Musician Arrested For Playing Protest Song

If you watch the video, the cop recites the musician's rights and that includes the rights for artists to perform at a transit area in NY.  We must stand up for our rights, and not allow the authorities to work against our civil rights as citizens.  However, this policeman was asked by his supervisors to arrest this person.  This puts the policeman in a difficult position.  It is our higher authorities that we must confront.

Migrant Women, Children Allege Harsh Conditions, Sexual Assault at For-P...

Palestinian Refugees Right to Return

Reposted from Causes.com 

 Letter from prisoner Samer al-Issawi as it came from the Ministry of Prisoners:

 I turn with admiration to the masses of our heroic Palestinian people, to our Palestinian leadership, to all forces, parties and national institutions. I salute them for standing by our fight to defend our right to freedom and dignity. I draw my strength from my people, from all the free people in the world, from friends and the families of the prisoners who continue day and night chanting for freedom and an end to the occupation. My health has deteriorated dramatically and I'm hanging between life and death.

My weak body is collapsing but still able to be patient and continue the confrontation. My message is that I will continue until the end, until the last drop of water in my body, until martyrdom. Martyrdom is an honor for me in this battle. My martyrdom is my remaining bomb in the confrontation with the tyrants and the jailers, in the face of the racist policy of the occupation that humiliates our people and exercises against us all means of oppression and repression.

 I say to my people: I'm stronger than the occupation army and its racist laws. I, Samer al-Issawi, son of Jerusalem, send you my last will that, in case I fell as a martyr, you will carry my soul as a cry for all the prisoners, man and women, cry for freedom, emancipation and salvation from the nightmare of prisons and their harsh darkness. My battle is not only for individual freedom. The battle waged by me and by my heroic colleagues, Tariq, Ayman and Ja'affar, is everyone's battle, the battle of the Palestinian people against the occupation and its prisons.

Our goal is to be free and sovereign in our liberated state and in our blessed Jerusalem. The weak and strained beats of my heart derive their steadfastness from you, the great people. My eyes, which started to lose their sight, draws light from your solidarity and your support of me. My weak voice takes its strength from your voice that is louder than the warden's voice and higher than the walls. I'm one of your sons, among thousands of your sons who are prisoners, still languishing steadfastly in the prisons, waiting for an end to be brought to their plight, their pains and the suffering of their families. The doctors told me I became exposed to stroke because of the disorder of my heartbeats, the shortage of sugar and the drop in blood pressure.

My body is full of cold and I can't sleep because of the continued pain. But despite the extreme fatigue and chronic headaches, as I move on my chair, I'm trying to summon all my resources to continue on the road till its end.

There is no going back, only in my victory, because I'm the owner of Right and my detention is invalid and illegal. Do not be afraid for my heart if it will stop, don't be afraid for my hands if they will be paralyzed. I am still alive now and tomorrow and after death, because Jerusalem is moving in my blood, in my devotion and my faith.

 Palestine 16/02/2013 The above letter (in Arabic) was published on 16 February on Shirin Issawi's Page in Facebook.

Translated to English and Hebrew by Free Haifa Please share it and act everywhere to save Samer Issawi and for all the people that were imprisoned for their struggle for freedom.

Obama Letter: Aid to Israel should comply with the Law

reposted:  Jewish Voice for Peace

“My family in Israel has bomb shelters. They are, actually, safe. In Gaza, there is no such thing as “safe.” Please, ask your friends to join me in asking President Obama to make aid to Israel contingent on not using it to target civilians.”


I wear many hats. I’m a dad, a videographer, a Jewish Israeli, a veteran. But I’m telling you my story, and asking you to forward this email and ask your friends to sign this letter to President Obama about US military aid to Israel, as a human being, as a citizen of the world, and as someone who deeply cares about the people in Israel and Gaza.
My wife, kids and I live just on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, where life during the past weeks for the most part carried on as normal. 
There were four sirens in the eight days of the Israeli operation, which means we had to move into a room in the house that has reinforced concrete walls. In our case, we went down to our apartment building’s bomb shelter for 10 minutes—as far as I know every apartment building in Israel has one. Fortunately, the kids took it well and were not scared.
In the south close to the border with Gaza where I’ve been working, life is much, much different.  People who could do so temporarily moved northward and stayed with family and friends out of rocket and mortar range.
Being outdoors when the siren goes off in the south is quite scary. Most rockets are relatively small, up to 12 pounds of explosives, and cannot bring down a building. But in the open space they splatter lots of metal fragments.
The bigger long distance rockets that were fired at lower intervals were the "Fajar" Rockets that carry 90 lbs of explosives. They cannot bring down a building but can destroy an apartment and killed 3 people in an apartment building. People in bomb shelters are considered to be safe.

