Why is the massively valuable and versatile hemp plant illegal in the United States?

Three reasons.

Making hemp illegal:

1. Provides make-work for a vast army of "law enforcers" who then are available to be used for other social control work

2. Protects the market share of numerous well organized lobbies: alcohol makers, plastics and chemical manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and cotton growers (still a powerful economic force in America 200 + years after the Civil War.)

3. Gives fascist minded politicians yet another way to control the population
Three reasons.

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/505.html

THIRD WORLD TRAVELER

THIRD WORLD TRAVELER
is an archive of articles and book excerpts
that seek to tell the truth
about the state of American democracy, media, and foreign policy,
and about the impact of the actions of
the United States government, transnational corporations, global trade and financial institutions, and the corporate media,
on democracy, social and economic justice, human rights, and war and peace,
in the Third World, and in the developed world.

THIRD WORLD TRAVELER also provides information and links to aid international travelers.

In 'Eat Local' Movement, Cuba Is Years Ahead

HAVANA - After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba planted thousands of urban cooperative gardens to offset reduced rations of imported food.

A banana plantation is seen in San Antonio de los Banos in Havana in this July 18, 2008 file photo. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba planted thousands of urban cooperative gardens to offset reduced rations of imported food. Now, in the wake of three hurricanes that wiped out 30 percent of Cuba's farm crops, the communist country is again turning to its urban gardens to keep its people properly fed. (Reuters/Enrique De La Osa/Files)

Now, in the wake of three hurricanes that wiped out 30 percent of Cuba's farm crops, the communist country is again turning to its urban gardens to keep its people properly fed.

"Our capacity for response is immediate because this is a cooperative," said Miguel Salcines, walking among rows of lettuce in the garden he heads in the Alamar suburb on the outskirts of Havana.

Salcines says he is hardly sleeping as his 160-member cooperative rushes to plant and harvest a variety of beets that takes just 25 days to grow, among other crops.

As he talks, dirt-stained men and women kneel along the furrows, planting and watering on land next to a complex of Soviet-style buildings. Machete-wielding men chop weeds and clear brush along the periphery of the field.

Around 15 percent of the world's food is grown in urban areas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a figure experts expect to increase as food prices rise, urban populations grow and environmental concerns mount.

Since they sell directly to their communities, city farms don't depend on transportation and are relatively immune to the volatility of fuel prices, advantages that are only now gaining traction as "eat local" movements in rich countries.

ROOFTOPS AND PARKING LOTS

In Cuba, urban gardens have bloomed in vacant lots, alongside parking lots, in the suburbs and even on city rooftops.

They sprang from a military plan for Cuba to be self-sufficient in case of war. They were broadened to the general public in response to a food crisis that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba's biggest benefactor at the time.

They have proven extremely popular, occupying 35,000 hectares (86,000 acres) of land across the Caribbean island. Even before the hurricanes, they produced half of the leaf vegetables eaten in Cuba, which imports about 60 percent of its food.

"I don't say they have the capacity to produce enough food for the whole island, but for social and also agricultural reasons they are the most adequate response to a crisis," said Catherine Murphy, a U.S. sociologist who has studied Cuba's urban gardens.

GREEN PRODUCTIVITY

In Alamar, the members get a salary and share the garden's profits, so the more they grow, the more they earn. They make an average of about 950 pesos, or $42.75, per month, more than double the national average, Salcines said.

The co-op, which began in 1997, now produces more than 240 tons of vegetables annually on its 11 hectares (27 acres) of land, which is about the size of 13 soccer fields.

The gardens sell their produce directly to the community and, out of necessity, grow their crops organically.

"Urban agriculture is going to play a key role in guaranteeing the feeding of the people much more quickly than the traditional farms," said Richard Haep, Cuba coordinator for German aid group Welthungerhilfe, which has supported these kinds of projects since 1994.

When the Soviet Union fell apart, Cuba's supply of oil slowed to a trickle, hurting big state agricultural operations. Chemical fertilizers were replaced with mountains of manure, and beneficial insects were used instead of pesticides.

Unlike in developed countries, where organic products are more expensive, in Cuba they are affordable.

"We have taken organic agriculture to a social level," said Salcines.

Some experts fear that rising international food prices along with the destruction of the hurricanes will return Cuba to the path of agrochemicals. The government is planning to construct a fertilizer plant with its oil-rich ally Venezuela.

But Raul Castro, who replaced ailing brother Fidel Castro as president in February, has also borrowed ideas from the urban gardens as he implements reforms to cut the island's $2.5 billion in annual food imports, much of it from the United States.

Castro has decentralized farm decision-making and raised the prices that the state pays for agricultural products, which has increased milk production, for example, by almost 20 percent.

And, in September, the government began renting out unused state-owned lands to farmers and cooperatives, measures that met with approval of international aid groups.

"Decentralization and economic incentives. If those elements are expanded to the rest of the agricultural sector, the response will be the same," said Welthungerhilfe's Haep.

(Reporting by Esteban Israel; Editing by Jeff Franks and Eddie Evans)

© 2008 Reuters

ALL educated people knows this, the most educated and healthiest folks overall are Cubans in The Americas.

Two Nice Countries, been across their borders quite a few times, first in 1983

Avoid-Looking-Like-an-American-Tourist

As an American traveling in a foreign country, the last thing you want to do is stand out like a sore thumb. Not only do you have a greater chance of getting sucked into tourist traps, but you're also a more obvious target for getting mugged or even kidnapped. So, are you aware of the things you do, say, and wear that make you look like the stereotypical "ugly American"

1. Be quiet! Many Americans are recognized for being louder than is customary in other parts of the world. Large arm and hand movements and boisterous behavior should be avoided until you know how the locals act. Adults in many non-American cultures use lower voices in public places. Either way, you're always better off being a little more reserved and quiet, at least for starters, than blasting onto a foreign scene with your vitality and making the wrong impression.
2. Don't brag or be showy. When you pull things out of your bag in public to show your friends or family what you purchased, you might as well yell "I have money and I'm ready to spend it, unless you want to take it from me against my will!"
3. Avoid talking about the local people and culture. Something as seemingly harmless as "Oh, I just love the scarves here!" will mark you as a tourist. And don't assume people can't understand what you're saying, just because you said it in English. In many parts of the world, people are taught to speak English along with their native language.

GREAT Article in Wiki

Monsanto Company, the world leader in Genetically Modified foods

THIS IS SERIOUS 'sheeples'
Monsanto Company, the world leader in Genetically Modified foods.
This "mega" company also now owns most of the world's seed.

They (Monsanto) are now seeking a patent on the actual pig. It's an astounding and dangerous claim.

The world has allowed this company to basically own life!
If you have not heard of the Monsanto Corporation and you eat food like most humans on earth, it would be worth your time to research what this company has done to the world's food sources, supplies and what they have planned.

Unless you live in one of the most remote parts of this planet, the odds are you eat foods that have genetically modified (from Monsanto Co.) products in them. People are ingesting these every day, without realizing it. Studies are linking the massive, almost pandemic levels of rare cancers, to the direct increase in GM foods world wide!

Below are very important links. They very well could be, one of the most important videos you can watch, especially if you have small children.

