­by Marvin Ramirez

San Francisco high school students participate in press conference celebrating Youth Advocacy Day at City Hall. (PHOTO BY MARVIN RAMIREZ)

Several dozen high school students had a taste of leadership on Wednesday, April 6, when they were taken to meet government officials and city department heads, as part of a program sponsored by the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth & Families, designed to create youth leaders for the future.

The students from three San Francisco schools – Balboa, Washington and John O’Connell Highs – began their day at 9 a.m., travelling through ­various city departments. All San Francisco high schools were invited to participate at the Wednesday press conference, but only three responded to the invitation.

Holding a large banner that read, “Youth Advocacy Day, Bringing Youth Voice to City Politics,” the students stood proudly, while District Nine San Francisco Supervisor David Campos greeted them with a warm welcome from the podium. And they took their experience seriously.

“This was an utmost experience,” said one unidentified student leader who took the microphone during the press conference held on the stairs of San Francisco’s City Hall.

“All those who attended were able to meet the mayor, who emphasized to them the importance to staying in school and shared with them a personal story,” said Bryant Tan, a project coordinator.

“I strongly believe that youth should have a voice in policy-making,” said DCYF director María Su. This day gives city leaders a direct connection to youth, including some who have never stepped foot into City Hall.”

Key components of Youth Advocacy Day are the 15 Youth Warriors who will lead the entire day and help their peers determine their platforms to present to city officials, said a written statement from the youth organization. The Youth Warriors have participated in a six-month fellowship program preparing them to be leaders for this event, the second of what is planned to be an annual occurrence.

Participating offices included those of Mayor, Supervisors Mark Farrell, Jane Kim, Sean Elsbernd, Scott Wiener, David Campos, Malia Cohen and John Avalos. Participating city departments included DCYF, Recreation and Parks, Public Health, Municipal Transportation Agency, Police, Juvenile Probation, Library and Office of Environment.

by Richard Stossel

Natural News

(NaturalNews) An experiment conducted at home for a high school science fair five years ago has verified the dangers of microwave ovens not only to humans, but even to plants and other organic matter. The experiment showed that microwaved water given to a plant causes the plant to wither and die within days; however, another identical plant given water that was boiled on a conventional stove grew normally during the same time period.

Many studies conducted throughout the world have repeatedly highlighted the deleterious effects of microwave ovens on human health. In fact microwave ovens are so dangerous that they were banned in Russia from 1976 to 1987. Twenty years of thorough research by Russian scientists convinced them that the dangers of the devices outweighed the benefits in cooking time. This experiment further verifies their findings.

In the home experiment, filtered water was divided into two parts. One part would be microwaved and allowed to cool before being given to the plant, while the second part would be heated on a conventional stove top and given to an identical plant. Results were observed over a nine day period. By the third day it was already clear that the plant given the microwaved water was not faring as well as its counterpart.

By the ninth day the microwaved plant was virtually nonexistent in its pot, having literally shrunk in size to just a few inches above the soil. The second plant was growing beautifully. Microwaved prepared meats cause the formation of d-Nitrosodienthanolamines, a well-known carcinogen.

Microwaving can also cause some amino acids in foods such as milk and cereal grains to be converted into carcinogens. Even very short exposure for cooked, frozen or raw vegetables turned their plant alkaloids into carcinogenic matter unfit for human consumption. These carcinogenic free radicals formed in plants and especially in root vegetables exposed to microwaves. Broccoli showed a 97 percent loss of its vitamin C when cooked in a microwave oven.

Studies have shown that human breast milk heated in microwave ovens is altered and that not only is its vitamin content depleted, but some of the amino acids are also rendered biologically inactive. Some of the altered amino acids are poisons to both the nervous system and the kidneys.

Microwave ovens do not heat food evenly. This means that some parts are overcooked, which can change their molecular structure into dangerous carcinogenic substances, while other parts are undercooked increasing the risk of food poisoning. Not only is the food cooked in microwave ovens dangerous, but also are thedevices themselves. Every part from the power chord right up to the magnetron itself, which is the part that actually emits the radiation heating the food, is dangerous due to high levels of EM emissions.

Tests performed by manufacturers at a distance of two inches show that microwaves do leak out of the devices no matter how expensive or well made the model is. However since microwave radiation drops off dramatically with distance, at 20 inches the radiation is approximately 100 times less than at 2 inches, so it’s a good idea to stand back from the unit if you must use one.

Microwaves can pass through walls, so if it’s placed against an adjacent

wall, those on the other side will be exposed to higher levels of radiation. As this experiment clearly shows, microwaving your food, even if you are just reheating your tea, is definitely not a good idea. The microwaved plant would agree if it could talk.

Sources: http://www.eutimes.net  Dr. Magda Havas, Trent University

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031929_microwaved_water_plants.html#ixzz1IS5z42F3­

­by the El Reportero’s news services

Immigration authorities are investigating the legal situation of 14 undocumented Central American immigrants who were rescued by police in Chiapas after being kidnapped.

The immigrants, 13 of the Salvadorans and one Guatemalan, were kidnapped by three alleged  Mexican smugglers, knownas polleros, who intended to take them into the United States, police said.

The three Mexican suspects were arrested by federal police in the town of El Aguaje on the road between San Cristobala and Comitan in southern Mexico.

A woman and two minors were among the group of 14 immigrants, whose identities had not yet been revealed. Their situation, including the possibility of deportation, is being analyzed by immigration authorities and the Chiapas General Prosecutor’s Office.

