Hong Kong: High levels of the chemical found in the Chinese milk scandal are now in eggs in from the mainland.

The authorities on the island said that the eggs contained twice the legal limit of melamine, an industrial chemical which made over 50,000 infants ill and killed four when it was discovered in powdered baby milk over the summer.

Melamine, which is more commonly found in plastics, was added by unscrupulous traders to "bulk up" milk and make it appear richer in protein.

China has not updated the number of children affected by melamine poisoning since the third week of September, and there are indications that the official number may be far too low. Health officials said on Sunday that one quarter, or 75,000, of the 300,000 families in Beijing with a child of less than three had been affected.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has started testing meat and vegetables coming from the mainland. One theory is that the chickens may have eaten feed contaminated with the chemical.

It has also emerged that cyromazine, a derivative of melamine, is widely used in pesticides and animal feed. This could have been absorbed and pass upwards through the food chain.

"As we have found melamine in eggs, we shall also test chicken meat and we shall also look at offal, for example chicken kidneys and pig kidneys," said Mr Chow.

Full Article click here

Download | Duration: 00:05:53

BEIJING:

 More than 10,000 children remain hospitalized after being sickened in China's tainted milk scandal, officials said, as the government released its first rules on allowable levels of the chemical blamed in the ailments.

The Health Ministry said in a statement on its Web site on Wednesday that eight of the 10,666 children were in serious condition after drinking milk powder contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, which can lead to kidney stones and possibly life-threatening kidney failure.

No new deaths have been recorded, it said. The scandal has so far been blamed for the deaths of four babies and the sickening of more than 54,000 others.

But the effects of the scandal continue to be felt, forcing the government to deal with festering health and public relations issues. China's food exports have increasingly suffered, with more nations issuing import bans.

Dairy suppliers have been accused of adding melamine, used in products including plastics, paint and adhesives, to watered-down milk to make the product appear rich in protein and fool quality control tests.

There had been no previous standards for the amount of the chemical allowed in food products.

Under Health Ministry guidelines released on Wednesday, melamine is now limited to one part per million for infant formula and 2.5 parts per million for liquid milk, milk powder and food products that contain more than 15 percent milk.

Wang Xuening, a ministry official, acknowledged that small amounts of melamine can leech from the environment and packaging into milk and other foods, but said deliberate tainting was explicitly forbidden.

Levels of melamine discovered in batches of milk powder recently registered as much as 6,196 parts per million.

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration says its experts have concluded that eating 2.5 parts per million of melamine, a minuscule amount, would not raise health risks, even if a person ate food every day that contained it.

Guidelines in Hong Kong and New Zealand say melamine in food products is considered safe at 2.5 parts per million or less, though Hong Kong has lowered the level for children under 3 and pregnant or lactating women to one part per million.

China's food exports have suffered significantly from the scandal, with more than 30 countries restricting Chinese dairy products, and in some cases all Chinese food exports.

Something surprising in Rhode Island- we actually had one of our posters inside a Starbucks coffee shop. The last place in the world that we would have imagined a poster for "Got the facts on Milk?". Ladies and gentlemen here is the proof.

So what if it is Monday? Have a good one anyway

Download | Duration: 00:02:59

We are in Seoul, South Korea this weekend with the Green film festival, tonight we will be screening our Asian Premier.
Anyone in South Korea?

Today we bring you insider tips from the Texas Department
of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension program (TCE).
___________________________________________

"Sell early before all that is left is a shell of a cow. Try
not to market cows that are too thin or too fat. Sell before
blemishes become problems. Sell crippled cattle and cows with
obvious blemishes directly to the packer."

"Market crippled cattle directly to a packer, without going
through usual marketing channels. Cows with other blemishes,
such as bad eyes, probably should also be sold directly to a
packer."

"Consider cull cows as a valuable asset and handle them as such.
Bruising is a major problem with cull cows. Most bruises are
caused by rough handling and hauling from the time they are
sorted at the ranch until they are processed at the cow plant."