P1) Monsanto Patent for a Pig (Pt.1 of 5):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-ouf_...
1)"Future of Foods":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNezTs...

*NEW* 2) Reporters Blow Whistle on FOX News: Monsanto and our milk:
If you are giving regular milk to your children, it is 95% likely to be from cows injected with Monsanto's BST. If you have little children, at least feed them certified Organic Milk or Organic milk equivalent like Organic soy milk:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL1pKl...

*NEW* 3) "Monsanto: Extinction"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ5Oxd...

4) "The World According to Monsanto" (Ground breaking proof of how the head of the FDA are actually heads of the Monsanto Company):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMleWZ...

*NEW* 5) "Monsanto: Seed of Death" (Monsanto's rape of farmer Percy Schmeiser)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5jU3S...

6) Percy Schmeiser Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzqLZS...

*NEW* 7) "Monsanto: End of Life" (last part of this video shows undeniable proof that the FDA & Monsanto are one in the same.) Criminal conflict of interest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJcZLX...

8) "You and your milk" (MONSANTO):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67z6s3...


You must STOP feeding your young children non organic milk and GM foods. Their health depends on your knowledge which Monsanto is tying to cover up for PROFITS.

A few of my favorite videos that have been suppressed by main stream media; videos that could very well change you:

1A) - HBO: Hacking Democracy - :
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q...

2A) - America: Freedom to Fascism - :
http://video.google.com/videoplay?doc...


3A) - FIAT EMPIRE - Why the Federal Reserve Violates the U.S. Constitution:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?doc...


4A) - Electronic Voting Machines Whistle Blower - :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0iGIF...


5A) - Professional Perspectives: Fluoride in Tap Water - :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ys9q1...


6A) - We Become Silent - The Last Days of Health Freedom - :

http://video.google.com/videoplay?doc...



7A) - Dangers of Fluoride Pt.1 - :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-_Li0...


8A) - The Truth about Fluoride - :
http://greaterthings.com/Lexicon/F/Fl...


Nazi & USSR used Fluoride to make their people docile, complacent and very manageable.

Have you been asking yourself why we Americans are NOT taking action against the massive criminal misconduct of some of our top officials and their travesties? Why we only "woke up" for the first year after 9/11, then like some colossal giant that was awakened by a loud noise, yawned, rolled back over and promptly fell back asleep?

Hope You Die Before You get Old

Clic Cow for Full Story, this is one of David Michael Green's best to date

As a Baby Boomer, I’m sure not encouraging generational warfare in America. I have everything to lose from such a battle.

On the other hand, though, as a political analyst, I can hardly believe we’re not seeing it.

Never has it been so manifestly logical. Never would it be so thoroughly deserved. And yet, never has it been so astonishingly absent from the playing field of American politics.

I grew up in a period of generational conflict. “Never trust anyone over thirty”, “Hope I die before I get old”, etc. But I have to say that my generation got a way better deal from our parents than we’re leaving for our kids.

Sure, our parents bequeathed us Vietnam and Nixon. But I think those politics were a matter more of naivete, really, rather than malice or greed. I remember how my own parents reacted to the war and to Watergate. Having struggled collectively through the Depression, and having fought the good fight of World War II, I think they were wholly unprepared for the levels of deceit and callous indifference to harm they came inescapably to find that their government was capable of. This was an existential challenge of the kind we jaded Boomers can probably never appreciate. They were true believers, and they were rattled to the core when Toto pulled back the curtain. Their children, on the other hand, were raised to become cynics, for whom no such political crime can ever quite surprise us.

And it’s funny, too (though certainly not hah-hah funny), to think of how our generation – as much as you can speak of such a thing without falling into stereotypes worthy only of some PBS pledge-break docudrama – how we mocked the materialism of our parents. At one level, we were right to do so. Big cars with tail-fins were not exactly means for enrichment of the soul. No one was ever gonna transcend the material world and get to nirvana by purchasing a TV set and watching the latest episode of Ponderosa (in living color!). But, on the other hand, we might have been a whole lot more charitable too. Given where they came from, and what they’d been through, it was not so outrageous for them to seek a little prosperity and comfort. Moreover – on the other other hand – there’s that whole nagging hypocrisy thing. The truth is that the rocket-fueled materialism of their kids makes Mom and Dad’s modest suburban house with the single TV in the living room seem awfully quaint by comparison. Today, if there isn’t a satellite-fueled TV in every room of your McMansion (and, of course, your cars as well), with a DVD player and game box hooked up to each, Child Protective Services might well be dispatched to cart your kids away in order to protect them from neglect.

But even if the Greatest Generation wasn’t so great when it came to some of the items higher up on Maslow’s laundry list, their kids – the Boomers – could only dream of being as devoted parents as were their own. Indeed, if there’s any one great crime for which the World War II generation may be most guilty, it is the raising up of the most narcissistic, self-centered, self-aggrandizing crop of kids ever. In China they call the analogous generation the Little Emperors. I guess we’re a bit too self-reverential for even that little bit of comedic introspection. Just the same, though, not for nothing are we known as the Me Generation. To get a sense of our sense of ourselves, just look at the two presidents we’ve contributed to the pantheon: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Of the latter nothing need be said that could meaningfully add anything to the eight years of experiencing this president’s capacity for self-indulgence and his unparalleled sense of entitlement. As for Monsieur Clinton, he is said to have lamented, especially after 9/11, the fact that no major crisis occurred on his watch, so that he could join Lincoln and FDR and Washington among the greatest presidents of all time. Now, if I sat down for six weeks trying to think of the most self-centered sentiment I could conceive of in all the world, I doubt seriously I could top that one. Imagine wishing that thousands of people could die in order to enhance your reputation for the history books. And this after you’ve already had the privilege of serving two terms in the most exclusive position in the world.

Gee, what a legacy we’ve left in presidential politics. But it only gets worse if we consider the more general picture. I cannot think of a single time in American history where one generation left their children such a stunningly large and complete a mess to clean up.

........clic COW for Full Story, this guy rules

The Evidence Against Soy

Dow Chemical and DuPont, the same corporations that brought misery and death to millions around the world through Agent Orange, are now the driving forces behind the promotion of soy as a food for humans. They are financing anti-meat and anti-milk campaigns aimed largely at those concerned about animal welfare and the environment, trying to convince them that imitations such as "soymilk" are not only healthier than the real thing, but better for the earth too.

There is no evidence that consuming soy products can improve health, reduce environmental degradation or slow global warming. In fact, the evidence suggests quite the opposite.

The studies below regarding the effects of soy on health are eye-opening, particularly the review by the American Heart Association -- which no longer supports the health claims about soy endorsed by the U.S. government.

Overall risks and benefits of soy assessed

Latest review by American Heart Association

Soy inhibits iron absorption

Poor iron bioavailability

Poor calcium bioavailability

Calcium and zinc absorbed better from milk than from soy -- even without phytates

Soy provides no benefits with respect to heart disease risk

Soy causes bladder cancer

Soy isoflavones during pregnancy increase breast cancer risk in female offspring

High levels of cadmium in soy formula

Soy linked to peanut allergy and increased risk for asthma

Whole milk vs. soy beverage -- asthma risk

Persistent sexual arousal syndrome associated with increased soy intake

Genistein: Does it prevent or promote breast cancer?

