Sandra Finley

Oct 112011
 
(Business section, link no longer valid)
By Rory MacLean, The StarPhoenix October 11, 2011

University of Saskatchewan senators who this summer called for the board of governors chair to resign because of her ties to Cameco Corp. are now saying the senate itself has a democratic deficit.

They formed the group University Senators in Saskatchewan Working to Revive Democracy (USSWORD) earlier this year to criticize the corporatization of the university.

The group was created after environmental lawyer Stefania Fortugno penned a letter that accused board of governors chair Nancy Hopkins of having a conflict of interest between her financial interest in Cameco and position as chair of the search committee for the next university president.

Elected senator Mary Jean Hande said a number of senators and faculty have since voiced their support for USSWORD, but are afraid of repercussions if they should be seen as aligning themselves with the group.

“They’re afraid to speak out about these things because they’re worried about repercussions,” she said. “They’re worried about bullying and they’re worried about harassment.”

Hande wouldn’t specify exactly how many senators are involved, but she admitted it is less than half of the 28 elected to the body.

It’s been difficult for the group to communicate with the other senators, said Hande, because communication is vetted by the senate secretary and the senate email list has recently been disabled.

Motions submitted by USSWORD to be put on the last senate meeting agenda calling for an investigation into Hopkins’ apparent conflict of interest were rejected twice for being out of order.

“They told us there wasn’t enough time to discuss these motions at the meeting, so they basically rejected them. They don’t have the power to do that,” said Hande.

Hopkins earlier denounced the accusations as “absurd,” saying they stemmed from the fact that Cameco is in the nuclear business, “which is a big flashpoint for many people.”

A recent chart issued by USSWORD outlining different corporate ties at the university reveals a nuclear focus, bearing the title Radioactive Trinity: A study of partnerships of government, industry and the U of S, though it also outlines links to several oil companies among university governors. These connections call the university’s autonomy into question, said Hande.

“The university is a public institution. Its role is to serve the university community. That type of influence takes the university away from the influence of the people of Saskatchewan. We’re concerned that the university is being transformed into some sort of think-tank for the energy industry.”

USSWORD will be bringing three motions to the next senate meeting and is asking any interested members of the public to attend. The Occupy Saskatoon protesters will attend the meeting, which starts at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in Room 150 in the College of Law building.

PROTEST COMES TO SASKATOON

The growing Occupy Wall Street movement demonstrating against corporate power and economic disparity hits Saskatoon on Saturday.

The Occupy Saskatoon event starts at 9:30 a.m. at the University of Saskatchewan, where the rally will support a group of academic activists and elected officials speaking out against corporate influence at the university.

The rally then marches to downtown Saskatoon and stops at Friendship Park for the day-long demonstration.

Occupy Wall Street is a continuous demonstration that has attracted thousands of people to New York to protest corporate influence in American society and government.

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix
Oct 102011
 

The email below was sent in response to  2011-10-06  ( Letter from University’s Lawyer threatens legal action).

The reply from the University’s lawyer to the following is posted at  2011-10-19

– – – – – – – — – – – – — – – – –

October 15, 2011 

 

TO:

McKercher, LLP

David Stack

 

cc: 

McKercher,  Steve Seiferling

 

(NOTE:  the Supreme Court and the Law Society are cc’d because the use of the Justice system as a tool of intimidation is a very serious issue in need of discussion and remedy.)

 

 

FROM:

Sandra Finley

Saskatoon  SK  Canada

306-373-8078

sabest1  AT   sasktel.net

www.sandrafinley.ca

Twitter:   @Xcorporatocracy

Facebook.com:   

 

Dear Mr. Stack: 

 

RE:  Your file reference 30000.455    USSWORD Infringing Use of Registered Marks   (USSWORD = University of Saskatchewan Senators WOrking to Revive Democracy)

(A copy of your letter is posted at  2011-10-06   (Letter from University’s Lawyer threatens legal action)  —

“  . . .  cease and desist  . . . If you do not comply, we have instructions to pursue all available legal remedies.”)

 

1.   YOUR LAW FIRM, McKERCHER, REPRESENTS ME IN AN ON-GOING CASE. 

 

I met with my lawyer yesterday and drew the conflict to attention.   He was not aware of your action against me and will be discussing with you.  

 

He told me that a decision by the Sask Court of Appeal two weeks ago relaxed the rules regarding conflicts within a law firm over client representation.   As I understand the situation,  even though the rules may have been relaxed, there are requirements within McKercher that have not been met.   And up until two weeks ago McKercher would not be allowed to simultaneously represent AND bring action against me.

 

2.   Let me say, regarding your letter and prior to addressing the legal issue you raise: 

 

the justice system is a well-known tool of intimidation and coercion used by large corporate interests and the Government with seemingly unlimited financial resources, compared to the ordinary, well-intentioned private citizen.    

 

I am acquainted with the practice.   It is a disturbing trend, along with the use of the police (RCMP) to protect unregulated corporate interests (Monsanto sending the RCMP to the homes of organic farmers, Encana pipeline incidents bring out the RCMP anti-terrorist squad when unregulated, very poisonous sour gas is causing still-births and miscarriages in women and in livestock.  People are trying to defend the health and lives of their family and environment.  They exhaust legal remedies, are left to their wits and then characterized as terrorists.  The terrorists are the large corporations like Monsanto, Encana, Lockheed Martin, etc.  and their collaborators.)  

 

It is my job as an elected Senator of the University of Saskatchewan to represent the voice of the owners of the University, the citizens of Saskatchewan.   The role of “the loyal opposition” in democratic institutions is to ask the hard questions, to hold officials accountable to citizens. 

 

The University of Saskatchewan has been and continues to use the legal system to silence and intimidate: 

a.      The research project spreadsheet of approximately FIFTY cases of harassment at the University, shows

 –             twenty cases going to the Court of Queen’s Bench

–              at least seven going to the Court of Appeal, and

–              others going to quasi-judiciary bodies. 

–              at least three of the cases are “exit with a confidentiality agreement”, commonly known as a gag order bought with a pay-out.   The pay-outs are known to be large.

                As a Senator representing the community interest, I see reflected in the spreadsheet literally millions of dollars in lawyers’ fees,  financial settlements to aggrieved victims, and salaries paid to administrators who are dealing with the disputes.  There are serious questions to be answered concerning conflict resolution at the U of S.    

b.            An issue raised by USSWORD is the unacceptable conflicts-of-interest at the University.   Nancy Hopkins is the Chair of the Board of Governors.  She has been on the Cameco Board since 1992 and as at the end of December 2009 had $1.8 million in Cameco shares.    She chairs the Search Committee for the next President of the University;  persons with connections to the industry are in contention for the position. 

  

The President, Peter MacKinnon responds in Senate by proclaiming that there IS no conflict-of-interest.   We all know what a wonderful person Ms Hopkins is.

   

A reading of the minutes of the Board of Governors indicates that Ms Hopkins does not recuse herself from deliberations related to the nuclear industry on campus.

 

When the Government of Saskatchewan channels $30 million to the University ear-marked for research and development to benefit the nuclear industry, is Ms. Hopkins going to uphold University autonomy in its ability to allocate funds without political interference?  And is she concerned about the long-term sustainability of that program should that government funding be cut in future because they (and the nuclear industry) believe they are not getting the anticipated return on their “investment”?    No.   

 

Does she benefit from the advancement of the nuclear research at U of S?   After Fukishima the world is exiting nuclear and Ms. Hopkins’ Cameco shares have taken a nose-dive.   Government (public) funding, through the University, of Cameco’s interests will be extremely beneficial to the investments of Nancy Hopkins – – but (repeat) the Administration of the University contends there is no conflict-of-interest. 

 

USSWORD raises the issues;  the University seems unable to deal with them through respectful exchange.   They deny and then threaten “the full force of the law”.   The question is “WHY”? 

 

Link back to the spreadsheet of harassment cases.   You may or may not know:   Academic Women for Justice has lodged a complaint with the Minister responsible for Post-Secondary Education, Rob Norris.   They recommend that the University of Saskatchewan no longer be eligible for Canada Research Chair Funding because of the cases.   This is a matter of serious concern for the owners of the University and me as a representative.

 

But still the “WHY”.  . . . Connect the dots.   (INSERT:  scroll down;  notice of correction sent to lawyer)   I happen to be a friend of, and have great respect for the work of Dr. Dave Schindler from the University of Alberta, awarded for example, internationally with a prize of a million dollars for his work on water.   You may recognize his name more recently from the science he presented on the Alberta Tar Sands – an indictment of the Government and the Industry for their failure to protect water supplies.

 

 

 

The next dot:  Monique Dube did her PhD work under David Schindler and later became a renowned researcher in water.   She was awarded a Canada Research Chair at the University of Saskatchewan, bringing $16 million with her.  I came to know of Monique because she was the ONE scientist at the University who engaged with the community around Outlook over the question of adding high-volume water users and polluters of the South Sask River, in the form of intensive cattle operations.   

 

Then  big surprise:  Monique Dube recently and abruptly left the University, a great loss to the University.   . .  WHY did she leave?  I know that in early summer she was extremely worried that the University was going to fire her which was incomprehensible given her publication and work record.  The University has celebrated and profiled her virtues.

 

Hmmm . . .  I recall a social conversation with Monique.   I had been up to Wollaston Lake at a Keepers of the Water Conference.  Keepers of the Water (attendees of the Conference) are First Nations people from northern  Alaska, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  The elders are very concerned by the levels of cancer in their communities, unknown in the past.   Because of the disease levels (poisons going into the environment) they have joined hands across the North to protect their children. 

 

Monique told me her experience by which she was obviously disturbed:  she had been taking water samples in the North.  They had a Geiger counter with them  as they went along the shore.  The counter was going crazy.   What bothered her most was that children were innocently playing on the shore when even adults should not have been in the area without protection, given the readings on the Geiger counter.

 

Wollaston Lake = Cameco.   The University of Saskatchewan = Cameco University.   The connections are well documented.  Please ask if you would like them.

 

I received a brown envelope.   The Administration of the University can confirm the content. . . . Monique Dube asserted the need for laboratories at the University to be brought up to Canadian standards.  As I understand, she is a professional and has worked under the world’s best.   In order for her work to be scientifically reliable she must be working in laboratories that meet standards.   

 

Whose interests are served by sub-standard laboratories?   Whose interests are served if the researcher with the Geiger counter is forced out of the University?

 

 c.            The University Administration would not like the circumstances aired with regard to president MacKinnon and provost Brett Fairbairn overriding the decision of the Search Committee for the Dean of the Law School.  The ultimate appointee was the thesis supervisor of president MacKinnon’s son at the University of Alberta.   Yes, it would be convenient to have independent-minded senators silenced.  The following was written by another very concerned member of the Saskatchewan community and submitted to USSWORD:

. . .     So it is true:  William MacKinnon, son of the current U of S President, was supervised for his Master of Laws degree by Dr. Sanjeev Anand.  See http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/alblr45&div=7&id=&page=

Dr. Anand, as you will recall, was appointed Dean of Law at U of S earlier this year after a highly unconventional competition process.   To read that story, click on the following link:

http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/top+u+of+s+officials+face+criticism+over+law+dean+selection/93731/story.html

This all calls into question some of President MacKinnon’s decision-making practices and indicates how he is prepared at times to bend the rules to suit his purposes.  One can readily see how William MacKinnon’s academic credentials received a huge boost upon the appointment of his thesis supervisor to the prestigious position of Dean of Law at U of S. 

(INSERT:  Anand is also now indebted to MacKinnon.  In MacKinnon’s case, the Dean of Law job was a springboard to the Presidency of the University, a position that pays in the neighbourhood of $350,000 plus perks, last time I saw the figures.  Not to mention that there may be incentive for Anand to view Will MacKinnon’s thesis work more favourably.) 

