Thursday, June 12, 2014

Kalmar Nyckel, What Happened To Their Visit In Yorktown?


On Friday evening, June 6th, we posted a story about how the Kalmar Nyckel was supposed to be visiting Yorktown for the weekend.  Well, it turns out that due to circumstances beyond the control of Captain Morgan and the crew, the ship was in dry dock awaiting inspection after a good deal of work was completed on the ship, making sure the ship was once again ready for it's summer voyages.

  Thanks to the US Coast Guard who stepped up and made a late Friday evening visit to conduct that inspection, the Kalmar Nyckel was finally released back the the waters to sail down to Yorktown, Virginia.  The bad news is that they were already scheduled to be here by Friday evening for Saturday and Sunday open deck tours and evening sailing cruises.  We waited to go see the ship on Sunday and left Gloucester at about 12:00 PM in  order to make the free deck tour before shut down at 1:00.  We learned at about 12:30 from the folks who are part of the dock crew in Yorktown about his delay.  As we were being told about the delay and that no one knew when they would be coming in, we saw what we thought was the ship coming in.  Picking up our cameras we were able to confirm that is was in fact the Kalmar Nyckel on it's way.  It finally arrived at about 1:30 PM on Sunday.


We took this photo at about 1:00 PM that showed it was the ship in question.  The zoom in was at 500 power or 80x optical.  So yeah, that is an incredible distance.   The reason why the picture seems grey.  So no deck tours were available but they did manage to get out one evening cruise that departed at 4:00 PM as scheduled.  They had to leave soon afterward to go to their next destination.  The crew was not happy about not being able to stay and see everyone who came out, but they at least were able to come in for awhile.

  It's been several years since the Kalmar Nyckel has been in the area.  Let's hope for a full weekend next year.


One of the most notable differences this year is the updated paint job on the back end of the ship.  This is a very fresh look.


The back of the above picture is harder to see than the other one.  This picture was taken a few years ago or the last time the Kalmar Nyckel was in the area.  If you look at the fish, you can see that they are different colors and also Nemo's shroud is now painted where it wasn't before.

All pictures here shot and provided by C Thompson of TTC Media and are under copyright protection.

Neurotoxic Chemicals Again Linked to Reduced IQ

Clariant International Ltd: Clariant launches ...
(Photo credit: PressReleaseFinder)

Flame Retardants and Fluoride—Two Neurotoxic Chemicals Again Linked to Reduced IQ

By Dr. Mercola

Did you know that items you come into contact with every day, such as your couch cushions, your carpeting, and your mattress, might be exposing you to highly toxic compounds?
In most cases, they will contain flame-retardant chemicals that have been linked to serious health risks like infertility, birth defects, neurodevelopmental delays, reduced IQ scores and behavioral problems in children, hormone disruptions, and various forms of cancer.
In fact, flame retardant chemicals were recently identified as one of 17 "high priority" chemical groups that should be avoided to1, 2

Exposure to Flame Retardants in Utero Can Lead to IQ Reduction

Recent research3 also shows that children whose mothers were exposed to flame retardant chemicals during pregnancy have lower IQ, and are more prone to hyperactivity disorders.
The researchers initially measured the levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in women at 16 weeks of pregnancy. The health of the children was then monitored until the age of five. As reported by The Vancouver Sun:4
"[W]omen with a high level of PBDEs in early pregnancy, when the fetal brain is developing, was associated with a 4.5 IQ decrement, which is comparable with the impact of environmental lead exposure. The researchers say their results confirm earlier studies that found PBDEs may be developmental neurotoxicants...
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) added two of three existing commercial PBDE formulas to the list of banned Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) due to concerns over toxicity in wildlife and mammals in 2009.
While PBDEs were voluntarily withdrawn from the US market in 2004, products manufactured before then may still contain PBDEs, which can continue to be released into the environment and accumulate via indoor dust."
Adding a level of frustration to the equation, there's virtually no evidence to suggest that these chemicals actually work when it comes to saving your life if there's a fire. 
In fact, tests show not only do they not work, but they actually release toxins when they burn and may be more far more likely to kill you than the fire itself! For a demonstration of just how useless flame retardant furniture is, see the featured video.

