Saturday, April 9, 2011

Mom Talks About Taking on the Food Industry (VIDEO)

This is excellent and extremely informative...
"Robyn O’Brien, mother of four and author of The Unhealthy Truth, spoke at TEDxAustin recently about what led her from blue yogurt and “Leggo my Eggo” waffles to a crusade for better food for America’s kids. A former food industry analyst, she discussed what she discovered about food allergies and novel proteins in our food, the different rules food corporations follow abroad, and the costs for our health–all in a way that anyone can understand."
http://civileats.com/2011/03/28/mom-talks-about-why-she-takes-on-the-food-industry-video/

Is NestlĂ©’s Pure Life Brand a Threat to Public Water?

A dramatic shift from spring water to municipal water sources for bottlers like the Nestle behemoth have put an enormous strain on water infrastructure around the country. Food & Water Watch calls for investments to repair and maintain the US water infrastructure and asserts, rightly so, that access to water should be treated as a basic human right throughout the world.
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/blogs/is-nestles-pure-life-brand-a-threat-to-public-water/

Rep. Baldwin asks feds to investigate Waukesha votes

The Wisconsin Democrat wants the Justice Department Public Integrity Section, which oversees federal prosecution of election crimes, to investigate the massive find of over 14,000 votes in Waukesha County.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/article_ce512ed4-62ca-11e0-9641-001cc4c002e0.html

The Budget Hoax: It's About Showering Wall Street with Tax Dollars

The ongoing debt crisis debate is largely a smokescreen for Wall Street and powerful corporations to achieve goals that are solely based on the reckless pursuit of profit. Privatization of Social Security, which is solidly funded for the next 30 years, has nothing to do with the public interest but rather with the profits Wall Street could reap on a market-based system. As we've seen in the past with recent stock market collapses, such privatization would be very dangerous for the American people. Meanwhile, with over 700 anti-labor bills introduced throughout the nation, the 'fiscal' crisis is being used by the GOP and their corporate benefactors to eviscerate labor rights and further reduce compensation for workers.
http://www.alternet.org/news/150535/the_budget_hoax:_it's_about_showering_wall_street_with_tax_dollars/?utm_

Ratings, Revenues And A Painful Lesson: How Glenn Beck Cost Fox News More Than $40 Million

I turns out that Glenn Beck's show still commanded a large viewership but advertisers would not sign on. Too bad they seem to have no qualms with advertising on the other Fox News programs, shows that frequently distort and misreport the news.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201104070011

Organic farming just as productive as conventional, and better at building soil, Rodale finds

This article from Grist reports on long-term testing results seeking to evaluate the most productive farming systems and explicitly comparing organic and conventional (GMO/pesticide-iintensive) crops. The results are dramatic and confirm that organic is just as productive and much less environmentally destructive than conventional methods, but our politicians and regulators have yet to embrace such data.
http://www.grist.org/article/2011-03-25-rodale-data-show-organic-just-as-productive-better-at-building

From Food & Water Watch: No Quick Subsidies Fix for Food System
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/blogs/no-quick-subsidies-fix-for-food-system/

President Obama's Top 5 Broken Campaign Promises

I know it's not a cakewalk in Washington but Obama hasn't really appeared to even try to follow through on many of his inspirational campaign promises.
http://www.alternet.org/news/150523/president_obama's_top_5_broken_campaign_promises/?page=1

Pennsylvania Calls for More Water Tests

At the urging of the EPA the state is conducting additional testing to determine the level of radiation entering wastewater treatment plants, but they are resistant to additional strengthening of regulations to protect public drinking water.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/science/earth/08water.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Secretary Vilsack Holds “Mint Julep” Summit to Discuss Biotech and Organic Coexistence

Our true hope for restoring conventional farming and protecting organic crops from contamination lies in court battles to invalidate patents on GM seeds based on the destructive aspects of their proliferating use on the environment and health.
http://civileats.com/2011/04/01/secretary-vilsack-holds-mint-julep-summit-to-discuss-biotech-and-organic-coexistence/

Deal To Avert Government Shutdown Saves $38 Billion — Bush Tax Cut Deal Spent $150 Billion

It's very disappointing that Obama has gone along with the cuts in social services and protections pushed by the GOP, in the name of deficit reduction, when the cuts are ideological driven and provide savings that pale in contrast to the costs and increased debt created by extending the Bush tax cuts for wealthy Americans.
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/09/shutdown-deal-bush-tax-cuts/

Joining 350.Org: The Next Phase - Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein has joined the newly formed Board of 350.org and argues that it is imperative that we radically begin to cut emissions of greenhouse gases in order to avert global catastrophe.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-klein/joining-350org-the-next-p_b_846210.html

Is America Addicted to War?

Though we like to view ourselves as a peace-loving nation America is, in fact, the most warring nation on the planet. This article from Foreign Policy provides an illuminating historical review and insight for Obama's continuation and expansion of US military actions.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/04/is_america_addicted_to_war