The DISH

Unbossed and unbought news and information you can use

Vol. 9 No. 27…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…July 7, 2006

Venue for an Artist

Obesity

By Robert William Service (1874 - 1958)

With belly like a poisoned pup

Said I: 'I must give bacon up:

And also, I profanely fear,

I must abandon bread and beer

That make for portliness they say;

Yet of them copiously today

I ate with an increasingly sense

Of grievous corpulence.

I like a lot of things I like.

Too bad that I must go on strike

Against pork sausages and mash,

Spaghetti and fried corn-beef hash.

I deem he is a lucky soul

Who has no need of girth control;

For in the old of age:

'Il faut Souffrir pour etre bean.'

Yet let me not be unconsoled:

So many greybeards I behold,

Distinguished in affairs of state,

In culture counted with the Great,

Have tummies with a shameless bulge,

And so I think I'll still indulge

In eats I like without a qualm,

And damn my diaphragm!'

About Me: Born January 16, 1874, Service immigrated to Canada in 1896. He tried his hands at banking and ranching before discovering his love for the written word. His works include Songs of a Sourdough, Ballads of a Cheechako, The Trail of 8 and Rhymes of a Rolling Stone. He died in 1958. For more, see www.artdamage.com/service.htm.

Phantom Scribbler

The Stuff (1985)

Pure science fiction, The Stuff (1985) opens with miners discovering white goo oozing out of the ground. It looks like plain yogurt. Unbelievably, they decide to do a taste test. The stuff tastes good, and the race is on to sell this substance of unknown origin and content to a gullible public.

Overnight, stuff becomes the latest consumer craze. Multi-million dollar advertising campaigns sing its praise. Everybody, so it seems, is eating stuff. Unfortunately, it has a negative side-effect. Stuff consumers turn into zombies.

Fearful of the gooey dessert's impact on future corporate profits, the world's ice cream manufacturers call in a professional to learn the truth about stuff and obtain its apparently addictive formula. Enter ex-FBI agent David 'Mo' Rutherford (Michael Moriarty) turned industrial spy. Tasked with the job of getting stuff's formula, Rutherford teams up with an unlikely trio of stuff fighters determined to stop the spread of the dreaded dessert.

Directed by Larry Cohen, The Stuff co-stars include Andrea Marcovicci as Nicole Kendall, an advertising executive concerned about the health effects of eating stuff, Scott Bloom as Jason, a kid whose family has turned into zombies addicted to the creamy dessert, and Garrett Morris as Chocolate Chip Charlie, a martial arts master pissed over the loss of his cookie company in a hostile takeover.

Movie critics panned The Stuff, even though it was entertaining and made important statements about senseless consumerism and the ineffectiveness of government regulatory agencies in safeguarding the public health against dangerous substances being sold by well-funded organizations. With the advent of genetically-modified (GM) foods, hormone-treated meats, processed foodstuffs and chemicals galore being used and consumed by the public, coupled with lax government oversight, The Stuff's messages deserve a second look. But, don't expect to find this little gem on your local video store's shelf.

Science Stranger Than Fiction

By John Burl Smith

Ironically, sometimes maxims like "Art imitates life or truth is stranger than fiction" take on the power of prophecy. An email received June 21, 2006 entitled Test Tube Meat Nears Dinner Table verified for me the validity of these maxims, like a soothsayer. A report on Dr. Henk Haagsman, Department of the Science of Food of Animal Origin, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, The Netherlands gave scientific relevance to a strange fiction that had lived in my head since 1998.

Conjuring up images of Frankenstein, as I read that Dr. Haagsman, a highly respected Veterinary Biochemist, who has published over 80 scientific papers on cardiovascular research, the pulmonary surfactant system, regulation of proteolytic systems in muscle cells and innate mucosal defense systems of the gastro-intestinal tract, was growing meat for human consumption in test-tubes. Currently, Professor of Meat Science, he is the recipient of a 2 million euro ($2.5 million) grant from the Dutch government to grow artificial pork meat from pig stem cells. They hope to grow minced meat suitable for making burgers, sausages and pizza toppings in a few years.

Incredibly, this is where the stranger than fiction and imitating life maxims upstaged reality. Back in 1998, Dot, my wife, had a dream that I believed would make an excellent plot for a novel. I desired a novel in Archangel: A Hip Hop Vision of Love and the Battle of Good vs. Evil, (which will be released by PublishAmerica this fall) that made statements on the order of The Stuff (1985) and that timeless classic Soylent Green (1973).

Archangel's plot involves Nazi scientists, who, while experimenting on Jews, learned to grow meat in the laboratory. These scientists are brought to the United States after the war ends by a group of Americans who supported Adolf Hitler and wants to recreate his terror in the US. With concentration camps out of the question, they plan to produce fast food from Nazi test-tube-meat called "New Grub" to eliminate poor and black people in America.

