WASHINGTON – Records show that about 47,000 people have been removed or deported from the U.S. after the Homeland Security Department sifted through 3 million sets of fingerprints taken from bookings at local jails.

About one-quarter of those kicked out of the country did not have criminal records, according to government data obtained by immigration advocacy groups that have filed a lawsuit. The groups plan to release the data Tuesday and provided early copies to The Associated Press.

As issue is a fingerprint-sharing program known as Secure Communities that the government says is focused on getting rid of the “worst of the worst” criminal immigrants from the U.S.

Immigration advocates say that the government instead spends too much time on lower-level criminals or non-criminals.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement divides crimes into three categories, with Level 1 being the most serious. Most of those deported committed Level 2 or 3 crimes or were non-criminals, a monthly report of Secure Communities statistics shows.

“ICE has pulled a bait and switch, with local law enforcement spending more time and resources facilitating the deportations of bus boys and gardeners than murderers and rapists and at considerable cost to local community policing strategies, making us all less safe,” said Peter Markowitz, director of the Immigration Justice Clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York.

Markowitz’s clinic, the National Day Laborer Organizers Network and the Center for Constitutional Rights had requested and sued for the statistics. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released some of the documents late Monday.

Richard Rocha, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman, said non-criminals still may be people who have failed to show up for deportation hearings, who recently crossed the border illegally or who re-entered the country after deportation. He also said it’s important to remember that more people commit crimes that are considered Level 2 and 3.

Secure Communities is “a beneficial partnership tool for ICE and state and local law enforcement agencies helping to identify, prioritize and remove convicted criminal aliens not only from the communities, but also from the country,” Rocha said.

The Obama administration wants Secure Communities operating nationwide by 2013.

As of Aug. 3, 494 counties and local and state agencies in 27 states were sharing fingerprints from jail bookings through the program.

From October 2008 through June of this year, 46,929 people identified through Secure Communities were removed from the U.S., the documents show. Of those, 12,293 were considered non-criminals.

___

Online:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement: http://www.ice.gov

PENSACOLA, Florida — Record high ocean temperatures and the development of a climate phenomenon known as La Nina will keep the Atlantic hurricane season on track to be the busiest since 2005, government forecasters said today.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration slightly lowered the outlook it released in May, but an above-normal season was still expected, said Gerry Bell, lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Centre in Washington.

The updated forecast calls for 14 to 20 named tropical storms, down from a range of 14 to 23. The hurricane season started June 1 and ends November 30, but the peak period for hurricanes runs from August through October.

Eight to 12 storms could become hurricanes, and four to six of those hurricanes could become major storms, blowing winds of 111 mph (178 kph) or more, forecasters said.

“August heralds the start of the most active phase of the Atlantic hurricane season and with the meteorological factors in place, now is the time for everyone living in hurricane prone areas to be prepared,” NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a statement.

Historically during active storm seasons, multiple hurricane strikes are much more likely for both the Gulf Coast and the East Coast in the United States

The Caribbean also sees a sharp increase in storm activity during such seasons, which is bad news for Haiti, where approximately 1.6 million people continue to live under tarps and tents nearly seven months after a catastrophic earthquake wrecked its capital.

Three named storms have developed since this hurricane season began. Hurricane Alex made landfall June 30 in northern Mexico. Tropical Storm Bonnie forced crews drilling a relief well in the Gulf of Mexico to evacuate last month but petered out.



(CNN) — Three convicted murderers who broke out of a Kingman, Arizona, prison got some help from a female accomplice who was on a visitation list for one of them, authorities said Saturday.

The three, described as armed and dangerous, may well be out of state or on their way to Mexico, a corrections official told CNN.

The Arizona Department of Corrections and the Flagstaff police said Saturday that the three disappeared from the medium-security Arizona State Prison-Kingman.

State, federal and local authorities are searching for the men, who were discovered missing after the 9:45 p.m. count Friday at the privately-operated facility. The escapees cut a hole in the fence, authorities said. A helicopter and dogs began a search.

All three were serving time on murder convictions and may no longer be traveling together, authorities said.

Two of the inmates and the accomplice later abducted two truck drivers on Interstate 40 outside of Kingman and hijacked their 18-wheeler, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Department in Kingman. They released them and the rig five hours later in Flagstaff, about 135 miles to the east.

“We have to take every eventuality into consideration unless we have a definitive trail,” said Charles Flanagan, deputy director of the Arizona Department of Corrections. “We know they have a vehicle.”

Flanagan told CNN that authorities are making contact with the inmates’ families.

