People of the Keys!

“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Edify One Another

Dear Friends,

Greetings!

Between the problems involving the Fukushima Nuclear disaster and the worldwide financial crisis, not to even mention the BP oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, there are enough problems facing the world today to arouse the attention of most people.

The book of Zephaniah in the Old Testament had some interesting things to say concerning the “day of the Lord”, which is approaching. “The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” (Zephaniah 1:14-18)

Thank the Lord, although the church, the called out ones, will go through the Tribulation, “God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:9-11)

Although the outlook may not always seem so wonderful the up-look is great as we will one day see, “...the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. “(1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

Catholic Phoenix

Catholic University Invites Satan to Give Commencement Speech

by TONY

May 5, 2012

In a move already denounced by Catholic bishops & other leading religious conservatives, St. Sincerus University, the nation's 84th largest Catholic university, has invited Satan to deliver its commencement speech later this month. Also known as the Prince of Darkness, Lucifer, &, more popularly, the Devil, Satan is a divisive figure among Catholics & other Christians. Several Catholic universities have upset religious conservatives in recent years by inviting controversial figures to deliver commencement speeches, as when the University of Notre Dame, the nation's largest Catholic University, invited President Barack Obama, who supports a woman's right to abortion, in 2009. The invitation to Satan by SSU president Fr. Thad Despereaux comes at a time when many Catholics are highly critical of the Obama administration's attempts to reform health care, which some claim would force Catholic institutions to violate their Church's teachings by providing contraceptives as part of their health insurance plans. Fr. Despereaux, in comments made to the Daily Sham, SSU's student newspaper, said that having Satan on campus gives bold witness to a central Catholic principle that God can be found in all things. "The continuing politicization of the faith indicates just how important it is for us to build bridges," Fr. Despereaux said. "Our whole mission as a university is to bring people together. Satan is badly misunderstood by many people, & we hope to show our graduates that stereotypes, & the hatred they engender, have no place on a Catholic campus. As Catholics we are to hate hate."

On-campus reactions at SSU have been favorable, as faculty & students alike have applauded the university's open-mindedness in issuing the invitation. Dr. Sophia Greengrass, Director of the university's Wiccan Institute, called the invitation a brave attempt to promote the university's academic integrity in the face of "fascist attempts by the male hierarchy to impose its limited & limiting dogmas," while Declan Spencer, a Religious Studies major studying the mythical underpinnings of religious language, said he hoped to meet Satan & thank him for his contributions to world culture. Some faculty, however, have questioned the wisdom of the invitation. "Satan doesn't actually exist," said Fr. Eddie Cheever, Professor of Early Christian Literature, "so it will be interesting to hear what he says. Or doesn't say." And Professor David Evans, known for his support of traditional Church teachings, said the invitation further reflects the administration's attempts to distance itself from the Church. "It does make sense, given the administration's recent policies," he said, noting Fr. Despereaux's endorsement of Phallic Fridays, in which students erect large phallic sculptures around the SSU chapel, cover them with latex, & ironically sing hymns to the fertility god Priapus, as well as the popular Religion-less Lent, instituted last year, in which Catholic students were urged to give up prayer & mass attendance during Lent.

As of this afternoon, Satan has not publicly responded to the invitation, though Prof. Evans suggested that since he is already quite at home at SSU, there is little doubt that he will accept.

The Paul VI Audience Hall is a building in Italy mostly in Romebut partially in vatican City but the Italian part of the building is an exterritorial area of the Holy See used by the Pope as an alternative to Saint Peter's Square for conducting his Wednesday morning General Audience.The building, with a seating capacity of 6,300, was designed in reinforced concrete by the Italian architect Pier Luigi Nervi and completed in 1971.

One of the more arresting features of the hall is the twenty-meter-wide brass and bronze sculpture La Resurrezione ("The Resurrection") by Pericle Fazzini.