Flame Retardants Are All Around You

The Environmental Working Group's (EWG) guide5 to PBDEs recommends being particularly mindful of polyurethane foam products manufactured prior to 2005, such as upholstered furniture, mattresses, and pillows. If you have any of these in your home, inspect them carefully and replace ripped covers and/or any foam that appears to be breaking down.
Also avoid reupholstering furniture by yourself as the reupholstering process increases your risk of exposure. Older carpet padding is another major source of flame-retardant PBDEs, so take precautions when removing old carpet.
As you replace PBDE-containing items around your home, select those that contain naturally less flammable materials, such as leather, wool, and cotton. Also look for organic and "green" building materials, carpeting, baby items, and upholstery, which will be free from these toxic chemicals and help reduce your overall exposure.
Be particularly cautious when purchasing baby products. In one test, about 80 percent of the baby items tested was found to contain flame retardant chemicals. Sixty percent of car seats produced in 2011 were also found to have them. Other baby items that may harbor toxic flame retardants include:
Nursing pillowsBaby carriersCar seats
Changing table padsHigh chairsStrollers
BassinetsPortable cribsWalkers
Baby tub inserts and bath slingsGlider rockersSleeping wedges

While the featured study focused on PBDEs, there are many other hazardous chemicals used as flame retardants, and it's highly unlikely that any of them would have a nonexistent health impact.
One such chemical, chlorinated tris (TDCPP), was removed from children's pajamas in the 1970s due to its cancer-causing potential. Despite that, it's now commonly used in couch cushions! So while your child may not be sleeping in it, everyone in your family may still be exposed to this cancer hazard via your furniture. Moreover, while manufacturers have indeed stopped using some of these flame retardant chemicals, they're replacing them with newer chemicals—chemicals that AGAIN have not been adequately tested for safety.

Do Flame Retardants Really Work?

The chemical industry insists that flame retardant chemicals save lives, but where's the real evidence for that? Last year, I wrote about the deceptive campaigns that led to the proliferation of fire retardant chemicalsAs reported in an investigative series "Playing With Fire" by the Chicago Tribune:6
"The average American baby is born with 10 fingers, 10 toes and the highest recorded levels of flame retardants among infants in the world. The toxic chemicals are present in nearly every home, packed into couches, chairs and many other products. Two powerful industries — Big Tobacco and chemical manufacturers — waged deceptive campaigns that led to the proliferation of these chemicals, which don't even work as promised."
According to the chemical industry, fire-retardant furniture increases your escape time 15-fold in the case of a fire. This claim came from a study using powerful, NASA-style flame retardants, which provided an extra 15 seconds of escape time. But this is not the same type of chemical used in most furniture. As noted in the featured video, tests have shown that the most widely used flame-retardant chemicals actually provide no meaningful benefit in case of a fire, while increasing the amounts of toxic chemicals in the smoke.
The video also discusses the primary industry front group responsible for perpetuating the myth that flame retardant chemicals save lives. The group, called "Citizens for Fire Safety," is in actuality a trade association for the three largest manufacturers of flame retardant chemicals in the world—NOT a coalition of concerned citizens, which is how they portray themselves. This group is hard at work doing two things: 1) protecting the chemical industry from legislation that might cut into their business, and 2) expanding the commercial use of flame retardant chemicals into an ever-greater number of products—all in the name of "fire safety"—a benefit that just doesn't seem to hold up to closer scrutiny.