The three escaped inmates are: Tracy Province, a 42-year-old white man who is 6 feet 1 inches tall and weighs 184 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes; Daniel Renwick, a 36-year-old white man who is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes; and John McCluskey, a 45-year-old white man who is 6 feet 1 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

Province is serving a life sentence for murder and armed robbery. Renwick is serving 22 years for second-degree murder and McCluskey is serving 15 years for second-degree murder and other charges.

The suspected accmpolice was identified as 43-year-old Casslyn Mae Welch, who is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 135 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. Flanagan said she was on the visitation list for one of the inmates.

Welch, of Mesa, was seen at the prison driving a 1996 Chrysler Concord four-door sedan prior to the incident, the Mohave Sheriff’s Department said. The blue car has a faded hood and roof with an Arizona registration ABL7584. The suspects may still be using the vehicle, the department said later Saturday.

The department said Province was last seen wearing dark blue jeans, a dark purple polo shirt with a red stripe and white tennis shoes. McCluskey had light blue jeans, a white button-up shirt with horizontal and vertical blue stripes and white tennis shoes.

By TAMER EL-GHOBASHY

The city reached a settlement Tuesday that will pay more than $7 million to the family of Sean Bell, who was shot and killed by police in 2006 in a hail of 50 bullets, and to two men with him who were also shot.

The settlement, approved by a federal magistrate judge in Brooklyn, will pay $3.25 million to the estate of Mr. Bell, who was killed outside a Queens strip club on the eve of his planned wedding. Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, who were with Mr. Bell and suffered serious injuries in the shooting, will receive $3 million and $900,000 respectively, the New York City Law Department said.

View Full Image

Brian Branch Price for the Wall Street JournalWilliam Bell, the father of Sean Bell, during a street renaming to honor his son in May.

“The Sean Bell shooting highlighted the complexities our dedicated officers must face each day. The City regrets the loss of life in this tragic case, and we share our deepest condolences with the Bell family,” Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo said in a statement. A condition of the settlement precludes the city from admitting any wrongdoing, officials said.

Sanford Rubenstein, a lawyer who represented the Bell family as well as Messrs. Guzman and Benefield in the civil suit, called it “a fair and reasonable settlement.” He said the money will go to Mr. Bell’s two young children and will be administered by his fiancée Nicole Paultre-Bell. The settlement was hammered out over two days of intensive negotiations in federal court in Brooklyn, Mr. Rubenstein said.

Three of the five detectives involved in the Nov. 25, 2006, shooting were tried and acquitted of manslaughter charges in 2008. Federal prosecutors declined to open a civil-rights case against them in February, citing insufficient evidence.

The Detectives Endowment Association didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment and the New York Police Department declined to comment on the settlement.

Mr. Bell was 23 years old when he was shot and killed. The incident led to protests calling for the prosecution of the officers involved and led to institutional changes in the NYPD’s undercover procedures.

The undercover officers involved in the deadly shooting were investigating allegations of prostitution at the Queens strip club and believed Mr. Bell and his friends were armed. No weapon was ever found in the car Mr. Bell was driving or in the possession of Mr. Guzman or Mr. Benefield.

The officers involved in the shooting incident remain with the police department but on modified duty and face departmental charges that could result in their dismissal, officials said.

NEW YORK, NY – The New York cultural community is set to pay homage to the late Rex Nettleford, cultural icon, Founder of the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) and vice-chancellor emeritus of the University of the West Indies on Sunday, April 18, 2010 at St. Francis College – Founders Hall, starting at 5:30 pm.

In a special tribute titled, “Celebrating the Life. Preserving the Legacy. A Cultural Tribute to Ralston Milton “Rex” Nettleford”, Caribbean Cultural Theatre will bring together members of the artistic fraternity to reflect on the work on this stalwart and celebrate his achievements. The evening will begin with remembrances from friends, colleges and former students and culminate in a traditional Afro-Caribbean wake celebration.

Among the performers expected to participate are Ancient Vibrations headed by former NDTC drummer Gabu Wedderburn; Braata Folk Singers, a Jamaican folk group; Caribbean American Dance Company, based in Hartford, CT, Directed by NDTC alum Adrian Fletcher; Charles Moore Dance Theater, a US modern dance company; Giggles Productions, a Bronx based performing arts company; Something Positive, a Trinidadian folk dance company; Andrene Bonner, author, Olympic Gardens; folklorist Janice ‘Miss Mattie Lou’ Hart; and Guyanese musicians Avis Josephs and Wricford Dalgetty.

According to Artistic Director E. Wayne McDonald, “The Caribbean community has lost a creative genius and cultural stalwart to whom we are truly indebted. The early Sunday afternoon start will afford more families and second generation Caribbean-Americans to learn more about this icon and an opportunity to participate.”