Too bad that the press did not disclose this connection to the public.    (INSERT:  Maybe the press didn’t know.) 

No wonder Peter MacKinnon was so defensive when this irregular appointment received public notice. 

My guess is that when I say it is not acceptable for the President and Provost to override the Search Committee’s selection, to favour the thesis supervisor for the President’s son, I will be charged with being disloyal to the University and in breach of some responsibility.

 

d.            My letter to the University Board of Governors ( 2006-04-12  Real-life experience. PPP’s and corruption in action. Government-University-Chemical Biotech)  is further documentation of the use of the legal system to try and silence efforts to address serious abuses of democratic process.   Tom Wolf works at Innovation Place, part of the University.

 

2004-04-10  Tom Wolf, Health Canada scientist threatens to sue me.  Response – the mafia uses threat of broken bones. 

EXCERPT:  . . .  In light of the preceding points and other statements in your letter, I view your letter to me as an intimidation tactic. Gangsters bully people through threat of broken bones. The chemical industry has an established history (I will be happy to provide specific examples should you desire them) of attempting to intimidate through the threat of harm to the person’s finances and well-being, utilizing the legal system as the weapon.

 

The Board of Governors of the U of S  declined to address the issue presented to them.    As evidenced by the research spreadsheet (numerous cases), the University relies on the same tool – the threat of use of the Justice system in order to silence people. 

 

The University spends huge amounts on fees to law firms and in financial settlements.   They do not address the underlying causes – there is denial and cover-up instead of honest attempts to address and resolve problems.   

 

When the Government is using the University as the back door to fund the nuclear industry, when the nuclear industry is entrenched at the University,  it is to be expected.

 

3.         COMPLIANCE WITH YOUR REQUEST

 

Thank-you for drawing the infringement of trade mark to attention.   We simply stated who and what we are doing:  University of Saskatchewan Senators WOrking to Revive Democracy.   The name is in the public domain and is commonly used in such designations, or so we thought.  

 

We immediately convened a meeting and changed the name.  But I now understand that what we changed the name to will also be interpreted as trademark infringement.  

We are soliciting suggestions.  Unfettered Spirits in Saskatchewan WOrking to Revive Democracy (USSWORD) has been suggested.   Perhaps that will do.

 

I recommend that the University take steps to address the issues presented to it.  Using the Justice system to try and silence legitimate concerns only allows the problems to grow.

 

Yours truly,

Sandra Finley

– – – – – – – –

 

CORRECTION:  sent October 25

Hello David,

I have crossed out an incorrect detail and another sentence thereby rendered irrelevant on the on-line copy of the email below.  You can view it at http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=3366 .

It is high-lighted below (scroll down).

I was talking with Dave Schindler – – he was not Monique Dube’s thesis supervisor.   I apologize for the misinformation.  I HATE putting out wrong info, it affects credibility.

Best wishes,

Sandra 

Oct 062011
 

Chiefs undermined

 By Martha Kashap, The StarPhoenix October 6, 2011
 

The StarPhoenix is biased, and aids and abets the government and the nuclear industry.

Recent articles concerning the government and the affairs of SIGA cast aspersions on the competency of the First Nations leaders and were condescending to treaty Indians.

These reports come at a pivotal time in Saskatchewan. The government, which is backed by the nuclear industry, is facing an election. It’s no secret that the industry wants permission to dump radioactive waste in Northern Saskatchewan, and would welcome legislation that makes this possible.

At the same time the government has provided millions of dollars to the University of Saskatchewan to create a Nuclear Studies Institute, giving the nuclear industry a way to infiltrate our university.

It’s exactly at this point in time it would serve both the government and the nuclear industry well to cast doubt on the Indian chiefs, with the rest of us are being forced toward the slippery, irreversible slope of ruination from nuclear waste.

Just when hunger striker Emil Bell would be urging the chiefs to sign a petition and unite to protect their treaty lands from the nuclear industry, The SP, the government and the nuclear industry have seen fit to create confusion among their ranks and steal the real focus of their fight – the preservation of their treaty lands and their homes in the forests and among the clear waters of the North.

I hope the chiefs will unite and succeed in holding strong against a dishonourable government led by a dirty industry. We should support them and vote for change in the election.

Martha Kashap

Saskatoon

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix
Sep 292011
 

 http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/Study+debunks+myths+organic+farms/5462520/story.html#ixzz1ZTzV4Okf

By Paul Hanley, Special to The Star Phoenix,  

The results are in from a 30-year side-by-side trial of conventional and organic farming methods at Pennsylvania’s Rodale Institute. Contrary to conventional wisdom, organic farming outperformed conventional farming in every measure.

There are about 1,500 organic farmers in Saskatchewan, at last count. They eschew the synthetic fertilizers and toxic sprays that are the mainstay of conventional farms. Study after study indicates the conventional thinking on farming – that we have to tolerate toxic chemicals because organic farming can’t feed the world – is wrong.

In fact, studies like the Rodale trials (www.rodaleinstitute.org/ fst30years) show that after a three-year transition period, organic yields equalled conventional yields. What is more, the study showed organic crops were more resilient. Organic corn yields were 31 per cent higher than conventional in years of drought.

These drought yields are remarkable when compared to genetically modified (GM) “drought tolerant” varieties, which showed increases of only 6.7 per cent to 13.3 per cent over conventional (non-drought resistant) varieties.

More important than yield, from the farmer’s perspective, is income, and here organic is clearly superior. The 30-year comparison showed organic systems were almost three times as profitable as the conventional systems. The average net return for the organic systems was $558/acre/ year versus just $190/acre/year for the conventional systems. The much higher income reflects the premium organic farmers receive and consumers pay for.

But even without a price premium, the Rodale study found organic systems are competitive with the conventional systems because of marginally lower input costs.

The most profitable grain crop was the organically grown wheat netting $835/acre/year. Interestingly, no-till conventional corn was the least profitable, netting just $27/acre/year. The generally poor showing of GM crops was striking; it echoed a study from the University of Minnesota that found farmers who cultivated GM varieties earned less money over a 14-year period than those who continued to grow non-GM crops.

Importantly, the Rodale study, which started in 1981, found organic farming is more sustainable than conventional systems. They found, for example, that:

. Organic systems used 45 per cent less energy than conventional.

. Production efficiency was 28 per cent higher in the organic systems, with the conventional no-till system being the least efficient in terms of energy usage.

. Soil health in the organic systems has increased over time while the conventional systems remain essentially unchanged. One measure of soil health is the amount of carbon contained in the soil. Carbon performs many crucial functions: acting as a reservoir of plant nutrients, binding soil particles together, maintaining soil temperature, providing a food source for microbes, binding heavy metals and pesticides, and influencing water holding capacity and aeration. The trials compared different types of organic and conventional systems; carbon increase was highest in the organic manure system, followed by the organic legume system. The conventional system has shown a loss in carbon in recent years.

. Organic fields increased groundwater recharge and reduced run-off. Water volumes percolating through the soil were 15-20 per cent higher in the organic systems. Rather than running off the surface and taking soil with it, rainwater recharged groundwater reserves in the organic systems, with minimal erosion.

Organic farming also helps sustain rural communities by creating more jobs; a UN study shows organic farms create 30 per cent more jobs per hectare than nonorganic. More of the money in organic farming goes to paying local people, rather than to farm inputs.

With results like these, why does conventional wisdom favour chemical farming? Vested interests. Organic farming keeps more money on the farm and in rural communities and out of the pockets of chemical companies. As the major funders of research centres and universities, and major advertisers in the farm media, they effectively buy a pro-chemical bias.

Still, the global food security community, which focuses on poor farmers in developing countries, is shifting to an organic approach. Numerous independent studies show that small scale, organic farming is the best option for feeding the world now and in the future. In fact, agroecological farming methods, including organic farming, could double global food production in just 10 years, according to one UN report.

Sep 262011
 

Monday, September 26 · 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Old South Meeting House

310 Washington St.

Boston, Massachusetts

starting at 7 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m.)
ADMISSION: $50 per ticket. Each ticket grants access to the event AND includes an autographed copy of Mr. Rumsfeld’s latest book ‘Known and Unknown”

BUT IF YOU CAN’T GET IN, THERE WILL BE A PROTEST OUTSIDE.
To get inside, register here: http://www.wrko.com/an-evening-with-donald-rumsfeld

Contact your local law enforcement official and bring him/her along to arrest Rumsfeld. He no longer has immunity, as ruled recently by Chicago Circuit Court Judge. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a common law legal system.  Go into a Massachusetts Court and/or Magistrate and request the issuance of an arrest warrant against Rumsfeld. Contact MA Attorney General Martha Coakley . Contact Suffolk County District Attorney, Daniel Conley (617) 619-4000.

The precedent
:
The principle of universal jurisdiction (war crimes tribunals in Nuremberg, in Timor,  Ruwanda, Yugoslavia, why not here ?)

The Charges:

  • Murder conspiracy for disseminating deliberately misleading information (lies) knowing full well that the death of our troops would occur. As Sec. of Defense from Jan. 20, 2001 to Dec. 18, 2006, he maliciously ordered service men and women of Massachusetts to their deaths in Iraq.
  • He conspired to deceive the US Government and its citizens when he lied about WMD and (nonexistent) ties between Saddam and al-Qaeda.
  • Rumsfeld was one of the primary architects of the Iraq war. As far back as 9/15/01, he suggested (in a meeting at Camp David) an attack on Iraq because he was deeply worried about the availability of “good targets in Afghanistan.” The war in Iraq is a war of aggression. It violates the United Nations Charter which only permits one country to invade another in self-defense or with the blessing of the Security Council.
  • He also participated in the highest levels of decision-making that allowed the extrajudicial execution of several people. Willful killing is a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, which constitutes a war crime. The special-access program (SAP) was set up a clandestine team of Special Forces operatives to defy international law and snatch, or assassinate, anyone considered a “high-value” Al Qaeda operative, anywhere in the world. Rumsfeld expanded SAP into Iraq in August 2003.
  • He sanctioned the use of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, which are grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, and thus constitute war crimes. Rumsfeld approved interrogation techniques that included the use of dogs, removal of clothing, hooding, stress positions, isolation for up to 30 days, 20-hour interrogations, and deprivation of light and auditory stimuli, the use of physical coercion and sexual humiliation to extract information from prisoners. Rumsfeld also authorized waterboarding, where the interrogator induces the sensation of imminent death by drowning. Waterboarding is widely considered a form of torture
Sep 252011
 

There are on-going battles on many fronts over corporate takeover –“harmonization”, “de-regulation”, “Integration”,  etc.. 

ANOTHER VERY SERIOUS DEVELOPMENT:   U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told participants that the U.S. and Canada are set to launch a pilot project next year which will allow law enforcement officers to operate on both sides of the border.     (Click on  http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=3354).     

 – – – – – – – – — 

I have not been able to keep up with reports from the U.S.  – – the protests over Wall Street, the failure to prosecute, determination to take back their country is growing.   AND the media is not reporting it.   Abuses of police power accompany the protests. 

The last thing we need is integration of the police and military.

 — – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — –

DEFEND THE RULE OF LAW.   HOW?   (THIS IS NO TIME TO BE SHY.) 

 Converse with those who are the collaborators.   They must not remain anonymous.  Phone them, even if it is their cell-phone number.

 See the appended Wall of Shame,  the list of people responsible for bringing Dick Cheney to Vancouver through the Bon Mot Book Club and the Vancouver Club. 

 I spoke directly with 2 people on the list and left messages for the others (every phone had an answering machine). 

