To: IAHF List
Subject: CODEX UPDATE FROM CAPITAL HILL: URGENT ACTION NEEDED BY TUESDAY- WHAT TO DO
From: IAHF.COM
Date: Sun, 12 Jun 2005 21:22:08 +0200
IAHF List:
Hello from Capital Hill. I've been here in the District of Criminals since last Wednesday lobbying the Senate Finance Committee which is scheduled to hold a mock Markup Hearing on Tuesday starting at 10 am on CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement). I would use your help with calls, emails and faxes to this Committee (see below for details.)
As discussed previously, there is an interconnection between CAFTA and CODEX via this means:
NAFTA, CAFTA, and FTAA all contain language called the Sanitary Phytosanitary Measures Agreement (SPS). The SPS Agreement expressly calls for countries to harmonize their domestic food safety standards to restrictive Codex standards (including those which stand to be ratified in July at Codex for vitamins and minerals.) While Codex will only be ratifying a framework on nutrient risk assessment, (their intent being to fill in the blanks on allowable potencies after the fact), we see the writing on the wall in terms of what those limits could be.
Only the German Federal Institute of Risk Assessment has done the full extrapolation called for by Codex, and their projected "Maximum Safe Permitted Levels" include just 225 mg for vitamin C, 5 mcg for Vitamin D, 15 mg for vitamin E and just 5.4 mg for Vitamin B-6. (See table at http://www.alliance-natural-health.org/_docs/ANHWebsiteDoc_145.doc
Even though today's Washington Post contains an article which states that CAFTA is in political trouble, we can't assume anything from that. Bush is pulling out all the stops to try to buy votes via slinging around political pork projects in an effort to try to entice fence sitters, and the US Chamber of Commerce has announced that they've gone on the warpath and that they'll be threatening to drive noncompliant members of Congress under in the next election- we we need to join forces with those other lobbying forces opposed to CAFTA because too much is at stake to ever take a chance on something this important.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1. Become more educated to the LIES being told by the US Chamber of Commerce on CAFTA which is telling the exact same sort of lies they told during the drive to pass NAFTA which CAFTA extends- see this excellent assessment on the Public Citizen Website http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:hWGxExYmCNoJ:www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/trade/2005/03foolmetwice.pdf+Public+Citizen,Fool+me+twice,cafta&hl=en
2. CALL the following members of the Senate Finance Committee via Capital Switchboard
202-225-3121:
REPUBLICANS
Grassley, Hatch, Lott, Snowe, Kyl, Thomas,Santorum, Frist, Smith, Bunning, Crapo
DEMOCRATS
Baucus, Rockefeller, Conrad, Bingaman, Kerry, Lincoln, Wyden, Schumer
INDEPENDENT: Jeffords
Tell them:
"Please oppose CAFTA at the Mock Markup Hearing on tuesday and if it comes on the floor of the Senate. I have read Public Citizen's expose titled "Fool Me Twice? Chamber of Commerce Distorts NAFTA Record, Hides CAFTA Codex which you've been hand delivered a copy of along with a letter from John Hammell of International Advocates for Health Freedom.
I share John's concerns especially about not only the fact that CAFTA would continue the damaging pattern started by NAFTA which has destroyed over 3 Million jobs and caused the US Trade Deficit to top $618 BILLION last year (threatening to destroy the value of the dollar), but I'm especially concerned about the threat posed to US Sovereignty.
NAFTA, CAFTA, and FTAA all contain Sanitary Phytosanitary Measures language which threatens to force harmonization of American dietary supplement laws to extremely restrictive international Codex standards which are enforcable through the World Trade Organization. Harmonization is threatened both via our membership in the WTO and via regional tribunals such as thru NAFTA. This poses an unacceptable threat to my innate, unalienable right to ingest the dietary supplements of our choice and just because we see nothing about this hidden threat lurking in CAFTA and the FTAA in mainstream news articles doesn't mean its not buried inside the thousands of pages of text in the fine print. It is, and if you fail to oppose passage of CAFTA and FTAA, I will remember at the ballot box and I'm forwarding this alert to everyone I know."
WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO:
IAHF has started its own web based radio show, and I need volunteers to come forward to be interviewed to let me know what you are doing in your area at the grass roots level. Some of you may wish to go on the air on this show and to pass out flyers at local health food stores to urge more people to tune in.
I've already done my first show- an archive of it may be up at http://www.ficaa.org Greg Ciola, publisher of The Health Crusader Magazine was my first guest. We're going to use this weekly show as a tool for awakening and educating more people on this issue. It will be held on Wednesdays from 6-7 PM west coast time. If I can line up a guest, I'll do a show this wednesday upon my return back to Point Roberts WA from DC- so please contact me if you're interested otherwise perhaps I'll have Greg back on or maybe Maury Silverman whose been helping me lobby here in DC.
ALLIANCE FOR NATURAL HEALTH TO GET COURT DECISION JULY 12th (3 Days AFTER CODEX)
I called this one a long time ago. I predicted that the European Court of Justice would not give ANH a decision in their case to change the worst parts of the draconian EU Food Supplement Directive til AFTER CODEX had happened (July 4-9th) saying that they wouldn't want to interfere with the EU's participation at Codex by granting ANH a favorable decision prior to Codex, and also because by waiting, perhaps their corrupt strategy might be to claim that they couldn't arrive at a decision which contradicts a ratified Codex standard..... Stay tuned, its going to be getting VERY interesting....
Also- Another organization, the Natural Solutions Foundation, along with Citizens for Health, would have you believe that you can impact things by communicating opposition to Codex to US Codex Chair Ed Scarbrough (who will be US Delegate to the upcoming meeting in Rome in July).
This man is an unelected bureaucrat from hell. I have no illusions about what a waste of time it would be to try to communicate anything to him. When I tried to get him to throw Dr.Beth Yetley from the FDA off the Delegation back when she was our CCNFSDU delegate (after I'd witnessed her violate US law at 2 Codex meetings which I'd attended as a witness), instead of properly looking at what I was saying, INSTEAD, he did HER bidding and threw ME off the US Delegation due to my efforts as a whistleblower who was clamoring for Congressional oversight.
The powers that be didn't put that oily nebbish in charge of the US Codex Office for no reason. We have no influence over what he does at Codex in July, and even if we did, it wouldn't matter due to how the corrupt shell game is structured. They can declare consensus very easily even if our country objects and we're still roped in- so thats why IAHF is playing it smart and why we're encouraging grass roots action that CAN make a difference, and its why I've been willing to shlepp thru airports to come here to DC to swelter in the heat and humidity in your behalf.
IF YOU APPRECIATE THIS EFFORT:
Please let me know with a donation via paypal at http://www.iahf.com (Paypal button is on a scrollbar on the interior of the site) or by sending a check to help pay for this trip to:
IAHF 556 Boundary Bay Rd, Point Roberts, WA 98281
The kinkos I am at is about to hammer me for using this computer, so please chip in folks, this aint free what I'm trying to do for us, this is a true grass roots effort and I'd like to see some of you new people who just signed on come across with your fair share.
Adios from the District of Criminals....
Returning to Point Roberts WA on Wednesday.
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For Health Freedom,
John C. Hammell, President
International Advocates for Health Freedom
556 Boundary Bay Road
Point Roberts, WA 98281-8702 USA
http://www.iahf.com
jham@iahf.com
800-333-2553 N.America
360-945-0352 World