Nettleford, who passed away on February 2 in Washington, DC made an indelible mark not only on the Jamaican and regional cultural landscape but globally with the formation of the NDTC in September 1962, one month after the island gained independence from Britain. A son of the rural parish of Trelawny, he epitomized excellence and has left a deep void as an academic, cultural activist and historian.

Caribbean Cultural Theatre has organized other similar observances in honor of folklorist and poet, Louise Bennett-Coverly in 2006 and in September 2009, to commemorate Jamaican-born playwright and co-screen writer of the film ‘The Harder They Come’ Trevor Rhone.

This special tribute is being held in collaboration with a number of partners including American Foundation of the University of the West Indies, Brooklyn Caribbean Youth Fest, Guyana Cultural Association, Coalition to Preserve Reggae Music, Past Members & Friends of the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, St. Francis College – Office of Special Events and TSO Production.

The Caribbean Cultural Theatre is a theatrical immersion experience presenting the work of Caribbean based and/or influenced writers, performers and other practitioners that both entertain and enlighten. With an eclectic and ever-evolving blend of artists and cultures, the company, through active collaboration with both Caribbean and non-Caribbean artists of all disciplines, honours a balanced rendering of Caribbean culture and the Caribbean-American experience.

Celebrating the Life. Preserving the Legacy.

A Cultural Tribute to Ralston Milton ‘Rex’ Nettleford

Sunday, April 18, 2010. 5:30PM

St Francis College – Founders Hall

182 Remsen Street (Clinton & Court Streets), Brooklyn, NY 11201
Subway: M, N; R – Court St; 2, 3, 4, 5; Q – Borough Hall.
A, C; F – Jay St./Borough Hall (3 Blocks)
Bus: B25, B26, B37, B38, B41, B45, B51; B52 – Court St

The Queens-based Team Jamaica Bickle hospitality effort for Caribbean athletes participating in the Penn Relays scholastic track and field meet in Philadelphia are taking the good with the bad this year: accepting a request to host 50 high school students and coaches from Trinidad and Tobago while coping with the loss of a main financial sponsor.

This year, support from New York’s Trinidadian and Jamaican communities, new corporate sponsors and track fans will be needed to make it all happen, said Team Jamaica Bickle (TJB) founder Irwine Clare.

“We’re proceeding as if it’s going to happen” said Clare, noting that TJB has already reserved discount hotel rooms for students and coaches from St. Anthony’s College, St. Joseph’s Convent, Queens Royal College, Bishop Anstey High School and St. Francois College for Girls.

The Penn Relays, a premier U.S. track and field event for high school, college and Olympic-level athletes, takes place April 22-25.

In addition to the Trinidadian athletes, an estimated 500 students and coaches from as many as 25 Jamaican high schools will be housed, fed and counseled under the supervision of TJB volunteers during their time at Penn Relays.

Clare said the reduced contribution from Jamaican foods manufacturer Grace Foods and the loss of Jamaica National Overseas as a sponsor are a severe blow to the group. But he thanked the Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations, which has “stepped up to the plate” and made “solid” contributions. He also thanked Caribbean Foods Delight, which provides familiar Caribbean foods for athletes during the event.

Steps to compensate for the loss of major contributions from the Jamaica National Overseas financial firm include the “We Are One Caribbean” and “We Are One Jamaica” initiatives, part of fund-raising partnership with NetLinkz Group management consulting and business development firm.

A $25-per-person prix fixe Caribbean brunch on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Negril Village , 70 W. Third St. in Manhattan, is the first fund-raising event. Special T-shirts, designed by Trinidad-Tobago native Lisa Henderson’s Tone Graphics, are being sold to raise money.

This year’s Team Jamaica Bickle annual Penn Relays Launch Reception will be held April 16 at Luntey Commons Room of Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Special guest will be Jamaican Olympic medalist Alexandra (Sandie) Richards.

To RSVP for the Penn Relays Launch or get Team Jamaica Bickle information, call (718) 523-2861 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (718) 523-2861      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or send e-mail to teamjamaicabickle@gmail.com. And for brunch reservations, call Negril Village at (212) 477-2804 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (212) 477-2804      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Source: Daily News

Proponents of legislation to legalize medical use of marijuana in New York were encouraged Monday by the announcement of a shift in federal policy first promised by President Barack Obama in his presidential campaign.

The U.S. Department of Justice Monday advised U.S. attorneys not to target medical marijuana use and distribution in the 13 states where it is legal. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has previously raided such dispensaries.

The new federal policy “greatly helps, and certainly it puts state medical marijuana laws on a much firmer footing legally,” said Assemb. Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan), who sponsored legislation that passed the Assembly in 2007 and 2008 but failed in the State Senate.