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News Max

Franklin Graham: Obama Has 'Shaken His Fist' at God

Thursday, 10 May 2012

By Andra Varin

Evangelist Franklin Graham said President Barack Obama has "shaken his fist at God" by voicing support for gay marriage.

In an interview Wednesday with ABC News, Obama said his opinions had evolved and he now believes same-sex couples should have the right to wed.

"At a certain point, I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married," Obama said.

Graham, son of the Rev. Billy Graham, said the president was defying God's will by changing his opinion on the issue.

"President Obama has, in my view, shaken his fist at the same God who created and defined marriage. It grieves me that our president would now affirm same-sex marriage, though I believe it grieves God even more," Graham said in a statement.

"This is a sad day for America. May God help us," he said.

Graham supported a measure to amend North Carolina's constitution to bar gay marriage. Voters on Tuesday passed the amendment with a 61 percent approval rate.

Graham has criticized Obama on spiritual matters in the past. In February, he publicly questioned whether Obama is really a Christian and said "Islam has gotten a free pass" under Obama's administration. Graham later apologized.

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Shukan Asahi Weekly Magazine

Doomsday scenarios spread about No. 4 reactor at Fukushima plant

By HIDEO SATO

When Ron Wyden, a Democratic senator from the U.S. state of Oregon, visited the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on April 6, he spent about an hour looking at a building constructed under strict anti-quake standards and observed the facility that processes water contaminated by radiation.

Although he was driven by car past the reactor buildings, he did not actually enter any of the reactor buildings, according to officials of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the plant.

But after his return to the United States, Wyden, who sits on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, fueled concerns of possible catastrophic events at the No. 4 reactor of the Fukushima plant, specifically what would happen if a huge quake damaged the spent fuel rod pool there.

TEPCO has issued statements reassuring the public that such a disaster would not occur, saying the structure has been reinforced to withstand serious shaking.

But these days, even politicians may seem more reliable than TEPCO about information concerning nuclear safety.

Wyden sent a letter dated April 16 to Ichiro Fujisaki, Japan's ambassador to the United States, that said the storage pool holding spent nuclear fuel at the No. 4 reactor could collapse if the reactor building was hit by another major earthquake or tsunami. The senator also warned that emissions of radioactive materials in such an event would be much greater than after last year's accident.

The letter also said that work should be accelerated to remove the nuclear fuel from the pool and stated that the United States was prepared to provide all forms of support for such efforts.

Copies of the letter were sent to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

In its April 17 edition, the Wall Street Journal ran a story that included Wyden's claim that there was a serious and unresolved understatement of the earthquake risk at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

The Huffington Post carried a report that included an analysis by an expert who said that if radiation spewed from nuclear fuel in the No. 4 reactor pool because of insufficient cooling, the total amount of cesium-137 emitted would be at least 10 times the amount released during the Chernobyl disaster.

The Washington Post also ran an article about the dangers of the No. 4 reactor.

Alarms about the No. 4 reactor were also being raised in Japan.

Mitsuhei Murata, 74, a professor emeritus at Tokaigakuen University who once served as Japan's ambassador to Switzerland, said, "The existence of the No. 4 reactor has become a major national security issue for the entire world that does not take a back seat even to North Korea's missile issue."

He had called for a halt to operations at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant even before the Great East Japan Earthquake struck last year, leading to the nuclear crisis.

"If an accident should occur at the No. 4 reactor, it could be called the start of the ultimate catastrophe for the world," Murata said as a witness at an Upper House Budget Committee hearing in March.

According to Murata, his comments at the hearing were translated into English and posted on a blog by Akio Matsumura, who once worked at the United Nations. The post was accessed by individuals from 160 nations.

Compared with the No. 1 to No. 3 reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, which all experienced meltdowns, the No. 4 reactor was not seriously damaged by the March 11, 2011, quake and tsunami because it was undergoing a periodic inspection at the time.

