Bush cedes power to VP during colonoscopy

Cheney temporarily in charge; screening procedure described as routine
Associated Press

CAMP DAVID, Md. - President Bush transferred the powers of the presidency to Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday just before being sedated for a routine screening to detect colon cancer.

With a signed letter to the leaders of the House and Senate, Bush temporarily transferred his authority at 7:16 a.m. EDT to Cheney, who is at his home on the Chesapeake Bay in St. Michaels, Md., about 30 miles east of Washington.

“The vice president is now serving as acting president,” White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said.

He said the temporary transfer of power will end when Bush transmits a second letter to the congressional leaders advising that he is resuming the powers of the presidency immediately.

Bush relinquished his authority by implementing Section 3 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment — approved in 1967 four years after President Kennedy was assassinated — has been used only twice before. See: Bush undergoes colonoscopy

Nigeria files new lawsuit against Pfizer

U.S. drug maker did not properly obtain consent from families while testing an experimental drug on their children
By BASHIR ADIGUN
Associated Press Writer

ABUJA, Nigeria - Government lawyers filed a new $7 billion civil lawsuit Friday against Pfizer Inc., adding a more serious fraud charge to their allegations that the U.S. drug maker did not properly obtain consent from families while testing an experimental drug on their children.

The government has accused Pfizer of taking advantage of a 1996 meningitis epidemic to test an experimental drug without authorization or the full understanding of the families involved — allegedly contributing to the deaths of some of the children and sickening others. Pfizer denies wrongdoing.

Pfizer treated 100 meningitis-infected children with an experimental antibiotic, Trovan. Another 100 children, who were control patients in the study, received an approved antibiotic, ceftriaxone — but the dose was lower than recommended, the families' lawyers alleged.

Eleven children died — five of those on Trovan and six in the control group, while others suffered physical disabilities and brain damage. Pfizer has always insisted its records show none of the deaths was linked to Trovan or substandard treatment, noting that the study showed a better survival rate for the patients on Trovan than those on the standard drug. Meningitis survivors sometimes sustain brain damage or other complications from the disease.

See Complete Article: Nigeria says Pfizer did not obtain family consent for experiments

In UK wealth gap 'widest in 40 years'

The gap between rich and poor in the UK is as wide as it has been for 40 years, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation warns
BBC News Service

The JRF found that households in already wealthy areas had become "disproportionately" richer compared with society as a whole.
But the social policy think tank said the number of "poor" households had risen over the past 15 years.

Since the 1980s, wealthier people have moved to the suburbs while the poor remain in inner cities, the JRF added.

Society polarised
Looking at wealth patterns over the past four decades, the JRF found that the gap between rich and poor actually narrowed in the 1970s. But during the 1980s and 1990s inequality had increased, as a "polarisation" in British society had occurred.

As for the decade beginning in 2000, the report said the picture was "less clear", with some initiatives such as tax and pension credit helping the poor while wealthier people were gaining from a property market boom.

Rich and poor are also less likely to be living next door to one another than in the 1970s, it was reported. See: News - Wealth gap 'widest in 40 years'

Over the past 40 years wealth gap in US widens

Chasm between wealthiest households and everyone else has grown more than 50% since the early 1960s
By Jeanne Sahadi
CNNMoney.com senior writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Over the past 40 years, those at the top of the money food chain have seen their wealth grow at a rate far outpacing everyone else, according to a new analysis released by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research group.

In the early 1960s, the top 1 percent of households in terms of net worth held 125 times the median wealth in the United States. Today, that gap has grown to 190 times.

The top 20 percent of wealth-holding households, meanwhile, held 15 times the overall median wealth in the early 1960s. By 2004, that gap had grown to 23 times. See: Wealth gap has widened more than 50% during past 40 years - Aug. 29, 2006

75 percent of Americans overweight by 2015

Two-thirds considered heavy or obese now; rate still increasing, study finds
Reuters News Service

WASHINGTON - If people keep gaining weight at the current rate, fat will be the norm by 2015, with 75 percent of U.S. adults overweight and 41 percent obese, U.S. researchers predicted on Wednesday.