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

If you were to carefully review the thousands of studies published on soy, I strongly believe you too would reach the conclusion that any possible benefits of consuming soy are FAR outweighed by the well documented risks. Now, I’m not against all forms of soy. Properly fermented products like natto and tempeh have been consumed for centuries and do not wreak havoc in your body like unfermented soy products do. For example, the enzyme nattokinase—derived from natto--is a safer, more powerful option than aspirin to dissolve blood clots, and has been used safely for more than two decades. Unfortunately, many Americans still believe that unfermented and processed soy products like soy milk, soy cheese, soy burgers and soy ice cream are good for them. 85 Percent of Consumers Believe the Lies About Soy The rise of soy as a health food is in large part due to highly successful marketing to otherwise health conscious Americans who set the trend. According to the survey Consumer Attitudes About Nutrition 2008 (by the United Soybean Board), 85 percent of consumers now perceive soy products as healthy. The survey also found that consumers: rank soybean oil among the top three healthy oils, with 70 percent recognizing soy oil as a healthy oil, and depend on soybean oil, commonly sold as vegetable oil, as one of their two most frequent cooking oils This is a tragic case of shrewd marketing of misinformation and outright lies taking root among the masses, which will likely take some time to undo. Ever since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a health claim for soy foods in 1999 (which said diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease), soy sales have skyrocketed. In the years between 2000 and 2007, food manufacturers in the U.S. introduced over 2,700 new foods with soy as an ingredient, including 161 new products introduced in 2007 alone. This has resulted in a booming multi-billion dollar business. From 1992 to 2007, soy food sales increased from a paltry $300 million to nearly $4 billion, according to the Soyfoods Association of North America. However, the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit nutrition education foundation, submitted a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January of this year, asking them to retract its heart-health claim from soy in light of the inconsistent and contradictory evidence showing benefits, and its many proven health risks. What’s So Wrong With Soy? Unlike the Asian culture, where people eat small amounts of whole soybean products, western food processors separate the soybean into two golden commodities--protein and oil. And there is nothing natural or safe about these products. Says Dr. Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story, “Today's high-tech processing methods not only fail to remove the anti-nutrients and toxins that are naturally present in soybeans but leave toxic and carcinogenic residues created by the high temperatures, high pressure, alkali and acid baths and petroleum solvents." Dr. Daniel also points out the findings of numerous studies reviewed by her and other colleagues -- that soy does not reliably lower cholesterol, and in fact raises homocysteine levels in many people, which has been found to increase your risk of stroke, birth defects, and yes: heart disease. Other common health problems linked to a high-soy diet include: Thyroid problems, including weight gain, lethargy, malaise, fatigue, hair loss, and loss of libido Premature puberty and other developmental problems in babies, children and adolescents Cancer Brain damage Reproductive disorders Kidney stones Weakened immune system Severe, potentially fatal food allergies Most soy, perhaps about 80 percent or more, is also genetically modified, which adds its own batch of health concerns. Despite these findings, many people still want to believe the hype, thinking that these studies must somehow be wrong. But the content of soy itself should be a clue. For example, non-fermented soy products contain: Phytoestrogens (isoflavones) genistein and daidzein, which mimic and sometimes block the hormone estrogen Phytates, which block your body's uptake of minerals Enzyme Inhibitors, which hinder protein digestion Hemaggluttin, which causes red blood cells to clump together and inhibits oxygen take-up and growth High amounts of omega-6 fat, which is pro-inflammatory You’re Consuming Soy Whether You’re Buying “Soy Products” or Not Even if you know better than to gulp down large amounts of soy milk, slabs of tofu, and other soy snacks, you are still consuming soy if you’re eating processed food, in the form of soybean oil and lecithin. So depending on your dietary habits, your (unfermented) soy consumption could really add up. In fact, Dr. Joseph Hibbeln at the National Institutes of Health told CNN.com he estimates that soybeans, usually in the form of oil, account for 10 percent of the average person’s total calories in the United States! When you consider that 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food goes toward processed food, this amount of “accidental” soy intake is not surprising. As a side note, I’d like to make a quick statement here to address some of my readers’ concerns about my reduced CoQ 10 supplement, ubiquinol, which also contain soy bean oil. Unfortunately, the reduced CoQ 10 (ubiquinol) – which is the optimal form of CoQ 10 that your body needs, especially if you’re over 25 – is only produced by a multi-billion dollar Japanese pharmaceutical company that holds ALL the world patents on it. Hence, there’s no way to replace the soy, even though that would have been my preference. However, as in all things, moderation is key. If I thought there were ANY significant health risks from consuming this small amount of soy oil, then I would not personally take two a day – which I do. I do however avoid all processed forms of soy products, and severely limit my intake of other unfermented soy, which is easy to do by simply avoiding processed and “fast” foods. Which Soy Foods Should be Avoided … and How do You Avoid Them? Because soy is so pervasive in the U.S. food supply, avoiding it is not an easy task. The best way to completely avoid soy in the food supply is to buy whole foods and prepare them yourself. This may also be your only option if you’ve developed a soy allergy and need to eliminate soy from your diet entirely. If you still prefer to buy readymade and packaged products, for whatever reason, Dr. Daniel offers a free Special Report, "Where the Soys Are," on her Web site. It lists the many "aliases" that soy might be hiding under in ingredient lists -- words like "boullion," "natural flavor" and "textured plant protein." Which Soy Foods DO Have Health Benefits? The few types of soy that ARE healthy are all fermented varieties. After a long fermentation process, the phytic acid and antinutrient levels of the soybeans are reduced, and their beneficial properties -- such as the creation of natural probiotics -- become available to your digestive system. The fermentation process also greatly reduces the levels of dangerous isoflavones, which are similar to estrogen in their chemical structure, and can interfere with the action of your own estrogen production. So if you want to eat soy that is actually good for you, following are all healthy options: Natto, fermented soybeans with a sticky texture and strong, cheese-like flavor. It's loaded with nattokinase, a very powerful blood thinner. Natto is actually a food I eat regularly, as it is the highest source of vitamin K2 on the planet and has a very powerful beneficial bacteria, bacillus subtilis. It can usually be found in any Asian grocery store. Tempeh, a fermented soybean cake with a firm texture and nutty, mushroom-like flavor. Miso, a fermented soybean paste with a salty, buttery texture (commonly used in miso soup). Soy sauce: traditionally, soy sauce is made by fermenting soybeans, salt and enzymes, however be wary because many varieties on the market are made artificially using a chemical process.

Related Articles:

Soy: Too Good to be True

Soy: Is it Healthy or is it Harmful?

