Tuesday, February 4, 2014

A "Tidal Wave of Cancer" Coming Worldwide? YES - But the Real Causes Are Hidden by PR





































Above- biochemist John Phillips of Barbados: His research discloses GMO foods are causing massive increases in assorted cancers, including of liver, pancreas, stomach, colon.


According to the  scientists at the World Health Organization ,  a ‘tidal wave of cancer’ will sweep the globe in the next 20 years'  As reported in the Times of London and the UK Independent, the number of new cancer cases worldwide in a single year will rise by 70 per cent  from 14.1 million in 2012 to 24 million in 2035, this as quoted from the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said in their latest World Cancer Report.

Alas, the Report primarily names the "usual suspects": diet, alcohol and smoking, but takes no note of the hidden ones including massive chemical pollution (such as now affecting Charleston, West Virginia's water, as well as the creeping chemicals from the fracking craze - see image). In effect, like the American Cancer Society, the WHO warns of a coming cancer wave, but refuses to lay blame where it really belongs - on the chemical and oil industries, as well as the GMO pushers. (Who still have used legal dodges and the FDA to refuse to allow GMO labeling of our foods.)

In regard to the malignant spread of fracking, we're now aware  of a hidden epidemic with little mainstream attention and ongoing the past few years. Stretching from Oklahoma to the highlands of Appalachia, tens of thousands of people are being diagnosed with all kinds of cancers: brain tumors, leukemias, breast and prostate cancers, as well as liver cancers.

One of the worst culprits is the process of "hydro-fracking" which is used to tap into large reserves of natural gas in the United States, uses enormous quantities of fresh water to open fissures in rock to stimulate the release of oil and gas. One such device, in Pennsylvania, is shown in the accompanying image. The dangers to water supplies, in terms of cancer-causing pollutants, were exposed for example in Josh Fox's documentary Gasland II.

Three years ago I drew attention to a hitherto hidden report finally excavated owing to three diligent Democrats: Henry Waxman of California, Diana DeGette or Colorado, and Edward Markey of Massachusetts. The report finally exposed the extent of the pollution of our precious watersheds thanks to the hydro-fracking industry.  As a result,  we now know the extent of potential ground water contamination and what the primary culprits are, and it isn't pretty. In the words of Diana DeGette:

"It is deeply disturbing to discover the content and quantity of toxic chemicals, like benzene and lead, being injected into the ground without the knowledge of communities whose health would be affected."

According to the report obtained by DeGette et al, oil and gas companies injected hundreds of millions of gallons of carcinogenic chemicals into wells in more than 13 states from 2005- 09. In one spill in Pennsylvania, site of the photo, tens of thousands of gallons of contaminated drilling water leaked from a well cap and flowed downhill onto a farm property, extirpating a 50' swath of forest and killing a pond - leaving not one single bass or even insect in all of it. Even after the accident, the frack pump is still running.

According to the report, the product of an inquiry by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, fourteen of the nation's most active hydraulic fracturing companies used 866 million gallons of chemical fracturing products, and more than 650 of the chemicals named in the report were known carcinogens, supposedly regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Among the most toxic of the chemicals used (11.4 million gallons in all) were: benzene, toluene, xylene and ethylbenzene. In addition, the report showed 12 of the same companies injected 32.2 million gallons of diesel directly into underground layers, in possible violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

To see Erin Brockovitch's map of all the locations in the U.S. with water resources at threat from fracking chemicals, go to this link:

http://www.communityhealthbook.com/map

WHY has the WHO not exposed this risk as a major contributor to the coming cancer  tidal wave? Well, because they don 't wish to antagonize the U.S. -from which 90% of the world wide fracking industry is built, or be put under the cross hairs of the mighty Oil companies and their lackeys. In other words, they don't wish to rock the boat. It's much easier to browbeat people over their own 'nasty' habits like smoking (which ok, does contribute to 20 percent more cancers, but not the 55% from toxic chemicals) or eating too many fats, or drinking too many beers.

This is not new and has been going on since the cancer-chemical connection first appeared. Referencing the fracking chemicals above, we know from Devra Davis' landmark book, The Secret History of the War on Cancer, the first two of these toxic chemicals (benzene, toluene)  have well known correlations to brain carcinomas and chordomas. The other two, to liver, breast and prostate cancers. 