1. Leah Costello – offers as justification that they are only creating the forum for discussion.  She tells of all the other speakers they have entertained – for example on the topic of homelessness. 

2. Tamara demanded to know how I had obtained her personal cell phone number.   Did I look it up?  (No)   I told her that there are listservs and connections among people in Canada, the U.S. and internationally who are working to bring members of the Bush Administration to justice.   I have no idea who found her personal cell phone number.  It is just information that is circulated in these international networks. 

 (Normally I am timid about using a cell phone number in this way.  There is too much at risk for that to be.) 

The basic message I left on answering machines:  put yourself in the shoes of the people in Iraq, then imagine that it was Canada that the Bush Administration dropped the bombs on.  Imagine the amount of hatred we would have for Americans (although the culprits are not them but their leaders).   We, and I am sure the Vancouver Club/Bon Mot Book Club, are working to build a better world.  Our individual actions need to make a positive contribution.  They likely would not individually have made a decision to host Cheney; group decisions sometimes go awry.   I encouraged them to talk with other members of the Vancouver Club about the decision to host Cheney.   In some messages I made reference to American corporations that profiteered mightily from collaboration with the Nazis in WW2, etc..  This has elements of the same behavior.

And now I hear that Cheney is scheduled for Calgary on Tuesday!    http://www.calgarysun.com/2011/09/24/calgary-protesters-to-greet-cheney   Calgary protesters to greet Cheney 30

APPENDED     Subject: Wall Of Shame

 WALL OF SHAME
There are many people involved in bringing these heinous criminals to our fair city.
The top of the list is Leah Costello (founder, Bon Mot Book Club).
Please contact these immoral facilitators and let them know about your displeasure with their actions.

Bon Mot Book Club  604-922-5324

Leah Costello (Founder, Bon Mot Book Club) Cell phone 604-551-4344

Founding Hosts, Bon Mot Book Club

Elio & Rosanna Luongo Hm. 604-421=0437

Dave & Tamara Bustos Hm. 604-935-0374 Tamara’s cell. 778-994-8796

Ray Castelli Cell phone 778-998-4717

David Rowntree Hm. 604-913-7911

Ian Telfer & Nancy Burke Hm. 604-921-6049 604-921-6046

Michael & Lesley Bentley Hm. 604-298-0895

The Vancouver Club Board of Directors

Carolyn Coleclough – President 250-496-5277
cmc@webhudco.ca

Doug Christopher – Vice President, Planning Committee Chair 604-925-2994
dchristopher@telus.net

Russell Smith – Immediate Past President 604-844-5437
rsmith@odlumbrown.com

John Ellis – Finance Committee Chair
john.ellis@schenker.ca

Debbie Thomas – House Committee Chair 604-707-6304 cell# 604-313-0335
thomas_pement@telus.net

Doug Jevning – Membership Committee Chair
jdjevning@telus.net

Christopher Gaze – Ambassador’s Committtee Chair 604-732-8705
cgaze@telus.net

Cara Savege-Cocco – Signature Service Committee Chair 604-734-0970
cara@carasavege.com

Shirley Kepper
skepper@telus.net

Rachel Thomas
rachelelenorthomas@gmail.com

Trudy Van Dop 604-521-7887
trudy@art-bc.com

Barry Davidson 604-929-4918
barry@davidsonandsons.com

Andrew Hungerford 604736-8500
ahungerford@hungerfordproperties.com

Sep 252011
 

http://www.opednews.com/articles/U-S-Canada-Perimeter-Secu-by-Dana-Gabriel-110920-609.html

By Dana Gabriel (about the author)           September 24, 2011

The U.S. and Canada are very close to unveiling a North American perimeter security deal that would promote greater integration between both countries. This includes expanding collaboration in areas of law enforcement and intelligence sharing which could dramatically affect sovereignty and privacy rights. While there is a need for more public scrutiny, incrementalism has been used to advance North American integration. In many ways this has kept the agenda under the radar. Much like NAFTA and the Security and Prosperity Partnership, a U.S.-Canada perimeter security agreement would represent another step in the consolidation of North America.

During his speech at a recent meeting of northern border states, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told participants that the U.S. and Canada are set to launch a pilot project next year which will allow law enforcement officers to operate on both sides of the border. Holder explained that, “the creation of “NextGen’ teams of cross-designated officers would allow us to more effectively identify, assess, and interdict persons and organizations involved in transnational crime.” He went on to say, “In conjunction with the other provisions included in the Beyond the Border Initiative, such a move would enhance our cross-border efforts and advance our information-sharing abilities.” The declaration, Beyond the Border: Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness issued by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper last February, identified joint law enforcement operations and information sharing as a high priority. There are already examples of what we could expect from a security perimeter as some Canadians have been denied entry into the U.S. after their records of mental illness were shared with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

While further details of the new joint law enforcement project are not yet available, Stuart Trew of the Council of Canadians pointed out that the plans are well advanced. This prompted him to question, “why is Harper consulting with Canadians on a done deal? We haven’t had a chance to yea or nay the perimeter agreement which is expected to be released as an “action plan’ within weeks. But a pilot project that legalizes and normalizes US policing activities in Canada is already set to begin next year.” He added that this confirms, “the Harper government will use its limited public consultations earlier this year to move ahead quickly with whatever new cross-border policing and information sharing commitments it wants, regardless of privacy and other concerns.” Last month, the Canadian government released two reports which summarized public input received concerning regulatory cooperation, as well as security and trade across the border. While improving the movement of goods and people was the priority for business groups, many individuals expressed concerns over the loss of sovereignty, along with the protection of personal information.

On top of announcing plans to create teams of cross-designated officers, Attorney General Eric Holder took time to praise bilateral relations between the two countries, but acknowledged, “there are areas in which the U.S. and Canada can enhance cooperation in criminal investigations and prosecutions. And I believe we must consider how extradition, and mutual legal assistance, processes could be streamlined.” He also stated, “As Canada’s national government considers various anti-crime policies and approaches, we will continue working to implement a comprehensive anti-crime framework.” Does this mean that as part of a security perimeter, Canada would have to change its legal system to better reflect U.S. laws? As the fall session of Parliament gets underway, the Harper government is set to table tough new criminal reform legislation.

In the report entitled Shared Vision or Myopia: The Politics of Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness, former Foreign Service officer Gar Pardy warns that a perimeter security deal with the U.S. could sacrifice Canadians privacy while doing nothing to improve the flow of trade across the border. In his report, Pardy reveals that “The concessions the Americans want is the transfer of enormous amounts of information about Canadians and others about whom Canada collects information. It is evident that to meet such expectations Canadian privacy laws will need to be ignored, violated or weakened.” He also stated that, “The Shared Vision approach essentially promotes the idea that in order to restore the status quo ante implicit in the free trade agreements there have to be large political concessions by Canada that will satisfy American security concerns.” This could explain the Conservative government’s announcement that it will reintroduce anti-terrorism measures which have expired and are on par with sections of the liberty-stripping U.S. Patriot Act. The move is tied to plans for a security perimeter and is aimed more at satisfying U.S. fears.

In his report released by the Rideau Institute, Gar Pardy also warns that, “when Canada–United States privacy protection principles are under bilateral discussion, privacy protection will not be increased. A more likely result is that existing Canadian privacy laws, as flawed as they are, will erode to meet the demands of the United States.” As part of his report, he recommended measures that would better protect privacy rights and encourage transparency. This included all new agreements with the U.S. affecting the privacy rights of Canadians, be reviewed by the Privacy Commissioner. Pardy called for the creation of a single authority to oversee all federal police and security organizations participating in information transfers between both countries. He also recommended a separate treaty that would protect personal information transferred to the U.S. for national security purposes. With regards to a perimeter security deal, Pardy concluded that, “If Canadian concessions on security and privacy rules do result in the lessening of American border restrictions and controls then such results would always be hostage to future events over which Canada has no control.”

It is important to keep in mind that the move towards a North American security perimeter is being done without congressional or parliamentary approval. There is no reason to trust that our governments will strike any kind of balance between security and freedom. That is why it is imperative that we demand more transparency and input. With a joint action plan expected to be released soon, it is my hope that Canadians and Americans will reject any perimeter security deal that reduces privacy rights and further puts our sovereignty at risk.

Dana Gabriel is an activist and independent researcher. He writes about trade, globalization, sovereignty, security, as well as other issues.

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Sep 242011
 

The Poisoning of Minamata

 


 

by Douglas Allchin

It started out quite simply, with the strangeness of cats “dancing” in the street–and sometimes collapsing and dying. Who would have known, in a modest Japanese fishing village in the 1950s, that when friends or family members occasionally shouted uncontrollably, slurred their speech, or dropped their chopsticks at dinner, that one was witnessing the subtle early symptoms of a debilitating nervous condition caused by ingesting mercury? Yet when such scattered, apparently unconnected, and mildly mysterious events began to haunt the town of Minamata, Japan, they were the first signs of one of the most dramatic and emotionally moving cases of industrial pollution in history.

The outcome was tragic: a whole town was both literally and figuratively poisoned. Yet for those of us, now, who can view it more distantly, this episode also offers a conceptually clear and affectively powerful example of the concentration of elements in food chains, the sometimes unexpected interconnectedness of humans and their environment, and the complex interactions of biology and culture. In short, it is a paradigm for teaching ecology and science-society issues.

The case of Minamata, Japan, and the mercury poisoning (originally called Minamata disease) that took place there, appeared briefly in news headlines in the 1970s and then receded from public attention–at least in the U.S. The episode was fully and richly documented, however, by former Life photographer, Eugene Smith, and his wife, Aileen, who lived in Minamata for several years. Much of what follows draws on their book (unfortunately, now out-of-print, but available in many libraries; see Smith and Smith 1972, 1975; Ishimure 1990).

The Episode

Minamata is located on the Western coast of Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost island (see map). Its disturbing story begins, perhaps, in the 1930s, as the town was continuing to shed its heritage as a poor fishing and farming village. In 1932 the Chisso Corporation, an integral part of the local economy since 1907, began to manufacture acetaldehyde, used to produce plastics. As we know now, mercury from the production process began to spill into the bay. Though no one knew until decades later, the heavy metal became incorporated into methyl mercury chloride: an organic form that could enter the food chain. At the time, Minamata residents relied almost exclusively on fish and shellfish from the bay as a source of protein. For us, today, the threat of pollution is immediately evident. But one must not fail to appreciate the historical context in which neither scientific experience nor a pervasive environmental awareness could offer such an explicit warning.

Minamata is located on the coast of Japan’s westernmost island. The city and the adjacent Minamata Bay form a relatively closed ecosystem: the bay was a source of fish–and almost the city’s exclusive source of protein–until the mid-1950s. The effects of mercury pollution from the Chisso factory quickly double-backed onto the city’s residents.

 

After World War II (around 1952), the production of acetaldehyde boomed. So, too, did the local economy–and most residents welcomed their improved lifestyles. About the same time, fish began to float in Minamata Bay. Chisso, as it had since 1925, continued to pay indemnity to local fishermen for possible damage to their fishing waters. Also at that time, cats began to exhibit bizarre behavior that sometimes resulted in their falling into the sea and dying, in what residents referred to as “cat suicides.”

In the early 1950s, similar behavior began to appear–sporadically and without much notice–in humans. People would stumble while walking, not be able to write or button their buttons, have trouble hearing or swallowing, or tremble uncontrollably. In 1956 an apparent epidemic broke out and one can imagine the confusion–and fear–that was prevalent because no one knew the cause. Was it a viral inflammation of the brain? Was it syphilis? Was it hereditary ataxia, or alcoholism? Was it infectious? The popular names of “cat’s-dancing disease” and the “strange disease” convey some of both the mystery and its alienating quality.