Although a fiction, background for the plot is drawn from the turbulent 1960s and 70s, when I led a black power group called the Invaders in Memphis, Tennessee. The stranger than fiction Nazi scenario is based on Prescott Bush, the grandfather of Pres. George W. Bush. While a partner at Brown Brothers Harriman, he managed Union Banking Corporation, a Nazi front business, as well as helped bring former Nazis to the US after the war. Archangel's thesis is that, like a collage, life sometimes brings seemingly unrelated events together, morphing historical and scientific facts by recasting them into an artful imitation of reality that is neither quite clearly fact nor entirely fiction, real or imagined, true or false, art or life.

Consequently, totally unaware of Dr. Haagsman's research, as I wrote Archangel, never in the wildest science fiction rattling around in my head did I think test-tube-meat was actually being grown for human consumption. Passionate and suspenseful, Archangel was written to fit squarely in the romance-mystery genre not Sci-fi. It is all about boy meeting girl and the evil that lurks in the shadows behind every decision. What to do? is the question that weighs heavily on every fateful move, as the hope for true love hangs in the balance for our hero and heroine. Now, the plausibility of Archangel's far-fetched backdrop has gained validity with Dr. Haagsman's research. It seems in real life, science may truly be the evolution of fiction.

Laboratory grown meat has a monstrously evil intend in Archangel. If "frankenmeat" is like other genetically engineered foods, it will hit supermarket shelves before we know about it. Once presented by the powerful food manufacturing lobby as a cheap alternative that gives poorer consumers choice and a means of stretching limited food dollars, there will be no turning back. Then, the stranger than fiction test-tube "New Grub" imitating life scenario so artfully fictionalized in Archangel will come alive with ominous implications for poor and black people worldwide.

Disgruntled feels: Collusion! Earlier this year, the BBC reported on the behind-the-scene machinations of vaccine industry officials in shaping legislation to shield them from lawsuits filed by people hurt or killed by their drugs and the compliance of congressional GOP leaders Senator Bill Frist and Rep. Dennis Hastert in inserting anti-liability language in a defense spending bill. The deal was sealed without debate. On June 30, 2006, the FDA's "Final Rule" went into effect. The rule asserts that consumers cannot sue drug companies for the harm caused by any FDA-approved drug. Annually, FDA-approved prescription drugs and devices injure and kill millions of people. With this lethal history, any legislation or regulatory measure that ties the hands of consumers and prevents them from seeking legal redress is the result of collusion and should be ruled unconstitutional.

Disgruntled says: According to George W. Bush, "...free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction." When he made this declaration, the audience applauded. The USA is considered a free and democratic nation. While it has not attacked another nation it considers "free and democratic," the US has had no problem threatening and attacking nations it has labeled undemocratic. Moreover, as the world's sole superpower, it possesses the deadliest arsenal of weapons of mass destruction; weapons it developed. Lest we forget, the US is the only nation that has dropped atomic bombs, killing and maiming millions. Sometimes, many people in the US applaud this kind of Bush rhetoric without thinking about how ridiculous it sounds and its utter lack of truthfulness.

Disgruntled wants to know: Under the pretext of desiring to rescue a lone kidnapped soldier, Israel launched an armed assault against the West Bank and Gaza Strip, destroying vital Palestinian infrastructure, including electrical power plants. It is generally agreed, such actions amount to collective punishment, which is illegal under international law. So, where is the collective international outrage and threats to impose United Nations Security Council sanctions against Israel?

Atlanta Vibe

Japan Funk Tour Documentary

Putting the world on notice, like North Korea's missile program, Yohannes Sharriff and Aqiyl Thomas are back!

Greeted with more anticipation than the second season of the Chappell Show, the team that brought you the groundbreaking spoken word play The Block and the first World Party in Munich, Germany presents Japan Funk Tour 2005. Documenting their historical tour of Japan in which they opened for Zapp and P Funk, Japan Funk Tour 2005 provides a rare opportunity to journey through the heart of Tokyo and get a taste of life on tour.

On Sunday evening (July 23, 2006), before the hottest open mic in the city begins (Free Forum Xchange), join two of Atlanta's finest spoken word artists for one of the most provocative tour documentaries ever filmed. Come join the celebration at the Apache Café, 64 3^rd Street in downtown Atlanta. The viewing begins at 6:30 PM.

For more info, hit up Aqiyl Thomas at www.myspace.com/aqiylthomas or aqiyl@aol.com and Yohannes Sharriff at www.myspace.com/yohasha or yohasha@yahoo.com. Special thanks: Kimani of Free Forum Xchange, Asa Fain owner of Apache Café, OmniBlue Systems, www.thedish.org and the Atlanta Vibe.

News You Use

GM/GE: Human Health Hazard?

According to a March 2001 Center for Disease Control report, food was responsible for twice the number of illnesses in the USA compared to 1984 estimates. This increase roughly corresponded to the period Americans began eating genetically modified (GM) foods. The question is, are genetically modified foods contributing factors in increased deaths and hospitalizations, the national obesity epidemic and/or rise in lymphatic cancers?