However, the No. 4 reactor building houses a storage pool containing 1,535 spent fuel rods, the largest number of any of the reactors.

An explosion and fire at the No. 4 reactor blew away the walls and roof of the steel-reinforced concrete building, so the reactor building was hit by major structural damage.

Moreover, the storage pool is still not covered and remains exposed to the atmosphere. That situation has raised serious questions about what would happen if another quake with an intensity of 7 struck the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

Murata has his own predictions.

"If the storage pool should collapse and the 1,535 fuel rods began burning in the atmosphere, an endless amount of radiation would be emitted. Of course, that would mean that Tokyo would become unlivable," he said.

Murata continued: "Just 50 meters from the No. 4 reactor is the common pool for the No. 1 to No. 6 reactors. The common pool holds 6,375 spent nuclear fuel rods. If a fire should occur at the No. 4 reactor pool, the common pool would also not stand a chance."

That is the potential crisis at the No. 4 reactor that is causing so much fear around the world.

In fact, immediately after last year's accident, the biggest concern raised by the United States was the storage pool at the No. 4 reactor.

A major factor behind the NRC's decision to issue an evacuation recommendation for U.S. citizens within an 80-kilometer radius of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, much wider than the one set by the Japanese government, was because of information obtained that the storage pool at the No. 4 reactor was empty of cooling water.

That information later proved false. And cooling of the storage pool has now been maintained.

But Arnie Gundersen, a U.S. nuclear engineer who visited Japan in February, has raised other concerns.

In an interview with Shukan Asahi at that time, Gundersen said the nuclear fuel pool at the No. 4 reactor still has the power to physically split the Japanese archipelago.

He said the spent nuclear fuel in the No. 4 reactor pool is equivalent to several reactor cores and contains radiation equal to the amount released in the atmosphere by all past nuclear experiments.

Gundersen has also written that the No. 4 reactor building's structure has weakened, the building is tilted, and that he has advised friends in Tokyo to immediately evacuate should the No. 4 reactor collapse.

TEPCO on April 26 issued a press release that disputed Gundersen's claims.

"The No. 4 reactor building is not tilted and it, including the storage pool, will not be destroyed by a quake," it said.

According to the release, measurements were taken to confirm that the floor where the storage pool is located is parallel to the water surface of the pool.

TEPCO officials also explained that the steel support at the base of the pool and concrete wall had been reinforced by last July, which has increased by 20 percent the leeway against a possible quake.

In addition, the utility conducted a simulation exercise using analytical models that showed that even if a lower-6 intensity quake were to strike the plant again, it would not collapse.

TEPCO has also begun work to cover the entire No. 4 reactor building in order to start removing the spent nuclear fuel from the storage pool. Work to remove the fuel rods could begin as soon as next year.

However, one problem is that TEPCO's information is now generally greeted with doubts.

"The trust in the central government and TEPCO which allowed the accident to happen has fallen around the world," Murata said. "There is no nation that wholeheartedly believes those releases."

In the United States, plans have been devised to set up a neutral and independent evaluation committee consisting of experts from around the world to look into the situation at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and consider ways to resolve the problems there. Such moves show that many feel TEPCO and the Japanese government can no longer be depended upon to deal with the accident.

"Since TEPCO is, after all, a for-profit company, it cannot be said to be making every possible effort," Murata said. "There is no time to waste. Knowledge from around the world should be gathered as soon as possible to begin the work of removing the nuclear fuel from the storage pool."

Murata has sent a letter to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda asking that action be taken, but so far nothing specific has been done.

Energy News

Physicist: Unit 2 completely liquified, 100% liquification of uranium core -- "We've never seen this before in the history of nuclear power" (VIDEO)

Published: May 14th

UPDATED* ORIGINAL PRESENTATION HERE: Professor Shocked: "The core completely liquified -- There's nothing left -- There's no hook -- There's no remaining collapsed core" (VIDEO)

Interview with Michio Kaku - Flashpoints (KPFA) - May 9, 2012

Fukushima reactor 4 still threatens the world as we know.