Davis' book is critical in blowing away the smokescreen that organizations like the American Cancer Society (ACS) have used for decades, i.e. in blaming people's eating habits and foods for cancers rather than toxic chemicals in the environment. The ruse is easy to understand since it follows capitulation to the fundamental attribution error (known from psychology) in assigning the burden of cause to victims, rather than a systemic, out of control toxic energy and chemical industry. This way, guess what? It makes it almost impossible to sue for any kind of monetary satisfaction!

As to the GMO foods, in an interview with John Phillips from two years ago, Mr. Phillips insisted that it should come as no surprise GMO foods cause cancer-  because cancer is a disease affecting cell –DNA machinery. In this case, the cells of an organ undergo too accelerated mitosis and result in abnormal growth that can threaten the organism. GMO foods are developed at the gene level which directs genes and their function. Most haven’t been adequately tested over the long term, for adverse impacts on humans. But that they can cause tumors or abnormal growths should not amaze anyone.

He also cited the well known study by Arpad Pusztai in which he fed lab rats potatoes that had been genetically engineered to contain lectin (from a snowdrop bulb to make them pest resistant). When he processed the results he found that the rats which consumed these high-tech potatoes showed evidence of organ (liver, stomach) damage and poor brain development. Pusztai's study went down as the very first independent study (i.e. one not sponsored by a biotech corporation) to examine the effects of bio-engineTragically, Pusztai’s boss, the Director of the Rowett Institute, attempted to suppress the revelations in the GMO potato study. According to a report -article from In These Times (Jan. 10, 2000);

"He fired Pusztai, broke up his research team, halted the six other similar projects his team was then working on and seized his data"

Interested readers can read more on the expose of the PR muggers and their hands in the Pusztai debacle here
http://www.inthesetimes.com/issue/24/03/bleifuss2403.html

Again, this tactic ought to come as no big mystery, considering that a multinational like Monsanto (the biggest GMO producer) has more power, heft than most nations.

Recall also the study released Wednesday, September 19, 2012,  which found that rats fed Monsanto’s genetically modified corn or exposed to the biotech giant’s herbicide, Roundup, developed tumors and organ damage. As Reuters then reported,

“The researchers said 50 percent of males and 70 percent of females [in the test group] died prematurely, compared with only 30 percent and 20 percent in the control group.” The lead researcher of the French study is an outspoken Monsanto critic, which, according to Reuters, “may make other experts wary of drawing hasty conclusions.”

These problems, as Phillips noted, are nothing to ignore. Indeed, he maintains that up to one third of future cancers will emerge from consuming GMO foods. They are not on the radar yet to the extent they ought to be because it will take 10-20 years to develop the cancers at the levels of GMO corn, etc. ingested. (Unlike in the Pusztai study where rats were fed inordinate amounts of GMOs to speed up the observational framework).

People can, of course, do what they will - and either ignore these factors or attend more to diet, alcohol intake etc. My point is they can do all the "right" things in this regard, but if toxic chemicals and GMO foods are a major source of the cancers, none of that will matter.

Fortunately, John Phillips' research has also shown that taking certain supplements can delay the onset of many of these cancers even if we can't control our toxic environments, or water. His recommendations included: boron, magnesium and B-complex as well as vitamin C and D3.

When asked of the coming wave of cancer he forecast, and the consequences of ignoring any protective supplements, his response was  blunt:  "Those who make such a choice  will more likely die before they can collect Social Security or Medicare. Deficit problem half solved!"

When I argued that in reality we can't know what particular cause can be linked to what effect, say cancer - or any particular vitamin being beneficial -   and it's largely a matter of "belief" he laughed.  He responded:

"That's the lazy man's way out, The default excuse. In the extreme, that can be invoked to express skepticism over anything and lead to an endless ambiguity of choice. The fact is we do know what causes most cancers, toxic chemicals in the environment and GMO foods, and if we ignore that information we do so at our own peril."

See also:
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/william-rivers-pitt/54061/diary-of-a-dying-country

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