According to Mexican law, when people from other countries illegally enter Mexico and are victims of kidnapping, abuse or human rights violations, they have the right to remain here legally for up to one year.

Costa Rican Opposition Rejects Docking of US Military Ships

Costa Rican opposition politicians reiterated their rejection on Friday to U.S. military ships docking in Costa Rica under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking.

“We want to fight drug trafficking, but we do not accept the docking or prolonged stay of military ships in our country, because it violates   our Constitution and ournational sovereignty,” said Juan Carlos Mendoza, head of the Citizen Action Party (PAC) bloc in the Legislative Assembly.

Last week, President Laura Chinchilla criticized legislators for delaying authorizations for joint Costa ­Rican/U.S. patrols. The Costa Rican LegislativeAssembly approved the entry of 46 U.S. Coast Guard ships in December 2010, but did not authorize the entry of 26 military ships.

In statements published online Friday by El País newspaper, Assemblywoman Carmen Muñoz (PAC) said the ships had artillery emplacements with weapons contravening Cooperation Articles 5 and 6 signed by the United States and Costa Rica.

U.S. Blockade against Cuba, example of human rights violation

Beijing, Apr 10 (Prensa Latina) China on Sunday said the U.S. blockade of Cuba for almost half a century was an example of the United States violating human rights in other nations.

This criticism appeared in a report issued by the Information Office of the Council of State as a response  to a document on human rights published on Friday by the White House referring to 2010. The Chinese document recalls that last October, the UN General Assembly approved for the nineteenth  time a resolution demanding the end of the U.S. blockade, which violates the right of the Cuban people to develop.

(Prensa Latina) The U.S. blockade against Cuba classifies as a act of genocide according to Article 2 of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Chinese government said. The White House uses the human rights issue as a political tool to discredit other countries and achieve U.S. strategic interests.

The Chinese report, Human Rights Record of the United States in 2010, analyzes the situation in that country taking into account civil, political, economic, cultural and social rights.

by Steve Watson

Infowars.com

Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura has an important message for Libertarian Congressman Ron Paul – ditch the Republican Party and run for President as an independent. On the day that Obama officially announced his 2012 Presidential campaign underway, the spotlight will now turn on those who are expected to set the wheels in motion to run against the president.

One name mentioned over and over again for the past few months has been Republican Congressman Ron Paul. However, Ventura, who was victorious as an Independent himself in 1998, believes that Paul can mount a more powerful challenge by distancing himself from the GOP establishment. And Ventura even offered to throw his own name into the hat as a possible running mate.

“If Ron Paul would quit the Republican Party, and he asked me, then I would give serious consideration to running with him.” Ventura told syndicated radio host Alex Jones today. “I will not run as a Democrat or Republican. I want nothing to do with these parties. They are the problem, they are not the solution.” the former Governor  added.

“They’re the ones that have been in control of this country, as Ralph Nadar calls them, the two party dictatorship. They are the ones that have us in this mess. They are the ones who have caused all the debt problems… it’s time to throw them out. The people of this country can do a major thing and its so easy. The next election, don’t vote for ANY Republicans or Democrats. That would be the greatest thing that could happen in this country, to bring down and destroy these two political parties.” Ventura urged.

Congressman Paul has recently been victorious in several Republican straw polls of potential presidential nominees, and he has raised a staggering $3 million already this first quarter via his various grass roots organizations. That is more than any other potential Republican nominee thus far. Ventura believes Paul should fully capitalize on his political popularity and make the break from the GOP. “He won’t get the Republican Party nomination, he has to understand that.” Ventura said.

“The Republicans are not going to put Ron Paul up as their Presidential  nominee. He is too muchof a rogue, he is not bought and sold by multinational corporations. Plus the biggest thing of all, he calls for an audit of the Federal Reserve.” he added.

Though many Paul supporters would agree with Ventura, others will point to a shift in GOP attitude  toward a more Libertarian outlook in over the past year as one reason for Paul to stick with the party and continue to use the apparatus toreach more people. Paul previously ran on a Libertarian Party ticket  in 1988, but struggled to make inroads against the establishment parties.

During his 2008 campaign for the Republican nomination, the corporate media and mainline conservatives attacked the Congressman over his outspoken opposition to big government and US interventionist foreign policy. Senator Rand Paul, the Congressman’s son believes  that it will be different this time around, however. “I don’t think there would be any chance they’d exclude my dad now,” said the U.S. senator from Kentucky.

“I think everyone in politics, whether it’s explicit or not, has their own agenda and if they can exclude you, they will. I don’t think that will happen again.” Ventura is currently promoting his new book, 63 documents The Government Doesn’t Want You To Read. The former Governor explained that he had dedicated the book to Congressman Paul as a thank you for his tireless efforts to bring more transparency to Washington.

“He was the only Congressman we have that had the courage to go out on the floor of the Congress and support Wikileaks,” Ventura noted, alluding to the whistle blowing website. “Like Ron Paul said, no one has died from Wikileaks. How many people have died from the trumped up intelligence and the lying that got  us into the Iraq war. And then he said something even more  profound. He talked about in a free country like ­ours, when the truth equals treason we are in big trouble.”

While Ron Paul has yet to announce whether he will mount another presidential run, he may want to take Ventura up on his offer before the former  pro-wrestler turned political powerhouse looks toward an even more ambitious role. Stock up with Fresh Food that lasts with eFoodsDirect (Ad) “I never said who would be President and who would be Vice President.” Ventura  quipped.

“Ron and I may have to flip a coin.” Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.net, and Prisonplanet. com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham in England.