Is Poultry Industry's Use of Roxarsone Polluting Fields with Arsenic Runoff?

Based on the below press release, the answer to question in the above title is yes.

Click here for further information on:
4-Hydroxy-3-nitrobenzenearsonic acid a/k/a Roxarsone.

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News Releases

American Society of Agronomy
5585 Guilford Road • Madison, WI 53711-5801 • 608-273-8080 • Fax 608-273-2021
www.agronomy.org
Twitter | Facebook | RSS News Release Feed

NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Sara Uttech, American Society of Agronomy, 608-268-4948, suttech@agronomy.org

Arsenic in Field Runoff Linked to Poultry Litter

Arsenic in food supplements passes through chickens, then passes through the field

Measurement numbers were incorrect in the summary provided to us and were correced in this News Release on 8/19/2010

MADISON, WI, August 16th, 2010 - Fields amended with poultry litter can accumulate significant levels of arsenic, according to studies by USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and associates. These findings provide key information about the agricultural pollutants that can build up in agricultural soils over time—and possibly migrate into nearby streams and rivers.

Poultry producers have sometimes supplemented chicken feed with roxarsone, a compound containing arsenic, to control parasites and promote weight gain. Most of this arsenic is excreted by the birds and then becomes mixed in with sawdust and other litter materials used in poultry houses. Farmers typically use the litter as a nutrient-rich—and free—fertilizer for amending their crop soils.

Chemist Clinton Church, who works at the ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit in University Park, Pa., led this research. His partners included University Park soil scientist Peter Kleinman, support scientist Lou Saporito, research leader Ray Bryant and University of Maryland Eastern Shore scientist Arthur Allen.

For two years, the team measured arsenic levels in runoff that flowed from farm fields into seven drainage ditches in the Delmarva (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) Peninsula, an area dominated by large-scale poultry production for decades. Runoff measurements indicated that annual arsenic losses from these fields could range from 0.004 kilograms per hectare to 0.071 kilograms per hectare. Runoff with the largest arsenic loads was recorded in a ditch closest to a main point source of the contaminant—a shed where litter was stored.

They team also tracked phosphorus runoff, as it are known to interact and compete with arsenic. During storm events, both pollutants exhibited similar behavior. However, their concentrations differed significantly between ditches and showed no seasonal patterns. This suggests that management practices for phosphorus are unlikely to be applicable to arsenic.

This study highlights the importance of controlling point sources of arsenic and other chemicals and suggests that management practices—such as properly storing dry litter and controlling litter spills outside storage facilities—can help protect local regions from the migration of arsenic and other agricultural pollutants.

Results from this research will be published in the November/December 2010 issue of the Journal of Environmental Quality, a publications of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America.

The full article is available for no charge for 30 days following the date of this summary. View the abstract at https://www.soils.org/files/publications/jeq/abstracts/39-6/q09-0210-abstract.pdf.

The Journal of Environmental Quality is a peer-reviewed, international journal of environmental quality in natural and agricultural ecosystems published six times a year by the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). The Journal of Environmental Quality covers various aspects of anthropogenic impacts on the environment, including terrestrial, atmospheric, and aquatic systems.

The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) www.agronomy.org, is a scientific society helping its 8,000+ members advance the disciplines and practices of agronomy by supporting professional growth and science policy initiatives, and by providing quality, research-based publications and a variety of member services.

Fueling of Iran's Nuclear Plant at Bushehr Begins

Is this story about Iran's nuclear plan being fueled legitimate or is it propaganda put out by the State media?

Nuclear fuel is being transferred to the Bushehr reactor under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency and senior officials from Iran and Russia.

Source: PressTV

Denver Police Brutalize Man on Video Over Alleged Statement

Another police brutality video!

[Mark Ashford's attorney, Will] Hart says Ashford was walking his dogs near 20th and Little Raven in LoDo, when he saw police pull over a driver for failing to stop at a stop sign. Ashford told the driver he saw him stop and would be willing to testify in court. Hart says the officer overheard him and "wasn't very happy."

...Ashford tried to take a picture of the officers to document the incident, and a few second later he was on the ground.

