June 07th, 2016

Since it will be women taking the hardest hit in the dismantling of public health care being the caretaker of family women are protectors of the very groups first to lose access and will be the ones falling into declining longevity as the stats showed yesterday. Again, Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals are placing the faces of people of color and women out front in a captured Democratic Party because of this---the 5% of women working for the 1% lying to the 95% of women about progressive posing health laws.

OBAMA AND CLINTON NEO-LIBERALS ARE SIMPLY PRIVATIZING HEALTH CARE INTO GLOBAL HEALTH SYSTEMS, DEREGULATED, PREDATORY, PROFIT-DRIVEN AND THEY WILL ACT JUST LIKE A WALL STREET BANK. NO ONE WINS WITH AFFORDABLE CARE ACT EXCEPT THE 1%.

As we see the 5% of women have been heading this 1% privatization making it sound as though it's all about helping the poor and children.  Sebelius from Kansas was simply a health insurance employee positioning private national health insurance corporations out front in these reforms and creating the technology structures moving Federal Medicare and Medicaid to private state health systems.  Burwell is a Bill Gates executive with his global health and PHARMA empire seeking to assure global PHARMA is taken care of and these groups of STAKEHOLDERS are only looking to advance profit.

WHO IS HARMED FIRST?  WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.  WHOSE FACES DO WE SEE DOING THIS?  OBAMA AND HILLARY WITH THESE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTORS.  All Americans will lose access to most basic hospital care so don't thing they are only taking out the poor---then the working class---well, it's only women----everyone in and no one out to being a third world global labor pool with no rights as citizens.

As we see below Burwell---Bill Gates' employee was unanimously approved by a then Democratic Senate....showing that all of our Senators are Clinton Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals wanting to end public health---yes, that was Sarbanes, Cardin, Cummings, and Mikulski----WAIT MIKULSKI?  DIDN'T SHE JUST GET AN AWARD FOR WORKING FOR WOMEN?  Nothing Mikulski did helped women.



Sebelius Resigns; Obama Names OMB Chief Burwell To Head HHS
By Mary Agnes Carey April 11, 2014

President Barack Obama Friday officially announced the resignation of Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, praising her efforts to implement the federal health overhaul and predicting that it would “benefit our families and our country for decades to come.”
In a White House ceremony, the president also announced that he plans to nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, to replace Sebelius. News of the transition had leaked Thursday night.


Sebelius, a former Kansas governor and insurance commissioner, was an early supporter of Obama’s, endorsing him during his hard-fought Democratic primary campaign against Hillary Rodham Clinton. The president turned to her to run the massive federal agency after his first choice for the job, former Sen. Tom Daschle, ran into confirmation problems. Sebelius became the face of the administration’s relentless campaign to reform the country’s health care system, appearing regularly before Capitol Hill panels and traveling the country seeking to win converts to the effort.
But she also became the face of the health law’s troubled rollout last October when the federal online insurance marketplace, healthcare.gov, suffered numerous technological problems that stymied enrollments and frustrated millions of potential customers. The administration eventually had to call in technology experts, who spent more than a month working around the clock to retool the site, which was relaunched in early December. But the catastrophic rollout threatened to undermine Obama’s legacy program. It also spurred numerous congressional oversight hearings at which Sebelius was called in to explain what went wrong to both exasperated Republicans and Democrats.
Still, after the recovery of the website, Obama was able to announce this month that more than 7 million people had enrolled in health plans on the marketplaces, the same number that the Congressional Budget Office had predicted before the website problems. Sebelius said Thursday enrollment had grown to 7.5 million.
During Friday’s Rose Garden ceremony, the president acknowledged those troubled days when both he and Sebelius were “bumped” and “bruised.”
“Yes, we lost the first quarter of the open enrollment period with the problems with healthcare.gov and there were problems,” the president said. Under Sebelius’s leadership “her team turned the corner, got it fixed, got the job done and the final score speaks for itself,” he said. 
The website’s recovery did not diminish Republican complaints. Sebelius testified before the Senate Finance Committee Thursday, and Republicans expressed frustration over her inability to provide more data about the people who have signed up for coverage through the marketplaces, or exchanges, and they were angry at the administration’s decision to postpone key implementation deadlines. Some Republicans, including Sen. Pat Roberts, from her home state of Kansas, have demanded she resign.
Comedians took aim as well, including Daily Show host Jon Stewart. In an Oct. 7 appearance – when the website was faltering, Stewart pulled a laptop out onto his desk and told Sebelius: “We’re going to do a challenge. I’m going to try and download every movie ever made and you are going to try to sign up for Obamacare — and we’ll see which happens first.”
Obama said Sebelius told him last month she intended to leave HHS after the open enrollment period ended March 31. In addition to her work on the health law, he praised her effort on a variety of other health care issues, including improving children’s and maternal health care, expanding mental health care, reducing racial and ethnic disparities, and promoting women’s health. Sebelius handled these and other challenges, “often without fanfare, often unacknowledged, that have been critical to the health and welfare of the American people,” Obama said.
During her remarks at the Rose Garden ceremony, Sebelius thanked Obama for giving her “the opportunity of a lifetime” and noted that both critics and supporters of the law were benefitting from its provisions. “Throughout the legislative battles, the Supreme Court challenge, a contentious reelection and years of votes to turn back the clock, we are making progress,” she said. “At the end of the day, health is personal. It’s personal to all of us. Family illnesses and personal health challenges touch us to our core.”
“The personal reward for me, at the end of the day, are the folks who approach me … at a meeting, or they pass me a note on a plane or hand me a phone with someone on the other end saying thank you,” Sebelius said. “Their stories are so heartening, about finally feeling secure and knowing they can take care of themselves and their families.” 
OH, REALLY????????????

Burwell, Obama’s nominee to succeed Sebelius, helped the administration navigate the government shutdown in October. She served in the Clinton administration, worked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is the former president of the Walmart Foundation.
Almost one year ago, the Senate voted 96-0 to confirm Burwell, which may help her chances for Senate confirmation to head HHS. In a tweet, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said that Burwell “is an excellent choice to be the next #HHS Secretary.” A recent change in Senate rules allows confirmation of presidential nominees with 51 votes, almost assuring that Burwell be the next HHS secretary since Democrats control the chamber. Burwell, nonetheless, is sure to draw tough questions during her confirmation hearings where Republicans will be eager to point out what they view as flaws in the health law.
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Below we see words commonly used by media in 2010 as Congressional Clinton/Obama neo-liberals decided health care must be reformed because it cost too much.  Of course it cost too much because of massive and systemic health industry fraud----it was all about efficiency.  They say this is the largest and most expensive health care bill passed since 1965.  1965 health bill was of course the Medicare and public health bill bringing all that spending to the American people creating strong public health structures-----Obama is dismantling all of that NEW DEAL WAR ON POVERTY social Democracy and spending as much as 1965 to create global corporate health system structures taking our Medicare and Medicaid created in 1965 and eliminating health access with GUTTED OF FUNDING MEDICAID FOR ALL.  All that funding the media makes sound impressive for public health simply built all the online technology structures needed for global telemedicine and global health tourism.