And of course, the Iron Dome defense system reportedly destroyed 85% of rockets headed towards Israeli populated areas.
Still, in the south, the sirens went off many times a day and there was no school and no work because parents naturally wanted to be near their kids.
In contrast, in Gaza, the bombs dropped by the Israeli military ranged from 500 to 1,000 pounds, and in the past, also 2,000 pounds.  Ten or 20 times more powerful than those which they have sent our way.
When I’d go to our bomb shelter with my family, I would think of families like mine in Gaza. They had no sirens, no Iron Dome defense, no shelters, and because they are essentially trapped, nowhere to go.
But mostly, I thought about how terrified I'd be during the bombings.
There is no safe place to go in Gaza.
It wouldn’t matter if buildings had shelters since the Israeli bombs often flatten the building they hit. There's literally nothing left.  
I want you to ask your friends to sign this letter to President Obama asking him to make aid to Israel contingent on not using it to target civilians because there is no military solution. Not for Palestinians. Not for us Israelis.
To reach a true peace for all of us, Israeli and Palestinian, our governments must choose diplomacy over more bombing. The Israeli government must end its terrible siege of the Palestinians.
And the US must stop sending my government weapons they know will be used to violate the law and harm civilians.
I am happy we've reached a cease-fire and I hope this will lead to negotiations with the Hamas government. I remind myself that the British in pre-state Israel also considered the Israeli political groups terrorist entities.
With hopes for a fair and lasting peace for both of our peoples,

Dear President Obama,

We are Americans from small towns and big cities, and we are Palestinians and Israelis a world away. We are the women, men, and children who are suffering every single day in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, and we are the people from across the world who seek to end that suffering. We are mothers of soldiers and children of refuseniks. We are Jews and Muslims, Christians and atheists, and people of the many other traditions of the world.

And we are all united by our determination to see a truly just peace take root in Israel and Palestine. That goal became even more elusive during your first term, but the American voters have just given you a second chance to make history.

Our request is simple.

Fifteen church leaders have bravely spoken out in a letter to Congress--stating a principle that should be obvious: Israel, the biggest long-term recipient of US aid, should not be above the law. Mr. President, please condition US aid to Israel on compliance with US and international law. It must not be used to violate the rights of Palestinians.

Anything less is a danger to Palestinians, to Israelis, to Americans and to the entire world.

Isolated in Syria...Again

Susan Brannon
29 November 2012


Here we go again.  While Syrians are fighting and loosing their lives for democracy.  While the people fight for important freedoms, while there are daily massacres killing men, women and children…the Syrian government decided to shut down the Internet.

Now, it will be impossible to find the truths and realities of the horrible situation in Syria.  It will be difficult to filter out the difference between propaganda that leaks through from the reality.  I call it the media war.  This is a new type of war that destabilizes societies from taking action, from gathering together in protection from gross injustices and isolates people from the rest of the world.

Shutting down communication platforms reduces the resources needed to remain safe, to find refuge for the children by not being able to monitor the movements of those who hold guns and drive tanks who are more than ready to pull the trigger and attack.

The American news is blasting numbers like 2/3rds of the networks are shut down while others report 100%. It doesn't make sense, the Syrian government used the internet as tool for tracking dissidents and rebels.  With this being the case, it could be signs that the Syrian government may be making plans to enter into attack at the rebels. The regime should enter into emergency mode and move forward in their movements with extreme caution.  Already it seems that the country has As a response, EgyptAir canceled flights to Damascus, it is already rumored that the rebels are battling for the airport, and fights broke out all over the capital.

In the past, when Syria shut down the internet in February 2011, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made remarks condemning the shutdown.  Rumors inundated the Internet in the rest of the world and left us wondering what was really going on inside.  America has remained "uninvolved" in the Syrian dilemma and it is a concern that this lack of involvement, sends the wrong message to the government of Syria giving them a carte blanche to do just about anything that they want to do to their people.

Activists told the AP that cell phone networks and landlines were also unavailable in parts of Damascus and this cuts off even more communication to the outside world.

