Sorry if I haven't posted in a long time - things have been busy, especially now that Renn Faire season has started. I probably won't post anything substantial until after Samhain. We do have a new furkid, named Didi - she is a kitten we kept when Diana accidentally got impregnated by Dylan, a week before we had them scheduled to be fixed. Dylan is now snipped, so he can't do any more damage! She had a litter of four; one died two days later, the other three were just fine. Didi's siblings have gone to very good homes that love cats and spoil them rotten.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/herbal.htm

 

It was a hoax, and a pretty elaborate one at that. Sorry for the false alarm.

http://www.jonbenson.com/fda_threatens_your_freedom.php

FDA Threatens Your Freedom
Share this with everyone you know.

You have seven days of freedom left.

Potentially, that is, if the FDA and Big Pharma has their way.

The latest move by the FDA is designed to once and for all destroy the 1994 DSHEA law that has made supplements "legal" while eliminating nutritional supplements and natural medicine from the United States, ensuring monopoly profits and control by drug companies and the FDA.

It is the latest action item by the FDA / Big Pharma conspiracy that will not stop until health freedom has been abolished, drug companies rule the nation, and every citizen is diagnosed with a fictitious disease and drugged up on monopoly-priced pharmaceuticals.

This all comes to a head in seven days - April 30th, 2007.

I bet most of you haven't even heard about it. That is not by coincidence. It's even hard to find articles on the web about this. The lawmakers have been very clever slipping this under the cracks.

What Does This Mean To You?
If you ever want to have the freedom to purchase Vitamin C for your immune system's health, or perhaps Cherry Extract for your joint health...or literally if you take any supplement at all, even vegetable juice, click on the link below. Let these ridiculous lawmakers hear your voice...

Click Here Now To Protect Your Rights!
Unless you want FDA "experts" to decide what's a drug or medical device, click that link and let your voice be heard. Remember, these are the same "experts" who re-approved Vioxx, even after the crap killed over 50,000 people in the U.S. alone. This is not hype. This is not histrionics. This is a real as it gets.

Only "doctors" would be able to "prescribe" most supplements deeded C.A.M. (Complimentary and Alternative Medicine). We're talking multivitamins, herbal supplements, homeopathic modalities...even massage oils. No joke.

Don't Believe Me? Take A Look...
This was lifted right from the FDA's published PDF document on Docket No. 2006D-0480. You can read the entire PDF for yourself by clicking here. Below you will find hilights of the FDA's proposed legislation. This includes the substances that will be legislated by the FDA and Big Pharma under the proposed guidelines. (Special thanks to Mike Adams and NewsTarget.com for providing these excerpts...)

"...a product used in a CAM therapy or practice may be subject to regulation as a biological product, cosmetic, drug, device, or food (including food additives and dietary supplements) under the act or the PHS Act. Second, neither the act nor the PHS Act exempts CAM products from regulation."
Translation: Anything used in any system of medicine may now be regulated as a drug or medical device by the FDA. This includes a biofeedback machine, acupuncture needles, a cup of herbal tea, massage oil, a glass of vegetable juice or even a bottle of water.

"...if a person decides to produce and sell raw vegetable juice for use in juice therapy to promote optimal health... [and] if the juice therapy is intended for use as part of a disease treatment regimen instead of for the general wellness, the vegetable juice would also be subject to regulation as a drug under the Act."
Translation: Raw vegetable juice will be regulated as a drug and must be FDA approved as a drug if it has any health effect whatsoever. Handing a cup of raw vegetable juice to someone and telling them it's good for the detoxification of their liver will get you arrested for practicing medicine without a license and promoting an "unapproved drug."

..."biologically based practices" includes, but is not limited to, botanicals, animal-derived extracts, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, proteins, prebiotics and probiotics: whole diets, and "functional foods". ...a botanical product intended for use in treating a disease would generally be regulated as a drug." ..."functional foods" may be subject to FDA regulation as foods, dietary supplements, or drugs under the Act.
Translation: All foods, supplements, superfoods and functional foods may be reclassified as drugs by the FDA, then regulated off the market.