A team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore examined 20 studies published in journals and looked at national surveys of weight and behavior for their analysis, published in the journal Epidemiologic Reviews.

“Obesity is a public health crisis. If the rate of obesity and overweight continues at this pace, by 2015, 75 percent of adults and nearly 24 percent of U.S. children and adolescents will be overweight or obese,” Dr. Youfa Wang, who led the study, said in a statement.

For more info see: 75 percent in U.S overweight by 2015

An oasis of African-American soul in Israel's desert

A people who have pride and are able to point to certain successes that have been elusive for the African world
By Simona Kogan Israel21c



Deep in the heart of Israel's Negev desert, where you would expect to find mostly camels and sand, a community of expatriate black Americans has made a new life for itself in towns like Dimona, Arad and Mitzpe Ramon.

They call themselves the African Hebrew Israelites, but they are better known in Israel as the Black Hebrews, a 2,000-strong religious group dressed in colorful African prints made of natural fabrics like silk and linen according to their doctrine. And while it's taken most of the 40 years they've been residing in Israel to feel like part of the country, today Black Hebrews can be found in many facets of Israeli society - from the army to the entertainment industry.

"We are a people who have pride and are able to point to certain successes that have been elusive for the African world," says national spokesman Ahmadiel Ben-Yehuda, who lives in Dimona, but spent time in Ghana, South Africa, and other African locations studying African cultural connections and migration patterns.

The Black Hebrews movement originated in Chicago in 1966 when their leader Ben-Ami Ben-Yisrael, then a steel worker named Ben Carter, had a vision where the Archangel Gabriel revealed to him that African Americans were descended from the lost tribe of Judah. In 70 CE, the Israelites were exiled from Jerusalem by the Romans and ended up in West Africa where they were later transported to America as slaves.

See: An oasis of African-American soul in Israel's desert

Judge OKs $660M Clergy Abuse Settlement

The deal settles all 508 cases that remained against the archdiocese
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press Writer

The settlement is by far the largest payout by any diocese since the clergy abuse scandal emerged in Boston in 2002. Individual payouts, to be made by Dec. 1, will vary according to the severity of each case.

Cardinal Roger Mahony, whose archdiocese counts 4.3 million Catholics, sat through the hearing but did not speak. He issued an apology Sunday after the settlement was announced and said Monday in a statement that he would spend the rest of the day praying for those who claimed abuse.

District Attorney Steve Cooley said in a statement that there could still be a criminal case, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on statutes of limitations in molestation cases.

"We are aware there could be records that may become available to us as a result of today's settlement. If these documents reveal evidence of criminal activity on behalf of individual priests or anyone else, we will pursue them," Cooley said. "The book is not closed on our investigation."

The deal settles all 508 cases that remained against the archdiocese, which also paid $60 million in December to settle 45 cases that weren't covered by sexual abuse insurance. The archdiocese, the nation's largest, will pay $250 million, insurance carriers will pay a combined $227 million and several religious orders will chip in $60 million.

The remaining $123 million will come from litigation with religious orders that chose not to participate in the deal, with the archdiocese guaranteeing resolution of those 80 to 100 cases within five years, Hennigan said. The archdiocese is released from liability in those claims, said Tod Tamberg, church spokesman.

Plaintiffs' attorneys can expect to receive up to 40 percent of the settlement money -- or $264 million. The settlements push the total amount paid out by the U.S. church since 1950 to more than $2 billion.