Shocking Facts About Flame Retardants

The video above is a trailer for the HBO documentary, Toxic Hot Seat,7 the full version of which I will post in full in the near future. It is well worth watching if you want to learn more about the toxic truth of flame retardants.
  • Numerous studies have proven their harm. It's estimated that 90 percent of Americans have some level of flame-retardant chemicals in their bodies, and the chemicals are also known to accumulate in breast milk. This alone is disturbing, since studies have repeatedly linked them to human health risks, including hormone disruptions, lower IQ scores, behavioral problems in children, and various cancers.
  • Case in point: female firefighters aged 40 to 50 are six times more likely to develop breast cancer than the national average, likely due to California's early use of flame-retardant chemicals. Firefighters of both genders also have higher rates of cancer, in part because of the high levels of dioxins and furans they're exposed to when flame-retardant chemicals burn.
  • Flame retardants produce more toxic smoke. If an object doused in flame retardants catches fire (yes, they can still catch fire), it gives off higher levels of carbon monoxide, soot, and smoke than untreated objects. Ironically, these three things are more likely to kill a person in a fire than burns, which means flame-retardant chemicals may actually make fires more deadly.
  • Big Tobacco was instrumental in the spread of flame-retardant chemicals. Flame-retardant chemicals were developed in the 1970s, when 40 percent of Americans smoked and cigarettes were a major cause of fires. The tobacco industry, under increasing pressure to make fire-safe cigarettes, resisted the push for self-extinguishing cigarettes and instead created a fake front group called the National Association of State Fire Marshals. The group pushed for federal standards for fire-retardant furniture.
  • California's misguided fire safety law led to countrywide use of inadequately tested chemicals. In 1975, California Technical Bulletin 117 (TB117) was passed. It requires furniture sold in California to withstand a 12-second exposure to a small flame without igniting. Because of California's economic importance, the requirement became more or less a national standard.
  • While there may be benefits when a state law impacts the rest of the country (I'm thinking of GMO labeling for example), there are also risks if the law is poorly written, or otherwise botched in favor of protecting industry profits. As reported by Rodale News:8 "Sadly, though the original author of TB117 had specifically included language requiring that any chemical used to make furniture fire resistant be safe for human health, politicians removed that language before the law went into effect."
  • The chemical industry has spent millions to keep TB117 in place. Numerous bills in California have been introduced that would update TB117 to state that toxic chemicals were no longer required for furniture, but the deep-pocketed chemical industry has defeated them each time. The industry even went so far as to hire Dr. David Heimback, a burn expert and star witness for the manufacturers of flame retardants, to tell the tragic story of a seven-week-old baby who was burned in a fire and died after suffering immensely.
The fire was said to have been started by a candle that ignited a pillow that lacked flame retardant chemicals, where the baby lay. The story was heard by California lawmakers, who were deciding on a bill that could have reduced the use of flame retardant chemicals in furniture. The problem, as we detailed in a previous article, was that the entire story was a complete fabrication, from beginning to end!

Six Other Chemicals Linked to Brain Disorders in Children

Related research has identified a number of other toxic chemicals that need to be restricted in order to protect children's health. The study, published in Lancet Neurology9, 10 in March, notes that industrial chemicals are "among the known causes" for neurodevelopmental disabilities such as autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, and other cognitive impairments. In 2006, the team identified five industrial chemicals as developmental neurotoxicants: lead, methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, arsenic, and toluene. Now, they've added six more to the list of chemicals known to cause brain deficits in children:
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)FluorideManganese
ChlorpyrifosDichlorodiphenyltrichloroethaneTetrachloroethylene

According to the authors, it's likely there are many more neurotoxic chemicals that have yet to be identified. "To control the pandemic of developmental neurotoxicity, we propose a global prevention strategy," the researchers write.11 "Untested chemicals should not be presumed to be safe to brain development, and chemicals in existing use and all new chemicals must therefore be tested for developmental neurotoxicity. To coordinate these efforts and to accelerate translation of science into prevention, we propose the urgent formation of a new international clearinghouse."