Why Soy Can Damage Your Health

Show your support for and spread the word of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign

Shocking World By Monsanto - Must see!!!

you stupid USA 'sheeples' better wake the fuck up

seems Monsanto has made an attempt to put a virus in this you tube video, so I had to remove it

they play dirty, we play dirty

the Mexican Mafia will get them all and good riddance
for introducing their bullshit genetic corn into Oaxaca
voy a hacer seguro que todos los Hispanos saben de Monsanto Mierda
vale verga

so, see this you tube video

it will blow your mind make you sick and never eat any more soy products or processed pork
any Monsanto employees i ever meet i will kick your ass, or worse
not a threat , a promise

HIPPIE yes, pacifist no
fuck Monsanto

but then USA sheeples love that fast food crap, that is why you all are fat and sick
so I removed the embedded video
see the series here starting the link below

this is from my preacher friend in New Mexico

Michael;

The more I learn about Monsanto (mon=one and santo=saint) and their
corruption in the world's food supply, the more I see the horsemen of
the apocalypse approaching at a break-neck speed:

"And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say,
Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on
him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the
midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and
three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil
and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the
voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold
a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell
followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part
of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and
with the beasts of the earth." (Revelation 6:5-8 KJV)

As if "The World Of Monsanto" wasn't bad enough already, you need to
watch this five part series "Monsanto's Patient For A Pig":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-ouf_gmA5o&feature=related

but then 2012 is close

The 10 Worst Corporations of 2008

By Robert Weissman, Multinational Monitor
Posted on November 24, 2008, Printed on November 27, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/108321/

2008 marks the 20th anniversary of Multinational Monitor's annual list of the 10 Worst Corporations of the year.

In the 20 years that we've published our annual list, we've covered corporate villains, scoundrels, criminals and miscreants. We've reported on some really bad stuff - from Exxon's Valdez spill to Union Carbide and Dow's effort to avoid responsibility for the Bhopal disaster; from oil companies coddling dictators (including Chevron and CNPC, both profiled this year) to a bank (Riggs) providing financial services for Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet; from oil and auto companies threatening the future of the planet by blocking efforts to address climate change to duplicitous tobacco companies marketing cigarettes around the world by associating their product with images of freedom, sports, youthful energy and good health.

But we've never had a year like 2008.

The financial crisis first gripping Wall Street and now spreading rapidly throughout the world is, in many ways, emblematic of the worst of the corporate-dominated political and economic system that we aim to expose with our annual 10 Worst list. Here is how.

Improper political influence: Corporations dominate the policy-making process, from city councils to global institutions like the World Trade Organization. Over the last 30 years, and especially in the last decade, Wall Street interests leveraged their political power to remove many of the regulations that had restricted their activities. There are at least a dozen separate and significant examples of this, including the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, which permitted the merger of banks and investment banks. In a form of corporate civil disobedience, Citibank and Travelers Group merged in 1998 - a move that was illegal at the time, but for which they were given a two-year forbearance - on the assumption that they would be able to force a change in the relevant law. They did, with the help of just-retired (at the time) Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who went on to an executive position at the newly created Citigroup.

Deregulation and non-enforcement: Non-enforcement of rules against predatory lending helped the housing bubble balloon. While some regulators had sought to exert authority over financial derivatives, they were stopped by finance-friendly figures in the Clinton administration and Congress - enabling the creation of the credit default swap market. Even Alan Greenspan concedes that that market - worth $55 trillion in what is called notional value - is imploding in significant part because it was not regulated.

Short-term thinking: It was obvious to anyone who cared to look at historical trends that the United States was experiencing a housing bubble. Many in the financial sector seemed to have convinced themselves that there was no bubble. But others must have been more clear-eyed. In any case, all the Wall Street players had an incentive not to pay attention to the bubble. They were making stratospheric annual bonuses based on annual results. Even if they were certain the bubble would pop sometime in the future, they had every incentive to keep making money on the upside.

Financialization: Profits in the financial sector were more than 35 percent of overall U.S. corporate profits in each year from 2005 to 2007, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Instead of serving the real economy, the financial sector was taking over the real economy.

Profit over social use: Relatedly, the corporate-driven economy was being driven by what could make a profit, rather than what would serve a social purpose. Although Wall Street hucksters offered elaborate rationalizations for why exotic financial derivatives, private equity takeovers of firms, securitization and other so-called financial innovations helped improve economic efficiency, by and large these financial schemes served no socially useful purpose.

Externalized costs: Worse, the financial schemes didn't just create money for Wall Street movers and shakers and their investors. They made money at the expense of others. The costs of these schemes were foisted onto workers who lost jobs at firms gutted by private equity operators, unpayable loans acquired by homeowners who bought into a bubble market (often made worse by unconscionable lending terms), and now the public.

What is most revealing about the financial meltdown and economic crisis, however, is that it illustrates that corporations - if left to their own worst instincts - will destroy themselves and the system that nurtures them. It is rare that this lesson is so graphically illustrated. It is one the world must quickly learn, if we are to avoid the most serious existential threat we have yet faced: climate change.

Of course, the rest of the corporate sector was not on good behavior during 2008 either, and we do not want them to escape justified scrutiny. In keeping with our tradition of highlighting diverse forms of corporate wrongdoing, we include only one financial company on the 10 Worst list. Here, presented in alphabetical order, are the 10 Worst Corporations of 2008.

AIG: Money for Nothing

There's surely no one party responsible for the ongoing global financial crisis.

But if you had to pick a single responsible corporation, there's a very strong case to make for American International Group (AIG).

click banner for full story

Five ways to keep Alzheimer's away

(CNN) -- Blanche Danick may be 86 years old, but she's pretty hip. She keeps up with all the latest health news, and a while back, she called her daughter wanting to know whether she should start taking the herb ginkgo biloba. She'd heard it might stave off Alzheimer's disease.

1 of 2

"I told her not to bother, that it wouldn't make much of a difference," says her daughter, Edythe London, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of California, Los Angeles. "On the basis of what I've read, I don't think it staves off dementia."

London's advice makes a lot of sense, according to a study out this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Ginkgo is a top-selling herb and has been hailed by some as a memory-booster, but the new University of Pittsburgh study found it didn't help prevent Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia in more than 3,000 elderly study subjects.

Ginkgo manufacturers say this isn't the first -- or the last -- word on the herb. "There is a significant body of scientific and clinical evidence supporting the safety and efficacy of ginkgo extract for both cognitive function and improved circulation," said Mark Blumenthal, executive director of the American Botanical Council.

London's still skeptical. "But I do tell my mother there are other things she can do," says London, who's studied the brain and aging. "I tell her to go out and do things and see people every day and be active." Studies have shown that physical exercise, the kind that keeps the heart healthy, also keeps the brain healthy, according to the National Institutes of Health's Cognitive and Emotional Health Project. Watch more on staving off Alzheimer's »

People are like rats, London says. "If you put a rat in a cage by itself, it won't do well on cognitive tests. But if you give it toys and put other rats in its cage, they're going to be smarter rats."

Don't Miss

• In Depth: Empowered Patient
• Study: Ginkgo doesn't cut dementia risk

In addition to playing with toys and hanging out with your fellow rats, here are five other tips for keeping your memory sharp. London says they help work on memory centers of the brain, including the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus, identified in the diagram above.

1. Antioxidants

London makes sure her mother takes vitamins A, C, and E. They're antioxidants, which prevent cell damage and are believed by some to slow down diseases of aging. "There are studies that suggest antioxidants might prevent dementia," she says.

2. Fish oil supplements

Dr. Gary Small, director of the UCLA Center on Aging, says aging brains show signs of inflammation, and fish oil has anti-inflammatory properties.

