now ICE) belong
to? US Department of Homeland Security! WHICH US Department owns
the REAL ID database? You guessed it. US Department of Homeland
Security!

More info about national IDs from one of the nation's leading
experts can be found here, here, and here.

Info. from Ron Paul can be found here.

Has Janis Been Reincarnated?

As a Native San Franciscan who spent the 60s and 70s in the City, it gives me chills to watch Crystal Bowersox on American Idol. This girl, who came through bullying in school and a broken and not very healthy family situation, feels the blues she sings. I hope she wins, but either way, she's a great artist who will make her mark in the music industry. Enjoy:

A Salute to Joey

As I sat down to write my first blog entry for my new blog, I had many topics to consider. I could promote my marketing business to the local community; I could report on the victory for the people over the Good Old Boy Network in the civic election; but, there is only one topic in my mind.  A friend passed recently and the Red Rock News omitted any mention in the Obituary section.  That wrong needs to be corrected

Joseph "Joey" Maimone was bigger than life.  His family emigrated from Italy to the Bronx and he quickly became the head of the family at the age of nine because he was the only family member able to speak English.  He loved to discuss the movie "A Bronx Tale" because he was raised with and knew all the characters depicted in the movie.

Locally, Joey was known as the Deli Manager at IGA Webers in the Village of Oak Creek. The wonderful thing about Joey was that he looked and acted like an Italian deli manager. He'd make a nice fresh plate of antipasto and put it on the counter for everyone to enjoy a free sample, or two, or three. Joey always had a kind word for everyone and was quick with a handshake, a hug, whatever was appropriate for the situation.

Joey was always there to offer words of encouragement and advice to his customers and co-workers and had a heart of gold.  He also loved blondes. I will miss our conversations about football, politics, life, music, you name it, he could discuss it. His aura of love and friendliness created a family environment in the deli, and we will all miss his wonderful smile and warm laugh. Rest in peace, Joey. We all love you.

Your friend, Gary Mialocq.

Death by Chicken Bouillon

The Broth that Kills!

My wife was feeling a bit under the weather and I decided to help by offering her some Chicken Bouillon. Nothing better than good old chicken broth I thought. I went to the cupboard and pulled out a little bottle of Wyler's Chicken Bouillon. You know, the kind that comes wrapped in little squares. As I began to heat some water, I happened to gaze at the ingredients. I was floored. This stuff won't help my wife -- in fact, if I wanted to get rid of her I'd use these ingredients. Here is what is in a simple cube of chicken bouillon:

• Salt
• Sugar
• Corn Maltodextrin
• Sodium Bicarbonate
• Hydrolized Corn Protein
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
• Onion Powder
• Chicken Fat
• Cooked Chicken Powder
• Water
• Garlic Powder
• Disodium Inosinate
• Disodium Guanylate
• Autolyzed Yeast Extract
• Hydrolized Soy Protein
• Turmeric
• Natural Chicken Flavor
• Calcium Silicate
• Natural Flavors
• Gelatin
• Soybean Oil
• Corn Syrup Solids
• Celery Seed
• Modified Corn Starch
• Silicon Dioxide
• Soy Lecithin
• Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
• Artificial Flavor
• Spice
• Butter (Cream, Annatto)
• Tricalcium Phosphate
• TBHQ (preservative)
• Alpha Tocopherol
• BHA (preservative)
• Propyl Galate
• Citric Acid

Who is the madman at Wyler's who came up with this concoction and called it "soup"? What was he thinking? Was he mad at his own wife and devising a way to dispose of her? Who could ever blame him for simply providing a cup of broth? I decided to further investigate just what this madman almost conned me into feeding my wife.

MALTODEXTRIN. Maltodextrin is an easily digestible carbohydrate made from rice, corn or potato starch. In this case, it's made from corn. It's a white powder used in processed foods as a thickener, or a filler since it's fairly inexpensive. Also used in pharmaceuticals as a binding agent, it is also found in sugar substitutes, like Splenda for example.