Unit 2 we now know completely liquified. We've never seen this before in the history of nuclear power. A 100% liquification of a uranium core.

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The Telegraph (Edited from longer article.)

Global lenders face 'killer losses' on Greek debt

Foreign holders of 422bn Euros of Greek debt were warned to brace themselves for "killer losses" as coalition talks in Athens collapsed, threatening Greece's future in the eurozone.

As the Greek president, Karolos Papoulias, admitted defeat on coalition talks, Alexis Tsipras, leader of the radical left-wing Syriza party which is leading the Greek polls, said he couldn't "guarantee" the country would stay in the euro.

Photo: AFP/GETTY

By Louise Armitstead, Chief business correspondent

15 May 2012

The euro tumbled to a four-month low and European stock markets dropped as political leaders and economists warned that the next round of elections called in Athens amounted to a vote on Greek membership of the euro

"What's at stake isn't just the next Greek government," said Guido Westerwelle, Germany's foreign minister. "What's at stake is the Greek people's commitment to Europe and the euro."

"A second vote means Greece is edging closer to the point where it's inevitable they have to exit the euro," Fredrik Erixon, head of the European Centre for International

Political Economy in Brussels, said. "No other course of events is now likely."

As the Greek president, Karolos Papoulias, admitted defeat on coalition talks, Alexis Tsipras, leader of the radical Left-wing Syriza party which is leading the Greek polls, said he couldn't "guarantee" the country would stay in the euro.

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The Economic Collapse (Edited from longer article.)

The Bank Runs In Greece Will Soon Be Followed By Bank Runs In Other European Nations

The bank runs that we are watching right now in Greece are shocking, but they are only just the beginning. Since May 6th, nearly one billion dollars has been withdrawn from Greek banks. For a small nation like Greece, that is an absolutely catastrophic number. At this point, the entire Greek banking system is in danger of collapsing. If you had money in a Greek bank, why wouldn't you pull it out? If Greece leaves the euro, all euros in Greek banks will likely be converted to drachmas, and the value of those drachmas will almost certainly decline dramatically. In fact, it has been estimated that Greek citizens could see the value of their bank accounts decline by up to 50 percent if Greece leaves the euro. So if you had money in a Greek bank, it would only make sense to withdraw it and move it to another country as quickly as possible. And as the eurozone begins to unravel, this is a scenario that we are going to see play out in country after country. As member nations leave the eurozone, you would be a fool to have your euros in Italian banks or Spanish banks when you could have them in German banks instead. So the bank runs that are happening in Greece right now are only a preview of things to come. Before this crisis is over we are going to see bank runs happening all over Europe.

If Greece leaves the euro, the consequences are likely to be quite messy. Those that are promoting the idea that a "Grexit" can be done in an orderly fashion are not being particularly honest. The following is from a recent article in the Independent....

"Whoever tells you a Greek exit would be no big deal is an idiot, lying or disingenuous," said Sony Kapoor of the European think-tank Re-Define. Economists fear that a disorderly exit would prompt a huge run by investors on Spanish and Italian debt, forcing those countries to seek support from an EU bailout fund, which, with a capacity of just â‚¬500bn, is widely regarded as too small to cope with those pressures.

A Greek exit from the euro would not only result in a run on Spanish and Italian bonds, but it would also likely result in a run on Spanish and Italian banks.

If Greece is allowed to leave the euro, that will be a signal that other countries will eventually be allowed to leave as well. Nobody in their right mind would want their euros stuck in Spanish or Italian banks if those countries end up converting back to national currencies.

Fear is a powerful motivator. If Greece converts their euros back to drachmas, that will be a clear signal that all euros are not created equally. The race to move money into German banks will accelerate dramatically.

And a Greek exit from the euro is looking more likely with each passing day. Even the IMF is now admitting that it is a very real possibility....

Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, warned she was "technically prepared for anything" and said the utmost effort must be made to ensure any Greek exit was orderly. The effect was likely to be "quite messy" with risks to growth, trade and financial markets. "It is something that would be extremely expensive and would pose great risks but it is part of options that we must technically consider," she said.

Meanwhile, banks in other troubled European nations are already on shaky ground. The Spanish banking system is an absolute disaster zone at this point and on Monday night Moody's downgraded the credit ratings of 26 Italian banks.

The situation in Italy is especially worth keeping a close eye on. As Ambrose Evans-Pritchard recently noted, things are not looking good for Italy at all....

Italy's former premier Romano Prodi said the EU risks instant contagion to Spain, Italy, and France if Greece leaves. "The whole house of cards will come down", he said

Angelo Drusiani from Banca Albertini said the only way to avert catstrophe is to convert the European Central Bank into a lender of last resort. Otherwise Italy faces "massive devaluation, three to five years of hyperinflation, and unbearable unemployment."

So what can be done about any of this?

Well, there is actually a lot that could be done if politicians in Europe were willing to think outside of the established global financial paradigm.

The truth is that Greece could solve their current financial problems in four easy steps. They would have to be willing to stick it to the rest of Europe and to risk being blackballed by the international community, but it could be done.

The following is my prescription for Greece....

1) Default on all debts.

2) Leave the euro.

3) Issue drachmas that are debt-free and that do not come from a central bank. Instead, have the Greek government create them and spend them directly into circulation.

4) Enjoy a return to prosperity.

In such a scenario, the Greek national debt would no longer be a problem, the Greek government would never have to borrow any more money and austerity would no longer be needed.

Yes, inflation would be an issue with the new currency, but a bit of inflation would be a walk in the park compared to the horrible economic depression that Greece is experiencing right now.

And once the Greek economy was growing again, it would certainly be possible for them to make the transition to "hard money" if they wanted to.

It is imperative that we all understand that just because the global financial system works a certain way today does not mean that it must always work that way.

If you have a few minutes, I want you to watch an incredible speech by a 12-year-old Canadian girl named Victoria Grant. In this 6 minute speech, she details how the bankers are defrauding the people of Canada and how the Canadian government does not actually need to borrow a single penny from the bankers....

Options If a 12-year-old girl can figure this out, then why can't the rest of us?

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The Europeon Union Times (We are not sure how much credence to put in this article as The Europeon Union Times in times past has been somewhat sensational in their reporting. We are putting it up for you interest. Ed.)

Top Obama Aide Warns Russia “End Of World” Near

May 8th, 2012

A new report prepared by the Foreign Intelligence Service circulating in the Kremlin today says that the United States top National Security Advisor to President Obama, Thomas Donilon, was granted a “rushed meeting” with President Putin this past Friday wherein he warned the Russian leader that the world as we know it may be about to end.

According to this report, the Obama regime became alarmed last week after Russia’s top military official, Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov, threatened to carry out a pre-emptive strike if Washington goes ahead with its plan to build a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, after which Donilon was dispatched to Moscow by a frightened Obama.

From the very outset of this meeting, this report says, a “highly agitated” Donilon proceeded to denounce Russia’s threats and “non-cooperation” with the US over a number of international issues, including Syria, warning that Moscow’s actions could very well lead to Obama losing his upcoming election and putting into office Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney who during a recent CNN interview stated that: “Russia, this is, without question, our number one geopolitical foe.”

In responding to Donilon, this report continues, Putin stated that it didn’t matter to Russia who the US president was as the record clearly shows that Obama has done nothing since being in office other than continue Bush’s agenda of strict totalitarian domestic rule meant to aid America’s global hegemony. Putin further added Russia’s “extreme displeasure” that Obama has continued to protect the Wall Street “gangsters” who collapsed the global economy in 2008.