3. Phosphatidylserine supplements

Phosphatidylserine is a lipid found naturally in the body. Small says he's not 100 percent convinced these supplements will help stave off dementia, but they're worth a try. "If I start having memory problems when I get older, I'll give them a trial run and see if they help," says Small, author of the new book "iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind."

4. Curry

Small, who's 57, says that as he gets older, he might also try eating more foods with curry in them. "Some studies in Singapore show that those who ate curry once a week had better memory scores," he said.

5. Cross-training your brain

"Our brains can be made stronger through exercise," says Andrew Carle, assistant professor of in the department of health administration and policy at George Mason University. "In the same way physical exercise can delay many of the effects of aging on the body, there's some evidence cognitive exercise can at least delay the onset of Alzheimer's."

Health Library

• MayoClinic.com: Alzheimer's disease
• MayoClinic.com: Alzheimer's drugs: benefits despite limits

But Carle says it's not enough to do just one kind of brain exercise. "Doing a crossword puzzle every day is good, but it's the equivalent of doing only pushups -- your arms will get strong, but not the rest of your body."

He recommends doing other activities in addition, such as computing numbers in your head instead of using a calculator, or using one of the "brain gym" computer games designed to enhance brain function.

As for London, who's 60, she thinks her best bet at staving off dementia doesn't come in a bottle, or on a dinner plate, or in a computer game. "I'm going to keep working on my research, and surround myself with young people, and do a lot of exercise," she says. "I'm going to be a happy old lady. That in and of itself is going to do a lot of good for my brain."

Inside the mind of an entrepreneur

Scientists claim the decision-making skill of entrepreneurs can be obtained from teaching - or drugs...

A new Cambridge University study suggests that entrepreneurs differ from standard managers because they’re more inclined to take risky decisions – or at least, they’re more willing to tolerate the accompanying risks when they decide to do something. And it argues this kind of decision-making under pressure can not only be taught, but also (possibly) stimulated by particular drugs. If so, that would suggest that entrepreneurs aren’t just born – they can also be made...

According to the study, entrepreneurs contravene a widely-held assumption: that risk-taking is actually an abnormal expression of behaviour, hence its association with substance abuse and mental illness (in other words: that risk-taking is characteristic of people who aren’t functioning properly). In fact, the Cambridge research found that entrepreneurs’ 'highly adaptive risk-taking behaviour', i.e. the ability to solve problems and make decisions under stress, could be of real value in our stressful and ever-changing times. So in fact, in certain circumstances, risk-taking might actually give people an evolutionary advantage.

To test their thesis about what makes these people tick, the boffins experimented on a mixed group of entrepreneurs and managers. On ‘cold’ decision-making tasks, both groups performed similarly. But on ‘hot’ tasks, where the consequences of failure were much greater, entrepreneurs were far more likely to take the risky option. They also showed ‘superior cognitive flexibility’ and scored higher on ‘impulsivity’. And the good news is that this kind of hot decision-making can be taught (and practised).

As far as Cambridge is concerned, this could affect the way it teaches students. ‘This research suggests that when engaged in teaching entrepreneurship, the focus should be on risk tolerance as opposed to the more traditional focus on risk mitigation,’ says Dr Shai Vyakarnam of the Judge Business School. ‘If we train potential entrepreneurs to reframe their decisions this may in turn encourage greater entrepreneurial activity’. It would also help, he says, to place them in an environment that normalises ‘a more risk-tolerant type of decision making’ – like Silicon Valley for instance, or Cambridge’s own Silicon Fen cluster.

One fascinating aspect of the research is that the skills commonly found in entrepreneurs are intimately linked to brain neurochemistry – and in particular, the production of the hormone dopamine, which many scientists think teaches the brain about the risks attached to particular behaviours. So it’s possible that by using drugs to control dopamine levels, scientists can help the rest of us make decisions like entrepreneurs. An intriguing, if slightly scary prospect..

How to Clean Stuff

How to Clean an Aquarium

Don’t touch that fish! If you’re ready to grab your net to catch your fish and remove him from his tank to clean it, stop right there and leave him be. This is just one of the many things you may not know about cleaning your fish tank properly. But don’t worry, you will by [...] Click here to read more »

Clusterfuck Nation by Jim Kunstler

Cool Guy
Read his 'right-on book' 2 1/2 years ago, we should wake up 'sheeples'
'The Long Emergency'

Easthampton Burning?

In the typhoon of commentary that's blown around the world a step behind the financial tsunami that's wrecking everything, two little words have been curiously absent: "fraud" and "swindle." But aren't they really at the core of what has happened? Wall Street took the whole world "for a ride" and now a handful of Wall Street's erstwhile princelings have shifted ceremoniously into US Government service to "fix" the problem with a "toolbox" containing a notional two trillion dollars. This strange exercise in financial kabuki theater will shut down sometime between the election and inauguration day, when the inaugurate finds himself president of the Economic Smoking Wreckage of the United States. What will happen?

10 Things the Food Industry Doesn't Want You to Know

1. Junk food makers spend billions advertising unhealthy foods to kids.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, food makers spend some $1.6 billion annually to reach children through the traditional media as well the Internet, in-store advertising, and sweepstakes. An article published in 2006 in the Journal of Public Health Policy puts the number as high as $10 billion annually. Promotions often use cartoon characters or free giveaways to entice kids into the junk food fold. PepsiCo has pledged that it will advertise only "Smart Spot" products to children under 12.

2. The studies that food producers support tend to minimize health concerns associated with their products.
In fact, according to a review led by Ludwig of hundreds of studies that looked at the health effects of milk, juice, and soda, the likelihood of conclusions favorable to the industry was several times higher among industry-sponsored research than studies that received no industry funding. "If a study is funded by the industry, it may be closer to advertising than science," he says.

3. Junk food makers donate large sums of money to professional nutrition associations.
The American Dietetic Association, for example, accepts money from companies such as Coca-Cola, which get access to decision makers in the food and nutrition marketplace via ADA events and programs, as this release explains. As Nestle notes in her blog and discusses at length in her book Food Politics, the group even distributes nutritional fact sheets that are directly sponsored by specific industry groups. This one, for example, which is sponsored by an industry group that promotes lamb, rather unsurprisingly touts the nutritional benefits of lamb. The ADA's reasoning: "These collaborations take place with the understanding that ADA does not support any program or message that does not correspond with ADA's science-based healthful-eating messages and positions," according to the group's president, dietitian Martin Yadrick. "In fact, we think it's important for us to be at the same table with food companies because of the positive influence that we can have on them."

4. More processing means more profits, but typically makes the food less healthy.
Minimally processed foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables obviously aren't where food companies look for profits. The big bucks stem from turning government-subsidized commodity crops--mainly corn, wheat, and soybeans--into fast foods, snack foods, and beverages. High-profit products derived from these commodity crops are generally high in calories and low in nutritional value.

5. Less-processed foods are generally more satiating than their highly processed counterparts.
Fresh apples have an abundance of fiber and nutrients that are lost when they are processed into applesauce. And the added sugar or other sweeteners increase the number of calories without necessarily making the applesauce any more filling. Apple juice, which is even more processed, has had almost all of the fiber and nutrients stripped out. This same stripping out of nutrients, says Ludwig, happens with highly refined white bread compared with stone-ground whole wheat bread.