What resources can we use on the outside to try to follow the events in Syria?  Here are a few:
Syria Live Reuters
@Bambuser_Alert Twitter
#Damascus
#Syria


Related Links:

Washington Post 

Death in Gaza: Part 5/6 Documentary

Here are smaller portions of the documentary film Death in Gaza by James Miller, who was killed in Rafah, Gaza while shooting (no pun intended) this film. For background on this film view this post (and/or the full documentary!) I included this for those who do not have fast internet, like myself!



Death in Gaza Full Documentary and explanation
Death In Gaza Pt.1/6
Death In Gaza Pt. 2/6 
Death in Gaza Pt. 3/6
Death in Gaza Pt. 4/6  
Death in Gaza Pt. 5/6
Death in Gaza Pt. 6/6

Death in Gaza Part 4/6: Documentary

Here are smaller portions of the documentary film Death in Gaza by James Miller, who was killed in Rafah, Gaza while shooting (no pun intended) this film. For background on this film view this post (and/or the full documentary!) I included this for those who do not have fast internet, like myself!



Death in Gaza Full Documentary and explanation
Death In Gaza Pt.1/6
Death In Gaza Pt. 2/6 
Death in Gaza Pt. 3/6
Death in Gaza Pt. 4/6  
Death in Gaza Pt. 5/6
Death in Gaza Pt. 6/6

Wal Mart: Keeping the World in Poverty

Susan Brannon

This part of the documentary reflects the lives of those in the factories abroad, Mexico, China, and other places in the world.  This reflects how the Wal Mart System keeps not only those living in America in poverty, but creates and keeps those all over the world in utter poverty.  The average pay is less than $3.00 a day.  They charge for the "dorms" that the workers either chose to live in or not and their utilities and food consumption.  After Wal Mart started their factories abroad, many other retail corporations and high tech companies transfered their factories abroad thus creating more poverty, reducing the jobs in America and in the end, created a Third World America.

Wal Mart receives subsidies from our Governments

Susan Brannon

Wal Mart receives subsidies from our Governments

Susan Brannon This is an older video about the effects of allowing a Wal Mart store in your neighborhood. Not only does Wal Mart cause small family businesses to close down and thousands of "better" jobs lost that provided medical and pension care. But they encourage their poverty workers to take advantage of the governments hand outs so they can "survive"; thus causing extra spending of our own tax dollars in aid for those who even work full time. But wait! There's more! Wal Mart has received millions of dollars in subsidies from local and state governments to put in their stores, while the 43 year old business down the street receives nothing. So, what does Wal Mart do for America? (and I must say other large retail stores) extra spending of our tax dollars loss of better paying jobs in the communities keeping people in poverty discriminates against women causes small businesses to close down requests unpaid work time closes American factories because they buy from China more loss of jobs. The squandering of the American Dream (for the non-corporate owner, that is) So, let a new Wal Mart store come into your neighborhood today and receive all the benefits!

Oh and don't forget that Corporations are here to make a profit, that is capitalism. So if you are a small business owner and you can't "pull the weight" well....that is your problem.

Wall Mart Blips a list

Here we go! Wall Mart Blips 1) Pension Fund Boycotted Walmart For Poor Labor Practices Netherlands' biggest pension fund -- it holds over $300 billion in assets -- pulled its investments from Walmart for not abiding with the United Nations' Global Compact principles, which relate to human rights, labor standards, the environment and anti-corruption efforts. 2) Walmart Involved In Mexico Bribery Campaign When Walmart senior executives found out that Walmart de Mexico had allegedly been involved in a bribery campaign to open new stores, they then allegedly covered it up. 3) Walmart Threatened To Fire Mormon Worker For Observing Sabbath A Mormon assistant manager at Walmart, who had been observing the Sabbath as an employee for more than ten years, faced disciplinary action after a change in their scheduling rules no longer accommodated his observance. 4) Man Died After Brawl With Walmart Security Jose Marcos Picazo suspiciously died after Walmart security guards in California arrested him for alleged shoplifting. Huffington Post 5) Walmart Lobbied To Change Anti-Bribery Laws Walmart was involved in a lobbying campaign to weaken the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which was meant to reduce liability for bribing foreign officials. 6) Walmart Involved In Many Sex Discrimination Suits Walmart has been involved in a number of ongoing lawsuits for discrimination against female employees. Some of the allegations have included derogatory language at the workplace, unfair promotion practices and pay discrimination. 7) Walmart Contractor Sued For Labor Law Violations Warehouse workers in California sued a contractor that works with Walmart for labor law violations, including poor labor conditions, shortchanging pay and threatening to fire them for complaining about anything. 8) Walmart Exposed For Political Lobbying To Weaken Labor, Whistleblower And Environmental Laws New York City public advocate Bill de Blasio recently launched 6degreesofwalmart.com to expose Walmart secret political spending, meant to influence the political process in a number of ways, including reducing protection for workers, whistleblowers and the environment. 9)