Fluoride Again Identified as a Neurotoxin

I find it interesting that fluoride was identified as a major culprit here, yet this has not received any major media attention. The debate over the dangers of fluoride has been ongoing for more than six decades, despite the fact that study after study has confirmed that fluoride is a dangerous, toxic poison that bioaccumulates in your body while being ineffective at preventing dental decay. Now it's been pin-pointed yet again as a neurotoxin that children should be protected from—not exposed to in every sip of water. Besides this one, there are 25 other studies showing that fluoride reduces IQ in children. Approximately 100 animal studies have also linked fluoride to brain damage. This includes such effects as:12
Reduction in nicotinic acetylcholine receptorsDamage to the hippocampusFormation of beta-amyloid plaques (the classic brain abnormality in Alzheimer's disease)
Reduction in lipid contentDamage to the Purkinje cellsExacerbation of lesions induced by iodine deficiency
Impaired antioxidant defense systemsIncreased uptake of aluminumAccumulation of fluoride in the pineal gland

One particularly striking animal study13 published in 1995 showed that fluoride ingestion had a profound influence on the animals' brains and altered behavior. Pregnant rats given fluoride produced hyperactive offspring. And animals given fluoride after birth became apathetic, lethargic "couch potatoes." 

Are You Sleeping on a Toxic Mattress?

Of all the items that might serve as your greatest sources of exposure to flame retardant chemicals, your mattress may be of greatest concern since you spend a large amount of your life sleeping on it. As of July 1, 2007, all US mattresses are required to be flame resistant, to the extent that they won't catch on fire if exposed to a blow torch.
Besides PBDEs, other flame-retardant chemicals currently approved for use in mattresses include boric acid, a toxic respiratory irritant used to kill roaches; antimony, a metal that may be more toxic than mercury; and formaldehyde, which causes cancer. Mattress manufacturers are not required to label or disclose which chemicals their mattresses contain. They may even claim that their mattresses are chemical-free, when in reality they are not. To avoid this toxic exposure, I recommend looking for a mattress made of either:
  • 100% organic wool, which is naturally flame-resistant. Even if you hold a match to wool, it will self-extinguish in moments. This is why I use one of our wool mattresses, as it's free of these dangerous fire retardants like PBDE
  • 100% organic cotton or flannel also tends to be flame-resistant
  • Kevlar fibers, the material they make bullet-proof vests out of, which is sufficient to pass the fire safety standards. Stearns and Foster is one brand that sells this type of mattress

Join the Fight to Get Fluoride Out of Drinking Water

There's no doubt about it: fluoride should not be ingested. Even scientists from the EPA's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory have classified fluoride as a "chemical having substantial evidence of developmental neurotoxicity.” Furthermore, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 41 percent of American adolescents now have dental fluorosis—unattractive discoloration and mottling of the teeth that indicate overexposure to fluoride. Clearly, children are being overexposed, and their health and development put in jeopardy. Why?
At least when it comes to topical application, you have a choice. You can easily buy fluoride-free toothpaste and mouthwash. But you're stuck with whatever your community puts in the water, and it's very difficult to filter out of your water once it's added. Many do not have the resources or the knowledge to do so.
The only real solution is to stop the archaic practice of water fluoridation in the first place. Fortunately, the Fluoride Action Network has a game plan to END water fluoridation, both in the United States and Canada. Clean pure water is a prerequisite to optimal health. Industrial chemicals, drugs and other toxic additives really have no place in our water supplies. So, please, support the anti-fluoride movement by making a donation to the Fluoride Action Network today.

 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/06/12/flame-retardant-fluoride-health-risks.aspx  To see the original post on Mercola.com  

Gloucester, VA Real Estate Sales Along Highway 17 Are Telling

If you have not been paying attention, maybe it's time you did.  Are you missing the big profit potentials along route 17 in the Page Middle school area?  It's the development mecca of the future in this county and it's being snatched up as fast as it can be grabbed by people who seem to have an inside track as to what is going on and what will be going on in the future.

  Take a look at the names on the real estate transactions and start asking yourself a lot of questions as to why these folks are buying up what they are.  Also start paying more attention to what the Board of Supervisors are bringing up and start asking a lot of questions there are well.  Who will benefit?  What did they know in advance and what do they know now?  One name you will see below keeps coming up as a person very much part of the secret government of Gloucester that does everything behind closed doors that the public will never have access to through the Gloucester Main Street Preservation Trust.  Ashley Chriscoe, Board of Supervisor member, is on the board of this non profit foundation that was once listed as a fraternity but has since been changed to have the appearance of a more acceptable trust.  It's not a 501 (c) 3 tax deductible foundation but instead a 501 (c) 4 foundation that does not have a tax deductible status for any potential financial contributions made to it.