Source: KDVR

Pentagon Wants National Security Agency to Monitor Select Dot.com Domains of Government Defense Contractors

If the capacity exists for the NSA to monitor suspicious traffic on the dot.com domains of the defense contractors, what makes you think that this type technology is not available for the private sector?

Under the proposal, which is being informally circulated throughout the department and the Department of Homeland Security, the NSA could set up equipment to look for patterns of suspicious traffic at the internet service providers that the companies' networks run through. The agency would immediately notify the Pentagon and the companies if pernicious behavior were detected.

Oh wait, there is a suspicious traffic detector for the private sector. It's called EINSTEIN. The Department of Homeland Security is currently running pilot tests on EINSTEIN 3.

Source: The Atlantic

Russian Scholar Warns that U.S. HAARP Device May Have Caused Russian Heatwave & Fires

A few years ago I would have dismissed this case as complete propaganda nonsense. However, the more information I learn about HAARP, the more I believe that anything is possible. Therefore, this story is not surprising. A Russian scholar blames HAARP for Russia's recent climate tragedies.

As Muscovites suffer record high temperatures this summer, a Russian political scientist has claimed the United States may be using climate-change weapons to alter the temperatures and crop yields of Russia and other Central Asian countries.

Source: Radio Free Europe

For further reference, check out the past Remixx World! article Secrets of Cold War Technology - Project HAARP and Beyond (Book About Tesla Technologies by Gerry Vassilatos.

Will FDA's Rescission of Its Endorsement for Avastin Be the Beginning of the Obamacare "Death Panels" as Predicted?

The current administration has repeatedly stated that Obamacare does not include death panels. Remixx World! has countered those statements in previous articles (see Obamacare's "Advance Care Planning Consultation" (Pages 425-430 of the Health Care Bill -- Death Planning?) or Verizon Unveils Cloud Computing Patient Information Database & Decision Support Cycle System Using CareEngine® Technology), because I simply do not believe anything that the federal government tells me these days.

Needless to say, I'm not alone in my beliefs, because some are reporting that the decision to drop the endorsement of the anti-cancer drug Avastin was based on monetary factors (i.e., it is too expensive from the government's perspective to provide the drug).

The FDA advisory panel has now voted 12-1 to drop the endorsement for breast cancer treatment. The panel unusually cited "effectiveness" grounds for the decision. But it has been claimed that "cost effectiveness" was the real reason ahead of reforms in which the government will extend health insurance to the poorest...

During the debate, those opposed to the reforms cited Britain’s National Institute for Clinical Excellence, which decides whether new treatments should be made available on the NHS on the basis of cost effectiveness, as an example of the sort of drug rationing that amounted to a "death panel".

Source: London Telegraph

FLASHBACK: Section 11 in Treaty of Tripoli Says U.S. Government is Not Founded on Christian Religion (1796)

Click the picture above to read the Treaty of Tripoli (or officially, Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary). The provision at issue is Section 11, which states:

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen,—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."

There is some issue whether the original treaty (which was written in Arabic) was properly translated, but nevertheless, the translated treaty is the document that was approved by Congress.

Someone Intentionally Released 4,000 Gallons of Diesel Fuel into Vermont's Black River

There is a whole lot of eco-terrorism acts happening below the radar these days. I wonder who released the fuel into the Black River.

And officials say the evidence shows the release of about 4,000 gallons from the fuel tank used by Black River Produce was a deliberate act, not an accidental spill. The [Vermont Agency of Natural Resources] agency's Gary Kessler said the release is one of the largest in Vermont history.

Source: Burlington Free Press

Harvard University Fund Sells 100% of Its Israel Holdings

This news clip came across my screen today and it caught my attention. Is there a reason for this massive sell-off? The article says "no," but does Harvard know something a potential Middle East conflict involving Israel that the rest of us don't know?

In another blow to Israeli shares, the Harvard Management Company notified the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday that it had sold all its holdings in Israeli companies during the second quarter of 2010. No reason for the sale was mentioned. The Harvard Management Company manages Harvard University's endowment.

Source: Globes

Compilation of News Videos about Deadly Floods in Pakistan

Thanks to Recipe Apart for compiling these videos.