The physiological effects, including successive loss of motor control, were devastating, and resulted in sometimes partly paralyzed and contorted bodies. Here, the photos of Eugene Smith speak more fully and sensitively than any words one can imagine. One resident, Tsuginori Hamamoto, described the plight of his father, a fisherman. Virtually overnight, Sohachi lost his ability to keep his balance, or to stay afloat in the water once he had fallen off the boat. He could not put on his sandals, walk properly, or understand what others were saying to him. Once hardy and strongly self-willed, his condition quickly degenerated, and he was hosptialized on the fourth day. There, even tied to his bed with bandages, he “craze-danced,” said words that were not words; he salivated; he convulsed. Later, he tore at his own skin with his fingernails until his body bled. “Mother would look at Dad,” Tsuginori recalled, “and just stand there–tears dropping from her eyes–looking dazed. Then we realized that the same symptoms were developing in Mother.” The father died within seven weeks, the mother nine years later.

By the end of 1956, epidemiological and medical researchers identified the disease as heavy-metal poisoning caused by eating the fish and shellfish of Minamata Bay. Direct evidence that mercury from the Chisso plant was responsible, however, did not emerge until 1959. Dr. Hajimé Hosokawa, in private tests on cats at the Chisso Company Hospital, showed that the plant’s acetaldehyde waste water caused the disease symptoms (though the results were not made public). Chisso installed a “cyclator” designed to control the emissions, offered `mimai’ (consolation payments) to the patients, and the matter seemed resolved. Nearly 100 patients had been identified, of whom over twenty had died.

More patients emerged, however. Children were also born with the “disease.” The geographical distriubtion of cases widened. In 1963, Public Health Service researchers traced the disease to mercury from Chisso. Controversy soon erupted over who was responsible for compensating the victims and supporting their families. It was not until 1970 that a district court ruled that Chisso make payments totalling $3.2 million to the original group of patients; others soon received payment by negotiating directly with Chisso.

Chisso still operates in Minamata and now produces chemicals, fertilizer and floppy discs. The city has diminished in size, now almost 70% of its peak population in the 1960s. Mercury permeates sediment of bay, where fishing has long been prohibited. One of the two dumping sites is being filled in and a memorial garden is planned. The incident is rarely discussed, but residents know that things have changed; a certain confidence or buoyancy is missing. In a sense, the way of life in Minamata itself has been poisoned.

The Science

Biologically the case of Minamata exemplifies (as many will recognize) the concentration of elements (described in most texts). Students may be guided in developing this concept on their own. One need only remind them of their knowledge of the loss of energy (and biomass) for each step in a food chain. From there, they may speculate what will happen to chemicals, such as DDT or heavy metals, that are not excreted or broken down, but stored in the tissue. Successively higher concentrations of the chemical (they should conclude) appear in each trophic level–a result dramatically illustrated in the Minamata food chain (see chart). The Minamata example may also be an occasion to introduce students to Rachel Carson, who identified the same phenomenon with pesticides in her influential Silent Spring in 1962.

Mercury Concentrations in Tissue Samples (ppm)*
Fish & Shellfish   Cats

  Humans

 
oyster 5.6 control 0.9-3.66 control less than 3.0
gray mullet 10.6 kidney 12.2-36.1 kidney 3.1-144.0
short-necked clam 20.0 liver 37-145.5 liver 0.3-70.5
china fish 24.1 brain 8-18 brain 0.1-24.8
crab 35.7 hair 21-70 hair 96-705

Minamata’s food chains dramatically illustrate the `concentration of elements’–in this case, of mercury–in successive trophic levels. Assays of tissue from fish and shellfish from the bay, and from cats and humans who died from the poisoning, show high concentrations of mercury. Kidney and liver concentrations indicate how the bodies tried–unsuccessfully–to excrete and detoxify the heavy metal._

 

The Minamata case is such a vivid example because the town and the bay where the mercury was dumped may be seen as a relatively closed system. The ecological consequences, which are often diffuse and indirect, may be seen as a closed loop: the effects of the effluent led gradually but nevertheless inevitably back to humans. That is, in this exceptional case, one can trace the mercury from its source in Chisso’s production process, through the waste water to the organisms inhabiting the bay, and then to the cats or humans consuming the fish and shellfish. As a microcosm, Minamata illustrates the sometimes fuzzy concept that humans and their environment are inextricably interconnected.

One may also address the physiological effects of mercury. Mercury concentrates itself specifically in neural tissue. Early effects thus include loss of peripheral sensation and restriction of the visual field. Patients in advanced stages of the condition show considerable atrophy of brain. The granular cells of the cerebellum are especially targeted, accounting for the ataxic gait, tremors, and sometimes violent convulsions of the patients.

In some classes, students may be well-prepared to understand why the disease affected growing children more severely than adults. In fact, five children, ages 5-11, who had collected shellfish from the shore while playing, were the first documented cases. Students may also be ready to predict how the mercury would concentrate in a developing fetus, leading to congenital cases, even where the mother showed no signs of the poisoning. In one dramatic incident, an umbilical cord (traditionally boxed and preserved in Japan) provided material evidence of the suspected mercury concentration, years after the fact.

The Social and Cultural Consequences

The case of Minamata is surely engaging because the relationship between the causal agent and the effect is so unambiguous (at least today). Yet a full account also includes the more “human” dimension–those elements which contributed to the figurative poisoning of the city, and that make the case both more striking and more valuable for reflection.

For example, because the disease was related to the unexplainable behavior of wildly-acting cats, the disease became stigmatized, often in the victim’s own eyes. In the Japanese view of medicine, the condition of the body reflects how the individual has maintained his or her balance with the external world–and sickness can be viewed as something “deserved.” The victims were thus often implicitly “blamed” for their own condition. Also, wary of contagion, residents ostracized disease patients. Neighbor turned against neighbor. One tatami mat-maker, Yahei Ikeda, for instance, disparaged those who had the disease–until one day he, too, ironically, showed the symptoms. Neighbors with whom he had earlier shared his isolationist sentiments regarding the victims now turned those same feelings against him.

Fishermen and their families were the earliest and most severely afflicted, having consumed the most contaminated fish. But it was also the fishermen, perhaps, who most embodied the traditional Japanese appreciation of nature, so evident in classical haiku poetry and watercolor painting. For the fishermen, the sea, viewed romantically perhaps, was life-giving. It was hard for the villagers to comprehend that the sea could also take life away. One fisherman expressed his love of the sea:

When I though I was dying
and my hands were numb
and wouldn’t work–
and my father was dying too–when
the villagers turned against us–
it was to the sea
I would go to cry.
. . .
No one can understand
why I love the sea so much.
The sea
has never abandoned me.
The sea
is the blood of my veins.

Indeed, it was the poison in the food from the sea that also flowed in his blood, generating the numbness in his hands and prompting his fears of dying. Here, not only his food was polluted, but also the fundamental view of nature in his culture.

The most disturbing social overtones in Minamata may have involved the employees of Chisso. In the 1950s and 60s, Chisso employed about 60% of the town’s workforce. Having essentially inherited the role of patriarchal lord from feudal Japan, Chisso was both provider and protector. The employees depended on Chisso for their livelihood and, in turn, honored this with their loyalty. So deep was this loyalty that Dr. Hosokawa, who had uncovered his company’s role in causing Minamata disease, felt he could not divulge the results of his research publicly (though he did so later on his deathbed). Even today, Chisso enjoys a favorable image among many residents. When fishermen began to demonstrate against Chisso for damages, therefore, there were counter-demonstrations by company employees. To have admitted Chisso’s “guilt” would have been to acknowledge that the corporation had abandoned its filial responsibility and that the relationship, now violated, could no longer be trusted. In the same way perhaps, residents of Rochester, New York felt betrayed when in 1988 “Mother Kodak” spilled 30,000 gallons of methylene chloride solvent in the local area (consider also a similar case involving Martin Marietta in Denver, 1987). Though members of Chisso’s Workers’ Union could sympathize with those in Minamata’s Fishermen’s Union, in this case there was no question where loyalty would lie. The whole town of Minamata was thus splintered. The mercury not only poisoned individuals’ bodies, but also the community’s social relations.

Causation and Responsibility

In a narrow, epidemiological sense, Chisso’s effluent was the source or the “cause” of the problems in Minamata. But the case here is also valuable in that it allows one to see the broader economic and cultural contexts that linked Chisso and its effluent with the community around it. Causes occur at many levels or in many contexts simultaneously: physiological, ecological, economic and political. The lessons that emerge here about the conditions that promote pollution (even if unwanted) are correspondingly clearer. They can help students move beyond the simple black-and-white view that pollution is blatantly “evil” and can be easily avoided.

There is no question, now, that Chisso withheld critical information in 1959 and continued to dump waste. They were held legally liable for their negligence in 1972. Yet this does not solve the deeper problems of responsibility. One must look at how the pollution first started, and later continued. Blaming victims is unwarranted. Yet there is a sense in which the entire episode resulted from communal values and social decisions. The town as a whole welcomed Chisso’s arrival and later growth, and the town as a whole prospered. And the town as a whole also suffered the unfortunate consequences. In this sense, the case of Minamata follows the classical form of tragedy (taught since Aristotle, and still today in high school English classes): there was a tragic choice, followed by unforseen tragic consequences. The difference is that, here, events occurred on a social rather than individual level. Who, ultimately, is responsible, especially when consequences may be unforseen or unintended?

One lesson may be that all the members of the society must accept the undesirable, even unanticipated consequences of their collective judgements. Even if we do not “choose” individually to endorse nuclear energy or manufacturing with toxic by-products, for instance, we cannot personally abdicate social responsibilty for the consequences of their waste. The problem is epitomized in current efforts to situate new landfills and hazardous waste sites. “Anywhere but in my neighborhood (or state),” is the common reply. The closure of events in Minamata, however, challenges whether attitudes, exemplified by the “not-in-my-back-yard” syndrome, can be effectively, or even ethically, maintained.

Political Action

Finally, Minamata can teach us about politics, particularly as they might apply to environmentalism. The patients of Minamata disease suffered not only from a physical handicap alone. Due to their economic status and the social dimensions of the disease, the victims were also politically handicapped. They–and the fishermen whose livelihoods (if not whose lives) had been destroyed–did not initially command the power or the resources to obtain proper compensation from Chisso. The story of their struggle, therefore, is equally informative.

In the late 1950s, the disease patients organized a “Mutual Help Society.” Through continued petitioning, recruiting of grass-roots support across Japan, months of sit-ins at Chisso headquarters, and an unsightly tent settlement on their front sidewalk in Tokyo, they focused unfavorable public attention on Chisso. Eventually Chisso management agreed to negotiate directly with the patients, rather than appeal to the government’s authority (which supported Chisso). Other patients brought suit, wherein Dr. Hosokawa’s testimony was made public and became instrumental in demonstrating Chisso’s particular negligence. The court ruled in favored of the patients and the demands of the negotiations group were met soon thereafter. The political campaign succeeded, but only through an investment of considerable effort and time. Here, bearing witness, patience and persistence proved effective.

Political lessons may seem inappropriate in a biology classroom. However, students today are increasingly exposed to acts of violence intended to “resolve” conflicts. An example where bearing witness, patience and persistence have proven their effectiveness can provide a significant alternative model for action. Even in environmentalism, we are easily reminded of the ethical issues involved in spiking trees and other forms of “monkey-wrenching” or ecological sabotage.

