Have you seen this advertisement? Couched deep within the green-washed rhetoric of a recent Monsanto ad is an egregious claim:
Producing more. Conserving more. Improving farmers’ lives. That’s sustainable agriculture. And that’s what Monsanto is all about.
Oh, really?
While the mainstream media and Big Ag pundits seem all too happy to watch how Monsanto and other biotech companies spin and co-opt the term “sustainability,” we at the Center for Food Safety (CFS) are on the front lines fighting against the corporate take-over of our food, farms, and future; advocating for REAL, sustainable, solutions to the problems of the biotech industrial agriculture model.
Over the next month, CFS will be bringing you videos from some experts with whom we work closely in the trenches—Michael Pollan, Vandana Shiva, Anna Lappé, and CFS’s Executive Director Andrew Kimbrell—to help us tell you the real truth about the false claims put forth by Monsanto and other biotech companies. We’ll share with you why these leading activists support the work of the Center for Food Safety.
CFS has been fighting on your behalf since 1997. We have accomplished a lot – we’ve stopped GMO crops including wheat, rice, and alfalfa, and also dangerous pharmaceutical-producing crops. We’ve beat Monsanto in the courts, but they have the substantial resources to continue to challenge CFS; just this week, they asked for the U.S. Supreme Court to consider yet another appeal of our successful lawsuit stopping GMO alfalfa.
We can only accomplish these victories with the support of members like you. Please join Vandana Shiva in supporting our work, to raise the funds we need to continue to fight Monsanto in the courts, and to combat the twisted version of “sustainability” biotech company marketers are trying to foist on the world. We need your help, right now, to raise our goal of $100,000 this Fall — less than the amount Monsanto spent on just ONE AD on the back page of The New Yorker (about $140,000), to support our important workttp://truefoodnow.org/campaigns/messagefromvandanashiv/
Have you seen this... more
The final round of climate talks in Barcelona began today, and the activism has begun.
The TckTckTck campaign woke up negotiators in Barcelona with alarms clocks this morning, while Greenpeace climbers dropped yet another banner, this time from Barcelona’s famous cathedral, Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, calling on world leaders to
step up their political action on climate change.
From Greenpeace:
The 26 activists are currently in the process of hanging a 600 sq m banner saying “World
leaders: make the climate call.”
Barcelona is host this week to the final round of climate talks before
December’s Copenhagen UN climate summit – this week the stage must be
set for the world to agree a fair, ambitious and binding climate deal.
“A good deal for the climate is still possible. All that is missing is
political will, not least from the US, which under President Obama has
fallen far behind the rest of the world, and is threatening to undermine
a planet-saving agreement in Copenhagen,” said Damon Moglen of
Greenpeace US.
“Negotiators at these talks can only get so far without strong direction
from their heads of state. This is the week for global leaders to make
the climate call.”
A recent Greenpeace analysis of the pending US climate legislation (1)
shows that the bills have been compromised by loopholes and handouts to
the fossil fuel industry and undermine President Obama’s pledge to lead
the world in a solution to the climate crisis.
“Frankly, it’s an embarrassment that President Obama has allowed oil and
coal companies to set the terms of the US response to climate change. If
America is to kick its addiction to fossil fuels and join the
international community in averting a climate catastrophe, President
Obama must put forward commitments in line with climate science and not
bow to political expediency.”
There is now decisive movement from the developing world. Brazil,
China, India Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea are preparing
to announce strong quantifiable plans involving serious cuts in emissions.
“The time for finger-pointing is over,” said Ailun Yang of Greenpeace
China. “It is clear that right now developing countries are making a
much greater effort to solve this problem – while industrialised
countries seem to be spending more time in downplaying the possibilities
of a good deal than they are in trying to get one.”
“The lives of hundreds of millions are on the line, along with the fate
of countless species, if the climate crisis is not solved now. Knowing
who is to blame will be of little consolation to future generations.”
Many of us feel as though being here we cannot make a marked difference elsewhere in the world to help mitigate deforestation and climate change. Tree Nation gives us a chance to use the Internet for truly positive change. It is a site devoted to more that just talk. You get action and results that will be felt for a lifetime in mitigating poverty, deforestation, and giving clean water to those who need it most. I highly recommend this site if you want to make a real difference in the world.http://www.tree-nation.com/projects
Many of us feel as though being here we cannot... more
Since its founding in 1970, NORML has provided a voice in the public policy debate for those Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition and favor an end to the practice of arresting marijuana smokers. A nonprofit public-interest advocacy group, NORML represents the interests of the tens of millions of Americans who smoke marijuana responsibly.
Because NORML lobbies state and federal legislators, donations to NORML are not tax deductible.
