Speaking of chocolate

There is an island off the coast of Panama where the natives drink an average of five cups of unprocessed cocoa (sweetened with a little sugar) each day. The people of the San Blas Islands "appear to experience significantly lower death rates from heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, and cancer" than residents of the nearby mainland, which has convinced Dr. Norman Hollenberg, a Harvard Medical School professor, that substances in cacao -- the plant from which chocolate is made -- are loaded with health benefits.

"Xocolatl" was the word for chocolate among the Aztecs, from whom the Spanish conquistadors learned of the food. Residue found in ancient pots indicate that the Mayans were eating chocolate at least 2,600 years ago. They were certainly on to something.

Chocolate war

Big Business does a lot of underhanded things, but now they've gone too far! The Chocolate Manufacturers Association, an industry group whose members include Hershey and Nestle, are trying to get the US government to redefine what constitutes chocolate.

Instead of cocoa butter and cocoa solids -- the true ingredients in chocolate -- the giant food conglomerates want to use "artificial sweeteners, milk substitutes, and vegetable fats such as hydrogenated and trans fats." according to an online article. The proposed substitutes are, of course, less expensive.

There is a web site leading the charge against this blasphemy. It's called Don't Mess with Our Chocolate. Go there to find out how to register your objections with the Food and Drug Administration.

Breaking down Chamber walls

Here's a great story from today's Globe: the East Boston Chamber of Commerce is embracing the Latino business community in this neighborhood.

Anyone who is familiar with the lower half of Eastie knows that there are dozens and dozens of Central and South American-owned businesses, including many restaurants that cater to the area's huge Spanish-speaking population. It makes sense for the Chamber to integrate these businesses; otherwise, they'd eventually form their own group.

After initially feeling unwelcome by established East Boston business owners, one proprietor of a Latino eatery in Day Square said in the story, "I feel really comfortable here, now I have this kind of support."

Props to John Dudley, the Chamber's executive director (and a former student of mine), and others who saw the wisdom in reaching out. This is how community is formed and cultivated.

Mystery at Star of the Sea

A story on Boston.com wonders aloud about what is going on at the former St. Mary's Star of the Sea Church in East Boston. There is a photo (right) of scaffolding next to the building and there is apparently a sign announcing times for services, but the doors are locked.

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God -- which purchased the building earlier this year for $2.65 million -- won't offer any information to the Boston Globe. Church representatives won't even give their last names.

An independent panel has been asked by the archdiocese to review the sale of the church, which was originally made to South Boston photographer Michael Indresano for $850,000, "despite reports that there had been higher offers," the story says. Indresano then flipped the property just weeks later and many people believe that there was something fishy about the whole transaction.

Mayor Appleseed

Just 6% of East Boston is covered by trees, the lowest percentage for any neighborhood in the city. That is going to change, however, with the planting of 100,000 trees throughout Boston in the next 13 years.

Much of that flora will find a home on Eastie's streets, as well as other areas that have the lowest proportion of canopy: downtown (8%), South Boston (9%), Charlestown (12%) and the South End (15%). Among those neighborhoods with the most tree cover are: West Roxbury (49%), Roslindale (46%), Jamaica Plain (42%) and Hyde Park (42%).

According to the story at Boston.com, the mayor will announce this plan today, citing "cooler temperatures in summer, absorption of carbon dioxide and storm water runoff, and increased psychological well-being among residents" as some of the benefits.

Unlucky numbers

The media is filled with joyous stories about the Dow topping 13,000 yesterday. One headline even reads: "Rally, Romp and Rejoicing." We are conditioned to believe that a rising stock market equals a strong economy -- something good for all of us, right? -- but that is far from the truth.

When media and government say "the economy," they are generally referring to the wallets of the wealthy. When the economy is booming -- using the stock market's leading index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as a bellwether -- then corprate executives, lobbyists, bank owners, oil tycoons and their friends are gorging themselves at the trough.

Meanwhile, wages for working men and women -- after being adjusted for inflation -- are falling. As usual, the average person has to struggle to make ends meet. The market's rise is no reason for us to celebrate.

Schill a scammer?

