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Newest Blog Entries:
Diet Drinks: America’s Passion for Poison
Posted by Michael Butler, Tuesday, February 7, 2012Obama’s Support for Natural Gas Drilling “A Painful Moment” for Communities Subjected to Fracking
Posted by Michael Butler, Saturday, February 4, 2012Pesticides Blamed for Bee Decline
Jonathan Owen reports in The Independent ..Compelling new evidence from the US government's top bee expert that modern pesticides may be a major cause of collapsing bee populations led to calls yesterday for the chemicals to be banned. A study published in the current issue of the German science journal Naturwissenschaften, reveals how bees given minute doses of [Bayer's] widely used pesticide imidacloprid became more vulnerable to infections from a deadly parasite, nosema. Bee experts described this as clear evidence of the role pesticides play in the plight of bees. Although research into the furry insects may seem like a very academic exercise, bees are vital to human survival. More than 70 of the 100 crops that provide 90 per cent of the world's food are pollinated by bees, and Albert Einstein once predicted that if bees died out, "man would have no more than four years to live.".. read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Wednesday, February 1, 2012
NYT (3): Foreign Affairs
Worst-ever drought plus massive cold snap in Mexico affecting millions; General strike over austerity measures paralyzes Belgium; Wherewith Tunisia, first of the Arab Spring countries?Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, January 31, 2012
FOCUS | Clean Water Safeguards Headed Down the Drain?
Posted by Michael Butler, Wednesday, January 25, 2012NYT Editorial, Op-Eds, Letters (11)
"Americans spend more than patients in any other country, but with very mixed results" (Editorial); "Drones are blurring the civilian and military roles in war and circumventing the constitutional mandate for authorizing it" (Guest Op-Ed); "If only a presidential candidate would adopt this four-part agenda, he would surely be the winner on election night in November" (Friedman); "'Porgy and Bess' supplies a prism through which African-Americans have viewed their history" (Nocera); "No longer will only men be allowed to sell a bra to a woman clothed head-to-toe in an abaya" (Guest Op-Ed); "Could 2012 be a race between two powerful victims yearning to be lonely at the top?" (Dowd); "In both parties, there is a long tradition of underwhelming nominees" (Douthat); "If liberals care about middle-class salaries, public education and other state-funded services, they need to care about controlling health care costs as much as conservatives do" (Guest Op-Ed); "Lessons from Paula Deen on indulgence and its consequences" (Bruni); "It's 2012, and let's face it, the old way of sizing up candidates on the left-to-right spectrum just will not do" (Guest Op-Ed); "Sunday Dialogue: State Laws on Unions" (Letters)Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, January 22, 2012
Vatican Official Condemns GMOs as ‘New Form of Slavery’
Posted by Michael Butler, Monday, January 16, 2012Worse than DDT: When You Eat This, it Ends Up Lingering in Your Gut
New information on altering of behavior with genetically engineered crops [GE/GMO] and promotion of disease! Is it no wonder all the gi tract problems these days and susceptibility to illness. The evolving story only gets worse as more studies are done. How can these GMO/GEproducts be in almost everything in our stores now days? Is it possible to go a day without consuming these compounds? We can thank Monsanto and our politicians. Now that Monsanto has hired the Blackwater [Xe] military force to help them with their campaigns. What will happen to the labeling bill coming up for a vote this next election? To what end is a company willing to cause nationwide illness for profit, willing to go to in an effort to protect their market share? A thought. If corporations are now equal citizens to people, can Monsanto get the death penalty in Calif? We can carve up the company to fix the state deficit!! People get their checks, programs are continued, everybody wins, and Jerry Brown is a hero!....b aPosted by Michael Butler, Monday, January 16, 2012
NYT (11): National News
SCOTUS provides work bias exemption to religious groups; Survey finds Occupy Movement message of economic inequality growing; Romney's opponents doing Obama's job for him; NYS gets 20,000 public responses re fracking - largest ever for any issue; Indiana Dems successfully stymie "right to work" vote; Compensation agreement for those sterilized in NC program may affect other states; SCOTUS reverses conviction of N.O. man over prosecutorial misconduct; Fed appeals judge blocks Oklahoma ban on shariah law; Want to know the worst U.S. emitters of greenhouse gases? It's online; SCOTUS agonizes over TV decency rules; Concerned about use of banned pesticide, U.S. halts all imported orange juice.Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, January 12, 2012
NYT (5): Foreign Affairs
Assad still blaming outsiders for unrest; Pakistani Supreme Court threatens to dismiss PM; Mulnutrition in Indian children widespread and growing; Taiwan vote lures expatriates in China; U.S. ranks only 13th in nuclear security.Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, January 12, 2012
The Very Real Danger of Genetically Modified Foods
Posted by Michael Butler, Wednesday, January 11, 2012Grass and Brain Power
Posted by Michael Butler, Saturday, January 7, 2012NYT (5): National News
A chart of where the GOP candidates stand on various issues; Is the NYPD using questionable methods in keeping crime stats down?; In wake of customer outrage, Verizon drops $2 fee; As production costs rise and organic milk becomes scarcer (and more expensive), a question returns: what is "organic?"Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, December 31, 2011