He and state Sen. Thomas Duane (D-Manhattan) are now sponsoring identical bills that would legalize production and distribution of medical marijuana through tightly regulated licensed health care facilities and providers.

“Our standard in New York is even stricter than what the federal government is appearing to allow the states to do,” said Duane.

The two said they’re hoping the measures could see action before the end of the year if the legislature is called into special session to deal with the state budget.

Marijuana helps control nausea, vomiting, wasting and anxiety from AIDs, cancer and chemotherapy treatments, and can also help with pain and other symptoms of debilitating diseases such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Medical associations including the Medical Society of the state of New York and the New York State Nurses Association support legalizing the drug for medical use.

Marijuana “certainly has its place and should be among the drugs we’re allowed to use,” said Dr. Reed Phillips of Glen Cove, who recently retired as a practicing oncologist and palliative care specialist. He said other drugs also help control nausea and anxiety, but marijuana has the advantage because “it’s probably a heck of a lot cheaper than the best anti-nausea medications that can cost $20 to $50 a pill.”

Catherine Hart, chief operating officer of the Long Island Association for AIDS Care, Inc., said she’d support legal physician-prescribed marijuana use, but cautioned that many patients have substance abuse issues that would need to be fully disclosed.

A pill with marijuana’s active ingredient is available legally now, but it can take an hour to take effect compared to five to 15 minutes for inhaled or vaporized marijuana.

Bruce Mirkin, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, the nation’s largest marijuana reform organization, applauded the federal policy shift and said it should remove fears cited by state legislative opponents that constituents would be put at legal risk.

What food products contain gelatin and rennet?

Rennet is in some cheeses.

Gelatin can be found in jello, marshmallows, cereals like mini wheat kind of cereals, gummy candies, jelly beans, yogurt, jams, cream cheese, and marjarines.

The only way of knowing if it is in a product is looking at the ingredient label though because not all cheese contains rennet and not all the products above contain gelatin. If you want gelatin free jello, marshmallows, gummy candies, etc. the easiest place to find it is online.

Gelatin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gelatin (from French gélatine) is a translucent, colorless, odorless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals’ skin and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar way are called gelatinous. Gelatin is an irreversibly hydrolyzed form of collagen. Gelatin is classified as a foodstuff, with E number E441. It is in some “gummy” candies as well as other products such as marshmallows, Jell-O, and some low-fat yogurt. Some dietary customs forbid the use of gelatin from certain animal sources, and medical issues may limit or prevent its consumption by certain people.

Gelatin is a protein produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from the bones, connective tissues organs, and some intestines of animals such as domesticated cattle, pigs, and horses. The natural molecular bonds between individual collagen strands are broken down into a form that rearranges more easily. Gelatin melts to a liquid when heated and solidifies when cooled again. Together with water, it forms a semi-solid colloid gel. Gelatin forms a solution of high viscosity in water, which sets to a gel on cooling, and its chemical composition is, in many respects, closely similar to that of its parent collagen. ^[1] Gelatin solutions show viscoelastic flow and streaming birefringence. If gelatin is put into contact with cold water, some of the material dissolves. The solubility of the gelatin is determined by the method of manufacture. Typically, gelatin can be dispersed in a relatively concentrated acid. Such dispersions are stable for 10–15 days with little or no chemical changes and are suitable for coating purposes or for extrusion into a precipitating bath. Gelatin is also soluble in most polar solvents. Gelatin gels exist over only a small temperature range, the upper limit being the melting point of the gel, which depends on gelatin grade and concentration and the lower limit, the ice point at which ice crystallizes. The mechanical properties are very sensitive to temperature variations, previous thermal history of the gel, and time. The viscosity of the gelatin/water mixture increases with concentration and when kept cool (≈ 4 °C).

Production

The worldwide production amount of gelatin is about 300,000 tons per year (roughly 600 million lbs.) ^[2]. On a commercial scale, gelatin is made from by-products of the meat and leather industry. Recently, fish by-products have also been considered because they eliminate some of the religious obstacles surrounding gelatin consumption ^[3].

Gelatin is derived mainly from pork skins, pork and cattle bones, or split cattle hides; contrary to popular belief, horns and hooves are not used.^[4] The raw materials are prepared by different curing, acid, and alkali processes which are employed to extract the dried collagen hydrolysate. These processes ^[5] may take up to several weeks, and differences in such processes have great effects on the properties of the final gelatin products ^[6].

Gelatin can also be prepared at home. Boiling certain cartilaginous cuts of meat or bones will result in gelatin being dissolved into the water. Depending on the concentration, the resulting broth, when cooled, will naturally form a jelly or gel. This process, for instance, may be used for the pot-au-feu dish.