The legislation expands Medicaid----well I should think so.  If you are ending private corporate health plans, ending public sector benefits including health plans, bringing Medicare to the status of Medicaid, and creating tiered health insurance plans soon to become too expensive for over 80% of Americans you need to PRETEND to protect them by expanded Medicaid.  This also moved immigrant citizens onto Medicaid because since they pay payroll taxes saying they will get Medicare----WHICH IMMIGRANTS WON'T ----they are allowed preventative care to keep that human capital healthy enough to work.  The cost of building a global health system is enormous and this $1 trillion is simply the start of corporate subsidy for yet another global industry.

Whereas the 1965 public health policy installed laws protecting citizens---oversight and accountability---patient and labor protections----Obama and Clinton neo-liberals passed laws to assure global corporate profits were maximized. This was the insurance mandate and the growing taxes and fees outside of payroll taxes. 

NONE OF THIS IS SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC---WE DO NOT TAX CITIZENS TO SUBSIDIZE CORPORATE PROFITS AND RAISE TAXES HIGHER AND HIGHER TO SUBSIDIZE MAINTENANCE OF CORPORATE HEALTH STRUCTURES WHILE CITIZENS GET PREVENTATIVE CARE ONLY.



'2010. President Barack Obama signs into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is the largest and most expensive health care bill passed since 1965.42 The legislation expands Medicaid and adds new subsidy programs, and will likely cost more than the advertised $1 trillion over the first decade. The health bill expands federal power in many ways, including imposing a mandate on Americans to buy health insurance or pay a fine. The bill also contains large and damaging tax increases, while conferring added power on the Internal Revenue Service'.


Wall Street wants to paint this as an attack from Republicans while far-right Clinton/Obama Wall Street neo-liberals lead in pushing all this dismantlement of public health.   In a world of global human capital ---global corporations see men as stronger workers than women so they are moving more and more men from around the world into our US labor pool. Men also are less likely to seek health care whereas women are the ones fighting for children, seniors, disabled family members now not able to access ordinary care. Men statistically die earlier with or without health care access and that will continue to grow as they are generally the group exposed to the worst of factory toxic chemical and workplace injuries that disable and kill.




We are having this issue of Planned Parenthood and the attack by conservatives suspended around this issue of abortion when it really isn't.  This has been an attack on women's health care access in general.  Neo-conservative states like Texas and cities like Baltimore under Bush/Hopkins has always failed in women's health care even as its NGOs send out skewed health data saying they are improving health stats.  Middle-class women as with all population groups are now heading this same direction with NO HEALTH CARE SAFETY NETS----BYE BYE MEDICARE AND MEDICAID.


Health
Texas Women’s Health Services In Sharp Decline Thanks To Successful Anti-Planned Parenthood Crusade


by Sy Mukherjee Aug 9, 2013 9:42 am

Women are getting significantly less health care services through Texas’ Women’s Health Program thanks to the state’s successful push to de-fund Planned Parenthood, the Austin Chronicle reports. After a year-long quest, Texas officials finally managed to de-fund Planned Parenthood at the beginning of 2013, blocking off federal funding for the Women’s Health Program and shuttering many of the state’s reproductive health clinics.
The Texas Women’s Health Program has processed only 77 percent of the total claims for family planning and reproductive health care in 2013 as it did during a comparable period last year, according to data from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. The program helps hundreds of thousands of low-income Texan women afford medical services like pap smears, pregnancy tests, and STI screenings.

Steve Benen illustrated the decline in this chart:


Texas officials were ostensibly trying to prevent women from using Planned Parenthood because of their opposition to its abortion services -- even though abortions constitute just three percent of the care that Planned Parenthood provides and do not qualify for federal funding.
The cuts to family planning services have forced women’s health clinics, including those that are unaffiliated with Planned Parenthood, to close down in rural areas with a high number of poor women on Medicaid. As many as 200,000 low-income women in Texas have already lost or are expected to lose access to birth control, cancer screenings, and other critical preventative care thanks to the cuts.
Women’s health advocates aren’t particularly surprised that Texas and Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) anti-Planned Parenthood vendetta has resulted in less services for women. “To score political points, Perry dismantled this program and dictated where women could receive their exams and birth control,” said Sarah Wheat, vice president for community affairs for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, in an interview with the Austin Chronicle. “Texas women lost access to cancer screenings and annual exams, and the taxpayers lost federal funding and savings from this program – that is what happens when politics drives public health.”
Perry also recently signed legislation that bans women from receiving abortions after 20 weeks and could shutter 90 percent of the state’s abortion clinics.
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After the crash of 2008 media became more open about their collusion with Wall Street and public media like APM and NPR became MARKETPLACE MONEY-driven in news.  As the Clinton neo-liberals were preparing to end public health we heard talks from the Wall Street crowd that longevity has only proven to be filled with neurological disease decline.....such as dementia, alzheimer etc.  PEOPLE DON'T NEED TO LIVE SO LONG BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE QUALITY OF LIFE.  That of course is true fiction as I know plenty of people living with chronic illness having a quality of life and their families glad to have that extended time.  The point is this:  Wall Street does not want human capital too weak or old to work and it does not see the concept of quality of life---it is mere health corporation profit-maximization that Obama/Clinton neo-liberals in Congress worked toward in the Affordable Care Act.

Republican voters came to love these Medicare/public health policies keeping them alive longer but they are the ones electing the right-wing----far-right wing neo-liberals dismantling all that is public.

When I say longevity will fall fast for such disease vectors as cancer, heart disease, diabetes----we see as well the neurological disease vectors were deliberately hit hard in the ACA health reform------those citizens aging out today having these diseases will be the last to see benefit of all of what are costly PHARMA, treatments, hospital admittance.  Of course these things are not REALLY COSTLY----THEY ARE SIMPLY PROFITEERING.

Public health has been under attack throughout CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA as citizens are exposed to more and more toxicity in homes, workplace, and in the air we breathe.  Even if you avoid junk food all that sugar, processed chemical, salt is still hidden in all we buy at stores.  We have literally been primed to have these health disease vectors right at a time Congress has dismantled access to the very health care a majority of Americans need.  This is not only about citizens with bad habits because as the data showed they are not the citizens coming to need healthcare the most.  It is not obesity or smoking---it is the complete lack of public interest in Federal agencies tasked with protecting public health.

The treatment for the below neurological disease vectors has now been replaced by super-sizing the mental health and addictive side of neurology because PHARMA is cheapest.


Burden and cost of neurological diseases: a European North-South comparison.
Raggi A1, Leonardi M

To address the relationship between years lived with a disability (YLDs), prevalence and cost of neurological diseases, and to test whether there is a European North-South gradient for national health expenditure, disability, costs and prevalence of neurological diseases.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:Information on costs, prevalence and YLDs referred to 2010 were taken from the Study on the Cost of Disorders of the Brain and from the Global Burden of Disease study; data on health expenditure were taken from OECD reports. Selected conditions were as follows: brain tumours, stroke, dementia, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, migraine and tension-type headache; selected countries were from North (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden) and South (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain) Europe. The association between the variables for each condition was tested using Spearman's correlation; Wilcoxon signed ranks test was used to test North-South Europe differences.
RESULTS:Correlations were largely non-significant (except for stroke). YLDs and cost were generally lower in South-European countries, and prevalence was lower in North-European countries, but no significant differences were found.
CONCLUSIONS:Health expenditure, YLDs, costs and prevalence of neurological conditions were generally not correlated across the eight countries. A clear North-South gradient was found for health expenditures, and partially for YLDs, costs and diseases' prevalence. We hypothesized that this is a consequence of the expansion of morbidity of neurological conditions connected to ageing, that health and welfare systems of selected countries were not prepared to face.