Maltodextrin is made by cooking down the starch, and then acid and/or enzymes break the starch down even further, kind of like what the body does to digest carbohydrates. It's usually used in such small amounts, so it doesn't have a significant impact in terms amount of protein, fat, carbohydrate, or fiber. Every gram of maltodextrin has 4 calories, which is not really a significant caloric load. Maltodextrin is processed and it's not the best thing to be consuming.

SODIUM BICARBONATE.
Sodium bicarbonate is an antacid that neutralizes stomach acid. Sodium bicarbonate is used to relieve heartburn and indigestion. Sodium bicarbonate is also used to make the blood and urine less acidic in certain conditions. Sodium bicarbonate may also be used for purposes other than those listed.

Do not take sodium bicarbonate or any antacids without first talking to your doctor if you take any other medications. Sodium bicarbonate contains a large amount of sodium. If you are on a sodium restricted diet or have high blood pressure talk to your health care professional before taking sodium bicarbonate. Do not take sodium bicarbonate or any antacids without first talking to your doctor if you have: an intestinal problem or appendicitis; heart problems; high blood pressure; swelling of the arms or legs; kidney disease; liver disease; or problems urinating;

HYDROLIZED CORN PROTEIN. This is where my investigation really got heavy. A conspiracy exists. They like to label hydrolyzed proteins as pea protein, whey protein, corn protein, etc. If a pea, for example, were whole, it would be identified as a pea. Calling an ingredient pea protein indicates that the pea has been hydrolyzed, at least in part, and that processed free glutamic acid (MSG) is present. Relatively new to the list are wheat protein and soy protein. Disodium guanylate and disodium inosinate are expensive food additives that work synergistically with inexpensive MSG. Their use suggests that the product has MSG in it. They would probably not be used as food additives if there were no MSG present.

MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (MSG). MSG reactions have been reported to soaps, shampoos, hair conditioners, and cosmetics, where MSG is hidden in ingredients that include the words "hydrolyzed," "amino acids," and "protein." Low fat and no fat milk products often include milk solids that contain MSG. Low fat and no fat versions of ice cream and cheese may not be as obvious as yogurt, milk, cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, etc., but they are not an exception. Protein powders contain glutamic acid, which, invariably, would be precessed free glutamic acid (MSG). Glutamic acid is not always named on labels of protein powders.

Then, I read this: These OFTEN contain MSG or create MSG during processing:

Carrageenan, Maltodextrin, Malt extract, Natural pork flavoring, Citric acid, Malt flavoring, Bouillon and Broth, Natural chicken flavoring, Soy protein isolate, Natural beef flavoring, Ultra-pasteurized, Soy sauce, Stock, Barley malt, Soy sauce extract, Whey protein concentrate, Pectin, Soy protein, Whey protein, Protease, Soy protein concentrate, Whey protein isolate, Protease enzymes, Anything protein fortified, Flavors(s) & Flavoring(s), Anything enzyme modified, Anything fermented, Natural flavor(s) & flavoring(s), Enzymes, anything Seasonings, (the word "seasonings"). I struck it rich here.

Binders and fillers for medications, nutrients, and supplements, both prescription and non-prescription, enteral feeding materials, and some fluids administered intravenously in hospitals, may contain MSG.

According to the manufacturer, Varivax–Merck chicken pox vaccine (Varicella Virus Live), contains L-monosodium glutamate and hydrolyzed gelatin both of which contain processed free glutamic acid (MSG) which causes brain lesions in young laboratory animals, and causes endocrine disturbances like OBESITY and REPRODUCTIVE disorders later in life. It would appear that most, if not all, live virus vaccines contain MSG. Reactions to MSG are dose related, i.e., some people react to even very small amounts. MSG-induced reactions may occur immediately after ingestion or after as much as 48 hours.

Remember: By FDA definition, all MSG is "naturally occurring." "Natural" doesn't mean "safe." "Natural" only means that the ingredient started out in nature.