Previously, the Los Angeles archdiocese, its insurers and various Roman Catholic orders had paid more than $114 million to settle 86 claims. Several religious orders in California have also reached multimillion-dollar settlements in recent months, including the Carmelites, the Franciscans and the Jesuits. See: Judge OKs $660M Clergy Abuse Settlement

Dining Out: Soul Vegetarian South

“The food, the people, the price: Soul Vegetarian can’t be beat!”
From
VegCooking.com

PETA pal John Feldmann, lead singer of the punk band Goldfinger, raves: “Soul Vegetarian has the most awesome vegan lasagna and vegan gyro sandwiches ever!”

John’s not the only one singing the praises of the Soul Vegetarian restaurants. PETA’s elephant specialist, Jane Garrison, says, “When you walk into Soul Vegetarian South, the aroma of the food carries you (running) down the hall to the dining room. The people who run the restaurant always greet you as if you are entering their home—after the second visit, we were greeted with hugs!

“My favorite dish is the ‘bar-b-que twist’—absolutely incredible fib ‘ribs.’ The texture is amazing—not too mushy and not too tough. The homemade sauce is so delicious, you will find yourself trying to lick every bit off your fork! This dish is served with the best vegan potato salad I have ever had and some yummy Southern-style greens. Every meal at Soul Vegetarian for me is followed by my favorite dessert: sweet potato pie topped with vegan vanilla ‘ice cream.’ The crust of the pie is so sweet and delicious, you feel like you are eating a pie that has been placed on a cookie!

“Other amazing dishes include the lasagna, baked tofu, pasta casserole, divine protein salad (mock chicken salad)—and anything else they are serving as the special for the night!

“The food, the people, the price: Soul Vegetarian can’t be beat!”

Philosophy
For more than a decade, Soul Vegetarian has been the place where vegetarians and nonvegetarians come to enjoy a more healthful way of eating without concern for loss of flavor or the joy of eating. Colorful and delicious dishes, exotic décor, and superb staff combine to create a completely vegan dining adventure that must be experienced to be believed.

Contact us in Atlanta at:

Soul Vegetarian Restaurant
879-A Ralph Abernathy Blvd. SW
Atlanta, GA 30310
(404) 752-5194
or
Soul Vegetarian International
652 North Highland
Atlanta, GA 30306
(404) 874-0145

Click here to see all of our locations: Soul Vegetarian

Strong earthquake jolts northwestern Japan

7 killed, hundreds of homes destroyed; nuke plant leaks radioactive water
MSNBC News Service

KASHIWAZAKI, Japan - The impact of a strong quake Monday in northwestern Japan caused the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant -- the world's largest – to leak water containing radioactive materials, a company spokesman said.

At least seven people were killed by the quake, which destroyed hundreds of homes, buckled seaside bridges and caused a fire at the nuclear power plant.

The quake, which left fissures 3 feet wide in the ground along the coast, hit shortly after 10 a.m. local time and was centered off Niigata state. Buildings swayed 160 miles away in Tokyo. Sirens wailed in Kashiwazaki, a city of about 90,000, which appeared to be hardest hit.

See: Strong earthquake jolts Japan

Antiguans travel to Israel

Antigua stated that the New World celebration is truly a time of extreme joy

by Afeefah Beharry

Antigua Sun News

A group of six Antiguans went to Israel in May to participate in the 40th Anniversary of the New World Passover, 2007.

New World Passover is an annual celebration since the exodus began out of the Americas (modern day Egypt), for the descendants of those brought to Antigua as slaves, due to disobedience to the laws of God.

A press release from the Ministry of Information African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, Antigua stated that the celebration is truly a time of extreme joy and festivities where people from all corners of the world journey up to Israel to celebrate obedience to his laws and true freedom. The event was held from the 16 to 17 May.

The group spent one month in Dimona, a small town located in the Negev Desert of Israel which is also known as the “Village of Peace”. The group was comprised of Ammi, Yasheer, Beniah, Shahma, Rumiah and Koliah.

Other countries who were present at the celebration included St.Vincent, Bermuda, Atlanta, USA, South Africa and Guyana.