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We don't want to bring global food supply issues into this discussion only by reminding that Obama and Clinton neo-liberals used the FARM BILL to create the dynamic of the US becoming a food importer -----as the food grown in the US have relatively unpolluted agricultural structures brings a higher profit when sold overseas---Wall Street pols are exporting our US grown food and importing developing nation food for the national grocery chains. This is the point as regards health care:
AS WE LOSE ACCESS TO ORDINARY HOSPITAL PROCEDURES WE ARE SEEING MORE AND MORE CHEMICAL EXPOSURES THAT WILL CREATE CANCERS, NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS ETC.
Below you see where DDT----a known neurological chemical is not only shown present in this European study but is still widely used overseas today. The food coming to us as imports is being grown with the high levels of agricultural chemicals we worked for decades to remove from our US agriculture because we found it toxic to public health. Who is harmed most by chemical toxins in food? WOMEN BECAUSE FACE IT WOMEN---WE HAVE THE FAT THAT ABSORBS AND STORES THESE TOXIC CHEMICALS MORE THAN MEN. You can bet the same levels of DDT are still here in the US and no doubt BIG AG has returned to using these agricultural chemicals because we no longer have a Federal agency protecting the public interest in food safety.
The subject of estrogenic symptoms is big today especially for men exhibiting weakened masculine features.
The article below is better if Goggled because charts and graphs don's copy will.  It is long and boring but please glance through.

Republicans love to make fun of the scientific research done using unusual animals like mussels and snail because they don't want things like chemical toxins to be identified as health issues.


ChemosphereVolume 52, Issue 4, July 2003, Pages 717–723

DDT is still a problem in developed countries: the heavy pollution of Lake Maggiore

• A. Binelli, ,
• A. Provini

Abstract

The Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), one of the most widely used bioindicators of persistent organic pollutants, trace metals and radionuclides in several worldwide freshwater ecosystems, has been used to monitor DDT contamination trends in Lake Maggiore since 1996, caused by industrial effluents on a tributary of the River Toce, one of the major affluents of the lake. Dreissena specimens were collected at two sampling sites, one within the Baveno Bay, where the River Toce flows, and the other outside (Villa Taranto). Total DDT levels (3119.6 ng/g lipids at Baveno and 1351.2 ng/g lipids at Villa Taranto) in the soft tissues of the Zebra mussel decreased at both stations by about 30–50% in the first year after the closure of the chemical plant reaching an almost steady-state condition. The high concentrations measured in Zebra mussel specimens of Baveno Bay in 2000 (1947 ng/g lipids) and the percentage of pp′DDE in comparison with total DDT concentration, which showed a slight increase in the last years, clearly indicate that a contamination source is still present, deriving probably from the lacustrine sediments and the River Toce. Data show that the environmental risk is very high within the Baveno Bay and the recovery time should be longer than in the other parts of the lake, where DDT levels in Dreissena are presently two times higher than those measured in the other Italian subalpine lakes.


Keywords

• Zebra mussel;
• DDT;
• Biomonitoring;
• Freshwater ecosystems;
• Lake Maggiore

1. Introduction


Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are highly stable organic compounds used as pesticides in agriculture and in industry, or generated unintentionally as the by-product of combustion and industrial processes. POPs have chemical and physical properties which cause numerous problems to the environment, wildlife and human health: POPs are lipophilic compounds that can bioaccumulate in lipid tissues and, owing to their persistent and semi-volatile nature, can travel long distances and condense over the colder and more remote areas of the world (Kurtz, 1990; Cotham and Bidleman, 1991). As a result of these properties, there is growing concern over the toxic effects of these compounds on biota, in particular on the higher species of the food chain, even at extremely low environmental levels. Some of these chemicals are endocrine disruptors and various dangerous effects such as eggshell thinning, behavioural changes, impaired male reproductive ability and estrogenic activity interfering with sex hormones have been confirmed (Kelce et al., 1995). The problem of endocrine disruptors is one of the five priority research areas established by the Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources of the United States (Kavlock, 1999) and some detailed research strategies have also been put forward by the European Union.
Until the 1970s, DDT was one of the most widely used pesticides in many Western countries, although a number of studies showed several adverse environment effects and a proven hazard to non-target organisms such as fish and birds. Several legislative decrees were ratified in Europe to regulate its use, but no restrictions have so far been set for the production of this insecticide. In Italy, agricultural use of DDT was banned in 1978, excepted for particular applications in floriculture and zootechnics. Recently, a treaty to control, reduce or eliminate discharges, emissions and losses of several POPs was signed by the European Community. The protocol regulates 12 chemicals, of which most are subject to an immediate ban. These include aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, eptachlor, mirex, toxaphene, polychlorinated biphenils (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene, dioxins and furans. Other protocol obligations include the application of best available technology to limit air emissions from major stationary sources of dioxins (PCDDs), furans (PCDFs), HCB and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, a health-related exemption has been granted for DDT, which is still needed in many countries to control malarial mosquitoes. Similarly, in the case of PCBs, which have been widely used in electrical transformers, governments may maintain existing equipment in a way that prevents leaks until 2025 to give them sufficient time to arrange for PCB-free replacements.
Notwithstanding the legal restrictions governing the use of several POPs in Western countries, some have recently been found in various American and European aquatic ecosystems (Mersch et al., 1992; Bruner et al., 1994; Roper et al., 1996; Hendriks et al., 1998; Gundacker, 1999; Binelli et al., 2001a and Binelli et al., 2001b). Environmental problems of POPs are still persistent, as shown by the detection of DDT contamination in Lake Maggiore in 1996, the second-largest Italian lake by area and volume––an outstanding example of how a pollution problem associated with a chemical whose use, but not production, was banned two decades ago can arise. A previous study conducted in Lake Maggiore (Ceschi et al., 1996) showed very high levels of DDT in several species of fish, beyond the legal limit for edible fish. The commercial fishing of some species in this lake was halted in June 1996. The source of the pollution was traced back to a chemical plant (CIPAIS, 1999), which both produced and discharged DDT over several years into the River Marmazza, a tributary of the River Toce, in turn one of the major affluents of Lake Maggiore (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Lake Maggiore basin with 5-year sampling sites (dark circles) and the other two stations of 1998 operation (white circles).

Figure options


We carried out a 5-year biomonitoring operation (1996–2000), using the bivalve Dreissena polymorpha to measure DDT changes in Baveno Bay, where the River Toce flows, and the spread of contamination outside the bay. Wide distribution, continuous availability throughout the year, adequate body size, firm site attachment capability of the bissus, ease of sampling, good salinity tolerance and relatively high longevity make this mollusc particularly appropriate for use as a bioindicator. The Zebra mussel has already been used to assess the contamination of freshwater ecosystems by trace metals ( Johns and Timmerman, 1998; Gundacker, 1999), organotin compounds (Becker et al., 1992) and POPs (Mersch et al., 1992; Bruner et al., 1994; Hendriks et al., 1998).