While there are many processes whereby collagen can be converted to gelatin, they all have several factors in common. The intermolecular and intramolecular bonds which stabilize insoluble collagen rendering it insoluble must be broken, and the hydrogen bonds which stabilize the collagen helix must also be broken ^[1]. The manufacturing processes of gelatin consists of three main stages:

1. Pretreatments to make the raw materials ready for the main extraction step and to remove impurities which may have negative effects on physicochemical properties of the final gelatin product,
2. The main extraction step, which is usually done with hot water or dilute acid solutions as a multistage extraction to hydrolyze collagen into gelatin, and finally,
3. The refining and recovering treatments including filtration, clarification, evaporation, sterilization, drying, rutting, grinding, and sifting to remove the water from the gelatin solution, to blend the gelatin extracted, and to obtain dried, blended and ground final gelatin.

[] Pretreatments

If the physical material which will be used in production is bones, dilute acid solutions should be used to remove calcium and similar salts. Hot water or several solvents may be used for degreasing. Maximum fat content of the material should not exceed 1% before the main extraction step. If the raw material is hides and skin, size reduction, washing, removing hair from the hides, and degreasing are the most important pretreatments used to make the hides and skins ready for the main extraction step. Raw material preparation for extraction is done by three different methods: acid, alkali, and enzymatic treatments. Acid treatment is especially suitable for less fully crosslinked materials such as pig skin collagen. Pig skin collagen is less complex than the collagen found in bovine hides. Acid treatment is faster than alkali treatment and requires normally 10 to 48 hours. Alkali treatment is suitable for more complex collagen, e.g., the collagen found in bovine hides. This process requires longer time, normally several weeks. The purpose of the alkali treatment is to destroy certain chemical crosslinkages still present in collagen. The gelatin obtained from acid treated raw material has been called type-A gelatin, and the gelatin obtained from alkali treated raw material is referred to as type-B gelatin. Enzymatic treatments used for preparing raw material for the main extraction step are relatively new. Enzymatic treatments have some advantages in contrast to alkali treatment. Time required for enzymatic treatment is short, the yield is almost 100% in enzymatic treatment, the purity is also higher, and the physical properties of the final gelatin product are better.

[] Extraction

After preparation of the raw material, i.e., reducing crosslinkages between collagen components and removing some of the impurities such as fat and salts, partially purified collagen is converted into gelatin by extraction with either water or acid solutions at appropriate temperatures. This extraction is one of the most important steps in gelatin production. All industrially used processes are based on neutral or acid pH values because alkali treatments speed up conversion, but, at the same time, degradation processes are promoted. Acid extract conditions are extensively used in the industry but the degree of acid varies with different processes. This extraction step is a multi stage process, and extraction temperature is usually increased in later extraction steps. This procedure ensures the minimum thermal degradation of the extracted gelatin.

[] Recovery

This process includes several steps such as filtration, evaporation, sterilization, drying, grinding, and sifting. These operations are concentration-dependent and also dependent on the particular gelatin used. Degradation must be avoided or minimized. For this purpose, limiting the temperature as much as possible would be helpful. Rapid processing is required for most of them. All of these processing steps should be done in several stages to avoid extensive deterioration of peptide structure. Otherwise, low gelling strength would be obtained that is not generally desired.

[] Edible gelatins

Household gelatin comes in the form of sheets, granules, or powder. Instant types can be added to the food as they are; others need to be soaked in water beforehand.

[] Uses

Probably best known as a gelling agent in cooking, different types and grades of gelatin are used in a wide range of food and non-food products:

Common examples of foods that contain gelatin are gelatin desserts, trifles, aspic, marshmallows, and confectioneries such as Peeps, gummy bears and jelly babies. Gelatin may be used as a stabilizer, thickener, or texturizer in foods such as jams, yoghurt, cream cheese, and margarine; it is used, as well, in fat-reduced foods to simulate the mouthfeel of fat and to create volume without adding calories.

Gelatin is used for the clarification of juices, such as apple juice, and of vinegar. Isinglass, from the swim bladders of fish, is still used as a fining agent for wine and beer. ^[7] Beside hartshorn jelly, from deer antlers (hence the name “hartshorn”), isinglass was one of the oldest sources of gelatin. Gelatine was used for hardening paper in Colonial times.

[] Technical uses

Capsules made of gelatin.