Epilogue

Disasters such as the massive release of methyl isocyanate gas from Union Carbide plant’s in Bhopal, India, certainly focus our attention on the adverse human effects and environmental risks of some industry. Yet such “incidents,” like those at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl or the Valdez oil spill can also be dismissed as “accidents” or exceptional single occurences–not as symptomatic of the status of human ecology. One can easily forget the often larger threats posed by low-level but more sustained release of chemicals–the “slow-motion Bhopals.” And one can easily overlook the more difficult, yet far more fundamental issues involving attitudes, lifestyles, and economic and social forces–issues that are so keenly profiled by the history of Minamata.

In hindsight, it is easy to prescribe what ought to have been done in Minamata–and to assign blame accordingly. But such an interpretation fails to appreciate what a sensitive historical perspective can teach us. Who could have guessed, for instance, when autos first started rolling off the assembly line and onto the streets, that decades later we would be concerned about carbon monoxide, smog, leaded gas, drunk drivers, and global warming? Minamata is a paradigm for informing an environmental ethos that treading lightly is advisable where consequences are unknown. Even so, no one can foretell the longer-term and sometimes undesirable consequences of an action, and we must cope with them as they emerge.

Chisso finally stopped production of acetaledyde in 1968–when an alternative technology for producing plastics was developed. Still, through the 1970s and 80s, new patients continued to surface. In some cases, the symptoms are partial–numbness or tingling in the extremities, for instance, or frequent headaches or the inability to concentrate–and it is hard to determine the exact extent of the mercury’s effects. Aware of the potential scope of the problem, the government is generally reluctant to verify patients. Even so, 1,760 victims have been verified; almost 3,000 more await verification–of whom 412 have already died. Over 8,000 have been denied status. No one can be sure of the extent of the damage, but one neuropsychiatrist at a local university estimates that 10,000 victims exist currently and that at least 3,000 have died. Over $611 million has been paid to victims in compensation. But it is hard to measure the real cost.

As described to me by one Japanese native, the story of Minamata looms over the country as an example of the dark side of Japan’s post-World War II industrialization. Given the cases of Love Canal and Times Beach in the U.S., however, he might easily not have referred to Japan alone.

Much like the dropping of nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the nearby island of Honshu, the poisoning of Minamata has left an enduring legacy. The long-term biological effects in each case have placed a medical and social burden on society, measured both in terms of yen and our collective conscience. They also serve as poignant reminders of the consequences when man disregards the environmental effects of his actions.

The basin where Chisso dumped its posionous mercury waste has now been filled in and a memorial garden has been planted. The city of Minamata now takes pride in itself, having learned a hard lesson, and looks forward to a better, more environmentally informed future.

References

  • Ishimure, Michiko. 1990. Paradise in the Sea of Sorrow. English translation by Livet Monnet. Yamaguchi Publishing House (c/o Japan Publications Trading Co., Ltd., Tokyo).
  • Smith, W. Eugene and Aileen M. Smith. 1972. Life, (June 2), 74-79.
  • ——. (1975). Minamata. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Questions for Discussion:

  • Uncertainty is a recurrent problem in environmental issues (alar; radon; EMF fields; CFCs and the ozone layer; global warming). In Minamata, the problem was certainly compounded by having no history of industrial pollution to provide models of interpretation, no clear understanding of heavy metals in the food chain and no previous knowledge of the effects of acetaldehyde wastewater. At what point
  • How does one assess responsibility in a case such as this? If Chisso installed a pollution control device in good faith, should they be held accountable for damges that follow?

 


 

The SHiPS Teachers’ Network helps teachers share experiences and resources for integrating history, philosophy and sociology of science in the the science classroom.

Sep 242011
 

Please save this site…it is good   / Grant

http://www.heavymetaldetox.net/Research%20Articles/Dr%20Dietrich%20Klinghardt/index.htm

A Comprehensive Review of Heavy Metal Detoxification and Clinical Pearls from 30 Years of Medical Practice
 
 by   Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD
A. Introduction:  Heavy Metals appear in the mammalian system because they have become part of our environment.
We are in a constant exchange with our environment which is goverened by the laws of osmosis.If mercury is in the fish we eat, over time we have mercury in our system. We cannot keep our system pristine and clean, because we are seperated from our toxic environment only by semi-permeable membranes: skin and mucosal surfaces. Maintaining relative cleanliness requires a number of inherent detox systems to work overtime against the osmotic pressure of the incoming toxins. As the toxixity of our environment increases so does the osmotic pressure, pushing the often man- made poisons into our body.

Toxins almost never come alone. They come in synergistically acting package-deals. Mercury alone is toxic. Together with zinc it is many times more toxic, add in a little copper and silver, as in dental amalgam fillings and  the detrimental effect to the body increases manyfold.  Together with mercaptan and thioether (dental toxins) the toxic amalgam effects grow exponentially.  Add in a little PCB and dioxin, as in fish, and the illness causing effect of the methyl mercury in fish increases manyfold. Toxicology is to a large degree the study of synergistic effects.  In synergy 1 plus 1 = 100. Heavy metals are primarily neurotoxins.  There is a synergistic effect between all neurotoxins which is responsible for the illness producing effect.

Making the neurotoxin elimination a major part of my practice has been an amazing experience.
Many illnesses considered intractable respond when the related issues are successfully resolved.

What are Neurotoxins?

Neurotoxins are substances attracted to the mammalian nervous system. They are absorbed by nerve endings and travel inside the neuron to the cell body. On their way they distrupt vital functions of the nerve cell, such as axonal transport of nutrients, mitochondrial respiration and proper DNA transcription. The body is constantly trying to eliminate neurotoxins via the available exit routes: the liver, kidney, skin and exhaled air. Detox mechanisms include acetylation, sulfation, glucuronidation, oxidation and others. The liver is most important in these processes. Here most elimination products are expelled with the bile into the small intestine and should leave the body via the digestive tract. However, because of the lipophilic/neurotropic nature of the neurotoxins, most are reabsorbed by the abundant nerve endings of the enteric nervous system (ENS) in the intestinal wall. The ENS has more neurons than the spinal chord. From the moment of mucosal uptake the toxins can potentially take 4 different paths:

1.       Neuronal uptake and via axonal transport to the spinal chord (sympathetic neurons) or brainstem (parasympathetics) – from here back to the brain.

2.       Venous uptake and via the portal vein back to the liver

3.       Lymphatic uptake and via the thoracic duct to the subclavian vein

4.       Uptake by bowel bacteria and tissues of the intestinal tract

i)     Heavy metals:

mercury, lead, cadmium, iron, manganese and aluminum (are the most common).
Common Sources: metallic mercury vapor escapes from dental amalgam fillings (they contain about 50% mercury, the rest is zinc, silver copper, tin and trace metals). Cadmium: car fumes, cigarette smoke , pigment in oil paint Lead: outasing from-paint, residues in earth and food chain from time when lead was used in gasoline, contaminated drinking water Aluminum: cookware, drinking water

ii)    Biotoxins:

such as tetanus toxin, botulinum toxin (botox), ascaridin (from intestinal parasites), unspecified toxins from streptococci, staphylococci, lyme disease, clamydia, tuberculosis, fungal toxins and toxins produced by viruses. Biotoxins are minute molecules (200-1000 kilodaltons) containing nitrogen and sulfur. They belong to a group of chemical messengers which microorganisms use to control the host´s immune system, host behaviour and the host´s eating habits.

iii)      Xenobiotics (man-made environmental toxins):

such as dioxin, formaldehyde, insecticides, wood preservatives, PCBs etc.

iv) Food Preservatives, excitotoxins and cosmetics:

aspartame (diet sweeteners), MSG, many spices, food colourings, fluoride,  methyl-and
propyl -paraben, etc.

Heavy Metal Toxicity

Metals can exist in the body with different kinds of chemical bonds and as different molecules. Mercury appears to be the king-pin in the cascade of events in which metals become pathogenic. Mercury can be present as metallic mercury (HgO), as mercury salt (e.g. mercury chloride – HG+), or as methyl mercury (HG++).  Methyl mercury is 50 times more toxic than metallic mercury.  Methyl-Hg is so firmly bound to the body that it has to be first reduced to HG+ before it can be removed from the cell.  This is achieved with reducing agents (“antioxidants”) e.g. intravenous vitamin C and reduced glutathione. To remove Hg-Salts or metallic Hg from the outside of the cell, other agents are useful Mercury belongs to a group of metals that oxidize in the presence of sulfur and form compounds with sulfur (sulfhydryl affinitive metals).  Methyl mercury is already oxidized to its maximum and bound firmly to sulfur in the different proteins of the body. The following metals belong to the sulfhydryl affinitive group and respond to similar detoxification methods:  Copper, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury. Aluminum and iron for example would not respond a sulfur compound. Some detox agents have multiple mechanisms by which they bind to metals. The algal organism chlorella has over 20 known such mechanisms.

Other metals oxidize with oxygen.  Iron turns to rust when oxidized.  Rust is nontoxic to the body, whereas iron is.  Iron overdose responds to a chemical called desferoximin (desferal).  Aluminum responds to the same detoxification agent. A recent Japanese study showed that Chinese parsley, cilantro, is a powerful elimination agent for aluminum stored in bone and the brain.

Other facts:

  • Some metals are extremely toxic, even in the most minute dose, whereas others have very low toxicity, even in high doses.  However, dependent on the dose, all metals can become toxic to the body.  Iron can cause severe oxidative damage, copper may compromise liver function and visual acuity, selenium and arsenic have been known to be used to murder people and so on.
  • Most metals serve a functional role in the body.  For example, selenium is needed in the enzyme that restores oxidized glutathione back to its functional form as reduced glutathione.  Another important function of selenium is its role as a powerful antioxidant in preventing cancer.
  • Some metals have a narrow physiological range.  That means the difference between a therapeutic dose and toxic overdose is very small.   Selenium is an example of this.  Magnesium on the other hand has a wide physiological range and thus is more difficult to overdose.
  • Some metals have no physiological function.  Mercury, lead, aluminum are in this group.  Even the smallest amounts have negative physiological-effects.
  • biochemical individuality: some people may react more or less than others to the presence of heavy metals in the tissues.  Some people may develop a severe chronic illness after exposure of a few molecules of mercury, whereas others may be more resistant to it. Genetic deficiencies in the enzymes responsible for the formation of the metallothioneins and glutathione production and reduction are examples.

Possible side-effects during heavy metal detox:

Every patient can be affected by metals in two ways:

1.  Through their non-specific toxic effects

2. Through the system´s allergic reactions to the neurotoxins

Often these two distinctive types of symptoms cannot be easily distinguished.  During a detox program, the patient may also temporarily become allergic to the various substances that help to carry out the toxins.  This is based on a physiological mechanism called ‘operant conditioning’.  Every time the detoxifying substance is given, mercury emerges from its hiding places into the more superficial tissues of the body, where mercury can now be detected by the immune system.  The immune system however is fooled into thinking that the detoxifying substance itself is the enemy.  The immune system now starts to react to the detoxifying substance as if it was the mercury itself.  This reaction typically resolves spontaneously after six weeks of not using the detox agent in question.  This type of conditioned reflex can also be easily treated with simple techniques e.g. NAET, PK (APN), or by giving the detox substance in a homeopathic dilution for a few days.  Often the basal membranes in the kidney will swell as a sign of the allergic reaction, causing low back pain, anuria or inability to concentrate urine. Neuraltherapy or microcurrent stimulation of the kidneys quickly resolves the issue. Muscle aches indicate the redistribution of toxins into the connective tissue and an insufficient program. Depression, headaches, trigeminal neuralgia, seizures, increased pain levels indicate redistribution of metals into the CNS and an inappropriate detox program. Eye problems and tinnitus that occurs during detox indicates redistribution of metals into these organs and requires selective mobilization from these locations before the program is continued. I use a specific type of microcurrent for this purpose

Some recently published findings related to the metal issue:

Iron/mangnese: A recent paper on Parkinsons disease (Neurology June 10, 2003;60:1761-1766)revealed that just by eating iron and manganese containing foods such as spinach or taking supplements containing Mn or Fe – the risk of developing PD increased almost 2 fold. This demonstrates that even dietary supplements or organically grown foods are amongst the possilbe culprits in metal toxixity.

