“This is coming to me from not just my Republican constituents,” added Carrico, whose district voted overwhelmingly for Republican Mitt Romney in last year’s presidential election. “I want to be a voice for a region that feels they have no reason to come to the polls.”

As the American soft-drink industry argued its case in court on Wednesday against Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s restrictions on sugary drink sizes, a prominent local group stood by its side: the New York chapter of the N.A.A.C.P.

The obesity rate for African-Americans in New York City is higher than the city average, and city health department officials say minority neighborhoods would be among the key beneficiaries of a rule that would limit the sale of super-size, calorie-laden beverages.


But the N.A.A.C.P. has close ties to big soft-drink companies, particularly Coca-Cola, whose longtime Atlanta law firm, King & Spalding, wrote the amicus brief filed by the civil rights group in support of a lawsuit aimed at blocking Mr. Bloomberg’s soda rules, which are set to take effect in March.

Coca-Cola has also donated tens of thousands of dollars to a health education program, Project HELP, developed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The brief describes that program, but not the financial contributions of the beverage company. The brief was filed jointly with another organization, the Hispanic Federation, whose former president, Lillian Rodríguez López, recently took a job at Coca-Cola.

pacino wrote:A spokesperson said that 'nobody buys the NAACP'. Maybe not, but they sure can rent it.

td11 wrote:cheap sugary foods keep poor people fat

Swiss and other European leaders this week hailed the adoption of a U.N.-backed global treaty, known as the Minamata Convention, curbing releases of mercury.

The treaty was approved by 147 governments Saturday at a forum in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing praise from the European Union, Ireland, Switzerland and other European supporters.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury -- named after the Japanese city where the Chisso Corp. discharged mercury-tainted water into the ocean over several decades causing serious health problems -- calls for new controls and reductions across a range of products, processes and industries where mercury is used, released or emitted.

Under its terms, the countries agreed to ban mercury in thermometers, batteries and energy-saving light bulbs by 2020, the U.N. Environment Program said.

[The new reductions] range from medical equipment such as thermometers and energy-saving light bulbs to the mining, cement and coal-fired power sectors.
The treaty, which has been four years in negotiation and which will be open for signature at a special meeting in Japan in October, also addresses the direct mining of mercury, export and import of the metal and safe storage of waste mercury. …
Mercury and its various compounds have a range of serious health impacts including brain and neurological damage especially among the young.
Others include kidney damage and damage to the digestive system. Victims can suffer memory loss and language impairment alongside many other well documented problems

jerseyhoya wrote:Dick Codey is taking a pass. So it seems like it's down to Sweeney as far as potential challengers to Buono go for the nomination. I think Codey would've been Christie's second toughest opponent after Booker.

Bucky wrote:...and my hypothesis is the the ban could help keep them poor, too

pacino wrote:A spokesperson said that 'nobody buys the NAACP'. Maybe not, but they sure can rent it.

jerseyhoya wrote:

pacino wrote:A spokesperson said that 'nobody buys the NAACP'. Maybe not, but they sure can rent it.

pacino recognizing the awfulness of the racial grievance lobby

td11 wrote:

Bucky wrote:...and my hypothesis is the the ban could help keep them poor, too

it's a good one, bucky. but there is substantial evidence to suggest that the cheapest foods are often the unhealthiest (i.e. sugar-iest for the most part).

i dunno. banning 64oz sodas might sound worse than it actually is on the face of it because i don't think there is enough education about just how much damage they can do, esp to younger kids. the FDA has never even set a %daily amount of sugar that you should intake in your diet. in the long run, the health benefits likely outweigh the short-term money saving.