6. Many supposedly healthy replacement foods are hardly healthier than the foods they replace.
In 2006, for example, major beverage makers agreed to remove sugary sodas from school vending machines. But the industry mounted an intense lobbying effort that persuaded lawmakers to allow sports drinks and vitamin waters that--despite their slightly healthier reputations--still can be packed with sugar and calories.

7. A health claim on the label doesn't necessarily make a food healthy.
Health claims such as "zero trans fats" or "contains whole wheat" may create the false impression that a product is healthy when it's not. While the claims may be true, a product is not going to benefit your kid's health if it's also loaded with salt and sugar or saturated fat, say, and lacks fiber or other nutrients. "These claims are calorie distracters," adds Nestle. "They make people forget about the calories." Dave DeCecco, a spokesperson for PepsiCo, counters that the intent of a labeling program such as Smart Spot is simply to help consumers pick a healthier choice within a category. "We're not trying to tell people that a bag of Doritos is healthier than asparagus. But, if you're buying chips, and you're busy, and you don't have a lot of time to read every part of the label, it's an easy way to make a smarter choice," he says.

8. Food industry pressure has made nutritional guidelines confusing.
As Nestle explained in Food Politics, the food industry has a history of preferring scientific jargon to straight talk. As far back as 1977, public health officials attempted to include the advice "reduce consumption of meat" in an important report called Dietary Goals for the United States. The report's authors capitulated to intense pushback from the cattle industry and used this less-direct and more ambiguous advice: "Choose meats, poultry, and fish which will reduce saturated fat intake." Overall, says Nestle, the government has a hard time suggesting that people eat less of anything.

9. The food industry funds front groups that fight antiobesity public health initiatives.
Unless you follow politics closely, you wouldn't necessarily realize that a group with a name like the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) has anything to do with the food industry. In fact,Ludwig and Nestle point out, this group lobbies aggressively against obesity-related public health campaigns--such as the one directed at removing junk food from schools--and is funded, according to the Center for Media and Democracy, primarily through donations from big food companies such as Coca-Cola, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and Wendy's.

10. The food industry works aggressively to discredit its critics.
According to the new JAMA article, the Center for Consumer Freedom boasts that "[our strategy] is to shoot the messenger. We've got to attack [activists'] credibility as spokespersons." Here's the group's entry on Marion Nestle.

The bottom line, says Nestle, is quite simple: Kids need to eat less, include more fruits and vegetables, and limit the junk food.

Future planes, cars may be made of `buckypaper'

It's called "buckypaper" and looks a lot like ordinary carbon paper, but don't be fooled by the cute name or flimsy appearance. It could revolutionize the way everything from airplanes to TVs are made.

Buckypaper is 10 times lighter but potentially 500 times stronger than steel when sheets of it are stacked and pressed together to form a composite. Unlike conventional composite materials, though, it conducts electricity like copper or silicon and disperses heat like steel or brass.

"All those things are what a lot of people in nanotechnology have been working toward as sort of Holy Grails," said Wade Adams, a scientist at Rice University.

That idea — that there is great future promise for buckypaper and other derivatives of the ultra-tiny cylinders known as carbon nanotubes — has been floated for years now. However, researchers at Florida State University say they have made important progress that may soon turn hype into reality.

Buckypaper is made from tube-shaped carbon molecules 50,000 times thinner than a human hair. Due to its unique properties, it is envisioned as a wondrous new material for light, energy-efficient aircraft and automobiles, more powerful computers, improved TV screens and many other products.

So far, buckypaper can be made at only a fraction of its potential strength, in small quantities and at a high price. The Florida State researchers are developing manufacturing techniques that soon may make it competitive with the best composite materials now available.

"If this thing goes into production, this very well could be a very, very game-changing or revolutionary technology to the aerospace business," said Les Kramer, chief technologist for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, which is helping fund the Florida State research.

The scientific discovery that led to buckypaper virtually came from outer space.

In 1985, British scientist Harry Kroto joined researchers at Rice University for an experiment to create the same conditions that exist in a star. They wanted to find out how stars, the source of all carbon in the universe, make the element that is a main building block of life.

Everything went as planned with one exception.

"There was an extra character that turned up totally unexpected," recalled Kroto, now at Florida State heading a program that encourages the study of math, science and technology in public schools. "It was a discovery out of left field."

The surprise guest was a molecule with 60 carbon atoms shaped like a soccer ball. To Kroto, it also looked like the geodesic domes promoted by Buckminster Fuller, an architect, inventor and futurist. That inspired Kroto to name the new molecule buckminsterfullerene, or "buckyballs" for short.

For their discovery of the buckyball — the third form of pure carbon to be discovered after graphite and diamonds — Kroto and his Rice colleagues, Robert Curl Jr. and Richard E. Smalley, were awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1996.

Separately, Japanese physicist Sumio Iijima developed a tube-shaped variation while doing research at Arizona State University.

Researchers at Smalley's laboratory then inadvertently found that the tubes would stick together when disbursed in a liquid suspension and filtered through a fine mesh, producing a thin film — buckypaper.

The secret of its strength is the huge surface area of each nanotube, said Ben Wang, director of Florida State's High-Performance Materials Institute.

"If you take a gram of nanotubes, just one gram, and if you unfold every tube into a graphite sheet, you can cover about two-thirds of a football field," Wang said.

Carbon nanotubes are already beginning to be used to strengthen tennis rackets and bicycles, but in small amounts. The epoxy resins used in those applications are 1 to 5 percent carbon nanotubes, which are added in the form of a fine powder. Buckypaper, which is a thin film rather than a powder, has a much higher nanotube content — about 50 percent.

One challenge is that the tubes clump together at odd angles, limiting their strength in buckypaper. Wang and his fellow researchers found a solution: Exposing the tubes to high magnetism causes most of them to line up in the same direction, increasing their collective strength.

Another problem is the tubes are so perfectly smooth it's hard to hold them together with epoxy. Researchers are looking for ways to create some surface defects — but not too many — to improve bonding.

So far, the Florida State institute has been able to produce buckypaper with half the strength of the best existing composite material, known as IM7. Wang expects to close the gap quickly.

"By the end of next year we should have a buckypaper composite as strong as IM7, and it's 35 percent lighter," Wang said.

Buckypaper now is being made only in the laboratory, but Florida State is in the early stages of spinning out a company to make commercial buckypaper.

"These guys have actually demonstrated materials that are capable of being used on flying systems," said Adams, director of Rice's Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology. "Having something that you can hold in your hand is an accomplishment in nanotechnology."

It takes upward of five years to get a new structural material certified for aviation use, so Wang said he expects buckypaper's first uses will be for electromagnetic interference shielding and lightning-strike protection on aircraft.

Electrical circuits and even natural causes such as the sun or Northern Lights can interfere with radios and other electronic gear. Buckypaper provides up to four times the shielding specified in a recent Air Force contract proposal, Wang said.

Typically, conventional composite materials have a copper mesh added for lightning protection. Replacing copper with buckypaper would save weight and fuel.

Wang demonstrated this with a composite model plane and a stun gun. Zapping an unprotected part of the model caused sparks to fly. The electric jolt, though, passed harmlessly across another section shielded by a strip of buckypaper.