Methylmercury:

There are two major sources:

1. mercury escaped from dental amalgam fillings is converted by oral and intestinal bacteria to methylmercury, which then is bound firmly to proteins and other molecules. Methyl mercury crosses the blodd brain barrier and the placental barrier leading to massive prenatal exposure. Earlier studies determined that over 90% of the common body burdon of Hg is from dental fillings. Recent studies show that eating fish is starting to compete with amalgam fillings for the leading position as a risk factor.

2.Seafood

A recent study (JAMA, April 2, 2003;289(13):1667-1674) revealed the following. It is estimated that nearly 60,000 children each year are born at risk for neurological problems due to methylmercury exposure in the womb. One in 12 U.S. women of childbearing age have potentially hazardous levels of mercury in their blood as a result of consuming fish, according to government scientists.  The U.S.FDA recommends that pregnant women and those who may become pregnant avoid eating shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tile fish known to contain elevated levels of methylmercury, an organic form of mercury. Nearly all fish contain some amount of methylmercury. Mercury accumulates in the system, so larger, longer-lived fish like shark or swordfish contain the highest amounts of mercury and pose the largest threat if eaten regularly.

The National Center for Policy Research for Women & Families published in  May 2003, that the following fish are lowest in methyl mercury:

  • Catfish (farmed)
  • Blue Crab (mid-Atlantic)
  • Croaker
  • Fish Sticks
  • Flounder (summer)
  • Haddock
  • Trout (farmed)
  • Shrimp

The FDA also recommends these fish as safe to eat:

haddock, tilapia, wild alaskan salmon,and sole

Ethylmercury:

A recent quote from Boyd Haley, PhD: our latest research clearly points to the ethylmercury exposure as being causal in autism.  The tremendous enhancement of thimerosal toxicity by testosterone  and the reduction of toxicity by estrogen explains the fact that 4 boys to 1 girl getting the disease and the fact that the bulk of severe autistics are boys.  Most importantly, this autistic situation clearly shows that exposure to levels of mercury that many “experts” considered safe was capable of causing an epidemic of a neurological disease”.

B. Symptoms

Other authors have tried to specify typical symptoms for each metal. Because of the synergistic effects and simultaneous occurence of several toxins at the same time. The best source of literature on the effects of specific metals on the system are the old homeopathic textbooks ‘materia medica’ (Kent, Boericke).

I prefer to look at a client in a systemic way, not focussing on single issues . A manganese typical symptom (ie violent behaviour) may be a lot more worrysome in a given patient then their particular mercury related symptom (ie insomnia). However, the practical focus of detox should be almost always on the mercury first. If mercury is adressed appropriately, the manganese often leaves the body as a side effect of mercury detox. The opposite is not true.

Any illness can be caused by, or contributed to, or exagerated by neurotoxins. Here is a short list:

  • Neurological problems: Fatigue, depression, insomnia, memory loss, blunting of the senses, chronic intractable pain (migraine, sciatica, CTS etc.), burning pain, paresthesia, strange intracranial sensations and sounds, numbness. Autism. Seizure disorder. Hyperactivity syndromes. Premature ejaculation and inorgasmia
  • Emotional problems: inappropriate fits of anger and rage, timidness, passivity, bipolar disorder, frequent infatuation, addictions, depression, dark mood, obsession, psychotic behaviour, deviant behaviour, psychic attacks, inability to connect with god, etc.
  • Mental problems: memory loss, thinking disorder, messy syndrome (cluttering), loss of intelligence, AD, premature aging
  • GI problems: candida, food allergy, leaky gut syndrome, parasites, inflammatory bowel disease
  • Orthopedic problems: joint arthritis, persisiting musculo-skeletal pain, fibromyalgia, TMD,
    recurrent osteopathic lesions
  • Immunological disorders (autoimmune diseases, hypothyroid disorders, MS, ALS, Sjogen´s Syndrome, CFIDS, MCS etc.)
  • Cardiovascular disorders ( vascular disease, arrythmias, angina, increased heartbeat)
  • Cancer –mercury, arsenic, copper etc. can be a trigger
  • ENT disorders: chronic sinusitis, tinnitus, glandular swelling,
  • Eye problems: macular degeneration (dry and wet), optic neuritis, iritis, deteriorating eye sight, etc.)
  • Internal medicine problems: kidney disease, hypertension, hypercholesterinemia, syndrome X
  • OB/gyn: difficulties of pregnancy, impotence, uterine fibroids, infertility, etc.

C. Diagnosis:

  • History of Exposure: (Did you ever have any amalgam fillings? How much fish do you eat and what kind? A tick bite? etc)
  • Symptoms: (How is your short term memory? Do you have areas of numbness, strange sensations,etc)
    – A complete neurotoxin questionaire is available from AANT@425 462 1777
  • Laboratory Testing: direct tests for metals: hair, stool, serum, whole blood, urine analysis,
    breath analysis
  • Xenobiotics: fatty tissue biopsy, urine, breath analysis
  • Indirect tests: cholesterol (increased while body is dealing with Hg), increased insulin sensitivity, creatinine clearance, serum mineral levels (distorted, while Hg is an unresolved issue), Apolipoprotein E 2/4, urine dip stick test: low specific gravity (reflects inability of kidneys to concentrate urine), persistently low urine ph (metals only go into solution in acidic environments – which supports detoxing), urine porphyrins
  • Autonomic Response Testing: (Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt M.D., Ph.D.)
  • BioEnergetic Testing (EAV, kinesiology etc.)
  • Response to Therapeutic Trial
  • Functional Acuity Contrast Test (measure of Retinal Blood Flow)
  • Non-specific neurological tests: upper motor neuron signs (clonus, Babinski, hyperreflexia), abnormal nerve conduction studies, EMG etc . non-specific MRI/CT findings: brain atrophy as in AD, demyelination
  • Several ‘challenge tests’ are used today. They generally involve measuring the urine metal content,
    then administering an oral or iv. mobilizing agent and re-mesuring the metal content in the urine after a few hours. Most well known is the DMPS challenge test:  However, there is agreement amongst most researchers, that the urine Hg content does not reflect total body burdon – only the currently mobilizable portion of Hg in the endothelium and kidneys. If nothing comes out, there can still be detrimental but non-responsive amounts of Hg in the CNS, connective tissue and elsewhere.
  • I have developed a simple approach that works well. I use autonomic response testing (muscle biofeedback) to determine what metal is stored where and what detox agents would be most suitable for this individual. I obtain a hair sample and have it analyzed. It may or may not show any toxic metals. Metals reach the root of the hair via the blood stream. Hair only can show those metals, that have been in the blood in the last 6 weeks. That means, hair only reflects acute toxicity or recently mobilized metals but not the true body burdon. Then we embark on the detox and mobilizing program. In 6 weeks another hair samle is send to the lab and analyzed. If for example manganese is now high, mercury starting to rise (mostly it is methyl Hg, that is reflected in hair), aluminum is at the same value as before, it means, that this program is starting to mobilize Mn ad Hg, but not Al. Through minor adjustments and following the client closely, we observe as the levels in the hair may rise for months or years before returning to low or absent levels. That is the end point. At that time biochemical challenges with Ca EDTA, DMPS or DMSA can be valuabe to see if there are still hidden pockets of metals somewhere in the system that have been ovrlooked with the other methods. In general, the hair-mineral analysis is often overinterpreted. Hair minerals are a reflection of the toxic-metal induced distortion in mineral metabolism.

D. Treatment:

Why would we want to treat anyone at all? Is it really needed? Can the body not eliminate these toxins naturally on its own?

First we need to consider a multitude of risk factors, which influence later decisions:

Here is a short list of  independent risk factors which can either cause accumulation of metals in an otherwise healthy body – or slow down, or inhibit the bodys own elimination processes.

  • Genetics – Several genes are involved in coding for the production of inherent detox mechanisms. Example: ApoE being the major repair protein in neuronal damage and responsible for removing mercury from the intracellular environment. There are 4 different subtypes, one of them making the individual prone to accumulating Hg:  (Danik, M. and Poirier, J. Apolipoprotein E and lipid mobilizatin in neuronal membrane remodeling and its relevance to Alzheimer’s disease. In: Brain Lipids
    and Disorders in Biological Psychiatry, edited by Skinner, E.R.Amsterdam:Elsevier Science, 2002,
    p.53-66).
    Also well known and studied are the individual genetic differences in glutathione availability. Several companies in the Integrative Medicine Field are offering genetic testing today. So far my clinical results were not impressive when I based my detox program on genetic testing only.
  • prior illnesses (i.e. kidney infections, hepatitis, tonsillitis etc.)
  • surgical operations (scars often restrict the detoxifying abilities of whole body sections, such as the tonsillectomy scar with it´s effect on the superior cervical ganglion – restricting lymph drainage and blood flow from the entire cranium)
  • medication or ´recreational´ drug use (overwhelming the innate detox mechanisms)
  • emotional trauma, especially in early childhood. This issue is huge and almost never appropriately adressed
  • social status (poor people may still drink contaminated water)
  • high carbohydrate intake combined with protein malnutrition (especially in vegetarians)
  • use of homeopathic mercury (may redistribute Hg into deeper tissues)
  • food allergies (may block the kidneys, colon etc.)
  • the patients electromagnetic environment (mobile phone use, home close to power lines etc.  Omura showed that heavy metals in the brain act as micro antennae concentrating damaging electro smog in the brain)
  • constipation
  • compromise of head/neck lymphatic drainage (sinusitis, tonsil ectomy scars, poor dental occusion)
  • number of dental amalgam fillings over the patients life-time, number of the patients mothers amalgam fillings

Detox Methods

There are many considerations in choosing detox agents.  After choosing the appropriate agent for the individual client and particular metal and exact chemical form of it, we have to consider the body compartment where the metal is stored.  For example, the algae chlorella is ideal for removing virtually all toxic metals from the gut but has too little effect on mercury stored in the brain.  Intravenous glutathione may reach the intracellular environment, even in the brain, but is fairly ineffective in removing mercury from the gut.  Each agent has a primary place of action, which determines when, how much and for how long it is used.  Agents that have multiple effects on compounds of different metals in the various body compartments are the basis for our detox program.  Most specific agents are used for special situations only.