2. Sampling and study sites

Lake Maggiore is one of the largest European lakes (volume 37 500 × 106 m3 and area 212.5 km2). Sampling was carried out between 1996 and 2000 at two stations: Baveno, close to the mouth of River Toce, within Baveno Bay, and Villa Taranto, located outside the bay. Two other sites were sampled during a previous operation only, carried out on Dreissena adult specimens, with a shell length greater than 15 mm that were collected by a scuba-diver at Baveno and Villa Taranto in June. Specimens were transported to the laboratory in refrigerated bags and frozen at −18 °C before chemical analysis.


3. Methods

A pool of 30–40 animals were defrosted, the shell and bissus removed, the soft tissues freeze-dried for about 24 h and then homogenized by a tissue grinder. A soft tissue sample (1.5 g) was then extracted with n-hexane/acetone (1:1 vol.) in a Soxhlet for 8 h. The organic phase was evaporated to dryness, weighed to determine lipid content and digested with H2SO4 (98%) for 24 h. DDTs were recovered from the digested lipid fraction by small aliquots of n-hexane and run on a 35 × 1 cm Florisil column (Lazar et al., 1992): op′DDE, pp′DDE, op′DDT, pp′DDT, HCB and PCBs including mono-ortho substituted were eluted with 70 ml of n-hexane (fraction 1); op′DDD, pp′DDD, lindane and non-ortho substituted PCBs were eluted with 60 ml of a mixture of dichloromethane–hexane (15:85 vol.) (fraction 2). The eluates were concentrated to 1 ml. Finally, samples (1 μl) were injected into a Carlo Erba 8000 GC equipped with electron capture detector (ECD), a column Varian CP-sil 19 (length=50 m, i.d.=0.25 mm, film thickness=0.20 μm) and Chrom-Card software. Analyses were conducted in duplicate. DDTs were finally quantified by comparison of peak areas of individual compounds with a reference standard. A ring-test among several laboratories carried out in 1996 showed that the percentage recovery of this procedure was up to 80% for each DDT relative and the detection limit was 1 ng/g of dry weight.
We used the Cluster analysis (STATISTICA® software) to measure any similarity among the various years. The single DDT relatives concentration and pp′DDT/pp′DDE ratio for each year were used as cases and the different years as variables.




4. Results

The Zebra mussel reproductive cycle trend in the Southern Alps seems to have an over-winter development phase of gametes, a spawning stage during the spring-summer season and finally an inactive gonad period (Bacchetta et al., 2001). Even if all the Zebra mussel specimens were collected in the same period at the end of spring to reduce the differences of DDT concentration through physiological or environmental changes already detected elsewhere (Binelli et al., 2001a), differences among lipid percentages were noticed over the 5-year period (Table 1). On the other hand, the use of an aquatic bioindicator implies an intrinsic variability of its physiological and ecological behaviour, due to different hydrological conditions and seasonal weather changes. Thus, the results were expressed as lipid-based concentrations in order to eliminate differences due to nutritional condition or reproductive stage (Binelli et al., 2001a).




Table 1. Sample characteristics of mussel specimens and date of sampling

Date of samplingBaveno
Villa Taranto

Percentage of lipidsAverage length (cm)Percentage of lipidsAverage length (cm)17


June 199611.52.012.22.0
18 June 19977.02.312.61.8
18 June 19989.82.010.02.0
16 June 199911.42.112.42.2
19 June 200016.31.918.91.9


Table options

Lipids found in Zebra mussels collected in 1997 at Villa Taranto were twice as high as those of Baveno because an earlier gamete release and histological alterations were observed in the female reproductive apparatus compared to those collected from the less contaminated area (Binelli et al., 2001b).


DDT pollution was higher before the closure of the chemical plant both within and outside Baveno Bay (Table 2 and Table 3), but the sum of relatives in Zebra mussel specimens of Baveno in 1996 (3119.6 ng/g lipids) was more than double those collected at Villa Taranto (1351.2 ng/g lipids).


Table 2. Levels (ng/g lipids) of DDT residues in soft tissues of Zebra mussel sampled at Baveno

19961997199819992000op′DDE196.947.566.925.8177.4
pp′DDE901.2635.6484.2761.6655.2
op′DDD325.1314.0231.6170.6245.0
pp′DDD561.6520.7225.9290.7337.2
op′DDT451.5137.8205.8125.2206.3
pp′DDT683.3452.6292.8313.7325.7


Sum of relatives3119.62108.21507.21687.51946.7
pp′DDT/pp′DDE0.760.710.600.410.50
Table options
Table 3. Levels (ng/g lipids) of DDT residues in soft tissues of Zebra mussel sampled at Villa Taranto

19961997199819992000op′DDE42.52.953.39.122.7
pp′DDE319.8156.3305.3450.3242.8
op′DDD190.3159.5126.4100.8112.6
pp′DDD400.9179.8196.1231.5231.2
op′DDT79.936.831.425.429.2
pp′DDT317.877.3110.064.884.3


Sum of relatives1351.2612.6822.5882.0722.8
pp′DDT/pp′DDE0.990.490.360.140.35


Table options

Five-year trends revealed quite similar variations between the two sampling sites: further to the interruption of DDT releases, high decreases of about 32% and 55% were measured in 1997 inside and outside the bay. This trend was already interrupted 1 year later at Villa Taranto, increasing by approximately 34%, while a decrease of 29% was obtained at Baveno. The sum of relatives revealed a slight increase in 1999 in the two stations, mainly due to a rise in pp′DDE concentrations. Finally, the sum of DDTs in 2000 was more or less the same as those registered in 1997 at the two sampling sites.


Also the pp′DDT/pp′DDE ratio ( Table 2 and Table 3) revealed a decreasing trend until 1999, but a clear rise in 2000 (0.50 at Baveno and 0.35 outside the bay).
5. DiscussionThere is a scarcity of published data pertaining to DDT studies over the past 10 years, either regarding monitoring or its toxic effects on wildlife or humans, while the recent discovery of its estrogenic properties has generated a renewed interest. This interruption is probably due to the legal restrictions on the use of this organochlorine insecticide in developed nations and the falling contamination trend observed in Western aquatic ecosystems. On the contrary, several studies on DDT biomonitoring have been carried out in the last decade in numerous developing countries, where some POPs are still used (Tanabe et al., 2000). Even though DDT biomonitoring of coastal zones using marine molluscs has been commonly used, little data is available on freshwater bioindicators, in particular for the Zebra mussel.
When compared with different surveys in other bivalve species from various worldwide locations (Table 4), total DDT levels found in Lake Maggiore are higher than those measured in developed nations, except for similar values measured in the Nordic seas, another heavy polluted aquatic environment, but are of the same order as those measured in developing countries.



Table 4. Levels (ng/g) of DDT residues in bivalves collected worldwide

Study areaSpeciesHabitat∑DDT

(ng/g)References


Coastal water of USAMytilus edulisMarine5 w.w.O’Connor (1996)


Perth (Australia)Mytilus edulisMarine<1–2 w.w.Burt and Ebell (1995)


Nordic seasMytilus edulisMarine29–2980 lipidsGustavson and Jonsson (1999)


Arcachon Bay (France)Mytilus edulisMarine23.4 d.w.Thompson et al. (1999)


All Saints Bay (Brazil)Brachidontes exustusMarine2.1–44.0 w.w.Tavares et al. (1999)


IndiaPerna viridisMarine0.9–40 w.w.Tanabe et al. (2000)


PhilippinesPerna viridisMarine0.19–9.5 w.w.Tanabe et al. (2000)


ThailandPerna viridisMarine1.3–38 w.w.Tanabe et al. (2000)


Lake Ijsselmer (Holland)Dreissena polymorphaFreshwater172 lipidsReederes and Bij de Vaate (1992)


Lake Erie (USA)Dreissena polymorphaFreshwater180 d.w.Kreis et al. (1991)


Baveno (L. Maggiore, Italy)Dreissena polymorphaFreshwater13.31–34.76 w.w.Present study
Villa Taranto (L. Maggiore, Italy)Dreissena polymorphaFreshwater7.72–16.46 w.w.Present study

d.w.: dry weight basis and w.w.: wet weight basis.