Euro Hits New High Against U.S. Dollar

Euro Soars to New High Above $1.37 Amid Worries About U.S. Economy
By Jackie Farwell
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- The euro shot to an all-time high against the U.S. dollar Tuesday on concerns about the American economy that were fueled by discouraging growth forecasts from key U.S. retailers and homebuilders.

The euro hit a new record of $1.3738 Tuesday, its highest level against the dollar since the 13-nation currency started trading in 1999, before retreating to $1.3729. That was still above the euro's previous high of $1.3682 reached on April 27 and the $1.3623 it bought late Monday in New York.

"The dollar is a basket case," said Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital Inc. "We are going to pay the piper for years of having the underlying fundamentals of our economy disintegrate beneath our feet."

Given the state of the U.S. economy, he said, the dollar could continue to fall in the coming years against the euro, to $2.50 or even $3.

Some black Americans returning to Africa

Connection with heritage sought
By Bryan Mealer
Associated Press

A growing number of black Americans trading potentially lucrative careers and relative comfort back home for a new life in Africa, where the former slave-trading hub of Ghana is wooing Americans with some of the easiest immigration rules on the continent. That includes a "right of abode" for qualifying American members of the African diaspora, echoing Israel's offer of automatic citizenship for Jews.

Centuries ago, the Gold Coast — Ghana's name under British rule — was a major slave-embarkation point; every year thousands of Africans left here to become human chattel in the New World.

Centuries ago, the Gold Coast — Ghana's name under British rule — was a major slave-embarkation point; every year thousands of Africans left here to become human chattel in the New World. Untold numbers died in slave raids or making the "middle passage" in cramped, pestilential ships. Some parts of Africa were left virtually unpeopled.

The tide was reversed in 1957, when Ghana became one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from colonial rule. Many black Americans began turning up here.
Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, a graduate of Lincoln University in Chester County, Pa., was a leading voice for repatriation, enlisting Americans like the authors W.E.B. DuBois and Maya Angelou to help spread the movement.

Post-independence euphoria was quickly shattered, however, as Ghana fell into decades of military rule before embracing constitutional democracy in 1992.

These days, the country's expanding economy, stable government and laid-back, English-speaking population make it an easy holiday choice for tourists, who flock to the chain of slave forts that still line Ghana's coastline.

For some, Ghana offers incentives to stay: It is the only African country to offer black Americans "right of abode," allowing those who qualify to work and own property, said Janet Butler, president of the African American Association, a support group for expatriates. Applicants must live in Ghana seven years before fully qualifying.

As many as 1,000 black Americans are living in Ghana, Butler said. They are a varied lot: aid workers, pan-African nationalists here since the 1960s, entrepreneurs, retirees, Rastafarian's. A few live in mud huts, embracing the agrarian life of their ancestors.

KNN-This article was originally written in Jan. 2005

Pope: Other denominations not true churches

Benedict issues statement asserting that Jesus established ‘only one church’
MSNBC News Service

LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches.

Benedict approved a document from his old offices at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that restates church teaching on relations with other Christians. It was the second time in a week the pope has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that modernized the church.

On Saturday, Benedict revisited another key aspect of Vatican II by reviving the old Latin Mass. Traditional Catholics cheered the move, but more liberal ones called it a step back from Vatican II.

See Article: Pope: Other denominations not true churches

Also See: revisited another key aspect of Vatican II by reviving the old Latin Mass.

Wildfire Spreads Across Western U.S. States

Property and vegetation in almost 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) of land has been destroyed
RTT News Service

7/9/2007 10:51:08 AM Wildfires are sweeping dangerously across South Dakota and several western U.S. states, threatening homes and closing main roads. South Dakota is the worst affected state, where one person has died and 27 homes have been destroyed, local officials said. The fire, sparked by lightning on Saturday, has burned across nine square miles. Residents of at least 50 properties have fled the fire.