"Always be cautious and concerned about withdrawal times when
marketing cows which have been treated with any kind of
pesticide, antibiotic or any other chemical compound."

"Cull old cows before they lose their teeth, decline in body
condition and fail to breed."

"Add weight to thin cull cows before selling."

"Explore selling directly to a packer on a prearranged price."

"Sell cows before they become fat. Fat cows are discounted
for low lean yield."

"Sell cows outside seasonal marketing trends. Cull cow prices
are normally lowest in October and November."
_____________________________________________

The film has been invited to the EcoCinema Film Festival here in Israel that plays films that are connected with environment. The film will first premier in Jerusalem then again in Tel-Aviv and we just got word that Rosh Pina up north has requested a screening.
The film at the same time will screen at the Korean Green Film Festival in Seoul.
We will be posting the exact screening times, venues and stuff like that soon.

Pretty wicked, no?

It is the 6th day of the DocAviv International Film Festival and later today will be our second screening.
The first screening on Saturday the 5th of April, was a success and a crowd pleaser so today thankfully I am not the same bundle of nerves I was on Saturday.
This festival has been such a wonderful experience on so many accounts with a wide range of remarkable and well crafted films, a great audience presence and also prestigious industry guests from other festivals and broadcast channels that have been resourceful, fun, open and forthcoming.

The milk debate has been a hot topic here in Israel, for some time and the organizers of the festival have put me in contact with DR. Avni who wrote several books on milk consumption that the Israeli dairy industry bought completely off the shelves.
He attended our premier screening on Saturday and raved about the film to the audience right after the film.

So I guess we have done good meantime

To continue…..




'Got the facts on Milk?' Premier film reception
Doc Aviv- Tel-Aviv 2008

Our film ‘Got the facts on Milk?’ aka the Milk Documentary was featured tonight on Channel 2 news in Israel where the film will have its world premier at the International Documentary Film Festival - Docaviv on Saturday 5th of April.
The news article, in Hebrew, focused on the milk debate, how the Chinese never had milk or any dairy products and therefore they do not suffer the diseases most western cultures do and towards the end they made the connection that eating with chop sticks and communism turned to be a mistake so evidently the Chinese people’s avoidance from dairy products must well be a huge mistake as well.
Well…ahhhhh – The article was very good, especially since they used A LOT of footage from our film, but the end where they made this parallel to chop sticks and communism, seemed a little obtuse or a bad joke that didn’t play too well.
People posted comments on the article (see link below).

The link to the news article –
The video is in Hebrew and has no subtitles – sorry non Hebrew speakers.
http://www.keshet-tv.com/VideoPage.aspx?MediaID=35317&SourceID=58

On April 3rd I will be leaving for Israel – for our first official screening. The film screens 3 times through out the festival see below times:

1. Eshkol Payis, Saturday April 5th, 2008 10:00 am
Following this screening and Q&A the film and festival will be hosting a little reception

2. Cinematheque 2, Wednesday April 9th 2008, 16:00
3. Cinematheque 2, Thursday April 10th 2008, 12:00

For more info on the festival: www.docaviv.co.il
‘Got the facts on Milk?’ – English Page http://docaviv.co.il/2008/film.asp?filmID=275
“Got the facts on Milk? – Hebrew page http://docaviv.co.il/2008/film_h.asp?filmID=275 

Will be writing more often from Israel as the festival progresses.