• Certain professional lighting equipment uses color gels to change the beam color. These used to be made with gelatin, hence the name color gel.
• Gelatin typically constitutes the shells of pharmaceutical capsules in order to make them easier to swallow. Hypromellose is a vegan-acceptable alternative to gelatin, but is more expensive to produce.
• Animal glues such as hide glue are essentially unrefined gelatin.
• It is used to hold silver halide crystals in an emulsion in virtually all photographic films and photographic papers. Despite some efforts, no suitable substitutes with the stability and low cost of gelatin have been found.
• Used as a carrier, coating or separating agent for other substances; for example, it makes beta-carotene water-soluble thus imparting a yellow colour to any soft drinks containing beta-carotene.
• Gelatin is closely related to bone glue and is used as a binder in match heads and sandpaper.
• Cosmetics may contain a non-gelling variant of gelatin under the name hydrolyzed collagen.
• As a surface sizing, it smooths glossy printing papers or playing cards and maintains the wrinkles in crêpe paper.

[] Other uses

• Blocks of ballistic gelatin simulate muscle tissue as a standardized medium for testing firearms ammunition.
• Gelatin is used by synchronized swimmers to hold their hair in place during their routines as it will not dissolve in the cold water of the pool. It is frequently referred to as “knoxing,” a reference to Knox brand gelatin.^[8] Though commonly used, the owners of the trademark object to the genericized use of the term.^{[citation needed]}
• When added to boiling water and cooled, unflavored gelatin can make a home-made hair styling gel that is cheaper than many commercial hair styling products, but by comparison has a shorter shelf life (about a week) when stored in this form (usually in a refrigerator). After being applied to scalp hair, it can be removed with rinsing and some shampoo.
• It is commonly used as a biological substrate to culture adherent cells.
• Also used by those who are sensitive to tannins (which can irritate the stomach) in teas, soups or brews.
• It may be used as a medium with which to consume LSD. LSD in gelatin form is known as “windowpane” or “gel.”
• Gelatin is used to make the shells of paintballs, similar to the way pharmaceutical capsules are produced.

[] Religion and gelatin substitutes

Special kinds of gelatin indicate the specific animal origin that was used for its production. For example, Muslim halal or Jewish kosher customs may require gelatin from sources other than pigs, from animals slaughtered ritually, or from fish. Hindu and Buddhist consumers may require animal product free alternatives. An alternative source of gelatin substitutes could be natural gel sources such as agar-agar (a seaweed), carrageenan, pectin, or konnyaku. A potential advantage over gelatin from pigs or cows is the absence of medical issues. However, alternative sources can be associated with health problems of their own (see for instance health concerns regarding carrageenan).

[] Medical and nutritional properties

Amino acid composition

Although gelatin is 98-99% protein by dry weight, it has less nutritional value than many other protein sources. Gelatin is unusually high in the non-essential amino acids glycine and proline, (i.e., those produced by the human body), while lacking certain essential amino acids (i.e., those not produced by the human body). It contains no tryptophan and is deficient in isoleucine, threonine, and methionine. The approximate amino acid composition of gelatin is: glycine 21%, proline 12%, hydroxyproline 12%, glutamic acid 10%, alanine 9%, arginine 8%, aspartic acid 6%, lysine 4%, serine 4%, leucine 3%, valine 2%, phenylalanine 2%, threonine 2%, isoleucine 1%,hydroxylysine 1%, methionine and histidine <1% and tyrosine <0.5%. These values vary, especially the minor constituents, depending on the source of the raw material and processing technique.^[9]

Eggs in aspic

Gelatin is one of the few foods that cause a net loss of protein if eaten exclusively. In the 1960s, several people died of malnutrition while on popular liquid protein diets. ^[10]

For decades, gelatin has been touted as a good source of protein. It has also been said to strengthen nails and hair. [1] [2] However, there is little scientific evidence to support such an assertion, one which may be traced back to Knox’s revolutionary marketing techniques of the 1890s, when it was advertised that gelatin contains protein and that lack of protein causes dry, deformed nails.^{[citation needed]} In fact, the human body itself produces abundant amounts of the proteins found in gelatin. Furthermore, dry nails are usually due to too little saturated fats in the diet (which also is the primary cause for dry skin), not protein.^{[citation needed]}

Several Russian researchers offer the following opinion regarding certain peptides found in gelatin: “gelatin peptides reinforce resistance of the stomach mucous tunic to ethanol and stress action, decreasing the ulcer area by twice.”^[11]

Gelatin has also been claimed to promote general joint health. A study at Ball State University, sponsored by Nabisco (the former parent company of Knox gelatin[3]), found that gelatin supplementation relieved knee joint pain and stiffness in athletes. ^[12] These results have not yet been replicated by other researchers^{[citation needed]}.