During the 1970s, NORML led the successful efforts to decriminalize minor marijuana offenses in 11 states and significantly lower marijuana penalties in all others.
Today NORML continues to lead the fight to reform state and federal marijuana laws, whether by voter initiative or through the elected legislatures. NORML serves as an informational resource to the national media on marijuana-related stories, providing a perspective to offset the anti-marijuana propaganda from the government; lobbies state and federal legislators in support of reform legislation; publishes a regular newsletter; hosts, along with the NORML Foundation, an informative web site and an annual conference; and serves as the umbrella group for a national network of citizen-activists committed to ending marijuana prohibition and legalizing marijuana.
Our sister organization, the NORML Foundation sponsors public advertising campaigns to better educate the public about marijuana and alternatives to current marijuana policy; provides legal assistance and support to victims of the current laws; and undertakes relevant research.
The oldest and largest marijuana legalization organization in the country, NORML maintains a professional staff in Washington, DC, headed by Executive Director Allen St. Pierre, and a network of volunteer state and local NORML Chapters across the country.
NORML supports the removal of all penalties for the private possession and responsible use of marijuana by adults, including cultivation for personal use, and casual nonprofit transfers of small amounts. This policy, known as decriminalization, removes the consumer -- the marijuana smoker -- from the criminal justice system, while maintaining criminal penalties against those who sell or traffic large quantities of the drug.
In 1972, President Richard Nixon's National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse recommended that Congress adopt this policy nationally in the United States. Since then, more than a dozen government-appointed commissions in both the U.S. and abroad have recommended similar actions. None of these commissions have endorsed continuing to arrest and jail minor marijuana offenders. Summaries of these studies are available here.
Since 1973, 13 state legislatures -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon -- have enacted versions of marijuana decriminalization. In November 2008, Massachusetts voters passed a statewide initiative making the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana an infraction punishable by no more than a $100 fine. The law took effect on January 2, 2009. In each of these states, marijuana users no longer face jail time (nor in most cases, arrest or criminal records) for the possession or use of small amounts of marijuana. According to national polls, voters overwhelmingly support these policies. In Oregon, voters recently reaffirmed their state's decriminalization law by a 2-1 margin in a statewide referendum.
More than 30 percent of the U.S. population lives under some form of marijuana decriminalization, and according to government and academic studies, these laws have not contributed to an increase in marijuana consumption nor negatively impacted adolescent attitudes toward drug use. Summaries of these findings are available here.
Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers an estimated $10 billion annually and results in the arrest of more than 829,000 individuals per year -- far more than the total number of arrestees for all violent crimes combined, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. This policy is a tremendous waste of national and state criminal justice resources that should be focused on combating serious and violent crime. In addition, it invites government unnecessarily into areas of our private lives, and needlessly damages the lives and careers of hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding citizens. NORML believes now, as former President Jimmy Carter told Congress in 1977, that: "Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use."
Responsible Use
Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America (behind only alcohol and tobacco), and has been used by nearly 100 million Americans. According to government surveys, some 25 million Americans have smoked marijuana in the past year, and more than 14 million do so regularly despite harsh laws against its use. Our public policies should reflect this reality, not deny it.
Marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. Around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking. By comparison, marijuana is nontoxic and cannot cause death by overdose. According to the prestigious European medical journal, The Lancet, "The smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to health. ... It would be reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a threat ... than alcohol or tobacco."
As with alcohol consumption, marijuana smoking can never be an excuse for misconduct or other improper behavior. For example, driving or operating heavy equipment while impaired from marijuana should be prohibited.
Most importantly, marijuana smoking is for adults only, and is inappropriate for children. There are many activities in our society that are permissible for adults, but forbidden for children, such as motorcycle riding, skydiving, signing contracts, getting married, drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco. However, we do not condone arresting adults who responsibly engage in these activities in order to dissuade our children from doing so. Nor can we justify arresting adult marijuana smokers on the grounds of sending a "message" to children. Our expectation and hope for young people is that they grow up to be responsible adults, and our obligation to them is to demonstrate what that means. Further information regarding the responsible use of marijuana is available here.
Legalization
NORML supports the eventual development of a legally controlled market for marijuana, where consumers could buy marijuana for personal use from a safe legal source. This policy, generally known as legalization, exists on various levels in a handful of European countries like The Netherlands and Switzerland, both of which enjoy lower rates of adolescent marijuana use than the U.S. Such a system would reduce many of the problems presently associated with the prohibition of marijuana, including the crime, corruption and violence associated with a "black market."Since its founding in 1970, NORML has provided a voice in the public policy debate for... more
You could probably forge a good, absurdist, dark comedy out of a government where racial identity can be declared and reversed by official decree, and white parents whose child’s skin is, because of a genetic quirk, darker than theirs struggle to get their kid designated Caucasian. I can imagine Terry Gilliam going to town on something like that, or maybe even Kevin Smith in a more thoughtful mode. But this isn’t absurdist comedy, this was South Africa in the throes of apartheid, and the story told in Anthony Fabian’s debut feature, SKIN, turns out to have been all too real.