Yours
Shira

Download | Duration: 00:00:00

Yes... I have been slack on updating this blog – I know – My apologizes
So here goes…

1.     Got the facts on Milk (aka The Milk Documentary) 
        will be screening 3 times throughout the 
        DOCAVIV FILM FESTIVAL,
         April 3rd to April 12th in Tel-Aviv, Israel

        Saturday 5th of April at 10:00am
        Wednesday 9th of April at 4:00pm
        Thursday 10th of April at 12:00 noon

        For more information on the festival go to the following link:
        http://docaviv.co.il/2008/film.asp?filmID=275


2.    We have a new video teaser of the film.



3.     ‘Got the facts on Milk?’ will be screening the film trailer this coming weekend, 
        at the opening event of the RAW FILM FESTIVAL on the 21st of March. 
        There will be lots of yummy vegan, raw foods and likeminded thought provoking people, 
        to probe their brain. The Festival runs Friday 21st of March through to Sunday the 23rd, 
        with non stop food and environment related films.

Location:
The Grand Theatre
(located on the grounds of LA Trade-Tech College)
400 W. Washington Blvd.( corner of Grand)
Los Angeles CA 90015

For more information on the RAW FILM FESTIVAL see:
http://www.serenityspaces.org/filmfest08.asp

          For a RAW FILM FESTIVAL PDF flyer download:
          http://www.serenityspaces.org/pdf/RFFflyer.pdf



4.         Subscribe to this blog and you will receive updates directly to your email. 

        Hope to see you at any one of these events.
        All the best
Shira

It is with great pleasure I announce that our feature documentary 'Got the facts on Milk?' has been chosen to participate in The 10th Annual International Documentary Film Festival in Tel-Aviv -  DocAviv, From April 3rd to April 12th 2008

The film is almost, nearly, just about, practically complete.

We are finishing the work on our 5.1 surround sound to match our HD quality video of the film and are extremely excited (like that is hard to tell right?)

The DocAviv festival website has not yet updated its screening schedule. We got word about this only last week, so again - DocAviv film festival has not yet updated their film schedule, they still have last years' screening schedule posted.

Festival Website: Hebrew version   www.docaviv.co.il 
Festival Website: English version http://docaviv.co.il/2007/index.asp

For more info about 'Got the facts on Milk?'

www.myspace.com/milk_documentary
www.unleashedproductions.com – production company website

yours
Red Q

Most of you have or are going to vote for who in your mind should be our next president. Please keep in mind the criteria for this job:

INDIVIDUAL WITH READING ABILITIES NEEDED TO LEAD A NATION.
The well-rounded candidate should coordinate efforts of cross-functional teams by leading some what productive meetings, managing and supervising induced politicians with their most unintelligent decisions and a drive to deliver campaign promises.

Specific duties and responsibilities
Supervises from start to finish- directs and maintains flow of productivity and takes full responsibility for outcome.
Incorporates feedback from other groups and parties that effectively demonstrate imperative consequences to vital decisions and acute to out of the ordinary strategies.

Other responsibilities include maintaining budgets, maintaining the law and maintaining tape archives to prove it. The output of the United States of America Coordinator (A.K.A the President) has direct impact on the development of every person, establishment and the framework of our future. Needless to say, intelligence is a plus.

All races and species are invited to apply.
We are looking to replace immediately.

Current mood: worried The following blog has a swear word or two – so if this offends you please do not continue to read this blog.

Two nights ago I watched a documentary that BLEW me away.
If you haven't seen it you should!
If you crave truth, you should!

NO END IN SIGHT
It is nominated for Oscar this Feb of 2008, as it should be and I hope the judges will over come the ho ha of the Michael Moore groupie fan club and realize that NO END IN SIGHT is a vital film and should be recognized. (Available through Netflix, don't know about other places)

Michael Moore, no offense to you, you inspire me, you make great movies but now a days you get multi million dollar deals with multi million dollar marketing spend to induce your film's Oscar worthiness. In my eyes, a documentary shouldn't be judged by its marketing spend, but by its impact upon us.
SICKO tells us what we already know – that our health care system here in the U.S sucks, but NO END IN SIGHT– Is the hottest pepper you have ever eaten in your life. The film makes you realize that you were right all along; the people in charge… don't know their head from their ass hole.

Hey Mr. President…won't you lend us a future?