Extremely hot temperatures and high winds are acting catalysts to flare up the fire. Temperatures have gone up as high as 100° Fahrenheit, following a drier-than-normal winter. creating ideal conditions for fires. South Dakota state wild land fire co-coordinator Joe Lowe attributes these two factors as creating ideal conditions for fires. Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, California, Colorado, Arizona, Washington D C, and Oregon are the other states affected by fires, forcing many people to evacuate their homes.

Property and vegetation in almost 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) of land has been destroyed in the largest ever wildfire in the state of Utah.

Several road accidents have occurred on a stretch of highway near Richfield, Utah, killing one person. Around 34,000 acres of woods have been scorched in California's Inyo National Forest.

Nancy Upham, a spokeswoman for the Inyo National Forest, said that even seasoned fire fighters are finding it very difficult to tackle the fire, which behaves in a way they have never seen before. 11 firefighters were injured in the Los Padres National Forest in southern California while trying to save 22 homes. See: Wildfire Spreads Across Western U.S. States []

African Hebrew Development Agency opens training course on regenerative health

Good nutrition, intake of more water, regular exercising and enough rest was the antidote for good health
Ghana News Agency
Ghanaweb.com

Accra, GNA- Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd), Minister of Health on Tuesday said good nutrition, intake of more water, regular exercising and enough rest was the antidote for good health. He said the reversal of these would lead to an increase in preventable diseases among the populace.

The Minister therefore urged the public not be swayed by constant advertisements of alcohol, high consumption of meat and fatty foods on display.Opening a training of Change Agents on regenerative health and nutrition at Ada in the Dangme East District, Major Quashigah deplored the way physical Education as a subject was becoming optional in various schools.

The workshop brought together students, opinion leaders, traditional rulers and other health officials in the district, who are expected to be taken through topics on good nutrition and consumption of high intake of plants as a way of curbing diseases.

The Ministry of Health in collaboration with African Hebrew Development Agency organized the pilot programme.

Dr Ahmediel Ben Yehuda, head of the African Hebrew Development Agency, said regenerative health and Nutrition was a community-based programme, which needed to be supported by all. Dr Yehuda, who is also a Healthy Lifestyles and Behavioural Change Specialist noted that in Israel, plant, including vegetables and fruits had been used as sources of good nutrition and same could be replicated in Ghana. See: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/health/artikel.php?ID=126236

The Kingdom of Yah on Youtube.com

By Ahtur Ammioz
KNN DC

Yah Khai

We now have our own "channel" on Youtube.com!

Click on the link below to view live Kingdom video. Be sure to tell your friends and family to check it out and subscribe to our channel to continue seeing new content!

Click on: http://www.youtube.com/user/KOYMedia

Enjoy!!!!

Smoking could kill 1 billion this century: WHO

By Ed Cropley
Reuters News Service

Submitted by Ahk Elyahtseev
KNN Chicago

BANGKOK (Reuters) - One billion people will die of tobacco-related diseases this century unless governments in rich and poor countries alike get serious about preventing smoking, top World Health Organization (WHO) experts said on Monday.

"Tobacco is a defective product. It kills half of its customers," Douglas Bettcher, head of the WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative, said at the start of an international conference in Bangkok to draw up a masterplan for the world to kick the habit.

"It kills 5.4 million people per year and half of those deaths are in developing countries. That's like one jumbo jet going down every hour," he said.

With smoking rates in many developing countries on the rise, particularly among teenagers, that annual death toll would rise to 8.3 million within the next 20 years, he added.

However, if governments introduced measures such as aggressive taxation, banning cigarette advertising and making offices and public places totally tobacco-free, smoking rates could halve by 2050, he said.

"It's a completely preventable epidemic," Bettcher said, citing countries such as Singapore, Australia and Thailand where tough anti-smoking laws have helped people to quit.