Other near-term uses would be as electrodes for fuel cells, super capacitors and batteries, Wang said. Next in line, buckypaper could be a more efficient and lighter replacement for graphite sheets used in laptop computers to dissipate heat, which is harmful to electronics.

The long-range goal is to build planes, automobiles and other things with buckypaper composites. The military also is looking at it for use in armor plating and stealth technology.

"Our plan is perhaps in the next 12 months we'll begin maybe to have some commercial products," Wang said. "Nanotubes obviously are no longer just lab wonders. They have real world potential. It's real."

The Right Scents: Smells for Sleep (and Waking Up)

By: Allie Firestone (View Profile)

Fall is chock-full of scents, and that’s one of the reasons I love it. Picking up on the huge variety of smells—whether it’s pumpkin pie, freshly-baked cookies, or spiced apple cider—is something I recently realized that I take for granted.

Scientists say that humans can distinguish over 10,000 different odor molecules. Turns out, while it doesn’t require any conscious thought, our ability to pick up on a scent involves a sensitive and complex function that has powerful effects on our memory and behavior. How else can I explain how one whiff of pumpkin immediately conjures up thoughts of trick-or-treating and holiday gatherings? Scientists dedicated to tracking the complex relationship between smells, our behavior, and our moods have found that certain scents trigger feelings, including those that help us relax and fall asleep and those that perk us up and keep us alert and focused.

Sleep and Relaxation
Looks like I’m not the only one tossing and turning—according to the National Sleep Foundation, over 60 percent of Americans get less than eight hours per night, and over 40 percent say they’re too tired to perform well at work at least a few days each month. Once I’m asleep, I’m totally out (I once slept through a smoke alarm), but it’s the getting there that’s a consistent problem. Smell experts claim the sense of smell offers a natural and cheap solution to the sleep dilemma.

A Wesleyan University study linked the smell of lavender to improved quality of sleep. The study, supported by the Sense of Smell Institute (yes, there is such an institute) showed that certain scents increased the length of time people spent in deep sleep—the most restful and restorative phase in our sleep cycle. Lavender proved to help both men and women get more meaningful shut-eye, but the effect was heightened in women. “This better sleep ability may be due to the effects of reproductive hormones in women,” says Dr. Namni Goal, the study’s lead researcher. Before Dr. Goal’s experiments, sleep experts were unsure of lavender’s power to improve sleep, but her study validated the connection. In addition to helping those of us who just want a little extra help getting our eight hours, the study also showed that lavender helps people who are depressed and having abnormal sleeping difficulties.

Not a fan of lavender? Another study, conducted by Dr. Bryan Raudenbush at Wheeling Jesuit University, showed that subjects sleeping in a room with a faint jasmine scent slept more peacefully and felt better rested the next day.

Waking Up and Staying Up
Even when I do get a solid eight hours of sleep, there are still days when I just can’t shake the tired feeling, especially when that three-o’clock-slump rolls around. In an effort to shed some light on this problem, scent researchers have also tested whether there are particular smells that’ll give us an extra boost in the morning or midday. Lucky for us, it looks like there are such smells. (Alas, a girl can have only so much coffee before it just stops working.)

Good news for me (and bad news for my corner coffee shop), it looks like peppermint and lemon have the power to lure us into a state of alert productivity, similar to that of a good cup of java. A study conducted by Dr. Hoel Warm and William Dember showed that workers who got an occasional whiff of peppermint performed better on tasks that required sustained attention.

Japanese companies have already tapped into this in hopes of increasing workers’ moods and productivity. Workplaces have begun providing office aromas through a computerized odor delivery system built into the air conditioning (I kid you not, this is straight from the Sense of Smell Institute). And it’s worked—workers reported increased efficiency in their routine jobs. Warm and Dember also tested the power of peppermint on long-haul truck drivers who (you guessed it) found that the scents, sent through their truck’s air conditioning system, did perk them up on long journeys.

Lemon has also proven powerful with similar alertness-inducing effects. Studies (conducted in both labs and real world scenarios by the Sense of Smell Institute) showed that people exposed to lemony, woody fragrances early in the morning felt an increase in mental stimulation. When the same people were exposed to a floral scent later in the day, they reported an improvement in their concentration. Lemon has also been tested on clerical workers, who made fewer errors after inhaling faint hints of it.

Whether it’s peppermint, lavender, jasmine, or lemon, it seems to me that it’s at least worth testing these out with candles or essential oils (and if sleep’s what you’re after, oil is probably the safer option). Me? I’ve never been much of a lavender girl, but jasmine oil has definitely left me feeling a little more relaxed, and a whiff of lemon in the afternoon does make me refreshed. Whether it’s just a placebo effect or not, I don’t know, but feeling rested when I need to and staying alert when I’ve gotta be—sans sleeping pill addictions, gross-tasting energy drinks, or creepy noise machines—is a worthy investment.

My coffee habit? Well, it’s gonna take a lot more than lavender to kick that one

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The Worst 'Healthy' Foods

By David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding

If you want to lose weight, it may seem like a good idea to trade candy bars for granola bars or to swap bacon and eggs at breakfast for the classic bagel (it’s shaped like a zero; how bad could it be?).

Sadly, it’s just not that simple. Customers’ nutrition knowledge is rising, so food marketers are desperate to attract the right kind of attention from the eating public. So they’re twisting nutritional buzzwords to trick us into eating the kinds of foods that can actually help make us fat. We need to be more careful than ever to make sure we’re feeding ourselves and our families the very best real health foods — not sugar-infused calorie bombs disguised as weight-loss foods.

Read up for our latest batch of dietary phonies. They may look good on the front label, but they’ll get you in the end if you're not careful.

Granola Bar
200 calories
15 g sugars

Eat this instead!
1 oz cheddar cheese with Triscuits
150 calories
5 g sugars

Ever wonder what keeps a granola bar together? The answer: high-fructose corn syrup, which quickly raises blood sugar and cancels out most of the potential benefits the granola almonds and oats might give you. Switch over to good old-fashioned cheese and crackers, and you trade sugar and calories for protein and fiber. It's a big deal that will make you smaller, as will steering clear of the sugar bombs. By the way, these are the most sugar-packed foods in America.

Yogurt with Fruit on the Bottom
190 calories
30 g sugars

Eat this instead!
Plain yogurt with fresh fruit mixed in
110 calories
15 g sugars

Pass on these over-sweetened yogurt cups; they contain as much sugar as a soft drink. Almost all of that comes directly from the “fruit,” which is swimming in high-fructose corn syrup. Yogurt and fruit can be a great way to start your day, but do it yourself by mixing a cup of nonfat plain yogurt with a half cup of mixed berries.

Bagel with Cream Cheese
700 calories
40 g fat
13 g saturated

Eat this instead!
Cheese omelet
425 calories
18 g
6 g saturated

Bagels are bogus. The bread is bad enough, containing 300 calories and 60 grams of carbohydrates, but tack on the liberal cream cheese schmear (by our survey of popular breakfast chains, up to 4 ounces for a single bagel!) and your "harmless" breakfast sandwich weighs in as worse than a Whopper. The omelet swap will save you nearly 300 calories, plus provide a surge of metabolism-boosting protein. And a recent study from the University of Connecticut found that eating eggs can help raise HDL (good) cholesterol. And while you're being vigilant, watch out for the 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America!