Federal Judge Dismisses Apache Lawsuit Against Yale's Skull and Bones over Alleged Theft of Geronimo's Remains

Unfortunately, this case was doomed from the start. There was no way that the powers-that-be were going to let information about the Skull and Bones secret society and its alleged theft of Geronimo's remains be broadcast in a public forum. Nevertheless, let's hope I'm wrong and that Attorney Clark is able to re-file the case to get a different result.

A District of Columbia judge on July 27 dismissed a case that had been brought against the mysterious society, as well as the University and senior members of the U.S. government, in February 2009. The plaintiffs are 20 descendants of the legendary Native American chieftain Geronimo hoping to reclaim their ancestor's remains.

Source: Yale Daily News

Maple Grove Farms Forced to Stop Popular Syrup Factory Tour Over Food-Defense & Terrorist Concerns

I am utterly speechless. So now a person can't go see a maple syrup tour? What's next? A beer factory tour? A farm? A port? This is just another example of a clueless government in my opinion.

Recently however, the company, the largest maple syrup wholesaler in the nation, had to shutter the tour as a result of “food-defense” concerns that have sprouted since terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., nearly nine years ago...

But post-9/11 guidelines developed by the Department of Homeland Security and Food and Drug Administration have shaped the voluntary food-safety standards that companies like Maple Grove must meet in order to sell their wares to major retailers.

Source: Rutland Herald

CNBC's Rick Santelli Tells Ron Insana To Read G. Edward Griffin's The Creature From Jekyll Island

The good part starts around the 6:00 mark. If you cannot see the above video, click this CNBC link for the video.

Click the following link for more information on G. Edward Griffin's The Creature from Jekyll Island.

Thousands of Dead Peanut Bunker Fish Wash Ashore in Delaware Bay, Cape May County, New Jersey

What is up with all of the fish die-offs? I'm starting to hear way too many of these stories.

See also:

1. Millions of Small Dead Fish Wash Ashore on Beach in Gulfport, Mississippi Near Jones Park

2. Hundreds of Dead Trout Fish Wash Ashore at Lake Shasta, California Due to Unknown Causes

3. Hundreds of Bottom-Feeding Carp Dying & Stinking in Lake Spokane, Washington (Cause Unknown)

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DEP INVESTIGATING LARGE DIE-OFF OF MENHADEN IN DELAWARE BAY

(10/P79) TRENTON - The Department of Environmental Protection is investigation a major wash-up of dead fish along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County. The cause of the die-off is not known and is under investigation.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring and the Bureau of Emergency Response are working with local officials to evaluate the wash-up of menhaden that appears to be encompassing a large stretch of the Delaware Bay shoreline. The fish appear to be exclusively small menhaden, also known as peanut bunker.

The Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring reviewed results of water samples taken Wednesday by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and found no indication of toxic phytoplankton species, such as red tide. The DEP is also analyzing oxygen levels in the water.

The DEP has dispatched conservation officers who are working with the Cape May County Office of Emergency Management to evaluate the beaches. The DEP has sent out an aircraft to assess the extent of the die-off.

Initial reports suggest dead fish are heavy in an area of Middle Township known as Pierce’s Point. The DEP will continue to provide updates to the media and the public as they become available.

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DARPA to Build Fastest Supercomputer in the World!

Another day, another DARPA story. DARPA is ready to shatter Moore's Law and if any entity in the world can do it, it's DARPA.

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News Release
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
3701 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203-1714

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 6, 2010

DARPA Developing ExtremeScale Supercomputer System

Advanced computing is the backbone of the Department of Defense and of critical strategic importance to our nation’s defense. All DoD sensors, platforms and missions depend heavily on computer systems. To meet the escalating demands for greater processing performance, it is imperative that future computer system designs be developed to support new generations of advanced DoD systems and enable new computing application code. Targeting this crucial need, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has initiated the Ubiquitous High Performance Computing (UHPC) program to create an innovative, revolutionary new generation of computing systems that overcomes the limitations of current evolutionary approach.

Computing performance increases have been driven by Moore’s Law (doubling the transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit every two years). The ability to achieve projected performance gains is limited by significant power consumption, architectural and programming complexity issues. To exploit available technological advances fully, highly programmable high performance computers must be developed that require dramatically less energy per computation. The goal of DARPA’s UHPC program is to re-invent computing. It plans to develop radically new computer architectures and programming models that deliver 100 to 1,000 times more performance, and that are easier to program than current systems.