Table options

The heavy DDT contamination in Lake Maggiore is particularly significant as it is an example of how a chemical that was banned in a specific developed country many years beforehand can be harmful to a large aquatic environment and subsequently to human health. Histological studies carried out in 1997 (Binelli et al., 2001b) showed that a significant percentage of specimens sampled inside the Baveno Bay had a marked oocyte degeneration and released gametes earlier than those sampled at a nearby reference station outside the bay, suggesting a possible endocrine-disrupting effect of DDTs.
A 5-year study appears to be sufficient to investigate the evolution of the contamination, in order to formulate different hypotheses on the expectations, pathways, transformations and eventual other sources of this insecticide.
The half-life of pp′DDT in fish is about of 8 months and that of pp′DDD and DDE is much longer (about 7 years), while the measured half-life of pp′DDT in Zebra mussel soft tissues is 102 and 87 h in unpolluted water ( Fischer et al., 1993). Thus, the high DDT levels found in Zebra mussel specimens in June 2000, 5 years after the closure of the chemical plant, reveal a possible input of contaminants from different sources, corresponding to sediment and rivers. On the other hand, a study carried out in 1998 on several tributaries (CIPAIS, 1999) of the lake showed a continued input of DDTs mainly from the River Toce, which discharges more than 2 kg/y of DDT with a basin contribution of 1.36 g/km2 y (Table 5).
Table 5. Annual input and basin contribution in 1998 for the main tributaries of Lake Maggiore (CIPAIS, 1999)

TributaryArea

(km2)Input (kg/y)Basin share (g/km2 y)Toce1546.82.101.36

Verzasca236.80.210.89

Maggia509.40.671.31

Ticino1616.21.390.86

Vevera21.40.010.64

Tresa754.20.370.49

Margorabbia94.60.050.49

Boesio45.40.040.79

Bardello134.30.070.49

Table options

However, the only point-source identified was the chemical plant located on the River Toce, and the input of these tributaries suggests that Lake Maggiore behaves as reservoir of the insecticide and its metabolites. DDTs, like the other semi-volatile compounds, can evaporate from the water column, be transported by atmospheric currents, and fall again with the rain or snow into the surrounding watershed, covering an area of more than 6,500 km2. The DDT condensation is likely to occur also because of the altitude of several mountains, which are among the highest in the Alps.
This DDT circulation can be confirmed by the high concentration of the total DDT measured in the bay 5 years after the closure of the chemical plant, as also shown by other analysis conducted for sediments and fish (CIPAIS, 1999). Research into DDT contamination in wet and dry depositions and the transport of this insecticide to the surrounding mountains is currently underway.


Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show levels of pp′DDTs at Baveno and Villa Taranto to emphasize trends of the most important relatives. We observed a clear decrease in DDTs inside the bay until 1998 ( Fig. 2) with a contamination loss passing from 46% for pp′DDE to about 57% for the parental compound. This declining trend has been interrupted: in 1999 the concentration of DDD and DDT were similar to the previous year and the final metabolite shows a concentration higher than that measured in 1997. This stop is probably due to a new input of DDT detected in December of 1998 by the Italian Environmental Protection Agency that revealed high levels of this insecticide in the River Toce, caused by an improper recovery operation within the chemical plant itself.

Fig. 2. Temporal trend of pp′DDTs at Baveno sampling station.

Figure options

Fig. 3. Temporal trend of pp′DDTs at Villa Taranto sampling station.

Figure options

There was also an effective DDT decrease for the Zebra mussel specimens sampled at Villa Taranto, but only for the first year after the closure of the chemical plant (Fig. 3). Thereafter, pp′DDT and DDD concentrations remained constant until 2000, while pp′DDE in 1999 reached values higher than those measured in 1996, before the end of the insecticide production, confirming that a new contamination problem occurred at the end of 1998.
The differences revealed at Villa Taranto between concentration trends of pp′DDT and pp′DDE are also due to a possible homogenisation of contamination outside the bay and the consequent transformation of the parent compound into the final metabolite in the water column, facilitated by the lack of continued input of pp′DDT from the River Toce, as occurs inside the bay. A biotransformation of DDT by Zebra mussels into DDE might occur, but unfortunately this is not revealed by our data and the percentage of this process for the two lower trophic levels of the food chain is not known. On the other hand, the more homogeneous contamination observed outside the bay is confirmed by DDT concentrations measured by us in 1998 in two other sampling sites, that showed values similar to those of Villa Taranto ( Table 3): total DDT concentration was 793 ng/g lipids at Angera, the Southernmost sampling station located near the main outlet of the lake, while the Northernmost station of Magadino, that lies to the north in Switzerland, presented a DDT concentration of 748 ng/g lipids.


Fig. 4 shows the hierarchic cluster analysis: two separated groups were identified, depending on the different sampling site, while the DDT contamination measured in 1996 inside the bay is very different from that of the other years, as shown by the higher Euclidean distance calculated for Baveno. Thus, the statistical approach allowed us to confirm the relatively sharp decrease of DDT contamination in Lake Maggiore 2 years after the termination of insecticide production and a steady state situation or even an increase of DDT levels thereafter.

Fig. 4. Hierarchic cluster analysis for DDT concentrations.

Figure options

The bay should still be considered an environmental risk area, also because of the release of DDT compounds from the heavily polluted sediments (CIPAIS, 1999). The other parts of the lake may experience faster recovery, even if the actual concentration of DDT relatives at Villa Taranto is still significantly higher (p<0.001) than the background concentration measured in Dreissena soft tissues from the other great Italian subalpine lakes during a previous monitoring operation ( Table 6).

Table 6. DDT concentrations (ng/g lipids) in the other great Italian subalpine lakes (1996 operation)

ComoIseoGardaLuganoop′DDE7.04.34.918.4
pp′DDE63.651.845.060.1
op′DDD35.513.813.486.7
pp′DDD13.911.18.315.4
op′DDT32.414.012.817.1
pp′DDT41.536.023.935.7


∑DDT202.4122.0238.2233.4


Table options

6. Conclusion

The zebra mussel represents a usable sentinel-organism, which permitted the evaluation of the behaviour of DDT contamination both inside and outside Baveno Bay, showing that recovery time in this area compared to the other parts of Lake Maggiore is almost certainly much longer. DDT is still stored in the chemical plant, where the pollution originated, and in most of the sediments of the drain canal. This leads to possible further inputs into the lake on account of leakages from the plant and floods of the River Toce, which have regrettably been somewhat frequent over the last few years. The chemical plant area is currently undergoing remediation in line with the recently introduced Italian law, but other interventions to limit pollution, including as the drawing of sediments in the bay, are unfeasible due to the average depth of the Baveno Bay (about 100 m) and the huge amount of polluted sediments.
At present, DDT pollution in Lake Maggiore is still a dangerous contamination both for the trophic web, mostly for the higher predators, and for different activities like tourism and fishing and for human health. Bearing in mind that DDT and DDE are assumed to be endocrine disrupters and powerful cancer promoters (Wolf and Toniolo, 1995), it is quite understandable that the medical authorities are investigating the possible risk to the neighbouring population. The pollution of Lake Maggiore is a warning sign for all those developed countries that have not banned the production of organic pesticides and confirms that prevention is the only remedial measure for these kinds of compounds.

