Nexus - 1201 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

OB OY Le VEN? US$350 MILLION RICO LAWSUIT FILED OVER ASPARTAME or throat, burning urination, chest pains, chronic cough, chronic fatigue, death, depression, a” diarrhea, headaches/migraines, hearing loss, heart palpitations, hives (urticaria), hypertension, impotency and sexual problems, memory loss, menstrual problems or changes, nausea or vomiting, slurring of speech, tremors, tinnitus, vertigo and/or vision loss". The lawsuit also _ states, "Further, Aspartame disease mimics symptoms or worsens the following diseases: Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Lupus, Diabetes, Epilepsy, Alzheimer's Disease, birth defects, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lymphoma, Lyme Disease, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Panic Disorder, Depression and other psychological disorders". (Source: News With Views, 16 September 2004, www.newswithviews.com/) US$350 million class-action KY lawsuit was filed on 15 September 2004 in United States District Court in San Francisco, California (case no. C 04 3872). This racketeering (RICO) law- suit was filed against the NutraSweet Corporation, the American Diabetes Association, Dr Robert H. Moser and others. Plaintiffs maintain that this law- suit will prove how deadly the chemical sweetener aspartame is when consumed by humans. Contained in the lawsuit is the key role played by current Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, in helping to get aspartame pushed through the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Back in the late 1970s to mid-1980s, Rumsfeld was the President and CEO of G. D. Searle & Co., which originally owned the patent on aspartame. Plaintiffs maintain that Rumsfeld used his political muscle to get aspartame approved by the FDA, despite the objections of many FDA health researchers and the negative studies. According to the press release issued on this RICO lawsuit, "'double blind’ studies showed conclusive evidence that aspar- tame caused severe health problems and even death to the exposed study group". This isn't the first lawsuit filed alleging that aspartame is hazardous to the health of also humans. The National Justice League filed three other lawsuits on 26 April 2004, in three separate California courts. The defendants in those lawsuits number twelve, and all produce or use the artificial sweetener aspartame as a sugar substitute in their products. This lawsuit charges the defendants with being engaged in unlawful acts of "knowingly and intentionally using the neurotoxic Aspartame as a sugar substitute in the manufacture of Equal™, while knowing that exposure to Aspartame causes among other diseases/symptoms: abdominal pain, arthritis, asthma, brain cancer, breathing difficulties, burning eyes BIOMETRIC ID SYSTEMS SWEEPING THE WORLD L Russia, President Vladimir Putin has signed an order for the establishment of an interdepartmental working group to pre- pare the introduction of new-generation passport and visa documents. The group has been instructed to develop, before 1 January 2006, a regulatory and legal framework for the implementation of a state-run system of manufacture, filling out and control of these new-generation documents that will also include biometric information. It has also been ordered to create the financial/economic terms for the develop- ment and introduction of technologies that would meet world standards, as well as for the unification of requirements for individ- ual passport/visa identification documents. (Source: Itar-Tass, 20 September 2004, http:/www.itar-tass.com) [ Europe, the Draft Council Regulation on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by European Union (EU) member states—if not overturned by the Council of Justice and Home Ministers—will mean that every one of the 450 million people with passports in the EU will have to queue up in "processing “After unanimous passage through the Congress and Senate, President Bush solved the problem of getting America out of Iraq by declaring it the 51st state...” 6 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com DECEMBER 2004 — JANUARY 2005