High protein, mineral, fatty acid and fluid intake

Rationale:

  • proteins provide the important precursors to the endogenous metal detox and shuttle agents, such as coeruloplasmin, metallothioneine, glutathione and others. The branched-chain amino acids in cow and goat whey have valuable independent detox effects. Amino acid supplements, especially with a concentrate of brached chain amino acids are valuable.
  • Metals attach themselves only in places that are programmed for attachment of metal ions. Mineral deficiency provides the opportunity for toxic metals to attach themselves to vacant binding sites.
    A healthy mineral base is a prerequisite for all metal detox attempts (selenium, zinc, manganese, germanium, molybdenum etc.). Substituting minerals can detoxify the body by itself. Just as important are electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium), which help to transport toxic waste across the extracellular space towards the lymphatic and venous vessels.
  • Lipids (made from fatty acids) make up 60-80 % of the central nervous system and need to be constantly replenished. Deficiency makes the nervous system vulnerabe to the fat soluble metals, such as metallic mercury constantly escaping as odorless and invisible vapour from the dental amalgam fillings.
  • Without enough fluid intake the kidneys may become contaminated with metals. The basal membranes swell up and the kidneys can no longer efficiently filtrate toxins. Adding a balanced electrolyte solution in small amounts to water helps to restore intra-and extracellular fluid balance

Pharmaceuticals

  • DMSA . Developed in China in the late 50s. Action via sulfhydryl group. Needs to be given every
    4 hours around the clock to prevent redistribution of Hg and lead into the CNS. Approved for use in lead toxixcity. Causes major brain fog, memory problems during detox, depression and in children sometimes seizure disorders due to redistribution of metals. Indiscriminate use in the US. Common dose: 50-100 mg q4h – 3 days on, 11 days off for 3-12 months
  • DMPS: developed in Russia as further development of BAL. Available both injectable and oral. The oral form is the most effective oral chelator commercially available. 1 tabl TID. Common dosage: 3 days on, 11 days off. The injectable form can be used to mobilize Hg and lead from hard to reach places, such as the autonomic ganglia, joints and trigger points. The iv injection works primarily on the endothelium (several hundred square meters) and the kidneys. Common dosage: 3 mg/kg body weight once/month. The iv form should never be used unless the patient is „covered“ with intestinal binding agents such as chlorella, cholestyramine, apple pectin or chitosan.
  • Desferal: good subcutaneous detox agent for aluminum and iron. More severe possible anaphylactic reactions then with other common detox agents. Research by Canadian-German researcher Kruck showed good results with AD patients. Dosage: 1 vial/week s.c – 3 weeks on, 3 weeks off
  • Ca EDTA: most information available at www.gordonresearch.com. Given as 1 minute push 5-10 ml once/week. Originally developped to remove s calcium deposits, recently found to also be effective for mercury and other metals including aluminum. Side effects are so far underreported and can be serious
    – mostly due to redistribution. The more conventional use of sodium EDTA over a 2 hr period was used to increase nitric oxide in the arteries causing vasodilation and increased perfusion of diseased
    heart muscle.
  • Intravenous Vitamin C. Recent book by Tom Levy, MD. Detoxes mercury, lead and aluminum mostly over the colon which is desirable. I use 37.5 gms with 500 ml distilled water and 10 ml ca gluconate over 1 hr. Can be used daily. Once a week is common, especially during amalgam removal. Irritating to veins. Causes hypoglycemia. No serious side effects. Safe to use for most dentists.Oral vitamin C works less effectively. Must be given to bowel tolerance.

Natural Oral Agents

Cilantro (chinese parsley)

This kitchen herb is capable of mobilizing mercury, cadmium, lead and aluminum in both bones and the central nervous system. It is probably the only effective agent in mobilizing mercury stored in the inracellular space (attached to mitochondria, tubulin, liposomes etc) and in the nucleus of the cell (reversing DNA damage of mercury). Because cilantro mobilizes more toxins then it can carry out of the body, it may flood the connective tissue (where the nerves reside) with metals, that were previously stored in safer hiding places. This process is called re-toxification. It can easily be avoided by simultaneously giving an intestinal toxin-absorbing agent.A recent animal study demonstrated rapid removal of aluminum and lead from the brain and skeleton superior to any known other detox agent. Even while the animal was continuously poisoned with aluminum, the bone content of aluminum continued to drop during the observation
period significantly.

Dosage and application of cilantro tincture: give 2 drops 2 times /day in hot water in the beginning, taken just before a meal or 30 minutes after taking chlorella (cilantro causes the gallbadder to dump bile
– containing the excreted neurotoxins – into the small intestine. The bile-release occurs naturally as we are eating and is much enhanced by cilantro. If no chlorella is taken, most neurotoxins are reabsorbed on the way down the small intestine by the abundant nerve endings of the enteric nervous system). Gradually increase dose to 10 drops 3 times/day for full benefit. During the initial phase of the detox cilantro should be given 1 week on, 2 –3 weeks off. Fresh organic Cilantro works best (as much as person can compress in one hand), when given in hot Miso soup. Miso contains synergistically acting amino acids.

Other ways of taking cilantro: rub 5 drops twice/day into ankles for mobilization of metals in all organs, joints and structures below the diaphragm, and into the wrists for organs, joints and structures above the diaphragm. The wrists have dense autonomic innervation (axonal uptake of cilantro) and are crossed by the main lymphatic channels (lymphatic uptake).

Cilantro tea: use 10 to 20 drops in cup of hot water. Sip slowly. Clears the brain quickly of many neurotoxins. Good for headaches and other acute syptoms (joint pains, angina, headache): rub 10 –15 drops into painful area. Often achieves almost instant pain relief.

Chlorella:

Both C.pyreneidosa (better absorption of toxins, but harder to digest) and C.vulgaris (higher CGF content
– see below, easier to digest, less metal absorbing capability) are available. Chlorella has multiple health inducing effects:

  • Antiviral (especially effective against the cytomegaly virus from the herpes family)
  • Toxin binding (mucopolysaccharide membrane) all known toxic metals, environmental toxins such as dioxin and others
  • Repairs and activates the bodys detoxification functions:
  • Dramatically increases reduced glutathion,
  • Sporopollein is as effective as cholestyramin in binding neurotoxins and more effective in binding toxic metals then any other natural substance found.
  • Various peptides restore coeruloplasmin and metallothioneine,
  • Lipids (12.4 %) alpha-and gamma-linoleic acid help to balance the increased intake of fish oil during our detox program and are necessary for a multitude of functions, including formation of ther peroxisomes.
  • Methyl-coblolamine is food for the nervous system, restores damaged neurons and has ist own detoxifying efect.
  • Chlorella growth factor helps the body detoxify itself in a yet not understood profound way. It appears that over millions of years chlorella has developed specific detoxifying proteins and peptides for every existing toxic metal.
  • The porphyrins in chlorophyl have their own strong metal binding effect. Chlorophyll also activates the PPAR-receptor on the nucleus of the cell which is responsible for the transcription of Dna and coding the formation of the peroxisomes (see fish oil), opening of the cell wall (unknown mechanism) which is necessary for all detox procedures, normalizes insulin resistance and much more. Medical drugs that activate the PPAR receptor (such as pioglitazone) have been effective in the treatment of breast and prostate cancer.
  • Super nutrient: 50-60% aminoacid content, ideal nutrient for vegetarians, methylcobolamin – the most easily absorbed and utilized form of B12, B6, minerals, chlorophyll, beta carotene etc.
  • Immune system strengthening
  • Restores bowel flora
  • Digestive aid (bulking agent)
  • Alkalinizing agent (important for patients with malignancies)

Dosage: start with 1 gram (=4 tabl) 3-4 times/day. This is the standard maintainance dosage for grown ups for the 6-24 months of active detox. During the more active phase of the detox (every 2-4 weeks for 1 week), whenever cilantro is given, the dose can be increased to 3 grams 3-4 times per day (1 week on, 2-4 weeks back down to the maintainance dosage). Take 30 minutes before the main meals and at bedtime. This way chlorella is exactly in that portion of the small intestine where the bile squirts into the gut at the beginning of the meal, carrying with it toxic metals and other toxic waste. These are  bound by the chlorella cell wall and carried out via the digestive tract. When amalgam fillings are removed, the higher dose should be given for 2 days before and 2-5 days after the procedure (the more fillings are removed, the longer the higher dose should be given). No cilantro should be given around the time of dental work. During this time we do not want to moblize deeply stored metals in addition to the expected new exposure. If you take Vitamin C during your detox program, take it as far away from Chlorella as possible (best after meals).

Side effects: most side effects reflect the toxic effect of the mobilized metals which are shuttled through the organism. This problem is instantly avoided by significantly increasing the chlorella dosage, not by reducing it, which would worsen the problem (small chlorella doses mobilize more metals then are bound in the gut, large chlorella doses bind more toxins then are mobilized). Some people have problems digesting the cell membrane of chlorella. The enzyme cellulase resolves this problem. Cellulase is available in many health food stores in digestive enzyme products. Taking chlorella together with food also helps in some cases, even though it is less effective that way. C.vulgaris has a thinner cell wall and is better toerated by people with digestive problems.

Chlorella growth factor

This is a heat extract from chlorella that concentrates certain peptides, proteins and other ingredients. The research on CGF shows that children develop no tooth decay and their dentition (maxillary-facial development) is near perfect. There are less illnesses and children grow earlier to a larger size with higher I.Q and are socially more skilled. There are case reports of patients with dramatic tumor remissions after taking CGF in higher amounts. In our experience, CGF makes the detox experience for the patient much easier, shorter and more effective.

Recommended dosage: 1 cap. CGF for each 20 tabl.chlorell

NDF and PCA

Both are extracts from Chlorella and Cilantro and very effective in detoxing. They are well tolerated, but very expensive.

Garlic (allium sativum) and wild garlic (allium ursinum)

Garlic has been shown to protect the white and red blood cells from oxidative damage, caused by metals in the blood stream – on their way out – and also has ist own valid detoxification functions. Garlic contains numerous sulphur components, including the most valuable sulph-hydryl groups which oxidize mercury, cadmium and lead and make these metals water soluble. This makes it easy for the organism to excrete these subastances. Garlic also contains alliin whis is enzymatically transformed into allicin, natures most potent antimicrobial agent. Metal toxic patients almost always suffer from secondary infections, which are often responsible for part of the symptoms. Garlic also contains the most important mineral which protects from mercury toxicity, bio active selenium. Most selemium products are poorly absorbable and do not reach those body compartments in need for it. Garlic selenium is the most beneficial natural bioavailable source.
Garlic is also protectice for against heart disease and cancer.

The half life of allicin (after crushing garlic) is less then 14 days. Most commercial garlic products have no allicin releasing potential left. This distinguishes freeze dried garlic from all other products. Bear garlic tincture is excellent for use in detox, but less effective as antimicrobial agent.

Dosage: 1-3 capsules freeze dried garlic after each meal. Start with 1 capsule after the main meal per day, slowly increase to the higher dosage. Initially the patient may experience die-off reactions (from killing pathogenic fungal or bacterial organisms). Use 5-10 drops bear-garlic on food at least 3 times per day.

Fish oil:

It is clear that the high consumption of fish oil protects the client from the damage caused by the amalgam fillings. The same is true for the high intake of selenium.

The fatty acid complexes EPA and DHA in fish oil make the red and white blood cells more flexible thus improving the microcirculation of the brain, heart and other tissues. All detoxification functions depend on optimal oxygen delivery and blood flow. EPA and DHA protect the brain from viral infections and are needed for the development of intelligence and eye-sight. They also induce the formation of peroxisomes and helps protect them. The most vital cell organelle for detoxification is the peroxisome. These small structures are also responsible for the specific job each cell has: in the pineal gland the melatonin is produced in the peroxisome, in the neurons dopamine and norepinephrine, etc. It is here, where mercury and other toxic metal attach and disable the cell from doing its work. Other researchers have focussed on the mitochondria and other cellorganelles, which in our experience are damaged much later. The cell is constantly trying to make new peroxisomes to replace the damaged ones– for that task it needs an abundance of fatty acids, especially EPA and DHA. Until recently it was believed, that the body can manufacture ist own EPA/DHA from other Omega 3 fatty acids such as fish oil. Today we know, that this process is slow and cannot keep up with the enormous demand for EPA/DHA our systems have in todays toxic environment. Fish oil is now considered an essential nutrient, even for vegetarians. Recent research also revealed, that the transformation humans underwent when apes became intelligent and turned into humans happened only in coastal regions, where the apes started to consume large amounts of fish.