The UHPC program directly addresses major priorities expressed by the President’s “Strategy for American Innovation”. These priorities include “exascale” supercomputing Century “Grand Challenge”, energy-efficient computing and worker productivity. The resulting UHPC capabilities will provide at least 50-times greater energy, computing and productivity efficiency, which will slash the time needed to design and develop complex computing applications.

President Obama’s “Strategy for American Innovation” notes DARPA’s successes and innovations that have driven America’s technology advances. DARPA historically has pursued innovative computing development and enabled significant advances. UHPC will pursue non-traditional, innovative developments in an open collaborative research environment. This approach and the resulting technical advances are critical to re-inventing computing.

Prototype UHPC systems are expected to be complete by 2018. The four performers selected to develop UHPC prototype systems are Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, Ore., NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif., Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Boston and Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, N.M. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, was selected to lead an Applications, Benchmarks and Metrics team for evaluating the UHPC systems under development.

-END-

Media with questions, please contact Eric Mazzacone, (703) 526-4758, or eric.mazzacone@darpa.mil.

California Lawmakers Propose Allowing Video Cameras in Automobiles (AB1942)

While this law that allows video cameras in vehicles to record accidents is not as scary as it was when I first heard about it, it still has the chance to be a slippery slope if some governmental agency mandates video camera installation in an effort to promote "safety." There will also be issues and concerns if the car's video camera can be remotely activated by third parties such as the note holder, DMV and/or insurance company.

The proposed law, AB1942, would promote safer driving habits and reduce accidents by permitting video recorders to be installed on the windshield.

Click the link to read the full text of AB1942.

(13) A video event recorder with the capability of monitoring driver performance to improve driver safety, which may be mounted in a 7-inch seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver or in a 5-inch, in a five-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield nearest to the driver and outside of an airbag deployment zone. zone, or in a 5-inch square mounted to the center uppermost portion of the interior of the windshield. As used in this section, "video event recorder" means a video recorder that continuously records in a digital loop, recording audio, video, and G-force levels, but saves video only when triggered by an unusual motion or crash or when operated by the driver to monitor driver performance.

Source: KOVR

Energy Investment Banker Matthew Simmons Dies Less Three (3) Weeks After Saying We've Killed the Gulf of Mexico

Throughout the Deepwater Horizon event, Matt Simmons said the government was lying about what was really happening down at the bottom of the sea. Last weekend, Simmons died at his home. Based on what he has repeatedly stated, his death caught my attention, because it was only three (3) weeks ago that Mr. Simmons said that we have killed the Gulf. The official report says drowning as a result of a heart attack, but it is quite possible that someone killed Mr. Simmons and made the death appear to be natural. I wonder if Mr. Simmons had any health issues that would have made his death more likely.

Level 2 Alert at PPL's Susquehanna Nuclear Plant Due to Freon Leak in Reactor Building

If you cannot see the video above, click this link.

Raytheon's High-Speed Guard Added to U.S. GSA Schedule (Cross-Domain Information-Sharing System with 9 GB per Second Transfer Speeds)

This High-Speed Guard is another interesting system designed by and for the military industrial complex.

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Raytheon High-Speed Guard now on U.S. GSA Schedule

BOSTON, Aug. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) High-Speed Guard information-sharing solution has been added to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) schedule of products and services available to the government.

Raytheon High-Speed Guard provides the ability to transfer information between security domains at the industry's fastest transfer speeds. GSA is America's only source solely dedicated to procuring goods and services for the government.

Raytheon High-Speed Guard was also recently added to the Unified Cross Domain Management Office Baseline list of cross-domain technologies. The UCDMO is a joint Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC) organization that provides centralized coordination and oversight of cross-domain initiatives across these communities. Inclusion on the UCDMO Baseline provides DoD and IC customers a list of proven technologies and solutions.

The industry's fastest cross-domain information-sharing solution, High-Speed Guard boasts information transfer speeds up to 9 gigabits per second. High-Speed Guard provides customers a wide array of bidirectional capabilities for enforcing complex and dynamic security policies while maintaining a strict security posture.

With a proven track record of more than 190 installations, Raytheon High-Speed Guard is able to sustain full transfer rates on dual-processor commercial off-the-shelf servers running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 with a strict Security Enhanced Linux policy.