[] Safety concerns

Strict regulations apply for all steps in the gelatin manufacturing process. Gelatin is produced from natural raw materials which originate from animals that have been examined and accepted for human consumption by veterinary authorities. Hygienic regulations with respect to fresh raw materials are ensured and each batch of raw material delivered to the manufacturing plant is immediately checked and documented.
All reputable gelatin manufacturers today follow the Quality Management System according to ISO 9001 to comply with all required physical, chemical, microbiological and technical production and quality standards. In this way all process steps follow international laws and customer-specific quality parameters and are guaranteed and documented. For pharmaceutical grade gelatins strict regulations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European CPMP’s regulation and European Pharmacopoeia must be met. A detailed overview of the regulatory requirements for gelatin production can be found in the Gelatine Handbook, page 99-101 ^[13].

[] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Ward, A.G.; Courts, A. (1977). The Science and Technology of Gelatin. New York: Academic Press. 
2. ^ “Gelatine.org Market Data 2005“. Gelatine Manufacturers of Europe. http://www.gelatine.org/en/gelatine/overview/127.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-04. 
3. ^ “What is Halal?“. Islamic Services of America. http://www.isaiowa.org/content.asp?ID=1677. Retrieved 2006-12-04. 
4. ^ “Gelatine information, news, history and more“. Gelatine Manufacturers Institute of America. http://www.gelatin-gmia.com/html/qanda.html. Retrieved 2008-09-26. 
5. ^ “Rousselot.com. Gelatin, Hydrolyzed collagen. Properties, processes, applications in the confectionnery, dairy, pharmaceutical industries“. ROUSSELOT. http://www.rousselot.com. Retrieved 2008-07-15. 
6. ^ “Gelita.com“. GELITA Group. http://www.gelita.com. Retrieved 2006-12-04. 
7. ^ “National Organic Standards Board Technical Advisory Panel Review: Gelatin processing” (PDF). http://www.omri.org/Gelatin-TAP.pdf. 
8. ^ “2008 United States Olympic Synchronized Swimming Team” (PDF). http://www.usasynchro.org/athletes/National/2008/Synchro_MediaGuide_2008.pdf. 
9. ^ Stevens, P.V. (1992). “Unknown“. Food Australia 44 (7): 320–324. http://www.gelatin.co.za/gltn1.html. Retrieved 2005-08-11. 
10. ^ “What was wrong with those old “Liquid Protein” Diets“. June 30, 2009. http://charm.cs.uiuc.edu/users/jyelon/lowcarb.med/topic9.html. 
11. ^ “Gelatin Treats Ulcer“. August 22, 2006. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=50126. 
12. ^ Pearson, David. “Gelatin found to reduce joint pain in athletes“. http://www.bsu.edu/news/article/0,1370,-1019-632,00.html. 
13. ^ Schrieber, R. and Gareis, H. (2007). Gelatine Handbook for dummies – Theory and Industrial Practice, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co, Weinheim, Germany

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Medical authorities have answered that question firmly in the negative. Mothers and fathers who believe their children were damaged by vaccines have refused to take no for an answer. The continuing debate over the subject is often framed as a struggle between science and parents. But parents also battle among themselves on the issue, even parents of children with autism.

About.com’s Autism and Pediatrics sites have good discussions of the scientific evidence against an autism-vaccine link. Here, we’ll look at the reasons this issue has become such a flashpoint of contention among parents, all of whom want what is best for their children and all children, but differ dramatically on what “best” might be.

Background

Concerns over vaccine damage have arisen at a time when parents have unprecedented access to information and platforms to share their views. Web sites make research that might once have been viewed and interpreted only by doctors available for any parent to draw conclusions on, while blogs, message boards, and e-mail lists bring parents together to share interpretations, plan protests, spin stories, and argue about what it all means.

As being an activist for your child has become easier, the need to do so has increased. Health insurance has set regulations on who patients can see, for what, and for how long — damaging, along the way, the kind of close and caring relationship pediatricians used to have with their young clients and families. The days when your doctor could sit down and explain vaccines in detail, and do so from a deep personal knowledge of your specific child, have largely passed. That leaves parents feeling like case managers, charged with being the foremost experts on their children, following up on questions and concerns that can’t be addressed in a rushed visit.

The American Academy of Pediatrics urges parents of children with autism to “learn as much as they can about all the different treatments available.” Left to do their own research, though, parents may come to feel they know more about their child’s disabilities than their doctor does — and maybe more than researchers who regard autism from the comfort of a lab rather than the company of a child in distress. They may have found success with treatments that are not universally accepted, and feel less inclined to take the word of scientists and doctors over their own personal observations.

“Science is about observation, right?” Lisa Rudley, a mother who has filed a claim in “Vaccine Court” asserting that shots caused her son’s autism, told New York’s The Journal News. “Well, I watched my son descend into illness. I think a mother’s observation of her child is valuable.”