The fatty acids in fish oil are very sensitive to exposure to electromagnetic fields, temperature, light and various aspects of handling and processing. Trans fatty acids, long chain fatty acids, renegade fats and other oxydation products and contaminants are frequently found in most commercial products. Ideally, fish oil should be kept in an uninterrupted cooling chain until it ends up in the patients fridge. The fish-source should be mercury and contaminant free, which is becoming harder and harder. Fish oil should tast slightly fishy but not too much. If there is no fish taste, too much processing and manipulation has destroyed the vitality of the oil. If it tastes too fishy, oxydation products are present. There are 5 commercially available grades of fish oil. Grade I is the best.

Dosage: 1 capsule Omega 3 taken 4 times/day during the active phase of treatment, 1 caps. twice/day for maintainance.

Best if taken together with chlorella.

Recently a fatty acid receptor has been discovered on the tongue, joining the other more known taste receptors. If the capsules are chewed or a liquid oil is taken, the stomach and pancreas start to prepare the digestive tract in exactly the right way to prepare for maximum absorption. To treat bipolar depression, post partum depression and other forms of mental disease, 2000 mg of EPA are needed/day (David Horrobin). For the modulation of malignancies, 120 mg of EPA 4 times/day are needed. The calculations can easily be done with the information given on the label.

Balanced electolyte solution (Selectrolyte)

The autonomic nervous system in most toxic patients is dysfunctional. Electric messages in the organism are not received, are misunderstood or misinterpreted. Toxins cannot be shuttled through the extracellular space. Increased intake of natural ocean salt (celtic sea salt) – and avoidance of regular table salt – has been found to be very effective in resolving some of these problems. Most effective is a solution pioneered by the American chemist Ketkovsky. He created the formula for the most effective electrolyte replacement, which was further improved by Morin Labs, and is now called ‘selectrolyte’.

Dosage: 1 tsp in a cup of good water 1-3 times/day During times of greater stress the dosage can be temporarily increased to 1 tbsp 3 times/day

Adjuvant therapies:

Lymphatic drainage

Mobilized metals and toxins tend to get stuck in the connective tissue and lymph channels. They can no longer be reached by biochemical agents. A mechanical approach is needed. Dr.Vodder´s MLD approach is very good. We are using a superb group of microcurrent instruments developed by a Japanese researcher. The results are often astounding. The device can also be applied transcranially to mobilize metals from the brain with ease and with no side effects, when the patient is simultaneously on a good detox program. I call this process electromobilization.

Photomobilization: I found that the release of metals from the CNS can be rapidly achieved with the use of narrow band polarized lightstimulation of the eyes. Each metal can be defined by it´s spectral emissions when it is heated up (Fraunhofer lines). When light of the exact same frequency is beamed into the eye (using a special instrument) the release of this exact metal from the intracellular environment into the blood stream is triggered.

Sauna therapy

Peer reviewed literature shows that sweatting during sauna therapy eliminates high levels of toxic metals, organic compounds, dioxin, and other toxins.  Sauna therapy is ideal to mobilize toxins from its hiding places.  However, during a sauna, toxic metals can also be displaced from one body compartment into another.  This means mercury can be shifted from the connective tissue into the brain.  This untoward effect is completely prevented when the patient is on chlorella, cilantro and garlic.  The addition of ozone can be used to deliver an effective anti-microorganism hit while in the sauna.  The moment mercury and other metals are removed from the body, microorganisms start to grow.  We use a ozone steam cabinet which allows us to combine the effects of hyperthermia and ozone therapy in a very safe and comfortable way.

Colon hydrotherapy:

Colon hydrotherapy removes not only fecal matter from the bowel but also sludge and debris that has attached itself to the wall of the colon.  It has been shown that these residues can be years even decades old and often leaked out toxic doses of many different chemicals during those years of residue collection. During a metal detoxification program, many toxins appear on the bowel surface and shifted from bowel surface into the fecal matter. However, since many of the toxins are neurotoxins, and the colon is lined with nerve endings, many of the mobilized toxins are reabsorbed into the body on the way down. To intercept these toxins while in the colon, colon hydrotherapy is the ideal method.

Recommended use:  1-2 colonics per week during active phase of detox.

Acupuncture and Neural therapy:

Both are closely related techniques that balance the autonomic nervous system (ANS).  Compartmentalized metals are often trapped because of specific dysfunctions of the ANS.  Both can be resolved with
either technique.

Exercise:

To facilitate in the detoxification process, exercise is absolutely needed.  Many patients with chronic disease are unable to engage in vigorous exercise e.g. jogging.  We help our clients to find the right level of exercise appropriate to their level of illness.  Without exercise, mobilized toxins accumulate in the connective tissue, kidneys, lungs and skin and can cause a new set of symptoms and perpetuate the patient’s illness.

A good exercise program should include 3 components:  a)  muscle strength training b) aerobic training�
c)  stretching.

Recommendations:  20 minutes twice a day is the minimum requirement during the active detox phase

Kidney protection:

When metals are mobilized a certain portion travels through the kidneys.  The kidneys may react with swelling of the basal membranes and decrease in filtration rate.  To prevent damage to the kidneys the patient has to drink increasing amounts of water (with selectrolyte solution). The kidny has a filtrating surface equal to a ping-pong table, the gut that of a soccer field. The nephrons – like brain cells – live long and cannot be replaced once damaged. The gut membranes are renewed every 3 days. It is foolsih to push toxic metals through the kidneys and wise, to push them out through the gut. Chlorella pulls toxic metals through the mucosal surface of the intestines from the blood and protects the kidneys.

Additional recommended supplement:  Renelix 15 drops three times a day

Bowel flora:

When metals are moved out of the body through the feces, the bowel flora is damaged.  During the active phase of the detox, chlorella works as an excellent pre-probiotic:  It selectively feeds the good bowel flora.  In addition, we recommend taking HLC (Acidophilus/Bifidus) two capsules with each meal.

Psychological issues:

There is a strange but largely overlooked association of metal toxicity and psychological issues.

I found that often when the client has a breakthrough in psychotherapy her/his symptoms become temporarily worse. This is often falsely believed to be a healing crisis (immune system acivation). In this situation the client´s urine will often show high levels of toxic metals with out a provocative agent being used. The psychological intervention has led to a release of deeply stored toxins. I developed a targeted rapid approach to resolve related psychological issues called “applied psychoneurobiology or APN”, which is a form of muscle biofeedback assisted counseling.

The Klinghardt Axiom and the Triad of Detoxification:

By experience I found the following to be true:  each unresolved psycho-emotional conflict or each unresolved past trauma causes the body to lose the ability to successfully recognize and excrete toxic substances. Also each entanglement or limiting connection with another family member, unhealed relationships and unhealthy, non-life affirmative attitudes limit the organisms ability to detoxify itself. In fact, the type of retained metal or other toxin and the body compartment, where it is stored, can be predicted with a high degree of certainty by knowing what type of unresolved psycho- emotional conflict is present in a client and at what age the associated event occurred.

For each unresolved psychological issue there is an equal amount of toxins stored in the body.

When the patient starts to effectively detoxify on the physical level, repressed emotional material moves from the unconscious to the more superficial subconscious part of the brain.  Instead of feeling better from the lessened toxin burden, the patient will often start to experience unpleasant inner states of being,
e.g. tension, anxiety, sadness or anger.  This is commonly mistaken as a side-effect of the medications used for detoxification or as an unspecified “detox reaction”.  When this emotional material is not dealt with, the body stops releasing further toxins –  the tension or discrepancy between the unresolved psycho-emotional material and the already released physical toxins is too large. Both are out of balance – the toxin container is less full then the container with the unresolved emotions.  Unless appropriate psychological intervention is chosen as the next step in treatment, detoxification cannot progress.

Things are further complicated by the increased activity of microorganisms such as fungi and molds, bacteria, viruses, prions and different species of mycoplasma during a detox program. Insecticides, herbicides, wood preservatives, mercury, and other toxins are used by us with a single purpose – to stop the growth of microorganisms and other unwanted pests in the outside world (farm fields, materials and furniture made from wood, to preserve food, etc.).   When these toxic agents have entered our inner environment
(via the food chain, air, water, skin contact or amalgam fillings) they have the same effect in us.  They stop the growth of microorganisms – at a price: they also harm the cells of our body.  As the patient is detoxifying from these agents, microorganisms may grow out of control, since the growth of the microbes is no longer inhibited by the poison. Paradoxically, it is the toxin induced impairment of our immune system that enables the microorganisms to enter our system in the first place. Once established, they are hard to conquer and removing the causative toxin is no longer enough. The organism needs help with the elimination of the infectious agents.

The flare-up of previously hidden infections occurs regularly during mercury detoxification. Historically, this fact is well known:  mercury was used quite effectively for treatment of the bacterial spirochete causing syphilis. Some people died from side effects of the treatment, but many people lived after eradication of the infection. The reverse happens, when we withdraw mercury from the body:  spirochetes, streptococci and other microorganisms present in many hiding places (such as the red blood cells, the jaw bone, inside the lateral canals of a root filled tooth, inside the calculus of a bone spur, in the soft tissues of a whip-lash injured neck, in the gray matter of the brain etc.) may start to grow and extend their hold on us. Microorganisms use their respective neurotoxins to gradually achieve control over our immune system, our behavior, our thinking, and every aspect of our biochemistry. It is the microbial neurotoxins that are responsible for many, if not most poison related symptoms, not the poisons themselves.

For each equivalent of stored toxins there is an equal amount of pathogenic microorganisms in the body (Milieu theory of Bechamp)

Patients who are infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete which causes Lyme disease, often are unaware of their illness. They may have some joint pains or fatigue, but nothing that alarms them. However, frequently they start to become more symptomatic during or after a successful mercury detoxification program: they may experience MS-like symptoms such as muscle weakness, increased levels of pain, numbness, fatigue or mental decline.  The same is true for infections with mycoplasma, streptococci, tuberculosis and others.  Therefore, it is important to anticipate the temporarily enhanced growth of microorganisms during a successful detox program.  There is a latent period in which the microorganisms are already recovered, but the host’s immune system is not.  During this time the practitioner has to prescribe appropriate antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, and antimycoplasma medications. I prefer natural solutions which are often sufficient – or even better in the long run then medical drugs – such as freeze dried garlic, bee propolis, colloidal gold and microbial inhibition microcurrent frequencies.

The immune system in a client with unresolved psychoemotional material and compartmentalized toxins is unable to recognize and eliminate the microorganisms present in the toxic areas of the body. Those areas serve as hiding and breeding places for these organisms. Unfortunately they have been termed “stealth organisms”, implying that they behave in secret unpredictable ways, that they have learned to evade a perfectly evolved and functional immune sytem. There is a fear, that  they are slowly gaining control over us and that there is really nothing we can do about it. We can, if we understand the triad of detoxification.

The Detoxification Axiom:

For each unresolved psycho-emotional conflict or trauma there is an equivalent of stored toxins and an equivalent of pathogenic microorganisms.  To successfully detoxify the body the three issues have to be addressed simultaneously.

The triad of detoxification:

  • Detoxification of the physical body
  • Treatment of latent microorganisms and parasites
  • Treatment of unresolved psycho-emotional issues

E. Conclusion:

Detoxing the patient from heavy metals can be an elegant smooth experience or rollercoaster ride.  The problems that occur can always be resolved with the use of autonomic response testing (ART).

Without the use of ART and addressing the psychological issues (with APN), embarking on a heavy metal detox program can be unsatisfying, incomplete, sometimes dangerous and may not lead to resolution of the underlying medical condition.  We recommend that each patient undergoing a metal detox program stays under the supervision of an experienced and qualified practitioner. There are many more ways to approach metal detox. However, many roads I have witnessed also did not lead to complete resolution of the underlying problem and are shortsighted. The  practitioner should avoid short term interventions for long term issues and should not underestimate the depth and magnitude of the underlying problem.

 Taken from (Link no longer valid:  www.sustainablehealth.org.uk )