Dried Fruit
175 calories
45 g sugars

Eat this instead!
Fresh fruit, like an apple or a peach
70 calories
15 g sugars

OK, so dried fruit won’t totally derail a day of good eating (unless you down the whole bag of banana chips), but it’s far from being a harmless snack. First, because the dehydrating process sucks most of the volume from the fruit, you can eat cups of the stuff, and 600 calories later, still not feel any fuller. More troubling, though, is the fact that Sun-Maid and Ocean Spray add sugar to the fruit, making Craisins closer to candy than Mother Nature’s original intention. The choice is clear: Stick to the original, straight from the tree.

Fish Sandwich
600 calories
30 g fat
11 g saturated

Eat this instead!
Grilled chicken sandwich
300 calories
13 g fat
4 g saturated

Fish is good for you, except when it’s battered, fried, robed in cheese, and bathed in tartar sauce. The lesson? Even the biggest star can be sabotaged by the supporting cast. To this end, avoid any menu item with the word "crispy," the restaurant industry’s favorite euphemism for “fried.” Make sure your next fish or chicken sandwich is grilled, dressed with fresh produce, and topped with a low-cal barbecue sauce, or even ketchup and mustard. And watch the salt; these 20 foods are the saltiest in America!

Stick margarine (1 Tbsp)
100 calories
11 g fat
2.5 g saturated
2.5 g trans fat

Eat this instead!
Whipped butter (1 Tbsp)
50 calories
6 g fat
1.5 g saturated

In their haste to remove saturated fat from butter, margarine makers created the margarine monster — a dangerous lipid called trans fat, with more dangerous links to heart disease than saturated fat. Pick up whipped butter instead; by whipping air into the spread, manufacturers decrease the caloric density of a tablespoon of butter, and they make it easier to top your toast. If you buy margarine, make sure it’s the type found in the tub, hopefully with an added bonus like omega-3s folded into the mix.

When eating out, make these 15 top restaurant swaps to avoid caloric disasters. And check out our definitive restaurant report card to identify the best places for healthy eating at fast food and chain restaurants throughout America.

Eat better at home, too. Shop for the 125 healthiest supermarket foods in America.

Keep your kids happy and healthy with twists on these 10 favorites.

Look here for 17 foods that women should be eating to stay fit.

US 'casino' mentality blamed for planet's meltdown

They got that right
best to hang all in public, all arrogant greedy obese,ignorant xenophobic TRAITORS
in USA

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Astounded by the U.S. government's failure to resolve the financial crisis threatening the foundations of the global free market, fingers of blame are pointing at America from around the planet.

Latin American leaders say the U.S. must quickly fix the financial crisis it created before the rest of the world's hard-won economic gains are lost.

"The managers of big business took huge risks out of greed," said President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, whose economy is highly dependent on U.S. trade. "What happens in the United States will affect the entire world and, above all, small countries like ours."

In Europe, where some blame a phenomenon of "casino capitalism" that has become deeply engrained from New York to London to Moscow, there is more of a sense of shared responsibility. But Europeans also blame the U.S. government for letting things get out of hand.

Amid harsh criticism is a growing consensus that stricter financial regulation is needed to prevent unfettered capitalism from destroying economies around the globe.

And leaders of developing nations that kept spending tight and opened their economies in response to American demands are warning of other consequences — a loss of U.S. influence globally and the likelihood that the world's poor will suffer the most from greed by the biggest players in global finance.

"They spent the last three decades saying we needed to do our chores. They didn't," a grim-faced Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Tuesday.

Even staunch U.S. allies like Colombian President Alvaro Uribe blasted the world's most powerful country for egging on uncontrolled financial speculation that he compared to a wild horse with no reins.

"The whole world has financed the United States, and I believe that they have a reciprocal debt with the planet," he said.

It's harder for European leaders to point the finger directly at the United States since many of their financiers participated in the recklessness. London was home to the division of failed insurer AIG that racked up huge losses on credit-default swaps, and many reputable European banks disregarded risk to load up on higher yielding subprime assets.

But the House's rejection Monday of the U.S. bank bailout proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson provoked a sharper tone and warnings that America must act. Though global markets on Tuesday recovered some of the ground they lost in a worldwide slide the day before, politicians from Europe to South America insisted the risk of a further plunge remains high.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on U.S. lawmakers to pass a package this week, saying it was the "precondition for creating new confidence on the markets — and that is of incredibly great significance."

In an unusually blunt statement from the 27-country European Union, EU Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said: "The United States must take its responsibility in this situation, must show statesmanship for the sake of their own country, and for the sake of the world."

The crisis also has strengthened voices in France and Germany calling for EU regulations to eliminate highly deregulated financial markets, despite objections from Britain, which along with the U.S. is considered by some to practice a freer form of "Anglo-Saxon" capitalism.

"This crisis underlines the excesses and uncertainties of a casino capitalism that has only one logic — lining your pockets," said German lawmaker Martin Schulz, chairman of the Socialists in the EU assembly. "It also shows the bankruptcy of 'law of the jungle' capitalism that no longer invests in companies and job creation, but instead makes money out of money in a totally uncontrolled way."

The U.S. government's failure to apply rules that might have prevented the crisis is seen as a betrayal in many developing countries that faced intense U.S. pressures to liberalize their economies. In some developing nations, state enterprises were privatized, currencies were allowed to float against the U.S. dollar and painful measures were taken to bring down debts.

These advances are at risk now that credit is drying up. Countries with commodities-based economies are particularly vulnerable since more industrialized nations could reduce their demand for everything from soy to iron ore.

"It doesn't seem fair to me that those of us who endured so much hunger in the 20th century, who began to improve in the 21st century, should have to suffer due to the international financial system," Silva said. "There are going to be a lot of people going hungry in the world."

Just before meeting with Silva on Tuesday, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez said he believes a new economic order is in store for the planet.

"What's to blame? Imperialism, the United States, the irresponsibility of the United States government," said the self-avowed socialist and frequent U.S. critic. "From this crisis, a new world has to emerge, and it's a multi-polar world."

China's influence in the outcome of all this could be profound because it is a huge investor in U.S. debt. It is already calling for strict new international regulatory systems to apply to globalized financial markets.

Liu Mingkang, chairman of the Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission, said Saturday before a weeklong bank holiday in China that debt in the United States and elsewhere has risen to dangerous and indefensible levels.

The rest of the world is taking notice. Many newspapers made references Tuesday to China's increasing importance in global finance. In Algeria, a large cartoon on the front page of the newspaper El-Watan showed Uncle Sam at prayer: "Save us!" he says, kneeling before a portrait of China's Mao Zedong.

In London, Jane Ayerson, a 20-year-old Irish exchange student, said Europeans share the blame.

"The problem started with America, but banks here have been greedy, too," she said.

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Associated Press writers Michelle Faul in Johannesburg, South Africa; Alfred de Montesquiou in Algiers, Algeria; Raf Cassert in Brussels, Belgium; Jane Wardell and David McHugh in London; and Marco Sibaja in Manaus, Brazil, contributed to this report.