"If we do that, by 2050 we can save 200 million lives." See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070702/hl_nm/smoking_dc

U.S. children with chronic health problems has soared

Spike in kids’ health issues foretells problems
Reuters News Service

WASHINGTON - The number of U.S. children with chronic health problems such as obesity has soared in the past four decades, foreshadowing increases in adult disability and public health-care spending, researchers said on Tuesday.

More time in front of the television and use of other electronic media, decreased physical activity, increased time spent indoors, increased consumption of fast foods and sugar-sweetened beverages, and changes in parenting are all likely to blame, the researchers said.

Writing in an issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association devoted to childhood chronic disease, researchers tracked rising rates of obesity, asthma and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, among U.S. children.

In the early 1970s, about 5 percent of children ages 5 to 18 were obese, compared to about 18 percent now, the researchers said. Asthma rates are estimated at 9 percent among these children, doubling since the 1980s, they said. See: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19441193/

What ever happened to real food?

Faux Food: Where Have All Our Nutrients Gone?
By Rachael Moeller Gorman
EatingWell.com

A loaf of white bread has been sitting on my desk for three weeks. I've been watching it, waiting for something to happen. Mold, perhaps. A touch of staleness. Bugs maybe. Its sell-by date came and went 14 days ago, but a peek through the wrapper reveals a tanned crust completely devoid of fungus, and a firm press of the package produces a springy return to a perfect rectangular shape, just as it did the day I bought it.

Most of the food consumed in this country passes through a factory or processing plant before ever reaching our tables, and for simple reasons: food needs to be safe, transportable and to stay sellable in the supermarket. Minnesotans want to eat canned peaches in January and working parents want to buy a loaf of bread at the store instead of spending all day baking it themselves. The result is that less and less can be called "unprocessed" anymore. Yet the transition from field to shelf happens in wildly divergent ways, from the simple baking of a few ingredients, like my Small Planet loaf, to inventing a sports drink that comes in a choice of several different neon colors, the product of food chemists and marketers hoping to create mega-demand.

A growing number of voices question whether extreme processing is just making modern food safe and convenient or if it may actually be creating a long-term threat to our society's nutritional health.

"During processing, a lot of beneficial nutrients like fiber, minerals and antioxidants are lost—especially in highly processed, refined-grain products," says Frank Hu, an epidemiologist at Harvard School of Public Health who tracks the effects of food on diseases in the American population. "Manufacturers also add a lot of sugar and trans fats back in to enhance the taste," he says. "So you get rid of the good stuff and add a lot of bad stuff and that's the reason those kinds of foods are really detrimental." See: Faux Food: Where Have All Our Nutrients Gone?

Ultra Healthy Hebrews

On the 40th Shavuot since their triumphant exodus from the United States in 1967, the Black Hebrews had ample cause to rejoice
By Ben Piven
Haaretz.com

With a vibrant community of about 2000 proud souls mostly residing in the north Negev town of Dimona, the group celebrated stunningly good health and longevity.

Compared with distressing health statistics of African-Americans living in the United States, the Black Hebrews have largely avoided the dominant Western medical scourges: cancer, heart attack, diabetes, and stroke. According to a study conducted by a group of American researchers in 1998, elevated blood pressure is about 1/5 and obesity about 1/6 that of the average rate for African-Americans. Moreover, a minute number of hospital calls originate in their section of Dimona.

"We are not a religion but a way of life," said Hecumliel Ha-Kohen, one of 14 priests in the community, which is formally called the African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem, often shortened to Hebrew Israelites.

"The movement's collective consciousness is rooted in the essence of the Hebrew Bible. We've seen observable, positive consequences of following these traditions," said Hecumliel.

"Generally, we are asserting the power of village life over the temptations of modern urban life," said Ahmadiyah ben Yehuda, a community doctor. "As a light unto the nations and unto Israel, we say 'no' to the things that seek to destroy life," said Ahmadiyah. "So-called normal diseases just don't exist here."

To See "Must Read" Complete Article click on: Ultra Healthy Hebrews - Haaretz - Israel News