As this meeting neared its end, this report states, Donilon became “decidedly dejected” and voiced his concern to Putin that everything they were talking about may, in fact, be pointless and cryptically stated, “what’s the difference in any of this anyway; Nostradamus is the one in charge, none of us may even have a world to live in before this year’s out.”

This report ends by stating that Putin was “stunned” by Donilon’s strange remark after which the meeting ended with no further comments or appendages by the Kremlin or other Russian ministries, or officials.

To why a high-ranking Obama national security official like Donilon would make such a cryptic remark referring to the 16th century prophet Michel de Nostredame [1503-1566] (Latinised to Nostradamus) is an apparent reference to two of the French seers Quatrains which seemingly warn that our world could be facing massive upheaval this month. These two Quatrains listed in “The Prophecies, by M. Michel Nostradamus” published in 1566 are:

Quatrain X:67

A very mighty trembling in the month of May, Saturn in Capricorn, Jupiter and Mercury in Taurus: Venus also, Cancer, Mars in Virgo, Hail will fall larger than an egg.

-and-

Quatrain IX:83

Sun twentieth of Taurus the earth will tremble very mightily, It will ruin the great theater filled: To darken and trouble air, sky and land, Then the infidel will call upon God and saints.

Equally interesting to note are that the Americans this past weekend, spurred on by their mainstream propaganda media, seemed to go into some kind of “Moon worship mode” to begin the month of “Nostradamus’s May” over a supposed “Supermoon” event, which in actuality did see the Moon reach its perigee for 2012 (the closest point it comes towards the Earth in its orbit), but only by a distance of less than 1,400 km from April’s Full Moon.

Most important to note, however, is that May, indeed, does have some very intriguing and historical astrological signs of note, including a currently ongoing rare alignment of the planets exactly matching those given in Nostradamus’s 1566 prediction, and an equally significant Solar Eclipse due to occur on 20 May that will cross the entire Ring of Fire zone from Asia to North America.

Most ominous to note about all of these events are their occurring immediately prior to the return from retrograde orbit of the planet Venus, which on 8 June 2004 crossed the surface of the Sun for the first time in 120 years, and on 6 June 2012 will do so again ending its 8 year journey that will not be seen again in any of our lifetimes, but which the ancient Mayans warned would signal the beginning of the end of our present age set to expire of 21 December of this year.

Curiously, and as if on some “cosmic cue” the Sun this week entered into this complex matrix when one of the largest sunspots ever recorded (AR1476 sprawls more than 100,000 km from end to end) began firing M-Class flares towards Earth, and matching an ominous warning given to the world last week by solar expert Mike Hapgood, a space weather scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford, England, that our world is nearer to a catastrophic solar event than anyone realizes.

Though many have warned that all of these “signs of sky” point towards a possible cataclysmic event occurring this month (14 May and 20 May are named as possible dates), or at the latest sometime in early June, the significance of how (or even why) the prophecies of Nostradamus were injected into a meeting between a top US official and Russia’s president does, indeed, cause one to take notice.

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Natural Society

Is Splenda Safe? Examining the Dangers of this 'Sugar Alternative'

Patrick Gallagher -

May 4, 2012

Is Splenda safe? Unfortunately, the Splenda craze has taken a toll on the American people. Wrongfully marketed as a healthful alternative to regular sugar, 'made from sugar so it tastes like sugar', Splenda is actually one of the most dangerous forms of synthetic sweetener. Sucralose, the chemical name for Splenda, has been implemented as an alternative to sugar, used widely in chewing gum, bakery sweets, diet sodas, fruit juices, and other oddities contrived as food. The sweetener is actually more chlorinated than aspartame - and consequently not much different than aspartame in terms of it's effects on the body.