The actual person, Sandra Laing, suffered through a kind of industrial-strength crisis of identity, with her parents determined to ensure that her privileges be protected via that all-important white designation, and her own growing awareness that, whatever the government stamped on a piece of paper, she would have no shortage of difficulty in finding a place in so divided a society. Director Fabian shot the film in South Africa, and brought together a strong cast, including Sophie Okonedo as Sandra and Sam Neill and Alice Krige as her parents. The result is quite moving — a human and unusual perspective on the insanity of institutionalized racism.
Anthony Fabian and I got a chance to talk about his motivation for taking on this project, and how the dictates of apartheid could twist the motives of even the best-intentioned of parents. Click on the link to hear the interview.
Dear the Honorable Joesph Lieberman
You have very clearly expressed your concren for the cost that have to the government, but as things currently stand, the cost to the people is unbearable.Medical bills are now the leading cause of bankruptcy in the country, in time when unemployment and underemployment are already sky high, and people are in daily struggle to keep their jobs and homes, we already need to worry going bankrupt, we should not have to worry our health and the health of our families, about having to wonder about the cost of keeping a loved one alive.
I don't care about thecost. I will pay any day to save the life of a fellow American, rather as i currently do to send people off to die. We need to take this step as a nation knowing that we have taken a step towards acknowledging that health care is a human right. I have heard complaints from my friends and family around the state, they will be very disapointed by your actions to block this,i will not vote for you in 2012, and will instruct all my friends and family to vote against you as well, We are Indepedants and will vote for any candidate who will gives what we want.We did not vote for Lamont in 2006, we voted
for you. You have already lost the democrats, and you are taking great strides to use your Independent base as well.
Respectfully, Keith A.Sutherland
----------------------------------------------
This is the letter that i sent Joesph Lieberman.... i will undoubtedly receive an automated email back...but you increase the chances of it even being read at all comment with the subject as "other"
You not need be as brief or as polite as i was...
Listen to Micheal Moore write your politicians..and call them every day (202)224
Saturday marked the International Day of Climate Action, were people demonstrated their concern over climate change with over 5,2000 creative and stunning environmental actions around the globe. HuffPosters turned out in force to attend many of these events. Their photos are featured below. Vote on which actions you think will best capture the attention of the world's political leaders.Saturday marked the International Day of Climate Action, were people demonstrated... more
I just called and was told there have been several hundred other calls and that they are looking into legal ways to stop it. The person I spoke to didn't sound very enthused though. But please, call the number at the link and tell the EPA to intervene. It is the one way we can stop this once and for all!
Is the Earth worth one phone call?
___________
Mountaintop removal blasting has begun on Coal River Mountain.
These operations are happening only a few hundred feet away from the Brushy Fork impoundment dam, which holds over 8.2 billion gallons of toxic coal sludge above Pettus, WV. If the dam bursts, nearly a thousand people in the Coal River Valley would likely lose their lives within minutes.
At the same time, Coal River Mountain is the proposed site of an industrial wind farm. Studies have shown that its ridges have the highest and most productive wind potential. The Coal River Wind Project has done research to demonstrate that a wind farm on top of the mountain could generate approximately 1.2% of West Virginia's total energy needs, create 300 jobs in the area, and generate a long-term tax revenue stream. Every day that blasting happens, the possibility for the wind farm diminishes.
The state of West Virginia refuses to do anything about this destruction. Please contact the EPA and ask them to intevene at Coal River Mountain.
Call Lisa Jackson's office at (202) 564-4700.I just called and was told there have been several hundred other calls and that they... more
Hello Current.com..and Facebook.... Marijuana Legalization is often popular talk on this site, with little or nothing said on how this can be achieved. What we can do make it legal... here is the bill to do just that. Call your Senator or congressmen (202)224-3121 or Barack Obama (202)456-1414
Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009 - Prohibits the imposition of any penalty under an Act of Congress for the possession of marijuana for personal use or for the not-for-profit transfer between adults of marijuana for personal use. Deems the possession of 100 grams or less of marijuana as personal use (one ounce or less for a not-for-profit transfer between adults). Allows the imposition of a civil penalty under the Controlled Substances Act for the public use of marijuana if such penalty does not exceed $100.