Pope John XXIII - Pacem in Terris - Peace on Earth

Susan Brannon
13 July 2012

Pope John XXIII was born on 25 November 1881 until 3 June 1963.   In Easter week of 1963, less than two months before his death Pope John XXIII issued his encyclical letter, The Pacem in Terris meaning Peace on Earth.  Below is part of that text:

Peace on Earth, which men of every era have most eagerly yearned for, can be firmly established only if the order laid down by God be dutifully observed.
He created all things out of nothing, pouring into them the abundance of His wisdom and goodness.
God also created man in His own images and likeness, endowed him with intelligence and freedom,
and made him lord of creation.
How strongly does the turmoil of individual men and peoples contrast with the perfect order of the universe!
But the Creator of the world has imprinted in man's heart an order which his conscience reveals to him and enjoins him to obey.
The family...is...the first and essential cell of human society.

Human beings have the natural right to free initiative in the economic field, and the right to work.
Women have the right to working conditions in accordance with their requirements and their duties as wives and mothers.
Furthermore, there is the right to a working wage, a standard of living in keeping with the dignity of the human person...the right of assembly and association...to freedom of movement.

Every man has the right to life, to bodily integrity.
A human being also has the right to security in cases of sickness, inability to work, widowhood, old age, unemployment, or in any other case in which he is deprived of the means of subsistence through no fault of his own.

Every human being has the right...to freedom in searching for truth and in expressing and communicating his opinions, to share in the benefits of culture, and therefore the right to a basic education.

Every human being has the right to honor God according to the dictates of an upright conscience.

The right of every man to life is correlative with the duty to preserve it.
Men are meant to live with others and to work for one another's welfare.
When the relations of human society are expressed in terms of rights and duties, men become...deeply aware that they belong to this world of values.
To safeguard the inviolable rights of the human person, and to facilitate the fulfillment of its duties, should be the essential office of every public authority.
Truth...calls for...the elimination of every trace of racism.
Political communities have the right to existence, development, and to the means necessary for this.

It is with deep sorrow that we note the enormous stocks of armaments that have been and still are being made.
People live in constant fear

lest the storm that every moment threatens should break upon them with dreadful violence.
And with good reason, for the arms of war are ready at hand.

Justice, then, right reason and humanity urgently demand that the arms race should cease; that the stockpiles which exist in various countries should be reduced equally and simultaneously by the parties concerned;
that nuclear weapons should be banned; and that a general agreement should eventually be reached about progressive disarmament and an effective method of control.
The public authority of the world community...must have as its fundamental objective
the recognition, respect, safeguarding, and promotion of the rights of the human person.

There is an immense task incumbent on all men of good will, namely, the task of restoring the relations of the human family in truth,  in justice, in love, and in freedom.
Every believer in this world of ours must be a spark of light.
This is the peace which we implore of Him with the ardent yearning of Our prayer

G8 Genova- Testimony

Anonymous - quoted text
Victim Report- Anonymous

Quoted text: "A man reportedly being a doctor looked into my eyes and looked me over.
In seconds, he slapped me on the face and said something to his comrades in Italian. They took me roughly up the steps with my handcuffs into this building.   It was not a police station or jail.  I do not know what or where it was or why I was taken there. Once inside the door a particularly vicious man proceeded to  beat me to my knees with punches and kicks. I was then dragged to a hall with handcuffs where I received further beatings by an individuals normally dressed and in police uniforms. I was driven to the fetal position to the ground to protect my head and groin area and the individual continued to beat me. He would stomp on my entire body, he stomped down with great force and after a few minutes he stopped and left.