Studies show junk foods change brain chemistry and are addictive like cocaine
WOW!! This should be headlines everywhere in America. The toxicity of food in the USA has increased and now it has been designed to maximize that toxic dose, by causing addiction. The brain chemical imbalance leads to a loss Will to choose healthy foods!!!.............................bill altmillerPosted by Michael Butler, Sunday, December 25, 2011
Four Ways Monsanto Threatens the Environment and Public Health
Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, December 22, 2011NYT (2): National News
Yet another long-incarcerated man in TX exonerated by DNA - this time, with a twist; CA town takes on McDonald's.Posted by Ian Alterman, Monday, December 19, 2011
Occupy the Food System
Another thanks to Michael HamiltonPosted by Michael Butler, Saturday, December 17, 2011
FOCUS: The Bugs That Ate Monsanto
Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, December 15, 2011NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (7)
"The latest campaign ads from the Republican primary are so brazen and the politicians so unapologetic that it is only bound to get worse" (Editorial); "In getting to the truth about those wealthy 'job creators' the Republicans aim to protect, the ’80s film 'Wall Street' seems more relevant than ever" (Krugman); "Newt Gingrich may be big-government conservatism’s leading messenger, but his temperament and character distort the effect" (Brooks); "Too many children are still being fed — and marketed — dessert disguised as breakfast" (Bittman); "National polls suggest that Republican candidates have lost a few of their favorite wedge issues" (Egan); "If you count spending on social services, other countries spend more to achieve a healthier society than the United States does" (Guest Op-Ed); "What will the emergence of a new kind of Christian social conscience mean for 2012 and beyond?" (Guest Op-Ed)Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, December 9, 2011
NYT Editorials & Op-Eds (11)
"The results of the Kyoto Protocol have been dismal, and there is almost no chance that there will be a replacement when it expires next year" (Editorial); "A federal court was doing its job when it replaced Texas’s redistricting map with a fairer one" (Editorial); "When the police look military: The Occupy movement brings out the martial character of law enforcement" (Guest Op-Ed; see also related Op-Chart); "The word 'apology' has become so politicized in our own discourse that no president can admit to doing it" (Guest Op-Ed); "Is brain of Newt the potion for an anti-intellectual party?" (Bruni); "Most Americans can get online. But too many can’t afford high-speed access" (Guest Op-Ed); "Should mail be a guaranteed government service because it is essential to our well-being? Or has it outlived its utility?" (Guest Op-Ed); "Better a protest movement that casts itself (however quixotically) as the defender of “the 99 percent” than one that just represents Democratic interest groups" (Douthat); "A legacy deal for Obama on gas mileage will make a significant contribution to America’s energy, environmental, health and national security agendas" (Friedman); "A cozy alliance between processed food makers and companies that serve school lunches is making students fat and sick" (Guest Op-Ed); "For Newt Gingrich, the founding fathers were anticolonial patriots. The president, on the other hand, is an anticolonial socialist" (Dowd)Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, December 4, 2011
NYT Op-Eds & Letters (10)
"This presidential race is shaping up to be an especially mendacious ride, and not just because the two Republicans currently in the lead have demonstrated a formidable talent for improvisation" (Bruni); "President Obama came into office with expectations that Superman couldn’t have met. Let’s remember his accomplishments and keep some perspective at election time" (Kristof); "President Obama’s formidable organizing network will do its best to see he prevails in key states" (Guest Op-Ed); "A recent outpouring of philanthropy has produced a new breed of philanthropist: the policy-making billionaire" (Guest Op-Ed); "The ethnic conflict in the West Bank is metastasizing into Israel, threatening its democracy and unraveling its society" (Guest Op-Ed); "Millions of people are starving unnecessarily in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. The world knows how to prevent drought-induced famine. So why doesn’t it?" (Guest Op-Ed); "As the fighting continues in Egypt and Syria, crucial questions are raised" (Friedman); "The myths of the Kennedy presidency are resurrected again with Stephen King’s new novel" (Douthat); "Readers respond to recent columns" (Letters re OWS); "Anonymity and Incivility on the Internet" (Letters)Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, November 27, 2011
Drinking This “Popular Poison” is Worse than Smoking
MUST READ!!! thanks bill altmillerPosted by Michael Butler, Friday, November 25, 2011
Is Pizza a Vegetable? Well, Congress Says So
Posted by Michael Butler, Monday, November 21, 2011NYT (5): Int’l Affairs
After massive protest by Islamists against Egyptian military, the latter attacks the former in Tahrir Square; Kuwait protests heat up again; U.N. panel blames climate change for some global weather extremes; Brazil angry with Chevron over oil spill; Somalia famine eases, due to aid and unexpected rainfall.Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, November 19, 2011
NYT (7): National News
Census data confirms disappearing middle class; House approves obnoxious gun bill; AL lawmakers have "passer's remorse" over immigration bill, seek to repeal some parts; Will Obama's own words influence SCOTUS to defeat health bill?; Congress blocks new school lunch program changes, but unanimously passes two elements of jobs bill; NYC Comptroller in trouble re election fund-raising.Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, November 17, 2011