________________________________________
The fastest growing disease vector for men and women are reproductive dysfunction/cancers.  We know this is coming from PHARMA filling our fresh water filtration systems BUT it comes too from this transition of US as a NET FOOD IMPORTER.  You won't see a US Federal agency testing for all this declining safety in our food chain because

THE POINT IS TO MAXIMIZE PROFIT BY SELLING US-GROWN FOOD TO THE RICHEST OVERSEAS AT HIGHER AND HIGHER MARKET RATES.

These disease vectors are the very kinds of health problems the American people are NOW and will in the short term be facing as the Affordable Care Act ends public health and access to over 80% of Americans to anything other than preventative care.


DON'T WORRY SAY GLOBAL CORPORATE HEALTH INDUSTRY AND OUR CORPORATE UNIVERSITY AS BIOTECH MEDICAL DEVICES AND PRODUCTS----WE HAVE JUST THE RIGHT PHARMA TO FIGHT ALL THESE SYMPTOMS AND DISEASE.



'Bearing in mind that DDT and DDE are assumed to be endocrine disrupters and powerful cancer promoters (Wolf and Toniolo, 1995), it is quite understandable that the medical authorities are investigating the possible risk to the neighbouring population. The pollution of Lake Maggiore is a warning sign for all those developed countries that have not banned the production of organic pesticides and confirms that prevention is the only remedial measure for these kinds of compounds'.



High Estrogen Signs and Symptoms in Men

Last Updated: Jan 13, 2014 | By Joanne Marie

Abnormally high estrogen can have negative effects in men. Photo Credit Catherine Yeulet/iStock/Getty Images
Many people associate estrogen with women and know that it's a female sex hormone that helps regulate a woman's menstrual cycle. Normally, though, a man's body also makes small amounts of estrogen, which is important for normal development and function of the male reproductive system. But when a man is exposed to abnormally high levels of estrogen, it can have major effects on his body, possibly interfering with his fertility and sexual function and potentially raising his risk of certain chronic diseases. If you have questions about estrogen in men and any of its possible effects, talk to your doctor.


Fertility Problems

A man's fertility depends partly on having enough sperm in an ejaculate to fertilize an egg and produce an embryo. The number of sperm in a normal ejaculate should be at least 30 million and can be as high as 200 million, and if a man's sperm count is too low, he may be infertile. Laboratory research has demonstrated that exposure of male laboratory animals to estrogen can cause infertility. For example, in one study published in the September 2001 issue of "Journal of Endocrinological Investigation," researchers observed reduced testis weights and lowered sperm production in animals treated with low doses of estrogen, compared to controls. Although the effect of estrogen on human male sperm counts hasn't been studied directly, research such as that published in the December 2002 issue of "Fertility and Sterility" suggests that estrogen-like environmental compounds could be responsible for low sperm counts in some infertile men.


Erectile Dysfunction

A shift in the ratio between testosterone and estrogen in a man's body could cause difficulty in achieving or maintaining an erection. In a review paper published in the July 2011 issue of "Asian Journal of Andrology," researchers evaluated evidence that a change in this ratio, which causes a relative increase in estrogen compared to testosterone, could explain the higher rate of erectile dysfunction in older men in whom testosterone drops with increased age. The study concluded that this is a likely cause. Some laboratory studies, which found decreased mating ability in male laboratory animals treated with estrogen, also suggest that too much estrogen might cause erectile problems.

Breast Changes

Exposure of a male to excess estrogen can also cause abnormal growth of breast tissue, called gynecomastia, which usually involves both breasts. Certain medications, such as estrogen-like compounds used to treat prostate cancer, may cause this problem. Unintended exposure to creams or other products containing estrogen can also cause breast growth, as shown in a study in the April 2000 issue of "Pediatrics," which reported that three teenage males exposed to estrogen-containing cream had breast enlargement. In most cases, once the source of estrogen is removed, the breasts return to normal.


Cardiovascular Problems

Some research also suggests that relatively high estrogen in men might raise the risk of circulatory problems, heart attack and stroke. In a study published in the April 2007 issue of "Neuro Endocrinology Letters," researchers found that estrogen levels in men who had experienced a heart attack were higher than in other men, while another study published in the March 2007 issue of "Neurology" concluded that elderly men with high estrogen levels could have a higher risk of stroke. However, more studies are needed to confirm a link between high estrogen in men and these conditions.

_____________________________________________

'Use of DDT to fight malaria has been increasing since it was endorsed in 2006 by the World Health Organization and the President's Malaria Initiative, a U.S. aid program launched by former President Bush'.

For those thinking Bill Gates/Clinton/ UN are in Africa fighting for the health of the African people ----THEY ARE NOT----THEY ARE BUILDING AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ZONES AND NEED HUMAN CAPITAL HEALTHY ENOUGH TO WORK.
We are seeing all the scientific knowledge from several decades thrown aside as now global corporations have this new focus and their needs for public health. While chemical agents like DDT may kill in the long term---malaria affects the ability of human capital to work RIGHT NOW.
The point for this discussion of decline in US longevity is just that----Wall Street 1% have allowed conditions that affect our long-term health to deteriorate while posing progressive on preventative health keeping in shape today policy.

The ACA has ended access to the health care that will be needed as disease vectors hit American citizens in their 50s-60s while posing progressive on funding for expanded Medicaid which is simply the preventative care for all.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THOSE AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ZONES AND GLOBAL SWEATSHOP FACTORIES!




Should DDT Be Used to Combat Malaria?

DDT should be used "with caution" in combating malaria, a panel of scientists reported today

• By Marla Cone, Environmental Health News on May 4, 2009

A panel of scientists recommended today that the spraying of DDT in malaria-plagued Africa and Asia should be greatly reduced because people are exposed in their homes to high levels that may cause serious health effects.

The scientists from the United States and South Africa said the insecticide, banned decades ago in most of the world, should only be used as a last resort in combating malaria.

The stance of the panel, led by a University of California epidemiologist, is likely to be controversial with public health officials. Use of DDT to fight malaria has been increasing since it was endorsed in 2006 by the World Health Organization and the President's Malaria Initiative, a U.S. aid program launched by former President Bush.

In many African countries, as well as India and North Korea, the pesticide is sprayed inside homes and buildings to kill mosquitoes that carry malaria.

Malaria is one of the world's most deadly diseases, each year killing about 880,000 people, mostly children in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Health Organization.

The 15 environmental health experts, who reviewed almost 500 health studies, concluded that DDT "should be used with caution, only when needed, and when no other effective, safe and affordable alternatives are locally available."