While people continue to get sick and die, we do not know why or what connection there is, if any, to the consumption of GM foods. According to Dr. Arpad Pusztai www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/a.pusztai/, who has conducted research and lectured on GM food, these crops are being grown and consumed by the public even though there is little scientific study on their health risks. While scientists suspect these foods can carry unpredictable toxins and may increase the risk of allergenic reactions, the available technology to assess their potential harm remains inadequate.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting public comments on the commercial approval of a genetically engineered (GE) plum, known as "C5." If approved, C5 will be the first commercially released GE tree variety in the US and the first GE fruit approved for human consumption. Approval will pave the way for more GE food and tree varieties and guarantee the widespread genetic contamination of conventional and organic stone fruit varieties, including plums, peaches, cherries and apricots.

Since commercial approvals of GE soy, corn, cotton, and canola almost a decade ago, grassroots activists have effectively stopped new approvals of GE crops. Genetically Engineered crops have contaminated organic varieties and contributed to the corporate takeover of the seed supply.

To join other grassroots activists in efforts to stop frankenplums, contact the USDA today. Online at www.organicconsumers.org/plum_alert.htm, you can sign the petition to the USDA and demand strict health, safety and environmental testing of all GE crops.

Hood Notes

Obesity

Obesity is a risk for any number of health conditions, including heart disease and diabetes. It is frequently associated with chronic fatigue, depression and low self-esteem. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than 300 million obese adults and 1.1 billion overweight people worldwide.

In the United States, more than half of the adult population is overweight (64.5 percent) and nearly one-third (30.5 percent) are obese. Obesity among adults is one of the non-modifiable causes of childhood obesity cited by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Genetically, obesity has been found in the children of obese or overweight parents.

Since 1980, the percentage of overweight children has more than doubled. Over this period, obesity among adolescents has more than tripled. Factors that contribute to childhood obesity cited by the CDC and NIH include a lack of regular physical activity, eating habits and patterns, low family incomes, lack of recreational facilities and over-exposure to advertising of high-calorie foods. Ironically, none of the obesity factors cited includes genetically-modified foods, hormone-treated meat and other animal by-products, including cheese and milk, from animals that ingest growth hormones.

Except for genetics, what we get from our parents, the other factors cited as causes of obesity can be modified. The CDC, NIH and other organizations have developed strategies to impact these factors that include greater emphasis on physical education programs in public schools and healthy choices in food and beverages outside school lunches. For more about these strategies and other information about obesity, see www.nlm.nih.gov, www.obesity.org and www.cdc.gov.

Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Phone Calls

Email www.legitgov.org Spy Agency Sought U.S. Call Records Before 9/11, Lawyers Say 30 Jun 2006 The U.S. National Security Agency asked AT&T Inc. to help it set up a domestic call monitoring site seven months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, lawyers claimed June 23 in court papers filed in New York federal court. "The Bush Administration asserted this became necessary after 9/11,'' plaintiff's lawyer Carl Mayer said in a telephone interview. "This undermines that assertion.''

Email haile_liekli@yahoo.com Checking the Decider...By Eugene Robinson for the Washington Post, June 30, 2006: Finally. It seemed almost too much to hope for, but the Supreme Court finally called George W. Bush onto the carpet and asked him the obvious question: What part of "rule of law" do you not understand? The justices rejected the kangaroo-court tribunals the administration had planned for the detainees who have been held for years without charges at Guantanamo Bay -- proceedings engineered to have the appearance of due process but not the substance. The ruling is a complicated, nuanced set of concurrences and dissents that will take some time to fully digest, but the fundamental message is clear: Despite his outrageous claims of virtually unlimited presidential power, the self-proclaimed Decider doesn't get to decide everything.

Email www.cnn.com Canada confirmed on Tuesday its sixth case of mad cow disease and said it would investigate where the cow was born and what other animals may have eaten the same feed. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said test results confirmed what was suspected last week. The animal was at least 15 years of age, and was born before Canada implemented restrictions on potentially dangerous feed in 1997. Mad cow disease is believed to spread through feed, when cows eat the contaminated tissue of other cattle. Humans can get a related disease, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, in similar fashion - by eating meat contaminated with mad cow.

Email www.organicconsumers.org Study Says Mad Cow Epidemic May Be Incubating...A new study in The Lancet medical journal (UK) suggest variant Creutzfelt-Jakob disease (vCJD), the human variant of mad cow disease, may not peak in the human population for several decades, by which time many thousands of beef eaters and hospital patients (who) have received tainted blood transfusions could die. The study shows how Kuru, a similar fatal brain-wasting prion disease in New Guinea, has been found to have an incubation people of 35 to 41 years. Researchers suspect it could be longer for vCJD because the infection is transmitted between species, from cows to humans. The 160 fatal human cases of the disease that have already surfaced around the world could represent a distinct genetic subgroup of the population with an unusually short incubation period, according to John Collinge, the study leader and a professor at University College, London.

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