In the cell I was brought into, there were two or three individuals where receiving beatings by policemen.  Everywhere there was excessive shouting and screaming in Italian by the cabineeri and others and those being beaten.  They started shouting in Italian at me, and because I don't speak Italian I did not understand. I then realized that they wanted me to remove my clothes as other prisoners were doing they forced me to strip and made me stand spread eagle against the wall naked. I felt vulnerable and absolutely terrified. The shouting continued except for this time from behind, when I turned my head around they slapped me and indicated that I was to look at the wall by smashing my face against it. The shouting and screaming continued as did blows to my arms. ribs, back and legs and I never knew whether their shouts were directed at me. After a few minutes, I was directed to squat to the ground. They forced me to stand up, squat down, stand up squat down around eleven times.  Every-time I squatted down, I had the fear that they placed something under me or inserted into my rectum. Fortunately, nothing was and after a further two or three minutes of standing against the wall I was led to put my clothes back on and was made to put my face against the wall and stand spread eagle.

The next 10 or 11 hours I was made to stand spread eagle except when they took me to take fingerprints, mug shots and a high tech computer scan of my head. I was forced to sign unknown documents without any explanation.
I was taken out of the building and into an adjoining building which was like a warehouse with computers and high tech machinery and professional looking people including women working in the bar.  I thought maybe there was some journalists or lawyers or senior police officers who once again would ask me of my innocence, telling them how I was not a violent protester and I was a business professional and the police were beating me.
I was sat down at a table with women in white coats, she asked me if I speak Italian and I said no. I confirmed to her who I was and asked if I could contact my embassy or lawyer.  She said I couldn't and asked me sign  various documents in Italian. I asked her what did they say and she said that it was not important and it would be "easier" if I signed. 

Given my state of mind, I was still hyperventilating, I decided it would be safer to sign.  So I did sign this and many other documents.  On the computer I saw that there was a file with some sort of information on me such as what countries I had been in, on what holiday and what music, CD's and magazines that I had purchased by credit card over the internet.  I became completely overwhelmed thinking that they were going to set me up for some crime.  When they looked for further hand prints, I said that I would give them only if I spoke to a lawyer. The policemen who had hit me on the side of my leg, hit me on my head and I collapsed to the ground in great pain.  I begged again to see a lawyer the policemen along with two others began to drag me along the floor into another building. I shouted okay, okay, okay I would continue with the process.

This I did and upon completion, I was taken outside and made to wash my hands. Here a different man dressed in a Tie-dyed t-shirt with a beard slapped me across the face and handcuffed my hands just to show me who was boss. He then pulled me back towards the main body of the cell. Upon entering the building I saw the corridor lined with both uniformed and non uniformed people. He dragged me down the corridor and every, if not every, man either kicked me or slapped me. Given the fact that nearly all of them assaulted me I realized that the place was out of control. Shear panic started repeating over and over and over. I started shouting Peace Peace Peace in the hopes that they would realize that I was a normal person and that they would stop beating me.

I think it was around five or six pm and the heat was still intense, at no time were given water or food or allowed to go to the toilet. The state of affairs continued after 1am.  The beatings stopped in our cell but continued in others with shouting, and screaming, kicking and laughing.  If we let our arms to the side we were shouted at, we had to keep our legs and arms in the spread eagle position and individuals were beaten again. After many hours of this most of us began to spasm, seize, I was physically and mentally shattered. Many started to have hallucinations on the floor or on the wall. At one stage after I arrived home, I broke down and lost all faith in humanity. I was in a living hell in a place in society where those who were the protectors, took the pleasure in brutalizing and giving pain."

Panorama: Syria Inside the Secret Revolution-BBC/26-09-11 - مترجم CC

BBC2 Exclusive - Sue Lloyd-Roberts Full Report from Inside Homs the capi...

BBC film (Return to Douma city) تقرير عن دوما - ترجم إلى العربية

Inside Syria Torture Prisons - British Filmmaker Sean McAllister

The Regime - PBS - Syria Undercover

The Syrian Revolution: Voices From Exile

Syrian Army Mocking Dead Civilians

This reminds me of a video that was released regarding some U.S. soldiers.  This must happen in every war where there are brutal killings.  Maybe this is a way of handling the mental crisis when it comes to killing people?

Rethinking Cancer Research and Treatment

Susan Brannon
16 March 2012

We need to rethink our cancer research and treatments on a global level. It is known that chemicals such as Benzene, workshop hazards, environmental hazards can cause cancer. What has not been researched are most of the 100,000 chemicals commonly used in commerce. Not only are the factory chemicals, workplace and the environment increase our chance of getting cancer, but the treatment itself is under question and that question remains behind closed doors.  The treatment is strongly  promoted by lobbyist and funded with billions of dollars to keep the risks silent. This includes radiation and chemotherapy, Davis (in The Secret History in the War on Cancer) claims that cancer researchers and cancer physicians are dying in record numbers.