Gary Thorne, the play-by-play announcer for the Baltimore Orioles, said on the air last night that the blood seeping through Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's right sock during Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees was, according to Boston catcher Doug Mirabelli, actually red paint.

The Red Sox, from management down, are in an uproar about the comments -- especially Mirabelli, who denies ever having such a conversation with Thorne. However, as we've come to know Schilling better in the past couple of years, I'd guess that many people are thinking that there might be some truth to this. I actually met Thorne at the 2005 Little League World Series and, for what it's worth, he seemed like a good guy.

War of words

You've got to love Harry Reid's comments yesterday in response to Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism. The Senate Majority Leader did what he said he wouldn't do in the same sentence when he said: "I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with the administration's chief attack dog."

I laughed out loud when I heard that. I like Reid, and I like his calm, soft-spoken manner, even as he doesn't back down from the villainous scoundrel Cheney.

Hot stuff

A pair of violent crimes that occurred yesterday in East Boston are reported on the Boston Police Department web site. One man was shot and another stabbed on Marion Street after 9 p.m. A short while before that a guy was arrested when he assaulted and chased someone through Maverick Square with a machete. Scary stuff. Could yesterday's summer-like warmth have played a part in the violence?

Dirty GOP hands

One lasting lesson that I'd like conservatives to take from the past eight years of Republican rule is that they cannot believe GOP promises to "clean up the corruption in Washington." Their guys are just as vulnerable to being corrupted by money and power -- if not more so -- as Democrats are.

Right now at least 15 people appointed to office by George W. Bush are being investigated for, or have already been found guilty of, impropriety. Christian conservatives should especially take note: You were hoodwinked into supporting these guys, but they are not the people you assumed they were.

Ebony and ivory

Though some people point out that state-mandated slavery came to an end with the surrender of the Confederacy in 1865 or that the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s put a stop to most of the country's Jim Crow laws, race is an issue that is integral to the American experience -- and not just for the purposes of academic and historical study.

In Georgia, for example, there is a high school that, up until this year, held separate proms for white and black students. That finally changed yesterday -- in 2007! Congratulations to the students at Turner County High School.

From Eastie to the world

A story in today's Boston Globe mentions that a highly regarded academic institute is located right here in East Boston. The Albert Einsten Institution was founded in 1983 by Dr. Gene Sharp to defend "freedom, democracy, and the reduction of political violence through the use of nonviolent action" around the world. Dr. Sharp lives in Eastie and apparently the AEI is a two-person think tank that is run out of his house. The organization uses an East Boston P.O. box as an address.

Sharp appears to have been involved in non-violent protest activities in China, Israel, Russia and other global hot spots and to have written extensively on the subject. He is described by some as the world's foremost authority on non-violent political action. Last month's Progressive had an interview with him. Though it's not available on the magazine's web site, I did find it on a blog in a March 10 entry.

Bridge to nowhere

Wordsworth Street, in the Orient Heights section of East Boston, is divided by the MBTA's Blue Line. There is a bridge that spans the tracks, and I took a walk over there today and talked to the gentleman who lives in the house next to the Charles Ernest Andrews Footbridge, which has been closed for about 40 years due to disrepair, vandalism and violence. According to the bridge's neighbor, someone was murdered near the span in the late 1960s, which was the final straw in the structure's useful existence. Now it's an eyesore and, also, a danger to the subway trains below. The bridge should come down.

Off with their heads! (Or at least let's fire them)

The Vermont state senate today became the first legislative body to publicly call for the impeachment of both the president and vice president. On a 16-9 vote that body approved a non-binding resolution that urged Vermont's Congressman to introduce an impeachment resolution against George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

It's about time. Does this incompetent duo have to inflict any more damage before they get booted out of office? Bill Clinton was impeached on exponentially less important charges than lying to get the country involved in a war and running every federal department with politics and ideology as the only criteria.

Throw the bums out!

Eastie eateries

A friend sent me a link today to a web site called East Boston Eats. It looks fairly new, the content is a mish-mash and the fonts frequently don't match, but hopefully everything will come together in time. I'm all for a web site that directs me toward food.