Is Splenda Safe? - Research Says 'No'

Through the extensive testing processes of the FDA, the sugary poison was considered safe for human consumption in 1998 after the effects were studied on over 100 animals and humans (only 2 of which were actually humans). And thus yet another artificial sweetener was born, putting people's health at risk through marketing and profit-driven goals. What comes as the greatest surprise, however, is the fact that all of the testing done with Sucralose was only completed on around 40 people total - much of the studies' goals were only to test its effects on the teeth of the subjects, and virtually nothing about the toxicity of the sweetener whatsoever. So, is Splenda safe?

Fortunately, other non-governmental studies have been completed and the results have shown that Sucralose is responsible for a variety of ailments: headaches, blurred vision, short-term dizziness, and more serious long term effects such as depression and weight gain. There are other effects associated with splenda consumption as well, such as:

Skin breaking out in hives or rashes

Shortness of breath

Swelling of facial muscles

Eye irritation

Joint pains

General sensation of anxiety in a number of consumers

The worst effect of them all? The stomach is essentially cleansed of any healthful bacterium existing within the stomach lining, in addition to increasing pH levels within the intestines. This effect directly stimulates/upsets ghrelin levels (hormones responsible for stimulating appetite, resulting in increased cravings for carbohydrates and other non essential food sources).

What is so wrongful and vile about the substance is that it is not only sold to consumer food product manufacturers, but also to a fair share of big pharma. This means that the medications that you buy may still contain the sugar sweetener without you ever knowing, as many companies are deliberately not listing Sucralose as an ingredient at all. This adds just one more reason to break any reliance for pharmaceutical medications.

But instead of Splenda rightfully discontinuing their toxic creation, they have decided to make it sound even better for consumers under the name Splenda Essentials, Unfortunately, this is marketing deception, as you are still consuming the highly toxic Sucralose.

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ABC News
Texting While Walking Banned in New Jersey Town

By Alyssa Newcomb -

May 13

(Image Credit: ABC News)

Avid texters beware: Fort Lee, N.J. police said they will begin issuing $85 jaywalking tickets to pedestrians who are caught texting while walking.

"It's a big distraction. Pedestrians aren't watching where they are going and they are not aware," said Thomas Ripoli, chief of the Fort Lee Police Department.

Ripoli said the borough, which is home to approximately 35,000 residents, has suffered three fatal pedestrian-involved accidents this year. He hopes his crackdown on people who display dangerous behavior while walking will make his town safer, but not everyone is on board with the idea of issuing $85 tickets.

"When I walk I still look around. I'm not like constantly looking down the whole time," said resident Sue Choe.

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Contents

Wild Elephants Gather to Mourn Death of "Elephant Whisperer"

Posted by: Soren Dreier

For 12 hours, two herds of wild South African elephants slowly made their way through the Zululand bush until they reached the house of late author Lawrence Anthony, the conservationist who saved their lives.

The formerly violent, rogue elephants, destined to be shot a few years ago as pests, were rescued and rehabilitated by Anthony, who had grown up in the bush and was known as the "Elephant Whisperer."

For two days the herds loitered at Anthony's rural compound on the vast Thula Thula game reserve in the South African KwaZulu - to say good-bye to the man they loved. But how did they know he had died March 7?

Known for his unique ability to calm traumatized elephants, Anthony had become a legend. He is the author of three books, Baghdad Ark, detailing his efforts to rescue the animals at Baghdad Zoo during the Iraqi war, the forthcoming The Last Rhinos, and his bestselling The Elephant Whisperer.

There are two elephant herds at Thula Thula. According to his son Dylan, both arrived at the Anthony family compound shortly after Anthony's death.

"They had not visited the house for a year and a half and it must have taken them about 12 hours to make the journey," Dylan is quoted in various local news accounts. "The first herd arrived on Sunday and the second herd, a day later. They all hung around for about two days before making their way back into the bush."

Elephants have long been known to mourn their dead. In India, baby elephants often are raised with a boy who will be their lifelong "mahout." The pair develop legendary bonds - and it is not uncommon for one to waste away without a will to live after the death of the other.