We cannot allow people to die from malaria, but we also cannot continue using DDT if we know about the health risks," said Tiaan de Jager, a member of the panel who is a professor at the School of Health Systems & Public Health at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. "Safer alternatives should be tested first and if successful, DDT should be phased out without putting people at risk."

The scientists reported that DDT may have a variety of human health effects, including reduced fertility, genital birth defects, breast cancer, diabetes and damage to developing brains. Its metabolite, DDE, can block male hormones.

 "Based on recent studies, we conclude that humans are exposed to DDT and DDE, that indoor residual spraying can result in substantial exposure and that DDT may pose a risk for human populations," the scientists wrote in their consensus statement, published online today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

"We are concerned about the health of children and adults given the persistence of DDT and its active metabolites in the environment and in the body, and we are particularly concerned about the potential effects of continued DDT use on future generations."

In 2007, at least 3,950 tons of DDT were sprayed for mosquito control in Africa and Asia, according to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme.

"The volume is increasing slowly," said Hindrik Bouwman, a professor in the School of Environmental Sciences and Development at North-West University in Potchesfstroom, South Africa, who also served on the panel.

In South Africa, about 60 to 80 grams is sprayed in each household per year, Bouwman said.

Brenda Eskenazi, a University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health professor and lead author of the consensus statement, is concerned because the health of people inside the homes is not being monitored.

A 2007 study on male fertility is the only published research so far. Conducted in Limpopo, South Africa by de Jager and his colleagues, the study found men in the sprayed homes had extremely high levels of DDT in their blood and that their semen volume and sperm counts were low.

"Clearly, more research is needed…but in the meantime, DDT should really be the last resort against malaria, rather than the first line of defense," Eskenazi said.

The pesticide accumulates in body tissues, particularly breast milk, and lingers in the environment for decades.

In the United States, beginning in the1940s, large volumes of DDT were sprayed outdoors to kill mosquitoes and pests on crops. It was banned in 1972, after it built up in food chains, nearly wiping out bald eagles, pelicans and other birds.

Today's use differs greatly. In Africa, it is sprayed in much smaller quantities but people are directly exposed because it is sprayed on walls inside homes and other buildings.

Many health studies have been conducted in the United States, but on people who carry small traces of DDT in their bodies, not the high levels found in people in Africa.

"DDT is now used in countries where many of the people are malnourished, extremely poor and possibly suffering from immune-compromising diseases such as AIDS, which may increase their susceptibility to chemical exposures," said panel member Jonathan Chevrier, a University of California at Berkeley post-doctoral researcher in epidemiology and in environmental health sciences.

In 2001, more than 100 countries signed the Stockholm Convention, a United Nations treaty which sought to eliminate use of 12 persistent, toxic compounds, including DDT. Under the pact, use of the pesticide is allowed only for controlling malaria.

Since then, nine nations—Ethiopia, South Africa, India, Mauritius, Myanmar, Yemen, Uganda, Mozambique and Swaziland—notified the treaty's secretariat that they are using DDT. Five others—Zimbabwe, North Korea, Eritrea, Gambia, Namibia and Zambia--also reportedly are using it, and six others, including China, have reserved the right to begin using it, according to a January Stockholm Convention report.

"This is a global issue," Eskenazi said. "We need to enforce the Stockholm Convention and to have a plan for each country to phase out DDT, and if they feel they can't, good reason why other options cannot work."

Mexico, the rest of Central America and parts of Africa have combated malaria without DDT by using alternative methods, such as controlling stagnant ponds where mosquitoes breed and using bed nets treated with pyrethroid insecticides. But such efforts have been less successful in other places, particularly South Africa.

"We have a whole host of mosquito species and more than one parasite. The biology of the vectors is different and there is therefore no one-method-fits-all strategy, as is the case in Central America," Bouwman said.

For example, he said, some types of mosquitoes in South Africa breed in running water, which cannot be easily controlled.
"The area to be covered is also vast, and infrastructure in most areas is too little to allow environmental management on a sustainable basis," he said.

When a mosquito strain that had previously been eliminated returned to South Africa, it was resistant to the pyrethroid insecticides that had replaced DDT.

"The resulting increase in malaria cases and deaths was epidemic," Bouwman said. Cases soared from 4,117 in 1995 to 64,622 in 2000. "South Africa had to fall back on DDT, and still uses it in areas where other chemicals would have a risk of failure," he said.

The scientists also recommended study of possible health effects of pyrethroids and other alternatives for DDT.

"The general thoughts are that if chemicals have a shorter half-life, like pyrethroids, they are less dangerous," Eskenazi said. "This may be true, but there are virtually no studies on the health effects in humans of the alternatives."

The panel convened in March, 2008, at Alma College in Michigan, near a Superfund site where DDT was produced at a chemical plant. Their goal was "to address the current and legacy implications of DDT production and use," according to their report.

Acknowledging that some areas remain dependent on DDT, they recommended monitoring of the spraying to ensure that usage guidelines are followed and improved application techniques.

"It is definitely not a matter of letting people die from malaria," de Jager said.

____________________________________________

I will end for today by reminding you why this should concern ALL AMERICAN POPULATION GROUPS because an injustice to one DOES become injustice for all.  Below you see the creep of global sweatshop factories during Clinton era in the form of immigrant labor.  We notice Congress never takes action until these conditions are exposed in the national media.  Look at the date-----1995 then supposedly Clinton's Labor Secretary Reich rushed to the rescue with legislation to protect those sweatshop laborers inside the US while pushing and passing all of NAFTA that super-sized these sweatshops throughout Latin America and overseas.  It is the health conditions we want to consider as Trans Pacific Trade Pact and International Economic Zone policies have these same Wall Street global corporate 1% installing these global campuses and global factories as our main US economy and YES----EVERYONE WILL BE INCLUDED NOT ONLY IMMIGRANTS OR CITIZENS OF COLOR.

If allowed to continue the building of these US global corporate campuses with their global factories will be well in place this coming decade-----THIS IS LARRY HOGAN/CATHERINE PUGH'S WE ARE GOING TO FIX BALTIMORE.  Baltimore is now opening global sweatshop factories on a smaller scale where the Port of Baltimore meets Sparrow's Point for example----10,000 immigrant families for 10,000 factory jobs at the Port of Baltimore. 

American women will be pushed to the garment factories of UnderArmour for example and the assembly lines of technology hardware circuit boards for example while American men will be doing the battery and robotics global factory work with lots of toxic chemical exposure.  This will be next decade as baby boomers lose their fight to access ordinary Medicare this coming generation will fall to third world environmental and workplace health conditions in only two decades.

For those living for today 20 years is not long.  I will no doubt live that long----as other baby boomers with enough money socked away from Wall Street------but young adults today and our grandchildren will fall into this.  Today's 5% to the 1% DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HUMAN CAPITAL LIVING IN THE US---IT'S ABOUT CREATING BLOOMBERG INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ZONE 2 NORTH AMERICA----FORMERLY BALTIMORE MD USA.





A Shocking Example
       In August 1995, the nation was outraged by news that 72 Thai immigrants worked under slave-like conditions. Local and Federal law enforcement agents conducted a raid on this sweatshop in El Monte, California, just east of Los Angeles.
       The immigrants worked for 69 cents an hour, locked in an apartment complex surrounded by razor wire. Workers were threatened with rape and murder if they stopped working. After the raid, Labor Secretary Robert Reich launched a crusade against sweatshops.
Proposed Reform Legislation
       Media coverage of sweatshops has brought public outrage. In response, the Stop Sweatshops Act is now in the US Congress. The act defines sweatshops as:
...unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, often including locked exits and poor ventilation ... low wages or no wages, long hours of work with no overtime pay, and retaliation against workers who stand up for their rights.