CHICKEN FAT. In the future, fat shaved off chicken breasts and other parts of the chicken may power automobiles that emit less pollution. Chemical engineering researchers associated with the Mack Blackwell Transportation Center at the University of Arkansas (UA) have developed an optimized method of converting chicken fat into biodiesel fuel. The novel project could lead to using chicken fat — a plentiful, accessible and low-cost feed stock — as an inexpensive supplement to petroleum-based diesel fuel. Why does my wife need something we can use to run our car? She just wants broth. I decided to pass on COOKED CHICKEN POWDER.

CORN SYRUP SOLIDS. Pure cornstarch is by far the biggest source of the carbohydrate sweeteners used by today’s food manufacturers. Cornstarch is split into a variety of smaller fragments (called dextrins) with acid or enzymes. The smaller fragments are then converted into the various cornstarch sweeteners used by today’s food manufacturers.

Hydrolysis is the term used to describe the overall process where starch is converted into various sweeteners. Sweetener products made by cornstarch hydrolysis include dextrose, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, maltodextrin, high fructose corn syrup, and crystalline fructose. A juice concentrate is the syrup produced after water, fiber and nutrients are removed from the original fruit juice.

When a corn syrup has been concentrated to contain less than 10% water, it can be listed as “corn syrup solids” in an ingredient statement. To qualify as “corn syrup solids,” the glucose (dextrose) content must be at least 88% of the weight of the concentrated syrup. This product can be called “dried glucose syrup” or “glucose syrup solids” in an ingredient list. Corn syrup solids are used in the same types of foods as dextrose and corn syrups. This is really getting disgusting.

TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE. What the hell is that? Tricalcium phosphate is a compound with formula Ca3(PO4)2. It is also known as calcium orthophosphate, tertiary calcium phosphate, tribasic calcium phosphate, or "bone ash" (calcium phosphate being one of the main combustion products of bone). It has an alpha and a beta crystal form, the alpha state being formed at high temperatures.

Tricalcium phosphate is used in powdered spices as an anti-caking agent. Calcium phosphate is an important raw material for the production of phosphoric acid and fertilizers. Calcium phosphate is also a raising agent (food additives) E341. It is a mineral salt found in rocks and bones, it is used in cheese products. It is also used as a nutritional supplement. There is some debate about the different bioavailabilities of the different calcium salts.

It is commonly used in porcelain and dental powders, and medically as an antacid or calcium supplement, although calcium carbonate is more common in this regard.

Another practical application of the compound is its use in gene transfection. The calcium ions can make a cell competent (a euphemism for "rip holes in its membrane") to allow exogenous genes to enter the cell by diffusion. A heat shock afterwards then invokes the cell to repair itself. This is a quick and easy method for transfection, albeit a rather inefficient one.

TBHQ (Tert-Butylhydroquinone). TBHQ is a highly effective preservative for unsaturated vegetable oils and many edible animal fats. It does not cause discoloration even in the presence of iron, and does not change flavor or odor of the material it is added to. It can be combined with other preservatives such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). As food additive, its E number is E319, where it is used as a preservative. It is added to a wide range of foods, with highest limit (1000 mg/kg) permitted for frozen fish and fish products. Its primary advantage is enhancing storage life.

It is used industrially as a stabilizer to inhibit autopolymerization of organic peroxides. In perfumery, it is used as a fixative to lower the evaporation rate and improve stability. It is also added to varnishes, lacquers, resins, and oil field additives.

In high doses, it has some negative health effects on lab animals, such as precursors to stomach tumors and damage to DNA. A number of studies have shown that prolonged exposure to TBHQ may induce carcinogenity.

I can't go any further. Does anyone really care about BHA or Propyl Galate? I sure don't. Here's a suggestion: READ THE LABELS OF EVERYTHING YOU PUT INTO YOUR BODY. What you don't read can harm you.

Now I think we'll have a bowl of Pacific Foods Creamy Organic Tomato Soup in a box. It is wonderful!

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