Raytheon will be demonstrating High-Speed Guard at the fourth annual UCDMO Conference Aug. 9-12, 2010, in Boston.

Raytheon Company, with 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 88 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 75,000 people worldwide.

Contact:
Kathy Bentaieb
408.582.3780
iiscommunications@raytheon.com

Department of Energy Awards $1.4 Million Grant to Long Beach State Professor for Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Research

Instead of burying nuclear waste that will take billions of years to degrade, the Department of Energy is looking for ways to recycle and reprocess nuclear waste.

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Cal State Long Beach Chemistry Professor Awarded 4-Year, $1.4 Million Grant for Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Research

California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) Professor Stephen Mezyk has received a four-year, $1.4 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant to examine the effects of radiation on nuclear reprocessing systems in the Fuel Cycle Research and Development area.

The award enlists Mezyk as the principal investigator who will lead the study to increase understanding of the chemistry of molecules called ligands that are used to selectively remove metals from nuclear waste. Examining the role and chemistry of these ligands could improve the safety of stored nuclear waste by reducing the levels of radioactivity and toxicity.

CSULB was the only non-Ph.D.-granting institution among 23 leading universities receiving Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) 2010 funding for nuclear education and technologies.

Mezyk, a professor of physical and environmental chemistry, said the study is of significant importance because current reprocessing systems were largely developed in the 1960s—when the first nuclear power plants began operating. However, most of these schemes emphasized the engineering requirements of reprocessing rather than their chemistry.

“To optimize this part of the process, we started looking at the chemistry of these ligands, and especially the radiation chemistry that occurs. We’ve begun examining how radiation, especially alpha radiation, damages the ligands both directly and indirectly; and how we can better design them to become more resistant,” Mezyk said.

“This project will ultimately reduce the radioactivity and toxicity of stored nuclear waste.”

A member of the CSULB faculty since 2001, Mezyk’s exemplary research in the chemistry of free radicals has earned him international recognition in both nuclear and environmental science. His student research group, RadKEM, in the CSULB Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, is recognized for their applications of free radical chemistry in the removal of chemical contaminants from waters and in their understanding of the radical chemistry involved in cancer.

RadKEM has worked with the National Energy Laboratory at Notre Dame and the Orange County Water District using radiation to study the breakdown of such contaminants as antibiotics and hormones during the remediation of water. The Department of Energy grant will take RadKEM in a new direction, in collaboration with Bruce Mincher of the DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory and Mikael Nilsson, assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine.

The multi-year research project will be completed at the national Radiation Laboratory at Notre Dame, Ind.; at UC Irvine; in Chalmers, Sweden; and potentially in Marcoule, France. It will also engage several European researchers, Mezyk said.

“Investigations in the United States are complementing the European and Japanese approaches. It is hoped that we will eventually be able to derive the best system as designed by its engineering and its chemistry to maximize efficiencies and minimize costs,” he said.

Mezyk earned his bachelor of science degree in chemistry and his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

He is an associate editor of the Journal of Advanced Oxidation Technologies and has received multiple research grants and contracts, particularly for his water chemistry studies. He was awarded the CSULB Provost's 2010 Award for Impact Accomplishment of the Year in Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity; and the Distinguished Faculty Scholarly and Creative Achievement Award in 2008. A respected mentor and professor, Mezyk also received the University Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award in 2007. He most recently provided expert opinion on water and nuclear chemistry in the Emmy-winning video series, "Understanding Chemistry in Your World," by Coast Learning Systems.

For more than nine years, Mezyk has advised the student-based RadKEM research group in its pursuits of careers in medicine, veterinary, and doctoral research programs. His students have shared successes and valued experiences in state-of-the-art Department of Energy national laboratories, and in writing scientific papers published in journals including Environmental Science and Technology, Radiation Research, Journal of Physical Chemistry, Water Research, and Environmental Chemistry. Student researchers have been featured in talks at national and international conferences, and many have secured their own research funding the Arnold Beckman Foundation, CSULB’s Women and Philanthropy, Phi Beta Kappa, and the Orange County Water District, among others.

For more information about Mezyk’s research, visit http://chemistry.csulb.edu/faculty.html.