Garment workers struggling for 35 Cents an hour
28
Oct '09
On Saturday, October 17, garment workers in Bangladesh joined by the National Garment Workers Federation led a protest demanding that the country's minimum wage be raised to 35 cents an hour.

The current minimum wage in Bangladesh's garment industry is 1662 taka a month. This comes to just 11 ½ cents an hour!

No one can survive on 11 ½ cents an hour, leaving the workers and their families trapped in abject misery. Hoping to climb out of misery and into poverty, the garment workers are asking that the minimum wage be raised to 35 cents an hour--which is hardly a wild demand.


Southern states like Maryland are moving fast towards installing International Economic Zones----I have Annapolis small business-owners who think they are profiting by having immigrant labor to exploit as in Baltimore BUT THESE SAME PEOPLE ARE NOT SEEING THE BIG PICTURE AS THEY BECOME THAT IMMIGRANT LABORER IN THESE US GLOBAL CORPORATE CAMPUSES AND GLOBAL FACTORIES. Please stop allowing Wall Street play on race and class issues.



Hearts & Minds - Information for ChangeSM

Sweatshops
Harsh Conditions Create Public Support for Reform


Historical Background


       The word "sweatshop" conjures up images of cramped, dangerous, and filthy factories in New York's Lower East Side. Immigrant women and children worked long hours in these factories for no benefits and little pay. To make ends meet after 15-hour workdays, many workers brought more work home in the evenings.
       In 1900, workers formed the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) to organize against low wages and unsafe working conditions. In November 1909, ILGWU organized the first garment workers' strike, known as "The Great Revolt". The protest brought 60,000 New York City garment workers to the streets to fight for their rights. Women and children on the picket lines were beaten or targeted with guns. Yet, ILGWU prevailed, winning wage and hour standards and impartial arbitration of disputes. Still there was a long fight ahead.
       Sweatshop conditions received further attention after a fire in New York's Triangle Shirtwaist factory in 1911. Locked exits prevented people from escaping. With no other hope, some jumped to their deaths from Triangle's high-floor windows, while others were burnt alive. One hundred and forty-six workers died.
       Sweeping national legislation was finally enacted in 1938 when President Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This law - enforced to this day - sets a minimum wage, requires overtime pay after 40 hours a week, and prohibits child labor and industrial homework. It brought protection and relief to tens of thousands of people working in factories.

THIS IS THE FEDERAL LAW THAT WOULD GO AWAY IN US INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ZONES UNDER TRANS PACIFIC TRADE PACT ERGO---BRINGING BACK ALL THIS FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS AND NOW NOT ONLY IMMIGRANT WORKERS.


Why Sweatshops Are Back

       In recent decades, many garment manufacturers have moved overseas and unions have become less powerful.
       Devastating budget cuts during the Reagan and Bush administrations severely limited US Department of Labor (DOL) policing of garment factories. There are now only 800 wage and hour inspectors employed by DOL to inspect six million work sites of all kinds in the USA. This often makes it easy to avoid inspection.
       Sweatshops are often mobile operations, making them even more difficult to regulate. "The equipment is really just a few sewing machines," said Ginny Coughlin of UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees). "Just rent space, pay the electric bill, and you're in business."


Rampant Violations
       FLSA is not always enforced and violations are rampant. Sweatshops are again a familiar fixture in the garment industry. DOL estimates that 50% of 22,000 registered garment contractors pay less than minimum wage, two-thirds do not pay overtime and one-third operate with serious health and safety violations. Workers who try to organize and protest poor working conditions are often fired.


New York City's Sweatshop Revival
       New York City sweatshops operate behind locked doors -- often in the same buildings used more than sixty years ago in the Lower East Side and the Garment District. Steam from clothing presses can be seen spewing from pipes stuck through the boarded-up windows. DOL estimates that 4,500 of New York City's 7,000 garment factories are sweatshops.


Across the USA


       Sweatshops are also common in other cities with large immigrant communities. Greater Los Angeles is a major example.
       Struggling to build a better life in their new country, Asian and Hispanic immigrants often work under slave-like conditions. They toil to repay thousands of dollars to those who smuggled them into the USA. Today, at the turn of the century, most garment workers are poor immigrant women.


A Shocking Example

       In August 1995, the nation was outraged by news that 72 Thai immigrants worked under slave-like conditions. Local and Federal law enforcement agents conducted a raid on this sweatshop in El Monte, California, just east of Los Angeles.
       The immigrants worked for 69 cents an hour, locked in an apartment complex surrounded by razor wire. Workers were threatened with rape and murder if they stopped working. After the raid, Labor Secretary Robert Reich launched a crusade against sweatshops.


Proposed Reform Legislation


       Media coverage of sweatshops has brought public outrage. In response, the Stop Sweatshops Act is now in the US Congress. The act defines sweatshops as:
...unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, often including locked exits and poor ventilation ... low wages or no wages, long hours of work with no overtime pay, and retaliation against workers who stand up for their rights.
       The proposed law would make both contractors and retailers liable for violations of minimum wage, overtime standards, child labor, or industrial homework.
       Supporters of the bill say clothing businesses must be held responsible -- companies can check their suppliers more readily than individual consumers can. The law creates strong incentives for businesses to ensure clothing is made under decent conditions. To date, this act has not been passed by Congress. You can support this act by working with the advocacy groups listed on our links page and by using the political lobbying techniques.

Addressing the Issues


       The National Labor Committee (NLC), a human rights organization based in New York, is in the vanguard of exposing labor abuses. In April 1997, the NLC revealed that a line of clothing endorsed by Kathie Lee Gifford was made in Honduran sweatshops -- often by children. This was well publicized and resulted in a signed agreement between Gifford and the NLC. The manufacturers agreed to independent monitoring of their Honduran factories by local human rights organizations.
       The Giffords also took matters into their own hands: Frank Gifford gave envelopes of money to the workers. Angered that they not been paid in so long, many workers stayed home and did not receive this compensation.


Who Should Check the Manufacturers?


       Due to public outrage over sweatshop conditions, many clothing manufacturers now hire outside companies to inspect working conditions in their factories. This
third-party monitoring has become a growth industry, the NLC says, funded largely by the corporations being investigated. The concern is that manufacturers might influence their monitors to present an overly favorable picture to consumers.
       When asked if any company in particular was making substantial improvements, Braune said that the NLC was,"hard-pressed to make a distinction between any manufacturer." The only exception, the NLC believes, is El Salvadoran factories making clothing for The Gap. In 1995, The Gap signed an agreement with the NLC agreeing to independent monitors, not employed by The Gap. Instead they come from the Human Rights Ombudsman's offices in El Salvador and other Central American countries. The NLC believes that this is the model all manufacturers should follow.
       However, Ginny Coughlin, spokeswoman for UNITE, said the best way to rid the garment industry of sweatshops is to organize workers. "Tremendous progress is being made ... more and more factories are unionizing." Although workers in the United States and overseas are also fired every day for trying to organize and educate themselves about their rights.