Call AND write your congressmen, or women... message me i will gladly provide you with address and phone numbers
For my my friends in Hartford,CT that is Rep.John Larson (202)225-2265Hello Current.com..and Facebook.... Marijuana Legalization is often popular talk on... more
Call your congressman or senators and tell them you support this bill and will not take a compromise 202-224-3121
From opencongress.org :
This bill establishes the United States National Health Care (USNHC) Program to provide all individuals residing in the United States and U.S. territories with free health care, which would encompass primary care and prevention, prescription drugs, emergency care, long-term care, mental health services, dental services, and vision care. Such a program would be financed by the USNHC Trust Fund via existing sources of government health care revenue, by increasing personal income taxes of the top 5% income earners and by instituting a progressive excise tax on payroll and self employment income, as well as on stock and bond transactions. While the Indian Health Services would eventually be integrated in the program, the independence of the Veterans Affairs health programs would remain under evaluation.
Click on the link and click i support this bill ... or if you dont..do nothing
this bill comes closest to what we need... this is the bill we need to rally behind....Call your congressman or senators and tell them you support this bill and will not... more
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama asked Spain to pass Cuba a message on the need for democratic reform when he met Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero earlier this month, according to a U.S. official.
"When (Obama) learned that Foreign Minister Moratinos was about to go to Havana, he suggested that Moratinos urge the Castro regime to take steps to reform and improve human rights," the U.S. official said on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Excerpt from article Sun Oct 25, 2009 8:59pm EDTWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama asked Spain to pass Cuba a message... more
another good man assassinated while the tyrants walk the earth
Aushev worked to publicize human rights abuses and organize rallies against Ingushetia's (Russian province) unpopular former president, Murat Zyazikov
this is the third assassination of a human rights activist in as many months
Aushev fought the unpopular former perisdent in the volitale North Caucasus, an action which made him powerfull enemies.
Aushev died when the car he was driving in was sprayed with automatic gun fire, a woman driving with him was also badly injured..
Aushev's assassination follows the killing in July of Natalya Estemirova, a prominent human rights activist who was found shot in Ingushetia after being kidnapped in Chechnya.
Aushev said that agents had tried to abduct him last month when his vehicle was stopped for an ID check at a police checkpoint outside the provincial capital...RIP Maksharip Aushev
another good man assassinated while the tyrants walk the earth... more
Activists held events around the world to increase knowledge and gain support for the # 350.
The number 350 ... as in parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which scientist say is the safe upper limit.
The atmosphere currently reaches about 390 parts per million, according to research by NASA climate scientist James Hanse cited by 350.org.
This is a statistical point that normal everyday people can understand and rally behind..
This is most likely to increase public attention in the months prior to the summit to be held in Copenhagen in Dec. .Activists held events around the world to increase knowledge and gain support for the... more
Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper and political activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York.[2] Most of his lyrics focus on political issues. The views expressed in his lyrics are largely a mixture of commentary on issues such as politics, poverty, religion, social class and racism.
We need to get him on CURRENT TV....Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name... more
Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper and political activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on political issues. The views expressed in his lyrics are largely a mixture of commentary on issues such as politics, poverty, religion, social class and racism.
I want to See him on Current TV...Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name... more
You’re going to have to trust me on this one: I am a romantic. ONCE is one of my favorite films; I teared up at both UP and MARY AND MAX (animated characters struggling for their small bit of happiness just hit some special spot in me). But when you’re telling the tale of Amelia Earhart, I’m not quite looking to swoon. I want the adventure, I want the danger — I want the tale of how the first aviatrix thumbed her nose at the patriarchy and got it done.
In AMELIA, director Mira Nair seeks to delve into both the personal and professional life of Earhart, played here by Hilary Swank. The flying stuff, particularly a final act dedicated to the doomed final leg of Earhart’s attempt to circumnavigate the globe, is pretty much everything I could ask for — accomplished with a mix of live action aeronautics and CG simulation; and both visually beautiful and dramatically riveting. The romance, though — which focuses primarily on Earhart’s relationships with her publisher and point man George Putnam (Richard Gere) and pilot and airline innovator Gene Vidal (yes, father of Gore, and here played by Ewan McGregor) — didn’t particularly grab me. I sensed Nair tiptoeing genteelly around the subject, and can’t help but suspect that the private world of such a, s’cuse me, balls-out woman was possibly messier and certainly more dynamic than what appears on-screen. I would’ve preferred seeing if the fires that fueled Earhart’s pursuit of the sky burned as bright in her personal relationships. That opportunity seems to have been missed.
Mira Nair talked to me about making the world of Earhart of filmic reality, and discussed how one of the earliest media sensations strained against her public image. Click on the link above to hear the interview.You’re going to have to trust me on this one: I am a romantic. ONCE is one of my... more