"If... the manipulative and body-based practices involve the use of equipment (such as massage devices) or the application of a product (such as a lotion, cream, or oil) to the skin or other parts of the body, those products may be subject to regulation under the Act."
Translation: Massage oils and creams will be regulated as "drugs" and acupuncture needles as "medical devices." Taking this absurdity one step further, massage therapists who use their fingers to touch patients may have their fingers regulated as "medical devices" and be accused of practicing medicine for merely touching patients.

Don't Just Sit There...Protest!
Here is the website you need to visit today. It takes less than a minute to file your complaint. Let your voice be heard!

Click Here Now To Protect Your Rights!
Additional phone numbers as listed in the FDA document include...

Sheryl Lard-Whiteford at 301-827-0379
Daniel Nguyen at 301-827-8971
Ted Stevens at 301-594-1184
Wayne Amchin at 301-827-6739

 

This is from another blog site I am on. Posting this in my blog so it's in public view.

 

Pet Food Recall
So, there appears to be a big-ass recall of poisoned pet food, that can result in kidney failure and death in the cats and dogs who eat it. I spotted the CNN article on it first, but this appears not to a comprehensive list. I'd advise checking the website of your type of pet food, since things like Science Diet, Iams and Eukanuba are not specifically named below, but are definitely affected. The recall affects a certain time period, and most of the websites have pages showing you how to determine from the codes on the food whether you should be worried.

This is a recall on "chunk and gravy" type food, sold in pouches and cans.

Cat foods listed:

Americas Choice; Preferred Pets; Authority; Best Choice; Companion; Compliments; Demoulas Market Basket; Fine Feline Cat, Shep Dog; Food Lion; Foodtown; Giant Companion; Good n Meaty; Hannaford; Hill Country Fare; Hy-Vee; Key Food; Laura Lynn; Li'l Red; Loving Meals; Main Choice; Nutriplan; Nutro Max Gourmet Classics; Nutro Natural Choice; Paws; Presidents Choice; Price Chopper; Priority; Save-A-Lot; Schnucks; Sophistacat; Special Kitty; Springfield Pride; Sprout; Total Pet; My True Friend; Wegmans; Western Family; White Rose; and Winn Dixie.

Dog foods listed:

America's Choice; Preferred Pets; Authority; Award; Best Choice; Big Bet; Big Red; Bloom; Bruiser; Cadillac; Companion; Demoulas Market Basket; Fine Feline Cat; Shep Dog; Food Lion; Giant Companion; Great Choice; Hannaford; Hill Country Fare; Hy-Vee; Key Food; Laura Lynn; Loving Meals; Main Choice; Mixables; Nutriplan; Nutro Max; Nutro Natural Choice; Nutro; Ol'Roy; Paws; Pet Essentials; Pet Pride; President's Choice; Price Chopper; Priority; Publix; Roche Bros; Save-A-Lot; Schnucks; Springsfield Pride; Sprout; Stater Bros; Total Pet; My True Friend; Western Family; White Rose; Winn Dixie and Your Pet.

The CNN Article: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/17/petfood.recall.ap/index.html

The Menu Foods List of Affected foods, complete with links to codes and food names: (BUT STILL NOT ALL NAMES):

Cats: http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_cat.html

Dogs: http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_dog.html

The Eukanuba Recall Page: http://us.eukanuba.com/eukanuba/en_US/jsp/Euk_Page.jsp;jsessionid=ZQLA40Y3B4U23QFIAJ2JY2WAVABHNHE0?pageID=MC&newsArticleID=22&intcmp=HM_PRR

The Eukanuba PDF page showing how to determine the code on your food: http://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/data_root/html/product_article/CanPouchCodes.pdf

(At first glance, this appears to be identical to the Iams page for the same)

The Hill's/Science Diet page on how to determine the date/code on your pet's food: http://www.hillspet.com/menu_foods/Menu_Foods_en_US.htm

The Nutro's Food Page on affected dates, types, and how to read their codes: http://www.nutroproducts.com/menufoods.asp

I'm sure there are many others. :(

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At least the food I have for the cats is not on the list, but there are quite a few brands affected.