CT scanning is a $100 billion dollar industry per year that allows us to view nifty 3 dimensional images but exposes us to radiation. A typical CT scan equals to 400 x-rays and it is known that 2,500 people die each year from the scans. (Yale Study) Davis explains that America is exposed to "equivalent of hundreds of Hiroshimas" spanned across Europe and Russia in radiation from diagnostic machines.   According to the Journal of Medicine, (2007) there were currently 62 million CT scans in the United States, with 4 million used on children. The article express the concern that  "the increasing exposure to radiation in the population may be a public health issue in the future."  ABC, investigated in 2010 that a problem with CT scans is that the radiation dosages vary widely, "Some patients who underwent the same type of test received 20 times more radiation than others, often in the same hospital."  In the end, America is at risk to increased radiation exposure.

Aspartame, cellphones and Ritalin are known to be contributors to brain cancer and tumors, yet 10% of America's children remain on ritalin. Any child under the age of 18 should not have or use a cell phone, and in reality any adult for that matter because the use of cell phones doubles the risk of brain cancer.

China is now the lead on the global economic boom, with increases in factories and along with it, increases in chemical exposure. As the boom increases in China, so does the cancer rate. In fact, cancer is China's number one killer.  In 2010 the Guardian reported  that "cancer villages" are the dark side of the economic boom.  A woman from the Yunnan province near factories says that "the pollution is bad, and people are getting sick.", she explains during an interview with full blown cancer and tears in her eyes.  There is an explosion in lead poisoning cases and further studies show that communities that recycle electronic waste are exposed to cadmium, mercury and brominated flame retardants. China's cancer rate jumped 30% since the introduction of industry in the past 30 years. Chinese farmers are almost four times more likely to die of liver cancer and twice as likely to die of stomach cancer than the global average, according to study commissioned by the World Bank. There have been protests in China with concerns of the factory environmental issues, increase in illness and pollution.  In response, the Chinese government claims that they are cleaning up the problem faster and better than any other country, yet the small villages seem to remain neglected. (Guardian)

Let's go a bit back into the history. In 1936, top cancer experts assembled in Brussels to discuss the topic. A British scientist who studied twins, learned that cancer is not inherited and blamed in on the chemical exposures in life. An Argentin doctor described how sunlight combined with hydrocarbons causes tumors in rats. A hydrocarbon is a chief component of petroleum and natural gas. The scientists also discussed how regular exposure to hormone estrogen cause male rats to develop large breasts.

The fast was then known that exposure to certain chemicals increased the risks of cancer. This lead to environmental studies in Canada to discover the root causes to over 200 diseases. The studies made a huge turn after the second world war, from environmental concerns to treatment focus.

Environmental issues was put on the back burner and $70 billion dollars later of fraud, neglect and propaganda on cancer, has not made any real progress as to the investigations or regulations on chemicals that are known to cause cancer.

In the 1920's General Motors factory workers who bottled lead as a gasoline additive started to drop dead like flies, GM responded that it was a "natural contaminant" Dye makers working with Benzidine at DuPont, started to develop bladder cancer, the studies were hidden until public pressure forced DuPont to publish the results. For over 100 years Benzene as a cancer agent has been denied, neglected, and under deceit. "Myron Mehlman, a toxicologist with Mobil Oil, told Japanese officials in 1989 that gasoline with 5-per-cent benzene was damned dangerous and shouldn't be sold, the company fired him."

ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Shell have invested $27-million in China to "contradict earlier claims that link exposure to low- and mid-levels of benzene to cancers and other diseases.", claims Davis.  The Huston Chronicle published an article in 2005, states that the oil industry funds study to counter benzene cancer causing claims. The study was launched in 2001 in Shanghai, China.  The article states, "The results have already been predicted" which makes this not a real scientific study, but a study to manipulate the facts in order to gain the desired results.

In 2009, MD Anderson released a study saying that in the next 20 years the cancer rate will increase in America 45% from 1.6 million in 2010 to 2.3 million in 2030. (link to article)   The Guardian reports that the cancer rate worldwide is increasing to 7.5 million people dying from cancer.  For almost 70 years, it has been known that environmental issues are contributors to cancer, billions is spent on cancer research and billions on its treatments, yet the cancer rate continues to rise. Don't you think that it is time for us to "rethink cancer research and treatments"