  Highway Seventeen, LLC;
is a Virginia Domestic Limited-Liability Company filed on September 23, 2013. The company's filing status is listed as 00 Active and its File Number is S472487. The Registered Agent on file for this company isBreckenridge Ingles and is located at 6516 Main Street P. O. Box 708 GloucesterVA 23061-0000. The company's principal address is 6338 George Washington Memorial Highway GloucesterVA 23061-0000.
 
RPC: 26002, Name: HIGHWAY SEVENTEEN LLC, Map#: 039-39, Acres: 22.84,    Assessed: $52,400.00, Vacant Land,Sale Price: $242,500.00, Sale Date 12/09/13
 
RPC: 29784, Name: HIGHWAY SEVENTEEN LLC, Map#: 039 39A Acres: 7.68, Assessed: $62,500.00, Vacant Land, SalePrice: $242,500.00, Sale Date: 12/09/13
 
Kkn, LLC
is a Virginia Domestic Limited-Liability Company filed on May 29, 2008. The company's filing status is listed as Active and its File Number is S260645. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Michael T Soberick and is located at 2614 George Washington Mem Hwy Po Box 388 Gloucester PointVA 23062. The company's principal address is 6338 George Washington Memorial Hwy White MarshVA 23183.
 
RPC: 10860, Name: KKN LLC, Map#:039 25, Acres: 3.50, Assessed: $45,300.00,  Vacant Land, Sale Price: $206,000.00, Sale Date: 05/24/13
 
RPC: 20333, Name: KKN LLC, Map#: 039 24, Address: 5456 GEORGE WASH MEM HWY, Acres: 0.50, Assessed: $121,100.00, Dwelling, Sale Price:    $206,000.00,Sale Date: 5/24/2013
 
RPC: 30367, Name: KKN LLC, Map#: 039 22, Acres: 2.43, Assessed: $12,200.00, Vacant Land, Sale Price: $206,000.00, Sale Date: 5/24/2013
 
RPC: 31858, Name: KKN LLC, Map#: 039 23, Address: 5462 GEORGE WASH MEM HWY, Acres: 0.50, Assessed: $60,200.00, Commercial, Sale Price: $206,000.00, Sale Date: 5/24/2013

All of the above information is a matter of public record.  Take a very close look at the assessed values of each of these properties and what they ended up selling for.  Everything between WaWa and Lowe's along route 17 in Gloucester is very hot and getting hotter.  Any investment holding period for this area should be considered for around 5 to 10 years.  

There is no question that special considerations will be sought to avoid expenses by those who own property along this area and that these interests will want you, the local citizen who will gain nothing by their investments, will profit nothing from them but higher taxes to support their own profit returns.  Again, that means that the Board of Supervisors will need to be watched very carefully on everything that comes up to see if they are trying to sneak in extra expenses on us.  Anything coming out of the Gloucester Main Street Preservation Trust must be viewed with incredibly skeptical eyes as well as anything brought up by Ashley Chriscoe as he sits on their board.  More of a liability than an asset to anyone in the county for the stated reason in our view.


Above, the Gloucester Main Street shopping center owned by the Gloucester Main Street Preservation Trust with the very clear sign of Ba al in the design of their buildings.  Below, the sign of Ba al shown.  See:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal  for further information on the meaning.  This gives a much better idea of why the Gloucester Main Street Preservation Trust likes to do everything behind closed doors and out of the public view in our opinion.

 
Isn't it interesting to note where they have placed one of their symbols?  Right above one of their offices.  Yes it means something.  What, exactly, is the main question.  Is anyone comfortable with anyone in the county working with these people at any level?  All hail Ba al?