Printed May 2, 2002 New York Times by Joe Brescia

Looking Over His Shoulder

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. was there. So were celebrities like MATT DILLON, FISHER STEVENS, SUSAN SARANDON, TIM ROBBINS and NICOLE MILLER. And so was TRENT D. LOOS.

Mr. Loos was never far from Mr. Kennedy during a party for Mr. Kennedy's Waterkeeper Alliance, which has as one of its targets industrial hog farming.

So is Mr. Loos Mr. Kennedy's bodyguard? His assistant?

Hardly. He is a pig farmer from South Dakota.

''There are many inaccuracies that Mr. Kennedy accuses the pork producers of in the United States,'' he said at the party, at the restaurant Man Ray on West 15th Street. ''I want him to know that I'm going to hold him accountable to make sure that he tells the truth.''

Mr. Loos said he did not want to cause a scene (though he said that once, a month or so ago, Mr. Kennedy ''wanted to swing at me''). And Mr. Kennedy? ''I'm delighted to see Trent here,'' he said, ''as long as he pays his $150 at the door.''

As for a federal appeals court decision upholding his trespassing conviction for protesting Navy exercises in Vieques, P.R., Mr. Kennedy said, ''I did what I did.'' He added, ''I'm prepared to accept any of the consequences.''

Up for auction at the party was a walk-on part in a movie that Mr. Stevens is producing about, of all things, a pig. ''I don't want anyone to worry,'' he said. ''We're not going to eat the pig. The pig will lead a long life.''

Link to New York Times

Give me a break as Congress and the Senate argue about who cares most for working class citizens they both allow the complete abuse of power of the agencies. Who is keeping them in check?

Forbes Magazine reports

Merry Christmas America, Now Give Us Your Money - Love, EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency yesterday announced new mercury restrictions on coal power plants that will impose anywhere from $10 billion (EPA’s estimate) to $200 billion (third-party estimates) in new costs on energy production. On a per household basis, that imposes anywhere from $100 to $2,000 in additional energy costs on the average U.S. household each and every year.

EPA reports that mercury emissions in the United States have declined by approximately 60% since 1990. The dramatic reduction in mercury emissions is consistent with the reduction in air pollution across the board. EPA reports that emissions of the Six Principal Pollutants it monitors have decreased by 67% since 1980.

Yet another chemical that we enjoy...My point is that chemicals are good. Just understanding the proper amount is the key..NOT AVOIDANCE.

Caffeine Chemistry
Caffeine (C8H10N4O2) is the common name for trimethylxanthine (systematic name is 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine or 3,7-dihydro-1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione). The chemical is also known as coffeine, theine, mateine, guaranine, or methyltheobromine. Caffeine is naturally produced by several plants, including coffee beans, guarana, yerba maté, cacao beans, and tea. For the plants, caffeine acts as a natural pesticide. It paralyzes and kills insects that attempt to feed on the plants.

Thanks to chemicals American's only hear about malaria as some out of sight out mind thing...Yet the impact globally is huge. Are you sure chemicals are a bad thing?

655,000 malaria deaths in 2010: WHO

Malaria caused the death of an estimated 655,000 people last year, with 86 percent of victims children aged under five, World Health Organisation figures showed on December 13.

The cash has funded an big increase in the number of households with insecticide-treated mosquito nets, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where 50 percent now have the nets compared with just three percent in 2000.