Some parents can pinpoint the moment things went wrong for their child. In an open letter reprinted on the blog MomLogic, actress Holly Robinson Peete recalls, “When my son was two-and-a-half, he was just recovering from an ear infection and had been on antibiotics, therefore his immune system was suppressed. He had already missed several appointments for his vaccination so his pediatrician wanted to catch him up on all of them in the same day. Although I asked if he’d consider waiting or breaking up the cocktail, which contains three viruses, he laughed me out of the office and belittled me. I firmly believe that it took my son to a place of no return and his body could not handle it. He had a violent reaction with convulsions and then he stopped talking and slipped into a silence. He no longer said, ‘Hi, Mommy,’ he no longer responded to his name and he no longer made eye contact.”

Others notice the change in retrospect. Ginger Taylor, on her blog Adventures in Autism, writes, “After Chandler’s diagnosis I went back and watched home videos to find out when things started changing for him. We had a gap in our video’s between my older son’s birthday in September and Halloween. It was clear that he had changed sometime during that time. After watching the videos I checked his shot record and found that Chandler had been vaccinated just before the gap in the video, five weeks before Halloween.”

As some parents trace the damage done by vaccines, others note the damage done by unvaccinated kids. In his book Your Critically Ill Child, Dr. Christopher M. Johnson writes of a baby’s terrible battle with whooping cough in the Pediatric ICU, and of his mother’s anger at the family whose avoidance of vaccines put her there. “She was more than unsympathetic to the anti-vaccination viewpoint; she was scornful of its adherents, even angry at them. She told me that she would like all such parents who refuse whooping cough vaccine for their children to see a video of Tiffany, emaciated from lack of food, exhausted from coughing, and nearly drowning in mucous as she gasped for breath.”

Neurodiversity or Disease

There are plenty of parents of children with autism who agree that the anti-vaccination viewpoint is dangerous. “Not all awareness and advocacy is healthy awareness and advocacy,” writes Estee Klar in her blog The Joy of Autism. “Anything that shifts public perception to lessen the value of human beings based on their disability, sways people to feel sorry for us or our children, or endangers their health, is not advancing the needs of autistic individuals or creating an inclusive society.”

Kristina Chew, who wrote about her son’s autism on the blog AutismVox and now blogs at Autism – Change.org, writes, “People have started to talk about a child having measles as preferable to a child having autism and so much energy is being directed to explaining about thimerosal and flu vaccines, all while the Supreme Court is making judgments about … an ‘appropriate’ education for a child on the autism spectrum, and when everyone knows there isn’t enough of anything (housing, jobs, funds) for adults on the autism spectrum.”

For parents like Klar and Chew who embrace the notion of neurodiversity, autism is not a scourge to be eradicated or damage to be repaired but an example of normal human variation. “I just don’t see my son as having a ‘ghastly affliction.’ Indeed, when I stopped worrying about ‘recovering’ him and making sure he did this that and the other ‘appropriately,’ things got much better,” Chew wrote on AutismVox.

Other parents find that “ghastly” well describes their experience with autism. In a Salon article, Ann Bauer writes of her adult autistic son’s outbursts of violence, “I would hack off my right arm in return for something as simple as cancer. The flickering beauty of a sad, pure, too-early death sounds lovely.” Jenny McCarthy, who has been outspoken in her criticism of vaccines, said in a Time interview, “If you ask a parent of an autistic child if they want the measles or the autism, we will stand in line for the f___ing measles.”

Parents who believe that something in the environment is turning healthy children autistic consider research essential to reversing what they see as an autism epidemic. Jon Poling, who successfully petitioned the Vaccine Court on behalf of his daughter Hannah, writes in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “We should be investing our research dollars into discovering environmental factors that we can change. … Pesticides, mercury, aluminum, several drugs, dietary factors, infectious agents and yes — vaccines.”

Where it Stands

Regardless of their beliefs about the nature of autism, the dangers of vaccination, and the proper target of funding, most parents recognize that immunizing children against life-threatening diseases is something worth doing. Many who get tagged as “anti-vaccine” really want to make vaccines safer, eliminating potentially damaging ingredients and amending vaccination schedules so that young immune systems are not bombarded. Parents on all sides of the debate see themselves as fighting the good fight for their own children and for all children — and that ensures that the question “Do Vaccines Cause Autism?” will continue to be hotly debated, regardless of what science has to say on the subject.

To keep up-to-date on the debate, and read how passionate parents apply their own experience and interpretations to all sides of issue, refer to the Today’s News, Weekly News, and Vaccines and Autism News folders on this Parenting Special Needs site, updated regularly with posts on this contentious topic from parenting blogs around the Web.